OASIS Interact Community

<p><strong>&nbsp;1)</strong> <u><strong>What do you feel are an appropriate number of labor categories for OASIS?</strong></u></p><p>We recommend seven (7) Job Groups to allow an adequate number of job classifications for contractors to map their labor categories to.</p><p><strong>&nbsp;<u>Suggested Job Groups with associated Job Families</u></strong></p><p><strong>Engineering/Engineering Support</strong></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Engineer, Sr. Engineer, CADD Operator, Energy Engineer, Engineer I, II, III</p><p><strong>Consulting</strong></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Staff Consultant, Sr. Consultant, Consultant I, II, III, Consulting Analyst</p><p><strong>Project Management/Project Support</strong></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Project Manager, Site Manager, Site Coordinator,</p><p><strong>Installation/Service</strong></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Technician, Specialist, Mechanic, Electrician, Electrical installer</p><p><strong>Management</strong></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Principle Consultant, Sr. Manager Consultant. Director</p><p><strong>Operations</strong></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Call center Agent, Data Manager, Asset Manager, Operations Manager, Quality Manager, Safety Manager</p><p><strong>Business Services</strong></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Contracts Manager, Financial Analyst, Accountant, Administration</p><p><strong>2)&nbsp;<u>How would you recommend establishing global category titles</u>?</strong></p><p>We recommend establishing a structure that organizes the labor functions into &ldquo;Job Groups&rdquo; and &ldquo;Job Families&rdquo; as follows:</p><ul><li><strong>Job Groups:</strong> Groups that will follow functional areas within the OASIS scope, such as: Engineering, Consulting, Project Management and Installation/Service.</li><li><strong>Job Families:</strong> Types of jobs that exist within a job group that share a common discipline. For example within the Engineering job group: associate Engineer, Junior Engineer, Engineer 1 , etc.</li></ul><p>Each job group would have established experience levels with a defined job summary identifying the minimum responsibilities, experience and educational requirements.&nbsp;</p><p>This structure will establish an adequate number of job groups and will allow a contractor the ability to map their current labor categories and rates into the associated job group/experience level. This will eliminate having too few labor categories and possible overpayment for similar categories. It will also assist the Government with determining fair and reasonable pricing for&nbsp; task order requirements.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>3) <u>How many levels would you recommend having in each labor category (e.g., junior, journeyman, senior)?</u></strong></p><p>We recommend three (3) experience levels for each labor category to provide adequate representation of the skill levels required to support this type of contract. The three (3) experience levels could be defined as: Level 1 (0-5 yrs); Level 2 (5-10 yrs); and Level 3 (greater than 10 years experience).</p><p>4) <strong>What would you recommend for education and experience requirements for each&nbsp; level?</strong></p><p>We recommend using three (3) sub-categories to define the minimum requirements for each experience level; Functional Responsibility, Experience and Education. Three (3) examples are listed below:</p><p style="margin-left: 14.2pt"><strong><u>Specialist</u></strong></p><p><strong>Functional Responsibility:</strong> performs on-site technical and operational duties for the installation and maintenance of equipment associated with Automatic Building Control Systems and Energy Management Systems.</p><p><strong>Experience:</strong> requires 1-5 years electrical and electronic installation and service experience and all certifications and licenses. Good written and verbal communication skills.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Education:</strong> Associates degree or 1-2 years of vocational technical training or equivalent combination of education and experience.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong><u>Project Manager</u>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </strong></p><p align="left" style="margin-left: 35.45pt"><strong>Functional Responsibility: </strong>Oversees teams or groups responsible for executing project (solutions) and service jobs. Plans the account management, design, engineering, and systems installation of field projects. Impacts P&amp;L and is responsible for resource allocation and financial forecasting.</p><p align="left" style="margin-left: 35.45pt"><strong>Experience:</strong> 8-10 years of successful experience managing projects.</p><p align="left" style="margin-left: 35.45pt"><strong>Education:</strong> BS/BA in related discipline, or advanced degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.</p><p align="left">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong><u>Engineer</u> </strong>(Specific example provided for Security, Fire, Building Automation or Energy Systems Engineering work)</p><p><strong>Functional Responsibility: </strong>Performs on-site technical and operational support in the design, development, Installation and maintenance of equipment and systems of a complex nature associated with Automatic Building Control Systems, Fire Alarms, Security, CCTV and Energy Management Systems.</p><p align="left" style="margin-left: 35.45pt"><strong>Experience:</strong> 5-8 years of successful experience in Security, Fire, Building Automation or Energy systems.</p><p align="left" style="margin-left: 35.45pt"><strong>Education:</strong> BS/BA in related discipline, or advanced degree or equivalent combination of education and experience</p><p><strong>5) <u>Lastly, do you have any other thoughts on what labor categories should be included in OASIS and their structure?</u></strong></p><p>We recommend the inclusion of labor categories found on similar Federal professional services contracts, as well as the ability to add OASIS labor categories prior to Task Order RFP release, to meet future professional services needs. From our perspective (only), these categories could include commercial professional services in: Energy, Healthcare, Industry, and Infrastructure that may not have current Federal labor category equivalents.</p><p>Tom</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Siemens Government Technologies - Response to OASIS Labor&nbsp;Category Questions:</strong></h3><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>1. <u>What do you feel are an appropriate number of labor categories for OASIS?</u></strong></p><p style="margin-left: 40px"><strong><em>Siemens Response:</em></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;We recommend seven (7) Job Groups to allow an adequate number of job classifications for contractors to map their labor categories.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>2. </strong><u><strong>How would you recommend establishing global category titles?</strong></u></p><p style="margin-left: 40px"><strong><em>Siemens Response:</em></strong>&nbsp; We recommend establishing a structure that organizes the labor functions into <strong><em>Job Groups</em></strong> and <strong><em>Job Families</em></strong> as follows:</p><ul style="margin-left: 40px"><li><strong>Job Groups:</strong> Groups that will follow functional areas within the OASIS scope, such as: Engineering, Consulting, Project Management and Installation/Service.</li><li><strong>Job Families:</strong> Types of jobs that exist within a job group that share a common discipline. For example within the Engineering job group: Associate Engineer, Junior Engineer, Engineer 1, etc.</li></ul><p style="margin-left: 40px">Each job group would have established experience levels with a defined job summary identifying the minimum responsibilities, experience and educational requirements.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left: 40px">This structure&nbsp;establishes an adequate number of job groups and&nbsp;allows a contractor the ability to map their current labor categories and rates into the associated job group/experience level. This&nbsp;eliminates having too few labor categories and possible overpayment for similar categories. It&nbsp;also assists the Government with determining fair and reasonable pricing for&nbsp;task order requirements.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>3. </strong><u><strong>How many levels would you recommend having in each labor category (e.g., junior, journeyman, senior)?</strong></u></p><p style="margin-left: 40px"><strong><em>Siemens Response:</em></strong> We recommend three (3) experience levels for each labor category to provide adequate representation of the skill levels required to support this type of contract. The three (3) experience levels could be defined as: Level 1 (0-5 yrs); Level 2 (5-10 yrs); and Level 3 (greater than 10 years experience).&nbsp;</p><p><strong>4. </strong><u><strong>What would you recommend for education and experience requirements for each&nbsp; level?</strong>&nbsp;</u></p><p style="margin-left: 40px"><strong><em>Siemens Response:</em></strong>&nbsp; We recommend using three (3) sub-categories to define the minimum requirements for each experience level; Functional Responsibility, Experience and Education. Three (3) examples are listed below:</p><p style="margin-left: 40px"><strong><u>Specialist</u></strong></p><p style="margin-left: 80px"><strong>Functional Responsibility:</strong> performs on-site technical and operational duties for the installation and maintenance of equipment associated with Automatic Building Control Systems and Energy Management Systems.</p><p style="margin-left: 80px"><strong>Experience:</strong> requires 1-5 years electrical and electronic installation and service experience and all certifications and licenses. Good written and verbal communication skills.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left: 80px"><strong>Education:</strong> Associates degree or 1-2 years of vocational technical training or equivalent combination of education and experience.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left: 40px"><strong><u>Engineer</u></strong></p><p style="margin-left: 80px"><strong>Functional Responsibility: </strong>Performs on-site technical and operational support in the design, development, Installation and maintenance of equipment and systems of a complex nature associated with Automatic Building Control Systems, Fire Alarms, Security, CCTV and Energy Management Systems.</p><p align="left" style="margin-left: 80px"><strong>Experience:</strong> 5-8 years of successful experience in Security, Fire, Building Automation or Energy systems.</p><p align="left" style="margin-left: 80px"><strong>Education:</strong> BS/BA in related discipline, or advanced degree or equivalent combination of education and experience</p><p style="margin-left: 40px"><strong><u>Project Manager</u>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </strong></p><p style="margin-left: 80px"><strong>Functional Responsibility: </strong>Oversees teams or groups responsible for executing project (solutions) and service jobs. Plans the account management, design, engineering, and systems installation of field projects. Impacts P&amp;L and is responsible for resource allocation and financial forecasting.</p><p align="left" style="margin-left: 80px"><strong>Experience:</strong> 8-10 years of successful experience managing projects.</p><p align="left" style="margin-left: 80px"><strong>Education:</strong> BS/BA in related discipline, or advanced degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><strong>5. </strong><u><strong>Lastly, do you have any other thoughts on what labor categories should be included in OASIS and their structure?</strong></u></p><p style="margin-left: 40px"><strong><em>Siemens Response:&nbsp;</em></strong>Siemens recommends the inclusion of labor categories found on similar Federal professional services contracts, as well as the ability to add OASIS labor categories prior to Task Order RFP release, to meet future professional services needs. From Siemens perspective, these categories could include commercial professional services in: Energy, Healthcare, Industry, and Infrastructure that may not have current Federal labor category equivalents.</p><p>&nbsp;Tom</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The challenge we find more and more with our GSA Schedules is that the &quot;old&quot; LCATS of yester-year don&#39;t necessarily map to new and emerging technology requirements.&nbsp; Yet, deep into a contract (say out-years 3-4-5, etc), we&#39;re having to wiggle around and try to make requirements stick into an LCAT that perhaps originally wasn&#39;t designed for the purpose.&nbsp; And of course, this is a sticky pricing exercise as well.&nbsp; I think this makes it hard on Industry as well as government during evaluation time.&nbsp;</p><p>I&#39;d like to see some creative LCATS on OASIS that attempted to serve as a &quot;crystal ball&quot; for future evolving requirements.&nbsp; I know we can always suggest some generic &quot;SME&quot; LCATS with some really high hourly rates as a catch all, but I think if we put a little thought into it, maybe we can &quot;future proof&quot; a few LCATS that will allow more flexibility and realistic pricing.&nbsp; Maybe this was more of rant than a suggestion?&nbsp; :-)&nbsp;</p><p>The message being is I&#39;d like to see some logical, perhaps more generic and futuristic LCATS for special--unique--currently unknown requirements yet to come during the life of this contract.&nbsp; I realize this is easier said than done.&nbsp; But, would enjoy the conversation.</p><p>- Nelson</p>

<p>Jim &ndash;</p><p>A few suggestions to consider as you develop the labor categories for OASIS.</p><p>1. Use fewer labor categories with broader qualifications and years of experience requirements. OASIS should have the ability to easily accommodate advances in technology which can be difficult when labor category requirements are too specific.</p><p>2. Agree with some other the other comments, global labor category titles should correlate with the expected customer base.</p><p>3. Recommend using four levels for each labor category: junior/associate, mid, senior, and a SME for some categories.</p><p>4. Education/experience should be broad, for example instead of using the word &ldquo;must&rdquo; use the word should or desire and allowing years of experience or education in lieu of each other.</p><p>Thanks for the opportunity to comment.</p><p>Heather</p>

<p>We suggest GSA allow vendors the flexibility to bid labor categories that are consistent with their core business and existing contract vehicles&nbsp;rather than creating an exhastive list of labor categories that vendors are required to bid. We have some additional feedback below.</p><ol><li>What do you feel are an appropriate number of labor categories for OASIS?</li></ol><p style="margin-left: 24pt">Per the GSA OASIS Portal the service areas include:&nbsp; Consulting services, logistics services, professional engineering services, and financial services areas:&nbsp; Some of the service areas would possibly have the same labor category titles.&nbsp; &nbsp;We would suggest a minimum of 7 labor categories for each of the following service areas.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left: 6pt">For example:&nbsp;&nbsp; The Consulting and Financial Services labor categories would include:&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><p>Senior Executive/Partner</p><p>Senior Manager/Program Manager</p><p>Manager/Project Manager</p><p>Senior Associate/Consultant</p><p>Associate/Consultant</p><p>Intern (currently enrolled in college, within 24 months of graduation)</p><p>Administrator (non-exempt).&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left: 6pt">The Senior Manager/Program Manager, Manager/Project Manager, Senior Associate/Consultant, Associate/Consultant, Administrator would each have 3 sub-levels of experience beneath the labor category.&nbsp; (An Intern would not have sub-levels of experience.)&nbsp; &nbsp;For example:</p><ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha"><li>Sub-Level 1, Junior (or Entry) - &nbsp;0-2 Yr of Experience at that Level&nbsp;</li><li>Sub-Level 2,&nbsp;Mid-Level (Experienced) &nbsp;- &nbsp;&nbsp;2-5 Yrs Experience at that Level</li><li>Sub-Level 3, Senior - &nbsp;&nbsp;In excess of 5 years at that Level</li></ol><p style="margin-left: 6pt">Note:&nbsp;&nbsp; The role of the administrative labor category can be non-degreed, may have certifications and is required to provide all clerical/administrative work in support of the professional (Exempt) labor categories listed.&nbsp;&nbsp; Ensures that clerical tasks are done by clerical staff only.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><ol><li value="2">How would you recommend establishing global category titles?&nbsp; See item 1 above.</li><li value="3">How many levels would you recommend having in each labor category (e.g., junior, mid-level, senior)?&nbsp; Three</li><li value="4">What would you recommend for education and experience requirements for each level?</li></ol><p style="margin-left: 24pt">&nbsp;<strong><u>Experience:</u></strong>&nbsp; See Item 1 above.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left: 24pt">&nbsp;<strong><u>Education/</u></strong><strong><u>Certifications/Licenses:</u></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; This requirement could be determined at the Task Order level dependent on the buyer&#39;s requirements. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left: 6pt">Note:&nbsp; Depending on the Statement of Work requirements, relevant job experience could be substituted for some portion of the education requirements or an advanced degree could be substituted for years for experience requirements.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left: 6pt">5. Lastly, do you have any other thoughts on what labor categories should be included in OASIS and their structure?&nbsp;There should be some TBD categories that would allow the contractor flexibility to utilize a maximum of 15-20% of the labor category hours being bid and subsequently performed in labor categories not on the current schedule.&nbsp;These labor categories and their associated education/experience requirements and pricing would be proposed by the contractor as an alternative approach to the work notwithstanding approval by the Government&rsquo;s Proposal Review Board.</p><p style="margin-left: 6pt">Thank you for the opportunity to comment. We look forward to answering any additional questions that you have and reviewing the draft statement of work.</p><p style="margin-left: 6pt">&nbsp;</p>

<ol><li><span>What do you feel are an appropriate number of labor categories for OASIS?</span><ol><li>Agree with previous comment concerning Labor categories and levels of each. Senior, junior, etc. levels Re: Q3 below.&nbsp; Review of Draft document will be invaluable for additional input.</li></ol></li><li><span>How would you recommend establishing global category titles?</span><ol><li><span>Use of labor descriptions/categories that line up with generally accepted commercial / government titles.</span></li></ol></li><li><span>How many levels would you recommend having in each labor category (e.g., junior, journeyman, senior)?</span><ol><li><span>Minimum 2 maximum 4 - Levels 1,2,3,4 or Senior </span></li></ol></li><li><span>What would you recommend for education and experience requirements for each level? </span><ol><li><span>Except for senior level positions all requirements should allow for degree and experience or minimum year(s) experience in lieu of a degree.</span> For Senior levels requirement should include degree, experience and possibly professional certifications. With higher&nbsp; degrees (PhD, Masters) lesser experience requirements as level of degree increases.</li></ol></li><li><span>Lastly, do you have any other thoughts on what labor categories should be included in OASIS and their structure? </span><ol><li>Allow enough latitude and generalization of the categories to ensure end-user has ability to obtain required support services.</li></ol></li></ol><p>Steven</p>

<p>Hi, Jim.</p><p>I think the last Blog on the release of the DRFPs for OASIS and OASIS SB stated by end of October. Is that still the most current view of when teh draft RFPs will be released?</p><p>Thanks very much.</p>

<p>GSA OASIS Team,&nbsp; Could you please clarify how labor categories and associated rates are going to be used on OASIS? &nbsp;Are they only for Labor Hour and T&amp;M types of contracts? (as it seems logical that DCAA approved forward pricing rates would be applicable for Fixed Price and Cost-type contracts)</p>

<p><span>Hello Jim. Thank you for reaching out. I followed your question with some short answers.</span></p><p><strong><span>What do you feel are an appropriate number of labor categories for OASIS?</span></strong></p><p><span>The number of labor categories can be relatively small if they are general enough and they are leveled. For example, Logistician 1, Logistician 2, etc. could be considered one labor category with multiple levels with levels based on education/experience. Another approach would be for vendors to propose labor categories at the task order level (similar to OPTARSS II).</span></p><p><strong><span>How would you recommend establishing global category titles?</span></strong></p><p><span>I recommend looking at common salary surveys, specifically Towers-Watson. It would be best to align with industry for clarity.</span></p><p><strong><span>How many levels would you recommend having in each labor category (e.g., junior, journeyman, senior)?</span></strong></p><p><span>I would not recommend Junior, Journeyman, etc. I would recommend a numbering system, with 1 being an entry level position. 1 through 5 would be adequate for most labor categories, but categories that require a very high qualification level, possibly add 6 and 7 (executive levels.)</span></p><p><strong><span>What would you recommend for education and experience requirements for each level?</span></strong></p><p><span>I beleive that is dependant on the labor category. For example, there would be a difference in education and experience for a &quot;Supply Specialist 1&quot; and a &quot;Project Manager 1&quot;.</span></p><p><strong><span>Lastly, do you have any other thoughts on what labor categories should be included in OASIS and their structure? </span></strong></p><p><span>Nothing specific, but categories should be somewhat generic.</span></p>

<p>1. in general, as many as required to allow flexibility in providing support.&nbsp; I would recommend a minimum 40 labor categories.</p><p>2. seek input from industry, correlate to your expected customer base, and provide them as part of the RFP as guidelines.</p><p>3. a minimum of 3; junior, base, senior, then possibly principal and a general SME</p><p>4. depends on the area of support.&nbsp; In general IT, high school and minimal experience for the junior levels, up to masters and extensive education for more senior poritions.&nbsp; IT would also require FISMA security certifications.&nbsp; Outside of those, probably Assocaites and 2 years expereience for junior levels up to masters or PhDs with extensive experience.&nbsp; The Government should have some idea of waht they&#39;d like to have in a perfect world, vice what can be reasonably afforded.&nbsp; It will also depend on your requirements.</p><p>5. Industry can provide a better response once the draft RFP is provided.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Dean</p>

<p>In order to be eligible for an OASIS award, are companies required to have an existing GSA Schedule contract?</p>