Amendment 0001--Submission of Bids (electronic bids).pdf

36C26119B0014 Amendment A0001

Solicitation 36C26119B0014 is hereby amended, the changes to the solicitation

“Submission of Bids” are indicated (highlighted) below:

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS AND OTHER STATEMENTS TO

BIDDERS/OFFERORS

SUBMISSION OF BIDS

The bidder shall submit the following documents in response to this Invitation for Bids:

(a) One (1) fully completed and signed Standard Form 1442, acknowledgment of all amendments either via entering data in block 19 of the SF1442 or, completing blocks 15 a, b, and c of the

Amendment(s) (SF30’s) and returning with bid.

(b) One (1) fully completed Divisional Cost-Breakout Sheet

(c) One (1) copy of the completed/signed SF24 Bid Bond with shading to identify the raised seals on the electronically transmitted bond, and Power of Attorney as required.

(d) Documentation of Safety & Environmental Record

(e) Documentation of Experience Modification Rate (EMR)

(f) Brand name or equal product information (if applicable) as specified in VAAR 852.211-73.

*Note: Bidders are responsible for insuring and verifying their bid and all required bid documents are received at the public bid opening address stated below by the date and time specified in block 13A of the

SF 1442 Solicitation (subject to amendment).

*Note: See VAAR 852.211-73 for instructions on brand name or equal bid submission requirements.

*Note: Bidders are cautioned to carefully review System for Award Management in regards to

Representations and Certifications. See FAR 52.204-7, 52.204-8, 52.209-7 & 52.209-9 for specific instruction as needed.

*Note: Due to CDC recommendations restricting gatherings/travel and VA policies concerning gatherings of more than 10 people indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, electronic bids have been authorized and are mandated for this IFB. Accordingly, all bids shall be sent electronically to James D. W. Rall via email

(james.rall@va.gov)..

*Note: All bids will be safeguarded in accordance with FAR 14.401 (restricted-access electronic bid box).

INFORMATION FOR BIDDERS:

-Bids received after bid opening date and time will be rejected.

-Any exception to the terms and conditions of the IFB will result in a nonresponsive bid.

-Bidders must acknowledge (in writing only) amendments to this solicitation, otherwise a bid shall be determined nonresponsive.

PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTORS’ RESPONSIBILITY: Purchases shall be made from, and contracts shall be awarded to, responsible prospective contactors only. The presumed winning bidder must be determined as “Responsible” by the Contracting Officer in accordance with FAR Part 9, Contractor

Qualifications. To aid in making this determination, bidders shall provide, electronically, all documents with the submission of bid, as required under “Submission of Bids” above.

These documents will be reviewed promptly after bid-opening. This information, along with other information obtained from Government systems, such as the OSHA and EPA online inspection history databases will be used to make the Determination of Responsibility. Failure to affirm being within the guidelines below or submit this information may result in a determination of Non-Responsibility and make the bid ineligible for award. The Contracting Officer will obtain additional information as needed and specified in FAR 9.105-1 to make the Determination of Responsibility, to include, but not limited to the

Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), Excluded Parties List System

(EPLS) and Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS).

PER VHA DIRECTIVE 7715 (06 April 2017): SAFETY & ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD AND

EXPERIENCE MODIFICATION RATE (EMR): To be eligible for consideration and award, the contractor shall have no more than three serious, or one repeat, or one willful OSHA or EPA violation(s) in the past 3 years and have an EMR of equal to or less than 1.0.

All Bidders shall submit the following information pertaining to their past Safety & Environmental Record and EMR with their bid, on provided certification form.

1. SAFETY & ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD: A self-certification that the bidder 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.

2. EMR: All bidders shall submit information regarding their current EMR. This information shall be obtained from the bidder’s insurance carrier and be furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead. Bidder will also enter the information on provided form.

BID OPENING:

*Note to bidders: Bids are due 24 August 2020 at or before 10:00 a.m. PDT via email to james.rall@va.gov (Subject to Amendment).

**A public bid opening will be 24 August 2020 at 10:00 a.m. PDT via Microsoft Teams meeting.

Participants can dial 213-282-6316, conference ID 421 072 993, to attend (Subject to Amendment).

**Solicitation number and title must be written in the subject line of the email.

**Note to bidders: At the time of Bid Opening, an apparent low, responsive, responsible bidder will be selected; however, actual low bidder chosen for award shall be subject to verification and confirmation of required, submitted bid documents.

PRE-BID SITE VISIT: Bidders are urged and expected to inspect the site where services are to be performed and to satisfy themselves regarding all general and local conditions that may affect the cost of performing construction services. In no event shall failure to inspect the site constitute grounds for a claim after contract award.

See Provision 52.236-27 for specific information regarding the project pre-bid site visit.

This pre-bid site visit will be the only opportunity for potential bidders to visit the site.

NOTE 1: COVID-19 screenings will take place upon entry, and face masks are required at all times while on campus.

NOTE 2: Due to current COVID-19 guidelines restricting gathering in groups of more than 10 people, a second pre-bid site-visit may be scheduled, which will be communicated through an amendment to this IFB.

All potential bidders, subcontractors, and suppliers are strongly encouraged to attend this pre-bid site visit.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI): To obtain clarifications and/or additional information concerning the contract requirements or specifications, submit a written RFI utilizing the RFI Form included in this IFB, which is to be sent via email to james.rall@va.gov. See RFI Form for specifics.

RFI’s will be responded to as necessary in amendment format which will be posted on FBO. Deadline for submission of RFIs for this IFB is 10 August 2020 at 2:00 PM PDT. No questions will be answered after this date/time unless determined to be in the best interest of the Government as determined by the

Contracting Officer. Telephone request for information will not be accepted or returned.

PLANS/SPECIFICATIONS/DRAWINGS: Drawings and specifications are attached in electronic format to this solicitation. Bidders are responsible for downloading and printing their own bid sets. The VA will not provide hard copies of the drawings and specifications to any bidder. Contractors are responsible for ensuring that any construction document package used for bidding or construction is complete and up-to-date.

TRAINING: All employees of the general contractor and subcontractors shall have the 10-hour OSHA certified construction safety course and/or other relevant competency training, as determined by the COR with input from the ICRA (Infection Control Risk Assessment) team. The General Contractor’s Competent

Person/Superintendent shall have completed the 30-hour OSHA certified construction safety course.

Documentation of training shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer for review and approval prior to any work being performed. No ID badge will be issued to an employee who does not provide this documentation. There shall be no exceptions to this requirement.

PREPARATION OF BIDS: The Federal Government will NOT pay for any costs incurred in preparation and submission of bids.

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY: Contractors to the Department of Veteran Affairs may be unintentionally exposed to sensitive information. Information may be overheard, seen on documents or electronic devices, or observed that could potentially violate the privacy and confidentiality of our veterans, employees, volunteers, and their families. Regulations such as, but not limited to the Health Insurance

Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act of 1974 have been enacted to protect sensitive information from being improperly disclosed. Information should not be divulged or released to anyone unless specifically authorized by this contract or its’ attached documents in accordance with the contracted services. Failure to comply with applicable statutes and regulation can result in the termination of this contract and civil and criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment. All suspected or actual breeches of privacy and confidentiality should be reported immediately to the Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or the Facility Privacy

Officer.

The C&A requirements do not apply and a Security Accreditation Package is not required. If the contractor opts to use a computer or computer system for processing contract documents, the requirements of FIPS

140-2 for encryption of contract documents must be met.

SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM): Federal Acquisition Regulations require that federal contractors register in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at http://www.sam.gov and enter all mandatory information into the system. Award cannot be made until the contractor has registered. Bidders are encouraged to ensure that they are registered in SAM prior to submitting their bid.

ADDITIONAL VETBIZ INFORMATION:

http://www.sam.gov/

(a) Eligibility of SDVOSBs continues to be governed by the Small Business Administration regulations, 13 CFR subparts 125.8 through 125.13, as well as the FAR, except where expressly directed otherwise by the VAAR, and 38 CFR verification regulations for SDVOSBs.

(b) At the time of submission of offer, the offeror must represent to the contracting officer that it is a—

(1) SDVOSB concern

(2) Small business concern under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to the acquisition; and

(3) Verified for eligibility in the VIP database.

(c) A joint venture may be considered an SDVOSB or VOSB concern if

(1) At least one member of the joint venture is an SDVOSB or VOSB concern, and makes the representations in paragraph (b) of this section;

(2) Each other concern is small under the size standard corresponding to the NAICS code assigned to the procurement;

(3) The joint venture meets the requirements of paragraph 7 of the size standard explanation of affiliates in FAR 19.101; and

(4) The joint venture meets the requirements of 13 CFR 125.15(b), modified to include Veteran-owned small businesses where this CFR section refers to SDVOSB concerns.

(d) Any SDVOSB or VOSB concern (nonmanufacturer) must meet the requirements in FAR 19.102(f) to receive a benefit under this program.

JOINT VENTURES: See 13 C.F.R. § 121.103

(h) Affiliation based on joint ventures: A joint venture is an association of individuals and/or concerns with interests in any degree or proportion consorting to engage in and carry out no more than three specific or limited-purpose business ventures for joint profit over a two year period, for which purpose they combine their efforts, property, money, skill, or knowledge, but not on a continuing or permanent basis for conducting business generally.

This means that a specific joint venture entity generally may not be awarded more than three contracts over a two year period, starting from the date of the award of the first contract, without the partners to the joint venture being deemed affiliated for all purposes. Once a joint venture receives one contract, SBA will determine compliance with the three awards in two years rule for future awards as of the date of initial offer including price.

As such, an individual joint venture may be awarded more than three contracts without SBA finding general affiliation between the joint venture partners where the joint venture had received two or fewer contracts as of the date it submitted one or more additional offers which thereafter result in one or more additional contract awards. The same two (or more) entities may create additional joint ventures, and each new joint venture entity may be awarded up to three contracts in accordance with this section. At some point, however, such a longstanding inter-relationship or contractual dependence between the same joint venture partners will lead to a finding of general affiliation between and among them.

For purposes of this provision and in order to facilitate tracking of the number of contract awards made to a joint venture, a joint venture must be in writing and must do business under its own name, and it may

(but need not) be in the form of a separate legal entity, and if it is a separate legal entity it may (but need not) be populated (i.e., have its own separate employees). SBA may also determine that the relationship between a prime contractor and its subcontractor is a joint venture, and that affiliation between the two exists, pursuant to paragraph (h)(4) of this section.

NOTICE TO PROCEED (NTP): A notice to proceed shall be issued after award of a fully executed contract. The NTP date and time “to be determined” after award to a successful bidder. Primary factor in determination to issue NTP shall be the Prime Contractor submission of, and the Government review and approval of both Payment and Performance Bonds, both of which are enforceable legal documents.

SOLICITATION AUTHORITY: This Invitation For Bid (IFB) is conducted under FAR Part 14 -

Sealed Bidding, where firms are bidders and shall submit bids. References to RFP and Bidder’s, in technical specification sections and technical drawings are strictly coincidental and strictly for purposes of administrative convenience and efficiency. The Contracting Officer exercises final authority over all aspects of this IFB and any resultant contract.

SOLICITATION CLAUSES AND PROVISIONS : Please note that this IFB, and any resultant contract, and all clauses and provisions located there, supersede and contain final authority. Those clauses and provisions that may be referenced in IFB technical specification sections and technical drawings are strictly coincidental and for purposes of administrative convenience and efficiency.

SOLICITATION DEFINITIONS: Throughout this IFB, and any resultant contract, the terms

Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), Project

Engineer (PE), Resident Engineer (RE), and Project Manager (PM), all denote the same engineering official and may be used equally and interchangeably as described by the Contracting Officer (CO).

BRAND NAME OR EQUAL: The IFB may include the salient characteristics of the “or equal” aspect for determination of what is equal to any cited brand name. See FAR 52.211-6 and VAAR 852.211-73 for

“brand name or equal” information. This is an extremely long, detailed, and comprehensive IFB, including all specifications and drawings. Please note that, wherever a brand name is cited, contractor shall ensure, in any resultant contract, that any equal has the salient characteristics of the brand name. Lack of confirmation shall be grounds for Government inspection at any time and Government direction for replacement of materials or equipment by the Contractor at no increase in contract price or time.

WORK DAYS AND HOURS

Normal work days and hours for this project is 07:00 AM – 5:00 PM Monday - Friday. Access to the work site may be restricted to these hours and days. Work during other than normal work days and hours may be required, but days and hours must still be coordinated in advance with the Contracting Officer through the COR.

FEDERAL HOLIDAYS ARE:

New Year's Day Labor Day

Martin Luther King Day Columbus Day

Presidents' Day Veterans' Day

Memorial Day Thanksgiving

Independence Day Christmas