7-RFP-02-Specifications.pdf

CITY OF FORT WORTH - PURCHASING DIVISION

SPECIFICATIONS

RFP Ref. #: 26-0222 Doc. Ref#: RFP-02 Page 1 of 10 RFP Title: Aluminum, Iron, Rebar, and Steel

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

The City of Fort Worth is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to finalize a non-exclusive agreement for the furnishing and/or delivery of steel, aluminum, iron, and rebar materials on an “as-needed” basis for use in construction, maintenance, fabrication, repair, and public infrastructure projects. Prospective responding proposers should ensure they download all attachments for complete responses and understanding of the agreement the City intends to award from this solicitation.

2.0 SPECIFICATIONS

2.1 Materials shall be new, unused, and free from defects, conforming to all applicable industry standards, codes, and specifications.

2.2 Materials shall be available in various grades, dimensions, lengths, and finishes to meet departmental requirements.

2.3 Materials may include, but are not limited to:

2.3.1 Structural Steel – plate, tube, pipe, flat bar, round bar, square tubing, rod, fittings

2.3.2 Aluminum products – sheet, plate, angle, flat bar, rod, diamond plate

2.3.3 Iron products – angle, channel, pipe, fittings

2.3.4 Reinforcing Steel – rebar, wire mesh, reinforcing accessories, ties, dowels, chairs, supports

2.3.5 Expanded metal, grating, miscellaneous metal stock, and special-order material products as requested

2.4 Vendor shall have a minimum of 5 years’ experience selling steel aluminum, iron, and rebar supplies.

2.4.1 Vendors without a minimum of 5 years’ experience will be deemed non-responsive.

2.5 Vendor will maintain sufficient inventory levels or supplier access to fulfill routine and emergency orders in a timely manner.

2.6 Vendor may be requested to provide value-added processing services

RFP Ref. #: 26-0222 Doc. Ref#: RFP-02 Page 2 of 10 including, but not limited to cutting, shearing, drilling, rolling, bending, and custom sizing.

2.7 Materials will be delivered to City-designated locations or made available for pickup when requested by the City-designee.

2.8 If the vendor is a third-party distributor, they must have a fully executed supply or procurement contract with a metal vendor.

2.8.1 Vendor must submit proof of a binding agreement (e.g., a signed

Letter of Intent or active contract extract) along with their bid submission.

2.8.2 Failure to provide proof may be deemed non-responsive and subject to rejection.

2.9 COMPLIANCE

2.9.1 Materials shall comply with all applicable ASTM International

(formerly American Society for Testing and Materials), American National Standards Institute (ANSI), American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), and industry manufacturing standards.

2.10 UNIT PRICE ADJUSTMENT

2.10.1 This section supersedes Section 25.0 of Document RFP-01

Instruction to Proposers.

2.10.2 Vendor may request a Price Adjustment based on Price

Adjustment Verification up to one time Quarterly. Price Adjustment means an unplanned or unanticipated change, upward or downward, from the established contract price that is supported by demonstrated Price Adjustment Justification. A request for a Price Adjustment must be initiated by the Vendor.

Price Adjustments shall not be allowed more frequently than once Quarterly. It is within the sole discretion of the City to determine whether an adjustment is necessary and/or acceptable.

2.10.3 For purposes of this Agreement, Price Adjustment Justification shall be the current Product Price Index (PPI) at the time the request is submitted. Price increases shall not exceed the current

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PPI rate of the original contract rate price.

2.10.4 Quarterly means the City’s Fiscal year quarters, being each of the three (3) month periods the first of which begins October 1.

Quarter (Q) 1: October 1 – December 31; Q2: Jan 1 – March 31;

Q3 April 1 – June 30; Q4: July 1 – September 30.

2.10.5 The Vendor must submit its Price Adjustment request, in writing, at least thirty (30) days before the effective period (1st day of a new quarter). The Vendor must provide all Price Adjustment Justification, as defined above, at the time of its request for a Price Adjustment.

2.10.6 If the City concludes that the rate increase being requested is unacceptable, the City reserves the right to adjust the rate request or reject the rate request in its entirety and allow the contract to expire at the end of the contract term. If the City elects not to exercise the renewal option, the Purchasing Division reserves the right to issue a new solicitation or procure the goods or services by any other allowable means.

2.10.7 Prices offered shall be used for bid analysis and for Agreement pricing. In cases of errors in extensions or totals, the unit prices offered will govern.

2.10.8 Upon expiration of the Agreement term, the successful bidder agrees to hold over under the same terms and conditions of the executed Agreement for a reasonable period of time to allow the city to re-bid an agreement, not to exceed ninety (90) days.

2.10.9 The provision of goods and/or services shall not be suspended by the Vendor except as expressly allowed by the contract’s terms and conditions.

2.11 DELIVERY

2.11.1 Vendor(s) shall provide all labor, materials, equipment, transportation, supervision, and incidentals necessary to supply and deliver steel, aluminum, iron, and rebar products.

2.11.2 Vendor(s) shall coordinate delivery dates, times, and locations with the City’s designated representative.

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2.11.3 Delivery shall include placement at a mutually agreed-upon staging area.

2.11.4 Vendor shall be responsible for unloading all materials at the designated delivery location.

2.11.4.1 The City shall not provide labor or equipment for

unloading unless specifically agreed in writing.

2.11.5 Items shall be delivered within forty-eight (48) hours of the order being placed. There may be instances where a Department will need the items on the same or next day due to repairs needed for an event. The Department shall also have the ability to pick up the item(s) from the Vendor.

2.11.5.1 Items requiring a delivery timeframe exceeding

forty-eight (48) hours must be accepted by the City’s designated representative.

2.11.6 The City reserves the right for the departments to pick up items directly from the vendor’s facility or warehouse.

2.11.7 Freight shall not be bundled into unit price. Bid table includes line item for freight charge. This section supersedes section 15.8

iv. Prices of RFP-01-Instruction to Proposers.

2.11.7.1 The Vendor may not charge freight on goods

picked up.

2.11.8 Deliveries take place between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday except on City recognized holidays.

2.11.8.1 City Holidays are as follows:

2.11.8.1.1 New Year’s Day

2.11.8.1.2 Martin Luther King Day

2.11.8.1.3 Memorial Day

2.11.8.1.4 Juneteenth

2.11.8.1.5 July Fourth

2.11.8.1.6 Labor Day

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2.11.9.1.7 Thanksgiving Day and the Friday following

2.11.9.1.8 Christmas Day

3.0 METHOD OF AWARD - Proposals will be evaluated based on “best value” to the City. Proposals that receive less than 50% of the total available points, excluding price points, will be considered for award.

4.0 AGREEMENT TERM – The initial term of the agreement shall be one (1) year. Upon expiration of the initial term, the agreement shall renew under the same terms and conditions for up to five (5) one-year renewal periods, unless City or Supplier provides the other party with notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before the expiration of the initial term or renewal periods. This section supersedes section 24.0 of RFP-01-Instructions to Proposers.

5.0 EVALUATION FACTORS

To be considered, the Proposer must submit a complete Proposal by the stated deadline and in accordance with all Proposal requirements. All required documentation must be included for evaluation.

Proposals that meet these requirements will be evaluated based on the criteria listed below.

5.1 Cost – up to 15 points available

5.2 Small Business Participation – up to 25 points available

5.3 Vendor Experience and Past Performance – up to 25 points

5.4 Delivery Capabilities and Order Fulfilment – up to 20 points

5.5 Business Location within Fort Worth City Limits– up to 15 points

Business Location will be evaluated as below:

Within Fort Worth City Limits = 15 points

Outside of City limits 0-15 miles = 10 points Outside of City limits 16-25 miles = 5 points Outside of City limits greater than 25 miles = 0 points

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SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM – The City of Fort Worth has established a 30% Small Business (SB) participation goal for this solicitation. This goal reflects the City’s determination that certified Small Business Firms are available to provide the goods and/or services required under this bid.

Accordingly, at least 30% of the total awarded contract value must be subcontracted or spent with a certified Small Business Firm. All provisions and requirements outlined in City Ordinance No. 27832-08-2025 apply to this solicitation. Bidders are required to submit the following documentation with their proposal:

a. Small Business Utilization form V1 (RFP-05), detailing how the Small Business goal will be achieved.

b. Current Small Business Certification issued by the North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency (NCTRCA), Women’s Business Council-Southwest (WBCS), Dallas-Fort Worth Business Council (formerly DFW/MSDC), Texas Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program, Texas Unified Certification Program (TUCP) DBE/ACDBE and TxDOT SBE Directory.

Small Business Participation will be evaluated as below:

0% SB Participation = 0 points 1-10% SB Participation = 10 points 11-20% SB Participation = 15 points 21-29% SB Participation = 20 points 30% or more (goal met) = 25 points

6.0 CONTRACT AWARD PROCESS

6.1 The Purchasing Division will facilitate and manage the evaluation process.

6.2 An Evaluation Panel consisting of representatives from various City departments and City consultants may be appointed to review and evaluate RFP responses in accordance with this RFP. City reserves the right at its sole discretion to include additional representatives at any point during the evaluation.

6.3 The Evaluation Committee will evaluate responses and may select

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Proposer for onsite interviews, presentations or demonstrations.

6.4 At its sole discretion, the City may request Best and Final Offers

(BAFO) from proposers whose proposals are deemed most advantageous. Contract negotiations will be based on the BAFO submissions.

6.5 The City reserves the right to negotiate all elements that comprise the successful Proposer’s response to ensure that the best possible consideration be afforded to all concerned.

6.6 The City reserves the right to shortlist firms based upon scores/ratings received during the evaluation process.

6.7 The City will notify all proposers in writing of the outcome once an award determination has been made.

6.8 Following the award, additional services of the same general category that could have been encompassed in the award of the contract, and that are not already on the contract, may be added based on the discount price sheet provided with the Proposal so long as such inclusion does not violate state or local law.

7.0 PROPOSAL FORMAT AND ATTACHMENTS

To facilitate and expedite the evaluation process, Proposals should adequately address all evaluation factors and include the following list of required items that will be used as part of the evaluation. A Proposal may be deemed to be non-responsive and may be disqualified, at the City’s discretion, if the Proposal fails to comply with the following instructions.

7.1 Proposal Format Requirements

7.1.1 Proposal format shall be in font no smaller than 12 point, 8.5-inch by 11-inch paper size, with one inch margins and single-spaced for the entire submitted proposal.

7.1.2 All proposal sections shall be divided by submission titles. All pages within these sections shall be uniquely numbered for purposes of easy reference.

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7.2 Response forms

7.2.1 Completed and signed RFP-04 Authorized Signature and

Questionnaire.

7.2.2 Completed and signed RFP-05-Forms.

7.2.3 Completed and signed RFP-06-Small Business Utilization form and Small Business Certificate, if applicable.

7.2.4 Completed RFP-07-Deviations

7.2.5 Completed RFP-08-Reference Sheet

7.2.6 All Signed Addendum(s) acknowledging receipt. Note: If no addendum is issued, please attach a page stating “No Addendum Issued”

7.2.7 Completed Bid Table RFP 26-0222 Aluminum, Iron, Rebar, and Steel (BT-28CV)

7.2.8 Bidder submitting for consideration of this bid must demonstrate that they have legal rights to the materials specified in this bid, either through direct manufacture of the materials in house or through submission of binding contracts that cover the duration of the City’s agreement and any renewals thereof.

7.3 Technical Response

7.3.1 List of Exceptions/Substitutions/Clarifications/Additions

7.3.1.1 Although the Scope of Services included Project

Requirements of the solicitation represents the City’s anticipated needs, there may be instances in which it is in the City’s best interest to permit exceptions to requirements and accept proposed alternatives.

7.3.1.2 If no exceptions are taken, please include a single

document stating “No Exceptions taken” in the Required section.

7.3.1.3 It is extremely important for the Proposer to make

clear where exceptions, clarifications substitutions and/or additions to the Scope of Services, Draft Vendor Service Agreement and General Terms and Conditions are taken and how substitutions shall be provided. The City does not recognize

RFP Ref. #: 26-0222 Doc. Ref#: RFP-02 Page 9 of 10 strikeouts, deletions, or changes to Solicitation documents. Therefore, exceptions, conditions, clarifications and/or substitutions to the provisions of the City’s requirements must be clearly identified along with the proposed addition or modification. If the Proposer does not make it clear that an addition, exception or clarification is taken, the City shall assume the Proposer is responding to and shall meet the City’s stated requirements.

7.3.1.4 Identify each exception, clarification, substitution

and/or addition by specifically referencing the page number, section number, subsection number, item number or letter, and, if necessary, paragraph, or line number.

7.3.1.5 Identify each item clearly as an addition, exception, clarification or substitution. It is not necessary to include the entire text of a particular section or subsection. However, for ease of reference, Proposers may use portions of the solicitation’s text, if helpful in explanation.

7.3.1.6 For substitutions/clarifications, provide an

explanation of the difference between what the solicitation requests and what is proposed. The City is open to other means of accomplishing the requested Work. Proposers must explain why they believe their method of accomplishing the Work is equal to or better than that specified by the City.

7.3.1.7 For any addition(s) proposed or exception(s) taken, provide a rationale in as much detail as possible.

7.3.1.8 Begin responses to the major sections of the

solicitation on a new page.

7.3.1.9 The City shall consider the number and substance

of alterations to the City’s stated requirements as a factor in determining the most advantageous response.

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7.3.2 Pricing

7.3.2.1 Proposal pricing shall be assembled and presented

in accordance with the format and instructions of this solicitation.