Questions_and_Answers_for_IDIQ.pdf

1. How many projects should be submitted? Should 10 be submitted as the default quantity specified in the SF330 guidance?

ANSWER: Please provide up to 5 examples of project that meet this requirement.

2. Is there a time limit for the relevance of the projects? Do they need to be a certain % complete or completed within a certain time (5 years for example)?

ANSWER: All projects should demonstrate recent experience, i.e. within the last 5 years.

3. We are using a subcontractor for one of our key personnel. Do we need to submit a Part II for the subcontractor?

ANSWER: As it states under #4 in the synopsis, a Part II will be required for all prime and consultants, which includes sub‐contractors.

4. Can you give more details on the type of Planner that is required under key personnel? Is this a NEPA Planner or a Master Planner?

ANSWER: This is a NEPA or Environmental Planner.

5. If a firm submits as a joint‐venture (JV), is the signed JV agreement required in the submittal?

Does the JV agreement go against the page count?

ANSWER: No, but it should be limited to one page.

6. PPQs and CPARS evaluations can be lengthy. Do these go against the page count?

ANSWER: Yes, they do go against the page count. Provide what you can, and if the Government determines that it is necessary to pull additional CPARS, they will do so.

7. Instructions for Factor 2 indicate firms must have registered and licensed personnel in various key disciplines. One of those disciples is Survey Crew. Typically our Land Surveyor is registered but our Survey Crew is not. What licensure or registration is the Government expecting to see for the Survey Crew personnel?

ANSWER: The survey crew is going to be removed, and the land surveyor will remain. This personnel category shall have a PLS.

8. Instructions for Factor 2 indicate firms must have registered and licensed personnel in various key disciplines. One of those disciples is Construction Manager. Will the Government accept a Professional Engineer license for the Construction Manager, or is the Government requiring another type of certification and if so, what license(s) or certification(s) are considered acceptable.

ANSWER: License and registration is not just limited to PEs, PGs, etc. This also includes certifications, such as the CCM.

9. Instructions for Factor 2 indicate that resumes are limited to one page each. Are ½‐page resumes acceptable?

ANSWER: Yes, as long as it captures all the information required for the Government to determine if the individual is qualified.

10. Submission Requirements instructions indicated that the Small Business Participation Plan

(SBPP) and Volume of DoD contracts within the past 12 months are to be submitted under separate cover and shall not exceed five pages. Is that five pages each for the Volume of DoD contracts and the SBPP, or five pages total?

ANSWER: This is five pages total for both the DoD contracts, and SBPP. This does not count against the required pages for the proposal.

11. For large businesses submitting for the Unrestricted IDIQ, should the electronic copies of the

SBPP and Volume of DoD contracts be put on a separate CD, or on the same CD as the SF 330 documents?

ANSWER: Yes, this shall be submitted as a separate CD.

12. In order to respond to the factors sufficiently for the government to evaluate, we request the section page count in Section H be increased from 10 pages to 25 pages.

ANSWER: The Government has determined that 10 pages is sufficient to meet the requirement.

13. In the contract information section it is stated. “If selected for negotiation, large businesses will be required to submit subcontracting plans that address small business utilization and provide maximum practicable opportunities to Small Business (SB), Veteran‐Owned Small Business (VOSB) , Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUB Zone), Small Disadvantaged, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Historically Black College University (HBCU) or Minority Institutions (MI) and Women‐Owned Small Businesses (WOSB). If USACE finds a prospective contractor to be non‐compliant with their subcontracting plans on previous contracts, the contractor may not be eligible for award under this synopsis. Small businesses are not required to submit subcontracting plans as part of their response. The subcontracting plan is not required with this submittal, but will be required with the fee proposal of the large firms selected.” However, the SBPP appears to be a requirement submitted under separate cover in Section 4, SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS. Please clarify if a SBPP is required as part of the solicitation response and if contracting goals for the various small business classifications has been established.

ANSWER: Per the synopsis, a SBPP is required. We will request additional information, such as a subcontracting plan, if the large firm is selected. All small business contracting goals are well‐ known to the AE community, and have been provided on numerous occasions by our Small Business manager for the District.

14. Regarding the Secondary Criteria, (1) Small Business Participation Plan, will the Government rate any of the Small Business Set‐Aside categories more favorably, or higher, than other categories?

In other words, does a SBVOSB goal get a higher rating than an SDB goal, or vice versa?

ANSWER: All small business categories are weighted equally.

15. The key disciplines listed in Factor 2 are not comprehensive to the areas of technical competence in Factor 1. For example, a chemist discipline is not included to support the analytical chemistry technical competency. Additionally, management and other organizational components of a contract program team are not listed. We greatly appreciate if the key disciplines can be clarified and defined.

ANSWER: Key disciplines have been reviewed and some removed and new ones added. This is all the information that is to be provided by the Government. An experienced AE Contractor should be familiar with what is required to consider the individuals qualified. The key personnel are as follows: Project Manager, Civil/Environmental Engineer (PE), Geologist (PG), Environmental/NEPA Planner, Cost Estimator (such as CCE, CCP, etc.), Land Surveyor (PLS), Certified Health Physicist, and Certified Industrial Hygienist. Additional personnel will be requested, when the firms are selected during the fee proposal phase.

16. Factor 1. Please provide additional context for (2) Industrial Waste: What industries are being targeted? Is this for management of industrial waste at an active facility?

ANSWER: This is just an example given to the prospective bidders to guide them in the direction of what the Government is looking for. It is not a requirement.

17. Factor 2. Would the government consider adding Program Manager and Project Managers as

Key Personnel?

ANSWER: Yes, it has been added. See #15.

18. Factor 3. Is the government looking for all Past Performance information to be presented in

Section H? Can backup information be presented in an appendix since the CPARS information gathering process is a significant administrative effort with less than thirty (30) days until submittal?

ANSWER: No. Please provide a few. If the Government determines that additional are required, they will pull them from PPIRS themselves.

19. Based on the thanksgiving holiday and significance of questions inquired, we request the government consider providing an extension to the response due date until January 15, 2018.

ANSWER: Due to the need to get this awarded in early 2018, no time extension is granted.

20. Factor 1 states "Firms shall provide projects demonstrating their experience in the types of projects and products as described and show specialized experience of the proposed team in provision of the services noted above.", however, there is no mention of the number of projects required. Please confirm whether there is a minimum or maximum number of projects that should be provided in the SF330.

ANSWER: See answer to question #1.

21. Will there be a ProjNet Bidder Inquiry site set up for this solicitation or should we just email questions directly to you?

ANSWER: No.

22. Will the District be looking for a Management Approach in Section H?

ANSWER: Please provide what is required under the rules for a SF 330.

23. In Factor 2 ‐ Professional Qualifications, will only the disciplines listed be evaluated? What about additional disciplines typically necessary to execute HTRW projects appropriately, would these be evaluated?

ANSWER: See answer in question #15.

24. Factor 1 states “Firms shall provide projects demonstrating their experience in the types of projects and products as described and show specialized experience of the proposed team in provision of the services noted above.”, however, there is no mention of the number of projects required. Please confirm whether there is a minimum or maximum number of projects that should be provided in the SF330.

ANSWER: See question #1.

25. Are there any restrictions on the projects such as year completed / age, or number of projects we can submit in total, or number per teaming partner if in a JV / team?

ANSWER: See question #1 and #2.

26. Are there any restrictions on submitting on multiple pools as a team? For example submitting as a SB prime and submitting as a sub to a large business for the UR pool?

ANSWER: We cannot provide guidance, at Contractor’s discretion.

27. Can 11x17 pages be used and will they count as 1 or 2 pages?

ANSWER: Anything larger than an 81/2 X 11 is considered more than one page.

28. In Section F, can we use ID/IQ contracts as well as projects?

ANSWER: Please follow what is required under that section of a SF 330.

29. Will you evaluate Factor 1 based on only the Section F projects or will you also consider information in Section H?

ANSWER: We will consider all applicable information.

30. Will you evaluate Factor 2 Professional Qualifications based on only on the Section E resumes or will you also consider information in Section H?

ANSWER: We will consider all applicable information.

31. Submission Requirements: Please confirm that the printed/bound binders are as follows:

a. Binder 1: Parts I and II (including Factors 1‐5)

b. Binder 2: Part I (Factors 6‐7)

ANSWER: At Contractor’s discretion.

32. Submission Requirements: Please confirm that the total Part I page limit is 130 pages including 115 pages for Sections A through G, 10 pages for Section H, and 5 pages for the SBPP and Volume of DoD contracts combined.

ANSWER: No, the total is 125 because the 5 pages are to be submitted under separate cover, per the directions in the synopsis.

33. Factor 2 – Key Personnel/resumes: The solicitation lists 10 key personnel. Can additional personnel be proposed and resumes submitted?

ANSWER: Submission is at the Contractor’s discretion.

34. Factor 3 – Past Performance: Please advise as where “other information” provided by the firm should be provided.

ANSWER: It should be provided per the requirements under a SF 330.