1.0 RFP Instructions to Offerors_382968_DG.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

NO. 382968-DG

CUB Boiler 1 PC Replacement

September 8, 2026

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INVITATION TO SUBMIT PROPOSAL

SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

(NAICS) CODE

EXPLANATION OR INTERPRETATION OF RFP DOCUMENTS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION

SCOPE OF WORK/SCHEDULE

PREPARATION, SUBMISSION, AND EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

PROPOSAL DUE DATE

EXCEPTIONS AND DEVIATIONS

LATE SUBMISSION

OFFEROR'S MODIFICATION AND WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS

WAGE DETERMINATION

BID GUARANTEE

CERTIFIED PAYROLL

NOTICE OF BUY AMERICAN REQUIREMENT—CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

PAYMENT BOND

INSURANCE

SUBCONTRACT AWARD

SUBCONTRACTING

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSTRUCTION

ATTACHMENTS

The following requirements must be adhered to for the Offeror’s submission of Proposals to Fermi Forward Discovery Group (FFDG) in support of this specific requirement.

1. INVITATION TO SUBMIT PROPOSAL

You are invited to submit a proposal for the items specified in this Request for Proposals (RFP), in accordance with the provisions contained herein and the terms and conditions of the proposed firm fixed price subcontract as a result of this solicitation.

All questions concerning this RFP should be submitted in writing and directed to the Procurement Specialist listed below. Any communication about this project with any other person will be viewed as an undermining of the procurement process, and the Offeror may be disqualified on that basis.

Procurement Specialist: Dasia Guthrie Phone: (630) 840-2494 Email: dguthrie@fnal.gov

Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC Procurement Department Kirk Road & Wilson Street Batavia, IL 60510-0500

2. SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION

SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE

This is a small business set-aside. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this solicitation is 238220– Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning Contractors. The small business size standard for this NAICS code is $19.0 million.

3. EXPLANATION OR INTERPRETATION OF RFP DOCUMENTS

The prospective offeror should examine and review the solicitation with care. Any prospective offeror desiring an explanation or interpretation of the solicitation, drawings, specifications, etc., must request it in writing by close of business (8:00 AM CDT), September 14, 2026. Oral explanations or instructions given before the award of a subcontract will not be binding. Any information given to a prospective offeror concerning a solicitation will be furnished promptly to all other prospective offerors as an amendment to the solicitation if that information is necessary for submitting proposals or if the lack of it would be prejudicial to other prospective offerors.

4. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION

FFDG may, by amendment, modify any provision or part of this RFP at any time before the award of any resultant subcontract. All terms and conditions that are not modified remain unchanged.

An Offeror shall acknowledge receipt of any amendments to this RFP. Failure to acknowledge may result in the disqualification of an Offeror’s proposal. The acknowledgment shall be provided as follows:

• Immediately upon receipt of the amendment via email to the FFDG Procurement Specialist.

mailto:dguthrie@fnal.gov

• Return of the Amendment with a signature on the acknowledgment signature line.

• In the Offeror’s Proposal Letter that accompanies an Offeror’s proposal.

5. SCOPE OF WORK/SCHEDULE

The Subcontractor shall perform all work as described in the Statement of Work titled the, “CUB Boiler 1 PLC Replacement” All work shall include transportation, overhead, bonding costs, insurance, safety oversight, quality control oversight, and supervision as required to construct the project described in the scope of work, and the detailed description contained herein.

Milestone 0 – 0 Calendar Days - NTP, This milestone marks the point where construction work may begin;

Milestone 1 – 10 Calendar Days – All material submittals;

Milestone 2 – 60 Calendar Days – Complete with punch-list items remaining, PLC and servos installed and tested and placed into operations.

Milestone 3 – 90 Calendar Days - Project Complete

6. PREPARATION, SUBMISSION, AND EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

This solicitation is a competitive Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) procurement, which involves the selection of the offeror having a technically acceptable proposal with the lowest evaluated price.

FFDG will evaluate the technical proposals on an acceptable or unacceptable basis, assigning one of the ratings for each subfactor described below. Any subfactor evaluated as “Unacceptable” will render the entire proposal unacceptable and, therefore, unawardable. Only those proposals determined to be technically acceptable, either initially without discussions or as a result of discussions, will be considered for award. However, the offeror is reminded that FFDG reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussion.

Proposal Submission Format

A. Part I - Technical Proposal/Evaluation Criteria

1. Corporate Capabilities

The offeror shall provide a detailed technical response demonstrating how they meet or exceed the following capabilities:

• A minimum of three (3) years of experience performing boiler maintenance on systems of similar size and complexity.

• Technicians must be properly trained, qualified, and certified for maintenance work on Cleaver Brooks systems.

• The vendor shall provide a detailed work plan describing procedures for equipment maintenance, inspection, documentation, and repair. The methodology must comply with applicable industry standards, FFDG safety standards, manufacturer recommendations, and industry best practices.

2. Current/ Past Experience

Offeror shall provide descriptions of its experience performing projects of similar size, scope and complexity to demonstrate it capability to successfully perform the requirements of this project.

Offeror must provide a narrative description for a minimum of three (3) projects completed in the past ten (10) years.

Each description must at a minimum include the project name, general information (customer name and location), project value, start and completion dates, and a description of the work performed by the offeror.

FFDG is most interested in examples of real work with actual results demonstrating the offeror's performance on requirements similar to those of this solicitation in terms of type, size, scope, and complexity.

3. Key Personnel Experience

The offeror shall submit resumes for the project manager and project superintendent that the offeror plans to employ on this project. The resumes must address experience in the industry and relevant training and certification. Experience of key personnel will be evaluated to determine the degree of relevance to the requirements identified in this solicitation.

Evaluation of experience will include both the length and degree to which the experience includes the relevant technical areas.

Please note that, as a condition of contract award and performance, should the contractor wish to substitute someone other than the key personnel identified in its proposal (or during performance, if after award), the replacement staff must possess education and experience equivalent to or exceeding that of the individual(s) being replaced, subject to the approval of the FFDG, prior to performance.

Key Personnel must have the following experience:

• Project Manager: Five (5) years of construction industry experience completed three (3) projects of similar size/scope, and completed the 30-hour OSHA Training Course.

• Project Superintendent: Five (5) years of construction industry experience, completed five (5) projects of similar size/scope, familiarity with Allen Bradly and Cleveland Brooks systems a plus, and completed the 30-hour OSHA Training Course.

• Safety Coordinator (or company safety officer): Five (5) years of industry experience, with five

(5) projects that encompass a similar project scope utilizing relevant company safety program(s).

4. Safety Documentation

Offeror shall submit the following safety documents as part of its proposal:

• Fermilab Subcontractor Injury & Illness Data Questionnaire (completed and signed).

• Corporate Safety and Health Plan.

5. Quality Documents

Offeror shall submit their corporate quality assurance plan.

B. Part III - Business Management & Price Proposal The Business Management proposal shall contain the following documents/items:

1) Price Proposal Form

The proposed pricing shall be a firm fixed price for the work. This Price Proposal Form is required to be completed and signed.

2) Bid Guarantee/Bond

The offeror shall provide a bid guarantee in the amount of not less than 20 percent (not to exceed $3 million) of the bid price. Failure to furnish a bid guarantee in the proper form and amount, by the time set for the due date of the offers, may be cause for rejection of the offer.

The bid guarantee shall be in the form of a firm commitment, such as a bond, postal money order, certified check, cashier's check, irrevocable letter of credit, or, under Treasury Department regulations, certain bonds, or notes of the United States.

3) Subcontractor Annual Representations & Certifications (SARC), Form SARC

The successful Offeror’s submittal of this completed form will be incorporated in the resultant subcontract. If an offering entity is a joint venture, association, consortia, or partnership, each member entity must submit individual Representations and Certifications Forms.

4) Proposal Certifications, Form PUR-466

All appropriate sections are required to be completed and signed by a company official.

7. PROPOSAL DUE DATE

The offeror’s proposal is to be emailed to the Procurement Specialist no later than 3:00 PM CDT on September 25, 2026. Partial or incomplete proposals will not be considered.

FFDG requires a minimum acceptance of ninety (90) calendar days for acceptance of your proposal.

An offeror allowing less than Fermilab’s minimum acceptance period may be rejected.

FFDG reserves the right to cancel this Solicitation at any time without incurring any liability or damages associated with such cancellation.

8. EXCEPTIONS AND DEVIATIONS

Offerors taking exceptions, deviations, or conditional assumptions must identify and explain each exception/deviation, or conditional assumption taken with sufficient amplification and justification to permit evaluation(s). Such exceptions, deviations, or conditional assumptions will not themselves automatically cause a proposal to be deemed unacceptable to FFDG. However, a large number of exceptions or one or more significant exceptions not providing benefit to FFDG may result in the rejection of your proposal as unacceptable.

9. LATE SUBMISSION

Proposals received by FFDG after the Submittal Date and Time indicated WILL NOT be considered.

The Respondent assumes the risk of the method of dispatch chosen.

10. OFFEROR'S MODIFICATION AND WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS

The offeror may submit modifications to its proposals at any time before the solicitation closing date and time and may submit modifications in response to an amendment, or to correct a mistake at any time before award.

Proposals may be withdrawn at any time before award. Withdrawals are effective upon receipt of notice by the Procurement Specialist.

11. WAGE DETERMINATION

The wage rates set forth are the minimum rates that may be paid to the classification of laborers and mechanics designated therein according to the Davis-Bacon Act (Revised April 2009) as amended; 40 U.S.C. 276 et seq.). FFDG does not represent that said minimum rates do now, nor that they will at any time in the future, prevail in the locality of the work for such laborers or mechanics; nor that such laborers or mechanics are or will be obtainable at said rates for work under this subcontract; nor those said rates represent the most recent wage determination by the Secretary of Labor concerning such classifications of laborers or mechanics in the locality of work.

12. BID GUARANTEE

The offeror shall provide a bid guarantee in the amount of not less than 20 percent (not to exceed $3 million) of the bid price. Failure to furnish a bid guarantee in the proper form and amount, by the time set for the due date of the offers, may be cause for rejection of the offer.

The bid guarantee in the form of a firm commitment, such as a bond, postal money order, certified check, cashier's check, irrevocable letter of credit, or, under Treasury Department regulations, certain bonds, or notes of the United States. FFDG will return bid guarantees, other than bonds, (1) to unsuccessful Offerors as soon as practicable after the receipt of offers, and (2) to the successful Offeror upon execution of contractual documents and bonds (including any necessary coinsurance or reinsurance agreements), as required.

If the successful Offeror, upon acceptance of its offer by FFDG within the period specified for acceptance, fails to execute all contractual documents, or give a bond(s) as required by the solicitation within the time specified, FFDG may execute upon the bid guarantee, or terminate for default the subcontract, if the subcontract has been executed.

In the event, that the bid guarantee is exercised, or the subcontract is terminated for default, the Offeror is liable for any cost of acquiring the work that exceeds the amount of its offer and the guarantee is available to offset the difference.

14. CERTIFIED PAYROLL

The Subcontract is subject to the wage and labor standards under the Davis-Bacon Act and the related labor standards FAR provisions that are incorporated by reference into FFDG’s General Terms and Conditions for Construction.

The subcontractor and its subcontractors are required to submit certified payrolls and labor compliance documentation on a weekly basis as required by Federal law.

FFDG currently holds a licensing agreement with LCPTracker for weekly electronic payroll submittals by the subcontractor and its subcontractors. Use of this application is free for Subcontractors to use to submit weekly electronic payroll to FFDG.

LCPTracker is a web-based system, accessed using a web browser. The subcontractor will be given a Log-on identification (i.e., User ID) and password to access the LCPTracker system. This requirement shall be flow-down to every lower-tier subcontractor.

Use of the system will involve data entry of weekly payroll information including employee identification, labor classification, hours worked on the project, wage and benefit rates paid, etc.

LCPTracker's software can interface with most payroll and accounting software programs that are capable of generating a 'comma delimited file (.csv).

15. NOTICE OF BUY AMERICAN REQUIREMENT—CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

Definitions. “Commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item,” “construction material,” “domestic construction material,” and “foreign construction material,” as used in this provision, are defined in the clause of this solicitation entitled “Buy American—Construction Materials” (Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.225-9).

Requests for determinations of inapplicability. An offeror requesting a determination regarding the inapplicability of the Buy American statute should submit the request to the Procurement Specialist in time to allow a determination before submission of offers. The offeror shall include the information and applicable supporting data required by paragraphs (c) and (d) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9 in the request. If an offeror has not requested a determination regarding the inapplicability of the Buy American statute before submitting its offer or has not received a response to a previous request, the offeror shall include the information and supporting data in the offer.

Evaluation of offers.

FFDG will evaluate an offer requesting an exception to the requirements of the Buy American statute, based on claimed unreasonable cost of domestic construction material, by adding to the offered price the appropriate percentage of the cost of such foreign construction material, as specified in paragraph (b)(3)(i) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9.

If evaluation results in a tie between an offeror that requested the substitution of foreign construction material based on unreasonable cost and an offeror that did not request an exception, FFDG will award to the offeror that did not request an exception based on unreasonable cost.

Alternate offers.

When an offer includes foreign construction material not listed by FFDG in this solicitation in paragraph (b) (2) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9, the offeror also may submit an alternate offer based on the use of equivalent domestic construction material.

If an alternate offer is submitted, the offeror shall submit a separate Standard Form 1442 for the alternate offer, and a separate price comparison table prepared in accordance with paragraphs (c) and

(d) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9 for the offer that is based on the use of any foreign construction material for which FFDG has not yet determined an exception applies.

If FFDG determines that a particular exception requested in accordance with paragraph (c) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9 does not apply, FFDG will evaluate only those offers based on the use of the equivalent domestic construction material, and the offeror shall be required to furnish such domestic construction material. An offer based on the use of the foreign construction material for which an exception was requested—

• Will be rejected as nonresponsive if this acquisition is conducted by sealed bidding; or

• May be accepted if revised during negotiations.

16. PAYMENT BOND

If the subcontract exceeds $35,000.00, the successful offeror is required to furnish FFDG with a Payment Bond in the amount of 100 percent of the original subcontract price within (10) calendar days after the effective date of the subcontract in a form and with sureties satisfactory to FFDG.

17. INSURANCE

Certificates of insurance of the types and in the amounts in accordance the Clause 15 in FFDG General Terms and Conditions and Insurance Requirements for Construction Subcontracts will be required of the successful offeror before physical work at the site commences. All policies, except for Worker’s Compensation and Professional Liability, shall provide by appropriate language that Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC, the University of Chicago, Universities Research Association, Inc., and the United States Government are additional insureds. The certificates shall state that waiver of subrogation is granted in favor of the Certificate Holder as required by written contract, that the insurance afforded by such policies is primary insurance, and that all rights of the insurer for contribution from other insurers of Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC, University of Chicago, Universities Research Association, and the United States Government are waived.

18. SUBCONTRACT AWARD

Issuance of the RFP does not compel FFDG to make an award. FFDG reserves the right to accept or reject all proposals if that is determined to be in its best interest. A decision may be made without discussion; and hence, your proposal should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms. The proposed award is based on a continuing program requirement and the issuance of obligation authority from the Procurement Department of the Laboratory. Any subsequent award issued by FFDG shall be constituted in writing by authorized representatives of the Procurement Department.

No other representatives of FFDG are authorized to issue contracts or agreements or bind FFDG to any form of agreement or understanding. The authorized Procurement Department official is the only individual who can legally commit FFDG to the expenditure of funds in connection with this proposed procurement.

19. SUBCONTRACTING

Unless otherwise specified, the successful Offeror shall be responsible for the performance of any subcontractors that perform work under this subcontract.

The use of subcontractors in the performance of the contract is subject to FFDG consent. The awarded vendor must ensure that any subcontractors abide by all terms and conditions of the contract.

20. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSTRUCTION

Attention is directed to that clause of the FFDG Subcontract. Particular attention is directed to the statement therein that this clause shall be physically included in all subsubcontracts for construction trades at any tier, including the goals for women and minority participation.

21. ATTACHMENTS

Attachment Description/Title Revision or Date 1 SOW “CUB Boiler 1 PLC Replacement” June 3, 2026 2 General Requirements – Section 010010 03/2025 3 General ESH Requirements 013100 03/2025 4 Submittals – Section 013300 01/2025 5 Quality Requirements - Section 014100 03/2025 6 Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC General

Terms and Conditions for Construction 08/2025

7 Insurance Requirements for Construction Subcontracts

01/2025

8 Statement and Acknowledgment (Standard Form 1413)

10/2023

9 Fermilab Subcontractor Injury & Illness Data Questionnaire

Revision 7, 07/2018

10 Price Proposal Form Undated

11 Subcontract Annual Representations & Certification (SARC)

Revision 8

12 Proposal Certifications, Form PUR-466 Revision 5, 10/14/2025 13 Bid Bond, FL-41 01/7/2025 14 Payment Bond, FL-42 01/7/2025 15 Davis Bacon Wage Rates, General Decision, IL20260008, Building and Residential Modification 2, 05/18/2026