PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS 589A7-18-302 REV 08052022.docx

1.1 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS

FOR BEST VALUE – TRADEOFF SOUCE SELECTION PROCESS

SOLICITATION: 36C25522R0079

PROJECT: 589A7-18-302 FCA Install New Boilers, Building 13 LOCATION: Wichita VA Medical Center, 5500 E. Kellogg, Wichita, Kansas 67218

1. PREPARATION AND SUBMITTAL OF PROPOSALS

a. GENERAL INFORMATION.

Selection of an offeror for contract award will be made on the basis of an assessment of each offeror’s response to the Request for Proposal (RFP). All proposals shall be subject to evaluation by a team of government personnel. The government reserves the right to award without discussions based upon the initial evaluation of the proposals.

The proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the content provided in the solicitation. Using the Tradeoff process under the Best Value Continuum, and in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15.101-1, it may be in the best interest of the Government to consider award to other than the lowest priced offeror or other than the highest technically rated offeror. All non-price evaluation factors, when combined are more important than price. Evaluations will be based on the following evaluation factors:

1. Relevant Construction Experience of the Prime Contractor (Non-price)

NOTE: Failure to comply with the RFP requirements will be grounds to eliminate the proposal from further consideration for contract award.

b. THE OFFER.

The submission of the documentation specified below will constitute the Offeror’s acceptance of the terms and conditions of the RFP, including the Drawings & Specifications for the construction of this project. These instructions prescribe the format for the proposal and describe the approach for the development and presentation of proposal data. These instructions are designed to ensure the submission of necessary information to provide for the understanding and comprehensive evaluation of proposals.

c. AWARD BASED ON INITIAL OFFERS.

Pursuant to clause 52.215-1 (included by reference), the Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a contract without discussions with offerors (except clarifications as described in FAR 15.306(a)). Therefore, the offeror’s initial proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a cost or price, and technical qualifications standpoint. The VA reserves the right to conduct discussions if the Contracting Officer later determines such discussions to be necessary.

d. NUMBER OF COPIES TO SUBMIT. Offerors shall submit a single proposal package electronically by e-mail to sean.jackson@va.gov and jonathan.lutmer@va.gov . The email(s) shall include the following attachments:

The total size of any single email must be less than 10 megabytes. Use multiple emails if necessary and label each as 1 of 3, 2 of 3… Original Bid Bonds must still be received at the NCO 15 Contracting Office located at 3450 S. 4th Street, Leavenworth, Kansas 66048 via US Postal Service or other courier within 5 calendar days after the solicitation closing date.

Package shall be marked as follows:

ORIGINAL RESPONSE TO RFP 36C25522R0079

Project 589A7-18-302 – FCA – Install New Boilers, Building 13 This package is to contain the signed PDF copies of the documents listed below:

2. DOCUMENTS TO SUBMIT

Documents to be included in the proposal identified above shall consist of:

a. STANDARD FORM 1442. Submit the SF 1442 issued under this solicitation, with Blocks 10 (DUNS Number) and Blocks 14 through 20 properly filled-out by the Offeror. Include acknowledgment of any and all Amendments that may have been issued, either by: (1) listing them in Block 19 of the SF 1442, or (2) including signed copies of the Amendment document(s) (Standard Form 30) with Blocks 8 and 15 filled in and signed, or (3) including signed acknowledgement in the form of a separate letter that includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. NOTE: Failure to acknowledge any and all amendments issued pursuant to this solicitation may be cause for rejection of your offer.

Price shall be broken out on the “Calculation of Self Performed/Subcontracted Work” form.

A completed Contractor Certification Regarding Safety and Environmental (Appendix 2) .

b. OFFER GUARANTEE (BID BOND). In accordance with solicitation provision 52.228-1, Bid Guarantee, failure to furnish a bid guarantee, in the proper form and amount, by the deadline established for submitting offers, may be cause for rejection of the offer. Bid guarantee shall be 20 % percent of the bid price or $3,000,000 whichever is less.

c. DOCUMENTATION OF TECHNICAL CAPABILITY. Proposals received in response to this solicitation will be evaluated and award shall be made consistent with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15.101-1 for the Best Value – Tradeoff source selection process.

The following NON-Price Evaluation Factors will be used as the basis for determining Technical Capability:

1. Relevant Construction Experience of the Prime Contractor (Non-price)

2. Project Schedule (Non-price)

3. Technical Qualifications and Experience of Prime or Subcontractor Relevant to High Pressure Boilers and Controls Integration. (Non-price)

NOTE: There is a realistic possibility that some offerors may choose to submit the same construction project as a qualifying example for both the past performance and the construction experience evaluation factors. This is not prohibited, but the supporting documentation must demonstrate that the submitted projects absolutely do comply with the specific minimal requirements, identified below, for each separate evaluation factor.

FACTOR 1: RELEVANT CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE OF THE PRIME CONTRACTOR.

To be evaluated under this factor, Offerors shall submit a minimum of two (2) and maximum of five (5) construction project examples for the Prime Contractor that best demonstrate recent and relevant experience by the Prime Contractor on projects that are similar in size, scope, and complexity to the RFP requirements. Subcontractor work cannot be substituted and shall not be accepted. The projects must demonstrate the Offerors construction experience as a prime construction contractor directly responsible to the project owner and managing multiple subcontractors.

The offeror shall provide a short description of the project and state what work fulfilled the relevant experience areas for construction of new buildings including but not limited to: modification and relocation of the site utilities, new building construction and additions to existing buildings, modifications to existing utilities, physical security construction, storm drain and sewer updates, phased construction, fire alarm and sprinkler system updates with integration into existing systems, updating of controls and auxiliary systems, updating communications, and electrical service to multiple hospital or commercial buildings.

Project(s) should have a minimum value of $7,000,000.00 and be 100% complete. Projects submitted by the Offeror shall be completed within the past five (5) years from the closing date of this RFP. If the contract/work is incomplete or was completed more than five years prior to the date of submitting this proposal, it will not be deemed relevant and shall not be considered. Projects which are similar in size, scope, and complexity and were at an active Hospital, Medical Center, or project site with 24-hour day operations are preferred and will be rated higher.

A project is defined as a construction project performed under a single task order or contract. For multiple award and indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity type contracts, the contract as a whole shall not be submitted as a project; rather Offerors shall submit the work performed under a task order as a project.

The Offeror’s submission shall include the following information:

· Provide the Project Title and Description, Project Location (Physical Address); Contract Type (Example: Design Build, Design Bid Build).

· For each of the construction projects submitted, the offeror must submit contact information including project owner name, email, and phone number. If the project owner’s contact information cannot be verified for at least 2 of the 5 submitted examples using the information provided by the bidder, then the proposal will be considered unacceptable for this factor and receive no further consideration.

· Provide a description of the scope of work, to include the work performed by the prime contractor. Scope of work includes information on subcontractors managed during the project.

· Provide project statistics that include start and completion dates at time of award and the actual start and completion dates. If original and actual completion dates differ, provide an explanation as to why they differ.

· Provide the project cost at time of award and project cost at time of completion. An explanation of the total cost differences between original (awarded) cost and final cost of the project must be included. Provide a statement regarding issues which impeded the Prime Contractor’s ability to comply with the terms and conditions of the contract and how they were resolved.

· Project owners will be contacted regarding past performance information such as: adherence to contract schedules, submission of data deliverables, managerial performance, project site safety issues (if any), site superintendent performance, the contractor’s ability to comply with terms and conditions of the contract, and overall quality of the materials provided and work performed.

If the Offeror is a Joint Venture (JV), relevant project experience should be submitted for projects completed by the Joint Venture entity. If the Joint Venture does not have shared experience, projects shall be submitted for each Joint Venture partner. Offerors who fail to submit experience for all Joint Venture partners may be rated lower.

(Note: If submitting as a Prime/Sub teaming arrangement under FAR 9.601(2), the designated prime must meet the specific requirements of Factor 1 “Relevant Construction Experience of the Prime Contractor” in order for the teaming arrangement to be deemed acceptable. Subcontractor experience will not be considered.)

FACTOR 2: PROJECT SCHEDULE

To be evaluated under this factor, offerors must:

Provide a Draft Project Schedule:

Prepare and submit a practicable construction schedule showing all necessary work elements to complete the project identified under this solicitation within the time frame specified on the SF1442. The schedule must be in the form of a progress chart of suitable scale to indicate appropriately the percentage of work scheduled for completion by any given date during the performance period. The submitted schedule must be developed using project scheduling software such as MS Project, Primavera, or any other comparable form.

Each Offeror's construction schedule must address the following:

· Order of work elements to include project phasing, Submittals, Mobilization, Demolition, Construction, Equipment Deliveries and Lead Time, Installation of new Equipment, Punch List, De-Mobilization.

· Number of days for each work element

· Identification of long lead time materials

· Identification of separate work elements

· The VA’s review and approval of RFI’s, Submittals and other pertinent documents.

· Interruption of VA Facilities utilities, delivery of Government furnished equipment, rough-in drawings, project phasing and any other specification requirements.

The proposed schedule must include the activities which are consistent with those described within the project specifications and drawings and must not exceed the Government's maximum allowable performance period, as noted in Block 11 of the SF 1442. The project will start at the issuance of the Notice to Proceed. For scheduling purposes, assume the Notice to Proceed will be issued thirty (30) calendar days after the award date (use September 30, 2022, for schedule estimating purposes). (Note that there is no guarantee the Notice to Proceed will be issued within this timeframe.)

*The schedule submitted with the offer should not be construed as the agreed upon schedule as per FAR 52.236-15. The awarded contractor shall, within five (5) days after receiving the Notice to Proceed, submit a revised schedule which will supersede the proposed schedule. The revised schedule will be subject to VA approval and must show the project being accomplished within the time frame specified on the SF 1442.

Provide a Narrative for Project Challenges:

· Describe in a written narrative, the challenges identified for this project and a plan for addressing these challenges. This plan shall include contractor’s plan to minimize the disruption of patient care to the greatest extent possible.

FACTOR 3: TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF PRIME OR SUBCONTRACTOR RELEVANT TO HIGH PRESSURE BOILERS AND CONTROLS INTEGRATION

To be evaluated under this factor, offerors shall provide:

Training certificates and certifications for key personnel related to this factor. Submit a minimum of two (2) and maximum of three (3) construction project examples demonstrating the recent and relevant experience and technical qualifications of high pressure boiler installation and controls integration key personnel (i.e.: Boiler/Burner Automation Controls Installer/Technician(s), Boiler Installer/Technician(s), and Boiler Combustion Analyzer). Only projects which key personnel worked on and have been completed within past 5 years and which demonstrate relevant boiler and/or utility plant construction, hospital and/or medical renovation may be submitted. The Offeror must clearly identify for which of the relevant experience area(s) each project example pertains to, as well as submit documentation of past construction/project experience of relative scope and size to this project. Relative Experience in the following areas shall be identified:

Project A – (Example) This project that (key personnel) worked on may qualify and be listed for hospital and medical renovation projects or, Project B – (Example) This project that (key personnel) worked on may qualify and be listed for Boiler/Utility Plant construction projects or, Project C – (Example) This project that (key personnel) worked on may qualify for both relevant experience areas (Hospital/Medical Renovation and Boiler/Utility construction projects.)

In addition, in the submitted projects the offeror shall state what work fulfilled the relevant experience areas for the critical high-pressure boiler and controls integration and installation work either by the prime, or subcontractor. Prime contractor is required to certify that key boiler personnel identified in the proposal are available to work on the project prior to award. Substitution of personnel between submittal of the proposal and award will not be acceptable.

After contract award, substitution of boiler and controls subcontractor and key personnel shall not be allowed without written concurrence from VA Contracting Officer.

During the period of performance of the Contract, the Contractor shall make NO substitutions of key personnel (i.e.: Boiler/Burner Automation Controls Installer/Technician(s), Boiler Installer/Technician(s), and Boiler Combustion Analyzer or other personnel identified by the bidder) unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death, or termination of employment. The contractor shall notify the contracting officer, in writing within five (5) calendar days after the occurrence of any of these events. Any substitutions after award must be determined equally or more qualified by the Contracting Officer.

For each of the projects submitted for high pressure boiler installation and controls integration construction experience, the offeror must submit contact information including project owner name, email, and phone number, and provide a short description of the project, cost at time of award and cost at time of completion, original contract completion date and final completion date. An explanation of the differences between original and final cost and original completion date and final completion date should be included. If the project owner’s contact information cannot be verified and the reference checks for key personnel (i.e.: Boiler/Burner Automation Controls Installer/Technician(s), Boiler Installer/Technician(s), and Boiler Combustion Analyzer or other personnel identified by the bidder) cannot be verified for at least 2 of the 3 submitted examples using the information provided by the bidder, then the proposal will be unacceptable for this factor and receive no further consideration.

FACTOR 4: TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS OF PROPOSED STAFFING

To be evaluated under this factor, qualified offerors must submit a detailed resume of each key individual (listed below) on the Prime contractor’s staff for his project. To promote maximum continuity on this project, key staffing positions must not to be subcontracted out. This factor will be evaluated to determine if contractor’s key personnel have the appropriate technical training and or previous construction experience for this project. No one individual can perform more than two of the key staffing positions below:

(a) On-Site Superintendent – Must have a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience as a construction site superintendent and must have OSHA 30 training. Provide references (that can be contacted) for a minimum of 2 projects and a maximum of 3 construction projects with similar size and scope to this project (include a brief project description which details the size and scope of projects). To be considered for evaluation, at least 2 of the 3 construction projects must have been completed within the last five years and valid contact information must be provided. Submit relevant training certificates (i.e. safety training, construction equipment, OSHA, fall protection, etc) for review.

If references cannot be contacted and project experience cannot be verified based on the contract information provided, then the proposal will be considered unacceptable for this factor and will receive no further consideration.

(b) Quality Control Manager – Must have a minimum of 5 years of experience as a construction project manager. Provide references (that can be contacted) for a minimum of 2 and maximum of 3 construction projects with similar scope and size to this project (include a brief project description which details the size and scope of projects). To be considered for evaluation, at least 2 of the 3 construction projects must have been completed within the last five years and valid contact information must be provided. If references cannot be contacted and project experience cannot be verified based on the contract information provided, then the proposal will be unacceptable for this factor and will receive no further consideration.

(c) Safety Officer – Must have a minimum of 5 years of experience as a Construction Safety Officer Must provide an OSHA 30 Certificate and a list of safety training that, at a minimum, includes “life safety, excavation safety, scaffold safety, fall protection training, and crane/rigging safety”. Provide references (that can be contacted) for a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 construction projects with similar scope and size to this project (include a brief project description which details the size and scope of projects). To be considered for evaluation at least 2 of the 3 construction projects must have been completed within the last five years and valid contact information must be provided.

If references cannot be contacted and project experience cannot be verified based on the contract information provided, then the proposal will be unacceptable for this factor and will receive no further consideration.

Special Note: Only submit information for personnel who will perform relevant duties at the construction site for this project on a resulting contract. When an offeror submits a proposal in response to this Request for Proposals and the training and experience of specific key personnel is a required evaluation factor, then that person who is offered is expected to be the same person who will actually perform the specified work on the project. Substitution of personnel between submittal of the proposal and award will not be acceptable. Any substitutions after award must be determined equally or more qualified by the Contracting Officer and Wichita VAMC Engineering staff.

Special Note: During the period of performance of the Contract, the Contractor shall make NO substitutions of the proposed key personnel staffing unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death, or termination of employment of key personnel. The contractor shall notify the contracting officer, in writing within five (5) calendar days after the occurrence of any of these events. Any replacement of key staffing shall have equal or better qualifications, subject to the approval by the Contracting Officer and Wichita VAMC Engineering staff.

FACTOR 5: PAST PERFORMANCE

To be evaluated under this factor, Prime Contractor shall provide current and relevant information regarding the Prime Contractor’s actions under previously awarded contracts referenced under Factor 1, “RELEVANT CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE OF THE PRIME CONTRACTOR”. If a completed past performance evaluation is available in PPIRS, it shall be submitted with the proposal for each project referenced in Factor 1, “RELEVANT CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE OF THE PRIME CONTRACTOR”. If there is not a completed past performance evaluation available in PPIRS, then the Prime Contractor shall submit Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ) (ATTACHMENT 3) for each project referenced in Factor 1, Construction Experience. The Prime Contractor shall notify their client that the PPQ shall be submitted by the reference via email to the Government’s point of contact sean.jackson@va.gov and jonathan.lutmer@va.gov . If the Prime Contractor is unable to obtain a completed PPQ from a client for a project(s) before proposal closing date, the Prime Contractor shall complete and submit with the proposal the first page of the PPQ, which will provide contract and client information for the respective project(s). The Government may make reasonable attempts to contact the client noted for that project(s) to obtain the PPQ information. However, Offerors should follow-up with clients/references to help ensure timely submittal of questionnaires.

The Government reserves the right to contact references for verification or seek additional past performance information from other sources (i.e. Small Business Administration (SBA), Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARs), System of Award Management (SAM), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), etc). All offerors shall be certified in VetBiz as an SDVOSB and registered in SAM as an SDVOSB prior to the due date of offers.

SPECIAL NOTE 1: For Prime Contractors That May Lack Past Performance Information: In accordance with FAR Part 15.305(a)(2), in the case of a Prime Contractor that is without a record of relevant past performance, or for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. Such offerors may submit relevant past performance information regarding predecessor companies; key personnel who have relevant experience; or subcontractors that will be performing major or critical aspects of this requirement, provided that such information is relevant to the construction in this solicitation.

SPECIAL NOTE 2: For Prime Contractors that have Past Performance: Prime Contractors may provide information on problems encountered on the identified contracts and the offeror’s corrective actions. The government also reserves the right to consider past performance information from all available sources, in addition to any information submitted by offerors.

FACTOR 6: PRIME CONTRACTOR’S SAFETY PLAN

To be evaluated under this factor, the Prime Contractor shall provide a construction safety plan that is deemed acceptable, at a minimum, and meets the following requirements:

a. The contractor's Safety Plan shall be evaluated for their compliance with local/State/Federal rules and regulations and the company's consideration of safety of its employees and the general public. The contractor's Safety Plan at the minimum shall address their safety policy, commitment to safety, detailed disciplinary action to be taken with respect to employees violating safety requirements, personnel safety responsibilities, personnel safety training, personal protective equipment, accident / incident reporting procedure and investigations, and emergency procedures guidelines.

b. The contractor’s Safety Plan shall address their plan for completing all contract work on and around an active hospital without impacting patient care and completing all work in accordance with all construction documents and all local/State/Federal rules and regulations.

If the safety plan does not address the requirements listed above (a and b), the proposal will be deemed unacceptable under this factor and will not receive further consideration

FACTOR 7: PRICE PROPOSAL

The total evaluated price will be determined by the Offeror’s price for the respective CLIN 0001(BID ITEM 1), or CLIN 0002(BID ITEM 2), or CLIN 0003(BID ITEM 3), or CLIN 0004(BID ITEM 4), or CLIN 0005(BID ITEM 5) that is intended to be awarded. (see A.3 Price/Cost Schedule starting on page 6). Offerors must provide a price for each bid item. It is intended that award will be made on CLIN 0001(BID ITEM 1), however should the offer for this CLIN exceed the funds available, award will be made on CLIN 0002(BID ITEM 2) or CLIN 0003(BID ITEM 3) or CLIN 0004(BID ITEM 4) or CLIN 0005(BID ITEM 5), subject to the funding limitations for each respective CLIN.

In addition, offerors shall include a breakdown of material/equipment costs and labor costs, by specification division for each Contract Line Item Number (CLIN). Overhead, profit and bond costs shall be added after a subtotal of materials and labor costs has been calculated. The above costs must be submitted on the “ 1.2 CALCULATION OF SELF-PERFORMED/SUBCONTRACTED WORK” work sheet.

The VA reserves the right to award to a higher priced offeror in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria. The VA also reserves the right to award to a lower priced, lower rated offeror if it’s in the interest of the VA.

3. BASIS OF AWARD.

The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsive offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be the most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. Factors 1-7 identified above shall be used to evaluate offers. All non-price factors (i.e., factors 1-6) are of equal importance. All non-price evaluation factors when combined are more important than price.

Note: Offers that are rated Unacceptable under any factor cannot be selected for award, regardless of price.

4. SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.

SUBSTITUTIONS OF KEY PERSONNEL OR SUBCONTRACTORS

When an offeror submits its proposal in response to this Request for Proposals, and key personnel who are proposed to work on the project are required to be submitted, those personnel who are offered must be the same personnel who will actually perform on the project. If, during performance of the contract, it becomes necessary for the contractor to substitute personnel for one of those whose qualifications were the basis for evaluation of the offer and award of the contract, the contractor shall submit to the Contracting Officer the same information that was required in the initial proposal regarding the proposed substitute employee. The Contracting Officer shall have the right to review the qualifications of the proposed substitute employee with Wichita VA Engineering staff and to approve or disapprove his or her qualifications. If the proposed substitute employee's qualifications are disapproved by the Contracting Officer and/or Wichita VA Engineering staff, the contractor will propose another employee who possesses equivalent qualifications and experience of the originally approved employee.

When an offeror submits its proposal in response to this Request for Proposals, and the name and experience of a specific subcontractor is a required evaluation factor, then that subcontractor who is offered must be the same subcontractor who will actually perform the specified work on the project. If, during performance of the contract, it becomes necessary for the contractor to substitute a subcontractor for one of those whose qualifications were the basis for evaluation of the offer and award of the contract, the contractor shall submit to the Contracting Officer the same information that was required in the initial proposal regarding the proposed substitute subcontractor. The Contracting Officer and Wichita VA Engineering staff shall have the right to review the qualifications of the proposed substitute subcontractor and to approve or disapprove its qualifications. If the proposed substitute subcontractor's qualifications are disapproved by the Contracting Officer and/or Wichita VA Engineering staff, the contractor will propose another subcontractor who possesses equivalent qualifications and experience.

5. SAFETY OR ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS AND EXPERIENCE MODIFCATION RATE

All Bidders/Offerors shall submit required information pertaining to their past Safety and Environmental record see Appendix 2. The information shall contain, at a minimum, 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.

All bidders/Offerors shall submit information documenting their current Experience Modification Rate (EMR) is 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. Bidders/Offerors with an EMR of 1.0 or greater will be considered “Unacceptable”. Failure to affirm being within these guidelines or submit this information will result in a determination of unacceptability and the Bidder/Offeror will be ineligible for award.

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 the 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.

This requirement is applicable to all subcontracting tiers. Prospective prime contractors are responsible for determining the acceptability of their prospective subcontractors consistent with this safety requirement.

(END OF PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS)