DEP.RFR.BWSC.ERIRA.2017.14.QandA.repsonses.6.27.17.docx

RFR BWSC-ERIRA-2017-14

COMMBUYS Bid# BD-17-1045-BWSC0-BWSC1-15649 Response to Questions

Questions asked at the Bidders’ Conference

1. Can you bid the IRA portion of the RFR if you are not licensed to remove asbestos?

1. A firm can bid on ER and/or IRA services even if the firm is not licensed to remove asbestos.

1. If the PRP contracts with the contractor, but doesn’t pay the contractor, will MassDEP pay the contractor?

1. No. Once there is an agreement between the PRP and the Contractor, MassDEP is no longer financially responsible to pay the Contractor’s invoice. See RFR Attachment 1, Article IV, subsection 7, for additional information.

1. Does MassDEP still invoice the PRP at three times of the contractor’s invoice?

1. Not necessarily. However, MassDEP does legally reserve that right, as permitted by M.G.L. Chapter 21E and the MCP.

1. Is vehicle billable if transporting samples and/or monitoring equipment?

1. If vehicles are used for transporting samples to a laboratory for analysis, the vehicles are billable. See RFR Attachment 2, Payment Terms and Conditions, Article II, for more information. However, if vehicles are used only for transporting monitoring equipment, the vehicles are usually not billable. On a project-specific basis, exceptions may occur regarding the right of the Contractor to bill for the transport of vehicles carrying monitoring equipment -- for example, if during course of work, MassDEP decides that a specific piece of monitoring instrument is needed for the project, and directs the Contractor to rent that piece of equipment and transport it to the Site. In such a case, the vehicle’s transport costs would be billable.

1. It is clear that MassDEP staff cannot be used as a reference. Can MassDEP ER projects be used as project descriptions to demonstrate experience and capabilities?

1. Yes.

1. For prompt payment discounts, when does the clock start? Date invoice received or date case manager signs worksheets?

1. The clock starts as soon as an error free invoice is received by MassDEP, with any required supporting documentation.

7. Can we see current contractor pricing?

A. Yes. A summary of MassDEP’s current ER/IRA contractor labor and equipment rates will be posted as a separate amendment on COMMBUYS.

8. Is the Pre-Bid Conference scheduled on May 24, 2017 for all regions?

A. Yes, there was only one Pre-Bid Conference.

9. If a material or equipment is not on the Labor and Equipment Rates Schedule, can a contractor include it?

A. Yes, Bidders can include additional equipment, materials and disposal rates under “Other” on the rate sheets.

10. Under Payment Terms & Conditions, one hour is billable for Offloading of Waste/Debris. Is that for 1 hour at a disposal facility or does that include travel from place of business to disposal facility back to place of business?

A. The answer to this question is project-specific. In general, the one hour of billable time is for the Contractor’s offloading of waste/debris at a facility, to account for the time that both the equipment and the operator are at the disposal facility. However, whether the Contractor’s travel to and from the disposal facility is billable will depend upon whether the project is a lump sum project, or a time and materials project. For time & materials projects, the mobilization and demobilization rates on the Contractor’s ER-IRA Labor and Equipment Rate Schedules will apply in most cases. However, in general, lump sum projects will not allow the billing of Contractor travel costs unless this item has been approved in writing in advance by the Contract Administrator.

Questions submitted via COMMBUYS

11. Does the DEP want the pricing sheet to be included with all copies of the submitted proposal or just with the disk? Does the pricing need to be submitted in a separate envelope from the technical portion of the bid? On the last DEP ER Bid, the DEP requested the pricing be submitted separately from the other submittals.

A. As part of the required RFR Response submission, all Bidders must submit the completed ER IRA Labor and Equipment Rate Schedules electronically onto COMMBUYS, and also include the Rate Schedules in each copy of the RFR Response (i.e., “Quote”), as specified in RFR Section 7.1, item 8 (also known as Section 8). In addition, and in accordance with RFR Section 7.2, Bidders must also submit one (1) disk with the completed ER IRA Labor and Rate Schedules in Excel Format (unprotected).

12. Regarding Supplier Diversity, does the % the company commits to require the use of SDPs to those suppliers who work directly on this ER/IRA contract work, or can the use of SDPs for general services the company uses (like training, uniforms, etc.) that may not be directly tied to this contract also count towards the SDP % requirement?

A. A Bidder can include its use of SDP suppliers for ancillary services that the Bidder utilizes for general office overhead/administration toward its SDP % commitment for the ER/IRA Contract. The SDP Plan permits Bidders to engage in all types of partnerships with qualified SDP vendors which involve the payment for goods or services delivered to the prime contractor from a certified SDP vendor. This includes both (1) a direct subcontracting relationship between the contractor and a SDP-qualified subcontractor, and (2) the SDP vendor’s provision of ancillary services to the Contractor that are not directly related to the contractor’s goods/services to the agency (such as office supplies or maintenance equipment).

13. Regarding prompt payment discounts, will prompt payment discounts be excluded on invoice items where the contractor was limited to cost +5% or items where no markup was allowed?

A. No. The Bidder’s submitted PPD form must offer discounts for all invoices, in specified percentages, for receiving early and/or on time payments from the Commonwealth. The only exception to this requirement is if the Bidder can provide a specific reason why this requirement is a hardship or unduly burdensome, which must be stated in or attached to the PPD form.

14. The Supplemental Terms and Conditions to the Contract at the end of the document refers to Conflict of Interest Forms. There are icons for COI Form.pdf and Conflict_of_Interest.doc attachments but the links do not download these documents. Do these Conflict of Interest documents need to be submitted with the bid? If so, we will need access to them A. The Conflict of Interest (COI) Form is included for informational purposes only and does not need to be submitted as part of the RFR Response. As a convenience to the Bidders, an example of the Conflict of Interest Form will be posted as an amendment on COMMBUYS. However, Bidders should note that Contractors who are awarded an ER-IRA contract may be required by MassDEP to complete a COI Form prior to being selected for a specific project(s).

15. Payment Terms and Conditions. Article V. Materials and Supplies 3) states “Materials and supplies that are required for the work and are not listed in the ER IRA Labor and Equipment Rate Schedule may only be used with the prior written approval of the Department. Payment for materials and supplies not listed in the Rate Schedule will be at the direct cost of the items as documented in receipts, bills and invoices issued to the Contractor for the items, and then submitted to MassDEP in support of payment.” Does this apply to materials like drainage piping or geotextile fabric used to complete the work or is the contractor allowed cost +5% on these types of materials?

A. For time & materials projects and with proof of purchase, a maximum allowable markup of 5% is allowed by the MassDEP Contract Administrator in most cases. Please see RFR Attachment 2, Payment Terms & Conditions, Article V. Materials and Supplies, 4) Markup on Materials and Supplies.

16. Who are the 5 laboratories currently available through the DEP’s Laboratory MSA contract?

A. The 5 laboratories on the MassDEP Contract are the following:

· Absolute Resource Associates, 124 Heritage Avenue, Portsmouth, NH

· Alpha Analytical, 145 Flanders Road, Westborough, MA

· Filli, LLC (dba Con-Test Analytical Laboratory), 39 Spruce St, East Longmeadow, MA

· Phoenix Environmental Laboratories, 587 East Middle Turnpike, Manchester, CT

· TestAmerica Laboratories, 4101 Shuffel St, North Canton, OH

17. At what level, if any, do personnel need to be specifically identified by name in the organizational chart (i.e. are you looking to have identified just the key managers names or are you interested in all applicable employee names). Can the personnel be identified by title or if a subcontractor by the company name of the subcontractor and title (thus omitting the name).

A. At a minimum, the Bidder’s 3 to 7 key personnel for which a resume is included in a Bidder’s response to this RFR should be identified by name and title in the organizational chart. (If a subcontractor firm is one of the key personnel, then the subcontractor’s key personnel should be identified by name and title.) It is within the Bidder’s discretion to determine whether the firm will also include additional names of personnel (beyond the listed 3-7 key personnel) in the organizational chart.