Synopsis Notice: $56M AE IDC's for Preparations of Studies, Analysis, and Design Services for Military and Civil Projects
INDEFINITE DELIVERY CONTRACTS FOR ARCHITECT-ENGINEER (A-E) SERVICES FOR U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS NORTHWESTERN DIVISION – WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS (WOSB) Reference number: W9128F23R0032 1. CONTRACT INFORMATION: The Government is procuring this contract in accordance with the Brooks A-E Act as implemented in FAR Subpart 36.6 and will select firms for negotiation based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the required work. The services will consist of preparation of studies, analysis, and design services for Military and Civil projects within the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Northwestern Division (NWD). The Government intends to negotiate and award a target of four (4) women-owned small business Indefinite Delivery Contracts (IDCs), with a seven-year ordering period (4-year base and a 3-year option period) and $56,000,000 in shared capacity. There will be a $2,500 minimum guarantee, and task order maximums will be limited to the amount of available remaining contract capacity. Work will be issued by negotiated firm-fixed price task orders. Previous task order totals for small business set-asides ranged from $50,000.00 to $3,000,000.00. The Government anticipates that future task orders will be in this dollar range as well. When the Government awards a task order under this MATOC, the Contracting Officer will notify all A-E firms within the MATOC pool of the task order requirement. The Task Order Requirement Notice (TORN) will include a short summary of the scope of work, selection criteria, and may include a request for supplemental information tailored to the specific task order requirement. Alternatively, the Government may feel that they have enough information to make the selection, in which case no request for supplemental information will be made however the Government will still afford the MATOC pool the opportunity to provide supplemental information in their response. Using the selection criteria specified in the TORN, the selection board will evaluate the SF-330s on file and responses to the Task Order Questionnaire to determine the tee most highly qualified firms for the specific task order requirement. The board will submit a report to the Selection Board Authority who will then make the selection in accordance with AFARS 5136.602-4 and 5136.602-5 and USACE implementation guidance. The Government will ask awardees if they would like to update their SF 330s on a yearly basis. The Government also reserves the right to ask for updated SF 330s later or at the task order level. North American Industrial Classification System code is 541330, which has a size standard of $22,500,000 in annual average gross receipts over the past tee years. This announcement is open to Small Business service providers. Selected and successful firm(s) will be required to comply with the subcontracting limitations as set forth by the FAR Clause 52.219-14 LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING, wherein stated in pertinent part, "Services (except construction). At least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern." The wages and benefits of service employees (see FAR 22.10) performing under these contracts must be at least equal to those determined by the Department of Labor under the Service Contract Act. Service wage rates will be determined relative to the employee's office location rather than the location of work. Additionally, in accordance with FAR Part 22.1303, all firms must complete their VETS-4212 report. Information can be found at the Department of Labor website https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/vets4212 or call the service center at 1-866-237-0275; you will be asked to provide your company name, employer identification number (EIN), and DUNs number. To be eligible for contract award, the Contractor must register in the System for Award Management (SAM). Registration is free and Contractors can access the site at http://www.sam.gov. Ensure representations and certifications in SAM are current. 2. PROJECT INFORMATION: The A-E selected would be required to have sufficient staff, flexibility, and capability to be available on an as-needed basis. Design and/or construction support services for specific facilities or projects will be assigned by Task Orders on the IDCs established as a result of this solicitation. All projects will be located within the USACE, Northwestern Division. The projects will include various types of horizontal and vertical facilities, structures, and sites, on military bases and other federal installations, as well as civil projects for the Corps of Engineers. Examples of military projects may include but not limited to: barracks, hangars, utilities, battalion headquarters buildings, access control points, religious facilities, brigade and company operations facilities, officer quarters, and various others. These projects may include new construction, renovation, or maintenance of facilities. Each task order to be issued will fully describe the design project or the accomplished studies and will identify all work to be accomplished. Services to be performed include, but are not limited to, preparation of vertical and horizontal design/construction documents, preparation of design/build requests for proposals (RFPs), charrette/concept designs, schematic designs, planning, programming, site investigations, surveying and geotechnical investigations, space planning, interior design, parametric and construction cost estimating, feasibility studies, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents, plan formulation, design and construction phase commissioning services and various construction phase services for both military and civil projects. The scope may require design of utilities, airfield pavement, and airfield lighting but they are incidental to facility design. A-E may be required to provide master planning services such as: facility master planning for various federal customers such as Army and Air Force, Public Works real property master planning, facility allowance analysis, economic and market analysis, preparation of installation design guides, MILCON DD Form 1391 development and other programming level analysis. Construction support services, when required, may include: participation in on-site partnering/pre-construction meetings; review of construction contractor's submittals for government approval and for information only; participation in site visits and provide inspection reports at critical points of construction; participation in start-up and commissioning of the systems; attendance at warranty inspections; participation in lessons-learned sessions; and preparation of operations and maintenance support information manuals. The Government requires that firms use construction cost estimating for all design projects using the Micro-Computer Aided Cost Estimating System 2nd Generation, MII software. The Government requires that contractors develop and edit all specifications are using the SpecsIntact automated specification processing system. Firms should demonstrate experience with using and writing project specifications in the SpecsIntact processing system. The A-E shall use advanced modeling practices in conjunction with an integrated design approach to complete the project design. Advanced modeling is a subset of geospatial technologies as defined EM-1110-1-2909 GEOSPATIAL DATA AND SYSTEMS to include Building Information Modeling (BIM), Civil Information Modeling (CIM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD). Required technologies, design deliverable and bid set (electronic and hardcopy) format and requirements will be further described in each task order. The A-E shall have a robust knowledge of advanced modeling strategies, standards, and practices and shall be capable of delivering designs using a variety of tools and technologies to meet each set of task order deliverable requirements. Sustainable design shall be accomplished using an integrated design approach and emphasizing environmental stewardship; energy and water conservation and efficiency; use of alternative energy, use of recovered and recycled materials; waste reduction; reduction or elimination of toxic and harmful substances in facilities construction and operation; efficiency in resource and materials utilization; development of health, safe and productive work environments. The Government requires the integration of Federal and agency energy and sustainability mandates on all building facilities. Design and documentation shall utilize United States Green Building Council (USBGC), Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design A-E evaluation, Green Building Certification Institute, and Green Globes web-based certification methodology. Building envelope design will require knowledge with tested air barrier construction. The Government may require the A-E to perform and/or evaluate sustainability and energy audits. The Government also requires integration of current Antiterrorism and Force Protection (AT/FP) measures on all military projects. The Government requires the A-E to use the DR Checks design review and checking system. 3. SELECTION CRITERIA: Listed below in descending order of importance are the selection criteria. Criteria “a” tough “e” are primary. Criteria “f” tough “g” are secondary and the Government will use those criteria as a “tie-breaker” among firms that are technically equal. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence Professional Personnel Qualifications Capacity Knowledge of Locality Past Performance Geographic Proximity Volume of DOD Contract Awards PRIMARY CRITERIA: a. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence. Provide examples of not more than 10 completed projects that best demonstrate the specialized experience and technical competence of the firm and significant subcontractors working together with the firm to execute the types of projects and activities as indicated in the Project Information section listed above and in the bulleted items below. A project is considered completed when the Ready-to-Advertise (RTA) or equivalent package has been submitted to the customer and accepted. The firm must demonstrate how the previous experience information is relevant to the proposed contract. Only relatable experience that has occurred in the last seven years from the date of this announcement should be included and projects that were completed within the last seven years will be evaluated more favorably than those that have not. All projects cited must identify start/complete dates, size (cost and scope), and the work performed by the prime and subcontractors. Projects where the prime performed the majority of the work with inhouse forces will be evaluated more favorably than projects performed predominantly by subcontractors. If more than 10 projects are submitted, only the first 10 projects listed in the proposal will be evaluated. IDIQ contracts, where numerous task orders are listed together, are not acceptable as projects. Rather each task order would be considered a project. Example projects are limited to no more than 2 pages per project. (SF 330, Part I, Section F) Experience in horizontal and vertical design of projects representative of those listed in paragraph 2, PROJECT INFORMATION. Experience with construction phase services including participation in on-site partnering/pre-construction meetings; review of construction contractor's submittals for government approval and for information only; participation in site visits and furnishing inspection reports at critical points of construction; participation in start-up and commissioning of systems; attending warranty inspections; participation in lessons-learned sessions; preparation of operations and maintenance support information manuals; Experience in adapting standard design packages; Experience with USACE design guidance, including Unified Facility Criteria documents, Engineering Technical Letters (ETLs), and other military design criteria documents; Experience with preparing specifications using SpecsIntact software and Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (UFGS); Experience with preparing cost estimates using Micro-Computer Aided Cost Estimating System 2nd Generation, MII software; Experience with Department of Defense AT/FP design criteria and construction standards; Experience with life safety and fire protection design of military or civil facilities; Experience applying Advanced Modeling practices in conjunction with an integrated design approach to include BIM, CIM, GIS, CAD, and Facility Data; Experience with Sustainable Design or High-Performance Sustainable Building design and construction concepts including energy efficiency, use of recovered materials, waste reduction, and pollution prevention, using the third-party sustainability evaluation and certification process; Experience with Spatial Data Facilities Infrastructure (SDSFIE) and/or GEOBASE deliverables and standards; and Experience with historic preservation. Criterion a Evaluation: The Government will evaluate the specialized experience of a firm based on projects and technical capabilities that demonstrate the items identified in the project information above for the prime firm and committed key subcontractors. Please note that the Government will only use the ten (10) example projects to evaluate this factor. b. Professional Qualifications. Firms shall demonstrate professional personnel qualifications and specialized experience for projects described in section 2, PROJECT INFORMATION. This section must include only individuals proposed to perform the anticipated work. Experience in the discipline in which he/she will be working must be identified on the resume. Unless otherwise noted, individuals should have no less than 10 years’ experience in the discipline that they are proposed for. The A-E should identify any past design and/or planning experience on USACE military projects. (SF 330, Part I, Sections E & G). For the following key disciplines, identify and provide two (2) resumes: Project Manager – Project Managers must have a degree in architecture or engineering from an ABET certified school and at least 5 years of experience managing design projects. The Government will give additional consideration for an individual who is a registered professional engineer or architect. Architect – Must be a registered architect. Civil Engineer – Must be a registered professional civil engineer. Structural Engineer– Must be a registered professional structural engineer. Mechanical Engineer– Must be a registered professional mechanical engineer. Electrical Engineer– Must be a registered professional electrical engineer. Cost Engineer – The Government will give additional consideration for an individual with a certified cost engineer (CCE), certified cost consultant (CCC), or comparable certification. For the following key disciplines, identify and provide one (1) resume/qualifications: Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Engineer – Must be a registered Professional Engineer and have at least five (5) years of experience and training related to compliance with Department of Defense AT/FP policy, standards, and specifications. This role can be fulfilled by an individual fulfilling one of the other key discipline roles.Interior Designer - The designer must be certified by the National Council of Interior Design Qualifications (NCIDQ), a registered interior designer, or a registered architect with at least five years of experience and training in interior design. Fire Protection Engineer – Must be a registered professional fire protection engineer with a minimum of five years dedicated to fire protection engineering and has one of the following: (i) a degree in fire protection engineering from an accredited university or (ii) passed the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveys (NCEES) fire protection engineering examination. Water/Wastewater Engineer - Must be a registered professional engineer. Master Planner Geotechnical Engineer - Must be a registered professional engineer. Communication Distribution Design (RCCD) - Must be a registered professional engineer. Landscape Architecture - Must be a registered professional engineer or architect. Commissioning Authority (CxA) Team Lead – The CxA may be a mechanical or an electrical engineer and shall be a registered professional with a minimum of five years of heating, ventilation, and cooling or lighting and power distribution design experience and shall have documented experience as a CxA on at least two projects. The CxA must be a certified commissioning authority and have an active certification. Recognized organization that provide certification include, but are not limited to: The Association of Energy Engineers (A-EE), American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRA-E). Advanced modeling or BIM manager – Must have a minimum of five years dedicated to managing advanced modeling projects. The Government will give additional consideration to managers with degrees, training, and/or certifications relevant to the advanced modeling platforms and technologies described in this contract. Land Surveyor - Must be a licensed Professional Land Surveyor. At least one of the proposed key personnel must have a minimum of five years experience managing sustainability metrics, certification, and accreditation on projects. Criterion b Evaluation: The Government will evaluate and consider education, training, professional registration, certification, overall and relevant experience, and longevity with the firm. Submittals should demonstrate that the firm’s staff is capable of certifying that all work is in compliance with all applicable codes and regulations. Please note, the Government will only use SF 330, Part I, Sections E & G to evaluate this factor. c. Capacity. Capacity is the ability to complete task orders within a reasonably aggressive schedule. Firms shall demonstrate the capacity to accomplish at least four (4) $500,000 simultaneous individual task orders, or two (2) $1,000,000 simultaneous individual task orders. The evaluation will consider the availability of an adequate number of personnel in key disciplines to complete the task orders and offeror’s project execution strategy. The evaluation will consider the key persons identified in Sections D, E, and G of the SF330, as well as other available staff and information provided in Section H and Part II. A proposed Management Plan shall be presented that articulates how efforts under this contract will be executed and will include an organization chart and addresses team organization related to this contract, any anticipated subcontractors or entities to supplement the project team, workload management, quality management (QA/QC) procedures, cost control (e.g. – designing such that programmed amount is not exceeded), coordination of in-house disciplines and consultants, and prior experience of the prime firm and any of their identified subcontract consultants. The SF 330 shall clearly indicate the offices where the work will be performed and the staffing to be utilized for this contract at these offices (SF 330, Part I, Section H, Item 2). As indicated above, a quality management (QA/QC) process will be included. The plan will identify the quality processes and procedures that will be implemented by the A-E to ensure high quality products and services and that designs are biddable, constructible, and operable and meet environmental laws and regulations. (SF 330, Part I, Section H, Item 3). Criterion c Evaluation: Evaluation will be based on the board's assessment of the firm's ability to effectively address the Capacity to Accomplish Work as described above. A firm that more effectively addresses all the Capacity requirements will be considered more highly qualified than one that is not able to. A firm with a longer relationship with key sub-consultants may be considered more highly qualified than one with a shorter relationship with key sub-consultants. d. Knowledge of Locality. Submittals shall demonstrate knowledge of performing the type of projects and activities as described in the PROJECT INFORMATION section listed above for the multiple locations and various military installations and civil sites within NWD. The localized knowledge includes demonstration of: working with multiple agencies and other stakeholders to execute projects described herein, geological features, climatic conditions, and local construction methods specific to NWD. Criterion d Evaluation: The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s knowledge of locality based on the experience presented toughout the submittal. e. Past Performance. Past performance on DoD and other contracts performing work similar in size and scope as described in the PROJECT INFORMATION section listed above, with respect to the quality of work, compliance with performance schedules, and overall performance rating as determined by CPARS and other sources. (Note: Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ) may be used to provide or supplement a firm's past performance with other than U.S. Governmental clients. Firms which choose to use the PPQ may obtain a PPQ standard form by submitting a request to the below referenced POC via email.) Past performance submittals must match projects submitted for Criterion a. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence. Criterion e Evaluation: Past Performance of the A-E, joint venture, partners, and key subcontractors on DoD and other contracts with respect to cost control, quality of work and compliance with performance schedules as determined from the PPIRS, completed PPQs other sources will be evaluated. Incomplete and unsigned PPQs will not be considered. The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s past performance to determine how relevant project work is, as described in Factor 1 Specialized Experience and Technical Competence. The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s performance to determine a confidence assessment of the Offeror’s performance. With respect to relevancy, more relevant past performance will typically be a stronger predictor of future performance and have more influence on the past performance confidence assessment than past performance of lesser relevance. SECONDARY CRITERIA: f. Geographic Proximity. Submittals should address offerors geographic locations and their capability to address project work toughout the various NWD locations (SF 330, Part I, Section H). g. Volume of DoD Contract Awards. Volume of DoD A-E contract awards in the last 12 months, with the objective of effecting an equitable distribution of DoD A-E contracts among qualified firms, including SB and SDB (SF 330, Part I, Section H). 4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Interested firms having the capabilities to perform this work must submit a copy of their SF 330 Part I and Part II for the prime firm and all consultants/subcontractors tough electronic mail, to the following US Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District Contracting Personnel: Tyler Hegge; tyler.hegge@usace.army.mil and Jennifer Gilbreath; jennifer.c.gilbreath@usace.army.mil not later than 2:00pm Central time on 29 March 2023. PLEASE SEND SUBMITTAL PACKAGES AS A SINGLE PDF FILE. Submittal must clearly identify the announcement number. Regulation requires that the Selection Board not consider any submittals received after the specified time and date. The Government will follow late proposal rules in FAR 15.208 for submittals received after 2:00 pm Central time on the closing date specified in this announcement. The SF 330 may be obtained from the following web site: https://www.gsa.gov/forms-library/architect-engineer-qualifications. Include DUNS number and CAGE code in SF330 Part I, Section B, Block 5. Additionally, SF 330 Part I, Section C, Block 9, should identify the DUNS number and CAGE code for EACH TEAM MEMBER. The submittal shall have a page limit of 65 pages. A page is one side of a sheet. Blank sheets/Tabs separating the sections within the SF 330 will not count against the maximum page count. All fonts shall be at least 10 pitch or larger. Pages shall be 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches. The firm may present organizational charts on a sheet up to 11 inches by 17 inches. A Part II is required for each branch office of the prime firm and any consultants/subcontractors that will have a key role in the proposed contract (i.e. a Part II is required for all entities identified in SF 330 Part I, Section C of the submittal). Part II of the SF 330 and Past Performance Submittals will not count towards the 65-page limit; however, cover letters, company literature and extraneous materials are not desired. Sections E and G of SF 330 Part I must include only individuals proposed to perform the anticipated work, including all consultants/subcontractors. In SF 330 Part I, Section G, Block 26, along with the name, include the firm with which the person is associated. The Government will review a maximum of ten (10) projects including the prime and consultants/subcontractors for SF 330 Part I, Section F. When listing projects in SF 330 Part 1, Section F, an Indefinite Delivery Contract (IDC) with multiple Task Orders as examples is not a project. A task order executed under an IDC contract is a project. SF 330, Part I, Section H (Additional Information) shall contain the following information. (1) Item 1 - Capacity. Reference Paragraph 3.d. above. Provide a narrative discussing the capacity of the design firm to meet schedules, including adequacy of qualified personnel available and past experience in meeting tight design schedules. (2) Item 2 – Management Plan – Include the information requested in Paragraph 3.d. above. (3) Item 3 - Quality Management (QA/QC) Process: Include the information requested in Section 3.d. (4) Item 4 - Volume of DoD Contract Awards – Reference Paragraph 3.h. above. Provide a complete listing of all DoD A-E awards within the last 12 months. For IDCs, include total value of task orders issued by agencies in the last 12 months, not the potential value of the IDCs. For all types of contracts, do not include for consideration options not exercised. Joint ventures shall submit identification of the party who can legally bind the joint venture. Solicitation packages are not provided and no additional project information will be given to firms during the announcement period. This is not a request for proposal. ALL QUESTIONS SHALL BE SUBMITTED VIA THE BIDDER INQUIRY PORTAL in ProjNet at http://www.projnet.org/projnet. Firms should submit questions no later than Close of Business ten (10) days prior to SF 330 submission to allow time for a response. The Government will close the portal on this date and time. The Government will not accept any other means of communication for questions (i.e. e-mail, fax, or telephone). To submit and review inquiry items, prospective vendors will need to use the Bidder Inquiry Key presented below and follow the instructions listed below. A prospective vendor who submits a comment/question will receive an acknowledgement of their comment/question via email, the Government will follow with an answer to the comment/question after the team processes the inquiry. The Government will use ProjNet to process all timely questions and approved answers. To submit and review inquiries, firms will need to be current registered users of the ProjNet system. Registration for ProjNet Bidder Inquiry Access (Firms who are already registered in ProjNet should go to Entering Bidder Inquiries in ProjNet Bidder Inquiry System below.) 1. From the ProjNet home page link above, click on Quick Add on the upper right side of the screen. 2. Identify the Agency. Mark as USACE. 3. Key. Enter the Bidder Inquiry Key listed below. 4. Email. Enter the email address you would like to use for communication. 5. Click Continue. A page will then open saying that a user account is not found and will ask you to create one using the provided form. 6. Enter your First Name, Last Name, Company, City, State, Phone, Email, Secret Question, Secret Answer, and Time Zone. Make sure to remember your Secret Question and Answer as you will need to use them from this point on to access the ProjNet system. 7. Click Add User. Once completed, you are registered within ProjNet and logged into the system. Entering Bidder Inquiries in ProjNet Bidder Inquiry System 1. For future access to ProjNet, the system will not email you will any type of password. You will utilize your Secret Question and Secret Answer to log in. 2. From the ProjNet home page link above, click on Quick Add on the upper right side of the screen. 3. Identify the Agency. Mark as USACE. 4. Key. Enter the Bidder Inquiry Key listed below. 5. Email. Enter the email address you used to register previously in ProjNet. 6. Click Continue. A page will then open asking you to enter the answer to your Secret Question. 7. Enter your Secret Answer and click Login. Once this is complete you are logged into the system. 8. Follow online screen instructions to enter specific bidder inquiries for the project. The Solicitation Number is: W9128F-23-R-0032 The Bidder Inquiry Key is: B8I28H-8ZWV98 The Government requests firms review the Bidder Inquiry Portal for previous questions and responses, prior to submission of a new inquiry in the Portal. Caution: Any inquiry submitted and answered within this system will be accessible to view by all interested firms on this solicitation. The call center for the ProjNet operates weekdays from 8 AM to 5 PM U.S. Central Time Zone. The telephone number is 1-800-428-HELP. KEY SUBCONTRACTORS: If an Offeror wishes to be credited with the experience of a key subcontract or supplier in Section F of the SF-330 (i.e., a firm that is not the prime contractor part of the Joint Venture) a letter of commitment signed by the key subcontractor and the prime contractor is required. The commitment letter must be submitted even if the firm is in some way related to a Joint Venture Partner (for example, the Key Subcontractor is subsidiary of a Joint Venture Partner, or a subsidiary of a firm to which the Joint Venture partner is also a subsidiary). Letters of commitment must unequivocally state that a key subcontractor or firm will perform for the purpose that its experience is being submitted. If the Letter of Commitment is not submitted or signed by both parties, the Experience of the key subcontractor will not be considered. Forms must be complete and current. Each firm identified as part of this contract including free-lance associates must complete a separate Part II of the SF 330. Firms may be rejected for incomplete or missing SF 330s. Part II must show only the office or offices that are intended to have a key role in the contract. Blocks E and G of Part I must include only individuals proposed to perform the anticipated work, including all subcontractors or consultants, in the appropriate columns, and should not include persons that will not actually do the work. Block E must clearly show if individuals are full-time, consultants or free-lance. Do not include promotional brochures, advertisements, or other extraneous material in a submission such as prices, as this is not a request for proposal. Include the firm's point-of-contact, email address, telephone number and facsimile number in the submittal. FILE DESCRIPTION: Include a “File Description” for each file(s) you upload as described previously. The system will include each recipient and they will receive the “File Description” in the email notice to each of the recipients you choose to have access your file(s). NOTE: Do NOT enter Privacy Act Data (Personal Identification Information (PII)) in the File Description.) Submission shall be in Adobe PDF format. The Government will not be responsible for submissions delivered to any location or to anyone other than those designated Government personnel identified to receive proposals. Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted proposals reach the designated recipient. Offerors are also responsible for allowing sufficient time for receipt of their proposal in accordance with the instructions provided.
W9128F23R0032 Department of the Army Corps of Engineers Engineering District Omaha
2/27/23, 1:37 PM