36E77619R0097-003.docx

36E77619R0097

1. SOLICITATION NUMBER

2. TYPE OF SOLICITATION

3. DATE ISSUED

PAGE OF PAGES

4. CONTRACT NUMBER

5.

REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQUEST NUMBER

6. PROJECT NUMBER

7. ISSUED BY

CODE

8. ADDRESS OFFER TO

a. NAME

b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) (NO COLLECT CALLS)

10. THE GOVERNMENT REQUIRES PERFORMANCE OF THE WORK DESCRIBED IN THESE

DOCUMENTS (Title, identifying number, date) 12a. THE CONTRACTOR MUST FURNISH ANY REQUIRED PERFORMANCE AND PAYMENT BONDS?

(If "YES," indicate within how many calendar days after award in Item 12B.)

12b. CALENDAR DAYS

13. ADDITIONAL

SOLICITATION REQUIREMENTS:

STANDARD FORM 1442 (REV. 8/2014)

STANDARD FORM 1442

Prescribed by GSA-FAR (48 CFR) 52.236-1(d)

SOLICITATION, OFFER,

AND AWARD

(Construction, Alteration, or Repair)

SOLICITATION

SOLICITATION

IMPORTANT - The "offer" section on the reverse must be fully completed by offeror.

9. FOR INFORMATION

CALL:

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

SEALED BID (IFB)

NEGOTIATED (RFP)

1. The Contractor shall begin performance within ____________ calendar days and complete it within calendar days after receiving award, notice to proceed. This performance period is mandatory negotiable. (See

YES

NO

a.

Sealed offers in original and ___________________copies to perform the work required are due at the place specified in Item 8 by _____________ (hour) local time _____________________ (date). If this is a sealed bid solicitation, offers must be publicly opened at that time. Sealed envelopes containing offers shall be marked to show the offeror's name and address, the solicitation number, the date and time offers are due.

b.

An offer guarantee is, is not required.

c.

All offers are subject to the (1) work requirements, and (2) other provisions and clauses incorporated in the solicitation in full text or by reference.

d.

Offers providing less than ____ ___________________ calendar days for Government acceptance after the date offers are due will not be considered and will be rejected.

36E77619R0097 X 10-25-2019 650-337

PCAC

Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300 Independence OH 44131 Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300 Independence OH 44131 Gregory B. Parker Jr.

2164478300 49644 In accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 8127 (Public Law 109-461), this project is a competitive Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside.

This project consists of expansion of surgical suites and Clean Core addition, as required by the drawings, specifications and other documents included in this solicitation.

This project is located at the:

Providence VA Medical Center 830 Chalkstone Avenue Providence, RI 02908

VAAR Magnitude of Construction: $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 See Instructions to Offerors for additional information.

X 52.211-10 X None (email) 2:00 p.m. ET 12-03-2019 X

14. NAME AND ADDRESS OF OFFEROR

15. TELEPHONE NUMBER

16. REMITTANCE ADDRESS

CODE

FACILITY CODE

17. The offeror agrees to perform the work required at the prices specified below in strict accordance with the terms of the solicitation, if this offer is accepted by the Government in writing within __________ calendar days after the date offers are due.

AMOUNTS

18. The offeror agrees to furnish any required performance and payment bonds.

19. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS

AMENDMENT

NUMBER

DATE.

20a. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER 20b.

SIGNATURE

20c. OFFER DATE

21. ITEMS ACCEPTED:

22. AMOUNT

23. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

24. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN

ITEM

25. OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION PURSUANT TO

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)( 41 U.S.C. 3304(a) (

26. ADMINISTERED BY

27. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

PHONE:

FAX:

28. NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT

29. AWARD

Your Contractor agrees offer on this solicitation is hereby accepted as to the items listed. This to furnish and deliver all items or perform all work requirements identified award consummates the contract, which consists of (a) the Government on this form and any continuation sheets for the consideration stated in solicitation and your offer, and (b) this contract award. No further cont-this contract. The rights and obligations of the parties to this contract ractual document is necessary.

shall be governed by (a) this contract award, (b) the solicitation, and (c) the clauses, representations, certifications, and specifications incorporated by reference in or attached to this contract.

30a. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTOR OR PERSON AUTHORIZED 31a. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

TO SIGN

30b. SIGNATURE 30c. DATE 31b. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 31c. AWARD DATE

BY

OFFER

AWARD

STANDARD FORM 1442 (REV. 8/2014) BACK

(Include ZIP Code) (Include area code) (Include only if different than Item 14.)

(Insert any number equal to or greater than the minimum requirement stated in Item 13d. Failure to insert any number means the offeror accepts the minimum in Item 13d.)

(The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the solicitation -- give number and date of each) (Type or print) (4 copies unless otherwise specified) (Type or print) (Type or print) (Contractor is required to sign this document and return _______ copies to issuing office.)

(Contractor is not required to s ign this document.)

(Must be fully completed by offeror) (To be completed by Government)

CONTRACTING OFFICER WILL COMPLETE ITEM 28 OR 29 AS APPLICABLE

PCAC

Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300 Independence OH 44131

VAFSC

Department of Veterans Affairs Financial Services Center Invoices to be Submitted Electronically www.ob10.com/us/en/veterans-affairs/ e-Invoice Setup Info Phone 877-489-6135 877-353-9791 512-460-5429

ANDREW NEISS

Table of Contents

A.3 PRICE SCHEDULE

CLIN 0001: Provide Labor, Material, Equipment and Supervision in strict accordance with applicable VA construction standards, specifications and procedures. All work shall be performed in accordance with Contract Specifications, Drawings, Applicable codes, and Standards. Work will consist of, but not be limited to all site work, utilities, civil, structural, architectural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, communications, commissioning and physical security. See General Requirement Specification 01 00 00 within Attachment 2 (Clean Core Specifications) for the statement of work.

CLIN 0001 $______________________

TOTAL CLIN 0001 $______________________

NOTICE

1. The VA has determined it will not request pricing for deduct alternates at this time. Any reference to deduct alternates in the specifications (Attachment 2) should be disregarded.

2. The Offeror must submit a proposal based on a 490 Calendar day Schedule. This duration includes construction services including all materials, labor, equipment, training, transportation, final testing and personnel necessary to accomplish the work in accordance with VA provided documents.

3. The Offeror shall furnish all labor, material, equipment, etc., necessary to perform all work in strict accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the contract to include all drawings, soil samplings specifications and attachments.

4. Contractor is required to fill in DUNS NUMBER in Block No. 14 on Standard Form (SF) 1442.

5. PLEASE NOTE: The Contractor agrees to attend any Post Award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 42.5.

6. Contractor employees shall not be considered government employees for any purpose under this contract.

Page 1 of Page 1 of

INFORMATION REGARDING BIDDING MATERIAL, BID GUARANTEE AND BONDS

1.1 PROPOSAL MATERIAL:

Proposal materials consisting of drawings, specifications, and contract forms are included and/or attached as part of this Request For Proposal. The VA will not provide printed copies of drawings or specifications. It is the responsibility of the offeror to obtain the proposal materials in a time and manner sufficient to respond to this solicitation by the specified due date.

1.2 BID GUARANTEE:

A Bid Guarantee, SF 24, is required in an amount not less than 20 percent of the proposal price but shall not exceed $3,000,000. Failure to furnish the required bid (proposal) guarantee in the proper form and amount, by the time set for receipt of proposals, may result in the rejection of the proposal. Copies of the SF 24 may be obtained from http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/type/TOP.

1.3 PAYMENT & PERFORMANCE BONDS:

The offeror to whom award is made will be required to furnish two bonds, a Payment Bond, SF 25A, and a Performance Bond, SF 25, each in the penal sum as noted in the General Conditions of the Solicitation. Copies of SFs 25 and 25A may be obtained from http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/type/TOP.

1.4 DESCRIPTION OF WORK:

Refer to attachments for specifications and drawings.

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS AND OTHER STATEMENTS TO BIDDERS/OFFERORS

2.1 AVAILABILITY OF SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS:

All solicitation related documents will be published to http://www.fedbizopps.gov.

2.2 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL & BASIS FOR AWARD:

This is a Request For Proposal (RFP) in accordance with FAR Part 15. Award will be made to the offeror whose proposal represents the “best value” to the Government utilizing the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) method of evaluation. Award will be made on the basis of the lowest evaluated price of proposals meeting or exceeding the acceptability standards for non-cost factors. Evaluation Factors include Factor 1 (Technical), and Factor 2 (Price). To receive consideration for award, a rating of ACCEPTABLE must be achieved for both of two Subfactors for an overall rating of Acceptable for Factor 1 (Technical) and the lowest evaluated price must be determined to be reasonable. In addition, a Responsibility determination will be made in accordance with FAR 9.1, Responsible Prospective Contractors.

2.3 SDVOSB SET-ASIDE:

This procurement is 100% set-aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business concerns. Offers received from other than Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business concerns will not be considered. All Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses must be listed as verified by the VA’s Center for Veterans Enterprises (CVE) (http://www.vetbiz.gov). Offerors must be verified by CVE and visible in the Vendor Information Portal (VIP) database at TIME OF SUBMISSION OF OFFERS AND TIME OF AWARD. Failure to be BOTH visible and verified at the time of proposal submission will result in the offeror’s proposal being deemed unacceptable and ineligible for award.

2.4 TECHNICAL QUESTIONS:

Questions of a technical nature must be provided in writing and shall be submitted by the prospective offerors to the contract specialist, Gregory Parker, Jr. Questions shall be submitted only via e-mail to: Gregory.parkerjr@va.gov. The subject line must read: Providence VAMC Clean Core Construction – Technical Questions. Oral questions of a technical nature are not acceptable. THE CUT-OFF DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF QUESTIONS IS November 15, 2019 at 2:00 PM (ET).

2.5 AMENDMENTS:

Amendments to this solicitation will be posted at http://www.fedbizopps.gov. Paper copies of the amendments will NOT be individually mailed. No other notification of amendments will be provided. Potential Offerors are advised that they are responsible for obtaining and acknowledging any amendments to the solicitation. Failure to acknowledge an amendment may result in your proposal being considered unacceptable.

2.6 PREPARATION OF PROPOSALS:

The Government will not pay for any costs incurred in preparation and submission of proposals.

2.7 PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS & BASIS FOR AWARD:

A. General:

1. Proposals shall be based on solicitation document issued for RFP number 36E77619R0097. Proposals will be in the format stipulated in this document.

2. Proposals shall be received on or before the date and time specified in Block 13 of the SF 1442. There will be no public opening of the proposals.

3. Submit proposals via email to:

i. gregory.parkerjr@va.gov

ii. Emails are limited to five (5) MB.

4. Submit the original of the Bid Guarantee by mail to:

i. US Postal Service Deliveries:

Gregory Parker Jr.

Veterans Health Administration Program Contracting Activity Central (VHA-PCAC) 6150 Oaktree Blvd., Suite 300 Independence, OH 44131

ii. Commercial Delivery Services / Hand Carry (Monday- Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM (EDT))

6150 Oaktree Blvd., Suite 300 Independence, OH 44131

5. Failure to furnish the required bid guarantee in the proper form and amount, by the time specified in Block 13 of SF 1442, may result in rejection of the proposal. SEE FAR Provision 52.228-1, Bid Guarantee, of this Solicitation.

B. Proposal Format Required for Evaluation:

1. Technical, Price and Administrative sections of the Offerors proposals will be evaluated independently; therefore, the Offeror shall submit the proposal in three (3) Volumes: Volume I Technical, Volume II Price and Volume III Administrative. In order that the Volume I Technical may be evaluated strictly on the merit of the material submitted, the contractor shall include NO price information in Volume I. Offeror shall separate Volumes I, II and III. Each volume must be labeled with the Offeror's organization, business address, and VA Solicitation Number. The volumes shall be submitted in electronic format as searchable PDF documents. The proposal, in its entirety, shall not exceed three (3) emails (one email for each volume) of 5MB each. Include page numbers and the company name in the header or footer of each page.

2. Volume I Technical: Offerors shall format the Volume I Technical proposal as listed below. Additional specific evaluation criteria and methodology for Volume I is contained in Sections D and F.

i. The offer, including title page, detailed table of contents, preface, for Volume I Technical shall not exceed a total of THIRTY (30) pages in Microsoft Arial size 12 font. Use graphic presentations where such use will contribute to the compactness and clarity of the proposal.

ii. A page is defined as each face of an 8.5 X 11-inch sheet of paper containing information. All information (except for document numbers, page numbers, etc.) shall be provided in an image area of 7 X 9 inches. Note, this does not apply for the submission of any draft project schedule. The background color of each page of the submission shall be white or ivory stock only. Excess pages will not be evaluated. Text lines will be single-spaced. A smaller font size for any graphics presented in a proposal is permitted as long as the information is legible to the human eye. Fonts other than Arial are permissible in the presentation of graphic material only.

iii. The Offeror’s responses shall clearly address each element of the evaluation factor and subfactors listed in this solicitation. Failure to submit in the format required and clearly address all elements of the factors and subfactors may result in this offer being rated unacceptable.

3. Volume II Price: Offerors shall format the Volume II Price proposal as listed below. Additional specific evaluation criteria and methodology for Volume II is contained in Sections E and F.

i. Volume II Price shall not exceed a total of TEN (10) pages in Arial size 12 font.

ii. Offerors shall ensure the Signed Standard Form (SF) 1442 is provided. Offerors shall acknowledge receiving amendments by filling out section 19 of the SF 1442.

iii. The Offeror’s signature on the SF 1442 must be a hand signature and not an electronic signature.

4. Volume III Administrative Information: Offerors shall include the following in Volume III. All of the below information must be provided. An Offeror may be considered unacceptable if these items are not provided in the proposal.

i. Offeror shall return a signed copy of the amendment(s) that are acknowledged in section 19 of the SF 1442.

ii. Offeror shall provide their Representations and Certifications or their response to FAR 52.204-8 (2) (i) or (ii) Annual Representations and Certifications.

iii. Offeror shall provide their response to FAR 52.209-7 (b) Information Regarding Responsibility Matters.

iv. Offeror shall provide their response to FAR 52.209-13 (b) (1) or (2) Violation of Arms Controls Treaties or Agreements.

v. Offeror shall provide their response to FAR 52.219-28 (g) Post-Award Small Business Program Representations.

vi. Offeror shall include the Safety or Environmental Violations and Experience Modification Rating Information, including filling out ATTACHMENT 12.

(a) All Offerors shall submit information pertaining to their past Safety and Environmental record. The information must contain a certification that the Offeror 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. If such certification cannot be made, an Offeror shall explain why and submit as much information as possible regarding the circumstances of its past safety and environmental record, including the number of EPA violations and/or the number of serious, repeat, and/or willful OSHA violations, along with a detailed description of those violations.

(b) All Offerors shall submit information regarding their current Experience Modification Rate (EMR). This information shall be obtained from the Offeror’s insurance carrier and be furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead. If an Offeror’s EMR is above 1.0, Offeror must submit a written explanation of the EMR from its insurance carrier furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead, describing the reasons for the elevated EMR and the anticipated date the EMR may be reduced to 1.0 or below.

(c) Self-insured contractors or other contractors that cannot provide their EMR rating on insurance letterhead must obtain a rating from the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI) by completing/submitting form ERM-6 and providing the rating on letterhead from NCCI. Note: Self-insured contractors or other contractors that cannot provide EMR rating on insurance letterhead from the states or territories of CA, DE, MI, NJ, ND, OH, PA, WA, WY, and PR shall obtain their EMR rating from their state run worker’s compensation insurance rating bureau.

(d) If the NCCI cannot issue an EMR because the Offeror lacks insurance history, Offeror shall submit a letter indicating so from its insurance carrier furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead and include a letter from the NCCI indicating that is has assigned Offeror a Unity Rating of 1.0.

(e) The above information, along with other information obtained from Government systems, such as the OSHA and EPA online inspection history databases, will be used to make an initial Determination of Responsibility.

(f) This requirement is applicable to all subcontracting tiers, and prospective prime contractors are responsible for determining the responsibility of their prospective subcontractors.

*If the EMR rating for the subcontracting tiers cannot be provided at time of proposal submission, the prime contractor shall acknowledge this and provide as a submittal with the insurance and bonding requirements.

(a) Failure to provide the ATTACHMENT 12 containing the above information, may result in a determination that an Offeror is not responsible and therefore ineligible for award.

C. Final Proposal Revisions:

1. If determined to be necessary, proposal revisions will be requested from the proposals received. The CO will identify those Offerors, whose proposals are within the competitive range, considering the selection criteria identified in this section. Discussions may be conducted with those Offerors falling within the competitive range, after which proposal revisions will be requested. Sealed proposal revisions will be submitted as per Section 2.7(A), above, except as noted below and will be due at a time and place to be determined.

2. Offerors submitting proposal revisions will not be requested to re-submit any documents which are unchanged from their initial proposals. They should provide necessary changes to individual paragraphs, as briefly as possible, together with a table of contents, which clarifies where within the initial proposal the additional information or changed documents would be placed. Proposal revisions shall include a completed SF 1442 that acknowledges receiving all amendments, by number. A new bid bond shall be submitted only if the final proposal revisions Offeror’s price proposal is greater than its initial price proposal.

*Note this section 2.7(C) only applies if discussions are conducted.

D. Volume I - Technical Proposal Submission & Evaluation Requirements:

1. Factor 1, Technical, Subfactor 1, Specialized Experience:

The offeror and team shall demonstrate recent, relevant experience on projects with similar features, magnitudes, and complexities. A team is defined as the prime contractor and their respective key subcontractors. Key subcontractors are those performing in the following areas/disciplines: Surgical Suites (Operating Rooms) Construction, Special Procedure Room construction, Sterile Processing Construction, etc. A formal letter of commitment must be provided for any key subcontractors submitted to satisfy the specialized experience requirements of this evaluation factor. These key subcontractors will be incorporated into the contract and may only be changed with the approval of the Contracting Officer by contract modification after award. Offerors may identify government (local, state, federal) and/or private experiences that are similar to the requirements for this solicitation. If the Offeror is a Joint Venture (JV), relevant project experience should be submitted for projects completed by the Joint Venture entity. If the Joint Venture does not have shared experience, projects shall be submitted for each Joint Venture partner.

A relevant project is one with a minimum value of $5,000,000.00, recently completed (within the last five years) or near complete (95%) and with the following characteristics:

· Similar building construction as described in this solicitation.

· Similar building system complexity (operating rooms, specialty procedure rooms, sterile processing service construction, multi-story steel frame construction, etc.) as described in this solicitation.

· Similar in management and coordination complexity (such as multiple contractors, stakeholders, and joint occupancies) as described in this solicitation.

· Location of work and similarity within and adjacent to an active surgical suite.

A minimum of two (2) and a maximum of five (5) projects that best demonstrate the prime contractor’s (or key subcontractor’s) specialized experience shall be submitted. The submission for each project shall include, at a minimum:

· Project Title and Description, Project Location (Physical Address); Contract Type (Example: Design Build, Design Bid Build).

· Project owner name and telephone number of the owner’s contact person.

· Description of the scope of work, to include the work performed by the prime contractor.

· Project statistics including start and completion dates (original vs actual) and project cost (original vs actual. If original vs actual completion dates and project cost differ, please explanation as to why they differ.

Offerors’ submissions under this subfactor shall not exceed fifteen (15) pages.

2. Factor 1, Technical, Subfactor 2, Technical Approach:

Offerors shall provide a project-specific narrative that describes the intended technical approach to executing this construction per the detailed requirements herein. The narrative must clearly and concisely describe the technical approach to project management and execution. Specifically, the narrative must address and thereby demonstrate the offeror’s understanding of the following eight elements (at a minimum), specifically related to this project:

· Seasonal considerations;

· Work sequencing;

· Identification of critical project activities based on the project scope;

· Interface requirements with existing systems (controls, security, fire protection, mass notification) and utilities;

· Risk management;

· Project commissioning;

· Steel frame construction;

· Construction adjacent to and within an active surgical room/specialty procedure room/sterile processing service;

Offerors’ submissions under this subfactor shall not exceed fifteen (15) pages.

E. Price Proposal Submission & Evaluation Requirements (Volume II):

1. Carefully follow “Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors”. Standard form (SF) 1442 Solicitation, Offer and Award (Construction, Alteration, or Repair) and the pricing schedule located on PAGE 5 when submitting price offers. Submit a bid guarantee as stipulated in the solicitation.

2. In addition to the pricing schedule, Offerors shall submit a complete (labor/materials) Breakdown of the Division Pricing for CLIN 0001, Base Bid, which may be used in evaluating price reasonableness.

3. Although award of a firm, fixed-price contract is contemplated, the Offeror shall take care to include all requested pricing information, as a lack of sufficient detail may preclude the Government from being able to evaluate the reasonableness of the overall price, thus rendering the offer as unacceptable.

4. If the Offeror communicates in its proposal any qualifications, exceptions, exclusions, or conditions to the proposed prices in the Offerors proposal documents, the Contracting Officer may reject the proposal and exclude the Offeror from further discussions.

F. Evaluation Methodology of Offers:

1. All Offerors are advised that, in the interest of efficiency, the Government reserves the right to conduct the evaluation in the most effective manner. Specifically, the Government may first evaluate the total proposed price of all Offerors. Thereafter, the Government will evaluate the technical proposal of the lowest priced evaluated reasonable offer, only. If the lowest priced Offeror’s technical proposal is determined to be rated as Acceptable, the Government may make award to that Offeror without further evaluation of the remaining Offerors’ technical proposals. If the lowest priced Offeror’s technical proposal is determined to be rated as Unacceptable, then the Government may evaluate the next lowest priced technical proposal, and so forth and so on, until the Government reaches the lowest priced technical proposal that is determined to be rated as acceptable. However, the Government reserves the right to evaluate all Offerors’ technical proposals should it desire to conduct discussions, or otherwise determine it to be in the Government’s best interest.

2. Factor 1, Technical:

i. The Government will evaluate the extent of recent, relevant experience of the prime contractor and their key subcontractors in construction with regard to their role on this project. Information will be reviewed to determine if the offeror’s Specialized Experience is Acceptable or Unacceptable in order to fulfill the requirements described in the solicitation. Acceptable is defined as the offeror has submitted at least the minimum number of recent and relevant projects that demonstrate it has the requisite specialized experience to meet the requirements of this solicitation. Unacceptable is defined as the offeror has failed to submit the minimum number of recent and relevant projects that demonstrate is has the requisite specialized experience to meet the requirements of this solicitation.

ii. The Government will evaluate the offeror’s technical approach to determine the overall understanding of the project and the necessary work elements needed to successfully complete the work. Information will be reviewed to determine if the offeror’s technical approach is Acceptable or Unacceptable in order to fulfill the requirements described in the solicitation. Acceptable is defined as the offeror has adequately addressed all of the elements with a proposed technical approach that and has demonstrated a clear understanding of the project in order to meet the requirements of this solicitation. Unacceptable is defined as the offeror has failed to address all of the elements with a proposed technical approach and/or has not demonstrated a clear understanding of the project in order to meet the requirements of this solicitation.

3. Factor 2, Price:

The Offeror who provides the lowest evaluated reasonable price will be determined to be the lowest priced Offeror. Generally, price reasonableness may be determined on the basis of adequate competition. However, in evaluating price reasonableness, the contracting officer may consider other information as necessary to establish a fair and reasonable price.

Please note: If none of the offerors are within the available funding limitation, the VA reserves the right to enter into discussions with those offerors who are determined to be within the competitive range, if a competitive range is determined in the interest of the VA, otherwise discussion will be with all offerors.

2.8 USE OF ADVISORS:

Contractors are advised that VA contractor personnel may assist the Government during the Government’s evaluation of Proposals. The persons shall be authorized access to only those portions of the proposal and discussions that are necessary to enable them to provide specific technical advice on specialized matters or on particular problems. These individuals will be required to protect the confidentiality of any specifically identified trade secrets and/or privileged or confidential commercial or financial information obtained as a result of their participation in this evaluation. They shall be expressly prohibited from scoring, ranking or recommending the selection of an Offeror.

2.9 DETERMINATION OF RESPONSIBILITY:

A Determination of Responsibility will be conducted for the apparent “awardee” prior to award of the project. The required information from the proposal, along with other information obtained from Government systems, such as, but not limited to the OSHA and EPA online inspection history databases, as well as any other information the Contracting Officer has determined to be valid, will be used to make the Determination of Responsibility. Failure to affirm being within the guidelines in the proposal may result in a determination of “Non-Responsible” for the Offeror. NOTE: Any information received by the Government that would cause for a negative Determination of Responsibility may make the Offeror ineligible for award.

2.10 VETS 4212:

Title 38, USC Section 4212(d), codified at 41 CFR Section 61-300, requires that federal contractors report, at least annually, the number and category of veterans who are within their workforce. Submission of the VETS-4212 reporting information can be done electronically at: http://www.dol.gov/vets/vets4212.htm. Award cannot be made unless the awardee has filed their VETS-4212 report. Therefore, all Offerors are encouraged to file every year. The Contracting Officer may request a copy of the email confirmation of receipt notification, prior to awarding the project.

2.11 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. Offerors are required to be registered in SAM at the time an offer is submitted in order to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements. The Offeror shall also be registered at time of award.

2.12 BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS AND SPECIAL AGREEMENT CHECKS:

All contractor employees are subject to the same level of investigation as VA employees who have access to VA Sensitive Information. The level of background investigation commensurate with the level of access needed to perform the statement of work is: Low Risk. This requirement is applicable to all subcontractor personnel requiring the same access. As per VA Directive 0710, costs of background investigations will be borne by the contractor.

2.13 REVIEW REQUIRED REGISTRATION WITH CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM (CPARS):

As prescribed in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 42.1502(e), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) evaluates contractor past performance on all construction contracts that exceed $700,000, and shares those evaluations with other Federal Government contract specialists and procurement officials. The FAR requires that the contractor be provided an opportunity to comment on past performance evaluations prior to each report closing. To fulfill this requirement VA uses an online database, CPARS, which is maintained by the Naval Seal Logistics Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. CPARS has connectivity with the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) database, which is available to all Federal agencies. PPIRS is the system used to collect and retrieve performance assessment reports used in source selection determinations and completed CPARS report cards transferred to PPIRS. CPARS also includes access to the federal awardee performance and integrity information system (FAPIIS). FAPIIS is a web-enabled application accessed via CPARS for contractor responsibility determination information.

Each contractor whose contract award is estimated to exceed $700,000 is required to register with CPARS database at the following web address: http://www.cpars.gov/. Help in registering can be obtained by contacting Customer Support Desk @ DSN: 684-1690 or COMM: 207- 438-1690. Registration should occur no later than thirty days after contract award and must be kept current should there be any change to the contractor’s registered representative.

For contracts with a period of one year or less, the contracting officer will perform a single evaluation when the contract is complete. For contracts exceeding one year, the contracting officer will evaluate the contractor’s performance annually. Interim reports will be filed each year until the last year of the contract, when the final report will be completed. The report shall be assigned in CPARS to the contractor’s designated representative for comment. The contractor representative will have thirty days to submit any comments and re-assign the report to the VA contracting officer.

Failure to have a current registration in the CPARS database, or to re-assign the report to the VA contracting officer within those thirty days, will result in the Government’s evaluation being placed on file in the database with a statement that the contractor failed to respond.

2.14 REFERENCES TO VA ENGINEER, RESIDENT ENGINEER OR PROJECT MANAGER:

Any reference contained within the solicitation/contract specifications and/or drawings to the “VA Engineer,” “Resident Engineer,” or “Project Manager” or their abbreviations shall be replaced with “Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

2.15 52.216-1 TYPE OF CONTRACT (APR 1984)

The Government contemplates award of a Firm-Fixed-Price contract resulting from this solicitation.

(End of Provision)

2.16 52.222-5 CONSTRUCTION WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS—SECONDARY SITE OF THE WORK (MAY 2014) (a)(1) The offeror shall notify the Government if the offeror intends to perform work at any secondary site of the work, as defined in paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of the FAR clause at 52.222-6, Construction Wage Rate Requirements, of this solicitation.

(2) If the offeror is unsure if a planned work site satisfies the criteria for a secondary site of the work, the offeror shall request a determination from the Contracting Officer.

(b)(1) If the wage determination provided by the Government for work at the primary site of the work is not applicable to the secondary site of the work, the offeror shall request a wage determination from the Contracting Officer.

(2) The due date for receipt of offers will not be extended as a result of an offeror's request for a wage determination for a secondary site of the work.

(End of Provision)

2.17 52.222-23 NOTICE OF REQUIREMENT FOR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TO ENSURE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR CONSTRUCTION (FEB 1999)

(a) The offeror's attention is called to the Equal Opportunity clause and the Affirmative Action Compliance Requirements for Construction clause of this solicitation.

(b) The goals for minority and female participation, expressed in percentage terms for the Contractor's aggregate workforce in each trade on all construction work in the covered area, are as follows:

These goals are applicable to all the Contractor's construction work performed in the covered area. If the Contractor performs construction work in a geographical area located outside of the covered area, the Contractor shall apply the goals established for the geographical area where the work is actually performed. Goals are published periodically in the Federal Register in notice form, and these notices may be obtained from any Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs office.

(c) The Contractor's compliance with Executive Order 11246, as amended, and the regulations in 41 CFR 60-4 shall be based on (1) its implementation of the Equal Opportunity clause, (2) specific affirmative action obligations required by the clause entitled "Affirmative Action Compliance Requirements for Construction," and (3) its efforts to meet the goals. The hours of minority and female employment and training must be substantially uniform throughout the length of the contract, and in each trade. The Contractor shall make a good faith effort to employ minorities and women evenly on each of its projects. The transfer of minority or female employees or trainees from Contractor to Contractor, or from project to project, for the sole purpose of meeting the Contractor's goals shall be a violation of the contract, Executive Order 11246, as amended, and the regulations in 41 CFR 60-4. Compliance with the goals will be measured against the total work hours performed.

(d) The Contractor shall provide written notification to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Federal Contract Compliance, U.S. Department of Labor, within 10 working days following award of any construction subcontract in excess of $10,000 at any tier for construction work under the contract resulting from this solicitation. The notification shall list the—

(1) Name, address, and telephone number of the subcontractor;

(2) Employer's identification number of the subcontractor;

(3) Estimated dollar amount of the subcontract;

(4) Estimated starting and completion dates of the subcontract; and

(5) Geographical area in which the subcontract is to be performed.

(e) As used in this Notice, and in any contract resulting from this solicitation, the "covered area" is Providence, Rhode Island

(End of Provision)

2.18 52.228-1 BID GUARANTEE (SEP 1996)

(a) Failure to furnish a bid guarantee in the proper form and amount, by the time set for opening of bids, may be cause for rejection of the bid.

(b) The bidder shall furnish a bid guarantee in the form of a firm commitment, e.g., bid bond supported by good and sufficient surety or sureties acceptable to the Government, postal money order, certified check, cashier's check, irrevocable letter of credit, or, under Treasury Department regulations, certain bonds or notes of the United States. The Contracting Officer will return bid guarantees, other than bid bonds—

(1) To unsuccessful bidders as soon as practicable after the opening of bids; and

(2) To the successful bidder upon execution of contractual documents and bonds (including any necessary coinsurance or reinsurance agreements), as required by the bid as accepted.

(c) The amount of the bid guarantee shall be 20 percent of the bid price or $3,000,000, whichever is less.

(d) If the successful bidder, upon acceptance of its bid by the Government within the period specified for acceptance, fails to execute all contractual documents or furnish executed bond(s) within 10 days after receipt of the forms by the bidder, the Contracting Officer may terminate the contract for default.

(e) In the event the contract is terminated for default, the bidder is liable for any cost of acquiring the work that exceeds the amount of its bid, and the bid guarantee is available to offset the difference.

(End of Provision)

2.19 52.233-2 SERVICE OF PROTEST (SEP 2006)

Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from:

Andrew Neiss Contracting Officer Hand-Carried Address:

Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300 Independence OH 44131 Mailing Address:

Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300 Independence OH 44131

(b) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO.

(End of Provision)

2.20 52.236-27 SITE VISIT (CONSTRUCTION) (FEB 1995) ALTERNATE I (FEB 1995)

(a) The clauses at 52.236-2, Differing Site Conditions, and 52.236-3, Site Investigations and Conditions Affecting the Work, will be included in any contract awarded as a result of this solicitation. Accordingly, offerors or quoters are urged and expected to inspect the site where the work will be performed.

(b) An organized site visit has been scheduled for— November 13 at 11:00 a.m. ET

(c) Participants will meet at— Providence VA Medical Center 830 Chalkstone Avenue Providence, RI Construction Trailer T-38 Conference Room

(End of Provision)

2.21 52.252-1 SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html http://www.va.gov/oal/library/vaar/

(End of Provision)

2.22 VAAR 852.228-72 ASSISTING SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED AND VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES IN OBTAINING BONDS (DEC 2009) Prime contractors are encouraged to assist service-disabled veteran-owned and veteran-owned small business potential subcontractors in obtaining bonding, when required. Mentor firms are encouraged to assist protégé firms under VA's Mentor-Protégé Program in obtaining acceptable bid, payment, and performance bonds, when required, as a prime contractor under a solicitation or contract and in obtaining any required bonds under subcontracts.

(End of Clause)

2.23 VAAR 852.233-70 PROTEST CONTENT/ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (OCT 2018)

(a) Any protest filed by an interested party shall—

(1) Include the name, address, fax number, email and telephone number of the protester;

(2) Identify the solicitation and/or contract number;

(3) Include an original signed by the protester or the protester’s representative and at least one copy;

(4) Set forth a detailed statement of the legal and factual grounds of the protest, including a description of resulting prejudice to the protester, and provide copies of relevant documents;

(5) Specifically request a ruling of the individual upon whom the protest is served;

(6) State the form of relief requested; and

(7) Provide all information establishing the timeliness of the protest.

(b) Failure to comply with the above may result in dismissal of the protest without further consideration.

(c) Bidders/offerors and Contracting Officers are encouraged to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures to resolve protests at any stage in the protest process. If ADR is used, the Department of Veterans Affairs will not furnish any documentation in an ADR proceeding beyond what is allowed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(End of Provision)

2.24 VAAR 852.233-71 ALTERNATE PROTEST PROCEDURE (OCT 2018)

(a) As an alternative to filing a protest with the Contracting Officer, an interested party may file a protest by mail or electronically with: Executive Director, Office of Acquisition and Logistics, Risk Management and Compliance Service (003A2C), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420 or Email: EDProtests@va.gov.

(b) The protest will not be considered if the interested party has a protest on the same or similar issue(s) pending with the Contracting Officer.

(End of Provision) PLEASE NOTE: The correct mailing information for filing alternate protests is as follows:

Or for solicitations issued by the Office of Construction and Facilities Management: