Attachment A - RFQ Details.docx

Attachment A: RFQ Details External Corrosion Direct Assessment (ECDA) Field Course – PHMSA-PL3306

PHMSA RFQ #693JK322Q0005

1. Request for Quotation (RFQ) Objective/Requirements:

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Inspection Training and Qualifications (TQ) Division is responsible for providing economical, timely, state-of-the-art training programs on pipeline safety regulatory requirements and education opportunities to mission-critical occupations. Specifically, the External Corrosion Direct Assessment (ECDA) Field Course (PHMSA-PL3306) equips Federal and State pipeline safety inspections and safety inspectors/specialist/engineers with adequate knowledge and tools to perform inspections and safety audits of the nation’s pipelines and pipeline operators, a systems-based pipeline safety training program essential to PHMSA’s mission. With the Office of Pipeline Safety’s continuing responsibility to ensure the safe operation, maintenance, and integrity of the nation’s pipeline systems and ensure the federal pipeline safety regulations are being adhered to, an ECDA course is essential to PHMSA’s mission.

The objective of the PHMSA TQ ECDA training program is to provide Federal and State pipeline safety personnel with the most current knowledge and information required to perform inspections of external corrosion direct assessment (ECDA) programs. ECDA is an evaluation method for the assessment of external coatings and corrosion on pipelines which is contained within the CFR 49 Part 192 and 195 integrity management regulations.

The training will provide Federal and State inspectors with the knowledge of ECDA code requirements, methodologies, criteria, standards requirements, documentation review, and hands-on field training with pipeline inspection equipment used in the performance of indirect inspections for ECDA assessments.

The Statement of Work (SOW) (Attachment B) contains the description of the services to be purchased under this RFQ.

2. Required Quotation Content The quotation must include the following:

a. A Technical Capability Section This section must address the offeror’s teaching approach to include: teaching philosophy, experience, models used, and success criteria of a teaching assignment. The offeror must also include resumes of instructors, and back-up instructors, who possess the knowledge, skills, and qualifications identified in the SOW. Offerors’ must be able to:

i. Implement adult education techniques in a professional classroom environment and in a field demonstration environment using applicable external corrosion direct assessment (ECDA) survey tools;

ii. Demonstrate experience delivering external corrosion direct assessment (ECDA) training;

iii. Demonstrate previous experience in the application and use of the code of Federal Regulations, CFR 49, Part 192 Subpart O, CFR 49, Part 195 Subpart H, and Appendix C as they apply to external corrosion direct assessment (ECDA) programs on natural gas and hazardous liquids in pipeline systems;

iv. Demonstrate previous experience in the application and use of NACE standard SP0502-2010 as it applies to external corrosion direct assessment (ECDA) programs on natural gas and hazardous liquids pipeline systems; and

v. Demonstrate experience conducting inspections and evaluations of pipeline corrosion, integrity management, and external corrosion direct assessment (ECDA) programs and their application.

b. A Past Performance Section This section should describe the contractor’s relevant experience in providing the required services.

Quoters must provide three references (customers) who received similar services from the contractor within the past five years. For each reference, quoters should provide: organization name, contact name, e-mail address, telephone number, a summary of specific services performed, and dates of performance.

c. A Price Section Quoters must submit pricing that is equal to open market pricing. Price discounts are highly encouraged.

Prices must not be mentioned by the quoter in the Technical Capability and Past Performance sections of the quotation package.

d. Additional Required Content Quoters must also provide the following additional information in their quotation package:

i. Tax Identification Number (TIN);

ii. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number;

iii. One copy of all RFQ amendments issued (if any) signed by an authorized official of the quoting company.

e. Page Limitations The entire quotation package, including cover page and table of contents (if included) must be no longer than 20 pages total in length, 8.5 by 11-inch paper using font size no small than eleven (11) font.

Resumes will count towards the 20-page limitation, but RFQ amendments (if any) will not count toward the 20-page limitation.

If the quoter exceeds this page limit then the quotation package will not be determined to be non-responsive; however, only the first 20 pages of that package will be reviewed. For purposes of this page limitation the Government will count quotation package pages in the following order: (1) Price Section, (2) Technical Capability Section, then (3) Past Performance Section.

3. Evaluation of Quotations:

The award will be made to the responsible quoter whose quote conforms to the RFQ and offers the Best Value to the Government, in accordance with FAR Part 13 – SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES. The Government will use tradeoff analysis when making the best value determination and award, based on the following three factors:

Evaluation Factor 1 – Technical Approach:

This criterion will be used to evaluate the following areas:

a. Technical/Management Approach: The quoter’s and instructors’ (including back-up instructors’) understanding of the requirements; the instructional delivery approach; the reasonableness and logic of approach; and the availability of the dedicated resource(s) to fulfill the requirements.

b. Demonstrated experience of proposed staff in the performance of work outlined in the Statement of Work; the strengths and weaknesses of each proposed instructor (and back-up instructor) in terms of their teaching philosophy, knowledge, skills, experience and accomplishments related to the task in the SOW.

c. Whether the proposed staff qualifications match those required for the proposed labor categories in accordance to open market pricing.

Evaluation Factor 2 – Past Experience:

This criterion will be used to evaluate the quoter’s past experience in supporting similar work as described in the SOW. Only relevant past performance history will be considered. The Government will determine relevance of past performance information based on the similarity of the nature of the previous work to the current requirement, and the currency of the prior work (i.e., within the past three years). The quoter must provide at least two (2) past experience references for relevant and similar work performed within the past three (3) years. Each reference must include the following:

· Company Name and Address

· Contract/Order Number and Award Date

· Contract Order Period of Performance and Dollar Value

· Agency Point of Contact (name, telephone number, and e-mail address)

· Description of Services provided (Summary of Project) relative to this RFQ and SOW including the outcome of projects/activities.

**NOTE**

Prior to issuing any award, the Government will perform a search of Active Exclusions in the System for Award Management (SAM) to ensure that the prospective awardee is not on the list of parties excluded from receiving federal contracts and sub-contracts.

Evaluation Factor 3 - Price:

The PHMSA Acquisition Services Division (PHF-20) will evaluate the quoter’s price. All prices (including the labor categories provided) must be fair and reasonable in accordance with open market pricing and rates. The quoter must propose the level of effort they expect will be needed to complete the work in the SOW. Despite this being a firm fixed-price order, the price section of a quotation must include both the total number of hours and the labor rate of each task/phase included in the solicitation. Price will be evaluated for reasonableness of proposed rates, price reasonableness of total price, as well as for the appropriate mix of labor category(ies) and hours proposed.

**NOTE** Pricing for this requirement must include pricing for a twelve (12) month base year period of performance of 06/14/2022 – 06/13/2023 with three (3) option years to be exercised at the discretion of the United States Federal Government.

4. Evaluation Order of Importance The Government will make an award to the responsible offeror whose offer conforms to the RFQ and presents the best overall value to the Government considering the criteria factors, 1 through 3 above. All factors, 1 through 3 above, when considered together establish a base for selecting the offeror which represents the best value to the Government. Technical Quality is more important than Past Performance. Technical Quality and Past Performance when combined are significantly more important than Price.

5. Incorporation of Contract Terms Any resultant order from this RFQ will incorporate the terms and conditions stated in the SOW and the clauses and special requirements specified in Attachment C: FAR, TAR, and PHMSA Clauses and Special Requirements, are applicable to the order.

6. Contract/Order Type and Award:

The Government intends to issue a fixed price task purchase order under the provisions of FAR 13 – SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES. The applicable NAICS CODE for this RFQ is 611430 – “PROFESSIONAL AND MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT TRAINING.”

7. RFQ QUESTIONS:

Questions regarding the RFQ must be received via email by Mr. Stephen Jones (Stephen.jones.ctr@dot.gov) with a cc: to Mr. Tremayne Terry (tremayne.terry@dot.gov) and Ms. Zalma Ross (zalma.ross.ctr@dot.gov) on or before (Insert Date before posting) at 11:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Emails must reference RFQ # 693JK322Q0005 with the company name in the subject line. PHMSA will consolidate all questions and issue response(s) to questions via email no later than (Insert Date before posting) at 5:00PM, Eastern Daylight Time. Do not contact any other PHMSA personnel during the RFQ (pre-award) phase.

8. SUBMISSION OF QUOTES:

Quotes must be received via email in PDF format by Mr. Stephen Jones at (Stephen.jones.ctr@dot.gov) with a cc: to Mr. Tremayne Terry at (Tremayne.Terry@dot.gov) and Ms. Zalma Ross (zalma.ross.ctr@dot.gov) no later than (Insert Date before Posting) at 5:00PM, Eastern Daylight Time.