A07_Attachment_2_-_QASP.pdf

Army National Military Cemeteries

Return of Native American Remains

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Subject para

1. Overview 1

2. Description of Tasks 1

3. Roles and Responsibilities 1

4. Contract Quality Requirements 2

5. Government Surveillance 2

6. Non-Conforming Performance 3

7. Data Analysis 4

8. Acceptance of Work 4

9. Monthly COR Activity Report 4

10. Contractor Manpower Reporting (CMR) 4

11. Quality Assurance Surveillance File 4

12. Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) 5

13. Record Retention 5

14. QASP Changes 5

1. OVERVIEW

1.1 Purpose. The purpose of this plan is to identify the methods and procedures the Government will use to ensure it receives the work/products under this contract as identified in the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

1.2 Intent. The intent of this plan is to hold the Contractor accountable for quality control and to encourage the Contractor to take appropriate steps to control and improve quality. Contractor is responsible to develop an efficient methodology to ensure they meet and/or exceed the required thresholds of work as outlined in this acquisition. The Government intends to perform surveillance on this contract in accordance with this Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), but reserves the right to monitor the contract in any manner necessary, at any times necessary, and at all places necessary to ensure that the rendered work conforms to contract requirements. The Government reserves the right to perform quality assurance at the subcontract level and perform quality assurance at the Contractor's place of business, if applicable. Non-conforming tasks discovered with subcontractors will be addressed with the prime Contractor for resolution.

2. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

2.1 Scope of Work.

The Contractor shall provide all necessary labor, materials, equipment and other services, as required to store, transport and inter the remains of Native American Children interred at the Carlisle Barracks Post Cemetery in Carlisle, PA in accordance with the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

2.2 Contract. This is an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) service contract with the basic FAR 52.246-12 Inspection of Construction contract clause. FAR 52.246-12 requires the Contractor to maintain a Quality Control Inspection system which is acceptable to the Government.

3. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

Contracting Officer (KO) - A person duly appointed with the authority to enter into, administer and terminate contracts on behalf of the Government. The KO is the only person who can legally commit the Government and only the KO, as the Government’s agent, can modify the contract/order. The KO is the final authority for determining the adequacy of the Contractor’s performance. KO decisions arising under or relating to the contact are final.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) – An individual designated in writing by the KO to perform specific technical and administrative functions within the scope and limitations of their written appointment (e.g., surveillance of Contractor’s performance, accept services). The COR is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or authorize any changes to the order/contract or in any way obligate additional funds by the Government; such authority rests solely with the KO.

4. CONTRACT QUALITY REQUIREMENTS

4.1. Quality Control Program. The Contractor's Quality Control Program requirements are defined in Part 1.4.1 through 1.4.3 of the PWS. The Contractor shall develop, maintain, enforce and document a Quality Control Plan (QCP) which complies with the requirements of this contract and outlines how they will ensure the Government will receive all the tasks required by the contract at the specified quality level.

4.2. Government Quality Assurance. The Government will perform Quality Assurance oversight of the Contractor and Contractor’s QCP IAW with this QASP to ensure acceptable levels of contract performance are achieved and that the Contractor is performing acceptable levels of Quality Control to ensure fully acceptable tasks are provided.

5. GOVERNMENT SURVIELLANCE

5.1. Methods of Surveillance include but are not limited to: (See Technical Exhibit 1:

Performance Requirements Summary for detailed performance objectives and method of surveillance.

• 100% Inspection - Reserved for the highest risk areas where consequence of failure is high (i.e. life or limb are threatened) or there is likelihood of mission failure.

• Random Sampling - When a service is performed relatively frequently and a statistically valid sample can be selected for audit. The most appropriate method for frequently recurring tasks.

• Periodic Sampling - Planned sampling of a service at specific predetermined dates and times. May be appropriate for tasks that occur infrequently.

• Customer Feedback – Not necessarily a valid method of surveillance but a good indicator for areas surveillance should be conducted or intensified.

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 1

Return of Native American Remains

Contract Performance Requirements Summary

Performance Objective (The Service required—usually a shall statement)

Standard Performance Threshold (This is the maximum error rate. It could possibly be “Zero deviation from standard”)

Method of Surveillance

5.2. Monthly Surveillance Schedule. The COR will develop a schedule of surveillance activities based on the Performance Standards as outlined in the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) as well as any other critical contractual requirements determined to be higher risk requiring oversight. The surveillance outlined in the monthly schedule will be as detailed and in-depth as necessary to provide the Government with the objective quality evidence required to support acceptance of the tasks provided by the Contractor. The schedule will provide planned periodic surveillance during all required hours of the Contractor’s operation.

The schedule is “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY” and is not releasable to anyone other than authorized Government personnel. The schedule will identify the method of surveillance, the date of inspection, place of inspection, activity to be monitored, and who will conduct the surveillance (dates and times can be altered without a formal change to the schedule as long as

PRS # 1.

Funeral Home and transportation of remains from Carlisle Barracks Post

Cemetery.

The Contractor shall provide a Federally licensed Funeral Home to take possession of the remains for temporary storage and transportation at the Carlisle Barracks Post Cemetery.

Zero Deviation from Standard

100% inspection

PRS # 2

Casket and transportation items

The Contractor shall provide a casket and associated items as described in Part 4 of this PWS.

Zero Deviation from Standard

100% inspection

PRS # 3

Transportation of remains

The Contractor shall ensure that the remains are transported from Carlisle Barracks to their destination in accordance with Federal Trade Commission (FTC Funeral Rule) and State regulations for Funeral Service Providers.

Zero Deviation from Standard

100% inspection

PRS # 4

Funeral Home and interment services

The Contractor shall provide a Federally licensed Funeral Home to temporary store, transport and reinter the remains at the destination.

Zero Deviation from Standard

Random sample

PRS #5

Funeral Home vehicle and driver

Funeral Home services will include a vehicle such as a Hearse and an appropriately dressed driver in accordance with paragraph 5.1.4

Zero Deviation from Standard

Random sample all inspections are performed). The DA Form 5475-R (COR/QAE Surveillance Schedule) http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5475.PDF may be tailored to be used for this purpose.

The monthly schedule will be completed no later than seven calendar days prior to the beginning of the period it covers and a copy forwarded to the KO for information and review.

5.3. Inspection instructions/checklists. The COR will develop inspection instructions/checklists for all planned inspections which may require special instructions on how to perform the inspection, what observations should be made with specific details of what to look for acceptable performance. The Surveillance Activity Checklists, DA Form 5476 http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5476.PDF may be tailored to be used for this purpose.

5.4. Documentation of Inspections. All inspections/observations will be documented and will include as a minimum date and time, who performed the inspection, what was inspected, to what standard and the results. Successful or exceptional performance will be documented as well as deficiencies in Contractor performance. Documentation will be maintained for future reference, audit purposes, proof of inspection and past performance documentation. The Tally Checklist DA Form 5481 http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5481.PDF may be tailored to be used for this purpose.

6. Non-Conforming Performance. The COR will notify the Contractor, in person, each time an unacceptable observation has been recorded and ask the Contractor to correct the problem or re-accomplish the tasks. The COR will record the contract requirement, the specific deficiency to the requirement, the date and time it was discovered, and have the Contractor initial the entry.

The Contractor will be given a time line after notification to correct the deficiency in accordance with requirements of the contract. Deficiencies that cannot be corrected within the identified time line will be reported to the Contracting Officer. Again the Tally Checklist DA Form 5481 http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5481.PDF may be used for this purpose.

6.1. Customer Feedback. For customer feedback or complaints it is recommended that the Customer Complaint Record DA Form 5477 http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5477.PDF be used. However customer feedback can be in any form, verbal or written but no matter the format the COR will maintain a record of the feedback positive or negative.

a. If immediate response to a complaint is required, the COR will provide the response to the requester as soon as practical.

b. The COR will conduct an investigation to determine the validity of any negative comments.

c. If the negative comment is determined not to be valid, if possible, the COR will inform customer of the reason(s) as soon as practical.

d. For validated negative comments that are true contractual non-conformances see paragraph 6.

If this non-conformance is a more serious (systemic in nature) deficiency or recurring deficiency that could indicate a trend the COR should see paragraph 6.2.

http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5475.PDF http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5476.PDF http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5481.PDF http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5481.PDF http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5477.PDF

e. The COR will follow up with the customer of the corrective action taken by the Contractor, if applicable.

6.2. Contract Deficiency Reports. The COR will report more serious (systemic in nature) deficiencies or recurring deficiencies that could indicate a trend by using the DA Form 5479-R, Contract Discrepancy Report http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5479.PDF . The Contract Discrepancy Report will state the Contract Requirement, the specific contract reference and the specific violation (s) to the requirement. The COR will forward copies of Contract Discrepancy Reports to the KO within one working day. The KO will notify the Contractor and request corrective action to the specific non-conformance, identification of the root cause and corrective action for the root cause with a required suspense date. The KO may require the Contractor to re-perform any services that do not meet contract requirements at no additional cost to the Government. The Contractor will return a copy of the completed and signed DA Form 5479-R along with their Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to the KO for review, approval and inclusion in the contract/order file. The KO should include the COR in the review of the CAP and re-inspection of services that were found deficient to ensure the CAP included adequate root cause analysis, corrective action for the root cause and that it was accomplished in the timeframe agreed upon. The KO and COR will not consider the CDR closed until all deficiencies have been corrected and all agreed upon actions of the CAP have been completed. Contractor’s failure to follow through and complete corrective actions will be reported immediately to the KO for further action. (Note: if the COR has to repeatedly perform re-inspection there could be a Government re-inspection cost which could be recovered from the Contractor). The COR will also follow-up after the Contractor has completed the corrective action to ensure that the Contractor’s corrective action was sufficient to preclude recurrence.

7. Data Analysis. The COR will perform and document analysis of available data monthly and make adjustments to surveillance schedule as required based on results of analysis. Analysis shall be used to look for and document trends in performance which may indicate shifts in performance risk that could result in increased or reduced surveillance. Data can be based on Government observations or Contractor observations. Negative trends noted using Government observations could result in issuing Contractor a Contract Deficiency Report (CDR). Trends noted using Contractor data should never result in a CDR unless the Contractor is not addressing the negative trend. Documentation of data analysis will be in the Monthly COR Activity Report.

8. Acceptance of Work. When all tasks have been deemed acceptable and there is documented objective quality evidence to support acceptable performance the COR will accept the tasks provided and authorize payment upon satisfactory completion of the work. This is done by approving the Contractor’s invoice in Wide Area Workflow https://wawf.eb.mil/.

9. Monthly COR Activity Report. The COR will submit an activity report through the COR tool for review/approval by the KO. If applicable, the next month’s surveillance schedule, summary of inspections performed with results, summary of customer complaints with analysis, summary of contract discrepancies, results of data analysis, recommended adjustments to surveillance, invoices accepted and any other pertinent contract activities.

http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pdf/A5479.PDF https://wawf.eb.mil/

10. Contractor Manpower Reporting. The COR shall verify Contactor has complied with the required Contractor manpower reporting and document any observations.

11. Quality Assurance Surveillance File: The official COR Quality Assurance Surveillance File will be maintained in the on-line CORTool as a part of the Wide Area Workflow E-Business located at https://wawf.eb.mil. The Quality Assurance, or COR Surveillance file shall contain the following as applicable:

a. Copy of the COR designation letter from the KO, any changes to that letter, and any termination letters.

b. Training Certifications for COR and refresher training.

c. Copy of the contract and all contract modifications.

d. Copy of the applicable Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).

e. Copy of the Contractor’s Quality Control Plan (QCP).

f. All correspondence initiated by authorized representatives (Contractor or Government) concerning performance of the contract.

g. Names, position titles and contact information of all key personnel assigned to this contract both Government and Contractor.

h. Surveillance schedules.

i. Surveillance Checklists

j. Records of all inspections performed and the results.

k. Customer Feedback.

l. Memoranda for record of minutes of any meeting, telephone conversations and discussions with the Contractor or others pertaining to the contract or contract performance.

m. Documentation pertaining to acceptance of work, reports or data

n. Copy of applicable Federal, State, and local permits.

o. Copy of waste analysis and manifest/shipping paper.

p. Copy Analytical Soil sample results report.

q. Copy of final specification report.

r. Copy of workmanship warranty.

s. Copy of Transfer and Acceptance of DoD Real Property (Form 1354).

12. Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Documented surveillance data IAW this QASP will be used as objective data to support CPARS ratings. The inclusion of detailed documented inspection results provides objectivity to CPARS reporting.

CPARS will be accomplished annually or at the end of a Task Order whichever occurs first.

13. Record Retention. All records will be retained for the life of this contract. The COR/QAE will forward these records to the KO upon completion of the contract/order.

14. QASP Changes. The QASP is a living document and, as such, may be changed as needed.

However, the KO must approve changes. The COR will submit recommended changes to the KO for approval.

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan