Questions_and_Answers_-_Responses_0002.pdf

Multiple-Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC)/Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity

(IDIQ) contracts for Geotechnical Engineering Services for the continental US and Hawaii in any state or US territory for the Department of Interior (DOI)

Solicitation # 140F0521R0005

Questions and Answers

General Information: The Government has received a lot of questions about the funding, list of projected projects, how these MATOCs will be used, contract values, which agencies/bureaus will use them, etc.

GAOA funding yearly estimations are provided in the solicitation along with the estimated amount each bureau/agency will receive. These estimated amounts is the funding that each bureau/agency will have each year over the next 5 years to fund all

GAOA related projects/goods/services.

No publicly available list of projects for the coming years will be made available through this solicitation. Each bureau/agency will make their own determinations on how they handle their project lists and if they get distributed to the public.

These MATOCs will be used for BOTH GAOA and non-GAOA funded projects as determined by each bureau/agency. It is important to note that while these MATOCs are an acquisition tool with the intent to support the GAOA funding they are also available to

ALL DOI BUREAUS AND USDA FOREST SERVICE to be used for other requirements that are not funded by GAOA. Thus, GAOA funding will not be the only funding available to be used for these MATOCs.

The maximum contract values listed in the solicitations are estimated ceiling amounts for each IDIQ contract award. For example, the Geotech estimated ceiling is $25 million over 5 years. This does not guarantee $25 million worth of work over the 5 years. This provides an estimated maximum dollar amount that is allowed to be awarded through task orders against the IDIQ contracts over the 5-year period.

ALL DOI BUREAUS AND USDA FOREST SERVICE will have the contracting authority to use these MATOCs for any of their project requirements at their discretion.

1. Can we please get a copy of the attendees?

Response: Yes. An attendees list has been provided in an Amendment to the solicitation along with a link to a recording of the presentation and the slides.

2. Will PPQ's and copies of business licenses count towards the page limit?

Response: No. See Sections L & M of the solicitation.

3. Can you please elaborate on the "Ability to Manage Construction during and after construction"? Does this contract include Construction Management services? Or are you just looking for collection and analysis of data to be used by others for planning and construction management?

Response: As noted on the solicitation, it includes the ability to oversee and effectively manage construction and restoration activities prior to and during construction for geotechnical related purposes.

4. Are there any restrictions on the number of pages, number of projects (section F), and/or number of resumes (section E) in the SF330 response?

Response: Stated as follows in the Solicitation:

SF330 Document Content Format:

Responses shall not exceed fifty (50) pages single-sided print. Include page numbers on pages that will be counted toward the page limitation. Pages not counted toward the page limitation need not have page numbers, but additional pages that are determined to be not applicable will be removed from the submission by the CO and will not be evaluated.

All pages submitted will be considered as part of the page count with the exception of the following;

cover page, table of contents, amendments, CPARS/PPQs, geographical location selection form, labor categories and rate table, dividers and divider pages/tabs, pages defining acronyms, Part II –

General

Qualifications, Partnership or JV paperwork, licenses and proof of A-E firm registration.

5. If we have subs for the service, e.g. drilling, do we need to include all subcontractors?

Response: Yes

6. When you say registered/licensed to work in each state, do you mean business license or professional registration (PE)?

Response: Firms shall have the required state licenses/registrations to provide the services required services in the locations selected.

7. If we have existing CPARS performance ratings for a specific project do we also need separate Past Performance Questionnaires filled out for those projects?

Response: No. See Section M, Selection Criteria 3 - Past Performance.

8. Solicitation states the 10 projects must have been completed within the past 10 years. Is a project where the geotechnical scope is complete but general construction still ongoing be considered?

Response: Yes.

9. Does professional staff submitted need to hold professional registration in all states that we are proposing on? Is one state sufficient with ability to become registered?

Response: All staff do not need to hold professional registration in all states. To be eligible for a contract award, the firm must indicate their ability to obtain all professional qualifications, including individual professional licenses, certifications, registrations, etc.

The terms "firm" or "team" or "offeror" shall refer to the company or organization that is proposing on this solicitation. The "firm" or "team" will include the prime contractor, partners, subcontractors, and joint ventures that are proposed to work on this contract.

10. Task orders will be competitively bid within the pool of selected firms?

Response: Task Order Selections will be made in accordance with H.6 in the solicitation.

11. Any limitation on how many subconsultants the prime firm can bring?

Response: No

12. Can you elaborate on how this contract will work across a wide geography? I.e. firms will be awarded by state

Response: Firms will be evaluated separately in each geographical location/state they selected.

If selected for award would then receive an award for that location/state. If a firm is selected to receive an award for multiple locations/states then the firm would receive one award covering all the locations/states selected (maximum of 10 locations/states as stated in the solicitation).

13. The solicitation says "Upon receipt of submissions, the CO will first remove the Labor

Categories and Rate Table from each firm's package." So do we submit labor rates at this point or later after the evaluation?

Response: No. Do not submit labor rates.

14. Can you confirm that the engineering firm must be registered in the applicable states or would having individual engineers on staff registered in those states be sufficient.

Response: This is acceptable.

15. How many anticipated firms will be selected?

Response: The Government is looking for 3 to 5 firms to provide coverage for each state/location. Due to overlap of location selections, the exact number of firms to be selected is unknown. One firm could potentially be selected to cover 10 locations and would receive one award for those locations. Thus, reducing the number of firms to be selected.

16. Are we required to use the SF330 fillable PDF format or can we recreate the SF 330 format in another program and save as a PDF at the end?

Response: You can recreate the SF 330 format in another program and save as a PDF at the end.

17. Will each of the 128 contracts have total potential limit of $25M over the 5-year term?

Response: Yes. Each individual award would have an estimated limit of $25M over 5 years. The

128 contract awards is an estimation.

18. For each project submitted in the sf 330 - how many ppq's are required for that project

- is it three? Or do i need to only submit three in total for all my projects that i submit.

Response: See Section M, Selection Criteria 3 - Past Performance.

19. What is the likelihood of a small firm being selected with very little federal work in their portfolio? But, have done work at a County and State Level (NCDOT), etc.

Response: All qualified firms registered in SAM are eligible.

20. The solicitation says, "The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer." Then 5 FAR clauses are listed. Are we supposed to provide these 5 FAR clauses and our filled in information with our submittal?

Response: Yes. If they include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its offer.

21. The solicitation says to provide 1 resume for each of the positions identified above.

Then says to submit no more than 10 resumes. There are only 4 positions listed, so can we submit more than one resume for each position as long as the total number of 10 resumes is not exceeded?

Response: Offerors should submit the number of resumes needed (not to exceed 10) to show the professional qualifications, competence, and experience of the proposed key personnel in providing services to accomplish the tasks required under this contract, including participation in example projects as outlined in the SF330, Part 1, Section G.

22. Do key subcontractor's past performance and qualifications count if we have a teaming agreement?

23. My firm has a SF 330 form with our company colors. Can we use that version, or do we have to use the SF 330 provided as an attachment?

Response: The form provided was only to show the form to be used. Firms can obtain a fresh copy of an SF330 from the link provided in the solicitation. You can use your form if only the colors are different.

24. What would the cost range for each task order?

Response: Task orders may range between (estimated) $5,000 to $20,000 with a few up to

$100,000.

25. If geotechnical services are needed for any tasks under the other GAOA MATOCS is the intent to use this geotechnical MATOC for those services?

Response: Each Bureau will determine how to acquire Geotechnical Services on a case by case basis. The intent of this MATOC is to provide an acquisition tool for each bureau to use for the purposes of quickly acquiring these services.

26. Please confirm whether we can submit a cover/transmittal letter with our proposal, and whether it would be included or excluded from the page count?

Response: See “Submission Format Requirements” in the solicitation.

27. Should copies of key personnel licenses/certifications be included with our proposal or just listed in the proposal on the resumes, etc.? If copies are required, where in our proposal should they be included?

28. Should copies of laboratory certifications be included with our proposal? If yes, where in our proposal should they be included?

Response: Only submit what is required in the solicitation.

29. Please confirm what type of proof for the “state registration number” on page 3 of 3, “2. Required Registrants” of the RFQ we should submit for our firm? Is this the

Certificate of Status from the California Secretary of State? Where in our proposal should this proof be submitted?

30. Can the Section D organizational chart be formatted as 11” x 17”?

Response: Yes

31. Should we include subconsultant information in the submittal for CPT, drilling, surveying, laboratory testing, geophysical surveying, and utility locating?

Response: Only submit what is required in the solicitation.

32. Please confirm whether Projects (Section F) can also be included for subconsultants as long as a minimum of 5 projects have been included for the prime?

33. For Section H, if we want to attach additional sheets up to the 10-page max, can these be Word files or should we use the Section H SF330 form with signature block for each additional sheet?

Response: Shall be pdf and use Section H SF330 as the cover and then attach your additional pdf pages.

34. To confirm, the Quick Data Entry form is to be submitted at the same time as our proposal, but is not to be included as part of our proposal package, correct?

Response: Please include as part of your proposal package.

35. Regarding the Geotech MATCO Location Selection form, can you please confirm whether subconsultants on our team can also qualify for location selection or does this only apply to the prime consultant’s established offices?

Response: Your subconsultants are considered part of your team. Firms/teams can select a maximum of 10 locations to be considered for.

36. For the Past Performance Questionnaire, can the client be the prime consultant (if we were a subconsultant and the prime consultant was our client) or does it have to be the project owner?

Response: Yes, the client can be the prime consultant. However, this client shall not be a member of the Team proposing on this solicitation.

37. The solicitation mentions wetland delineation and survey, but those types of personnel are not listed in the key personnel. Are we to include resumes in Section E for those professionals or just mention those capabilities in Section H?

Response: Offerors should submit the resumes needed (not to exceed 10) to show the professional qualifications, competence, and experience of the proposed key personnel in providing services to accomplish the tasks required under this contract, including participation in example projects as outlined in the SF330, Part 1, Section G.

38. Can a previously completed PPQ form be provided for a project used in this solicitation? The PPQ would be ~ 13 months old and on Form PPQ-0

Response: See Section M, Selection Criteria 3 - Past Performance.

39. If a previously completed PPQ form will be allowed, can the proposer email this form directly to you? For the previous solicitation where the PPQ form was obtained, the

PPQ was returned to the proposer, not the contract officer.

Response: Do not have clients send PPQs. PPQ’s shall be include in your proposal.

40. A required key position on the team is soil engineer. Certain states do not have a specific soils engineer licensure. Can a licensed geotechnical engineer and/or licensed geologist fill this position in states where a licensed soil engineer is not an option? Or would a non-engineer/degreed soil scientist certification position be required?

Response: If a state does not have the specific licensure than it is not required for that state. This shall be explained in your proposal.

41. If a small business firm is the prime for a team submitting for a contract in a state, may they also be a subcontractor to a different prime small business firm who is submitting for a contract?

Response: This is acceptable.

42. One of the required disciplines is a Soils Engineer (Function Code 55); see Selection

Criteria 2 – Professional Qualifications (RFQ page 37 of 39). Is a Soils Engineer a seismic earthquake specialist or something else? Please clarify this role.

Response: Roles of the foundation/geotechnical/soils engineer shall be typical for that profession.

43. With respect to state/location selection, if we specify more than one state/location, how will US Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) consider this in the selection? Will USFWS consider the qualifications for each state/location identified independent of any other state/location a firm has indicated?

Response: Yes. Firms will be evaluated independently in each state/location.

44. Is it anticipated the selected geotechnical teams will need to provide pavement design under this MATOC IDIQ for geotechnical engineering services?

Response: Yes. Please refer to the Solicitation, Page 3, where it states that typical work will include development of design parameters and specifications for a variety of non-complex site structures and site construction projects and the ability to oversee and effectively manage construction and restoration activities prior to and during construction.

45. Is it anticipated the selected geotechnical teams will need to provide structural engineering services (e.g. for bridge design) under this MATOC IDIQ for geotechnical engineering services?

Response: Work of the geotechnical team would include developing, preparing, and submitting geotechnical investigations/reports that would be used for bridge design. This could include making recommendations for the substructure elements of a bridge (e.g. piling).

46. A resume in the standard SF330 fillable PDF format allows five projects on one page, with a specified amount of space allowed for each project. This MATOC IDIQ RFQ allows resumes with a maximum of two pages for each resume. Are we to use the fillable format? Or, can we recreate our own template (following the requirements for font size, margins, etc. per the solicitation), which would allow us to control how much space to provide for each project presented?

Response: We prefer the fillable PDF format if possible. You can recreate your own template if needed.

47. Section B.3 Price Schedule (p. The MATOC IDIQ requires submittal of our Labor

Categories and Rate Table. Section B.3 / Price Schedule indicates labor rates will be requested from only the most highly qualified offerors after all qualification based evaluations are completed; see p. 4 of 39 of the RFQ. However, in Section M of the RFQ

(p. 33 of 39), under the Initial Evaluation of SF330s, it is indicated the CO will remove the Labor Categories and Rate Table from each firm’s package prior to the evaluations.

Also, the format / order of the submittal is provided on p. 32 of 39 of the RFQ, however, it does not indicate where to include the Labor categories and Rate Table selection.

Please confirm if we are to submit the Labor Categories and Rate Table with our submittal, and if so, where we should include this information in our submittal.

Response: No. Do not submit labor rates.

48. Can a firm be selected for some but not all of the states it submitted?

49. Can we submit our proposal without listing our driller/lab testing subconsultants? For most of our projects, we typically contact driller and lab testing subconsultants once we know a project’s location to keep travelling expenses down.

Response: Yes, please state that in your submission.

50. Can we submit our proposal without listing our design subconsultants that would support us, or do we have to list them in our submission? These subs would be the ones that supported our engineering efforts.

Response: Design subconsultants should be listed (and identified as such) as part of the design team.

51. I was not able to attend the Industry on the referenced MATOC on the 20th of May.

Will you be uploading to SAM for people to watch or is there a link you can provide? I appreciate your time and look forward to your response.

Response: Yes, an attendees list will be provided in an amendment to the solicitation along with a link to a recording of the presentation.

52. Can you please expand/elaborate the differences in roles of Foundation/Geotechnical

Engineer and Soils Engineer.

Response: Page 3 of the Solicitation states, "The detail of the investigation should be commensurate with the potential risks, hazards and complexity of the project." Potential risks, and hazards could include the analysis of potential seismic loadings.