554-26-106 Water valves RFI - w responses.docx

RFI’S Replace Domestic Water Valves 36C25926R0057 Project 554-26-106 RFI-001 - Definitive Valve Quantity and Scope The SOW identifies approximately 30 valves, while Drawing Attachment A identifies callouts #1 through #31 and marks #2 and #25 as NIC (valve good), apparently leaving 29 active locations. Please confirm the exact number of valves in the base contract and identify every included drawing callout. If the intended quantity is not 29, please identify the added, deleted, or revised location(s).

Revised Attachment A (corrected typo) and the added Attachment B provide information for 31 locations, with 29 of 31 being covered by the intent of this SOW. 2 of 31 locations (#2 and #25 as noted above) have current valves that were replaced or previously installed and are provided as information/reference-only and do not need to be replaced.

RFI-002 - Governing Drawing Set Please confirm that the furnished four-sheet Attachment A - 01-PP-100-set, including its numbered valve callouts, notes, and embedded photographs, is the complete governing drawing set for Project 554-26-106. If not, please issue the current contract drawings and identify the precedence of the added valve annotations over the underlying as-built information.

Revised Attachment A and the added Attachment B identify the 29 valves related to this SOW with an additional 2 provided as information/reference only. Sizes and material type of existing are provided for information only and the contractor is responsible for verifying technical details when final valve locations are determined.

RFI-003 - Missing Attachment B - DWS Valves SOW Section 5.0 lists Attachment B - DWS Valves as a supporting document, but that attachment was not identified among the furnished solicitation files. Please provide Attachment B. If Attachment A - 01-PP-100-set is intended to serve as Attachment B, please confirm that no separate valve schedule, photographs, or field information exists.

Attachment B added. Information provided in Attachments A and B are provided for information only and the contractor is responsible for verifying technical details prior to installation.

RFI-004 - Definitive Valve Schedule Please provide or confirm a valve schedule for every included callout showing the building/location, DCW/DHW/DHWR service, nominal pipe size, existing pipe material, new installation versus replacement, required valve type, valve material and pressure class, and required end connection. Please also confirm whether valve selection between ball and butterfly types is governed solely by Specification 22 05 23.

Revised Attachment A, the newly added Attachment B, the SOW, and the Specifications provide the information that is currently available to the VA. The contractor is not limited to installing the valves in the specific locations depicted in Attachment A (but the valve spools do need to be installed in the service level) and material and technical details may vary at a different location.

Confirming that Specification 22 05 23 defines valve selection. The valves improperly shown during the walkthrough shall not be considered as a requirement of this solicitation. Also see RFI-020.

RFI-005 - Existing-Condition Discrepancies Please confirm that the Government-provided pipe sizes, materials, locations, and depicted conditions constitute the proposal basis. If post-award field verification identifies a material difference affecting valve selection, pipe-freezing feasibility, access, supports, labor, or shutdown duration, will the resulting work be handled as a contract change under the applicable Changes clause?

Revised Attachment A and the newly added Attachment B are provided as information only and the contractor shall verify technical details at the selected installation location (see also RFI-004). Deviations from the SOW and subsequent changes shall be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

RFI-006 - Ice-Plug Feasibility Please confirm whether each included location has been verified to provide sufficient accessible straight-pipe length, acceptable pipe condition, suitable operating temperature and flow conditions, and adequate physical clearance to establish and maintain two ice plugs and remove/install the prefabricated valve spool. If verified, please provide the location-specific assumptions or criteria used.

The VA has not determined feasibility as specifically defined in RFI 006. Discussions and site visits with industry providers have indicated that it should be possible to accomplish the SOW as written though the providers also noted larger pipe diameters, physical clearances, and unknown flow rates as challenges to successful ice plug formation. The Government is aware of the challenges and risks will be working closely with the selected contractor through the entire project to mitigate as many challenges as possible.

RFI-007 - Alternative Isolation Method If dual ice plugs cannot be safely or reliably established due to an undocumented existing condition, may the contractor use an alternative isolation method with COR approval? Please identify the approval process and confirm whether additional cost or time resulting from the approved alternative will be evaluated as a change when the condition was not reasonably apparent from the solicitation documents.

The Government is aware of the challenges and risks associated with the ice plug isolation method and will be working closely with the selected contractor through the entire project to mitigate as many challenges as possible. Deviations from the SOW and subsequent changes shall be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

RFI-008 - Eight-Hour Shutdown Window Please define the beginning and end of each eight-hour shutdown window. Does the period begin when water service is interrupted and end when usable service is restored, or does it also include mobilization, containment setup, pipe freezing, pressure testing, flushing, disinfection, insulation, cleanup, and VA acceptance? Please identify which activities may occur outside the outage window.

The shutdown period begins when building water flow needs to halt to allow for plug formation and ends when service is restored with water being in a usable/potable state. Contractors shall utilize appropriate cleanliness procedures appropriate for potable water systems. Preparatory activities and wrap-up activities such as insulation and/or clean-up are not considered within the shutdown window provided they do not interrupt water service. The Government has gathered a wide range of estimated freeze times as pipe diameters increase and is aware that the 5” diameter pipes in Buildings H & K may present significant freeze challenges – as stated in other RFIs above, deviations from the SOW and subsequent changes shall be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

RFI-009 - Shutdown Schedule and Advance Notice Please provide the anticipated allowable shutdown period for each Phase 1 building and Building L and identify which outages are major interruptions requiring 15 calendar days' notice rather than the general seven-day notice. Please confirm whether offerors must include premium-time labor for weekday nights, Sundays, weekends, and Federal holidays in the base price.

All the shutdowns specified in the SOW are categorized as utility shutdowns and the existing SOP for FMS requires advance notice 14-days prior to the planned shutdown date.

Shutdown timeframes are specified in the SOW, whether that counts as premium-time is entirely up to how the contractor is scheduling their employees. Scheduled shutdowns should be scheduled around Federal holidays but the timeframes specified in the SOW are intended to minimize impact to building operations.

RFI-010 - Building D+F Simultaneous Installation Please identify the exact drawing callouts, systems, pipe sizes, and work locations assigned to each of the two crews required for the Building D+F shutdown. Please confirm whether both installations must be completed, tested, disinfected, accepted, and returned to service within the same eight-hour outage.

Please refer to Attachments A and the newly added B for the available information though the technical details of the selected installation location shall be contractor verified prior to installation. D+F must be completed simultaneously in one shutdown because it is unknown if there are any interconnects between the D and F systems that would disrupt ice plug formation. That said, deviations from the SOW and subsequent changes shall be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

RFI-011 - Building L Campuswide Shutdown Please identify the exact drawing callout for the Building L DCW B-feed valve and every callout to be completed during the campuswide shutdown. Please confirm the required sequence, the existing valves relied upon for initial isolation, and whether the VA will test and verify those existing isolation valves before the campuswide outage is scheduled.

For the Feed-B iso valve installation: Feed-B will be shutoff at the entry source and at the other end at the valve/line marked in red in the picture. The newly installed isolation valve shall be installed in the service level in the same proximity of the existing valve for Bldg-L’s DHWR. RMR FMS personnel will work closely with the contractor to ensure proper shutoffs have been accomplished.

For the campuswide shutdown, RMR FMS personnel will work closely with the contractor to ensure proper shutoffs have been accomplished to allow isolation valve installation on the DCW and DHW feeds to the campus in the service level.

For all shutdowns: The contractor can expect a contingent of RMR facility personnel to support each of the shutdowns. The facility personnel will assist with shutdown steps, troubleshooting, and emergency response to name a few.

RFI-012 - Testing, Disinfection, and Return to Service Please confirm whether the 150-psig, two-hour potable-water test applies to each new valve spool and whether the test may be limited to the newly installed section. Please define the required flushing, chlorine concentration and contact time, bacteriological sampling, laboratory testing, acceptance documentation, and authority for return to service. If samples are required, may service be restored before results are received?

1) disinfection of valve spools prior to installation, 2) monitoring/utilizing clean work practices during installation, 3) coliform testing for the building(s) that is the subject of the shutdown (ie. if building E is getting shutdown for valve installation, then building E needs to be coliform tested) – 4 test points per building at the furthest locations from the installation location. Service may be restored before results are received.

RFI-013 - Temporary Water and Failure Contingency Please confirm whether temporary domestic-water service is required for any affected building during an approved outage. Also identify the required contingency if an ice plug fails or an installation cannot be completed within the approved window, including temporary repair, emergency fittings or spools, service restoration, notification, and mandatory standby resources.

The contractor is not required to provide temporary domestic water service during an outage.

Ice plug failure / other installation issues: The contractor and VA will discuss a root cause analysis and evaluate how to proceed. The VA recognizes the many technical challenges associated with the requirements stated in the SOW and acknowledges it represents an optimal scenario based on hospital operational requirements. Deviations from the SOW and subsequent changes shall be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

RFI-014 - Pipe Supports and Seismic Restraint Please clarify whether the base scope requires new or modified hangers, supports, anchors, guides, or seismic restraints at every valve spool or only where existing supports are inadequate. May existing supports be reused when verified suitable, and are engineered calculations or delegated-design submittals required for the new valve assemblies?

New or modified pipe supports and seismic restraints are only required where existing supports are deemed inadequate. Existing supports may be reused when verified suitable. Engineered calculations and delegated-design submittals are not required for the new valve assemblies.

RFI-015 - Architectural Access and Restoration Please identify locations requiring removal or replacement of hard ceilings, ceiling tile/grid, drywall, access panels, firestopping, painting, or other architectural work. Confirm whether all such work needed to reach the depicted valve locations is included in the base contract and whether new permanent access panels are required.

The expected work areas identified in Attachment A do not have architectural finishes or accesses, so no requirements were included in the SOW. However, if the contractor completes an installation in such a way that any architectural accesses or finishes would be required by code or ‘to match existing’ or to repair contractor damage, then the contractor is required to complete/restore/install as such.

RFI-016 - ICRA and ILSM Requirements The SOW anticipates an overall ICRA Level II but permits multiple ICRAs by phase and location. Please identify any location expected to require controls above Level II or special ILSM measures and provide the anticipated containment, negative-air or HEPA, barrier, ceiling-access, cleaning, monitoring, and after-hours requirements that must be included in the base price.

The SOW presumes ice plug and some (if not all) valve effort will take place in the service level so controls and cleanliness levels are driven by potable water requirements and non-patient area work.

We are clarifying in the revised SOW ICRA level requirements are I and not level II.

RFI-017 - Operating Pressure, Temperature, and Flow Please provide the normal and maximum operating pressure and temperature for each DCW, DHW, and DHWR line to be frozen. Please confirm that circulation pumps and other sources of flow can be shut down and locked out for the time required to establish and maintain the ice plugs.

Our BAS is reporting operating pressure at service level is 65 psi, DCW ranges from 43-67F depending on season, DHW is at 140F, and DHWR ranges from 120-130F.

RFI-018 - Staging and After-Hours Access Please identify the anticipated staging/storage area, parking area, loading route, freight-elevator availability, and after-hours entry point. Confirm whether escorts will be required in any work area, whether one escort may support both simultaneous Building D+F crews, and whether pipe-freezing equipment and prefabricated spools may be securely staged before an outage.

Staging area: this is open to discussion. RMR has limited staging/storage areas but depending on the scale of space required, it’s possible for an area in the service level and/or the penthouses to be made available to the contractor for material and some equipment storage. Gas tank storage availability is unknown at this time and contractors shall plan that no onsite storage is available.

Parking: upper levels of Visitor North garage, or north of the employee lot for oversized parking Loading route: the loading dock is just off 17th Street and accessible from the hospitals service level.

Freight elevators: freight elevators are available in the central elevator stacks of each building. One of each freight elevator pair goes to the penthouse of that building.

Escorts: Unbadged personnel/teams (who will need to get a daypass from VA police) need to be accompanied by badged personnel. The Prime is responsible for badging enough employees or subs to effectively support their teams.

RFI-019 - Limitations on Subcontracting Classification The solicitation assigns NAICS 238220, while the furnished VAAR 852.219-75 certification has General Construction checked and the self-performance worksheet references both 15 percent for general construction and 25 percent for specialty-trade NAICS. Please confirm the applicable construction classification, payment limitation to non-similarly-situated firms, and self-performance percentage, and issue a corrected certification or formal clarification if required.

That is correct as per FAR Overhaul 52.219-14 (e)(4) Limitations on Subcontracting paragraph :

(4) Construction by special trade contractors, it will not pay more than 75 percent of the amount paid by the Government for contract performance, excluding the cost of materials, to subcontractors that are not similarly situated entities. Any work that a similarly situated entity further subcontracts will count towards the prime contractor's 75 percent subcontract amount that cannot be exceeded.

RFI-020 –The valves that were shown during the walkthrough are made by Jomar and are made in Italy, how do contractors go about procuring the valves while adhering to the Buy American Act?

The Jomar valves shown during the site visit are not authorized as any part of the solicitation and shall not be considered as a contractual directive or material request by potential offerors. The solicitation documentation does not specify a brand of valve and does not contain sole-source justification. Offerors should only refer to the solicitation SOW and Specifications for the contractual requirements for valve selection on this effort.

image1.png image2.png image3.jpeg image4.jpeg