S06 - Synopsis Questions and Answers.pdf

AE MATOC IDIQ Questions

1. Under Evaluation Criteria A: Professional Qualifications of the Pre-solicitation Notice, Geographical

Engineer is listed as a discipline. Is this meant to be YES Geotechnical Engineer?

Yes, should be Geo-Technical Engineer

2. For Selection Criteria E: Past Performance - If CPARS are available and included in the Firms

Submittal Package, are Past Performance Questionnaire requests needed as well?

Yes – Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) are required.

3. In Selection Criteria B. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence, it is noted that “The design of all example project must have been completed within the past four (4) years.” Is support to construction phase considered to be within design services?

CPS is not considered Design.

4. There is no limitation or requirements noted on font, page count, margins, etc. within the pre-solicitation notice. Please confirm.

There are – Within the evaluation factors themselves are page limitations whenever relevant.

Example, Evaluation Factor for Specialized Experience states, “Design project examples should not exceed two pages each.”. Evaluation Factor in Construction Period Services states, “In a two-page narrative…”. Please adhere to these directions wherever they present themselves within each factor. Font should be standard fonts, such as Calibri, Times New Roman, etc. No cursive fonts, fonts comprised predominantly of special characters, etc. Margins should be no less than 0.5” x 0.5”.

5. Page 5, General Description of Work: The scope of work lists 21 items. The Statement of Work in “2.

Scope”, has five paragraphs of services. Submission Requirements and Evaluation Criteria for Stage One (1); Page 9, B. Specialized experience and technical competence lists 14 items. For your evaluation of “relevant” projects in Section F, will the 14 items listed on Page 9, Specialized experience and technical competence only be used and the other listings, as mentioned above, not be used?

The 21 items in General Description of Work are simply a list of potential (non-exhaustive) of type projects. The 14 items on Page 9 are sub-items of potential project types. The lists are not the same.

The list of 21 are project types the AE may be completing, and the list of 14 are the specialties in which the AE completes the design.

6. Page 6, Evaluation Criteria – There is a listing of Evaluation Criteria A through G, however, on page

14, Criteria E and G are shown, but no F. We assume that E from page 13 was correct and “E” on page 14 was a typo and it should be “F”. Please confirm.

We will correct Geographic Proximity to Factor “F”.

7. Page 7, A. Professional Qualifications (Section E) – The solicitation states: “Failure to provide a balanced workforce in the disciplines listed…”, and “Firms with greater breadth of in-house expertise will be rated higher…” These two requirements imply that you want more than one resume for each discipline listed. So that all firms are on an equal evaluation basis, please add how many resumes you wish to see for each discipline.

This is at the discretion of the submitting AE.

8. Page 7, A. Professional Qualifications (Section E) – How many pages may be used for each resume?

A limit was intentionally left out to allow each company to convey to the best of their ability the qualifications of the specialists representing their company. Please just ensure that experience is relevant to this synopsis and relates to work performed in a hospital setting or direct experience that ties into a hospital setting.

9. Page 8, A. Professional Qualifications (Section E) – Page 8 lists 12 disciplines and page 9 has six more for a total of 18 disciplines to be submitted. The Structural Engineer and Fire Protection Engineer have specific requirements listed, which include “proof of passing the examination and (4 years) required experience shall be submitted with the proposal…” Can the proof be a copy of the person’s PE license? For the four years required experience, will Block 14a in Section E, resume be sufficient?

If not, please clarify what proof you want with the proposal?

PE license is proof of passing the examination. Any proof of 4 years’ experience is acceptable. It only needs to be apparent to the evaluation team.

10. Page 8, A. Professional Qualifications (Section E) – One discipline listed is “Engineering I.T.

Infrastructure”. Many IT type personnel do not hold an engineering degree but may hold a computer science degree. Please list more specific requirements, which will allow all firms to be on equal evaluation basis versus guessing what may be required.

This is at the discretion of AE to clearly identify their team, specifically the Engineering I.T.

Infrastructure staff. Identify the experience and ability for the IT staff to complete requested project designs.

11. Page 8, A. Professional Qualifications (Section E) – Discipline #9 has Geographical Engineer listed. Is this a typo for geotechnical engineer?

Yes, should be Geo-Technical Engineer

12. Page 9, A. Professional Qualifications (Section E) – One of the disciplines listed is Project/Program

Manager. Does this individual have to be both a Project and Program Manager for this IDIQ? Would it be sufficient to include an overall Program Manager, while also including multiple licensed team members in other disciplines available to manage individual projects based on the project needs of each task order? Please clarify.

An overall Program Manager is acceptable with other required licensed team members included.

13. Page 9, A. Professional Qualifications (Section E) – The requirements state: “…in the following disciplines and shall demonstrate their qualification:” There are six disciplines listed, which the Statement of Work, pages 16 and 17, have very specific requirements for the Project Manager, Construction Manager and (from page 9) Commissioning Agent. First, do you want to see the proposed candidate meets all of the requirements in the Statement of Work? Second, if yes, then can those requirements be included in Block 18? If not, then please define where you want to see the requirements included?

Page 16-17 from the SOW identify the specific requirements of the PM, CM, and commissioning agent. Some are general applying to all 3, other are position specific. These can be included in Block 18.

14. Page 9, B. Specialized experience and technical competence (Section F) – The solicitation states:

“The evaluation board will be placing emphasis on the following items when evaluating this factor:”

There is a list of 14 items. How do these 14 items fit within the scope of work items listed on page 5, General Description of Services Required? Or are you seeking to see just the 14 items discussed within Block 24? If not, then please clarify.

See the answer to question 5 for clarification.

15. Page 9, B. Specialized experience and technical competence (Section F) – The solicitation states:

“The offeror may submit multiple projects to demonstrate experience in all relevant types of work…” Does the relevant types of work referred to here mean the 14 items listed on page 9 (the 2nd paragraph of “B”)?

The list on page 9 may not be all encompassing but gives relevant information in regard to the types of experience the Government will find useful as supporting evidence in regard to this synopsis.

Designs will predominantly involve work at VA hospitals and/or clinics, and as stated in the beginning of that paragraph, emphasis, or focus, will be placed on the categories list.

16. Pages 10 & 11, B. Specialized experience and technical competence (Section F) – Sub-paragraph b)

Submissions, shall include details on items including but not limited to:, which lists 9 items. Page 9 had a list of 14 items, which stated the evaluation board will place emphasis on those 14 items.

Please clarify if the items listed on pages 10 and 11 are a subset of the broader 14 items listed on page 9? If not, then clarify if you want the 14 items emphasized in the Section F projects or the nine items listed on pages 10 and 11?

See the answer to question 5 for clarification. These lists are not mutual and identify different items.

17. Page 12, C. Capacity – With the amount of information requested and to make all firms on an equal submission basis, please clarify how many pages we can submit for this item. We suggest no less than 20 pages for the amount of information you are requesting.

Currently, there is no page restriction on capacity. However, there will be a large focus on quality of information provided over quantity. Demonstration of capacity is the focus of this section.

Whether this can be done thoroughly in one page, or forty pages is up to each company submitting a package.

18. Page 13, E. Past Performance – We respectively request that this single page be expanded to at least an 11X17 page, which will allow us to address all five Section F projects.

Please limit to one page per project.

19. Page 14, F. Geographic Proximity: - We could interpret that you want a single page of narrative to answer all the requested information, or that it can be multi-pages, but the format is in single page narrative. Would the team location request be best on a map of VISN23? Please clarify so all firms submit the same number of pages.

Factor F Geographic Proximity is hereby changed to state:

Geographic proximity to the general area of the requiring activity as well as knowledge of the VISN 23 area. SF-330, Part I, Block H. In four page or less narrative form demonstrate firm’s familiarity with local conditions to include knowledge of, and experience dealing with, the regulatory agencies, geological features, logistics, costs, climatic conditions and local design and construction methods.

Narrative shall include team location, including main offices, branch offices, and any subconsultant offices. The narrative shall demonstrate how inclusion in the pool will be advantageous to the Government. Offerors must affirm they are able to practice at all stations listed for this contract.

20. Page 7, A. Professional Qualifications (Section E) – “The offeror’s team shall include staff members licensed in the States covering VISN23…” Please clarify if we need to have each disciplined licensed in the eight states shown on the solicitation map provided? This may require we submit multiple individuals, since some candidates may be licensed in one or two states, which would take three or four resumes to meet the licensing requirements.

A single PE licensed in any state in the VISN can serve any facilities in the VISN 23 network. A licensed staff is not required for each state in the VISN.

21. Page 13, E. Past Performance – If an example project has CPARS, is it still required to complete and submit an PPQ, or would it be sufficient to include a copy of the CPARS?

Yes – See question 2.

22. Is there a total page limitation for this SF330?

Evaluation factors with page limits specify them. The other evaluation factors should be reasonable regarding what is required to demonstrate that evaluation factor based on the interpretation of the contractor submitting their package. Again, we will be gauging quality over quantity.

23. Under A. Professional Qualifications, the qualifications appear to require members to be licensed in all states covered by VISN 23. In the past professional qualifications for federal work are only required in at least one jurisdiction. Are all members required to carry professional licensure in all states (Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Wisconsin and Illinois) or is a license in at least one jurisdiction acceptable?

See answer to question 20.

24. Under Professional Qualifications required disciplines includes “Geographical Engineer” – is this meant to be “Geotechnical Engineer”? Geotechnical is referenced in the Statement of Work but not Geographical.

Yes, should be Geo-Technical engineer.

25. I did not find a specific requirement for Building Commissioning Exterior (BECx) qualifications in the solicitation of manual – is there a required/desired credential for this position.

Please include all commissioning in responses, including building envelope/exterior commissioning.

26. We will be pursuing the project as a Mentor Protégé team. The team has approval and is enrolled with the SBA but are in the process of drafting the Joint Venture Agreement. Is the Joint Venture agreement required to be submitted with this first round or is it acceptable to have the joint venture agreement finalized prior to issuance of the contract, if selected?

All agreements and requirements must be finalized prior to contract award. Failure to do so is likely to result in the inability of the Government to award to that entity.

27. When reviewing the pre-solicitation notice, we could not find the page count included for this submission. We request the page count to be 50 pages, excluding Part II's from the page count.

See question 4.

28. On Page 13 of the pre-solicitation notice, Evaluation Criteria E. Past Performance notes that "Federal database content and PPQs will be evaluated more advantageously." Does Federal database content include CPARS Ratings, and can CPARs ratings be used in lieu of PPQs?

CPARS is considered part of the Federal database. PPQs are a requirement per the Past Performance Evaluation Factor. CPARS may not be used in lieu of. See question 2.

29. Evaluation Criteria; A. Professional qualifications: - The Commissioning Agent discipline is one of 12 disciplines and required to have “licenses” in the VISN 23 states. The Statement of Work, Paragraph 30 – Qualifications for Project Managers, Construction Managers and Commissioning Agents, requires a four-year degree and an accredited certification. Two questions:

a) From the Statement of Work section, it appears a professional engineer license is not required and has two alternatives. Please confirm that a PE license is not required for this discipline.

b) Please confirm in the Statement of work, Paragraph 30, Qualifications – Commissioning Agent, that subparagraph b can be an equal qualification to subparagraph a.

c) Qualifications-Commissioning Agent, page 17 of the SOW, items a. and b. are the requirements for commissioning agent. This does not include a PE, although PE can be submitted. Correct, paragraphs a. and b. are equivalent.

30. Evaluation Criteria; A. Professional qualifications: - The Cost Estimator discipline is one of 12 disciplines and required to have “licenses” in the VISN 23 states. Most cost estimators have a certification (there are several) and are not professional engineers. Please clarify that the cost estimator discipline does not need a professional engineers license and one of the certifications is adequate.

Cost estimators are to be certified. Professional engineer licensure does not apply.