D -- ORACLE DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM CONSULTING SERVICES

Notice Date

January 26, 2001

Contracting Office

Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road,Mail Stop 285, Menlo Park, CA 94025-3591

ZIP Code

94025-3591

Solicitation Number

RFP 01WRSS0006

Response Due

February 16, 2001

Point of Contact

Rita A. Leach, (650) 329-4162

E-Mail Address

Click here to contact the Contracting Officer via (rleach@usgs.gov)

Description

This notification constitutes Modification/Amendment No. 1 to the Synopsis publicized on January 9, 2001, PSA #2763. Companies shall acknowledge all amendment(s) in their offer. This notice serves as the official amendment to the subject solicitation and a written amendment will not be issued. U. S. Geological Survey, Solicitation No. 01WRSS0006, Amendment No. 1 hereby revises the full and open competition from "unrestricted" to "100% Small Business Set-Aside." Clause FAR 52.222-42 is revised to delete the words "Consultant equivalent rate $30.00/hour". The date for receipt of proposals is hereby extended to "no later than 2:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time, Friday, February 16, 2001." The purpose of this amendment is to provide questions from potential offerors and answers from the US Geological Survey. The questions and answers are as follows: (Q1) Will you be purchasing Oracle 8i, if so, when? (A1) A license for this software is being purchased; (Q2) Request says consultant must be located at GCMRC, we assume this is for installation, training, etc., and does not mean all work must done on-site. (A2) The consultant will be required to be at the GCMRC for the first phase of the contract but not for the duration. (Q3) Price estimates will be provided for each task to arrive at a per month cost, however, this is only an estimate as a final cost can not be determined until task is completes, is this correct? (A3) The USGS requires a fixed-price monthly rate for consultant services as described in the CBD synopsis and then a fixed-price hourly rate for other tasks which will be negotiated on a level of effort basis; (Q4) All consultants equivalent rate of $30.00 an hour? Does this mean this is the rate a person would be paid if they were employed by you? Or is this the maximum rate that the consultant can charge for their services? (A4) The equivalent rate is what they would be paid if they were employed by the USGS. It is not a maximum rate that the consultant can charge. (Q5) In the CBD announcement, it states "the contractor shall provide onsite troubleshooting and maintenance of the database system for the duration of the contract period", and "the consultant must be located at the GCMRC in Flagstaff, Arizona." Are all contractor personnel expected to be onsite for the duration of this contract? (A5) The consultant will be required to be at the GCMRC for the first phase of the contract but not for the duration. (Q6) Is there an existing GIS? If yes, is there a GIS contractor onsite? (A6) Yes, GCMRC has an existing ARC/INFO GIS, a full-time GIS coordinator, and a GIS assistant. There is no GIS contractor on site, nor are there any plans for one. (Q7) The announcement states in one place, "Each offeror is required to provide past performance information for same/similar services, to include two most recent contract numbers, points of contact/current telephone numbers, type service provided." The announcement states in another place, "Provide information on the offeror's experience producing similar working database models over the past 5-year period. Attach a list of at least three satisfied customers with name, address, telephone number and responsible person to contact if the Government wishes to check these references." Are these requests one in the same? (A7) Yes, these requests are one in the same. All offerors shall provide a list of the names of three satisfied customers. (Q8) The solicitation mentions applications using SAS software. Is SAS a major part of the project, or just a small subsection? (A8) SAS is not a major part of this project. One of our two hydrologists uses SAS software, both for data analysis and to store his historical water quality data dating back to about 1985. Approximately 15% of our historical data are stored in this proprietary format. Our primary need is to translate this information out of SAS and into Oracle in such a way that it can be spatially referenced in our GIS. A secondary need is to provide for a means to analyze that data using SAS. (Q9) Do you know if your organization licenses the product "SAS/Access for Oracle"? (A9) We are not currently licensed for "SAS/Access for Oracle". This may be a product we want to use in the future, in order to continue using SAS for analysis of data stored in our Oracle database. This may be a software tool that a consultant suggests we use. Other analysis tools may be useful as well. (Q10) I am trying to ascertain if it would make sense for our company to bid as a prime contractor on this project -- the "problem" is that we do SAS -- we're specialized -- and work with Oracle as it relates to SAS. What's your feeling on this? (A10) We are primarily looking for expertise in Oracle and Arc/Info, database design and application design. A properly designed database should be accessible using a variety of query and analysis tools, SAS being one of them. A specialized SAS consultant would not be an appropriate primary contractor for this project. (Q11)What level of internal resources (people) will be involved and committed to the project? (A11) GCMRC has the following staff that will be involved in this project to varying degrees: Information Technologies Director, Database Coordinator (DBA), GIS Coordinator, Biological Program Director, Physical Resources Program Director, Cultural Resources Program Director, Two Biological Scientists, Two Chemists, Two Surveyors, and a Librarian. The Database Coordinator will act as the primary technical contact committed to this project. (Q12) Are there existing external contractors now on site performing similar work? (A12) There are no existing external contractors performing similar work on site. (Q13) Are there any budget constraints? (A13) Yes, but the budget amount is not public information. (Q14) Are there any time deadlines or constraints? (A14) Project plan/time schedule should be included in proposals. Progress will be evaluated by GCMRC during the course of the contract. (Q15) What are the current methodology used for project planning, monitoring, and documentation? (A15) No strict methodology exists for planning, monitoring and documenting this type of project at GCMRC. It is expected that a project plan, developed by the consultant during the analysis phase, will result in a series of tasks, expected deliverables, and delivery dates. (Q16) What is the size of the current databases? (A16) Scientists have been collecting data in the Grand Canyon for many years, though most useful information has been collected since 1985. Actual database size in megabytes is unknown, as electronically stored data is not in one "database", and much data exists in paper form. It is expected that the consultant will develop an inventory of this existing data during the analysis phase of this project, from which will evolve a set of priorities for which data should be integrated first. (Q17) What is the status of the current support licenses for hardware, software, etc.? (A17) Software licenses are being purchased by GCMRC for the following Oracle software: Oracle 8I Enterprise Edition, 10 named users; Oracle Designer and Developer, single user; Bronze Oracle software support; Windows/2000 developer support. (Q18) When were the Oracle Databases purchased? (A18) Oracle "Databases" have never been purchased by GCMRC. (Q19) What other Oracle Products are being used/ developed/implemented (e.g. Financials/CRM/etc.)? (A19) None. (Q20) Who will handle the project management? (Q20) The consultant will be expected to handle project management. Contract management and the GCMRC Information Technologies Director and the Database Coordinator will oversee performance. (Q21) What is the basis for calculating the cost for monthly billing? (A21) The monthly charge for CLIN Item 0001 and 0002 shall be on fixed-price basis, taking into consideration all elements including travel. (Q22) Can we perform the work at our offices and download or be present when major releases and deliveries are required? (A22) GCMRC would prefer to have a database developer on site, in order to facilitate successful communication and transfer of knowledge. The GCMRC will provide work space and computer support for a consultant to do so. This is not a requirement, however proposals should be specific about the number of on-site days per month, costs, are required to successfully complete this project. Different phases of the project may necessitate different schedules. For example, it is expected that the requirements analysis phase, and the historical data inventory will necessitate a significant amount of time on-site, while application design and coding might be conducted off-site with periodic progress meetings and regular communication. (Q23) Should we not attempt the RFP if we are an out of state entity? (A23) GCMRC would like to encourage out of State consultants to submit proposals. (Q24) The announcement states: "The unit price for each period is on a per month basis. The unit price for Optional Tasks shall be on a per hour basis" For the unit price per month price, are you expecting to see level of efforts as just an average hourly rate or with labor categories and rates? (A24) The per month price should reflect a loaded price, which takes into account the average hourly rate, travel costs, overhead etc. The Optional Tasks per hour rate should reflect overhead, the various labor categories and rates, etc. (Q25) I was able to download the GCMRC Strategic Plan on your web site. In the plan, it stated the seven focus areas for the Information Technology Program. May I ask who authored that plan? (A25) The Strategic Plan was authored by the GCMRC Information Technologies Director, and approved by the Adaptive Management Workgroup. (Q26) How many contractors are they thinking about -- 1, 3, 5? (A26)Only 1 contractor will be hired for this requirement. The offeror must tell the Government how many persons they are proposing to assign to the contract. (Q27) Are all of them required to have similar skills, and similar level? (A27)The contractor shall determine the level of skills that are necessary for this requirement. (Q28) Would there be an opportunity to talk to the Technical Manager and have them interview our consultants? (A28) During the solicitation phase offerors are not to communicate with the Technical Manager. All information needs to be conveyed in the offeror's proposal. (Q29) What was the range for monthly amount per consultant -- is there a comfort range they have? (A29) The Government estimate is not public information. Offerors must submit their price proposal based on their own business decisions.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010130/DSOL003.HTM (W-026 SN50C062)