A19-Attachment 03 - Evaluation Criteria - Hazardous Material.docx

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS OR RESPONDENTS

L.1 INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

A. Standard Form 1449 - Block 8 - Solicitation

Proposals must be electronically delivered to britton.maria.m@dol.gov with a cc to worrells.deborah@dol.gov prior to the time set forth in Block 8.

B. Exchanges and Communication Restrictions

Exchanges and communication with any Government personnel concerning this RFP other than the Contract Specialist named in Block 07 on SF 1449, Face Page, may be considered a basis for disqualification.

C. Signature Requirements; Proposal Preparation Costs

The SF 1449 of this solicitation and all other documents requiring signature must be signed by an official authorized to bind the offeror. This solicitation does not commit the Government to pay any costs incurred in the submission of proposals or for studies or designs for the preparation thereof, nor to contract for the article or services. The Contracting Officer is the only individual who can legally commit the Government to the expenditure of funds in connection with this procurement.

D. Proposal Format

Failure to submit ALL required proposal documents and ALL electronic media described herein or to follow the required proposal format (with the exception of page limits, where DOL will not review any information on the pages exceeding the page limit) may result in a determination that the offeror’s proposal is “Unacceptable” and may be removed from the competition.

Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall include a transmittal letter and the sections listed below. The transmittal letter shall identify the solicitation number, the name of the firm submitting the proposal, the proposal sections and any other materials that are attached.

Written sections of the proposal shall be formatted as follows:

Volume V – Small Business Subcontracting Plan

Written

No Limitation

Written sections of the proposal shall be formatted as follows:

Offerors are cautioned that they must not exceed the page limitations cited above. Any pages that exceed the page limitations cited above will not be read or considered in the evaluation.

Proposals shall be delivered via email to the following email address: britton.maria.m@dol.gov with a cc to worrells.deobrah@dol.gov. The email’s subject line shall be structured as follows: [Solicitation Number] – [Company Name]. For example, RFP 1605C1-24-Q-00133 – JLM Company.

When submitting the Price Proposal offerors shall use Microsoft Office Excel.

Unnecessarily elaborate proposals, brochures, or other presentations beyond those sufficient to present a complete and effective response to this solicitation are not desired and may be construed as an indication of the Offeror’s lack of cost consciousness. Elaborate artwork, letters of commendation, expensive paper and bindings, and expensive visual and other presentations are neither necessary nor sought. Additionally, copies of provided materials, job descriptions for each position, copies of newsletters or magazines, copies of certificates or awards, are not needed.

E. Electronic Submission of Proposal

(a) When submitting a proposal on electronic media, the offeror must ensure that the submission is readable, in the format specified in the solicitation, and has been verified as free of computer viruses. Prior to any evaluation, the Government will check all files for viruses and ensure that all information is readable. In the event that any files are defective (unreadable), the Government shall only evaluate the readable electronic files. Further, if defective (unreadable) media renders a deficiency in the offeror's proposal, the Government shall consider the proposal incomplete and non-responsive and remove the proposal from further consideration.

(b) Each section (Executive Summary, Technical Approach, Past Performance, Small Business Consideration, and Price) of the proposal should be submitted as a separate document. Files with computations should be submitted as excel files and can be separate attachments.

(c) The offeror must ensure that:

(1) It has verified that its electronic proposal is readable on the hardware and software operating system format specified below:

Standard DOL image: Windows 10, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office 365

(2) It has verified that the electronic proposals are free of computer viruses using standard commercial anti-virus software.

F. Organization of Proposals:

DOL will not require evaluators to search other proposal sections for information, nor will DOL require its evaluators to search other sections within a proposal. If information is not placed in the appropriate section, that section may be deemed “Unacceptable” and an offeror’s proposal may be removed from the competition.

Therefore, the Offeror shall ensure that each proposal section is complete in itself, well-written, and submitted in accordance with the instructions discussed herein. Each section shall be written on a stand-alone basis.

Cross-referencing within and across proposal sections shall not be permitted. DOL personnel must be able to evaluate each section independent of the other sections. If a proposal is found to be unacceptable under any factor or subfactor, the proposal is not eligible for award.

G. Solicitation Questions/Comments

All questions concerning the Solicitation shall be submitted to the Contract Specialist, Maria Britton at britton.maria.m@dol.gov with a cc to the Contracting Officer Deborah Worrells at worrells.deborah@dol.gov. Government responses to questions will be posted to GSA E-Buy website as an amendment to the solicitation.

Answered questions will not disclose the Offeror’s identity. Questions are due no later than September 11, 2024 at 10:00AM EST. The Government may not consider questions received after that date and time. Offeror may not direct questions concerning this Solicitation to the Technical Team or other United States Government Personnel. All questions shall be submitted via e-mail with the subject line (1605C1-24-Q-00133 – Questions) and consolidated utilizing Attachment 02 Question/Answer Log. No questions will be answered that are posed via telephone or fax. Attachment 02 Question/Answer Log shall remain in Excel format without password protection.

NOTE: Do not depend on any answers to questions that occurred as a result of previous RFP’s and/or discussions with the Government prior to the release of this Solicitation. The answer to a previous draft question may not yield a satisfactory answer for this Solicitation.

H. Submission Due Dates:

Offers must be received prior to 10:00AM EST on September 16, 2024. Late submissions will not be accepted.

L.2 Proposal Content

VOLUME I – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Identify at minimum the solicitation number, enclosures being transmitted, contractor’s name, UEID, Cage Code, Tax Identification Number (TIN), proposed subcontractors and team members to be utilized under this requirement, a statement regarding Representations and Certifications being incorporated or attached to offer, acknowledgement of solicitation amendments, and acknowledge that the Government requires that offers remain effective for a period of 60 days from receipt of offerors.

VOLUME II - FACTOR 1. TECHNICAL APPROACH - No pricing information is to be provided in the Technical Proposal. The offeror shall provide a technical narrative addressing the three (3) elements below. This narrative should discuss its understanding of the requirements of this acquisition and its approach to performing the work, describe its corporate experience, and discuss its Management Plan. The technical narrative shall address these elements, as more fully discussed below. An offeror’s understanding of the work will be shown through its ability to demonstrate that it can perform the work described in Part 5 of the PWS and the extent to which potential risks are identified and mitigated.

SUBFACTOR 1 – Understanding the Requirement: The Government will evaluate the offeror’s understanding of the work to be performed in accordance with the PWS. The offeror shall submit a quote that demonstrates its understanding of the work described in Part 5 of the PWS and the extent to which potential risks are identified and mitigated.

SUBFACTOR 2 – Corporate Experience: The offeror shall submit a summary of work experience of a similar nature, scope, complexity, and difficulty to that which will be performed under the prospective contract contemplated by this RFQ.

SUBFACTOR 3 – Management Plan: The offeror shall provide a plan for managing the services under the PWS. This plan shall include the proposed management structure for all those with responsibilities for this contract and an explanation of how that structure will work to ensure successful task performance and compliance with all requirements of this PWS. The offeror shall include discussion of the use of any subcontractors and management of those subcontractors in the management plan as applicable.

VOLUME III - FACTOR 2. PAST PERFORMANCE

Offerors shall submit the following information regarding their past record. That information will be used solely to identify projects and determine their relevance to the evaluation of past performance in accordance with Section M. Offerors are not being requested to provide their opinion of the quality or effectiveness of their performance but only to identify those projects which they believe are relevant and should be considered by DOL in making DOL’s own assessment of the quality and effectiveness of their performance.

Identify at least three (3) past or current projects that demonstrate a record of:

Section 1 – Contract Descriptions. This section shall include the following information in the following format:

(a) Contractor/Subcontractor place of performance, CAGE Code and DUNS Number. If the work was performed as a subcontractor, also provide the name of the prime contractor and Point of Contact (POC) within the prime contractor organization (name, and current address, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers).

(b) Government contracting activity, and current address, Procuring Contracting Officer's name, e-mail address, telephone, and fax numbers.

(c) Government’s technical representative/COR, and current e-mail address, telephone, and fax numbers.

(d) Government contract administration activity and the Administrative Contracting Officer's name, and current e-mail address, telephone, and fax numbers.

(e) Government contract administration activity's Pre-Award Monitor's name, and current e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers.

(f) Contract Number and, in the case of Indefinite Delivery type contracts, GSA contracts, and Blanket Purchase Agreements, include Delivery Order Numbers also.

(g) Contract Type (specific type such as Fixed Price (FP), Cost Reimbursement (CR), Time & Materials (T&M), etc.) In the case of Indefinite Delivery contracts, indicate specific type (Requirements, Definite Quantity, and Indefinite Quantity) and secondary contract type (FP, CR, T&M, etc.)).

(h) Awarded price.

(i) Final or projected final price.

(j) Original delivery schedule, including dates of start and completion of work.

(k) Final or projected final delivery schedule, including dates of start and completion of work.

(2) Section 2 - Performance. Offerors shall provide a specific narrative explanation of each contract listed in Section 1 describing the objectives achieved and detailing how the effort is relevant to the requirements of this solicitation.

For any contracts that did not/do not meet original schedule or technical performance requirements, provide a brief explanation of the reason(s) for the shortcomings and any corrective action(s) taken to avoid recurrence. The offerors shall list each time the delivery schedule was revised and provide an explanation of why the revision was necessary. All Requests for Deviation and Requests for Waiver shall be addressed with respect to causes and corrective actions. The offerors shall also provide a copy of any Cure Notices or Show Cause Letters received on each contract listed and a description of any corrective action implemented by the offeror or proposed subcontractor. The offerors shall indicate if any of the contracts listed were terminated and the type and reasons for the termination.

(3) Section 3 – New Corporate Entities. New corporate entities may submit data on prior contracts involving its officers and employees. However, in addition to the other requirements in this section, the offeror shall discuss in detail the role performed by such persons in the prior contracts cited. Information should be included in the files described in the sections above.

For each project provide the following information:

[insert here other identifying information required: agency/client, brief description of work, POC, etc.] The period of your performance (beginning and ending date) The name, address, phone number and email of a point of contact for this project.

Projects identified should include work experience within the three (3) years preceding the submission of this proposal.

The Offeror’s work under the identified projects should be similar in size, scope, and complexity to the requirements of this solicitation and should include information to demonstrate such similarity. Size, scope, and complexity are defined as follows, respectively: Size - dollar value; scope - type of work and the nature of the activities performed; and complexity - performance challenges and risks.

Offerors may identify projects they performed as the prime, as well as projects performed by subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement. In such cases, Offerors should provide information to explain the experience and relevance to this solicitation.

In the case of a proposal by a joint venture (JV), the Offeror must provide information on the JV’s past performance or, in cases where the JV is newly formed and no past performance exists, the JV shall provide past performance information on the individual entities comprising the JV. This information shall describe the relevant experience of the JV or individual entities, as applicable.

In addition, Offerors must describe in this section, their experience in complying with subcontracting plan goals for small disadvantaged business (SDB) concerns, monetary targets for SDB participation, and notifications submitted under FAR part 19.1202-4(b), if applicable. This information will be used in the Contracting Officer’s responsibility determination prior to award.

The Government must receive this list no later than the closing DATE listed on the SF 1449. The POC List shall be submitted in Word for Windows Table Format to include the following fields: Solicitation Number; Company Name; Contract Number; Government Agency; POC Last Name, First Name; POC Title; POC Telephone Number; POC E-Mail Address; Date E-Mailed to POC (month/day). Please note, that the Past Performance Questionnaire will not be a part of the resultant contract.

VOLUME IV - FACTOR 3. PRICE PROPOSAL

The offeror shall provide the Schedule of Supplies/Services page(s) of the Standard Form (SF) 1449, Continuation Sheet of the solicitation. Pricing information shall be mentioned only in the Price Proposal and in no other sections of your proposal.

If there are discrepancies between the workbook and the Schedule of Supplies/Services page(s) of the Standard Form (SF) 1449, the government will use the SF 1449 for the offeror’s price/discount evaluation.

All prices contained in the pricing schedule reflect total compensation for the services detailed therein and are fully inclusive of all costs including labor, overhead, general and administrative (G&A), and profit. All prices for services should include the labor categories, labor hours, and labor rates.

All items covered under option years may be ordered and performed during the scheduled period of performance of this contract. Offerors are required to provide prices for these items under option years. The prices for all option items will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 52.217-5 (Evaluation of Options). The Government makes no guarantee that the option years will be exercised. It will be the Government’s unilateral right to exercise the option years. Once the option is exercised, the offeror is required to perform the work when ordered during the scheduled period of performance of this contract.

Proposed prices shall be entered on the spreadsheet file, Schedule of Supplies/Services, readable in Microsoft Office Excel format.

Price proposals shall be evaluated for the presence of ‘unbalanced pricing’ based on a contractor’s attempt to ‘buy-in’ to the acquisition. The Contracting Officer shall performance a price proposal analysis to determine fair and reasonable pricing. The Contracting Officer reserves the right to reject an offer if it is determined that the lack of balanced pricing proposes an unacceptable risk to the Government in accordance with FAR Part 15.404-1(g).

VOLUME V - FACTOR 4. SOCIOECONOMICS

A. Small Business Preference

To maximize small business opportunities, The Government will evaluate the Offeror's Socioeconomic status in order of preference:

• Small, disadvantaged businesses

• Women-owned small businesses

• HUBZone small businesses

• Veteran-owned small businesses, and

• Service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, Small business, Large business

B. Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Does not apply to Small Businesses)

The Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization and the Contracting Officer will evaluate the Subcontracting Plan for acceptability or unacceptability. If deemed acceptable, the Contracting Officer will approve the Plan.

For a subcontracting plan to be deemed acceptable, the offeror representing a large business shall respond to all fifteen (15) elements of FAR 52.219-9. In addition, the offeror representing a large business shall demonstrate a commitment to small business subcontracting and its extent of participation in compliance with the associated regulations. The offeror representing a large business shall submit a plan, which will meet or exceed the percentage requirements (goals) described in this section for small business, small disadvantaged business, woman-owned small business, HUBZone small business, veteran-owned small business, and service-disabled veteran owned small businesses. Failure to meet the subcontracting plan requirements may cause the proposal to be non-responsive and ineligible for award.

Offerors shall adhere to the format outlined in 52.219-9 using the Small Business Subcontracting Plan template in Attachment 4.

Subcontracting Goals

The Department of Labor, Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) has determined the minimum appropriate subcontracting goals for this acquisition, to be based on the total subcontracting amount proposed by the offeror. The goals in the table below represent the percentage per small business category out of the offeror’s proposed overall subcontracting amount. These goals are considered to be minimum allocations per category, and categories are not mutually exclusive.

The Department of Labor encourages subcontracting key program components to small business concerns. Key components include personnel to deliver social development, academic education, career technical training and administration. For proposed subcontracting of key components, the appropriate section of the technical proposal must describe in detail the organizational relationships and procedures established to ensure proper management, oversight, training, and coordination.

Small Businesses should note that while a subcontracting plan is not required, it is requested that they provide a listing of subcontracts that are anticipated. The subcontract list should include at a minimum a list of the functions, tasks, and positions that are proposed with their anticipated dollar value.

L.3 LATE SUBMISSIONS, MODIFICATIONS AND WITHDRAWLS OF OFFERS

a) Offerors are responsible for submitting offers, and any modifications or withdrawals, so as to reach the Department of Labor office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation.

b) Any offer, modification, or withdrawal received at the Department of Labor office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is “late” and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the procurement; and:

(i) if it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Department of Labor infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of offers; or

(ii) there is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Department of Labor installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Department of Labor’s control prior to the time set for receipt of offers.

c) Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Department of Labor installation includes the time/date stamp of that installation on the offer wrapper, other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or statements of DOL personnel.

d) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal DOL processes so that offers cannot be received at the Department of Labor office designated for receipt of offers will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first workday on which normal DOL processes resume.

Offers may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers. If the solicitation authorizes facsimile offers, offers may be withdrawn via facsimile received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of offers. An offer may be withdrawn in person by an Offeror or its authorized representative, if, before the exact time set for receipt of offers, the identity of the person requesting withdrawal is established and the person signs a receipt for the offer.

M - Evaluation Factors for Award

SECTION M - EVALUATION FACTORS AND SELECTION CRITERIA

M.1 BASIS FOR AWARD / SELECTION CRITERIA

The Government anticipates the award of a single contract as a result of this solicitation to the responsible Offeror whose proposal conforms to the requirements of the solicitation and is determined to be the best value to the Government. In determining the best value, the evaluation factors are listed in descending order of importance, as follows: Technical Approach, Past Performance, and Cost/Price. The factors will be evaluated in order of importance: Technical Approach is more important than Past Performance, which is more important than Cost/Price. However, Price will become significantly more important as the evaluation results for the non-price factors approach equality. The Government will not make an award at a significantly higher overall price to achieve slightly superior technical features.

All Subfactors under Volume II, Technical Approach, are listed in descending order of importance. Understanding the Requirement is more important than Corporate Experience; and Corporate Experience is more important than Performance Plan.

Small Businesses will be given preference in the order identified in Section L. Subcontracting Plans will be evaluated based on the subcontracting goals.

The Contracting Officer may award a contract on the basis of initial proposals received, without discussions or any opportunity to make a further submission. Therefore, each initial offer should contain the Offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint.

M.5 BEST VALUE DETERMINATION

In utilizing the “trade-off” process the Government may award a contract to other than the lowest priced or the highest technically rated Offeror. As part of the best value determination, the Government will assess the quality and risks of each proposal, in selecting the proposal that is most advantageous and represents the best overall value to the Government.