36C24919Q0464-007.docx

Questions and Answers below:

1. Will electrical drawings sets for each building be made available in electronic version? ANSWER: Yes, please see attachment D to this solicitation.

2. Several switchboards have high Arc Flash levels. Are mitigating measures such as changing instantaneous setting to a maintenance level available? ANSWER: No breaker or protective relay settings (or fuse values) will be changed as part of this project. Nor is the three (3) year cycle four (4) hour test of the ESS considered to be part of this. These are not in the scope of this work.

3. Who will de-energize and reenergize the switchboards/circuit breakers? ANSWER: VA Maintenance personnel will de-energize and re-energize equipment.

4. Will a protective device coordination study be available to verify protective device settings? ANSWER: Yes, where applicable.

5. Circuit breakers below 90 amps-are these breakers to be exercised only or fully tested? ANSWER: Circuit breakers BELOW ninety (90) amperes rating are to be exercised only.

6. VHA Directive 2014-1028 states that circuit breakers 225 amps and below will be exercised and opening be verified? ANSWER: All circuit breakers rated ninety (90) ampere and up are to have “complete engineering appraisal and testing services” as stated in the scope of work.

7. Are circuit breakers in panel boards to be fully tested? ANSWER: Yes, as per the criteria stated in item “4.” above applies.

8. Could you please provide Electrical one-line diagram(s) to identify all equipment, and circuit breakers greater than 90A for each of the following Buildings as shown on Sheet ES-601, dated 11/25/14: Buildings 3, 5, 8, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 69, 77, 103, 115, 116, 160, 161, 162, 200, 201, 204, 205, 206, 207, and 213. ANSWER: Yes, please see Attachment D and Attachment E to this solicitation.

9. What are the days/time windows available for testing to be performed at each Building mentioned in question #1? ANSWER: For bidding and planning purposes, almost all work should be considered, at best, evening and night work during the week. Work in the Switchgear Building (Building 115), the Domiciliary (Building 160), the Community Living Center (CLC, Building 162), and the main hospital complex (Buildings 77, 200, 204, 205, and 207) should be bid as if it is all being done on Saturday/Sunday evenings/nights. Some of the Infra-Red (thermal) imaging may be done during normal business hours and days of the week. About 50% of the scans may fall into this category. **This is only an estimate** It is possible that some of the other work may be done during normal business hours and days of the week, but due to changing VA and patient requirements it is not possible to predict how much that might be. Therefore, use the criteria given above for planning work. The above description reflects and expands upon the time frames stated in the scope of work.

10. Will there be a power source available for technicians to use while testing (if so, please describe) or will they need to provision their own alternate/portable power? ANSWER: In general, there should be a source of 120 VAC power in most buildings during the testing; though a very long extension cord may be needed in some cases. Building 115 may be an exception during some testing situations as well as some exterior locations. So, a portable generator suitable to run the Contractor’s testing equipment should be considered part of their equipment inventory.

11. Single lines for the low voltage (120/208V) system providing quantities of panels, etc. ANSWER: Please see Attachment D and Attachment F of the solicitation.

12. Quantity and information on the type, manufacturer, etc. for relays to be tested. ANSWER: A quantity of eleven (11) Schweitzer Engineering, Inc. "SEL-751" series protective relays are now being used with the Siemens medium voltage breakers n Building 115.

13. How many Maintenance Unit members might be available to escort Contractor personnel while they are doing scans/testing/maintenance/etc.? ANSWER: Depending on the time, day of the week, and Hospital priorities; a good planning number would be three (3) Maintenance Unit members would be available as escorts. Under ideal circumstances the VA may be able to manage as many as seven (7), but use the number three (3) for planning purposes.

14. Can the Infra-Red (thermal) scans be done at times other than evenings, nights, and weekends? ANSWER: In a number of instances, mainly non-critical circuits, some Infra-Red (thermal) scans may be done during normal business hours and days of the week. About 50% of the scans may fall into this category. **This is only an estimate**

15. Will the interface with the VA utility provider may be required for the active medium voltage breakers located in Bldg. 115. Will the VA coordinate with the utility for service in Bldg. 115? ANSWER: No. As was stated in the last sentence of the sixth paragraph of the project Scope of Work “The Contractor will pay all fees/charges/bills/invoices/etc. associated with any sub-contractors they may use or needed in the execution of this work including the electrical utility, BrightRidge”. BrightRidge will require the VA to approve any work (shutdowns) requested by the Contractor and the VA will do so once the shutdown schedule has been established between the VA and Contractor. So the VA will coordinate to that extent, but the Contractor will work directly with the utility on scheduling any work and associated payments. Questions related to fees associated with these types of request to BrightRidge was addressed in amendment 0001 of this solicitation.

16. What transformers have secondary breakers on the inside? ANSWER: Some outdoor pad-mount transformers have this arrangement here at Mountain Home VA. The exact number or location of those installed in this manner is not readily available at this time, but for estimating purposes there may be as many as five (5) transformers with breakers installed in this manner. **This is only an estimate**

17. What service provider serviced the breaker testing and electrical inspections three years ago? ANSWER: This information is not readily available.

18. What service provider serviced the breaker testing and electrical inspections three years ago? ANSWER: Since there is the possibility that same Contractor may again be bidding on this job, it does not feel proper to release that information under these circumstances.

19. Will the VA provide the contractor with indoor storage space? ANSWER: Yes. The Contractor can be provided with an indoor lay-down area for their use. Storage space is at a premium for all parties here at Mountain Home. That being the case, the Contractor should try to limit the required lay-down space to an area of about 7-Ft. by 7-Ft. Also, due the fact that very few areas available for Contractor storage are very secure, the VA will not be responsible for the safekeeping of any equipment, tools, materials, instruments, computing/communication hardware, etc. left on-site by the Contractor. It is highly recommended a job-box or similar locking enclosure be used for any Contractor items left unattended on the VA site. Mountain Home has a large number of staff and Contractors working over the entire Campus at all hours. These individuals have access to a myriad of spaces here, so very few spaces are totally secure.

20. Can you please provide electrical one-line drawings to the buildings that are affected in this RFQ, along with the map that references the buildings in play? Answer: Please see Attachment D ES601 and Attachment E SITE MAP.

21. The scope of work on page 4 contains the following statement, “The Contractor will pay all fees/charges/bills/invoices/etc. associated with any sub-contractors they may use or needed in the execution of this work including the electrical utility, BrightRidge.” Can the VA provide information as to how much the utility (BrightRidge) has charged for power outages in the past? Answer: The VA is not liable to pay for any subcontracting work. This requirement will result in a contract with the prime vendor only. The prime vendor will be liable for any subcontracting work.

22. Page 5 of the scope of work outlined the requirements for contractor qualifications. In the section is found the following statement, “Contractors shall be certified by the International Electrical Testing Association (NETA) as NETA Certified Technician…” Answer: Mountain Home VAMC would not have a problem with Contractors having suitable qualifications, other than the NETA, as long as those qualifications would insure that the work performed is done to current standards (those of the industry, VA, NFPA, and other recognized standard setting bodies) in a professional manner. This statement was included to be sure work was executed in a manner to meet these requirements. Mountain Home VAMC agrees that other organizations can certify a person’s ability to meet the above requirements and is in agreement with the “1992 letter from C. Dale Duval, Veterans Affairs Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisitions”. Furthermore, Mountain Home VAMC concurs with Items 1., 2., and 3. below with the following caveats as associated with each item.

0. Statement “b.” above also applies to Item 3. with the change that the documentation verifies they have a BS degree in an applicable field of engineering as well as the suitable testing experience/knowledge as well as the years doing such.

The requirement limiting certification to NETA has been found to be unduly restrictive as it fails to recognize certification by other testing certification organizations, experience or higher qualifications such as persons with electrical engineering degrees and/or professional engineers. Attached is a 1992 letter from C. Dale Duval, Veterans Affairs Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisitions, outlining the requirement for recognizing these additional qualifications.

Most solicitations we see today incorporate the following qualification requirements to avoid such unduly restrictive language:

Field service work shall be performed directly by field service engineers who have successfully demonstrated their knowledge and experience in the field of Electrical Power Distribution Systems Testing. The field service engineer shall be capable of: 1) testing assessing, evaluation, servicing, and reconditioning components, 2) assuring that the equipment on which work has been performed is safe, reliable and acceptable for its intended purpose, and 3) identifying defective equipment, and potential safety problems, environmental hazards, or code violations.

The lead Field Service Engineer/Technician must have minimum qualifications as follows:

1. Current certification by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) or the National Electrical Testing Association (NETA), plus at least five (5) years’ experience in electrical switchgear and power distribution systems testing; or Caveat: Since the NICET certifies individuals in a number of areas that are not specific to qualifications needed for this project, the Contractor shall show that those doing the testing are certified in Electrical Power Testing by the NICET and provide their certification ID. Also, as stated in item 1., that the persons executing the testing have the aforementioned experience.

2. Persons who, by their education, training, and specialized experience can qualify for certification buy who have not yet applied or taken the certification exams. These people must submit three (3) references on projects of similar size and complexity and demonstrate that they have the required specialized knowledge and five (5) years experienced in electrical switchgear and power distribution systems testing; or Caveat: Should those performing the tests wish to be accepted by way of Item 2., then documentation will be provided that “their education, training, and specialized experience can qualify for certification”, as well as to their years of experience and the submission of suitable and verifiable references on applicable projects.

3. Persons with higher qualifications, such as a BS degree in Engineering, provided that they submit three (3) references on projects of similar size and complexity and demonstrate that they have the acquired specialized knowledge and five (5) years’ experience in electrical switchgear and power distribution systems testing. Caveat: Statement “b.” above also applies to Item 3. with the change that the documentation verifies they have a BS degree in an applicable field of engineering as well as the suitable testing experience/knowledge as well as the years doing such.

Answer: Ideally, should the Contractors wish to have their workers qualified by means other than that specified in the Scope of Work, the Contractor certifications/documentation/references should be provided with their proposals. If the certifications/documentation/references are not submitted until after the award, then their proposal will be determined to be technically unacceptable.