Amendment_10_-_Final_Q_and_A_-_Revision_2_-_Tracked_Changes.pdf

Solicitation #: AG-32SD-S-14-0001 SRRC O&M Support Services

New Orleans, LA Amendment #7 – Final Solicitation Questions and Answers

Revision #12

NO. QUESTION ANSWER

1 Amendment 4 - Reference question 155 and its answer: It is our understanding that the incumbent contractor pays for parts for PMs, and that this is not subject to the first $1000/$10,000 annual cap, but in addition to it. Also, that labor expended on repairs is considered Routine and not part of the first $1000/$10,000 annual cap. However, your answer to Question 155 indicates the opposite. Please clarify.

In regards to the $1000/$10,000.

The $1000/$10,000 cap is for repair PARTS for ROUTINE work ONLY. Labor or Parts/Material for anything else including PM’s will NOT be allowed.

2 Amendment 4 - Reference Question 61 and its answer: It is our understanding that the incumbent contractor owns the vast majority of non-fixed tools used in the contract at SRRC. Please clarify what tools the successor contractor will be required to purchase for themselves, and which will be furnished by the Government.

Appendix 8 lists government furnished equipment. The Contractor can determine what additional tools or equipment it wishes to furnish.

3 Question #155 referencing Pg 6 PWS 1.2 – Does the $10,000 per year cap include parts and materials for PM’s and if required the labor as well?

See answer to Question #1.

4 Per question 39 of the Q&As posted Friday, where would the government like to see the teaming agreements?

Unclear question.

Question 39 of Amendment 4 references the submission of past performance information insofar that past performance from all vendor team participants is allowed.

Teaming/joint venture documentation should be included within the Price Proposal, Section II: Business Propsal.

The page limitation is for the Technical Proposal ONLY.

5 For Quality Control, does the government want a full QC Plan as a separate attachment to the proposal or should offers submit their QC methodology per RFP Section L Section II Quality Control?

Offerors should submit their Quality Control methodology according to the instructions in Section L Section II:

Quality Control.

6 In regards to the Technical and Price Proposals. It is unclear. I know there is a Volume I for the Technical Proposal. Is the Price Proposal considered to be Volume II? I could not find the information on the administrative area. We need clarification. Please advise.

Reference Section L.4 of the Solicitation for instructions for the preparation of the technical and business proposals.

7 In regards to sending (1) set of the Proposal to you directly by e-mail. Will that email copy suffice if the

(5) copies that are being sent by via fedex did not make it to the destination per requirements? In other words, will the email version be acceptable if the copies are not received on time by fedex ? Please advise.

No. Only proposals that are submitted as instructed by the solicitation will be considered compliant.

8 Question 155 – Pg 6 PWS 1.2 – The RFP is saying Answered Incorrectly in Amendment 4.

New Orleans, LA Amendment #7 – Final Solicitation Questions and Answers

Revision #12 there is a cap of $10,000 a year for parts and material. Is also for parts for PMs? Does this include labor or subcontractor labor/parts

Government said: “If required, yes.”

Government should have said: “No. The $10,000 cap is for repair only, not labor or routine maintenance parts/material.

9 Could you please clarify the contents of the technical proposal. On Page 44 it states item number 3 “Offerors shall submit a complete proposal package that consists of the following”

(a) Standard Form (SF-33) Signed offer (sections A though K of the solicitation package)

(b) Technical Proposal

(c) Business/Price Proposal

Price Proposal falls under C but is listed as Section

1. Is the Price Proposal to be included in the same binder as the technical proposal or did you want it in a separate binder?

Revision #2 of the solicitation, Amendment 4, changes to the bullets from “a,b,c” to bullet symbols.

Please refer to section L.4 for instructions for proposal submission.

10 Would you also like 5 copies of the price proposal to match the 5 copies of the technical proposal?

Please advise.

Please reference Section L.4 of the solicitation.

11 Reference PWS Paragraph 6.3 and Question 183:

The answer to the question states that on-call support is sufficient for operations outlined in the paragraph, to include boiler operation. Our review of the Louisiana Register (Title 55, Chapter 50, Paragraph 5083) states that a power boiler (a boiler over IS psig) requires constant attendance unless the following are complied with:

I. the boiler is equipped with an audible alarm that will operate when the water reaches the highest and/or the lowest permissible operating level, or, for boilers having no fixed steam or water line, when the highest permissible operating temperature is reached. The audible alarm shall be sufficiently loud that it can be plainly heard at the most remote point from the boiler that the attendant is required to work; and

2. the boiler is equipped with two independently connected low water safety devices that will shut off the fuel to the burner or burners when the water reaches the lowest permissible operating level, or, for boilers having no fixed steam or water line, when the highest permissible operating temperature is reached. These devices shall require manual resetting; or

3. the attendant shall personally check the operation of the boiler, the necessary auxiliaries, and the water level in the boiler at such intervals as are

The boilers have sufficient safety mechanism to shut it down if needed.

New Orleans, LA Amendment #7 – Final Solicitation Questions and Answers

Revision #12 necessary to insure safe operation of the boiler, and in no case shall this exceed 120 minutes.

12 Please confirm the boilers being operated have the necessary safety equipment to preclude constant monitoring.

Confirmed.

13 3. During the walkthrough, participants were shown two bathrooms under construction in the Ground Floor Chemical Wing. It is our understanding that these new bathrooms will serve the future occupants of the new adjacent office spaces. Can the Government provide bidders an estimate of the number of additional personnel that will be using the new office spaces and the new bathrooms so that this usage can be taken into account for material and labor costing purposes? Also, can the Government provide a number of bathrooms for the facility as a whole?

The bathrooms under construction will be available to serve all the buildings occupants.

Maximum of 108 people could occupy the referenced offices.

24 Bathrooms.

14 For clarification no hard copies of the price proposal are required. Only a digital copy that is to be emailed?

Correct.

15 On page 44, section B, second bullet point states;

“Safety plan, Quality Assurance Plan, and remaining Appendices do not count toward the 75 page limit for the Technical proposal.” We would like clarification weather or not CPAR ratings, past performances questioners, acknowledgement letters, and Cover letter count toward the 75 page limit on the Technical proposal?

Only the Safety Plan, Quality Control Plan, and remaining Appendices are excluded from the 75 page limit of the Technical Proposal.

17 PWS: Page 9 2.2.1 Priority work: Stipulates immediate action, is there a more defined time limit I.E. 15 minutes 30 minutes etc.?

Immediate is self explanatory.

18 Is there a list of backlog Service Calls and Work Orders?

Yes.

19 What size tanks are used?

One (1) 120 gallon tank.

Two (2) 2500 gallon tanks.

20 Is the tanks mixed-bed 3.6CF? Yes, they are mixed bed, of various sizes (2.5 CF, 3.6 CF, and 30 CF).

21 What is the existing configuration - how many tanks are hooked up to each other?

Series, and 2.

22 How much storage capacity of DI water do you have?

See answer to Question #19.

23 Please confirm usage in previous answer [Amendment 4 Q&A 99] is approximately 25,000

Confirmed to be correct.

New Orleans, LA Amendment #7 – Final Solicitation Questions and Answers

Revision #12 gallons DI water used monthly? Is this correct?

24 A) On the high purity water system what is the make, model, and serial number? B) How much water is used? C) And what is it used for?

There is no way we can really give a Service Agreement cost unless I know the Conductivity / Resistivity of the Water and Hardness of the Water and Gallons Per Day Usage of the Water – if there is only a Water Softener and Deionization Worker and Polisher Tanks and UV Light being Looped throughout the building, we would really need to know what the current Arrangement and Sizes of Tanks are being used (in Series or Parallel) and if flow meter readings are available to give a daily or monthly usage – this will help us determine how many tanks would be used yearly… unfortunately many companies remove tanks prematurely and the customer spends 30-40% more on products before becoming exhausted… additionally if an In-Line UV Light is being used to kill microbes, the UV Bulb must be replaced yearly (inexpensive to do, but should be required)…

Answer:

Approximately 25,000 gallons per month.

See section 6.2.1 (A) for D.I. water Textile bldg, Pure Water System, ph 7.5-8.5, hardness min 40 dH max 60 Dh approx. 30-60 mg/l Ca2+electrical conductivity approx. 300-400 ms/m Suspended solids max 5aem chloride max 40 mg/l.

A) See question #34 of Amendment #7.

B) See question #23 of Amendment #7.

C) Various reasons as required by the functions of the Center.

25 Who is the current supplier for the DI water to the Center? – please provide their name.

DI water is supplied by a subcontractor. - Pure Water Technology of South Louisiana.Pure Water Solutions.

Contact: Elizabeth Coburn (225) 572-9997

26 March 7, Q&A Release / Amendment 4/6 – Response to Question 111 We request that USDA exclude the table of contents from the page count for the proposal based on the following rationale:

1. The table of contents is a valuable tool that decreases the time required for evaluators to identify information while performing their proposal review work.

2. Given a choice between proposal content that describes plans and provides details for how requirements will be met vs. table of contents pages, offerors are very likely to provide very minimal tables of contents. This impacts evaluators.

The Table of Contents is included in the proposal page count.

New Orleans, LA Amendment #7 – Final Solicitation Questions and Answers

Revision #12

3. It is not the standard practice of the Federal Government to count table of content pages against page count instructions for proposal submissions.

Nor was it the practice of USDA to include table of contents pages against page counts the last time this specific contract was solicited. Every offeror to this solicitation will have already structured their proposals and page counts assuming the exclusion of cover pages and table of contents pages because that is the standard practice of the Federal Government. Requiring that they be included against page count, this late in the proposal submission process, absolutely places undue cost burdens upon every offeror that has to re-work material already prepared based on your prior instructions (or lack of specific instructions).

27 March 7, Q&A Release / Amendment 4/6 – Response to Question 111 Will manila section / page dividers also be counted against the proposal page count?

No.

28 March 7, Q&A Release / Amendment 4/6 – Response to Question 111 Will the cover page for proposal submissions be counted against the page count?

No.

29 Proposal Instructions Are 11 by 17” pages (which are allowed based on your instructions) counted as 1 page or 2 pages?

(not specified).

One.

30 Q&A Partial Release 28, Feb, 2014 – Response to Question 18 March 7, Q&A Release / Amendment 4/6 – Response to Question 115 PWS – Attachment I / Para 2.3 / Page 9 Question 18 Response: There will not be a phase-in period for the awarded contract.

Question 115 Response: It is the Government’s determination, due to the lack of complexity required for a management transfer to a new contractor, that a phase-in/transition period will not be necessary.

New Question: Attachment I, PWS, Paragraph 2.3 states “The Contractor shall assist the Government in the transition of contract performance within thirty

(30) days of the start of the contract. Examples of transition tasks include: (bullet) site and facilities inspections, (bullet) records passed on by previous contractor, (bullet) Government furnished property inventory, security inventory.”

Part a, yes

New Orleans, LA Amendment #7 – Final Solicitation Questions and Answers

Revision #12 Assertion: By definition, paragraph 2.3 clearly states that there is a transition/phase-in period for this contract. The questions are:

Part a: Will the awardee have access to the site 30 days prior to the start date of the period of performance – yes or no.

Or

Part b: Does the Government envision that paragraph 2.3 describes work that the awardee begin in the first 30 days after the start date of the period of performance? If this is the case, does the Government intend to waive any disincentive penalties for performance during the first 30 days? If not, why not? What is the basis of that expectation?

31 March 7, Q&A Release / Amendment 6 – Response to Question 24 Question 24 Response: No

This was a two part question does USDA mean No for both routine and PM or just PM?

No for both.

32 March 7, Q&A Release / Amendment 4/6 – Response to Question 54 Question 24 Response: 1,500 Gal

Is the Gov implying that the contractor pays for approximately 1,500 Gallons as part of the fixed price?

Question is actually 64 Amendment 6.

33 March 7, Q&A Release / Amendment 4/6 – Response to Question 106 Question 24 Response: See Section L.4 of the solicitation

Is the Gov requesting just 5 binders of the technical proposal to be sent? Section L.4 could mean 1 original and 5 copies or just a total of 5?

34 Reference PWS Para 6.2.1 Water Systems

Please provide a list of equipment, Make, Model , sizes and quantities of equipment for the following systems:

a. Deionized Water System

b. Pure water system

c. Water softener System

a. Bldg 1. Medical enterprises ltd

MOD#FSV 2800-200

b. Bldg2. GE E4H HACH aqua trend P/N 62000-60

c. Heron sales

M4047TA-29VT

35 In regards to the solicitation in the subject line, is this an all or nothing opportunity. Or, will it be awarded to several companies.

There will be a single award made to one vendor or vendor team/joint venture.

New Orleans, LA Amendment #7 – Final Solicitation Questions and Answers

Revision #12

36 Are you allowing a partial submittal. Or, must we submit a price for every line item ?

Partial submittals are NOT acceptable.

37 Reference Amendment 6, Additional Solicitation Questions and Answers, Question 17: The answer states that the solicitation does NOT require a formal Safety Plan. The language update to the instructions to offerors (Revision #2) included in Amendment 6 does not remove this requirement.

Request the Government update the instructions to offerors as stated in the answer to the question.

The Safety Plan requirement was indeed removed in Revision #2.

38 Reference PWS Paragraph 3.4: The paragraph states that the Contractor will be responsible for providing mail services. Please confirm the customer picks up and drops off their mail at the organizational boxes that were seen during the site visit.

Confirmed.

39 Reference PWS Paragraph 3.4: The paragraph states that the Contractor will be responsible for providing mail services. Does the Contractor receivelhandle parcels from third party carriers (UPS, Fedex, etc.)?

40 Reference PWS Paragraph 4.1 and PWS Appendix 2: The subparagraphs to PWS Paragraph 4.1 reference a monthly report; however, there is no monthly report included in the list of required reports. Please clarify.

See Appendix 2 #16

41 Reference Questions and Answers, Question 3 and Appendix 7: The answer to the question states that there are a total of 7 elevators for Building 1 and Building 2; however, the count in the appendix is 6 total. Please provide a detailed listing of elevators currently in service, by building.

Building #1; 2 PAX, 2 PAX/Freight, 2 Dumbwaiters.

Building #2, 1Freight.

42 Reference Questions and Answers, Question 3 and Appendix 7: The answer to the question states that there are a total of 7 elevators for Building I and Building 2; however, the count in the appendix is 6 total. Does the Government answer include the dumbwaiter included in the appendix?

See answer to Question #44.

43 Reference PWS 1.1 and Questions and Answers, Question 14: The answer states the biobased product listing requirement has been removed;

however, the PWS paragraph was not altered.

Please confirm that the PWS paragraph will be modified to remove the listing requirement.

This reference is hereby removed in Revision #2 of the

PWS.

44 Reference Questions and Answers, Question 18 and See response to question 32 part a.

New Orleans, LA Amendment #7 – Final Solicitation Questions and Answers

Revision #12 PWS Paragraph 2.3: The answer states there will not be a phase-in period; however, the PWS clearly references a 30- day transition. Please clarify how the transition of services between the incumbent and awardee is to be accomplished as this materially affects the writing of the transition requirements in the technical proposal.

45 Reference Questions and Answers, Question 58:

The answer states that boilers monitoring is not required continually. Please provide additional information on the size of the boilers to be monitored as it does not appear to be specified in the PWS appendices.

(2) Two boilers 200 HP each.

46 Reference Questions and Answers, Question 58, boiler operations: Are these boilers high pressure steam?

47 Reference Questions and Answers, Question 78:

Please provide the number of HEPA filters to be maintained as manpower will need to be assigned.

20 Portable air scrubbers, filters are provided by Government.

All other HEPA filters are in Bio-hoods and are handled by sub-contract at Government’s expense.

48 Reference Questions and Answers, Question 101:

The answer states that the graphic artist subcontract requirement is removed; however, the PWS does not reflect this change. Please clarify.

See 5.1.4 (c)

This work is to be handled by the contractor through sub-contract at Government’s expense.

49 Reference Questions and Answers, Question 102:

The answer to the question does not address the question of materials for routine work being included in the Firm Fixed Price. Are the material costs for routine work tasks capped at the $10,000 figure referenced in the PWS?

50 Reference Questions and Answers, Question 155:

The answer provides a single answer to the two questions proposed. Please clarify the Government's response.