A04_SOW.pdf

Statement of Work

SECTION C:

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and incidental services necessary, to complete 772 acres of chipping of hand piles, and dead and down material >4” diameter and 3’ in length using tracked chipper, or machinery moving material to mobile tub grinder/chipper.

This contract is for tracked chipper or mobile chipper/grinder being fed by machinery (such as skid-steer, etc.). Specifically able to complete mechanical chipping for timber stand improvement, fuels reduction, and wildlife habitat improvement on approximately 772 acres.

Material to be chipped is existing hand piles, and dead and down (not rotten logs) greater than 4” and 3’ in length. Material to be chipped is slash (hand piles and dead and down) Ponderosa pine and Juniper. Project is in NE Wyoming Black hills. Goldie Divide Project area is approximately 11 miles NW of the city of Hulett, WY.

This is a request for quote from all contractors eligible to conduct work on forestry and fuels service contracts. Please use this Statement of Work to assist with quotes.

There is public access to whole project area from Goldie Divide County Road, Crook County, WY. Base all quotes on site specific conditions and prescription.

Goldie Divide Project Area: Bureau of Land Management Public domain lands located in parts of Township 56N Range 66W Sec. 22, 23, 26 ,27, accessed thru BLM forest logging roads (native material) off Goldie Divide County Rd. (gravel).

The work is located on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM), Newcastle Field Office, in Weston County.

Access to the area/s is limited to public roads on BLM surface identified on map/s, or as directed by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). Access must be when reasonably dry or frozen; The Contractor at his expense will repair excessive ruts and road damage caused by the Contractor if work conducted when wet/thaw soils. The Government assumes no obligation to plow snow or perform special maintenance to keep roads open. All garbage must be removed from the work sites. Overnight work camp is allowed on BLM managed lands, contractor must approve location with COR and abide by all fire restrictions and/or camping restrictions and follow leave no trace guidelines once camp is vacated.

On project area All land ownership boundaries are demarked with orange paint. Contractor is expected to utilize Avenza (or like product) to know boundaries, georeferenced maps and shapefile will be provided to contractor. Contractor must be aware of unit boundaries by a Avenza or onyx like app to make sure crew treatment type aligns with SOW and Map.

Close all gates.

C.2 DEFINITIONS

C.2.1 General Definitions

ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVEL (AQL). Maximum deviation from the performance standard.

PERFORMANCE BASED ACQUISITION. A contracting method intended to ensure that required performance quality levels are achieved and that the Contractor’s total payment is related to the degree services meet contract performance standards.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS). An abridged version (summary) of the Statement of Work (SOW) showing contract requirements, tasks/subtasks, standards, and acceptable quality levels. The PRS may also contain an abridged version of Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan showing the Government’s method of surveillance, incentives, and fee reductions for not meeting standards.

PERFORMANCE STANDARD. Standard of performance required by the Government.

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW). Specific requirements the Contractor must meet in performance of the contract. The SOW contains required services (tasks/critical subtasks), performance standards, acceptable quality levels, and incentives/disincentives.

QUALITY ASSURANCE. Actions taken by the Government to assure services meet contract requirements.

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP) OR QUALITY ASSURANCE

PLAN (QAP). A written document showing Government surveillance method and scheduling to be used to assess the Contractor’s performance against the performance standard.

QUALITY CONTROL. Those actions taken by a Contractor to control the performance of services to ensure services meet the requirements of the SOW.

C.2.2 Technical Definitions None

C.3 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY

C.3.1 None

C.4 CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and incidental services necessary to successfully complete 772 acres of chipping of hand piles and dead and down (>4” diameter x 3’ length) with local site-specific specifications contained herein.

Bidders shall supply CO with equipment list to be utilized for project with bid, so government can assess successful fulfillment of contract to specification.

C.4.1 Inspection

The Contracting Officer Representative (COR) or designated Project inspector will make periodic inspections. The Contractor or their representative is encouraged to observe the inspection and will receive inspection summaries upon request. Contractor is also welcome to request inspections to gauge contract completion performance with 2 days advanced notice and at convenience of government. Prior to final inspection of project contractor shall notify COR five days prior to schedule.

Acreage is figured on horizontal plane within project area. Inspections assess overall completion to contract specifications thru random sampling and/or standard forestry cruise methods, (i.e., transect, random plots 1/10 acre) to get overall completion. Percent completion shall include acres of piles chipped and chip depth acceptable (3” or <), other statement of work items in Prescription contained below shall be pass/fail if present- boundary specifications (i.e., no chips within 100’ of boundaries/two-tracks), excessive road damage, cleanliness, and fulfilment of overall statement of work conditions.

C.4.2 Basis of Payment

After final inspection of project area, the Contracting Officer or designated representative will assess if completion of contract is 95 percent or greater. 95 percent or better shall be considered full completion and full awarded amount.

C.5 TASKS/CRITICAL SUBSTASKS AND STANDARDS

C.5.1 Mechanical Chipping

772-acre treatment

Standard/AQL:

Performance Period Date of award (est. Sept. 18, 2023, to May 31, 2024.

Description The project’s goal is to reduce the risk of stand replacement wildfire and reduce fuel loads of hand piles and down woody debris. In furtherance of Forest health previous and future treatments. Chipping will help accelerate future broadcast fire treatment.

Contractor is expected to utilize Avenza or Georeferenced mapping programs. To utilize georeferenced PDF maps and/or shape files of which government will provide for the bidding and completing of project at request.

It is expected of contractor to be utilizing Avenza, or other reliable GPS georeferenced maps programs to bid, and complete project to specifications and PDF maps given by government.

External property boundary is demarked by orange timber paint and has been thinned up to, this project falls within boundaries of orange paint and thinning. If contractor needs any lines flagged or re-delineated, please notify NFO staff as far ahead as possible so fieldwork can be scheduled.

Detailed Unit Information

Unit# Treatment Acres Goldie Divide Machine Chip 772

Total 772

Prescription Machine Chipping

Chip all hand piles, and severed down woody debris (i.e., lop n scatter areas, and natural dead and down (excluding rotten logs)

Project area overall is less than 35% slope, and average 30 piles per acre. With some areas of past lop and scatter.

**This project will require in woods chipping (off road), to weave between trees and reach material to be chipped, recommend self-propelled chipper (like tracked chipper), or mobile tub chipper where material can be skidded to central chipper and can be feed with mechanical equipment or manual labor.**

No pull behind pickup truck chippers, this will cause resource damage and will be unfeasible to weave thru timber to material to be chipped.

C.6 SPECIFICATIONS

• Contractor shall provide list of equipment to accomplish contract, government shall evaluate based on best value to government thru lens of adequate equipment to complete contract.

• All equipment shall be washed and cleaned prior to entry to project area, and free of all debris and possible seed sources. Start date shall be scheduled with COR so equipment inspection by BLM representative can be done onsite (or Newcastle field office which ever is more convenient to contractor) prior to work commencing.

• Work will be completed between date of award (estimate Performance period start of around September 18, 2023, and complete prior to May 31, 2024.

• Work is to be completed using Mechanical Self powered track chipper, and/or mechanical equipment forwarding of material to centralized chipper.

This contract is not for grinding or mastication, product size must be chip material.

Chipper must have ability to oscillate and spread chips, chipped material must not exceed 3” depth on average, and contractor will prioritize dispersal of chipped material to areas of bare soil when available (avoid grass openings, a lot of bare ground in timbered areas.)

NO chip material within 100’ of property boundaries (unit Boundary) and no chipped material within 100’ of two tracks. This is for holding needs for future prescribed fire treatments.

Material should be mechanically or manually moved to chipper along boundaries or two-track roads so chips can be distributed far enough to meet 100’ threshold to two-track roads and boundaries.

• ATV’s and UTV’s, may be utilized to facilitate crew and equipment transport, and to support medical incidents.

• Roads shall always remain open for vehicle traffic.

• The contractor shall be responsible for signing work area in both directions of travel prior to entering work zone.

Fire Protection For heavy equipment and/or logging forest activities. Chipping and Manual contractors conducting work with chainsaws and manual piling/lop and scatter, only need to adhere year-round equipment and Extreme/Red flag shutdown.

1. The following equipment will be provided and maintained by the Purchaser/Contractor on the contract area year-round:

a. Firefighting tools maintained in serviceable condition shall be kept at each active landing and at such other places as the Contracting Officer shall designate whenever people are working on the contract areas. All firefighting tools shall be kept in a closed box marked “FOR FIRE USE ONLY”. There shall not be less than four tools in each box or less than one tool for each person working on the contract area. Three-fourths of all fire tools shall be shovels or other scraping tools.

b. Each unit of mobile or stationary equipment, including trucks of 23,000 GVW or greater, engaged in commercial activities operating on the contract area or over roads leading to the contract area must be equipped with one operable fire extinguisher or a dry chemical type of not less than 2- 1/2 pounds (1.125 kilogram) capacity with 4 BC or higher rating.

c. Power saw operators shall maintain in their immediate possession a fully charged operable fire extinguisher and a serviceable round pointed #0 shovel or larger. The extinguisher shall be a liquid chemical type of at least 8 ounces (224 grams) capacity or a dry chemical type of at least 1 pound (0.454-kilogram capacity). Fueling of a saw shall be done in an area which has been cleared of all flammable organic material. Saws shall be moved at least 10 feet from the place of fueling before engine is started.

d. Power saws must be equipped with a muffler and screen type spark arrestor in accordance with the standards set forth in the U.S. Forest Service Spark Arrestor Guide. Power saws used in commercial activities and purchased after December 31, 1980, must also be equipped with a muffler system conforming to the Society of Automotive Engineers Standard J-335b, as set forth in the U.S. Forest Service Spark Arrestor Guide.

e. Exhaust driven turbochargers qualify as efficient spark arresters provided all exhaust gases pass through the turbine impeller. The turbine impeller must always be turning and there may be no exhaust bypass. A straight-mechanical-driven supercharger does not qualify. (1) All internal combustion engines operated on forested lands must be equipped with an approved and effective spark arresting device. (2) Motorbikes, trail cycles, scooters, and other mobile vehicles of this type and all stationary internal combustion engine-driven equipment used on the contract area or over roads leading to the contract area, must be equipped with spark arresting devices listed as approved in the U.S. Forest Service Spark Arrestor Guide.

Spark arresting devices must be plainly marked with the manufacturer's name and model number and must be properly installed and maintained in accordance with the guide. Heavy trucks may have a vertical stack exhaust system and muffler, provided the exhaust stack extends above the cab of the vehicle.

2. Fire watch

a. From June 1st to October 15th a one-hour fire watch is required to be on duty for 1 hour after the last shutdown of power-driven equipment for the day, or during times when NFDR as displayed by Casper Interagency dispatch by zone in which work is conducted is moderate or above.

b. Fire watch must be physically capable and experienced in operating any firefighting tools, or equipment on-site.

c. Furnished with adequate transportation and communications to report a fire.

d. Must be able to visually inspect area work was done during the day.

3. The Contractor shall attempt, to the best of its ability and training, to extinguish all fires started by Purchaser, its agents, or employees.

4. The Purchaser shall promptly report any fires to Casper Interagency Dispatch 1-

800-295-9952 or call 911.

5. The Purchaser is responsible for complying with all State, Local, county, and/or

Federal fire restrictions, or emergency closures given by authorized officer in the interest of public safety.

6. The Authorized officer and his/her contract administrators or designated BLM employee shall regularly inspect all precautionary fire equipment and required fire protection practices contained within this fire protection section. Failure of purchaser to follow guidelines and procedures contained within will result in an immediate stop work order until Fire protection guidelines and/or required equipment/actions are established onsite and in good working order. The government shall not be held responsible for any delays in contract performance period resulting from stop work orders from non-compliance with fire protection clauses.

Purchaser shall look up fire danger rating on Casper Interagency dispatch webpage daily. The following are guidelines purchaser must follow given danger rating.

https://gacc.nifc.gov/rmcc/dispatch_centers/r2cpc/

Low (L) - Green Year-round fire precaution equipment required.

Moderate (M) - Blue Fire watch required as well as year-round fire precaution equipment mentioned above.

High (H) - Yellow Fire watch required as well as year-round fire precaution equipment mentioned above.

https://gacc.nifc.gov/rmcc/dispatch_centers/r2cpc/

Very High (VH) - Orange Fire watch required as well as year-round fire precaution equipment mentioned above and - (Only for loggers and heavy equipment, Manual contractors and/or chippers are not required to have below standards)

In addition, a pump truck/trailer must be on site and within 5 minutes roundtrip of active felling and/or skidding operations, or road building activities. Operator is expected to move pump/truck trailer within 5 min personnel roundtrip of active operations daily.

Pump truck/trailer min. requirements.

1. 500-gallon min. Capacity

2. Minimum of 500 feet of 1” and/or 1 ½” inch cotton or synthetic jacket hose. (Required in definition of pump truck)

2. One variable stream nozzle with shut-off

3. Twenty feet of suction hose and a strainer suitable for pump to use to draft.

4. Fuel tank and hose line, if required for pump, with enough fuel to operate the pump for a period of four hours.

5. One grease gun, filled with grease, if the pump requires periodic lubrication.

6. Six extra hose washers for each hose/nozzle size.

7. One or more spanner wrenches of sizes suitable to fit the hose.

8. One reducer, matching the thread type of the hose type referenced in #1, if both hose sizes are used

9. If the pump is operated by an engine other than the truck engine, it must be equipped so that it can be started with a starter rope and the following additional accessories are required:

a. Two quarts of crankcase oil, if required for pump engine.

b. Two starter ropes if pump is pull start.

c. Sufficient extra spark plugs to replace all spark plugs in the pump engine.

d. One spark plug wrench unless crescent is suitable.

e. One slip joint pliers, 6 inch.

f. One screwdriver, 4 inch

g. One crescent wrench, 10 inch.

In combination with above Tractor, skidder, feller-buncher, forwarder or shovel logging operations where tractors, skidders, or other equipment with a blade capable of constructing Fireline are immediately available to quickly reach and effectively attack a fire start.

Extreme (E) - Red All operations will cease.

Red flag Contractor must monitor National weather service fire weather forecasts. In the event a red flag is issued for the zone in which operations are conducted the following restrictions are added to the above requirements. During a red flag no power saws shall be operated such as Feller bunchers, Processors, chainsaws, masticators, mowers or grinders.

Logs maybe skidded and loaded on trucks and shipped, if fire precaution equipment required by above danger ratings is met.

C.6 SPECIFICATIONS