Frequent Asked Questions related to tender EU-OSHA/CPU/2013/T3

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1 Web and ICT services The Agency will be closed from 24/12/2013 until 01/01/2014 (both inclusive) Please note there was a typo on the date of opening session (see 1.8 of the technical specifications) The date of the opening session will be 24/01/2014 Frequent Asked Questions related to tender EU-OSHA/CPU/2013/T3 Question 1 On Page 40 of the Tender Specifications you request for a): - A concise company profile (maximum 1500 words), describing the tenderer s main current activities and demonstrating the ability to provide services similar to those communicated in this lot. - A description of the firm s organisational structure, including a statement of the average annual manpower and the number of managerial staff in the last three years. The tenderer must provide a description of the organisation and the hierarchy levels, as well as completing the following table (one for each tendered lot) with the appropriate categories (please note that it is provided as an example). Does the 1500 word limit apply to both these points or only the concise company profile Bullet Point 1? ANSWER 1 Question 2 ANSWER 2 Question 3 the limit of 1500 words apply to the first bullet point only, meaning the concise company profile On Page 40 of the Tender Specifications it is stated that a minimum of three years experience of projects similar to the services described in this lot, acquired in the period , for clients in the public and private sector at national/international level. In annex 5 PARFS however have the requested period as between Should 2012 In Annex 5 be corrected to 2013 instead to reflect the period ? The correct period for PARFS is The annex 5 is now corrected on the website Section 4.3 of the Technical Specifications states: "Tenderers are requested to duly complete and submit the financial proposals (included in Annex 6: Financial 1

2 proposal)". However, Annex 6 was not provided in the RAR archive. Can you please make this file available? ANSWER 3 The Annex 6 is now available on the website of the Agency Question 4 On Page 41 for Point b you request that the tenderer should provide at least 3 projects or contracts of which one should amount to a minimum for Lot 4 of 50,000 - to a maximum of 200,000 Euros. Could you please clarify if a project that is broken down into multiple specific contracts be considered as one project? ANSWER 4 A project broken in different Specific contracts could be considered as one project Question 5 ANSWER 5 For those companies belonging to a multinational-group, is it necessary to deliver a parent-letter (or similar document) with the proposal, in order to use the references and resources from the rest of the group? Please refer to section 3.2 of the technical specifications as well as sections and Annex 3 Question 6 ANSWER 6 For each lot: Will there be just a selected single provider or will a cascademethod multi-provider apply The Framework Contract(s) should be signed with a single provider Question 7 ANSWER 7 Is it possible to have a wider description for the Account Manager role requested in the RFP? Regarding the description of Account manager, please refer to the section 1.6 Question 8 ANSWER 8 The project/activity reference form (PARF) requested for each contract or project to demonstrate the tenderer s ability to deliver the services, should it be signed by the customer? Or we just need to provide the contact persons in the customer? You need to provide contact persons. The PARFs should be signed by an authorised person of the tenderer (for example legal representative) Question 9 The Specifications for tender state in section 4 "Content of the tender for each lot" that the documentation will consist of Microsoft Word documents both in digital format (USB stick) and in printed format. When detailing the number of copies of each envelope to provide, section 5 of the specifications (Presentation of the Offer) read that one electronic copy is required for envelope B and for envelope C. We undestand that no USB is required for Envelopes A1 or A2. Could you please confirm? 2

3 ANSWER 9 You understood correctly our request. There is no need of USB for the envelopes A Question 10 ANSWER 10 Question 11 Section "Technical and professional capacity" of the Specifications for tender indicates that tenderers must provide "A concise company profile (maximum 1500 words), describing the tenderer s main current activities and demonstrating the ability to provide services similar to those communicated in this lot". If the tender is delivered by a Consortium or by a main contractor and a supporting subcontracting company for example, is the mentioned limit applicable to the whole of the Consortium as such or can each partner (or subcontractor) include a 1500 words description as company profile? The limit of 1500 words does not apply to the whole group. The main contractor should have 1500 words; each member of a consortium could present a concise profile too (1500 words each). The same rule apply to each potential sub-contractor Section 6.3 "Selection Criteria" of the Specifications for tender specifies that "In the case In the case of a consortium submitting an offer, each member of the consortium must provide the required evidence. In the case of economic, technical and professional capacity (sections and 6.3.2), the evidence provided by each member of the consortium will be checked to ensure that the consortium fulfils the criteria as a whole." The final paragraph of this section under "Documents to provide in the case of tender by a consortium and/or subcontracting" exactly lists the number of documents to be provided. This list does not include all the documents listed under sections and 6.3.2, for example, it does include "a conscise company profile" but it does not include "a description of the firm's organisational structure". We understand that the documents to be provided by consortium partners and/or subcontracting companies (of more than 10% of the work) are those listed in page 42 (and matching Annex 1-1: Checklist", that is, consortium partners and/or subcontracting companies will not be providing all the documents as listed under sections and Could you please confirm our understanding is correct? ANSWER 11 Yes, you understood correctly the requirement (page 42). Question 12 ANSWER 12 Question 13 In case the subcontracting companies support the main tenderer with less than the 10% of the work, we understand that the only required document is a letter of intent by the subcontracting company undertaking to have at its disposal the resources necessary for performance of the contract, by demonstrating it has undertaken to place these resources at the disposal of the tenderer. In case of subcontracting for less than 10 %, the Annex 4 is enough On Page 30 you request that 5000 words / 12 pages are presented for describing a rather extensive bulleted list associated with Lot 4. More specifically, you request a description of the methodologies proposed for 3

4 undertaking the tasks associated with Lot 4. Given that we have documented methods which include processes and workflows for the given methodologies that are associated with Lot 4 is it possible to include an abbreviated description of these methodologies as part of an Annex which the Contracting Authority can reference. We also realise that conciseness will be appreciated. ANSWER 13 Question 14 ANSWER 14 Question 15 ANSWER 15 Question 16 ANSWER 16 As long as you respect the given limitation, you can include any information you consider relevant in your offer. Regarding the evaluation formula for the financial proposal. In section te formula score / reference price is established. We understand how the score value is calculated, but we are not able to find how the reference price value is calculated could you please help us? The reference price is the sum of yearly estimates (80%) and scenario costs (20%) for each of the lots In section 3.2 it is mentioned that if we tender in a consortium, if we are awarded we have to give a formal status to the proposed association. We are used to consortiums in other EU institutions, where consortiums are built without legal status; we are also used to spanish laws, where consortiums then adquire legal form as a UTE (Union temporal de empresas).. do you refer to this last situation or to the first one? Please refer to the section 3.2 of the technical specifications regarding the submission of an offer by a consortium In different situations, you mention that we have to follow branding guidelines for example, in Scenario 5 Lot 5: Upgrade the Microsoft Dynamics CRM and also in tasks in development, it is said that we have to follow SOHA branding guidelines can you provide more information regarding this branding? Or should we just get an idea visiting your websites? Or should we just describe how we will follow the guidelines provided by lot 1 and 2 We cannot provide you any additional information. Just browse our website and other tools related and take note of our look&feel there. Question 17 I wish to attend the opening procedure for Tender 2013/S Please can you confirm what will be required on the day? ANSWER 17 Question 18 The conditions for participation are described in the section of the technical specifications Specifications section 5.3 states: "The offer should be signed by the legal representative". From our reading of the Specifications we understand that the following components of the offer must be signed (per lot where applicable): - Covering letter, if applicable - all components where a signature is specifically indicated on the relevant form: Declaration of Exclusion Criteria; Legal Entity Form; Financial Identification Form; Checklists; PARFs; Consortium Form (if applicable); Subcontracting Form (if applicable) - each document in the Technical Proposal - Financial Proposal 4

5 Please confirm if our understanding is correct. ANSWER 18 Question 19 ANSWER 19 Question 20 ANSWER 20 Your understanding is correct On page 41 of the Specifications it is stated: "The CVs of only the staff members assigned to the tasks, as described below, will be taken into consideration in the evaluation of the tender." We cannot find the text that is indicated "as described below". The relevant text appears to be above, in section 2. Please clarify. The staff members,... as described below, are the ones listed in the table page 42. There is no reference to the account manager in section 2, and the main reference to this profile appears to be in section 1.6, therefore it is not clear if the account manager is included in "the staff members assigned to the tasks" whose CVs will be evaluated. Moreover, although on page 42 the table of profiles also refers to an "account manager", this profile does not appear among those presented in Annex 6 Financial Proposal. Consequently, please clarify if the profile of account manager equates to one of the profiles presented in Annex 6 and, if not, please clarify the purpose of providing the account manager CV in the offer. - Yes, you should send the CV of the account manager - the staff members assigned to the tasks means that the persons proposed in the CVs will be the one that will work on the project - the Account manager is in charge of the contract and administrative aspects.he will not be paid directly for the time spent on the project, that s why it is not included in Annex 6. It is the tenderer responsibility to include the cost of the Account manager and other administrative tasks in the cost of the other profiles. Question 21 ANSWER 21 Question 22 On page 41 of the Specifications it is stated that for each CV: "maximum two pages per team member". The Europass CV template is also stipulated. Given that the Europass template already occupies one and a half pages when empty, it will be difficult to provide a meaningful CV in only two pages. Please can you reconsider the maximum size? Will you accept CVs presented in a previous version of the Europass template? Does the maximum size also apply to the account manager CV? The CVS should be kept as short as possible but reflecting the experience and relevant qualifications. This applies to all profiles. Please respect the format of Europass as stated p 41. On page 42 with regard to documents to be provided by a subcontractor, it is stated, without reference to the volume of work undertaken by the subcontractor: "Each subcontractor should present proof of exclusion criteria, economic, technical and professional capacity ". Similarly, section 3.3 states: "If the identity of the intended subcontractor(s) is already known at the time of submitting the tender, all subcontractors must provide the required evidence for the exclusion and selection criteria." However, in Annex 1-1, this evidence is only requested "In case of subcontracting of more than 10% of the work". 5

6 ANSWER 22 Question 23 ANSWER 23 Question 24 ANSWER 24 Please clarify if all subcontractors must submit the required evidence, or only those undertaking more than 10% of the work. The tenderer must clearly indicate which parts of the work will be subcontracted, and give the identity of all subcontractors undertaking more than 10 % of the work by value. Each of those subcontractors should submit the required evidence. The evidence required from subcontractors includes 2 PARFs. Are these PARFs in addition to the PARFs provided by the tenderer or do they form part of the same set of maximum 5 PARFs? The subcontractors Parfs come in addition to the ones presented by the tenderer On page 42 with regard to documents to be provided by a consortium, it is stated: "The evidence provided by each member of the consortium will be checked to ensure that the consortium as a whole fulfils the criteria." On that page, the criteria for economic capacity mention only "statement of overall turnover and turnover for the last three years" and those for technical and professional capacity mention only "concise company profile" and "list of main clients". This is also reflected in the checklist provided in Annex 1-1 (the consortium section entitled "In case of consortium, each member must provide"). However, section 6.3 states: "In the case of a consortium submitting an offer, each member of the consortium must provide the required evidence", and the evidence listed in that section additionally includes financial statements for economic capacity, and PARFs and CVs for technical and professional capacity. These latter elements are only shown in the first section of the Annex 1 1 checklist, not in the consortium section. 1- Please clarify if consortium members can supply CVs and PARFs in the tender.if so, we also assume that a PARF must be signed by the consortium member providing it and not by the consortium leader; please confirm. 2- Please clarify if consortium members should submit financial statements. 3- Please clarify if the first section of the Annex 1 1 checklist should be completed on behalf of only the consortium leader, rather than on behalf on the tendering group (the consortium). - Similarly, we presume that, if the tender is submitted by a consortium, the Envelope A documents listed in the Annex 1-0 checklist should be completed only by the consortium leader; please confirm. 1- The documents to be submitted by a consortium member are clearly listed at the end of the section page 42 as well as in the checklist 1.1 under the section dedicated to Consortium: Consortium: Each member of the consortium must provide evidence for: o Exclusion criteria and administrative data. o Economic capacity (statement of overall turnover and turnover for the last three years). o Technical and professional capacity (concise company profile, list of main clients). The evidence provided by each member of the consortium will be checked to ensure that the consortium as a whole fulfils the criteria. 2- Please see the previous answer 3- the first part of the checklist should be completed by the tenderer. In case of consortium, it could be the leader 4-2 envelops A are requested (A1 and A2) See the section 5.4 and the checklists 1.0 and 1.1 6

7 Question 25 ANSWER 25 Question 26 ANSWER 26 Question 27 ANSWER 27 Question 28 ANSWER 28 On page 41 of the Specifications it is stated: "At least one PARF must relate to a project with a values of", followed by maximum and minimum values per lot. 1- For absolute clarity, please advise if this means that this range is preferred for all PARFs. 2- Does this range relate to the "Total value of the project..." or the "Value of the project related to the services requested in this call and executed by the tenderer..." stated on the PARF template? 1- We are requested at least 1 PARF corresponding to the values of the page 41. You are free to present more PARFs of these values. 2- The range refers to the value of projects related to the services requested in this call and executed by the tenderer Specifications section 3.2 states: "Tenders from consortia of firms or groups of providers, contractors or suppliers must specify the role, the qualifications and experience of each member of the group." There is no indication in the Specifications or checklists where this information should be provided; please advise. This information could be stated in the technical proposal. For a consortium, do you require, or prefer, that a Power of Attorney, or alternatively the joint signature by all members of a cover letter, is included in the tender? Please see the Annex 3 that should be signed by all members of the consortium. Although section 4 of the Specifications, which addresses all components of the tender, states that "The documentation will consist of Microsoft Word documents both in digital format (USB stick) and in printed format.", we understand from other parts of the Specifications, particularly section 5.4 and Annex 1-1, that only the Technical and Financial Proposals must also be provided in electronic copy. Please confirm that our understanding is correct. "USB memory stick or equivalent" - we assume that a CD-ROM is an acceptable equivalent; please confirm. We confirm that your understanding is correct and that a CD could be acceptable Question 29 ANSWER 29 Question 30 On page 72 in the Scenario estimates of Annex 6 Financial Proposal, there is a column for the Scenario Cost and Total cost. We assume that, other than for Lot 4, the figures in these columns will be the same for each lot. Please confirm if our understanding is correct. Your understanding is correct With regard to the size restrictions stipulated for the documents of the Technical Proposal Please advise if the maximum number of pages includes cover pages and a table of contents. Does the maximum number of words include headers and footers? 7

8 ANSWER 30 The maximum size of the documents includes everything. Question 31 Regarding the limitation in lots 1 and 2 about bidding for other lots: is the tenderer to the lot 1 or 2 allowed to participate in any small percentage as subcontractor in any of the other lots? ANSWER 31 EU-OSHA decided to keep a clear separation between the lot 1and the lot 2 and the other lots to avoid any conflict of interest because of the nature of the required tasks. That s the reason why a tenderer who wish to apply for the lot 1 or the lot 2 cannot participate in the other lots as subcontractor Question 32 ANSWER 32 Question 33 ANSWER 33 Question 34 ANSWER 34 Question 35 ANSWER 35 Question 36 Technical Specifications, 4.2 Technical proposal: For the technical proposal you request us to develop a scenario; on page 31 you describe what you expect for the scenario development for Lot 1. Amongst others you expect a plan of the number of person-days required in order to execute the scenario and an overall budget and budget breakdown. Do you expect us to calculate the costs and person-days for the complete scenario (website launch) including costs which would not be part of the services under Lot 1 (e.g. software development, design etc.)? Or do you expect us to calculate only efforts which will be implemented by the contractor of Lot 1 (Project Management, coordination, etc.)? We expect you to calculate only efforts which will be implemented by the contractor of Lot 1 (Project Management, coordination, etc.) Annex 6 - Financial Proposal: For the Financial Proposal you expect us to fill in the provided table (page 72 technical specifications) for scenario estimates (20% of the financial evaluation). Could you please specify for Lot 1 the difference between scenario cost and total cost? Would this be the same amount for Lot 1? In the case of lot 1, there is indeed no difference Technical Specifications, 5. Presentation of the Offer: Do you understand unbound as perforated paper collected in a plastic folder and bound as collection of paper bounded with binding screws? We need to scan and copy easily the document. That is the reason why we ask for an unbound copy. Clips are welcome You state that the documentation has to be delivered as Microsoft Word documents. Can we submit our electronic version of the proposal as PDF documents as well? Otherwise some formats could be destroyed when opening the word document on another computer. You can submit a PDF as long as we receive a word document as well. Regarding the award criteria specified on page 57, could you clarify the following points of the formula (score / reference price): 1. Is reference price the lowest price of all proposals presented? 2. In case for example the technical score for lot 1 is 1800 and the proposed price is EUR , can you confirm the final score in this case would be 0,0018? Or are missing something? ANSWER Please see answer to question Your understanding of final score is correct. We will multiply all final scores by if necessary for better reading. 8

9 Question 37 ANSWER 37 Question 38 ANSWER 38 Question 39 ANSWER 39 Question 40 ANSWER 40 Question 41 ANSWER 41 Question 42 In pages 41/42 you require CV s from main team members for the different lots. Regarding LOT 4, we are not sure what knowledge should the CV s demonstrate, as in page 17 you explain that the technology with which applications and web sites shall be developed will be decided during 2014 Should we include CV s of experts with knowledge in Microsoft? In Drupal? In J2ee? You should include CV s expert with knowledge in the most common technologies, indeed J2EE,.NET or Drupal are good examples of such technologies. 1) Question regarding the Technival specifications: Scenario 2 Lot 2: It is not clear which texts we should provide. There are mentioned 6 different texts/subjects: 1) description of realistic tests to obtain highly relevant results, 2) recommendation plan, 3) description of our methodology, 4) a project plan with the planned actions, 5) proposed approach description, 6) a plan of the number of person days. Does it mean we should prepare 6 texts up to 12 pages each? No, you should provide only 1 text (of maximum 5000 words and 12 pages) that includes all the aspects described in the scenario. Question regarding the composition of our team: it is up to us (composition, profiles, numbers) or there should be just three (based on info from Annex 6 Financial proposal: Project manager, Senior and Junior Consultant)? Which one of them should act as an account manager (point 1.6)? It is up to you to compose your team, but it should be composed with the 3 different profiles only. Account Manager is another profile, please refer to the section 1.6 Question regarding Point by the term personal policy, management and training you mean our owns internal policy or policy, management and training in relation with OSHA? Your owns internal policy Functional Support states that the Lot 1 contractor will "specify, and document the functional and quality requirements". This implies that the contractor will directly perform functional analysis and requirements gathering. However, later in that section, one of the tasks described is "Support in the functional analysis and requirements gathering" and it is not clear to us if Support implies the execution of the work or providing assistance to the contractors of other lots in its execution. Please clarify. It implies the execution of the work. In Scenario 1, the approach to be described includes "A description of the functional support and functional induction framework". a explicitly states that the lot 1 contractor (therein called the "tenderer") "must provide... induction training in the developed solutions"; therefore, for the scenario, we assume that the "functional induction" activities are to be undertaken directly by the Lot 1 contractor - please confirm. 9

10 b. Related to question 1 above, while Scenario 1 explicitly states that the "testing framework" is "to be followed by the contractors for other lots", the lot contractor who would undertake the work under "the functional support and functional induction framework" is not explicitly stated. Please clarify which lot contractor would undertake the functional support work (e.g. functional analysis and requirements gathering) in this scenario. ANSWER 42 a. Yes, these activities are to be undertaken directly by the Lot 1 contractor. b. The Lot 1 contractor will undertake the functional support work. Question 43 On page 30 of the Tender Specifications it is detailed the technical proposal. It says Tender must provide a detailed and factual document of maximum 5000 words and 12 pages.. In the successive pages, where it is explained the technical approach for each scenario, in the description of each scenario it ends saying.. For the delivery of the scenario approach, only texts of maximum 5000 words and 12 pages will be considered. Here it is what we understand: Technical proposal for each lot must provide Project management, quality assurance and quality of service (maximum 5000 words and 12 pages) Technical proposal for each scenario must be provided (maximum 5000 words and 12 pages) The question is about how many documents should we provide, we have two alternatives and do not know which one choose. - This Technical proposal for each lot must be in only one document that will be divided in: Technical proposal for Lot (maximum 5000 words and 12 pages) Technical proposal for each Scenario (maximum 5000 words and 12 pages) Total documents = 1 Total pages (in case one scenario) = 24 Total words (in case one scenario) = This count of pages and words exclude presentation page and index - This Technical proposal for each lot must include: ANSWER 43 One document including Technical proposal for Lot (maximum 5000 words and 12 pages) One document including Technical proposal for each scenario (maximum 5000 words and 12 pages) Total documents (in case one scenario) = 2 or total documents (in case 2 scenarios) = 3 Total pages of each document = 12 Total words of each document = This count of pages and words exclude presentation page and index on each document The technical proposal should include, for each of the lots, two parts: one includes project management, quality assurance and quality od service; 10

11 the second includes the scenario(s). For each part, the document has a limitation of 500 word/12 pages. Therefore, you first alternative is correct Question 44 We would like a clarification of which administrative documents need to be provided in envelope A1 and A2. Several documents mentioned in "Annex 1-0 : Checklist common to all lots" are, in case of consortium, repeated in "Annex 1-1 : Checklist Lot xx" AND are supposed to be provided by each member. Specifically we refer to the documents: Declaration of Exclusion Criteria (Annex 2a) Legal Entity Form (Annex 2b) Administrative Form (Annex 2d) Moreover, both Annexes contain the phrase: "Envelope 'A1' ['A2'] must contain original copies of:". Question 1) Can you confirm that in envelope A1 we should only provide documents related to the Leader of the Consortium? 2) Can you confirm that in envelope A2 we do not have to repeat the documents referred to above for the Leader of the Consortium? If you cannot confirm 1) and 2) above, please indicate in which envelope we put the related documents for the Leader of the Consortium and the documents for other consortium members. ANSWER 44 Question 45 In the envelope A1, the tenderer/leader of the consortium should provide the listed documents (see Annex 1.0 checklist) In the envelope A2, the tenderer / leader of the consortium should provide the listed documents as requested in Annex 1.1. In case of consortium, in addition, the envelope A2 should contain all documents referring to this consortium We are forwarding you the following requests for clarification concerning the above mentioned tender. All requests are general and therefore applicable to all of the Lots covered by the present tender. a/ We understand the 2 Project References requested for each sub-contractor are not counted for the 5 maximum Project References for the tenderer. For example, a tenderer with 2 subcontractors could submit 5 own references + 4 additional ones, two per subcontractor, i.e. a total amount of 9 references. Please confirm our understanding is correct. b/ Is there a range of minimum and maximum number of CVs to present per profile? c/ If the answer to previous question is YES, we assume this range applies to the combined amount of CVs submitted by the tenderer and the proposed subcontractors. Please confirm our understanding is correct. 11

12 d/ We assume there is no description of the educational and professional requirements for the profiles for which we must prepared the CVs. Please confirm our understanding is correct. ANSWER 45 Question 46 a/ We confirm that your understanding is correct b/ c/ d/ Please refer to the section c) where all requirements are detailed (page 41/42) Scenario 1 states that the Lot 1 contractor must "plan the project". Typically a development project is planned by the contractor/team who will perform the work, since they will generally have the most detailed knowledge of the likely effort and timescale requirements. Equally states that the Lot 1 contractor "must provide support for web and ICT projects in... planning". Therefore it is not clear to us if the Lot 1 contractor must plan the complete website delivery or that he supervises or supports the planning by the Lot 4 contractor. Please clarify if the required project plan for the Scenario concerns only the tasks to be undertaken by the Lot 1 contractor or the full set of tasks for the whole development project (i.e. including the work of Lots 2 and 4). Project plan for the Scenario concerns only the tasks to be undertaken by the Lot 1 contractor. Question 47 ANSWER 47 Question 48 ANSWER 48 For Scenario 1, given that the corresponding cost must be presented in the Financial Proposal for Lot 1, we assume that the required "plan of the number of person-days required in order to execute the scenario and an overall budget and budget breakdown" relate only to the tasks required of the Lot 1 contractor, rather than of the full set of tasks required for the whole development project which would necessarily include the effort and consequently the costs of other Lots. Please confirm. Yes: the cost relates only to the tasks required of the Lot 1 contractor With regard to the 'Project Management, quality assurance and quality of service' document in the Technical Proposal, we are not clear what is meant by the required 'work planning schedule' in the criterion 'Quality of the project management approach', since we do not see how we can present a specific schedule in a description of a methodology or approach. Please clarify. As explain in the criteria, you should present the work planning schedule for responding professionally and in a timely manner to any type of request for services Last update 23/12/