IMPORTANT SUBMISSION INFORMATION.pdf

IMPORTANT SUBMISSION INFORMATION

SOLICITATION MATERIALS: All solicitation materials consisting of drawings, specifications, contract forms, Amendments, and other documents will be posted to the Contract Opportunities Government website located at https://sam.gov. Enter “36C24925R0005” into the search box to access the solicitation materials. This is the only official location where these documents can be obtained and where updates are posted. No ‘hard copy’ solicitation materials are available.

SOLICITATION SUBMISSION: The following documents must be included in the solicitation submission in the formats as stated:

- One (1) electronic copy of an original, fully completed and signed and dated Standard Form (SF)1442 Offer page, acknowledgment of all amendments issued by either completing block 19 of the SF1442 or completing blocks 15a, b, and c of the Amendment(s) and providing them with the SF1442 Offer page; prices on all line items listed on the Price/Cost Schedule; completed Representations and Certifications section (Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 52.204-8, 52.209-5 (Deviation), and 52.209-7); and fully completed Contractor Experience Modification Rate (EMR) Certification documents.

- One (1) electronic copy of an original, completed and signed, SF24 Bid Bond or other allowable Bid Security. Document shall be emailed to the Contract Specialist (CS) / Contracting Officer (CO) responsible for solicitation in accordance with FAR 28.101 and FAR 28.102. Any missing elements of the bid bond submission could render the offeror ineligible and their offer will not be considered.

Offerors are responsible for insuring and verifying their offer and all required solicitation documents are received at the office and point of contact designated in block 8 of the SF1442 and by the date and time specified in block 13A of the SF1442 (subject to amendment).

FEDERAL HOLIDAYS: Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) establishes the following public holidays for Federal employees: New Year’s Day, Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Please note that most Federal employees work on a Monday through Friday schedule. For these employees, when a holiday falls on a non-workday -- Saturday or Sunday -- the holiday usually is observed on Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday).

All contractors are required to complete:

• VA Privacy Training for employees with access to VA computer systems or VA sensitive information.

• VA Talent Management System (TMS) training course VA10176 provides the mandatory Privacy Training requirements for any contractor with access to VA computer systems or VA sensitive information.

• VA Privacy Training for employees without access to VA computer systems or VA sensitive information.

• VA TMS training course VA20939 provides the mandatory Privacy Training requirements for any contractor without access to VA computer systems or VA sensitive information.

• Each employee self-enrolls for a profile on the VA TMS by visiting https://www.tms.va.gov/plateau/user/login.jsp. Once there, employees should follow the steps below to create a profile, launch the mandatory training, and complete the content prior to starting work at VA.

https://sam.gov/ https://www.tms.va.gov/plateau/user/login.jsp

• Provide the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) with each employee’s printed certificate of completion from the TMS. This certificate displays the employee’s TMS User ID.

• Training must be completed annually throughout the performance of this contract.

Contractor employees shall not be considered government employees for any purpose under this contract.

Changes to any resultant contract may only be made by a written modification which is formally executed by the contractor and the CO.

DATABASE REGISTRATION INFORMATION

SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM) REGISTRATION: The SAM website located at https://sam.gov is the Official U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of the Central Contractor Registration (CCR including FedReg), Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA), and the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS). Federal Acquisition Regulations require contractors wishing to do business with the Government and bid on work shall have an active registration in SAM at both time of offer and time of award. If the Offeror does not have an active registration in the SAM database at the time of offer submission and are the apparently successful low offeror, the CO shall deem the offeror’s proposal non-responsive to the solicitation requirements and proceed to award to the next lowest offer.

Offerors must submit proof of current (as of time of offer) SAM registries with their offer and that any offeror that fails to do so will be rendered technically unacceptable/non-responsive outright and will not be considered for award.

THE EXCLUDED PARTIES LIST SYSTEM (EPLS): To ensure that the individuals or businesses providing services under the contract have not engaged in fraud or abuse regarding Sections 1128 and 1128A of the Social Security Act regarding federal health care programs, the contractor is required to check the EPLS located at https://sam.gov for each person or business providing services under this contract. During the performance of this contract the Contractor is prohibited from using any individual or business listed on the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities.

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (SBA) VETERAN SMALL BUSINESS

CERTIFICATION (VetCert) REGISTRATION: The VetCert website located at https://veterans.certify.sba.gov is the Official U.S. Government system. VAAR 819.7001(a) requires contractors wishing to do business with the Government and bid on work shall have an active registration in VetCert at both time of offer and time of award. If the Offeror does not have an active registration in the VetCert database at the time of offer submission and are the apparently successful low offeror, the CO shall deem the offeror’s proposal non-responsive to the solicitation requirements and proceed to award to the next lowest offer. Offerors must submit proof of current (as of time of offer) VetCert registries with their offer and that any offeror that fails to do so will be rendered technically unacceptable/non-responsive outright and will not be considered for award. Joint Ventures (JVs) submitting an offer must submit VetCert and/or SBA certification of some type with their offer and those that fail to do so shall be rendered technically unacceptable and shall not be eligible for award.

VETS-4212 REPORTING REQUIREMENT: Contractors are required to submit a required annual Form VETS-4212, Federal Contractor Veterans' Employment Report in all cases where the contractor or subcontractor has received an award of $150,000 or more in any fiscal year.

COs are prohibited from awarding a contract to a contractor that has not submitted a required https://sam.gov/ https://sam.gov/ https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/

VETS-4212 Report with respect to the preceding fiscal year if the contractor was subject to the reporting requirement of 38 U.S.C. 4212(d). Submit this report as soon as possible, if not already submitted, to avoid delays in the contract award process. For more information on this requirement and/or for completing the web-based reporting form, visit the following website https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/vets4212. See FAR provision 52.222-38, Compliance with Veterans' Employment Reporting Requirements (FEB 2016) under the Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors, and FAR clause 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans (FEB 2016) under the General Conditions.

BONDING INFORMATION

BID GUARANTEE: A bid guarantee is required in an amount not less than 20 percent of the bid price but shall not exceed $3,000,000.00. Failure to furnish the required bid guarantee in the proper form and amount, by the time set for opening of bids, shall require rejection of the bid in all cases except those listed in FAR 28.101-4. Bid Bonds must be provided using SF24 (see FAR 28.106-1) and the form must be provided in original (no white outs, faxed or copied signatures, seals) with ‘wet ink’ signatures and contain the proper solicitation number, bid opening date, and be from a corporate surety listed in Department of Treasury Circular 570.

Individual sureties shall be determined acceptable to the CO (see FAR 28.203) and be accompanied by SF28 Affidavit of Individual Surety. Other forms of bid security may be acceptable as denoted in FAR Part 28.203-2.

PERFORMANCE AND PAYMENT BONDS: In accordance with Contract Clause 52.228-15, and FAR 28.102, Contractors are reminded that any amount awarded over $35,000.00 shall require a Payment Bond (SF25A), and awards exceeding $150,000.00 shall require both Payment and Performance Bonds (SF25). Payment and Performance bonds are due no later than ten (10) calendar days after notification of award. Bonds must be provided with original ‘wet ink’ signatures - no white-outs or other corrections are allowable. Copies and facsimiles of bonds shall not be accepted.

SECURITY:

It is agreed that:

1. The preliminary and final deliverables, and all associated working papers, application source code, and other material deemed relevant by VA which have been generated by the contractor in the performance of this contract, are the exclusive property of the U.S.

Government and shall be submitted to the CO at the conclusion of the contract.

2. The CO will be the sole authorized official to release, verbally or in writing, any data, draft deliverables, final deliverables, or any other written or printed materials pertaining to this contract. No information shall be released by the contractor. Any request for information relating to this contract, presented to the contractor, shall be submitted to the CO for response.

3. Press releases, marketing material, or any other printed or electronic documentation related to this project, shall not be publicized without the written approval of the CO.

4. Employees shall not be on site without appropriate badge. Employees are responsible for reporting to the Engineering office with acceptable photo ID to obtain a badge. A VA approved badge shall be worn with the identification facing forward and visible above the https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/vets4212 waist. The employees may also be subject to inspection of their personal effects when entering or leaving the facility.

5. No photography or video recording of VA premises is allowed without prior authorization.

6. VA issued keys are to remain on VA property. Keys that are checked out from the Engineering Office shall be returned each day.

7. The contractor is responsible for safekeeping of all drawings, project manual and other project information. This information shall be shared only with those with a specific need to accomplish the project.

8. All paper waste or electronic media such as CD’s and diskettes shall be shredded and destroyed in a manner acceptable to the VA.

9. VA Information Custodial Language

• Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

• VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA’s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct onsite inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures follow VA directive requirements.

• Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor while performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA CO within 30 calendar days of termination of the contract.

• The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

MEDICAL CENTER ACCESS: Anyone participating in the site visit, or for any other reason that involves visiting the medical center related to this solicitation, must have a valid ID on their person and their vehicle must be properly registered and insured. Visitors are prohibited from possessing weapons while on a federal installation (See 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities). Handheld cellphone usage or texting while driving is also prohibited. All VA Medical Centers and associated properties are Federal Property.

PRIVACY TRAINING: All workers regardless of project length must take VA Privacy Training which will be coordinated after project award with the COR.

E-VERIFY SYSTEM: Companies awarded a contract with the federal government shall enroll in E-Verify within 30 calendar days of the contract award date. They shall also begin using the E- Verify system to confirm that all their new hires and their employees directly working on federal contracts are authorized to legally work in the United States. E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows an employer, using information reported on an employee's Form I-9, to determine the eligibility of that employee to work in the United States. There is no charge to employers to use E-Verify. (FAR 52.222-54).

PRIME CONTRACTOR INFORMATION- SAFETY OR ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS AND

EXPERIENCE MODIFICATION RATING INFORMATION

All Bidders/Offerors shall submit information pertaining to their past Safety and Environmental record (using the attached EMR information/data form). The information must contain a certification 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 years. If such certification cannot be made, a Bidder/Offeror shall explain why and submit as much information as possible regarding the circumstances of its past safety and environmental record, including the number of EPA violations and/or the number of serious, repeat, and/or willful OSHA violations, along with a detailed description of those violations.

All Bidders/Offerors shall submit information regarding their current EMR. This information shall be obtained from the Bidders/Offeror’s insurance carrier and be furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead. If a Bidder/Offeror’s EMR is above 1.0, Bidder/Offeror must submit a written explanation of the EMR from its insurance carrier furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead, describing the reasons for the elevated EMR and the anticipated date the EMR may be reduced to 1.0 or below.

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 Puerto Rico shall obtain their EMR rating from their state-run worker’s compensation insurance rating bureau.

If the NCCI cannot issue an EMR because the Bidder/Offeror lacks insurance history, Bidder/Offeror shall submit a letter indicating so from its insurance carrier furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead and include a letter from the NCCI indicating that it has assigned Bidder/Offeror a Unity Rating of 1.0.

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 an initial Determination of Responsibility.

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

CONFORMANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: The Contractor shall perform work under this contract consistent with the relevant policy and objectives identified in the agency, organizational, or facility Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) applicable for the contract. The Contractor shall perform work in a manner that conforms to all appropriate Environmental Management Programs and Operational Controls identified by the agency, organizational, or facility GEMS, and provide monitoring and measurement information as necessary for the organization to address environmental performance relative to the environmental, energy, and transportation management goals. In the event an environmental nonconformance or noncompliance associated with the contracted services is identified, the contractor shall take corrective and/or preventative actions. In the case of a noncompliance, the Contractor shall respond and take corrective action immediately. In the case of a nonconformance, the Contractor shall respond and take corrective action based on the time schedule established by the facility GEMS Coordinator. In addition, the Contractor shall ensure that their employees are aware of the roles and responsibilities identified by the environmental management system and how these requirements affect their work performed under this contract.

All on-site contractor personnel shall complete yearly EPA sponsored environmental training specified for the type of work conducted on-site. Upon inclusion in the contract, the COR will verify that all contractor personnel have acquired EMS Awareness Training at their appropriate site or location.

REFERENCES TO VA ENGINEER, RESIDENT ENGINEER, SENIOR RESIDENT ENGINEER,

OR PROJECT MANAGER (PM): Any reference contained within contract specifications and/or drawings to the “VA Engineer”, “Resident Engineer”, “Senior Resident Engineer”, “PM”, or their abbreviations are to be replaced with “COR”.

PAYMENT FOR MATERIALS STORED OFF-SITE: The COR and the contractor / PM (whoever will oversee submitting the invoice) shall meet and discuss the items listed on a draft copy of the invoice prior to submission to OB10. All items will be approved prior to submission. It is the CO’s discretion to pay for any stored materials. This should be discussed prior to submission of the first invoice. Contract financing is not part of this contract.

SCHEDULE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTALS: The submittals contemplated by FAR 52.236-5, Material and Workmanship, are listed on the Schedule of Material Submittals in the Specifications, if provided. The schedule is for reference only – the selected contractor is responsible to provide all submittals required by the contract.

REVIEW REQUIRED REGISTRATION WITH CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE

ASSESSMENT SYSTEM (CPARS)

As prescribed in FAR Part 42.15, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) evaluates contractor past performance on all contracts that exceed $750,000 and shares those evaluations with other Federal Government contract specialists and procurement officials. The FAR requires that the contractor be provided an opportunity to comment on past performance evaluations prior to each report closing. To fulfill this requirement VA uses an online database, CPARS, which is maintained by the Naval Seal Logistics Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. CPARS is the system used to collect and retrieve performance assessment reports used in source selection determinations. CPARS also includes access to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). FAPIIS is a web-enabled application accessed via CPARS for contractor responsibility determination information.

Each contractor whose contract award is estimated to exceed $750,000 is required to register with CPARS database at the following web address: www.cpars.csd.disa.mil. Help in registering can be obtained by contacting Customer Support Desk at 207-438-1690. Registration should occur no later than 30 calendar days after contract award and must be kept current should there be any change to the contractor's registered representative.

For contracts with a period of one year or less, the CO will perform a single evaluation when the contract is complete. For contracts exceeding one year, the CO will evaluate the contractor's performance annually. Interim reports will be filed each year until the last year of the contract, when the final report will be completed. The report shall be assigned in CPARS to the contractor's designated representative for comment. The contractor representative will have 30 calendar days to submit any comments and re-assign the report to the VA CO.

Failure to have a current registration in the CPARS database, or to re-assign the report to the VA CO within those 30 calendar days, will result in the Government's evaluation being placed on file in the database with a statement that the “contractor failed to respond.”

END OF SUBMISSION INFORMATION DOCUMENT

http://www.cpars.csd.disa.mil/

IMPORTANT SUBMISSION INFORMATION