RFQ-A-E-IDIQv3.1.pdf

Forest Southern Page 1 of 8 Service Region

Request for Qualifications Posting Date: March 13, 2017

Response Date: April 13, 2017 at 2:00 PM Eastern

Questions Due: March 22, 2017 at 2:00 PM Eastern

Question Responses Posted: March 24, 2017 by 2:00 PM Eastern

Amended: March 23, 2017

Solicitation Number: AG-43ZP-S-17-0008

Classification Code: C–Architect and Engineering Services

NAICS Codes: 541–Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; 541310–Architectural Services; 541330–Engineering Services

Small Business Set Aside: Partial Small Business

1.0 General

1.1. Introduction

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) issues a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to solicit Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) from those entities (Offerors) interested in contracting to provide engineering and architectural services to support repair and alteration projects for the Southern Region of the agency. Work may be located anywhere within the United States but most projects will be located within the boundaries of the Southern Region. The Southern Region includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Award by the USFS of multiple Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts is anticipated to teams led by Architectural and/or Engineering firms (AE/EA). Award of the IDIQ contracts will be based on a qualification-based selection process in accordance with the Brooks Act and a best-value determination by the government.

Joint ventures and/or consulting arrangements will be considered and evaluated on the demonstrated interdependency of the team members to provide a cohesive quality design effort.

The description, scope of work and location of individual projects will be stated in Task Order Request for Proposals issued by the USFS in accordance with the IDIQ contracts.

The duration of the contract will be five (5) years. The minimum guarantee for the contract is $2,500 and the maximum value is $1,000,000 for the entire contract and any task order. The estimated start date is 1 June 2017.

In the summer of 2017, the Forest Service intends to issue a separate Request for Qualifications to be used for procuring low and moderate complex A/E services where the fee will be less than the Simplified Acquisition Threshold. This future RFQ will be limited to small businesses.

1.2. About the Forest Service

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Established by Congress in 1905, the mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. We manage public lands in the form of national forests and grasslands, provide technical and financial assistance to state and private forestry agencies and make up the largest forestry research organization in the world.

1.3. The Forest Service’s Built Environment

The agency’s Built Environment refers to the physical infrastructure of fire, administrative, research, and recreation buildings, landscape structures, site furnishings, structures on roads and trails, and signs installed or operated by the Forest Service, its cooperators, and permittees.

The elements of the built environment constructed on National Forest lands and Grasslands, or those used for administrative purposes in rural areas, towns, and cities incorporate in a practical manner the principles of sustainability, reflect their place within the natural and cultural landscape, and provide optimal service to our customers and cooperators.

Our infrastructure will:

■ Be located, planned, and designed with respect for the natural systems in which they reside.

■ Aesthetically integrate their natural, cultural, and experiential context.

■ Contain design elements that reinforce a national agency identity.

■ Emphasize efficiency of energy and materials consumption in construction and operation.

■ Serve as premier examples to interpret conservation of natural resources and sustainable development.

■ Create environments for people to enjoy and gain increased appreciation for the natural environment, and in which employees work productively, experiencing the connection to the resources they manage.

■ Use wood and wood products where appropriate in the construction, alteration, repair and operation of our infrastructure.

1.4. Projects in the Southern Region

The Southern Region manages 13.3 million acres of National Forest System land in the South, hosting more than 32 million visits each year. We have over 11,000 miles of trails, 900 developed recreation areas, and 4500 total buildings, of which, 1500 are toilet buildings.

Fire and administrative facilities include:

■ Ranger District Offices, which house about 30 employees, generally located in small, rural communities. These buildings are about 5,000 to 10,000 square feet.

■ Work Centers: “back-of-house” compounds containing shops, storage, and staging areas for districts to perform direct forest management work. Typical elements include about 4000 square feet of heated warehouse and shop, 3000 square feet of open air covered storage, secure storage for timber marking

Forest Southern Page 3 of 8 paint and hazardous materials, seedling coolers, heavy equipment and light truck parking, filling stations for fire engines, and open uncovered storage.

■ Forest Supervisor Offices, which house about 65 employees, generally located in small urban communities central to National Forest System lands. These buildings are about 10,000 to 20,000 square feet.

■ Air Tanker Bases at airports, helicopter support bases at airports and work center compounds, equipment caches for fire management and disaster response.

■ Small laboratories and research buildings supporting Experimental Forests and other natural resource work.

Recreation facilities include:

■ Major Visitor Centers, such as Brasstown Bald in Georgia, the Cradle of Forestry in America in North Carolina, Blanchard Springs Caverns in Arkansas, and El Portal de El Yunque in Puerto Rico.

■ Large, highly developed campgrounds and day use areas on lakes and rivers.

■ Trailheads for hiking, horses, off-highway vehicles, and bikes.

2.0 Scopes of Work.

2.1. IDIQ Contract Scope

The purpose of this Solicitation and subsequent contracts is to engage teams capable of performing planning and design services that are consistent with the guiding principles of GSA's Design Excellence program for a variety of project types. Assembled teams should be well rounded and clearly identify relevant concentrated areas of expertise, as applicable.

The anticipated scopes of work may include, but are not limited to: site investigation, pre-design and existing conditions studies, design, construction documents, constructability review and evaluation, estimating, technical design reviews, procurement support, submittal and shop drawing review/approval, record drawings, construction site inspection, and close-out documentation. Primary disciplines and expertise that may be required on resulting task orders include, but are not limited to: architecture, mechanical (including component/system assessments and design), electrical, plumbing, civil, structural, fire protection, historic preservation, estimating, code compliance, life safety, quality control review, scheduling, space planning, and sustainability. Secondary expertise that may be required includes security, surveying, LEED, vertical transportation, real estate market analysis, master planning, and report writing.

2.2. Task Order Scope

Professional services for task orders shall be overseen or performed by contractor individuals licensed in the relevant discipline with a current registration in the state in which the project's construction will occur as required. Task Orders will be will be negotiated on a firm-fixed basis.

The majority of task orders issued under these IDIQ contracts are anticipated to have an estimated cost of construction at award (ECCA) of $250,000 or less. These task orders will require limited scope engineering and architectural services with defined deliverables and

Forest Southern Page 4 of 8 performance periods of 120 calendar days or less. Some task orders may require a full range of engineering and architectural services with extended budgets or performance periods.

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.404-4(c)(4)(i)(B), fees for design services cannot exceed 6% of the ECCA. For general guidance describing included and excluded services, in regards to the 6% fee limitation see the attached document.

2.3. Ordering Procedures:

All awarded firms will receive consideration based on qualifications for each task order. For task orders under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, the Government may base its decision on review of existing documentation. For orders over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, the Government will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to all contractors. The RFP response will normally be limited to two pages and will only include an update of qualifications relevant to the project and the contractor’s approach to the project. The highest ranked firm will then be requested to provide a price proposal.

3.0 Procurement Overview

Multiple contracts shall be awarded using a qualifications-based selection process under the Brooks Act and Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) part 36.6. This is a two-step process where technical submissions of qualifications from A/E or E/A firms are reviewed and firms with the most highly ranked qualifications are interviewed by the government in order to develop a list of finalists. The firms are ranked based on their technical qualifications and negotiations are conducted with the top-rated firm(s) for the contract award. Joint ventures and/or consulting arrangements will be considered and evaluated on the demonstrated interdependency of the team members to provide a cohesive quality design effort.

Interviews may be scheduled with firms slated as the most highly qualified. Firms slated for interviews may be asked to clarify information contained in the SF 330 submittal. Elaborate presentations are not desired.

3.1. Small Business

This procurement is a partial set aside for small businesses. A portion of this requirement, identified elsewhere in this solicitation, has been set aside for award to one or more small business concerns. The NAICS codes are 541330 - Engineering Services, with a small business size standard of $15 million and 541310 - Architectural Services, with a small business size standard of $7.5 million.

3.2. Evaluation Process

The Government shall selects firms for A/E contracts using Qualifications Based Selection

(QBS).

In the first step, teams will submit qualification based on the criteria identified below. The relative importance of the performance elements are ranked in order of importance as stated below. A source selection board will review each team's qualifications and establish a short list. The board reserves the right to hold interviews with each of the short-listed teams to clarify and/or confirm submitted information.

During the second step, short-listed teams will be required to submit documents and negotiate salary, overhead and profit rates. The resulting rates will be used to negotiate and award task orders. Please note, these documents are not required at this time; they will be requested at a later date.

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3.3. Evaluation Criteria

Short-list selections will be based on the following evaluation criteria. Criterion l and 2 are significantly more important than other evaluation criteria listed below. Criterion 3-5 are of equal importance for evaluation.

1. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence:

Projects should demonstrate repair and alterations work of similar size as anticipated for the task orders off of the IDIQ contracts; highlighting concentrated areas of expertise such as, work in occupied buildings, building system upgrades, historical preservation, etc. Team must seamlessly incorporate architecture and engineering for a variety of complex and routine design issues; demonstrating their competency at executing services such as those noted previously in this synopsis. High quality in architecture and engineering should be addressed through creative and innovative problem solving within existing buildings to achieve creative solutions under the constraints of budget and schedule. Teams must be able to provide services ranging from pre-design studies through construction completion. Consideration will be given to teams with specialized experience.

2. Management Plan and Team Structure

Teams must demonstrate a clear and efficient management plan and team structure (which includes sub- consultants) that addresses roles and responsibilities, lines of authority, coordination and communication. Assembled teams should be well rounded and clearly identify relevant concentrated areas of expertise if applicable. The management plan should clearly describe:

■ The team's overall design approach.

■ The team's ability to staff and manage task orders on an as-needed basis;

accounting for the unpredictable issuance of task orders in terms of number, importance and urgency.

■ The team's plan for designing within a negotiated fee in accordance with the 6% fee limitation.

Consideration will be given to teams that demonstrate a wide range of experience levels, in multiple disciplines, proving the ability to flexibly staff projects based on complexity and budget constraints.

3. Quality Control Plan

Team must demonstrate processes for quality control and commitment to quality control standards while designing within the project's budget and schedule limitations.

The plan should specifically address coordinate efforts with sub consultants.

4. Past Performance

Teams must demonstrate successful past performance on similar repair and alterations projects from point of view of the client and professional peers.

Demonstrated success of collaborative teaming relationships will be positively considered. The Government has the right to use corporate knowledge when evaluating this factor.

5. Professional Qualifications

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Key personnel must possess the education, qualifications, and project experience that will provide the best opportunity for the successful completion of task orders under this contract. Teams must be able to provide services ranging from pre-design studies through post occupancy.

3.4. Interviews

Interviews may be scheduled with firms slated as the most highly qualified. Firms slated for interviews may be asked to clarify information contained in the SF 330 submittal. Elaborate presentations are not desired.

4.0 Submission Instructions

Interested firms that have the qualifications to meet the requirements identified above are invited to submit three hard copies and two CD's of Standard Form 330 (which can be found at www.gsa.gov/forms) along with one single-sided page letter of interest for your team, no later than 2:00 PM Eastern Time on April 13, 2017. Please provide only the information requested;

supplemental information will not be evaluated.

The three (3) hard copies and two (2) CD's, that include PDF copies of all of the required documents, must be sent to:

US Forest Service, Southern Region Attn: Christopher Ford, Contracting Officer 1720 Peachtree Road NW Ste 876S Atlanta, GA 30309

4.1. SF-330 Format Requirements

The cover shall contain the following information:

1. Firm name

2. Firm primary and secondary point of contact

3. Firm contact information (physical address, mailing address, voice and fax numbers, e-mail address, web address)

4. The solicitation number, including any and all amendments

5. DUNS+4 Number

Limit the package to 64 single-sided letter pages. Up to four (4) 11”x17” sheets z-folded to letter size may be included in the package. These sheets count towards the page limitations above.

Use an 12 point type size for body text and a 10 point type size for tables and charts. Use either coil or comb binding for packages. Number all pages sequentially in the form “Page M of N.”

Hard copies should be printed double sided. Except for Section D-Organizational Chart, start each section of the SF 330 on a right hand page. On each blank page, include the following language: “This page is intentionally left blank.” Blank pages count towards the overall page limit.

Do not use tabs or other dividers. Use only wire coil or plastic comb binding to bind the Qualifications packages.

4.2. Supplemental Standard Form 330 Information / Instructions:

Section C: Do not modify the form by providing more than six proposed team members.

Prioritize team members, providing those that are most important to creating a well-rounded team demonstrating the concentrated areas of expertise. It is recommended that teams responsible for the majority of the work submitted in Section F be included.

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Section E: Teams will have to prioritize and provide those that best represent your ability to accomplish the requirements of this contract. Executive personnel should not be submitted unless they will have direct responsibility for accomplishing the task orders under this contract. It is required that you include the Primary Point of Contact that will be responsible for managing this contract and assigning task orders. It is recommended that the Key Personnel directly responsible for work submitted in section F should also be included.

Section F: Provide no more than ten (10) example projects; each example may be supplemented with photographs, sketches and drawings, or additional information not to exceed 2 double-sided pages. Two out of the ten examples must be directly attributable to the Primary Point of Contact/Team Lead. Projects should demonstrate the team's ability to successful accomplish a range of repair and alterations projects, of varying complexities and budgets. The majority of projects shall include those that have reached substantial completion and all shall have been designed within the last 5 years. Projects shall be completed projects. Task orders under IDIQ contracts and standalone contracts are considered projects.

Note: Do not submit an IDIQ contract as an example project.

Section G: Only indicate Key Personnel that participated in example projects when they will be performing the exact same role on this contract.

Section H: Limit the Management Plan and Team Structure to six pages and the Quality Control Plan to four pages.

■ Other Procurement Information

All responsive offers will be considered. This is not a request for proposal. The prime contractor must be registered in the System for Award Management (www.sam.gov).

4.3. Questions and Clarifications

All questions and requests for clarifications regarding this RFQ shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer by email.

No requests for additional information, clarification or any other communication should be directed to any other individual. NO ORAL REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION WILL BE

ACCEPTED.

4.4. Travel

Travel shall be determined on each task order.

4.5. Organizational conflicts of interest

The A/E shall not disclose information pertaining to the services performed under this contract to anyone other than the Government or other personnel authorized by the Contracting Officer.

Cost estimates will be used in preparing Government estimates for evaluating offers and are considered confidential material for official use only. The Government shall not grant approval of construction contractors or subcontractors, or any employee of the same, unless assurances are submitted that the contracting firm will keep the construction estimate confidential and will not submit later an offer or serve as a subcontractor to an offeror on the construction contract.

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Award of a task order for A/E services for a particular project under this contract and the award of a contract for related construction work to the same firm, a parent firm, or its sub consultants is prohibited. The A/E shall decline to enter into negotiations for any contract, if the firm, its parent firm, or sub consultants intend to compete for the related construction contract.

The cost estimates shall remain the sole property of the Government and shall not be made available to others for any purpose.

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A/E Request for Qualifications Solicitation Number: AG-43ZP-S-17-0010

1.0 General

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.404-4(c)(4)(i)(B), fees for design services cannot exceed 6% of the ECCA. This document provides additional guidance describing included and excluded services subject to the 6% fee limitation for contract(s) issued under this Solicitation.

1.0 Design Services Subject to the 6% fee limitation:

1. Schematic design based on the Scope of Work and other Government furnished criteria.

2. Design development based on the Schematic Design.

3. Construction documents based on the Design Development

4. Project Manuals and Specifications

5. Design Narratives, also called Design Analysis. This includes design criteria and assumptions, references to standards, calculations, and a short descriptive analysis.

6. Assembly of packets of cut sheets.

7. Brief Opinions of Probable Construction Cost based on the design and updated at each design submittal where the level of detail is less than the UNIFORMAT II Level 3 designation.

8. Meetings for design review and presentation, but not public meetings.

9. Documentation for compliance with green building rating systems, such as the US

Green Building Council’s LEED rating systems.

10. Energy models of designs for code compliance and green building rating systems.

11. All time, including overhead and profit, for the items listed above

12. All internal expenses required to produce the design, such as copies to consultants, courier charges, phone calls, and meetings.

2.0 Non Design Services NOT subject to the 6% fee limitation

1. Travel shall be reimbursed in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation.

2. Investigations and evaluations of existing facilities.

3. Preparation of a Preliminary Project Analysis, Design Prospectus, or Project

Program.

4. Surveys (examples: topographic, property boundary, utilities, construction staking).

5. Geotechnical investigation.

6. Creation and revision of documents based on the design intended solely for regulatory permitting, such as NPDES or DOT.

7. Materials testing.

8. Feasibility Studies and Master Plans.

9. Cost estimates not based on designs.

10. Cost estimates based on designs where the level of detail is greater than

UNIFORMAT II Level 3 designation.

11. Cost estimates created by quantity survey methods.

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12. NEPA documentation and analysis.

13. Models, renderings, and photographs.

14. Preparation of as-built or record drawings.

15. Preparation HABS/HAER/HALS drawings and documentation.

16. Bid preparation and construction contracting assistance.

17. Construction observation, inspection, and administration.

18. Submittal and shop drawing review.

19. Preparation of construction change orders, requests for information, or supplemental instructions.

20. Review of Government Furnished Designs.

21. Value Engineering/Value Analysis Services.

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) issues a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to solicit Statements of