Elevator Question Responses- pre-bid questions.docx

1. Question: PWS Section 14.1.2 requires the Contractor to own and maintain replacement parts by the original manufacturer or approved equal, and the exclusions at Section 12 do not address component obsolescence. For Montgomery equipment a direct replacement component may no longer be commercially available and the repair requires an upgraded part / substitute, please confirm whether that work falls within the fixed monthly price or is handled by separate authorization from the Contracting Officer.

Answer: Yes, the work falls within the fixed monthly price.

2. Question: PWS Section 4.4 references a "pre-award site visit" at which the Contractor verifies equipment information, machine types, controllers, conveyance numbers, and serial numbers. Please clarify whether the Government intends to offer a site visit to prospective offerors prior to the August 10, 2026 proposal due date, or whether the referenced site visit occurs after selection and prior to contract startup.

Answer: A site visit is scheduled for 8/6/26. See Amendment 0002 on SAM.gov.

3. Question: I was wondering if I could receive information about the previous incumbent's contract.

Answer: The previous contract number is 36C26021F0292, the contractor is Centric Elevator Corp of Oregon Inc.

Base Year - $426,600.00

OY 1 – $439,404.00

OY 2 – $452,580.00

OY 3 – $466,152.00

OY 4 – $480,144.00

4. Question: Section 10.1 of the PWS states that elevator mechanics must be directly employed by the Contractor. Would certified mechanics directly employed by the prime contractor’s qualified first-tier elevator subcontractor satisfy this requirement?

Answer: Change PWS Section 10.1 to delete the requirement that the certified mechanic has to be directly employed by the prime contractor. This is reflected in the PWS R1 8.5.26 which is attached to this amendment.

5. Question: Please confirm that the July 20, 2026 SF 1449 solicitation package is the controlling source; that questions are due August 3, 2026 at 3:00 PM Pacific; and that quotations are due August 10, 2026 at 3:00 PM Pacific, superseding the July 28, 2026 submission date stated in the combined notice. Please also confirm that the Block 15 delivery address for the VA American Lake Campus in Tacoma is an administrative error and that contract performance is limited to the Portland VA Medical Center and Vancouver Division locations identified in the PWS.

Answer: Please see amendments 0001, 0002. Site visit has been established for 8/6/26, see amendment 0002 for additional information and maps. Deadline for questions is extended to 8/17/26 at 3:00 PM. Proposal due date is extended to 8/24/26, 3:00 PM. Block 15 is the business address for the VA. PWS paragraph 2. addresses the physical location of the work to be performed.

6. Questions: PWS §4.4 requires the Contractor to verify equipment information during a pre-award site visit, but the solicitation does not provide visit instructions. Will the Government conduct a pre-award site visit? If so, please provide the date, time, registration process, attendance limitations, access requirements, and photography restrictions, and confirm whether attendance is mandatory for quotation eligibility. If no visit will be conducted, please provide the verified controller, drive, machine, stops, door-opening, and associated-system data needed to apply the PWS maintenance-hour and qualification requirements.

Answer: Pleas see amendment 0002 for site visit information.

7. Questions: Please reconcile the Vancouver inventory, which lists P1, P2, and “SI” in Building D-7, with the critical-equipment section, which lists P1, P2, and S1 in Building 11. Please confirm whether “SI” should read “S1,” whether Building D-7 and Building 11 refer to the same location, and the final equipment count and identification by campus. For Portland cartlifts CL 1 and CL 2 and dumbwaiter DW 1, which are identified as not utilized, please define the required safe-condition maintenance, inspection, testing, callback, and operability obligations and confirm whether those obligations are included in the monthly firm-fixed price.

Answer: Updated Vancouver and Portland inventories are below. All DW and CL listed as not utilized are powered off. There is no obligation to perform maintenance repair services on the equipment that is not utilized/powered off. Building D-7 is Building 11.

4.2 Vancouver Division – Vancouver Campus

4.1 Portland Campus – Portland VA Medical Center

4.1.1 Portland Campus – Cartlift and Dumbwaiter Inventory

8. Question: Please provide the most recent independent QEI inspection reports, open deficiency lists, Category 1 and Category 5 test dates and next-due dates, equipment downtime and callback history for the most recent available period, known obsolete or proprietary controls, pending repairs, and planned modernization work. Please also clarify how pre-existing deficiencies or undisclosed conditions identified during the site visit or contract startup will be distinguished from Contractor-caused performance deficiencies and whether correction of those pre-existing conditions will be included in the monthly price or separately authorized by the Contracting Officer.

Answer: The Government will provide the awardee with what information is available at the time of award. Existing deficiencies may be addressed through an upcoming NRM modernization project. More information will be available on the Portland elevator modernization project at the time of award.

9. Question: Please confirm whether the monthly firm-fixed price must include all management, supervision, labor, materials, replacement parts, lamps, routine and corrective repairs, troubleshooting, diagnostics, reprogramming, software support, testing assistance, emergency callbacks, transportation, incidental engineering, and reporting required to keep the listed equipment operational. Other than the exclusions in PWS §12, please identify any component replacements, repair categories, dollar thresholds, obsolete-part conditions, vandalism or misuse events, or Government-caused conditions that may be separately authorized and priced, and state the required authorization and pricing process.

Answer: Yes, monthly firm-fixed price must include all work required by this PWS.

10. Question: Please identify the controller and drive model for each listed unit and any equipment requiring OEM-restricted diagnostic software, passwords, interfaces, circuit boards, reprogramming capability, or factory support. Will the Government furnish or transfer any existing software licenses, passwords, diagnostic tools, wiring diagrams, maintenance records, or replacement-parts inventory at award, or must the Contractor obtain all such access and support at its own expense? Please also clarify whether “software diagnostics and upgrades” requires only routine patches and updates needed to maintain existing functionality or includes modernization or functionality changes.

Answer: Updated inventory lists with controller and drive information are provided. Diagnostic tools, wiring diagrams, and maintenance records will be kept on site and be available at the time of award. There may be some parts inventory on site, but an extensive inventory of parts should not be assumed. Replacement parts will be included in the firm-fixed price. Routine diagnostics or software updates will be the contractor’s responsibility. There is a planned modernization project that will cover extensive functionality changes.

11. Question: Please clarify whether the requirement for one onsite certified elevator technician means continuous full-time presence during the 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM regular workday, and identify the expected duty location and coverage method for both Portland and Vancouver. May the technician travel between campuses, and what backup or concurrent staffing is required for testing, leave, callbacks, and simultaneous events? Please also confirm whether PWS §10.1 requires mechanics to be direct employees of the prime Contractor or permits qualified employees of an approved subcontractor or similarly situated small-business subcontractor.

Answer: For Portland, one onsite certified elevator technician should have full-time presence during the 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM regular workday. Vancouver will need a certified elevator technician to check-in on a biweekly basis; to include signing-in at Bldg. 4 Maintenance and Repair Shops. See PWS paragraph 5.1.5 which was added to clarify these requirements. Also, see the PWS for emergency generator testing requirements which will require the technician’s presence as well. See the response to question number 4.

12. Question: The PWS also requires one on-site certified elevator technician. Please clarify whether this means a full-time resident mechanic must be present during normal working hours and, if so, at which facility the technician is expected to be stationed.

Answer: See the answer for question 11.

13. Question: Please explain how the minimum monthly maintenance hours will be assigned to each unit where controller type, number of stops, rear openings, group-dispatch configuration, and other workload drivers are not identified in the inventory. Are those unit-specific minimum hours additive to the onsite-technician requirement? Please define a “callback” for the statement that there shall not be more than three callbacks per elevator per contract year, identify exclusions for events outside Contractor responsibility, and provide the measurement period, cure process, Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan, and payment-deduction methodology that will apply to callback frequency and other performance failures.

Answer: The unit-specific minimum hours are not additive to the onsite-technician requirement. Maintenance hours should be completed during regular workday hours. Callbacks are addressed in the Scope of Work.

14. Question: Please provide the anticipated inspection and testing schedule by unit and contract year, including Category 1, Category 5, acceptance, periodic, fire-service, emergency-power, and annual smoke-recall testing. Please confirm whether the monthly firm-fixed price includes all scheduled and off-hours labor, additional mechanics, test equipment, approved solid test weights, rigging, transportation, setup, documentation, and coordination required for those events. Who will furnish and store the test weights, and what advance notice will the Government or its independent QEI inspector provide for each test event?

Answer: The last Category (CAT) 5 Inspection was in Spring 2025. The next CAT 5 Inspection will be due in May/June of 2030. CAT 1 Inspections will be performed annually unless it is a CAT 5 Inspection year. CAT 1 and CAT 5 inspections will be performed during normal workday hours, except when occupied with an emergency generator test, which requires presence at earlier than normal workday hours, as listed in the Scope of Work. The Elevator Contractor is responsible for providing and storing all weights and test equipment used during tests and inspections. The weights and equipment can be stored on site during the duration of the inspection. Inspections are typically scheduled about 3 months in advance. There is an on-site Facilities Fire Safety person that records all fire service and annual smoke recall testing. Fire recall testing is typically performed during a CAT inspection. Fire service testing is usually performed at each emergency generator test. Pricing should include participation in all the noted inspections and testing events. Additional services will be sought for acceptance testing of new equipment.

15. Question: Section E.2 states that offers not technically acceptable cannot be selected, but no separate technical evaluation factor or complete submission checklist is stated. Please identify all pass/fail technical-acceptability criteria and all documents required with the quotation, including whether the Government requires a signed SF 1449, completed price schedule, technical approach or Maintenance Control Program, staffing plan, named personnel, mechanic and supervisor certifications, factory-training evidence, OSHA 10 documentation, safety information, insurance evidence, parts and software-access plan, and completed representations or certifications. Please also complete the list contemplated by E.13 and state any page, file-size, file-format, or email-submission limitations.

Answer: FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Deviation) has been altered to define what will be assessed for each evaluation factor. Provisions have been reorganized to properly display the provisions incorporated by reference.

16. Question: Please clarify the statement that price will be evaluated as the “overall average price of all line items.” Will the Government average the monthly unit prices, the extended annual CLIN amounts, or another value? Please confirm whether the total evaluated price is the sum of the base period and all four option periods, explain how the average-price calculation affects ranking and unbalanced-option analysis, and state whether the potential six-month extension under FAR 52.217-8 will be evaluated and, if so, the rate or pricing basis the Government will use.

Answer: Please see FAR 52.212-2(a)(4) and (b)

17. Please state the number of past-performance references required, the recency period, the minimum information required for each contract, and the standards the Government will use to determine relevance to this requirement. May offerors submit current or substantially completed contracts in addition to completed contracts, and may relevant experience of a proposed subcontractor, similarly situated entity, affiliate, or key personnel be considered? Please also confirm whether CPARS records or customer questionnaires are required and how a neutral rating for no past performance will be treated in the comparative evaluation where past performance is equal in importance to price.

Answer: Please see FAR 52.212-2.

18. Question: Please confirm that WD 2015-5563 is the controlling wage determination for work at both the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington locations and identify the intended occupational classification or classifications for certified elevator mechanics, helpers, and testing personnel. The informational equivalent-rate table in C.5 lists HVAC Mechanic, Telecommunications Mechanic, Maintenance Trades Helper, and Instrument Mechanic, but does not identify an elevator-mechanic classification. If the wage determination does not contain the precise classification required for this work, should the awardee initiate a conformance action, and how will option-period wage and fringe adjustments be administered?

Answer: Yes, WD 2015-5563 is the controlling wage determination. For an SCA-covered elevator-maintenance contract, first determine whether the technician’s actual duties fit an existing classification on the wage determination—not merely whether the title “Elevator Technician” appears. Possible listed classifications might include a machinery maintenance mechanic, maintenance electrician, or electronic technician, depending on the duties. Classification is based on the work performed, not the equipment being worked on. If the wage determination does not contain the proper classification, SCA conformance is the correct route to follow.

19. Please confirm whether this acquisition will be treated for FAR 52.219-14 purposes as services except construction, subject to the 50-percent limitation, or as construction by a special-trade contractor, subject to the 75-percent limitation excluding materials. Please also identify the required compliance period because both alternatives in paragraph (f)(1) are left unchecked: compliance by the end of the base term and each subsequent option period, or another stated measurement period.

ANSWER: FAR 52.219-14 does apply to this acquisition. This is a service acquisition, so paragraph (e)(1) applies. Claus was marked “By the end of the performance period for each order issued under the contract.” as applicable.