Solicitaiton 36C25621R0055.docx

1. SOLICITATION NUMBER

2. TYPE OF SOLICITATION

3. DATE ISSUED

PAGE OF PAGES

4. CONTRACT NUMBER

5. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQUEST NUMBER

6. PROJECT NUMBER

7. ISSUED BY

CODE

8. ADDRESS OFFER TO

a. NAME

b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) (NO COLLECT CALLS)

10. THE GOVERNMENT REQUIRES PERFORMANCE OF THE WORK DESCRIBED IN THESE DOCUMENTS (Title, identifying number, date) 12a. THE CONTRACTOR MUST FURNISH ANY REQUIRED PERFORMANCE AND PAYMENT BONDS?

(If "YES," indicate within how many calendar days after award in Item 12B.)

12b. CALENDAR DAYS

13. ADDITIONAL SOLICITATION REQUIREMENTS:

STANDARD FORM 1442 (REV. 8/2014)

STANDARD FORM 1442

Prescribed by GSA-FAR (48 CFR) 52.236-1(d)

SOLICITATION, OFFER,

AND AWARD

(Construction, Alteration, or Repair)

SOLICITATION

SOLICITATION

IMPORTANT - The "offer" section on the reverse must be fully completed by offeror.

9. FOR INFORMATION

CALL:

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

SEALED BID (IFB)

NEGOTIATED (RFP)

11. The Contractor shall begin performance within ____________ calendar days and complete it within calendar days after receiving award, notice to proceed. This performance period is mandatory negotiable. (See _____________________________).

YES

NO

a.

Sealed offers in original and ___________________copies to perform the work required are due at the place specified in Item 8 by _____________ (hour) local time _____________________ (date). If this is a sealed bid solicitation, offers must be publicly opened at that time. Sealed envelopes containing offers shall be marked to show the offeror's name and address, the solicitation number, the date and time offers are due.

b.

An offer guarantee is, is not required.

c.

All offers are subject to the (1) work requirements, and (2) other provisions and clauses incorporated in the solicitation in full text or by reference.

d.

Offers providing less than _______________________ calendar days for Government acceptance after the date offers are due will not be considered and will be rejected.

36C25621R0055 X 02-10-2021 520-21-1-7038-0001 520-22-108 Department of Veterans Affairs Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System Network Contracting Office 16 400 Veterans Avenue Biloxi MS 39531 Department of Veterans Affairs Gulf Coast Veterans HCS (36C25621R0055) (NCO 16) ATTN: Cynthia Kinsman 400 Veterans Ave, Bldg T104 Rm A110 Biloxi MS 39531 Cynthia Kinsman/Cynthia.Kinsman@va.gov 228-523-5062 This procurement is a total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) set-aside under Public Law 109-461.

Offerors must be registered and verified as a SDVOSB in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) at https://www.vip.vetbiz.va.gov/. Proposals received from contractors who are not verified as a SDVOSB in VetBiz will not be considered for award. This includes Joint Ventures. Joint Venture Agreements must be submitted with proposal to be considered. Contract award shall not be delayed due to loss of SDVOSB verification. Verification showing seal shall be included with proposal.

BASE OFFER ITEM: FURNISH ALL LABOR, TOOLS, SUPERVISION, EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, PERMITS & OTHER REQUIREMENTS NECESSARY TO PERFORM ALL WORK ASSOCIATED WITH PROJECT 520-22-108 UPGRADE EMERGENCY ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS, BILOXI, FOR THE GULF COAST VETERANS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM (GCVHCS), 400 VETERANS AVENUE, BILOXI, MS 39531.

SITE VISIT: AN ORGANIZED SITE VISIT WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE/TIME/LOCATION SHOWN IN FAR 52.236-27 SITE VISIT (CONSTRUCTION) ALTERNATE I. THIS WILL BE THE ONLY SITE VISIT CONDUCTED FOR THIS PROCUREMENT.

INFORMATION PROVIDED AT THE SITE VISIT SHALL NOT ALTER THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE SOLICITATION. TERMS OF THE

SOLICITATION REMAIN UNCHANGED UNLESS THE SOLICITATION IS AMENDED IN WRITING.

CONTRACTORS ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT ALL

QUESTIONS IN WRITING, USING EXHIBIT F, (EMAIL IS ACCEPTABLE) TO THE CONTRACTING OFFICER SHOWN ABOVE NO LATER THAN

4:00 PM CST TIME ON WEDNESDAY - MARCH 3, 2021

SEE BLOCK 13A FOR SOLICITATION CLOSING DATE.

THE GOVERNMENT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO AWARD THE BASE OFFER ITEM ONLY IF SUFFICIENT FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE.

PER VAAR 836.204 AND FAR 36.204 THE ESTIMATED MAGNITUDE OF THIS PROJECT IS BETWEEN $500,000 AND $1,000,000

APPLICABLE NAICS CODE: 238210 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS & OTHER WIRING INSTALLATION CONTRACTORS - SIZE STANDARD: $16.5M

GEOGRAPHICAL AREA WHERE WORK IS TO BE PERFORMED: BILOXI, HARRISON COUNTY, MS 39531

NOTE: IN NEGOTIATED PROPOSALS "BID" AND "BIDDER" MEAN "OFFER" AND "OFFEROR"

52.211-10 X 1 CD & 3 Hard

3 PM

CST

03-15-2021 X

14. NAME AND ADDRESS OF OFFEROR

15. TELEPHONE NUMBER

16. REMITTANCE ADDRESS

CODE

FACILITY CODE

17. The offeror agrees to perform the work required at the prices specified below in strict accordance with the terms of the solicitation, if this offer is accepted by the Government in writing within __________ calendar days after the date offers are due.

AMOUNTS

18. The offeror agrees to furnish any required performance and payment bonds.

19. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS

AMENDMENT

NUMBER

DATE.

20a. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER 20b. SIGNATURE 20c. OFFER DATE

21. ITEMS ACCEPTED:

22. AMOUNT

23. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

24. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN

ITEM

25. OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION PURSUANT TO

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)( 38 U.S.C. 8127 ( d

26. ADMINISTERED BY

27. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

PHONE:

FAX:

28. NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT

29. AWARD

Your Contractor agrees offer on this solicitation is hereby accepted as to the items listed. This to furnish and deliver all items or perform all work requirements identified award consummates the contract, which consists of (a) the Government on this form and any continuation sheets for the consideration stated in solicitation and your offer, and (b) this contract award. No further cont-this contract. The rights and obligations of the parties to this contract ractual document is necessary.

shall be governed by (a) this contract award, (b) the solicitation, and (c) the clauses, representations, certifications, and specifications incorporated by reference in or attached to this contract.

30a. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTOR OR PERSON AUTHORIZED 31a. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

TO SIGN

30b. SIGNATURE 30c. DATE 31b. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 31c. AWARD DATE

BY

OFFER

AWARD

STANDARD FORM 1442 (REV. 8/2014) BACK

(Include ZIP Code) (Include area code) (Include only if different than Item 14.)

(Insert any number equal to or greater than the minimum requirement stated in Item 13d. Failure to insert any number means the offeror accepts the minimum in Item 13d.)

(The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the solicitation -- give number and date of each) (Type or print) (4 copies unless otherwise specified) (Type or print) (Type or print) (Contractor is required to sign this document and return _______ copies to issuing office.)

(Contractor is not required to sign this document.)

(Must be fully completed by offeror) (To be completed by Government)

CONTRACTING OFFICER WILL COMPLETE ITEM 28 OR 29 AS APPLICABLE

Please see Schedule of Offer Items & Block #17 Continuation Department of Veterans Affairs Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System Network Contracting Office 16 400 Veterans Avenue Biloxi MS 39531 Department of Veterans Affairs Financial Services Center

(ATTN: CAT 0474)

P.O. Box 149975 Austin TX 78714 8975 877-353-9791 512-460-5545 x Cynthia L. Kinsman

NCO1615L2-4313

Table of Contents

A.3 SCOPE OF WORK

PROJECT NO. 520-22-108

UPGRADE EMERGENCY ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

VA GULF COAST VETERANS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

4000 VETERANS AVENUE

BILOXI, MS 39531

SCOPE OF WORK (02.09.2021)

1. GENERAL: Contractor is to provide all labor, tools, materials, equipment, and supervision necessary to perform all work associated with replacing failed electrical devices (transfer switches, circuit breakers, and components listed below) located at the VA Gulf Coast Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Biloxi, Mississippi per the 2019 Testing Report.

2. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES: The work required is listed as follows:

a. Contractor shall perform the work to repair or replace electrical devices per the test report failures for a fully operational electrical system for compliance. Verify testing report and single line for equipment to be replaced.

b. Contractor shall coordinate work with the Biloxi, VAMC Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and Electrical Supervisor prior to start of each work item. Contractor is to contact the Electrical Supervisor at 228-523-5721 for scheduling work. No repair or replacement of devices shall occur until VA has given approval to start work. Each device/system shall be individually-approved for repair/replacement to ensure continuity of medical care services.

c. All components shall include the same or higher interrupt current rating as the existing equipment/devices being replaced. Submittals for VA approval are required. Addition of upstream fuses to limit fault current is strictly prohibited.

d. Contractor will provide all necessary labor, transportation, equipment, personal protective equipment, facilities, supervision, other items as required to provide the replacement of electrical components as described in this Scope of Work, deficiencies list below and the attached excerpts for the testing report:

Breaker Testing Repair List, Breaker Testing Schedule

Summary Report Issues:

DEFICIENCY SUMMARY:

Refer to the attached testing report for component information.

3. INSTALLATION TIME:

a. All work shall be completed within 120 calendar days after “Notice to Proceed” is received by the Contractor.

b. Work will be performed during the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday, exclusive of Federal Holidays. Some work outside of normal hours of operations may be necessary and must be coordinated with the COR. Outages must be coordinated with the facility and may require shutdowns afterhours or weekends, to not interfere with patient care.

c. Replacement of electrical system components to be limited to an 8 hour time period or outage between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM. If the planned work is greater than 8 hours, notify the VA to discuss possible phasing of work.

4. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS BY THE CONTRACTOR:

a. All disposal costs and fees for debris removal will be the contractor’s responsibility.

b. The contractor will be responsible for cleanliness of the building area both interior and exterior.

5. SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS:

a. Contractor’s workmen shall provide and utilize all safety requirements in accordance with OSHA, NFPA and NEC regulations during all phases of the work.

6. REQUIREMENTS:

a. All work is to be performed in strict compliance with the “Scope of Work”.

b. Invoices: Invoices are to be submitted electronically; either monthly or quarterly, in arrears of the start of the contract work that is performed. Electronic invoices can be submitted at no additional cost at the VA Vendor Information System (VIS) website https://www.vis.fsc.va.gov/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fDefault.aspx , or at http://www.tungsten-network.com/us/en/veterans-affairs/. The COR is responsible for acceptance of work and/or the processing of receiving reports for the work provided to the government.

c. Work Stoppage/Delays: The Contracting Officer shall be notified at the earliest time available, but no later than the next business day, via phone of the Contractor's knowledge of any conditions which may adversely affect the Contractor's ability to perform under the terms and conditions as stated in the specifications of this requirement. For example, union strikes, vehicle problems, licenses, or anything that might jeopardize the terms and conditions of this contract should be reported to the Contracting Officer.

d. VA Hours of operation: Regular hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. To 4:30 p.m. After Hours: Times may vary and must be scheduled with Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

e. Contractor shall provide repair service calls for emergency corrective maintenance 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.

f. For non-scheduled services, corrective maintenance will be initiated by the Biloxi VAMC by telephone to the Contractor’s service center, which must be acknowledged within 4 hours. A fully qualified service technician must be on site within 14 hours of acknowledgment of the service call. A fully qualified technician means that the service tech can show evidence of the successful completion of an acceptable training program on the equipment in question.

g. Equipment covered in the one year warranty from the time of government acceptance of the project shall be restored to full service within 48 hours of arriving on the job site, barring extenuating circumstances. Full service means that defective parts have been replaced with parts that meet or exceed manufacturer's original specifications, meets government’s expectations and that the equipment meets or exceeds the manufacturer's original performance specifications.

h. Protective clothing, footwear and other items shall be in compliance with OSHA, NFPA 70E and/or other Federal/State/local requirements.

i. The Contractor shall be responsible for the conduct and appearance of his employees while working on VA Medical Facility. The Contractor's employees shall remain fully clothed at all times while performing under this contract; this includes shirts with sleeves, shoes and long pants. Tank tops, shorts and inappropriate tee shirts worn as outerwear are prohibited. The Contractor will be required to remove from the work site any employee working under this contract for reasons of conduct, security, or found to be or suspected to be under the influence of alcohol, drugs and any other incapacitating agents. Removal from the work site or dismissal from the premises shall not relieve the Contractor of the requirement to provide sufficient personnel to perform the services as required.

j. All personnel employed by the Contractor in the performance of this contractor, or any representative of the Contractor entering the Government, shall abide by all the regulations of the installation.

k. Site shall be kept clean and free from debris at all times and contractor shall remove debris daily from the health care system property. Contractor will not be allowed to use Government tools, materials, and/or labor for this project.

7. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES:

a. Certificates, Licenses, Training and Permits. The Contractor shall, at no additional cost to the Government, obtain all certificates, licenses and permits required for performance of electrical repair and replacement services, and for complying with all applicable local, state, and Federal laws, rules and regulations. Contractor shall provide all equipment necessary to complete the installation and testing, including equipment, materials, and testing needed to meet OSHA and NFPA requirements for a safe work site.

b. The Contractor may use the available utilities (electricity, water) at the site locations that are determined necessary for the performance of services described herein. The Contractor will not have access to the VA information system or have access to government computers to access online information while in the performance of the contract.

c. Contractor shall furnish the Biloxi VAMC with Certification of installation per industry standards and NEC.

DETAILS:

A.4 SCHEDULE OF OFFER ITEMS

CONTRACT LINE ITEM NUMBER CLIN 0001:

(See Scope of Work, Specifications and Drawings)

AWARD POLICY: The Base Offer Item includes all labor, tools, supervision, equipment, materials, supplies, permits and other requirements necessary to Upgrade Emergency Electrical Systems, GCVHCS, 400 Veterans Ave, Biloxi, MS. Offerors shall submit an offer for CLIN 0001. The Government reserves the right to award the base offer item only if sufficient funds are available. Based upon availability of funds, award will be made to the offeror whose offer best conforms to the request for proposal, will be most advantageous to the Government considering past performance factors, technical factors, and price-related factors, as included in the solicitation.

CLIN 0001, BASE OFFER ITEM - GENERAL CONSTRUCTION: Furnish all labor, tools, supervision, equipment, materials, supplies, permits and other requirements necessary to perform all work associated with Project 520-22-108 Upgrade Emergency Electrical Systems, Biloxi, GCVHCS, Biloxi, MS.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE – 120 CALENDAR DAYS AFTER RECEIPT OF NOTICE TO PROCEED.

CLIN 0001 - __________________________________________

CONTINUATION OF SF 1442 - BLOCK # 17

SUBTOTAL COST:

GENERAL LIABILITY / INSURANCE:

OVERHEAD & PROFIT:

BOND:

PROJECT TOTAL COST:

Page 1 of Page 1 of

INFORMATION REGARDING BIDDING MATERIAL, BID GUARANTEE AND BONDS

A.5 Bidding Materials, Bid Guarantee and Bonds

(a) All offer materials will be posted on https://beta.sam.gov/ (System for Award Management). No hard copies will be available.

(b) An offer guarantee is required in an amount not less than 20 percent of the offer price but shall not exceed $3,000,000. Failure to furnish the required offer guarantee in the proper form and amount, by the time set for opening of offers, will require rejection of the offer in all cases except those listed in FAR 28.101-4, and may be cause for rejection even then.

(c) The offeror to whom award is made will be required to furnish two bonds, a Performance Bond, SF 25, and a Payment Bond, SF 25A, each in the penal sum of 100% of the award amount.

(End of Clause)

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS AND OTHER STATEMENTS TO BIDDERS/OFFERORS

1.1 GENERAL PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Project: 520-22-108 Upgrade Emergency Electrical Systems, Biloxi Issuing Office: Network Contracting Office 16 Location of Project: GCVHCS, 400 Veterans Ave, Biloxi, MS 39531 Point of Contact: Cynthia Kinsman, Contracting Officer, NCO 16 – Biloxi, MS E-mail: Cynthia.Kinsman@va.gov

1. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification: This action is a 100% set aside for verified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB). The award of this solicitation shall not be delayed due to loss of SDVOSB verification. Proposals submitted by non-verified SDVOSB shall be excluded from award consideration.

1. Joint Ventures must be verified SDVOSB and registered in SAM.

1. VETS-4212: 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. This VETS-4212 report can be submitted per the instructions at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/vets4212. For assistance contact VETS-4212 customer support at 1-866-237-0275 or vets4212-customersupport@dolncc.dol.gov For procurement awards in excess of $150,000, this report must be completed and accepted prior to any Federal contract award. Therefore, all potential contractors are encouraged to file every year.

3. Past Safety Record: VHA DIRECTIVE 7715 SAFETY AND HEALTH DURING CONSTRUCTION requires that Contracting Officers evaluate and consider past safety records of prospective contractors in awarding contracts. OFFERORS SHALL SUBMIT EXHIBIT D CONTRACTOR EVALUATION FORM CONSTRUCTION SAFETY AS A PART OF THE OFFER PACKAGE.

All offerors shall submit information pertaining to their past Safety and Environmental record using Exhibit D. The information must show that the offeror has no more than three (3) serious, or one (1) repeat or one (1) willful OSHA violation(s) in the past three years. If those totals are exceeded, the offeror shall attach an 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 offerors shall submit information regarding their current Experience Modification Rate (EMR). This information shall be obtained from the offeror’s insurance carrier and be furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead. If an offeror’s EMR is above 1.0, offeror must attach a written explanation of the EMR from its insurance carrier furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead, describing the reasons for the 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 PR shall obtain their EMR rating from their state run worker’s compensation insurance rating bureau.

If the NCCI cannot issue an EMR because the offeror lacks insurance history, 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 is has assigned offeror a Unity Rating of 1.0.

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

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.

OFFERORS WHO FAIL TO SUBMIT EXHIBIT D (AND THE ASSOCIATED ADDITIONAL REQUIRED INFORMATION) AS A PART OF THEIR PROPOSAL PACKAGE WILL BE RATED LOWER THAN AN OFFEROR THAT DOES PROVIDE.

1. Site Visit: An organized site is scheduled as shown in clause 52.236-27. Only one site visit will be conducted. Attendance at the site visit is not mandatory, but highly suggested for proper proposal preparation.

1. Requests for Information (RFIs): RFI’s are due, utilizing Exhibit F, no later than (NLT) 4:00 PM CST Time Wednesday – March 3, 2021 or as amended and will not be accepted after this date. RFI’s should be submitted by email to the Contracting Officer, Cynthia L. Kinsman at Cynthia.Kinsman@va.gov. Responses will be provided by amendment to the solicitation in a question and answer format. Example: Subject Line of the RFI e-mail should be as follows: Company Name, RFI #1, 36C25621R0055 and Project # 520-22-108.

1. Proposal Due Date: Proposals are due NLT the date/time shown in Block 13a of Standard Form (SF) 1442. It is the offeror’s responsibility to ensure that proposals are received prior to the solicitation closing date/time. All proposals will be submitted by mail (USPS, UPS, FEDEX, etc.) or hand carried to the below address:

· Department of Veterans Affairs

· Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System

· Network Contracting Office 16 (NCO 16)

· ATTN: Cynthia Kinsman (REF: 36C25621R0055)

· 400 Veterans Ave, Bldg T102 Rm A110

· Biloxi, MS 39531

1. Magnitude of Construction: Pursuant to VAAR 836.204 the magnitude of construction is between: $500,000 and $1,000,000

1. North American Industry Classification (NAICS) code: The applicable NAICS code for this procurement is 238210 - Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors. The Small Business size standard is $16.5 Million.

1. Wage Determination (WD): The applicable Davis Bacon WD, General Decision No. MS20210050 01-01-2021, for this solicitation is incorporated as an attachment to this solicitation.

1. Period of Performance: The successful offeror shall begin performance within 10 calendar days after receiving the notice to proceed and complete all work within the time specified in the award. All punch list items must be completed during the established period of performance.

1. Funding: Award is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds. The Government does not compensate vendors for proposal development and submission.

1. Superintendence: The offeror shall provide, from their own staff, a competent 30 hour OSHA certified superintendent. This individual shall be 100% full time dedicated and assigned to this project while work is being performed on site. The offeror shall not divide or split up their superintendence duties among multiple projects at the same facility. Each project stands alone and requires a dedicated superintendent to be allocated and funded to that particular project.

13. Holidays: The following federal holidays are observed:

Christmas Day

Any other holiday proclaimed by the President as a Federal Holiday.

When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be observed as a legal holiday. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is observed by U.S. Government agencies.

14. Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS):

(a) FAR 42.1502 directs all Federal agencies to collect past performance information on contracts. The Department of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has implemented Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) to comply with this regulation. One or more past performance evaluations will be conducted in order to record your contract performance as required by FAR 42.15.

(b) The past performance evaluation process is a totally paperless process using CPARS. CPARS is a web-based system that allows for electronic processing of the performance evaluation report. Once the report is processed, it is available in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) for Government use in evaluating past performance as part of a source selection action.

(c) We request that you furnish the Contracting Officer with the name, position title, phone number, and email address for each person designated to have access to your firm's past performance evaluation(s) for the contract. Each person granted access will have the ability to provide comments in the Contractors portion of the report and state whether or not the Contractor agrees with the evaluation, before returning the report to the Assessing Official. The report information must be protected as source selection sensitive information not releasable to the public.

(d) When your Contractor Representative(s) (Past Performance Points of Contact) are registered in CPARS, they will receive an automatically-generated email with detailed login instructions. Further details, systems requirements, and training information for CPARS are available at http://www.cpars.csd.disa.mil/. The CPARS User Manual, registration for On Line Training for Contractor Representatives, and a practice application may be found at this site.

(e) The Assessing Official will complete an interim or final past performance evaluation and the report will be accessible at http://www.cpars.csd.disa.mil/. The Contractor Representative has the option to provide comments on the evaluation, indicate if they concur or do not concur with the evaluation, sign, and then return the evaluation to the Assessing Official. The Contractor Representative has a total of 60 days following the Assessing Official’s evaluation signature date to send comments. If the Contractor Representative sends comments within the first 14 days following the Assessing Official’s signature date and the Assessing Official or Reviewing Official closes the evaluation, the evaluation will become available in PPIRS-RC within 1 day. On day 15 following the Assessing Official’s evaluation signature date, the evaluation will become available in PPIRS-RC with or without Contractor Representative comments and whether or not it has been closed by the Assessing Official or Reviewing Official. If no Contractor Representative comments have been sent and the evaluation has not been closed, it will be marked as “Pending” in PPIRS-RC. If the Contractor Representative sends comments at any time prior to 61 days following the Assessing Official’s evaluation signature date, those comments will be reflected in PPIRS-RC within 1 day. On day 61 following the Assessing Official’s evaluation signature date, the Contractor Representative will be “locked out” of the evaluation and may no longer send comments.

(f) The following guidelines apply concerning Contractor Representative use of the past performance evaluation:

(1) Protect the evaluation as "source selection information." After review, transmit the evaluation by completing and submitting the form through CPARS. If for some reason you are unable to view and/or submit the form through CPARS, contact the Contracting Officer for instructions.

(2) Strictly control access to the evaluation within your organization. Ensure the evaluation is never released to persons or entities outside of your control.

(3) Prohibit the use of or reference to evaluation data for advertising, promotional material, pre award surveys, responsibility determinations, production readiness reviews, or other similar purposes.

1.2 PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND EVALUATION INFORMATION

This part describes the precise mechanism for evaluating and selecting offers for this procurement for:

PROJECT NO. 520-22-108 Upgrade Emergency Electrical Systems, Biloxi A. To assure timely and equitable evaluation of proposals, offerors must follow the instructions contained herein. Proposals must be complete, self-sufficient, and respond directly to the requirements of this solicitation. Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements. The Government reserves the right to make a final determination on a proposal’s acceptability/ unacceptability solely on the basis of the proposal submitted and to proceed without requesting additional information. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being removed from consideration for award.

B. Offerors must provide all requested information for each factor. Proposals must address each element of the factors as applicable to be considered responsive to this solicitation. Factor headings should be highlighted in yellow or typed in bold text for identification. It is the offeror’s responsibility to ensure the submitted proposal is in the proper format and the provided information is clear and free of ambiguities.

C. Offeror’s proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price standpoint. Offerors are cautioned to submit sufficient information and in the format specified in the proposal instructions. Communication conducted to resolve minor or clerical errors would not constitute discussions and the Contracting Officer reserves the right to award a contract without the opportunity for proposals revisions or discussions.

D. Evaluations for this Project: Factor I (Technical Factor: Construction Management) is more important than Factor II (Past Performance). Factors I (25%) and II (24%) when combined are less important than to Factor III (Price-51%).

E. THE GOVERNMENT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO AWARD TO OTHER THAN THE OFFEROR WITH THE LOWEST PRICED PROPOSAL OR TO THE OFFEROR WITH THE HIGHEST RATED TECHNICAL PROPOSAL. The source selection process will be a negotiated source selection process utilizing a tradeoff strategy for all non-price evaluation factors in accordance with FAR 15.101 and FAR 15.101-1 respectively. Offers will be evaluated using the evaluation factors listed. It is the offeror's responsibility to ensure the completeness of the proposal. The SSEB may evaluate solely on the information provided in the initial proposal and will not assume that an offeror possesses any capability that is not specifically identified in the proposal.

a. The objective of the source selection is to select the offer that represents the best value to the Government. In order to select the offeror representing the best value, the Government will rate the offers by conducting a comparative assessment of all acceptable offers against source selection criteria in the solicitation. Benefits associated with additional costs will be identified and considered by trading off difference in capability and price. If one offeror has better capability and lower price, then that will be the better value. If one offeror has the better capability and the higher price, then the source selection authority (Contracting Officer) will decide when the difference in capability is worth the difference in price. NOTE: Price will be evaluated but not ranked by CO.

b. If the source selection authority considers the better capability to be worth the higher price, then the more capable higher-priced offeror will be the better value. If not, then the less capable, lower-priced offer will be the better value. The source selection authority will continue to make capability and price trade-offs until he has decided which offeror represents the best value to the Government. Therefore, the source selection may result in the contract being awarded to other than the lowest priced offeror or other than the highest technically rated offer.

Proposal size will be limited as shown and font/size shall be no smaller than Time New Roman 11. Page limits are for single sheets of paper and may be double-sided. If these page limits are exceeded, the pages in excess of the limit will not be read or considered.

*EXHIBIT A PERFORMANCE RELEVANCY SURVEY and EXHIBIT B PAST AND PRESENT *EXHIBIT A PERFORMANCE RELEVANCY SURVEY and EXHIBIT B PAST AND PRESENT PERFORMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE do not count against the 25-page limit for Past Performance. In addition to the hard copies, each offeror will be requested to provide their proposals on a Compact Disc (CD) to be in pdf format and separated by the same volumes noted above.

It is the Government’s intent to award without discussions (See FAR 52.215-1) unless it is determined to be in the best interest of the government by the Contracting Officer. In accordance with FAR 15.306(b)(1)(i), communications may be held with offerors before establishment of the competitive range if the offerors past performance information is the determining factor preventing them from being placed within the competitive range. If discussions are required, the CO will establish a competitive range of the three most highly rated proposals and will then enter into negotiations and will allow for Final Proposal Revisions. Final proposal revisions shall be submitted as specified except as noted below and will be due at a time and place to be determined.

Basis for Contract Award:

1. Source Selection: This acquisition will be a “Best Value” source selection process utilizing a tradeoff strategy among price and non-price factors in accordance with FAR 15.101 and FAR 15.101-1 respectively. This process enables the government to consider other than the lowest priced offeror, or other than the highest technically rated offeror. The Government intends to award a single Firm-Fixed-Price contract for construction to the best overall proposal which is determined to be the best value to the Government.

2. Awarding Without Discussions: In accordance with FAR 52.215-1(f) (4), the Government intends to evaluate proposals and award the contract without discussions. Communication between the Government and offerors will be limited to exchanges for clarification as described in FAR 15.306(a). In accordance with FAR 15.306(b)(1)(i) communications may be held with offerors before establishment of the competitive range if the offerors past performance information is the determining factor preventing them from being placed with the competitive range. Such communications shall address adverse past performance information to which the offeror has not had a prior opportunity to respond. Any proposal that does not have a reasonable chance of receiving award may be accordingly eliminated from competition and further evaluation. A competitive range may be established if discussions are determined to be necessary by the Contracting Officer. Should the Contracting Officer determine that discussions are necessary, they will be held with only those offerors determined to be in the competitive range, after which final proposal revisions will be requested. Final proposal revisions shall be submitted as specified and will be due at a time and place to be determined. Firms submitting final proposal revisions will not be requested to re-submit any documents which are unchanged from their initial proposals. Offerors shall submit necessary changes as individual paragraphs or otherwise as briefly as possible, together with a table of contents, which clarifies where within the initial proposal additional or changed documents would be placed.

F. Relative Weight of Evaluation Factors: Evaluations for this Project: Factor I (Technical Factor: Construction Management) is more important than Factor II (Past Performance). Factors I (25%) and II (24%) when combined are less important than to Factor III (Price-51%).

EVALUATION FACTORS

Factor 1— Technical: Construction Management Technical Evaluation for Construction Management will be based on the following subfactors and are of equal importance:

SUBFACTORS

1a. Corporate Construction Project Experience: The offeror shall demonstrate relevant corporate construction project experience, primarily involving large medical facilities. Provide a list of projects successfully completed by the offeror of similar size, scope, and complexity (in a Hospital facility or similar working conditions) within the last five (5) years of proposal issuance date.

1b. Key Project Personnel Construction Experience: Provide the names of the offeror’s proposed project management personnel (i.e. Site Superintendent, Project Manager,) along with a description of the individual’s experience and a list of successfully completed projects of similar size, scope, and complexity (in a Hospital facility or similar working conditions) within the last five (5) years (recent) from proposal issuance date. Superintendent shall have a minimum of five (5) years of experience managing or supervising multiple projects of similar size and scope. If the person listed as proposed superintendent is not a current employee of the offeror but intends to become one upon award of the contract, OFFEROR SHALL SUBMIT A COPY OF A COMMITMENT LETTER FROM THAT PERSON AS A PART OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL to verify offeror will be hiring him/her and he/she intends to accept the position.

1c. Technical/Management Approach: Contractor shall explain how the project will be accomplished with no interruptions of services in adjacent patient care areas. Contractor shall demonstrate a clear understanding of the project requirements including critical milestones and critical path. Demonstrate techniques for maintaining on-time schedule performance. Contractor shall provide a detailed explanation as to how the project will be implemented and managed to ensure compliance with all OSHA Construction Standards, and Fire and Life Safety issues, and security measures. Contractor shall provide a site-specific Quality Control Plan, describing techniques for maintaining quality control for workmanship.

Factor 2— Past Performance:

Past Performance Evaluation will be based on the following subfactors and are listed in descending order of importance:

SUBFACTORS

2a. VA Health Care Construction Experience: Successful completion of previous construction projects within the past five (5) years (recent) in with the same magnitude of construction (relevancy) for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

2b. Non-VA Health Care Construction Experience: Successful completion of previous construction projects within the past five (5) years (recent) in with the same magnitude of construction (relevancy) outside the Department of Veterans Affairs in the health care field.

2c. Timely Performance Under Previous Construction Projects: Demonstrated ability to perform of similar size, scope, and complexity (within the same magnitude of construction) successfully in accordance with approved progress schedules under previous construction projects. The Offeror shall demonstrate recent (within the last five (5) years from proposal issuance date) successful performance under contracts (ongoing or completed) which are similar in scope, magnitude, and complexity to the subject requirement via SUBMISSION WITH PAST PERFORMANCE PROPOSAL OF EXHIBIT A PERFORMANCE RELEVANCY SURVEY. SUBMIT EXHIBIT A ON NO MORE THAN FIVE (5) PROJECTS, including information on problems encountered and corrective actions.

Past Performance Questionnaire – Offerors shall prepare and forward to prior client(s) for submission to the Contracting Office EXHIBIT B PAST AND PRESENT PERFORMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE for all the projects listed by contractor and submitted using EXHIBIT A PERFORMANCE RELEVANCY SURVEY. This includes correspondence explaining the requirement to obtain an independent evaluation of prior contract performance and the Past and Present Performance Questionnaire for use in evaluating Past Performance. It is preferred that these are the same projects for ease of evaluation and comparison.

Completed Past Performance Questionnaires shall be submitted to the Contracting Office so as to arrive not later than the closing date/time for receipt of proposals shown on the SF1442 (or as Amended).

Completed questionnaires shall be forwarded via email to: Cynthia.Kinsman@va.gov The subject line shall state: 36C25621R0055 Past Performance for (Name of Company) NOTE: Offeror shall not review the Past Performance Questionnaire prior to submission. Past Performance Questionnaire must be submitted by the client/evaluator directly to the Contracting Office. It is the offeror’s responsibility to follow up with their references to ensure that the Past Performance Questionnaires have been submitted by the offer due date to the Contracting Office.

Again, Offerors should follow-up and encourage references to get the questionnaires to the Contracting Office by the time set for receipt of proposals. Do not include copies of the letters or questionnaires in the proposal. However, offerors may include copies of recent and relevant CPARS. Offerors may include any comments regarding marginal CPARS ratings with their past performance portion of their proposal.

The Government may evaluate Past Performance information through the use of Exhibit B completed by the offeror's references; use data independently obtained from other Government or commercial sources, including, but not limited to, Government databases; and/or rely upon personal business experience with the offeror.