Question and Responses Clarification.docx

Question 1: Can the government clarify the anticipated workload distribution across the primary and satellite sites, specifically the expected number of task orders and their scope per location annually?

Response: See Section 2.3 of the PWS for estimates.

Question 2: What is the expected duration and scope of the transition period for existing services, and are there any specific systems or processes that require immediate handover?

Response: Please see 2.10 of the PWS. There are no specific systems or processes that require immediate handover. All task orders issued subsequent to award will be handled by the incoming Contractor and will be awarded 30 days or more after contract award.

Question 3: Can the government specify if there are any historical metrics or KPIs related to emergency response times that should guide the contractor’s performance?

Response: Please see 3.7 of the PWS.

Question 4: Are there any preferred or mandatory manufacturers for the cabling materials (e.g., CAT6, fiber optics), or is the contractor free to choose provided they meet the TIA/EIA specified standards?

Response: The contractor may utilize any manufacturer that meets all requirements and applicable standards of the U.S. Army.

Question 5: Can you confirm the specific cabling standards (e.g., BICSI RCDD or others) required for testing and installation in each of the listed geographic locations?

Response: See Section 4.2.1 which applies to all of the geographic locations.

Question 6: Are the specified cable colors (e.g., blue for CorpsNet, green for RDE, purple for WAPs) mandatory, or can alternative colors be used if pre-approved?

Response: These cable colors are mandatory unless the government explicitly requests different cable colors.

Question 7: What is the expected timeline for submission of updated electronic drawings after modifications to the cabling infrastructure?

Response: Drawings must be provided within 90 days of task order completion. Sample Task Order PWS Section 3.0 has been revised.

Question 8: Can the government provide details on any anticipated restrictions or specific access requirements for the satellite locations, particularly those in secure or remote areas?

Response: See section 2.8.

Question 9: Are there any anticipated upgrades to the existing infrastructure that may affect the contract scope during the performance period?

Response: No.

Question 10: Regarding the migration to the new fiber ring, are there existing as-built documents available to guide the transition process for individual buildings?

Response: Section 3.0 addresses the fiber ring. There is no guarantee that as-built drawings or other documentation exists for each individual building, although some documentation does exist and the path of the fiber ring is documented. The path of the fiber ring is documented. As-built drawings or other documentation may/or may not exist for each individual building Question 11: How will the government handle support and replacement for legacy systems (e.g., older PBX systems and outdated security systems) that are no longer supported by the manufacturer?

Response: The Contractor is required to support all legacy systems through repair, maintenance and upgrade as needed, regardless of the status of manufacturer support for the system.

Question 12: For emergency repair tasks at satellite sites, are there penalties for delays if local weather or access restrictions impede response times?

Response: If access to the site is closed or restricted by the government due to weather or other reasons, there are no penalties. In those cases, response time begins at the time the site is cleared for access by the Contractor.

Question 13: Is certification required for all listed systems (e.g., Pelco, Bosch) prior to award, or can these be obtained post-award during the transition phase?

Response: Please see Section 4.1.2 of Section L. Proof of certifications is required prior to award.

Question 14: Can the government confirm the full list of government-furnished equipment (e.g., WAPs, ceiling tiles) and clarify whether it will include specialized tools or vehicles for on-site tasks, or if all such equipment is expected to be contractor-provided? Additionally, will spares be supplied for contingency purposes?

Response: Please see BASE PWS Section 2.7.

Question 15: Are there specific models or configurations for distribution switches or patch panels that the government prefers or mandates for compatibility with existing infrastructure?

Response: Any specific models or configurations will be identified at the task order level.

Question 16: For satellite sites, are there any conditions under which the 24-hour response time can be extended (e.g., extreme weather or inaccessible areas)?

Response: If access to the site is closed or restricted by the government due to weather or other reasons, the response time is extended and begins at the time the site is cleared for access by the Contractor.

Question 17: Are there any specific penalties or deductions outlined for failing to meet response time or performance thresholds?

Response: Please see BASE PWS Section 6.3.

Question 18: Can the government clarify the expected timeline for final acceptance of the Building 9000 wiring deliverables once all testing is complete?

Response: Sample Task Order section 3.0 has been revised.

Question 19: Will contractors require pre-approval for all personnel accessing secure or restricted areas, and what is the timeline for such approvals?

Response: Pre-approval is required within a 3 business day timeline.

Question 20: Can the government confirm if the identified task order requirements will include fixed-price deliverables for non-emergency maintenance tasks?

Response: Task Orders will consist of Firm Fixed price deliverables for labor and cost deliverable for Other allowable Direct Costs and travel . See Sections H.3, Section L Paragraph 4.3 Question 21: What are the specific evaluation criteria for task order proposals? Will past performance carry more weight than technical expertise?

Response: Please see Section L 2.0 and 2.1.

Question 22: Should all deliverables, such as electronic drawings or schematics, adhere strictly to MicroStation standards, or will alternative formats like AutoCAD be acceptable?

Response: Both MicroStation and AutoCAD are acceptable. BASE PWS Sections 3.1 and 3.2 have been revised.

Question 23: Can the government provide a prioritized list of expected task orders for the first year to assist in resource planning and allocation?

Response: The award will be an IDIQ type contract. This is used to acquire supplies and/or services when the exact times and/or quantities of future deliveries are not known at the time of contract award. Future requirements cannot be determined by the government at this time. In FY24, approximately 13 task orders were issued (9 – Vicksburg MS; 2 – Champaign, IL; 2 – Hanover NH.)

Question 24: What specific deliverables are required during the transition period, and what is the duration of this period?

Response: Please see response to Question 2 above.

Question 25: Document, “08.02_Attachment A Labor Category Pricing Template”, lists only 4 labor categories to be priced: Telecommunications Mechanic I, Telecommunications Mechanic II, Telephone Lineman, Cable Splicer, Other (if applicable). What are the historic labor categories billed under this contract?

Response: The listed labor categories are the historic labor categories for this contract.

Question 26: Document, “08.02_Attachment A Labor Category Pricing Template”, lists only 4 labor categories to be priced: Telecommunications Mechanic I, Telecommunications Mechanic II, Telephone Lineman, Cable Splicer, Other (if applicable). Is it only these 4, or is the “Other” category used as well?

Response: Attachment A Labor Category Pricing Template has been updated.

Question 27: Document, “08.02_Attachment A Labor Category Pricing Template”, lists only 4 labor categories to be priced: Telecommunications Mechanic I, Telecommunications Mechanic II, Telephone Lineman, Cable Splicer, Other (if applicable). Can you provide a full list of all labor categories that have been historically utilized over the last 4 years?

Response: The listed labor categories are the historic labor categories for this contract.

Question 28: Document, “08.02_Attachment A Labor Category Pricing Template”, lists only 4 labor categories to be priced: Telecommunications Mechanic I, Telecommunications Mechanic II, Telephone Lineman, Cable Splicer, Other (if applicable). Can you provide the historic utilization of each of the different labor categories by the number of labor hours per year on average?

Response: This information is not available.

Question 29: Document, “08.02_Attachment A Labor Category Pricing Template”, lists only 4 labor categories to be priced: Telecommunications Mechanic I, Telecommunications Mechanic II, Telephone Lineman, Cable Splicer, Other (if applicable). What is the average number of FTEs billed per year on the current contract?

Response: This information is not available.

Question 30: Document, “08.02_Attachment A Labor Category Pricing Template”, lists only 4 labor categories to be priced: Telecommunications Mechanic I, Telecommunications Mechanic II, Telephone Lineman, Cable Splicer, Other (if applicable). Historically, how many personnel are typically full-time dedicated to this contract?

Response: This information is not available.

Question 31: PWS 2.11 [page 7 of 15] Contractor Program Management, states, “The Contractors Program Manager will be available for meetings at the ITL, Vicksburg, MS ERDC site given a 48-hour notice. Contract administration and management functions shall not be billed as a direct cost.” Can the Program Manager also be one of the above labor categories in Attachment A?

Response: The PWS states the Contract administration and management functions shall not be billed as a direct cost.

The government assumes this question is asking if program management functions can be dually performed by direct cost labor category positions. If so, it is up to the vendor to develop an approach to meet the requirements of the solicitation.

Question 32: PWS 2.11 [page 7 of 15] Contractor Program Management, states, “The Contractors Program Manager will be available for meetings at the ITL, Vicksburg, MS ERDC site given a 48-hour notice. Contract administration and management functions shall not be billed as a direct cost.” If the Program Manager can also be one of the above labor categories in Attachment A, can they only bill this labor rate when they are performing technical tasks, or can they bill when managing their team? Or, in the condition above, can the Program Manager bill all hours supporting the contract in any capacity?

Response: See Response to Question 31.

Question 33: PWS 2.11 [page 7 of 15] Contractor Program Management, states, “The Contractors Program Manager will be available for meetings at the ITL, Vicksburg, MS ERDC site given a 48-hour notice. Contract administration and management functions shall not be billed as a direct cost.” If the Program Manager cannot be one of the above labor categories, but is still required to travel at an undisclosed (or infinite) number of times to Vicksburg MS within 48 hours, yet cannot be direct billed to this contract, how are contractor to cover such costs in this proposal?

Response: See Response to Question 31.

Question 34: PWS 2.11 [page 7 of 15] Contractor Program Management, states, “The Contractors Program Manager will be available for meetings at the ITL, Vicksburg, MS ERDC site given a 48-hour notice. Contract administration and management functions shall not be billed as a direct cost.” On average per year, how often is the Program Manager required to be in Vicksburg in person?

Response: Currently, the PM is in Vicksburg in person approximately 1-2 times per month on average based on ongoing activities and complexities.

Question 35: PWS 2.14 [page 7 of 15] Other Direct Costs (ODCs), states, “ODCs are expected to be provided by the contractor during the performance of this contract. ODCs include cost items such as Supplies, Materials, etc.” Can you please provide details on what Supplies and Materials, etc. you are referring to in this PWS section? These are broad terms and seem to contradict other sections of the PWS such as PWS 2.7 suggests the Govt will provide some “materials”, while 2.14, 3.1-3.9 suggests the contractor is to provide all “materials” such as wire, cable, circuits, etc.

Response: The Contractor is required to supply all supplies, materials, tools and vehicles other than what is explicitly stated in each task order as to be provided by the government. In a typical task order, the government will provide any required switches, wireless access points, and ceiling tiles – with remaining materials to be provided by the contractor.

Section 2.7 GFE is trying to capture all materials/equipment/vehicles the vendor would need to actually accomplish the work… hammers, safter hats, etc. These items will never “remain with the government” after project completion and are not specific to an individual task order.

Section 2.14 ODC is articulating there will be supplies materials etc. during performance of a task order that WILL remain with the government and/specific to that effort. These items will be included as ODCs. These ODCs are expected to be needed in the accomplishment of PWS Sections 3.1-3.9.

Question 36: PWS 2.14 [page 7 of 15] Other Direct Costs (ODCs), states, “ODCs are expected to be provided by the contractor during the performance of this contract. ODCs include cost items such as Supplies, Materials, etc.” Are rental machineries such as lifts, directional bore, trenchers, manhole installation and maintenance equipment, bucket trucks, dump trucks, earth moving equipment, etc. considered ODCs? If yes, how would contractors possibly price such items in the labor rates provided? Or will the Govt allow contractors to bill for such equipment as needed?

Response: Rental machineries including those listed are to be provided by the contractor and included in the proposal for each task order including rates and number of hours needed.

Question 37: Regarding Solicitation Paragraph H.3 [page 21 of 64], can the Government confirm that any materials, specialized equipment/machinery, or 3rd party specialty support like OEM support, required to be provided by the Contractor will be reimbursable at Cost plus DCAA-approved Indirect rate?

Response: That is correct.

Question 38: PWS 2.7 [page 3 of 15] Government Furnished Equipment/Materials, is there any GFE at all provided by the Govt such as vehicles, specialized tooling or software, etc., if so, would you please identify what it is?

Response: Please see BASE PWS Section 2.7. Specific GFE will be identified at the task order level.

Question 39: PWS 4.2.5 [page 11 of 15], states, “The contractor shall be manufacturer trained and authorized distributor to install and maintain Monitor Dynamics (MD) IDS equipment, including but not limited to head-end equipment, motion sensors, software and firewall upgrades, and workstation hardware.” Why must the contractor be an authorized distributor? Isn’t being manufacturer trained sufficient?

Response: BASE PWS Section 4.2.5 has been revised to remove the requirement for an authorized distributor.

Question 40: PWS 3.5 [page 7 of 15], Telephone Private Branch Exchange (PBX) activities, states, “Provide labor, equipment, and materials for installation/maintenance/troubleshooting/ repair/testing/removal of PBX systems and components including hardware, programming, cabinets/enclosures, internal boards/cards, cabling, wire connections, and power. While the majority of the phones on the ERDC campuses are now VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), there are still some instances of specialized PBX systems. This includes the support of the Avaya PBX system for the USACE Reachback Operations Center (UROC) on the Vicksburg campus consisting of an Avaya G650 with two Avaya G450s, support of an Avaya Partner system in Building 3297 on the Vicksburg campus that is used for phone, intercom, and emergency notification; removal of legacy lines and equipment for decommissioned Avaya systems; and support of any new PBX systems which come online. Includes support of other analog systems such as fire alarms, elevator phones, faxes, POTS lines, remote monitoring systems, secure terminal equipment (STE) phones, and intercom systems, all of which use the copper cabling infrastructure.” This section states the Govt wants support from an Avaya Partner. Is the Govt requiring proof in the proposal submission that the contractor is indeed an Avaya Partner authorized to support such systems for Federal Government customers? If so, Avaya will actually produce a letter stating that such contractors are authorized by Avaya for such support. This is the only legitimate way to provide contractors are actual authorized Avaya Partners. Is that letter specifically what the Government is looking for as evidence of Avaya Partner status?

Response: This section does not require proof that the Contractor is an “Avaya Partner”. The words “Avaya Partner” in this section refer to a specific type of intercom system called “Avaya Partner”.

Question 41: H.1 Ordering Methods [page 21 of 64], states, “The contracting officer will order the supplies/services hereunder by the issuance of task orders using SF Form 33. Orders may be firm-fixed-price (FFP) for labor and/or cost-reimbursable (Cost) for travel, training, or other direct costs or a combination thereof. All orders shall be issued on a SF Form 33, and the orders shall incorporate the terms and conditions of this contract.” If labor is FFP and the contractor estimates a certain number of hours and the actual number of hours is less than estimated, does the contractor price remain firm fixed even if the contractor recognizes some labor savings?

Response: Any cost savings recognized under the Labor CLIN do not have to be returned to the government. All task order proposals will be evaluated to ensure proposed costs across all CLINs align with the technical approach and appear realistic to accomplish the effort. This evaluation process will ensure the Labor CLINs are not overestimated to make profit and/or underestimated to increase performance risk. If the government feels the proposal these situations exists, it will enter into negotiations and revised proposals will be requested.

Question 42: There are 4 SCA “B08.02_Attachment C’s” in this solicitation. Each of the 4 wage determinations provides a different rate for the same labor category. How are contractors to propose 1 single rate for each labor category, when the cost of labor varies by over 30% based on which geographic wage determination is required?

Response: See note: If employees are stationed at other locations the rate will be calculated using difference between the Wage Determination of the position in Vicksburg vs. the location the employee will be stationed. This does not include travel to the location. Only if the employee is stationed at the location in which the percentage of the difference will be applied. (I will clarify this more) Question 43: Page 59 Sections 2.0 Basis for Award & Sections 2.1 Relative Importance of Factors – Can the Government clarify if more weight or credit will be given towards Factor 1 – Technical Approach, Factor 2 Management Plan, Factor 3 Past Performance or Factor 4 Price – or is the Government considering weighing all sections equally?

Response: We will revise Section M, paragraph 2.1 to read “The non-price factors are listed in order of decreasing importance: 1) Technical Approach, 2) Management Plan, and 3) Past Performance. All non-price factors, when combined, are significantly more important than price. To receive consideration for award, a rating of no less than “Acceptable” must be achieved for the Factors 1 and 2. Offerors will be cautioned that the award may not necessarily be made to the lowest price offered.”

Question 44: Is there a more detailed scope of work to include specific drop counts and details about the data closets and specifics about the fiber.

Response: All details such as this will be included in each individual task order.

Question 45: Is there a construction plan and detail about the scope/ buildings and schedule expected for the awarded contractor?

Response: These plans and details are provided at the task order level.

Question 46: We are interesting in participate in this project and I would like to schedule a walk through if is possible. Please let me know any date for next week.

Response: We can support this if needed. The instructions for a site visit is listed in Section L of the solicitation.

Questions 47: Can the Government clarify what PWS sections are required to develop a response for the Management Plan?

In Section M – Evaluation Factors for Award Factor II – Management Plan, the Management Approach: (Page 60) The offeror will be evaluated on the ability to demonstrate a sound management approach to meet the requirements of the BASE PWS sections 2.0 – 2.9, 2.11, and 2.12:

2.1 Non-Personal Services

2.2 Business Relations

2.3 Contract Administration and Management

2.4 Personnel Administration

2.5 Employee Conduct

2.6 Contractor Personnel, Disciplines, and Specialties

2.7 Government Furnished Equipment/Materials

2.8 Clearance

2.9 AT/OPSEC Requirements

2.11 Contractor Program Management

2.12 Place of Performance)

describing procedures for planning, executing and administering the entire effort

The section requests that offers Demonstrate clear and effective processes for:

a) budgeting and expending hours and dollars,

b) identifying expenditure and schedule problems,

c) tracking and measuring performance, and

d) providing timely detailed performance status Response: The Management Plan is for the entire PWS.

Questions 48: Can the Government clarify that the sections above are what is required to develop a response for the Management Plan or is the Government expecting the Management Plan be developed from other sections?

Response: The Management Plan is for the entire PWS.

Question 49: Do we need to be on GSA Schedule for the ERDC Communications Contract in Vicksburg MS?

Response: No.

Question 50: Secondly will there be multiple awardees or will this be awarded to one company?

Response: This requirement will be awarded to one company.

Question 51: Our proposal is larger than the maximum size allowable by the email server. Our recommendation is to send it in three separate emails split up by volumes. Will this be ok?

Response: Yes, that will be okay.

Question 53: Are we able to send the proposal to your email?

Response: See Section L for the instructions of submitting proposals.