36C25920R0120 Replace Air Compressors RFIs answered.docx

Request for Information

1. Are there any special provisions or working hours for the crane? The crane will need to be set up on the West side to remove the existing equipment and install the new equipment. Will regular working hours be available?

The crane and work will need to be done after hours and on the weekends and coordination will be vital as the dock has deliveries even on the weekends.

2. Is a temporary compressed air unit required while the equipment is being replaced? If so, is this part of our scope or is the VA providing? We currently have a temporary onsite for when these shut off, but it will not handle the entire hospital and will be required by the Contractor to make sure we always remain in normal operations .

3. The air handler directly east of the compressors has a duct and a steam line that will have to be modified to get the compressors out. What hours and time frame can we have this unit shut down? The air handler cannot come offline it feeds our CLC area which is a 24/7 operation.

4. Is hot water taping allowed and can we tap for the new chilled water supply and returns to the compressor? Yes, and yes.

5. There is talk of removing the 4 existing pumps no longer in service to make room for the new receiver tanks. Are these pumps going away? How far back should we demo the piping? The pumps are no longer going away, we have a future project that will now utilize them.

6. Is there any special requirement for desiccant filter media wanted or needed beyond initial startup? No

7. Will you be releasing the as-built plans / flow / demand study for the air compressor and the chilled water needs? We will give all the As-Builts we have, we will also provide our flow data. Nothing on the chill water needs, having our mechanical engineer investigate this and have response ASAP.

8. Is the dryer to be sized for one compressor operating at a time? Sequence of operation is needed. One dryer at a time, don’t have a sequence of operations yet, but one is in the works.

9. Are the existing storage tanks to remain? Yes, when we did the Flow Test and Demand, we found that we need the additional storage for the low demand times is necessary.

10. Regarding the Original Bid Bond mailing address; will Bid Bonds still be received at the address notated in the solicitation documents? We are asking for confirmation due to COVID-19 changes where personnel are working from a home location instead of their normal office location. No Change in the location to mail bonds

11. Please clarify exactly how much air ducting from the existing air compressors shall be removed. The ducting is to be removed completely; the VA wants no demo in place.

12. What type and thickness of insulation is required for insulating the chilled water pipe? For 2’’ piping and below – 1’’ thick fiberglass insulation. For 2 ½’’ piping and above - 1 ½’’ thick fiberglass insulation.

13. Does the existing equipment remain in the VA’s possession or shall it be removed and disposed of properly? The contractor will be responsible for demo and removal offsite, the VA has no need for any existing equipment.

14. There is an outside air duct that is directly in front of the existing compressors. The duct will have to be removed to provide clearance for removing the existing compressors. Is there issue with temporarily removing the duct and if not, how long can the duct be removed? The duct cannot be removed, it is serving as 100% outside air to an air handler that directly supplies areas that always have patients and a few Covid areas.

15. If the basis of design air compressor cannot meet the “Buy American – Construction Materials (May 2014)” requirements, then will it be approved for this project? Material that can’t meet the buy America act will be evaluated at the time the submittal is submitted after the award. See FAR 52.225-9 and -10.

16. Page 29, under General Conditions, it states that Representations and Certifications “are incorporated by reference into the contract”. Does this mean that after completion of all Representations and Certifications, we simply reference them by name/number as “complete” in our proposal? Perhaps in a general statement? Or do we need to attach all completed documentations into the proposal as a scan? No what it means is that your System for Award Management (SAM) Representations and certifications are incorporated by reference so that we don’t have to reference all that verbiage in each solicitation we do. If your company is registered in SAM, then you don’t need to do anything.

17. If manufacturers recommended clearances cannot be provided due to existing conditions surrounding the compressors, will variance be reviewed and approved. Yes