Elevator_Contract_Minutes_for_Preproposal_conference_(002)_(002).pdf

Meeting Minutes of Pre-proposal Conference Elevator Solicitation – 19KE5018R0012

Date: May 24th, 2018 Time: 10:00 a.m.

Venue: U.S. Embassy, Nairobi Kenya

Attendees: Wendy M. Washington – GSO / Contracting Officer Perry Groves- Senior Facility Manager

Vikas Sani – Contracting Officer Representative/Facilities Manager Engineer Dan Okumu– Procurement Supervisor Elijah Ochieng- Procurement Assistant Hussein Kamau- Procurement Agent Eric Kamau – Contracting Specialist Carol Onunga – Procurement Clerk Representatives from Elevator companies (total 7).

Introduction:

Agenda was distributed to all the offerors.

Sign-in sheet was distributed to all the offerors.

Introduction was given by the Contracting Officer (CO) – Wendy M. Washington.

Introductions were given by all the offerors followed by the introduction of the Embassy team and their expertise.

The CO informed all the offerors, that all contractual questions should be written and submitted by email to GSO Procurement (NairobiGSO-Contracts@State.gov) on or before Tuesday, May 29, 2018. The answers to those questions would be disseminated later on to all contractors.

Project Overview:

The CO explained the purpose of the solicitation and mentioned that the USG is conducting a Full and Open Competition where all potential offerors are given a fair and equitable opportunity to win the award.

The CO indicated that the terms and conditions of the solicitation will be the terms and conditions of the contract and if any offeror takes an exception to that, they may not be considered for the award.

The CO stated that the statements made at this conference do not change the solicitation. If there are any changes, there will be a written amendment to the solicitation.

The CO informed the offerors that the technical questions would be answered by the Contracting Officer’s Representative-COR.

The CO called upon the COR to discuss the Statement Of Work (SOW) and the overall intention of the SOW.

The CO asked the offerors to pay special attention to the Solicitation Provisions on page 34, Pricing schedule in Section 1, and the SF1449 (fill out blocks 12, 17, 19-24, & 30) cover of solicitation.

The CO explained the pricing schedule and advised the offerors not to bid very low in order to get the contract and then afterwards, request the Embassy to modify the contract so as to mailto:NairobiGSO-Contracts@State.gov increase the price during the contract term. She informed the offerors that they should submit competitive bids making sure that they are comfortable with what they have submitted.

The CO also explained the workers compensation insurance Defense Base Act (DBA) on pages 11 & 36 and how to get in contact with the companies that issue the policy. Federal law requires all U.S. government contractors and subcontractors to secure workers' compensation insurance for their employees working overseas. The link can be access in section 3 of the solicitation under DBA. The DBA is administered by the United States Department of Labor. The Defense Base Act provides disability, medical, and death benefits to covered employees injured or killed in the course of employment, whether or not the injury or death occurred during work hours.

The CO clarified that DBA is a requirement that all offerors will need to get for their staff who will be working on the US Embassy contract.

Vikas Saini, the COR, explained the SOW overview and covered in detail all technical aspects of the solicitation. In addition, the COR explained, that the solicitation specifications are basic minimum and the offeror can suggest deliverables beyond the minimum based on their technical expertise and manufacturer requirements.

The COR highlighted the work requirements under the Scope of Work (4.0) in section 1 in which he spoke about generally ensuring safety, reliability and adherence to routine maintenance requirements, equipment and service parts.

The COR also pointed out that the checklist 5.2 must be pre-approved and every item checked during routine maintenance.

The COR sensitized the offerors that any findings during a routine inspection must be reported to the COR and any safety concerns, if any, should be addressed immediately. COR also mentioned that the elevators are subject to annual maintenance, and the vendor is required to accompany the OBO inspector from State department. The Inspector will run a full load test and run through the approved checklist and mandated manufacturer routine checks.

In response to an offeror question, the COR indicated that the lifespan of the elevator is determined by the manufacturer and its service life is mitigated by the maintenance vendor. The vendor is the technical expert who should advise on the useful life of the elevator and parts.

COR further informed the offerors that when the elevator inspector is due for a visit they will be informed in good time and the inspection may average approximately two days.

The COR reiterated the importance of section1, 6.1 to 6.4. regarding ‘Trouble Call Response service.’ They are self- explanatory and no excuse for lateness or non-performance will be accepted. Offerors should make sure they are adequately equipped with resources to deal with any emergencies as expected.

Submittal Requirements:

The CO informed the offerors about the submittal requirements which are:

Proposals should be submitted by or before June 11, 2018 12:00pm (local time).

Technical and Price Proposals should be submitted separately, one original and two (2) copies as per our requirements.

The Proposals should be submitted in a sealed envelope to the US Embassy Truck transfer, addressed to the Contracting Officer, indicating the solicitation number on the envelope 19KE5018R0012. Proposal submitted in soft copies will not be accepted.

Late proposals will not be considered for evaluation.

Evaluation Factors:

The CO informed the Offerors about the evaluation factors. She stated that the reviewing of Proposals will be evaluated in two phases: Technical Evaluation and Price Evaluation.

Technical Evaluation: The Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP) includes the COR and other members, who determine the acceptability of the proposal based on the solicitation’s technical requirements.

Price Evaluation: The CO will evaluate the price and consider only the lowest priced, technically acceptable offer, and will follow up with negotiations for proposals that fall within the competitive range.

The award selection will go to the lowest priced, technically acceptable offeror.

Questions & Answers:

The COR answered technical questions that were asked during the pre-proposal conference by the Offerors. Offerors were advised to send questions in writing by Tuesday, May 29th, 2018.

The CO advised the contractors the answers to written questions will be posted on the FedBizOpps website for all potential offerors to access.

The conference adjourned at 11:00 am.