12445522Q0006 - AMENDMENT 0001 - Questions and Answers Document.pdf

Questions and Answers for 12445522Q0006 Solicitation – Region 9 Facilities BPAs 12/22/2021

Q1 Do you have a list of items that can be used to determine the Rate?

A: Use what labor category fits best; if desired you can tell us which one you used to ensure transparency and understanding.

Q2 Do we use Davis Bacon on all projects? If not, what level do we switch to the DB rates?

A: No; we have revised the Schedule of Items to capture most of the categories used for either service or construction projects that may need emergency labor. The specific labor rate used on any subsequent call order will be determined based upon the work at hand.

Q3 Many times the project involves sheet metal work, and/or hard piping and/or equipment installation. DB only covers "sheet metal", "piping" or "plumbing". My company does all disciplines of mechanical trades. What rate should we use?

A: See Answer to Q1 above for pricing purposes at this stage. The rate you should use for subsequent call orders depends on what the CO determines to be the wage determination for the particular project.

Q4 If the project is service vs new installation, or gravitates to replacement of equipment, what rate is used.

A: Service activities not involving construction will use the service rates identified in the newly revised Schedule of Items that breaks apart service from construction. Installation and replacement activities include many nuances particular to the project at hand, which may lend the project to DBA, SCA, or other exemptions to those Acts.

Q5 Mechanical contractors typically would have to sub out to a certified control contractor for building automation systems. We would only want to bid the building automation portion of the HVAC category. How would you recommend specify this in the proposal?

A: These BPAs are not intended to replace a dedicated contract for installation and maintenance of a building automation system, due to the proprietary nature of these specialized devices.

While building control systems are included in-scope, we view these as different in that building control systems include all the stand-alone components of the infrastructure, whereas building automation systems connect all these components via signals and processors to an accessible panel. If a proprietary system is involved, procurement of that/those components will be procured separately via sole source/single source/limited source contract methods.

Q6 Did you say both Materials and Mobilization would be covered in the BPA "project" scope for each location? We are would be interested in Zone 2a-c, but b and c are about 4+ hours away compared to A which is in our backyard.

A: For materials and mobilization, those will be handled separately at the call order level (e.g., they will have their own lines in the Schedule of Items specific to the order, in which contractors will provide relevant prices).

Q7 Will the chosen contractors be placed in a "preferred order" based on qualifications, price, prompt payment terms, etc.? Or will contractors be weighted equally once approved?

A: There will be no preferred order like there is in fire dispatching for BPAs; holders will generally compete for projects, but urgent matters may be handled a bit differently (single source, etc.)

Q8 As referenced in Block 10 of the SF-18 the quotes are to be turned in to the PA office, is there a way we could email these in PDF form, or is mail the only option?

A: Block 10 of the SF18 should actually read that all quotes are to be emailed directly to Carol Northrop at carol.northrop@usda.gov. Hard copy/mailed quotes are not able to be received.

mailto:carol.northrop@usda.gov