New Industrial Building Construction-_RFI.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION - 1625DC-20-N-00003

New Industrial Building Model Development and Cost Updates in the Producer Price Index Program

Bureau of Labor Statistics

This Request for Information (RFI) is for the U.S. Department of Labor/Bureau of Labor Statistics the

Producer Price Index (PPI). The Bureau of Labor Statistic’s PPI program requires data for New

Industrial Building Construction. This is a Sources Sought Notice for Request for Information (RFI) No

1625DC-20-N-00003. The proposed acquisition classified under the North American Industry

Classification System (NAICS) Code is 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific and Technical

Services (Size Standard of $16.5 Million).

DISCLAIMER:

This Request for Information/Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this Request for Information/Sources Sought that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.

Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this Sources Sought

Notice.

Instructions for Potential Offerors:

1. Please review the below overview of the requirements and respond if you are an interested party.

2. Include both a capabilities statement and complete all sections of the Market Research Questions.

Your response should not exceed 10 pages for each business.

3. Both large and small businesses are encouraged to participate in this market research. Joint ventures or teaming arrangements are encouraged and are up to each industry partner. Multiple teaming arrangements are acceptable. Please express your intentions in the questionnaire and capabilities package. If applicable, please specify your small business classification in any response.

4. If, after reviewing this document, you desire to participate in this market research request for information, you should reply via email with the corresponding questionnaire responses and your capabilities statement to Graves.Kelly@bls.gov no later than 12:00 pm EST, February 17, 2020.

Proprietary information should be clearly marked. All submissions shall be sent via e-mail. The electronic format may be in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) or compatible with

Microsoft Office suite of software.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Purpose:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) requires data and services to aid in updating four regional

(Northeast, South, Midwest, and West) industrial building cost models and to improve the indexes it produces. In addition, a methodology to update the costs included in each of the regional cost models on a quarterly basis must be developed. The methodology shall adjust the costs for each component of the model to reflect actual market price movement observed within the region for which the model was designed.

Objectives:

1. Obtain from the vendor a reasonably comprehensive list of new industrial building projects that were bid, under construction, or completed construction in the United States during the period of

June 1, 2017 to June 1, 2020.

2. Identify a specific project (one for each of the four major Census regions) that best reflects the

‘average’ industrial project within that region.

3. Have the vendor develop four fully detailed regional industrial building cost models. Each model shall reflect the known characteristics of the project selected as the ‘average’ for the region.

4. Have the vendor develop and implement a methodology to update the material, labor, and installation costs for the four regional models

SCOPE OF WORK

The data and services covered by this statement of work include everything necessary to re-specify the current industrial building models for the four major Census regions (Northeast, South, Midwest, and

West) and maintain continuous calculation of BLS indexes.

This work specifically includes:

BASE YEAR WORK (See specific due dates under “Performance Measure” for “Base Year” and

“Option Year” Deliverables.):

1. Delivery of a reasonably comprehensive list of all new industrial (see definition of ‘new’ and

‘industrial’ in attachment A) buildings bid on or built in the United States between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2020.

2. Development of four (1 per major Census region) new industrial building cost models.

3. Development of a methodology to update the costs in the four regional industrial models on a quarterly basis reflecting market price movement within each of the regions. This methodology shall also allow BLS to select up to four assemblies (as defined in attachment A) in each region for which specific research will be performed by the vendor.

4. Provide assistance to BLS on an ‘as needed’ basis to understand the make-up of the industrial cost models and to evaluate any future updates to the models due to significant changes in

‘typical’ construction practices.

5. Delivery of cost updates on a quarterly basis for each of the four regional industrial cost models.

DATA AVAILABILITY

Please be advised that the selected vendor may not use the Bureau of Labor Statistics name in connection with any collection of data that is being purchased under this contract. The data being purchased should be commercially available and not collected exclusively on behalf of the BLS. The vendor will not have access to BLS data.

DELIVERABLES

BASE YEAR (Date of Award – 7/15/2020)

1. “Project List.” A reasonably comprehensive list of all new industrial building projects in the

United States that were either: (1) bid, (2) under construction, or (3) completed construction during the period of June 1, 2017 to June 1, 2020. In preparing the list of new industrial building projects it is very important that the project meet the definition of a ‘new’ ‘industrial’ building.

A definition of these terms is provided in attachment A.

The information requested for each project shall include:

Project bid date

Construction start date

Construction completion date

Physical address (including city and state) where the project will be or is being constructed

Total square footage of the building

Total cost for construction of the building excluding land cost, architectural fees, permitting fees, and any other cost not directly associated with the construction of the building itself. Construction costs should include material cost, labor cost, and installation costs.

Cost per square foot for the building.

Total number of floors in the building above and/or below grade

Building frame material

Roof covering material

Exterior wall material

An indicator as to whether or not building plans/specifications are available to the vendor for use in developing the cost model. It would be desirable if there was also an indicator of the amount of plan/specification information

LEED rating

Performance Measure: The project list is due to BLS 40 days after the award date. The project list will be judged based largely (but not solely) on the accuracy of the: (1) Project total cost information; (2) Square footage information; (3) Cost per square foot information; and (4)

Completeness of the project list. The completeness of the list will be evaluated by BLS independently identifying 20 “high profile” industrial projects in each region and checking to see if those “high profile” projects are included on the project list AND that project details such as the square footage and construction cost information in the project list are similar to internet sources. The project list does not have to contain every “high profile” project but should contain a reasonable number of them. Similarly, the square footage and construction cost information does not have to be exactly the same but reasonably close.

a) Is the “total cost” figure listed in the project file within plus/minus 30 percent of the “total cost” figure listed on publicly available internet sites?

b) Have unusually small or large “cost per square foot” figures been reviewed for accuracy?

c) Have unusually small or large “total cost” and “square footage” been reviewed for accuracy?

d) Do 70 percent of the “high profile” projects independently identified by BLS in any one region appear on the project list?

2. “Models.” Develop a cost model of the industrial building project selected by BLS for each of the four Census regions. The cost model must go down to a level of detail such that all tasks necessary to complete the building are specified. (See attachment B at the end of this document for an example.) All building systems (plumbing, heating, and air conditioning, electrical, roofing, siding, and substructure) must be included in the model submission. The cost models must include appropriate column headers. All assembly level cost information must accurately reflect the aggregation of the lower level cost information. Similarly, the total cost (both with and without overhead and profit) for each line in the model must accurately aggregate the material and installation costs for that line. The cost information for the assemblies and components must reflect market costs for the region that the model is for. NOTE: No partial quantities should be listed for items which are not divisible into partial quantities. For example, ‘1.5 toilets’ is not acceptable. Please round the quantity as appropriate.

Performance Measure: One completed regional cost model is due by each of the following dates: (1) 3 Months after the Award Date (2) 3.5 Months after the Award Date (3) 4

Months after the Award Date and (4) 4.5 Months after the Award Date. These dates are firm unless different dates are mutually agreed upon or additional time is granted by BLS due to various circumstances. The models are to be delivered in an Excel format and meet the criteria specified above. This deliverable will be rated as ‘Satisfactory’ if each of the models are received by BLS by the specified due date and require only a minimal amount of editing. A rating above satisfactory can be achieved by delivering at least one of the models four working days prior to the specified due date with no negative impact on the quality of the model.

3. “Contractor List.” The vendor will provide a list of contractors (see the minimum required numbers in the table below) for each of the four regions (Northeast, South, Midwest, and West).

The list must consist only of contractors that had bid or worked on a new industrial building project between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2020.

Region General

Contractor

Roofing

Contractor

Concrete

Contractor

Electrical

Contractor

Plumbing

Contractor

Mechanical

Contractor

Northeast 60 60 60 60 30 30

South 60 60 60 60 30 30

Midwest 60 60 60 60 30 30

West 60 60 60 60 30 30

Performance Measure: The contractor list is due February 6, 2021 unless another date is mutually agreed upon between BLS and the vendor. The list of contractors (general, roofing, concrete, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical) for each of the four Census region and contractor type must meet the minimum required number as specified in the table above. A rating of

‘Acceptable’ will be given for a list of contractors that meet the numbers listed in the table. A rating higher than ‘Acceptable’ will be given when (1)the number of contractors names within all regions meets the minimum required numbers shown in the table AND (2) exceeds the minimum number by ten percent for at least five region/contractor combinations.

4. “Cost Update Methodology.” Develop and document the methodology to be used to update the costs in the model.

The methodology shall:

a) Only use price data as collected from companies without any adjustments

b) Reflect actual prices observed in the marketplace since the previous cost update.

c) Be based on a minimum sample of three companies providing price information.

d) Only use cost information for the region that the model encompasses.

e) Attempt to incorporate all of the various costs (material, labor, equipment, fuel, etc.)

which are an included in the total cost of building an industrial building.

f) Allow BLS to select four assemblies in each of the four regions which will be updated quarterly using material, labor, and installation cost information that the vendor collects as part of their normal commercial activities.

g) Shall, at a minimum, collect price data each quarter from the following number of states in each region: Northeast, 5 out of 9; South, 10 out of 17; Midwest, 7 out of 12; and

West, 8 out of 13

h) Shall, at minimum, obtain three price quotes for materials surveyed by the vendor.

The document written by the vendor should explain the methods that will be employed by the vendor to update the costs in the models such that they reflect actual costs observed in the market.

a) Fully detail all survey methods to be employed to collect information used to update the model costs.

b) State the average number of companies to be contacted as part of the survey process.

c) Explicitly state what types of costs (material, labor, equipment, fuel, general conditions) are and are not incorporated by the update methodology.

d) Fully explain how the costs in the model are moved via the update methodology.

e) Indicate any costs that will not be updated in every period due to not collecting information for that type of cost in every period or for some other reason.

Performance Measure: The methodology documentation is due on May 17, 2021. A

‘Satisfactory’ rating will be given if the documentation is received by the specified date and clearly explains the methods that will be employed to update the cost models. A rating higher than ‘Satisfactory’ will be given if the documentation is received before the specified due date and clearly explains the methods that will be employed to update the cost models.

5. Ongoing support regarding contents of the regional models and any quality adjustment information required by BLS due to changes in the regional models. BLS may also request additional information for cost changes that it deems noteworthy or for cost information to make adjustments when the models or cost update process change.

Performance Measure: The vendor assists BLS in understanding how the cost models were developed and answers specific questions concerning the selection of various materials and building systems for inclusion in the models.

FOUR OPTION YEARS

6. Four Option Year “Quarterly Cost Updates.” One year of quarterly cost updates for the four industrial building models. The cost updates for each option year are due by: June 10, September

10, December 10, and March 10. Each option year begins June 1 (starting in year 2021) and concludes on May 31 of the following year.

Performance Measure: Cost updates for each of the industrial building models are delivered by the 10th of June, September, December, and March for the relevant option year unless an extension is granted by BLS. This first month of each option year will be June. The quarterly cost updates will reflect actual changes in costs for material, installation, and fuel observable in the market place since the previous cost update for each particular region.

7. One year of ongoing support of quarterly cost changes for the regional models and any quality adjustment information required by BLS due to changes in the regional models. Along with the delivery of the quarterly cost updates the vendor provides an explanation for any significant cost changes due to the quarterly updates. BLS may also request additional information for cost changes that it deems noteworthy or for cost information to make adjustments when the models or cost update process change.

Performance Measure: The vendor provides written explanations of significant cost changes along with the model updates. In addition, the vendor will provide with each quarterly cost update a response to the following questions:

Was the model reviewed in its entirety for any needed assembly modifications or replacements?

Does the model and all of the assemblies still represent typical construction practices in the respective region since the previous cost update?

What materials/assemblies/labor costs showed significant changes from the previous cost update?

Were there any changes to the makeup of the crews since the last cost update?

Have there been any noteworthy shifts in trends regarding the assemblies that makeup the model? Are any assemblies becoming more/less commonly used which may require a change at some point in the future?

Were all of the “specifically researched assemblies” updated to incorporate changes in material and labor costs that occurred since the last cost update?

BLS may also request additional information for cost changes that it deems noteworthy or for cost information to make adjustments when the models or cost update process changes.

LOCATION OF PERFORMANCE

All work shall shall performed at the contractor’s site.

SCHEDULE OF BASE YEAR DELIVERABLES:

Description 2020 2021

AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR

MAY

Award

Contract

Estimated month of award

Deliverable 1:

List of industrial projects

40 Days from

BLS Model

Selection

60 Days

75 Days

90 Days

105 Days award

Receive

Region 1

Model

3 Months

Region 2

3.5

Months

Region 3

4 Months

Region 4

4.5

Months

Contractor List 2/06/2021

Documentation of

Methodology

5/17/2021

BLS requires delivery to be made according to the following schedule and in an Excel spreadsheet for deliverable 1-3 and 6:

Deliverable Date

1. List of industrial projects

One Month after the Award Date

2. Four regional models

A model for any one region is due by the following dates: (1) 3

Months after the Award Date (2) 3.5 Months after the Award Date

(3) 4 Months after the Award Date and (4) 4.5 Months after the

Award Date

3. List of contractors

February 6, 2021.

4. Development and documentation of methodology

May 17, 2021.

5. Ongoing Support

During the “BASE YEAR” and any subsequent “option” years on an

“as needed” basis.

6. “Option year” cost updates

Cost updates are provided in the “option years” on a quarterly basis for the industrialbuilding models. “Option year” cost updates are to be delivered by the 10th of June, September, December, and March in each option year unless an extension is granted by BLS. The

“option years” will be as follows:

(Option year I is June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2022)

(Option year II is June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023)

(Option year III is June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024)

(Option year IV is June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025)

Attachment A: Illustrative Example of Detail Breakdown Required for Building Model Deliverables

Description

Quan tity Unit

Material

Cost

(excludin g overhead and profit)

Labor/Insta llation Cost

(excluding overhead and profit)

Total

Cost

(exclu ding overhe ad and profit)

Material

Cost

(including overhead and profit)

Labor/I nstallati on Cost

(includi ng overhea d and profit)

Total

Cost

(includi ng overhea d and profit)

Level 1

(System/Major

Group Element) Substructure

Level 2

(Sub-system/Group

Element/Assembl

y) Slab on Grade

Level 3

(Assembly/Comp onent)

Slab on grade, 5" thick, heavy industrial, reinforced 25000 S.F. $ $ $ $ $ $

Level 4

(Unit/Element)

Material/Installati on

Fill, gravel fill, compacted, under floor slabs, 4" deep 25000 S.F. $ $ $ $ $ $

Material/Installati on

Fine grade area to be paved with grader, small area 2750 S.Y. $ $ $ $ $ $

Material/Installati on

Expansion joint, premolded, bituminous fiber, 1/2" x 6" 5500 L.F. $ $ $ $ $ $

Material/Installati on

Forms in place, SOG

(slab on grade), edge forms, to 6" high, wood 750 L.F. $ $ $ $ $ $

Material/Installati on

Welded wire fabric, sheets, 6 x 6 - W2.1 x

W2.1 (8 x 8), 30 lb/CSF 250 C.S.F. $ $ $ $ $ $

Material/Installati on

Concrete, ready mix, regular weight, 3500 psi 375 C.Y. $ $ $ $ $ $

Material/Installati on

Curing, sprayed membrane curing compound 250 C.S.F. $ $ $ $ $ $

Material/Installati on

Placing concrete, including vibration, slab on grade, 4" thick, direct chute 375 C.Y. $ $ $ $ $ $

Material/Installati on

Finishing floors, monolithic, machine trowel, for finish floor 25000 S.F. $ $ $ $ $ $

Material/Installati on

Finishing floors, granolithic topping, 1:1:1-1/2 mix, 1" thick 25000 S.F. $ $ $ $ $ $

Material/Installati on

Finishing floors, hardener, metallic, heavy service, 1.0 PSF 25000 S.F. $ $ $ $ $ $

[END OF SECTION]

Attachment B – Definitions

Term: Assembly

Definition: A discrete job completed by a single type of trade contractor. Every job necessary to construct a building should be encompassed by a unique assembly

Example: Concrete slab on grade, 5" thick, heavy industrial, reinforced.

Term: Component

Definition: A unique line below the assembly level. A specific material or labor used in the completion of an assembly. A group of components are all the materials and labor necessary to complete the assembly.

Example: Ready mix, regular weight, 3500 psi. 1500 c.y. concrete for $11,500.

Term: Midwest Census Region

Definition: One of the four major Census regions which includes the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South

Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Term: ‘New’ and ‘New Construction’

Definition: A structure that is built from the ground up for the first time. The structure cannot be attached to, or a modification of, any previously existing structure. New construction includes erecting a building on a location where a previous building was demolished.

Construction of the building must be done primarily on-site.

Term: Northeast Census Region

Definition: One of the four major Census regions which includes the following states:

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Term: Industrial

Definition: Buildings included in this category are: administration buildings, computer centers, industrial buildings, professional buildings, banks, financial institutions, savings & loans, and credit unions. The term ‘industrial ’ further includes motion picture, television, and radio industrial s as well as city halls, municipal buildings, courthouses, and state capitol buildings.

Industrial s located at the manufacturing site are classified as ‘manufacturing’ and not ‘industrial s.’ However, an industrial building owned by a manufacturing company but not located at the manufacturing site is classified as an ‘industrial .’

Medical buildings are NOT included in the definition of industrial s. Medical buildings include clinics, medical industrial s, doctor & dentist industrial s, outpatient clinics, and medical research labs.

Term: South Census Region

Definition: One of the four major Census regions which includes the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West

Virginia.

Term: West Census Region

Definition: One of the four major Census regions which includes the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Delivery Method: The data shall be provided in a common electronic file format, such as delimited ASCII files, Excel workbooks, SAS datasets, etc. File names should somehow correspond to the month and year that the data was extracted.

VII. Period of Performance:

Base Year- 06/01/2020 – 05/31/2021

Option Year 1- 06/01/2021 to 05/31/2022

Option Year 2 -06/01/2022 to 05/31/2023

Option Year 3 - 06/01/2023 to 05/31/2024

Option Year 4 – 06/01/2024 to 05/31/2025

VIII. Inspection and Acceptance:

Designated staff of the Producer Price Index Program will make final inspection and acceptance of the specified deliverables.

IX. Location of Performance

All work will be performed at the Contractor’s site.

X. Market Research Questions for Vendors to answer

1. How quickly can data collected by your company be adapted for use in a cost model built by another data provider?

2. How frequently can the cost model be updated? Monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc.

3. What specific construction materials (concrete, steel, lumber, etc.) is cost data collected for by your company?

4. How often is cost data collected and what are the minimum sizes of the samples for various construction materials?

5. Is cost data collected for labor rates?

6. How are fuel costs captured in the cost models?

7. Do the samples cover every state in the U.S.?

8. What percentage of the market is covered by your data?

9. How do you handle missing data?

10. How are shifting trends in construction materials and methods monitored?

Please review and respond to the following questions regarding business size.

Please indicate your business classification for NAICS code 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (Size Standard of $16.5 Million):

Small Business Other Than Small Business

If your business classification is Small Business, do you anticipate remaining under the size standard of $16.5 Million for the next two years?

Yes No

If your business classification is Small Business, do you qualify under any of the following certification programs and socio-economic categories?

HUBZone

Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)

Women Owned Small Business (WOSB)

8(a)

Please indicate that you can complete all of the requested tasks listed in their entirety outlined in this RFI. Note: BLS is not interested in a vendor’s abilities to complete only some aspects of a specified task.

This information will be used for market research purposes only and will not be used as a part of the source selection evaluation. All information received will be protected and safeguarded as

ACQUISITION/SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE in accordance with FAR Part 2.101 and

3.1074, Procurement Integrity. BLS request that you submit any input you have by e-mail to

Graves.Kelly@bls.gov no later than 12:00 pm EST February 17, 2020. Please be advised that telephone inquiries will not be accepted. Please note, this is not a request for proposal.