Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania
Date: 5/12/16
Subject: Questions & Answers
Solicitation Number: 6100038055
Opening Date/Time:
Addendum Number: 4
To All Suppliers:
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania defines a solicitation “Addendum”” as an addition to or
amendment of the original terms, conditions, specifications, or instructions of a procurement
solicitation (e.g., Invitation for Bids or Request for Proposals).
List any and all changes:
Questions & Answers attached.
For electronic solicitation responses via the SRM portal:



Attach this Addendum to your solicitation response. Failure to do so may result in
disqualification.
To attach the Addendum, download the Addendum and save to your computer. Move to ‘My
Notes”, use the “Browse” button to find the document you just saved and press “Add” to upload
the document.
Review the Attributes section of your solicitation response to ensure you have responded, as
required, to any questions relevant to solicitation addenda issued subsequent to the initial
advertisement of the solicitation opportunity.
For solicitations where a “hard copy” (vs. electronic) response is requested:

Attach this Addendum to your solicitation response. Failure to do so may result in
disqualification.
Form Revised 02/26/08
Page 1 of 5
Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania

If you have already submitted a response to the original solicitation, you may either submit a
new response, or return this Addendum with a statement that your original response remains
firm, by the due date to the following address:
Except as clarified and amended by this Addendum, the terms, conditions, specifications, and
instructions of the solicitation and any previous solicitation addenda, remain as originally written.
Very truly yours,
Name:
Dorothy Spears
Title:
Administrative Officer
Phone:
(717) 214-3861
Email:
[email protected]
Form Revised 02/26/08
Page 2 of 5
Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania
1. Has the Commonwealth identified a list of potential, specific, business processes to be
part of the Kaizen events to be held under this program? Please elaborate on the types of
processes that are contemplated. No, the criteria is subject to further internal discussion
& approval, but will likely include projects that we anticipate being able to implement
either during or shortly after completion of the events.
2. Has the Commonwealth identified a list of potential, specific, business processes to be a
part of the Lean Six Sigma training programs? Please elaborate on the types of processes
that are contemplated. No, the criteria is subject to further internal discussion &
approval.
3. Has the Commonwealth identified a list of potential, specific, business processes to be
part of the financial and non-financial processes and internal controls desired to be
evaluated, analyzed and mapped? Please elaborate on the types of processes that are
contemplated. No, the criteria is subject to further internal discussion & approval.
4. The Commonwealth’s solicitation notes that all documentation becomes the property of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Does this include all training materials developed
and used under this program? Yes
5. How is the Commonwealth defining a Kaizen event? Will it consist of a single agency,
or a multi-agency event, or a combination of the two? What is the anticipated length of
time that the Kaizen event(s) will need to be facilitated? The criteria has not been
established as of yet, but each event is anticipated to be for a single agency. Anticipated
length of the events is not to exceed five (5) business days.
6. Hoshin Kanri is mentioned as part of Task 3. Does the government wish for Hoshin
Kanri to be used as the method for establishing and tracking CPI program progress
toward goals; for establishing and tracking organizational progress toward goals, or both.
We are trying to determine if the government wants to use Hoshin Kanri as an internal
tool for the CPI program or make it part of the enterprise strategy for operational
excellence. This pertains only to the CPI program itself, not the enterprise.
7. Kaizen events require significant pre-work to be conducted successfully. Does the
government wish for contractors to conduct this pre-work and to include the cost of this
pre-work in price proposals? Yes, though we would like to participate in the pre-work
process with you so that we too can learn the process.
Form Revised 02/26/08
Page 3 of 5
Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania
8. For Implementation Support, are the three implementation projects expected to be
implementation of solutions developed in the three Kaizen events? No, these would be
for three (3) additional projects and larger in scope.
9. The hours specified under Implementation Support are in our experience insufficient
unless the government black belt leading the project is certified and has at least two years
of full time black belt experience on numerous projects. Can the government confirm
that black belt of this capability will be leading the projects? Having an experienced
black belt with at least two years of experience on a project is highly unlikely. While it is
important for us to be able to provide this hands-on training to at least three (3) separate
agencies, the complexity of the projects is expected to accommodate the training hours.
Because this is a new program, the Commonwealth is most interested in “quick wins”
that we can subsequently share with other agencies in order to build excitement and
support for the program. Projects will also be staffed with agency & GO-TIME team
members who will be dedicated to the success of the projects.
10. The SOW references Lean, Six Sigma, and Hoshin Kanri, but provides little insight into
the fundamental philosophy and resulting approach desired by the government. Can the
government provide some insights on the fundamentals preferred? For example are you
interested in a lightweight operationally oriented Toyota style approach; a PMO
centric/training heavy Federal Government style approach; and Agile approach focusing
on rapid results; a grass roots problem solving approach. Alternatively, if you not have a
preference at this time and prefer for the offeror to explain our recommended approach,
please state so. This is something that we need direction on, so we welcome suggested
approaches.
11. Are there any metrics such as cost savings or cycle time reductions the government
wishes to achieve during the course of the resulting contract? Our main categories
consist of: cost savings; time savings via process improvements; and improved customer
service.
12 A. Who will comprise the target audience for the Black Belt, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and
Kaizen training programs?
Black Belt – Several members of the GO-TIME team & key representatives from some of
the agencies.
Bronze – Additional key representatives from some of the agencies. Upon completion of
the Bronze program, these same participants would continue on for the Silver & then
Gold training.
Form Revised 02/26/08
Page 4 of 5
Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania
Kaizen – GO-TIME Black Belts and the agency’s Black Belt (if applicable). Also the
appropriate process owner and other agency members most familiar with the process.
For the Black Belt, several members of the GO-TIME team
B. How will the participants be selected? Will it be a blended group from specific
agencies and the Governor’s Office of Administration? GO-TIME is a specific office
within the Governor’s Office of Administration and we will most likely have four (4)
candidates for the Black Belt training. Then there are additional candidates who will
represent a few other agencies. The criteria for selecting those individuals is pending.
C. Will the participants in the Black Belt training differ from those participating in the
Gold, Silver, and Bronze training programs? Yes, the Black Belts will not need to attend
these trainings since they would already be familiar with this material. Though there may
be a couple that attend for observational purposes only. If so, what is the key
differentiator between the participants in each program? The difference would be that the
Black Belts would have gone through training that includes Six Sigma while the Bronze,
Silver, and Gold programs will be learning Lean only.
D. How many participants are anticipated for each program described above? Please
provide either an exact number or a not to exceed number. As indicated in the Statement
of Work (SO):
 LSSBB – not to exceed 14 in total
 Lean Only – each level not to exceed 10 participants
Form Revised 02/26/08
Page 5 of 5