MS IH Survey Q-A 20260628.pdf

MSARNG Industrial Hygiene Survey Q&A 20260628

Q1: “Industrial Hygiene Survey” is quite broad and I couldn’t find any information where it clarified the scope of the project- were you all looking for air sampling, noise sampling, ergonomic assessments (all of the above?)

A1: The vendor is expected to follow ALL requirements stated in Section 5.0 Requirements of the PWS..

Field work must be performed by individuals who each have at least 3 years of industrial hygiene survey experience in ARNG maintenance facilities, or possess a baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited college or university in chemistry;

physics; a medical, biological, or physical science; or a related engineering OR are a Board for Global EHS Credentialing Certified Industrial Hygienist.

Industrial hygiene survey personnel must be proficient in the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental factors or stresses from the workplace, which may cause sickness, impaired health, well-being or significant discomfort among workers.

A Board for Global EHS Credentialing Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) must approve all field work and reports by the industrial hygienists.

If requested by the contracting officer’s representative, the contractor will submit resumes for all personnel to the contracting officer’s representative for review and approval of personnel prior to beginning survey work or at any time during the contract.

Q2: In the PWS, the References section cites the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970; Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1910; DoDI 6055.01;

and AR 385 -10. These authorities require annual workplace inspections conducted by qualified safety and occupational health personnel. None of the cited regulations specifically require a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) as the only acceptable credential. Rather, they require personnel who meet the definition of “qualified safety and health personnel.”

A2: PWS 5.1 requires that “a Board for Global EHS Credentialing Certified Industrial Hygienist approves all field work and reports by the industrial hygienists.” However, neither the OSH Act, DoDI 6055.01, nor AR 385 -10 mandates the CIH credential over other nationally and internationally accredited safety certifications. Both the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) credentials are accredited under ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024 standards. Each requires formal education, validated professional experience, successful completion of a comprehensive examination, adherence to a professional code of ethics, and ongoing continuing education. The CSP credential encompasses broad safety and occupational health competencies, including hazard identification, risk assessment, regulatory compliance, exposure evaluation, and control methodologies --core elements that directly align with the inspection, evaluation, and reporting duties described in the PWS. In practice, CSPs routinely perform workplace inspections, hazard assessments, and regulatory compliance evaluations consistent with the requirements outlined in the referenced regulations.

Q3: Given that the governing regulations require “qualified safety and health personnel” rather than a specific credential, and given that both the CSP and CIH certifications meet rigorous, accredited professional standards, will the Government consider allowing a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) to perform the duties currently designated for a CIH under this PWS?

A3: Please refer to section 5.1 Personnel Qualifications. Individuals conducting the survey MUST have at least three years of industrial hygiene survey experience in ARNG maintenance facilities, or possess a baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited college or university in chemistry; physics; a medical, biological, or physical science; or a related engineering OR are a Board for Global EHS Credentialing Certified Industrial Hygienist.

Industrial hygiene survey personnel must be proficient in the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental factors or stresses from the workplace, which may cause sickness, impaired health, well-being or significant discomfort among workers.

A Board for Global EHS Credentialing Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) must approve all field work and reports by the industrial hygienists.

Q4: Section 3.0 – Proposal Format:

Section 3.4 states that all proposals shall be at the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) level. Each submission must be properly identified and marked with the appropriate security classification.

Can the Government confirm whether offerors are required to mark their proposal submissions as CUI? If so, can the Government provide the specific CUI marking requirements applicable to this solicitation?

A4: After further review, the requirement to label the proposal submissions as CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION (CUI) shall be removed.

Q5: PWS Section 5.0: Will the Government provide the most recent reports for each of the 19 facilities listed in Section 5.1?

A5: The reports can be supplied upon request after the initial survey is completed for each facility.

Q6: PWS: Page 1 of the PWS identifies WOHL as the designated laboratory; however, Section 3.2 lists SGS Galson or WOHL. Can the Government clarify whether bidders are required to use SGS Galson, which is in accordance with the latest ARNG guidance?

A6: Both facilities are currently used by our office. The use of either laboratory is sufficient.

Q7: Volume 4 Price: Will the Government provide a price template in Excel format?

A7: If the question is referring to laboratory sampling prices, the answer is no, we do not offer a price template to the vendor. However, it is stated on the PWS cover sheet that our office will pay for all sample analysis.

Q8: PWS page 14, second and third paragraphs: USPFO is a facility type to be assessed in Camp Shelby; however, USPFO is not included in the Tier 1 or Tier 2 list of facility types provided on page 14. Please specify whether USPFO is Tier 1 or Tier 2.

A8: The USPFO is a warehouse and is considered a Tier 2 facility.

Q9: Requesting at least a 2-week extension or at the bare minimum a week extension following the response of all questions in order to complete the proposal within a reasonable timeframe.

A9: The proposal due date will be extended until 1400 CDT, Thursday, 9 July 2026.

Q10: PWS Section 1.5.3. Requesting a copy of the government's QASP associated with this project.

A10: The QASP is an internal Government document describing how the Government plans to perform quality assurance. It is not being provided to contractors.

Q11: PWS Section 1.5.6 Requesting clarification on the statement, "Contractor attendance at these meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government". Is this statement in reference to meetings that arise from contractor's poor performance which is understandable that these would not be of an additional cost and not meetings that are related to the direct management of a project. Please advise.

Proposing that the Kick-Off meeting (aka post award conference), progress meetings, and other project meetings as required by the PWS be chargeable items since these type of meetings are part of project management directly related to the success of a project and an industry standard.

A11: PWS Section 1.5.6 stands as-is. All communications regarding SE Regional IH Office will either be conducted via Microsoft Teams, telephone, or at the facility. All costs related to this requirement should be captured in your proposal.

Q12: PWS Technical Exhibit 1, First row; Is the following statement related to the Kick- Off meeting and site visit to occur in one mobilization? If not, please clarify. "The contractor shall contact Onsite Point of Contact: State OHN Ms. Vernocia Boyd at (601) 918-3251 and IHT Mr. Ervin Troy at (601) 313-4718 within 30 days of contract award date to schedule site visit."

A12: No, the kick-off meeting provides all the participants involved with the opportunity to ask/answer questions and for us to express expectations and clarify any concerns of the awardee. The statement in technical exhibit 1 states the awardee must contact the state POC (IHT) within 30 days of receiving the contract to start the site visit scheduling process.

The POC info will be updated to reflect changes due to personnel and phone number updates. (State IHT Mr. Troy Ervin at (601) 387-3904)

Q13: Synopsis, Section 5.2 Please clarify the statement, "Proposals shall be structured in accordance with the Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) structure set forth in the solicitation. Is it safe to assume this statement is in reference to the cost workbook and not the technical capability, Volume 2"? If this statement is in reference to other sections than the cost workbook, please clarify format in reference to the above quoted statement since there are over 80 CLINS which will go over the maximum page count and will lead to repetition.

A13: Yes, this statement is in reference to the cost workbook. Utilize the CLIN structure found in Synopsis section 1.8 when building your Microsoft Excel cost workbook.

Q14: Synopsis, Section 5.8 There is a statement, "The offeror shall consolidate and identify all offeror's generated assumptions contained anywhere in the proposal."

Which Volume # (s) should assumptions be presented?

A14: All assumptions shall be presented in Proposal Summary, Volume 1.

Q15: Synopsis, Section 5.9 Technical Capability, Volume 2, Sub-factor 1: Management Capabilities There is a statement in "Sub-factor 1: Management Capabilities " that states, Offerors shall describe, in detail, how they will perform the requirements for Industrial Hygiene Surveying Services and clearly identifies the labor mix and quantities by major task and location, identifies the replacement strategy, backup policy, retention policy and any other information pertinent to the execution of this contract." Can an assumption be made that "location" in the above statement is referring to type of facility? Please advise.

A15: “Location” refers to the 19 facilities listed in the table in PWS section 5.1 (pages 13- 14).

Q16: Synopsis, Section 5.18 There is a requirement to include information for past performance. What details are needed for the request "Performance Schedule"?

Does "Performance Schedule" refer to mm/dd/yyyy of project execution and current mm/dd/yr of work currently being performed? Please advise on exact details needed for "Performance Schedule".

A16: “Performance schedule” refers to how many facilities you have performed at (or are currently performing at) and the frequency of surveys; i.e. 12 facilities once a month, etc.

Q17: PWS, Section 1.5.2; Global PM Costs The first sentence states, "The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective QC Plan (QCP) to ensure services are performed in accordance with the PWS. Please advise on which CLIN the costs of the QCP should be captured. Proposing a Project Management CLIN be added for each year to capture the QCP costs (base year), project related meetings (progress meetings each year; kick-off meeting for the base year; overall schedule and deliverable tracking, and overall project management each year)

A17: All costs related to this contract should be captured in your proposal. The only CLINs being used are for each individual location.

Q18: Synopsis, Section 5.10 Past Performance and Table 1 (Past Performance) In reference to the Past Performance Volume, requesting clarification on if there is a set number of projects that need to be presented or based on number of years regardless of the number of projects? For example, could one or two projects/contracts be presented that show 3 years of continuous activities to fulfill the requirement by using over 4 pages (max of 10 pages)? Requesting the clarification based on the following text within the Synopsis: Table 1 states, "up to 2 pages per reference not to exceed 10 pages" while Section 5.10 states, "The offeror shall submit information for a total of up to three years (no more than five) of recent contract past performance references that were performed by the offeror as the prime contractor, which the offeror considers to have relevance."

A18: Number of Projects vs. Number of Years: You must meet both criteria. The government wants to see up to three years of recent experience, presented through a set of distinct project references. The primary constraint is the page limit per reference and the total page limit, not a minimum number of projects.

Presenting 1-2 Long-Term Projects: Yes, you can present one or two large contracts that demonstrate three years of continuous activity. This approach is acceptable as long as these projects are recent and relevant to the work described in the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

Page Count for Long-Term Projects: No, you cannot exceed the two-page limit for a single project reference, even if the project spanned multiple years. According to Table 1, the rule is "up to 2 pages per reference." This is a strict limit for each project you present, regardless of its duration. The total submission for all references must not exceed 10 pages.

To best answer the requirement, you should select your most relevant and recent prime contracts from the last three to five years. For each project, you must condense the required information into a concise, two-page summary. If you have a single, highly relevant contract that covers the three-year experience window, you can submit just that one, detailed within two pages.

Q19: Synopsis, Table 1 and Section 5.3 Requirements for Volume 1 in Table 1 and Section 5.3 do not match. Requesting clarification on details needed in Volume 1. For example, there is a quote summary required in Volume 1 as noted in Table 1 but there is no mention of this Volume 1 requirement in Section 5.3.

A19: You are correct to seek clarification, as the formatting of the requirements for Volume 1 can be confusing. After reviewing the solicitation documents, here is how you should interpret the requirements for Volume 1.

Clarification:

• Table 1 (Page 10 of the Synopsis/Solicitation) provides the overall structure and the names of the documents required for Volume 1. It lists "Proposal/Quote Summary" as a distinct item to be included.

• Section 5.3 (Page 11 of the Synopsis/Solicitation), titled "PROPOSAL SUMMARY, Volume 1, shall include:", details the specific pieces of information that must be contained within the Proposal Summary document mentioned in Table 1.

The two sections do not contradict each other; instead, Section 5.3 defines the content for the "Proposal/Quote Summary" listed in Table 1.

Recommendation:

To ensure your proposal is compliant, you should prepare a document for Volume 1 titled "Proposal/Quote Summary" that includes all the information requested in Section 5.3:

• Solicitation Number

• Date submitted

• Offeror's name, address, CAGE code, and UEI

• Proposal Point of Contact (POC) information

• Details of any proposed subcontractors (including address, CAGE, and UEI)

• Proposal Acceptance Period

• OCI Plan or negative affirmation

This consolidated document will satisfy the requirements of both Table 1 and Section 5.3.

Q20: Synopsis, Section 5.0 Should the requirements stated in Synopsis Section 5.3 through 5.8, be presented in Volume 1?

A20: Based on a detailed review of the solicitation documents, the requirements stated in Sections 5.3 through 5.8 are all administrative or summary-level items that should be presented in Volume 1: Proposal/Quote Summary.

Here is a breakdown of how these sections fit into Volume 1:

• Section 5.3 (Proposal Summary): This section explicitly defines the core content of Volume 1.

• Section 5.4 (Signature Actions/Offeror Fill-Ins): This requires you to include completed and signed provisions, clauses, and amendments. This administrative paperwork is part of the overall proposal summary.

• Section 5.5 & 5.6 (Joint Venture Information): These sections require the submission of JV agreements and supporting documentation. This organizational information belongs in the administrative summary volume (Volume 1).

• Section 5.7 (Statement of Acknowledgement): This requires a formal statement of agreement with the RFP's terms and conditions. This is a key part of the Proposal Summary.

• Section 5.8 (Assumptions): This requires a consolidated list of any assumptions made in your proposal. This also belongs in Volume 1 to provide a clear, upfront summary for the evaluators.

Recommendation:

You should create a single, comprehensive document for Volume 1, titled "Proposal/Quote Summary," that consolidates all the information and documents requested in Sections 5.3 through 5.8. This will ensure your proposal is organized correctly and meets all the administrative requirements of the solicitation.

Q21: Per PWS Section 5.1, field work must be performed by individuals with 3 years of ARNG maintenance facility IH experience, or a qualifying degree, and a CIH must approve all field work and reports. May the CIH approver serve in a supervisory/review capacity without personally performing field work, provided all field personnel meet the experience or education requirements stated in the PWS?

A21: Please refer to section 5.1 Personnel Qualifications. The awardee is responsible for all work submitted.

Individuals conducting the survey MUST have at least three years of industrial hygiene survey experience in ARNG maintenance facilities, or possess a baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited college or university in chemistry; physics; a medical, biological, or physical science; or a related engineering OR are a Board for Global EHS Credentialing Certified Industrial Hygienist.

Industrial hygiene survey personnel must be proficient in the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental factors or stresses from the workplace, which may cause sickness, impaired health, well-being or significant discomfort among workers.

A Board for Global EHS Credentialing Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) must approve all field work and reports by the industrial hygienists.

If requested by the contracting officer’s representative, the contractor will submit resumes for all personnel to the contracting officer’s representative for review and approval of personnel prior to beginning survey work or at any time during the contract.

The contracting officer’s representative reserves the right to request a change in industrial hygienist if there is a conflict with facility personnel, improper/unethical actions on site, or due to a lack of experience.

Q22: Is the Government amenable to a proposal in which the prime contractor manages contract administration, scheduling, coordination, and reporting, while utilizing a qualified subcontractor to perform on-site field surveys?

A22: The awardee will be responsible for meeting all requirements per the PWS. Failure to meet requirements due to a subcontractor will be at the fault of the awardee. The subcontractor will not have any communication with our office and we will only communicate with the awardee. Also, documentation submitted to our office shall only be garnished with the awardee’s information and not the subcontractor’s information.

Q23: May an offeror propose to perform services in one or two regions rather than all three regions? The solicitation references regions but does not specify whether partial regional proposals are acceptable.

A23: No, upon agreement to complete work, the awardee is to conduct all surveys and requirements in accordance with the PWS.

Q24: Is there an estimated Government budget or price range available for this requirement?

A24: There is no stated Government budget, estimated price, or price range available for this requirement. Therefore, offerors will need to develop their pricing based on the requirements outlined in the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

Q25: Please confirm that the entire proposal and all work product is CUI. This will add a significant expense to the project.

A25: See A4 above.

Q26: Please confirm that proposers should create their own Excel files for Volume IV.

Basis of Estimate (BOE) Excel files should also be created by the proposer, and no Excel templates will be provided.

A26: Yes, each offeror will be responsible for creating their own Excel files for Volume 4. No Excel templates will be provided.

Q27: Paragraph 5.4 on page 11/16 of the solicitation states that proposers must fill-in provisions and clauses. Please confirm there is nothing to fill in on the attachment other than the defense telecommunications language on page 13/15 of the provisions.

A27: DFARS 252.204-7017 Prohibition on the Acquisition of Covered Defense Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation located on page12-13 of the provisions is the only fill-in on the attachment. However, all offerors must be successfully registered and valid in SAM prior to award.

Q28: Pumps are not listed on Attachment 3 as required equipment. Are air sampling pumps and air sampling calibrators provided by SGS Galson or designated lab?

A28: Reference PWS Section 5.1 Personnel Qualifications:

“The contractor shall: Unless otherwise stated in this PWS, the contractor shall furnish all labor, materials and IH equipment to perform IH baseline surveys, follow-up IH surveys and special studies in the following facilities:” (page 13/45)

Also, reference PWS Section 4.0 Contractor Furnished Property, Materials, and Equipment (CFP/M/E):

“Contractor is required to have the equipment listed in attachment 3 on every survey. All equipment requiring calibration must have a current, valid calibration as of the date of any survey where the equipment is used. Copies of calibration certificates will be included in each industrial hygiene survey report. The contractor shall furnish everything required to perform these services as indicated in section 5.”

Awardee provides all necessary equipment. Our office will not pay for any equipment rental, and cost should be included in your proposal.

Attachment 3 is a guide and should not be used as a complete list. As a CIH, you should use your experience and knowledge to determine what equipment and tasks are needed to conduct each site visit.

Q29: Is there a specific day when MSARNG maintenance facilities are typically closed (e.g., every Monday or Friday), or does the schedule vary by facility?

A29: Offices and facilities are generally closed every other Monday as well as Federal Holidays. This question should be addressed with the state POC during the initial contact regarding scheduling site visits specified in Technical Exhibit 1.

Q30: Will the government-contracted laboratory provide sampling media at no cost to the contractor for this project?

A30: The Government pays for all sample analysis and associated costs. However, erroneous or excessive charges will be the responsibility of the contractor.