3_59A1336_Addendum_3__-_Response_to_8_Questions.pdf

“Provide a safe and reliable transportation network that serves all people and respects the environment””

STATE OF CALIFORNIA------- CALIFORNIA STATE TRANSPORTATION AGENCY GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

ADMINISTRATION

DIVISION OF PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS

1727 30TH STREET – MS 65

SACRAMENTO, CA 95816-7006

PHONE (916) 227-6000

TTY 711

https://dot.ca.gov/programs/procurement-and-contracts/

Making Conservation a California Way of Life.

November 12, 2024

ADDENDUM NO. #3

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) NOTICE NUMBER #59A1336

A&E On-Call Quality Assurance and/or Verification (QA/V) Services in Districts 1, 2, 3 and 10.

The purpose of this Addendum is to provide responses to questions proposed.

Question 1:

Topic 1: Scope of Work Section A Purpose of Work, subsection 3.D.I-II states: With regard to A&E Services, the Consultant shall provide services to Caltrans including, but not limited to, the following project types:

I All construction projects advertised, awarded, and administered (AAA) by Caltrans and Districts 1, 2, 3 and 10, in addition to all projects funded through Maintenance in Caltrans Districts 1, 2, 3 and 10.

II All construction projects with an alternative method of procurement including Public Private Partnership (P3) projects, Design-Build Projects, and Construction Manager General Contractor (CM/GC) Projects in Caltrans Districts 1, 2, 3 and 10.

Section B Exclusion of Work, subsection 1a states: The following is excluded:

a. All state-wide projects administered by local agencies.

Question: Are local agency administered projects with an alternative method of procurement within the scope of this RFQ?

Department’s response:

If CT on oversight role per coop, then oversight contract covers. If CT does AAA, and RE and SR from CT, then covered by this contract. Alt delivery is not the governing factor, if CT administers the project, then we cover it here.

Question 2:

Topic 2: NDT Inspection Staff Requirements Section D Required Services, subsection 8j states: Provide American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) Level III services in…. Radiographic Testing (RT) including Digital Radiographic Testing (Digital RT)… Section D Required Services, subsection 8l states: Provide American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT TC-1A) Level II services in… Radiographic Testing (RT) including Digital Radiographic Testing (Digital RT)… https://dot.ca.gov/programs/procurement-and-contracts/

RFQ 59A1336 - Addendum No. 3 respects the environment”

Section G Personnel Requirements, subsection 6c states: Inspector shall meet one or more of the following requirements:

• Nondestructive Testing (NDT) Level III inspector certified in either two or more of….test methods and at least five (5) years of NDT experience.

• Nondestructive Testing (NDT) Level III inspector certified in either two or more of Ultrasonic Testing (UT), Dye Penetrant Testing (PT), Magnetic Particle Testing (MT), Radiographic Testing (RT) including Digital Radiographic Testing (Digital RT), test methods and at least five (5) years of NDT experience. The Prime Consultant is required to submit a copy of ASNT-TC-1A Level III certification for personnel with such certifications as an attachment to SF330 (Architect-Engineer Qualification Form).

• Nondestructive Test (NDT) Level II Inspector certified per ASNT TC-1A in at least two of the following disciplines: Ultrasonic Testing (UT), Radiographic Testing (RT) including Digital Radiographic Testing (Digital RT), Magnetic Particle Testing (MT), and Dye Penetrant Testing (PT) and at least one (1) year of experience. The Prime Consultant is required to submit a copy of ASNT-TC-1A Level II certification for personnel with such certifications as an attachment to SF330 (Architect-Engineer Qualification Form).

Please clarify the following:

1. Please confirm that NDT Level III inspectors are now only required to be certified in "either two or more" test methods and at least five (5) years of NDT experience. Yes.

2. ASNT-TC-1A Level III is not a certification. SNT-TC-1A is 46-page Recommended Practice issued by ASNT for use by companies to certify their personnel. Please clarify if ASNT Level III is acceptable certification. Yes.

3. ASNT-TC-1A Level II is not a certification. SNT-TC-1A is 46-page Recommended Practice issued by ASNT for use by companies to certify their personnel. Please clarify if SNT-TC-1A Level II is acceptable certification. Yes.

4. Please provide clarification as ASNT does not issue stand-alone certification for "Digital Radiography". ASNT RT Level III certification covers all testing methods, including Digital Radiographic Testing (Digital RT). Please confirm that an ASNT RT Level III certified technician will also satisfy the Digital Radiographic Testing (Digital RT) requirement. Yes.

5. Computed Radiography (CR) and Digital Detector Arrays (DR) are both contained under the 8.16.1.1 sub heading of "Digital Radiography". Are SNT-TC-1A Level II certifications in both of these testing techniques required to satisfy the "Radiographic Testing (RT) including Digital Radiographic Testing (Digital RT)" requirement? Following AWS D1.5 definition of digital RT.

Department’s Response:

Responses in RED above.

Question 3:

Topic 3: Consultant Laboratory Support Engineer Requirements

Section G Personnel Requirements, subsection 6e states: Consultant Laboratory Support Engineers: Transportation Engineer (Civil) shall have an engineering degree from an ABET accredited university or Engineer in Training (EIT) certificate and at least one (1) year of experience and certified by Caltrans’ Joint Training and Certification Program as needed for performing the assigned tasks.

Question: What is meant by "as needed"? Is JTCP a required prerequisite for personnel being submitted as Laboratory Support Engineers or can they obtain this certification “as needed” during the life of the contract? Will a Laboratory Support Engineer meeting all of the other requirements, but without a JTCP certification meet the minimum requirements for this role in the SOQ evaluation?

Department’s Response:

It requires JTCP (if any) during the PR approval.

Question 4:

Topic 4: Consultant Laboratory Support Technician Requirements Section G Personnel Requirements, subsection 6f states: The Consultant Materials Sampling and Testing Material Testers shall be certified by relevant organizations like AASHTO, AMRL, CCRL, and Caltrans JTCP for aggregates, soils, concrete, cement, masonry, and metals. Proof of current accreditations are required to be submitted at the time of the Contract execution.

Questions:

1. For Laboratory Support Technicians supporting the electrical lab, could 2 years of electrical inspection and testing experience or Fiber optic technician and fiber optic specialist in splicing and testing certifications by the Fiber Optic Association be used to satisfy the requirements of the role of laboratory support technician? Yes.

2. For some materials like metals, cables, couplers, etc. mentioned in this section, assessment of qualification typically falls under the lab accreditation rather than a standard technician certification (e.g. Caltrans Independent Assurance does not offer a technician certification for the steel California Tests). Since this section states that “Proof of current accreditation are required…”, would inclusion of a corresponding lab accreditation cover the certification requirement for Laboratory Support Technicians performing testing on metals and other materials not typically covered by a technician certification organization? Yes.

Department’s Response:

Responses in RED above.

Question 5:

Topic 5: Consultant Lead Material Engineering Tester Requirements Section G Personnel Requirements, subsection 7 states: For Materials Sampling and Testing performed at the Caltrans METS laboratory in Sacramento, Consultant shall provide a Consultant Lead Material Engineering Tester to direct and supervise Consultant laboratory personnel working in the Caltrans laboratory.

Question: What are the qualification requirements for the Consultant Lead Material Engineering Tester? Do they need to be a CA PE, and do they need to be located in Sacramento?

Department’s response:

PE could be waived if experience is satisfactory and beneficial to the state. Like AMR or lab support engineer if needed.

Question 6:

Topic 6: Consultant Electrical Engineering Inspector Requirements Section G Personnel Requirements, subsection 6d states: Consultant Electrical Engineering Inspector: Electrical Engineering Inspector must have an Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science from an ABET accredited university, or possess a valid certificate as an Engineer in Training (EIT), plus at least two (2) year of experience with project specific electrical material Quality Assurance inspection. The electrical engineering inspector must have knowledge of Caltrans Standard Plans and Specifications, know how to read and interpret plans and contract provisions, and have the knowledge of tools necessary to perform QA inspection of electrical transportation materials.

Question:

Could at least four (4) years of experience with project specific electrical material Quality Assurance inspection be used to satisfy the requirements of the role of Consultant Electrical Engineering Inspector in lieu of education requirements or EIT certification?

Department’s Response:

If the individual's CV and interview is found to be satisfactory and beneficial to the state by electrical branches, then it is okay. The SOW has the general standard requirements as mentioned above. However, when it comes to PR approval, it could be on a case-by-case based on decision made by CT.

Question 7:

Topic 7: Consultant Technical Expert Requirements Section D. Required Services, subsection 8i states: Provide Metallurgical Engineering, Welding Engineering, Corrosion Engineering, Failure Analysis Engineering, Structural Concrete Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and technician support services.

Section G. Personnel Requirements, subsection 6g. Consultant Technical Expert states: Consultant Technical Expert: Registered professional engineer with a minimum of five (5) years experience in any of the aforementioned areas of expertise.

Questions:

This list of expected technical services are not normally performed by registered professional engineers. Examples include nondestructive testing (NDT), American Welding Society (AWS) Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) services, National Associate of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) Certified Coating Inspector Level III services, Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) Level III and PCI Level II inspection services, Structural Steel & Precast Prestressed concrete fabricator audits and programmatic assessment services, plant inspections for QA/V, material source inspection, QA/V audit functions, etc.

The PCI III, NACE, CWI etc. is being covered by inspectors and AMR/MR and we don't expect a technical expert being hired to do CWI work for example. The technical expert is expected to be a person of desirable experience and education that can provide support beyond the general knowledge of engineers.

1. Can Caltrans please clarify if all technical expert services are required to be performed by a registered professional engineer?

That would be the general expectation, unless a specific and rare item to be reviewed based on a case-by-case.

2. Does a registered PE in another state meet this “Registered professional engineer” requirement, or are they required to have a CA PE to be considered a technical expert?

On a case-by-case scenario and depending on the number of hours expected from that expert, the requirement for CA PE license might be waived. Example would be to get support from a third-party laboratory, university professor, or nationally recognized expert from another state who might be able to join for a meeting or to support in a limited capacity.

3. Often the leading technical experts in sub disciplines of civil engineering have an M.S., P.h.D., or are a professor, and they may not have a PE or may have a PE but not in CA. These kind of experts typically bring more engineering expertise than a CA PE with 5 years of experience. Would an M.S., P.h.D., or 20+ years of experience be sufficient to qualify a leading national expert for this technical expert role in the SOQ?

Yes, see response to question 2 above.

4. For experts in other sub disciplines, would the corresponding certifications be sufficient in lieu of the PE registration? E.g. NACE III for a corrosion expert, JTCP for a plant inspection expert, NDT Level III for an NDT expert, CWI for a Welding Engineering expert, CQA, CQE, or Lean-six-sigma for a quality management expert, etc.

NDT and plant inspection etc., are usually covered by inspector staff, AMRs, MRs. Again, could vary in a case-by-case, but general expectation is PE and/or higher degree expert with good amount of experience. Please see response to question 2 above.

Department’s Response:

Responses in RED above.

Question 8:

Topic 8: Laboratory Requirements Section M. Equipment Requirements, subsection 4b states: The Consultant shall provide fully equipped testing laboratories. The laboratories shall be certified and functional for all listed test methods during entire term of the Contract.

Question: What are all of the listed test methods that we need to provide accredited laboratories for?

Department’s Response:

There is no set of tests predetermined. Expectation is that in case of support for typical QA test, the labs should have proper certifications.

All other terms and conditions of the original RFQ Notice dated 10/28/2024 and any addenda are unchanged.

Please contact VANESSA USANMAZ at Vanessa.Usanmaz@dot.ca.gov for questions concerning this addendum.

mailto:Vanessa.Usanmaz@dot.ca.gov

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION