47PF0022R0037 Questions and Answers.pdf

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

SOLICITATION 47PF0022R0037

Elevator Maintenance & Related Services:

Gerald R. Ford Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse 110 Michigan Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI

Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse 410 W Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI

Charles E. Chamberlain Federal Building & U.S. Post Office 315 W Allegan St., Lansing, MI

Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse 600 Church Street, Flint, MI

1. Can you please clarify the Obsolescence language in the contract and who would be responsible for replacing obsolete components? There are some components that are obsolete, specifically the drives at the Grand Rapids facility.

Other than unprotected hydraulic cylinders and underground piping for hydraulic elevators, the contractor is responsible for replacing obsolete components.

Per Section C.2.1.2 Repair & Replacements of the solicitation, “The Contractor shall be responsible for all costs associated with accomplishing repairs and replacements including labor, equipment, materials, supplies and subcontracts for all equipment and systems specified herein. The Contractor shall not be required to make renewals or repairs made necessary by reason of negligence or misuse of the equipment by persons other than the Contractor, his/her representatives, employees, and subcontractors, or by reason of any other cause beyond the control of the Contractor, except ordinary wear and tear. This does not exempt deficiencies from coverage under this contract that may have developed or were caused prior to the contract effective date. There are no exemptions for obsolescence of any particular component. Excluded from this contract are unprotected hydraulic cylinders and underground piping for hydraulic elevators.“

2. The testing is the responsibility of the elevator company. Who is responsible for paying for the 3rd

Party Inspector to witness the testing?

The contractor is responsible to provide the independent inspector.

Per C.17.2 Safety Inspection Schedule, all tests, as required by ASME A17.1, shall be performed as stated below and witnessed by an independent certified inspector.

Per Exhibit 10 – Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan, 7.3.2.1 Safety Inspection Schedule, all tests, as required by ASME A17.1, shall be performed as stated below and witnessed by an independent certified inspector. The schedule for Safety Inspections is spelled out in the contract. This is not a recommendation and must be adhered to.

3. I want to confirm that weekly visits are required at all locations. Is there a weekly hour requirement at each location?

Yes, weekly visits are required at all locations, however, there is only a minimum hour requirement for

Grand Rapids.

Per C.10, On Premise Requirements:

The specified on-premises requirement is not to be construed as the time required to perform the work under this contract. The on-premises requirement is intended only to establish minimum site visits and should not be construed as limiting or constraining performance. The Contractor must determine the number of hours and staffing necessary to fulfill the contract requirements.

The Contractor shall have qualified personnel visit the site weekly normal working hours, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays, to provide all required preventive maintenance, monitor the operational status of the elevator system and respond to all types of service calls.

Location 1, Gerald R. Ford Federal Building, Grand Rapids:

● Qualified personnel shall be on site for a minimum of 2 hours per week.

Location 2, Federal Building, Kalamazoo

Location 3, Charles Chamberlain Federal Building, Lansing

Location 4, Federal Building, Flint:

● Qualified personnel shall visit Location 2, Location 3, and Location 4 on a weekly basis.

4. What are the maximum penalties for missing a response time and weekly PM visit? My concern is the 30 min response time for entrapments could be an issue after hours.

Per Exhibit 10 - Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan, Section 9 - Emergency Service Request:

9.2 After hour emergencies will be coordinated with the COR to ensure proper authorization of work required to defuse the emergency situation only. Any additional work required after the emergency situation has been resolved will be taken care of during normal business hours.

9.3 All other procedures for routine service requests will be utilized.

9.4 Failure to Respond to Emergency Service Calls may result in deductions at the following hourly rates for each hour or portion thereof, in one half an hour (1/2) increments, which the contractor fails to respond within thirty (30) minutes for emergency service calls. In addition, the contractor will be held liable for all additional costs which result from the contractor's failure to respond, including any administrative costs incurred, using the Administrative Costs Application (Reference Section E.1.a.ii).

Per Section C.12 Emergency Call-Back:

C.12.1 Emergency call-back service consists of promptly responding to requests for emergency service 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The contractor shall report to the site of the emergency within thirty (30) minutes of the time of notification and shall remain on the job until the emergency has been resolved. If the situation cannot be resolved immediately, the Contractor shall promptly notify the CO, or their designee of the time and date corrective action will be taken. Requests for service may be made by the CO or their designee by telephone or other means. Emergency service consists of freeing individuals trapped in a stalled car, restoring inoperative elevators which are causing disruption to the arrival and departure of building occupants, or other situations determined by the CO or their designee to be an emergency nature.

C.12.2 The contractor will include all costs for emergency call-back services during the normal working hours (refer to Section F) in the monthly price for basic services. The contractor will be reimbursed at the hourly rate specified in Section B for emergency call-back service during other than normal working hours. The Contractor will be reimbursed only for the time spent on site.

5. We are struggling to complete a competitive bid due to some obsolescence issues with the elevators.

I am aware of the contract language on this matter, but I would like to submit an official RFI for any information you have to the following components:

The biggest concerns for the Montgomery Miprom elevators would be:

Controller drives

Controller boards

Door boards

Door operators

The parts are all obsolete with no known replacement parts available, thus any of these failing would result in likely tens of thousands of dollars worth or repairs. This exposure is greatly inflating the price of the contract. Is there any further information on the parts (e.g. recent replacements), or a way to make them exempt from the obsolescence clause?

Other than unprotected hydraulic cylinders and underground piping for hydraulic elevators, no parts on the elevators are exempt from repair or replacement service. Our current contract has the same language. The reason a part becomes obsolete is that the manufacturer develops a newer updated part. The contract says the parts needed during a repair can either be the same (old) part or the newer, upgraded part. We do have an elevator modernization project being developed that may happen in the next 4 years.

Per Section C.2.1.2 Repair & Replacements of the solicitation, “The Contractor shall be responsible for all costs associated with accomplishing repairs and replacements including labor, equipment, materials, supplies and subcontracts for all equipment and systems specified herein. The Contractor shall not be required to make renewals or repairs made necessary by reason of negligence or misuse of the equipment by persons other than the Contractor, his/her representatives, employees, and subcontractors, or by reason of any other cause beyond the control of the Contractor, except ordinary wear and tear. This does not exempt deficiencies from coverage under this contract that may have developed or were caused prior to the contract effective date. There are no exemptions for obsolescence of any particular component. Excluded from this contract are unprotected hydraulic cylinders and underground piping for hydraulic elevators.“

6. It appears the current drives for the controllers are a proprietary model from the current service provider (Kone). From our due diligence up until this point, it appears we can only replace the parts by purchasing them FROM said service provider, which are marked-up and will come at great cost.

This liability (there are six of these components across the contract) is also adding significant weight and making our bid uncompetitive. Is there a way to exempt only this part in the obsolescence paragraph in the contract, as this appears to put us at an unfair advantage.

Please see the answer to #5.

7. I would like to inquire about the scope of the work in this contract, as the pace of maintenance seems well above what is normally recommended for elevators of this style. The state of Michigan mandates hydraulic maintenance quarterly and traction service monthly, however some of the elevators are calling for weekly site visits from a qualified elevator mechanic, which is pushing our bid well above the current rate. Has the scope changed from the last contract? Or are we misreading the required maintenance intervals?

No, the scope has not changed from the current contract. The contractor needs to perform site visits per Section C.10 of the solicitation and look over elevator related items to make sure there are no complaints or issues. Maintenance is a separate requirement and should be performed per the manufacturer's recommendations.