INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS.pdf

NOTICE

SUBMISSION OF BIDS

The bidder shall submit the following information in succession as response to this Invitation for Bids:

A completed and signed Standard Form 1442. Clearly stating company name and city and acknowledgement of amendments

A completed copy of the Representations and Certifications (See FAR 52.204-8

Annual Representations and Certifications (MAR 2012)).

Clearly meets set aside CVE /SDVOSB Cert

A fully executed bid bond / bid Guaranty.

Documentation of their safety record. If applicable

All forms and/or certifications as directed in the solicitation, including the specifications. IAW IFB instruction

INFORMATION FOR BIDDERS:

DESCRIPTION OF WORK: Contractor shall provide all administration, labor, materials, tools, equipment, transportation, permits, license, and qualified supervision necessary to complete Project #: 558-20-111, Site Electrical Upgrade project. All work shall be in strict accordance with the SOW, specifications, and drawings to include final clean up and completion of any punch lists items.

MAGNITUDE OF CONSTRUCTION: Between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000.

BID SUBMISSION: Bid Due Date is extended to Friday, June 10 2022, no later than

10AM EST. Bids will be submitted through email. Please submit bids to mark.griffin2@va.gov.

VIRTUAL BID OPENING: A public bid opening is scheduled for Friday, June 10, 2022, at 2:00 PM EST., this will be a virtual meeting. See link below.

mailto:mark.griffin2@va.gov

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+1 872-701-0185,,848341736# United States, Chicago

Phone Conference ID: 848 341 736#

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SDVOSB SET-ASIDE AND REQUIRED REGISTRATION AT VETBIZ: This procurement is 100% set-aside for Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Offers are solicited only from SDVOSB concerns and offers received from concerns that are not from SDVOSB concerns shall not be considered. See FAR Clause 52.219-27, VAAR Clause 852.219-10, 804.1102 and 852.219-77. All SDVOSB must be certified by the Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE) at www.vetbiz.gov, to be eligible to participate.

BID GUARANTEE AND BONDS:

(a) If the bid/offer exceeds $150,000, a bid guarantee is required in an amount not less than 20 percent of the bid/offer price but shall not exceed $3,000,000.

Bidders are reminded that an acceptable Bid Guarantee MUST be received with the offer before the due date and time. Failure to furnish the required bid guarantee in the proper form and amount, by the time set for opening of bids/offers, will require rejection of the bid/offer in all cases except those listed in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 28.101-4 and may be cause for rejection even then. For guidance, Bidders are referred to FAR provision 52.228-1 in the solicitation, FAR Part 28.101 Bid Guarantees, and FAR Part 28.2 Sureties and Other Security for Bonds. Corporate sureties offered for bonds must appear on the list contained in the Department of Treasury Circular 570, “Companies Holding Certificates of Authority as Acceptable Sureties on Federal Bonds and Acceptable Reinsuring Companies,” See http://www.fms.treas.gov/c570/c570.html.

In addition, bid guarantees received will be reviewed in accordance with IL 049-05-11 “Surety Bonds (Bid, Payment, Performance, and Payment Protection) on Construction Solicitations and Contracts”.

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(b) If the contract will exceed $25,000 but will not exceed $150,000, the bidder/offeror to whom award is made will be required to furnish a Payment Bond, Standard Form 25A, or alternative payment protection. If the contract will exceed $150,000, the bidder/offeror to whom award is made will be required to furnish a Payment Bond, Standard Form 25A, and a Performance Bond, Standard Form 25. Copies of the Standard Forms 25A and 25 may be obtained upon application to the Issuing Office.

TUBERCULOSIS PRE-CONSTRUCTION RISK ASSESSMENT: In accordance with VHA Directive 2011-036, CEOSH Construction Safety Guidebook, 2012 1.1.1 VHA Policy, CDC 2005 Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Health-Care Settings.

(a) The contractor must provide written certification that all contract employees assigned to the work site have had a pre-placement tuberculin screening within 90 days prior to assignment to the worksite and have been found to have negative TUBERCULOSIS screening reactions.

Contractors will be required to show documentation of negative TUBERCULOSIS screening reactions for any additional workers who are added after the 90-day requirement before they will be allowed to work on the work site.

NOTE: This can be the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention and two-step skin testing or a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved blood test.

(b) Contract employees manifesting positive screening reactions to the tuberculin must be examined according to current CDC guidelines prior to working on VHA property.

(c) Subsequently, if the employee is found without evidence of active (infectious) pulmonary TUBERCULOSIS, a statement documenting examination by a physician must be on file with the employer (construction contractor), noting that the employee with a positive tuberculin screening test is without evidence of active (infectious) pulmonary TUBERCULOSIS.

(d) If the employee is found with evidence of active (infectious) pulmonary TUBERCULOSIS, the employee would require treatment with a subsequent statement to the fact on file with the employer before being allowed to return to work on VHA property.

RESIDENT ENGINEER: All reference to "Resident Engineer" and “Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative” in the solicitation/specifications and drawings will be changed to "Contracting Officer’s Representative".

GENDER: Wherever masculine gender is used in the solicitation and contract documents it shall be considered to include both masculine and feminine.

CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITY: Contractor shall be required to complete all contract work and schedule a final inspection within the specified contract performance period. Should the Contractor fail to complete the contract work (including scheduling of the final inspection), and it is determined by the Government to be a Contractor-caused delay, the Contractor shall be in default status. If the Government determines it to be in the best interest of the Government to allow the Contractor to continue to perform contract work, the Contractor shall provide equitable consideration to the Government for additional time granted for completion of contract work.

Such agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of the Government’s right to terminate this contract in the event the Contractor fails to complete the contract work (including scheduling of the final inspection) on or before the completion date.

TRAINING: Effective July 1, 2005, all employees of the general contractor and subcontractors shall have the 10-hour OSHA certified construction safety course and/or other relevant competency training, as determined by the COTR with input from the ICRA (Infection Control Risk Assessment) team. The General Contractor’s competent person shall have completed the 30-hour OSHA certified construction safety course. Documentation of training shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer for review and approval prior to any work being performed.

There shall be no exceptions to this requirement.

KEYS: All keys provided the Contractor for use during the project shall be returned to the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) at completion of the work or upon request. No keys shall be reproduced by the Contractor. There shall be a charge of $10.00 for each key that is lost or not returned to the COR. Payment shall be made to the VA Medical Center, Salisbury, North Carolina upon receipt of a Bill of Collection.

PREPARATION OF BIDS/OFFERS/PROPOSALS: Neither the VAMC nor the NCO 6 CAS will pay for any costs incurred in preparation and submission of bids or proposals.

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY: Contractors to the Department of Veteran Affairs may be unintentionally exposed to sensitive information. Information may be overheard, seen on documents or electronic devices, or observed that could potentially violate the privacy and confidentiality of our veterans, employees, volunteers, and their families. Regulations such as, but not limited to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act of 1974 have been enacted to protect sensitive information from being improperly disclosed. Information should not be divulged or released to anyone unless specifically authorized by this contract or its’ attached documents in accordance with the contracted services. Failure to comply with applicable statutes and regulation can result in the termination of this contract and civil and criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment. All suspected or actual breeches of privacy and confidentiality should be reported immediately to the Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or the Facility Privacy Officer.

NOTE: All computer connections will be made by VA personnel. The contractor will not have access to IT equipment rooms in general. When access is required for cable pulling, etc., the contractor shall be accompanied by a member of Facility Management Service or OI&T staff during the entire tenure of the access. Requirements for this access will be minimal.

VETS 100: Title 38, USC Section 4212(d) and Public Law 105-339, requires that federal contractors report, at least annually, the number and category of veterans who are within their workforce. Submission of the VETS 100 reporting information can be done electronically at:

http://www.dol.gov/vets/vets100filing.htm. Award cannot be made unless the awardee has filed their VETS 100 report. Therefore, all bidders/offerors are encouraged to file every year.

SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM): Federal Acquisition Regulations require that federal contractors register in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at http://www.sam.gov and enter all mandatory information into the system. Award cannot be made until the contractor has registered. Bidders are encouraged to ensure that they are registered in SAM prior to submitting their bid.

SAFETY OR ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS AND EXPERIENCE MODIFICATION RATE:

All Bidders/Offerors shall submit the following information pertaining to their past Safety and Environmental record.

1. A self-certification on company letterhead that the bidder/offeror has no more than three (3) serious, or one (1) repeat or one (1) willful OSHA or any EPA violation(s) in the past three (3) years. Bidders shall submit copies of their OSHA logs (OSHA’s Form 300A) for the past three

(3) years with their bid. If the firm has not been in business for a full three years, then they shall submit their OSHA logs for the history of the firm.

2. Information regarding their current Experience Modification Rate (EMR) equal to or less than

1.0. This information shall be obtained from the bidder’s/offeror’s insurance company and be furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead.

Self-insured contractors or other contractors that cannot provide their EMR rating on insurance letterhead must obtain a rating from the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc.

(NCCI) by completing/submitting form ERM-6 and providing the rating on letterhead from NCCI.

Note: Self-insured contractors or other contractors that cannot provide EMR rating on insurance letterhead from the states or territories of CA, DE, MI, NJ, ND, OH, PA, WA, WY, and PR shall obtain their EMR rating from their state-run worker’s compensation insurance rating bureau.

A Determination of Responsibility will be accomplished for the apparent awardee prior to processing the award. The above information, along with other information obtained from Government systems, such as the OSHA and EPA online inspection history databases will be used to make the Determination of Responsibility. Failure to affirm being within the guidelines above or submit this information will result in a determination of “non-Responsibility” for the bidder/offeror. NOTE: Any information received by the Government that would cause for a negative Determination of Responsibility will make the bidder/offeror ineligible for award.

This requirement is applicable to all subcontracting tiers, and prospective prime contractors are responsible for determining the responsibility of their prospective subcontractors.