QandAs_Furniture_11SEP19.pdf

Questions from the RFQ Doc:

1. Please confirm that you only want power poles along the walls and not along the middle of the room. This was stated at the Site Visit but we wanted to ensure that all bidders specified the power the same.

A drawing indicating approximate location of where the contractor could be tie furniture into ceiling drops has been provided. The contractor does not need to rely solely on those circuits to provide power to the furniture. There are some circuits available in the middle of the room, but they are very few, as it can be seen in the provided drawing. The contractor shall make efforts to draw power from each available circuit as to ensure proper power delivery to each workstation. Also, the contractor has to account for methods of ensuring our network cables can make it to the furniture. All our network drops are to the back of the room, hence it would be more advantageous to draw power from the back, when available.

2. Please confirm that you only want us to specify ceiling power through power poles - not base infeeds that would be hardwired through the drywall. This was also stated at the Site Visit but we wanted to ensure that all bidders specified the power the same way.

Power is available on the walls and ceiling. The contractor shall use whichever power supply is more convenient to power the workstation. The contractor, however, needs to ensure that each circuit is not overloaded. There are 84 circuits (20 amps each) available. The power poles, however, also allow us to route the network cables to the furniture, and shall be part of the design.

3. Will you accept a 12" high glass clerestory on the Demountable Walls (Modular Walls) or do you want the glass clerestory to be 18 high? The RFQ states 18" but 12" was discussed at the Site Visit.

After further measurements, 18” high is required to ensure the fire alarm strove light is visible in both CC and DO office. The glass clerestory could be bigger than 18”, but no smaller. STC rating shall be kept in consideration The minimum STC rating is lowered to STC 47. Requirement was changed to be between 18 and 24 inches in height. If the contractor has a bigger glass that they want to use, we could consider it as long as it meets STC rating.

4. Will you accept a 18" high "open" clerestory on the Demountable Walls that are open at the top or will 12" be accepted as discussed at the Site Visit.

The opening must be 18 inches because of fire sprinkler distribution.

5. You don't have a CLIN for Design and all vendors will have a Design Cost associated with this RFQ preparation and small changes that would be made after award after Final Site

Dimensions are completed. Are you able to add a CLIN for Design Time? That is typical with RFQs for the Air Force.

A CLIN for design time will not be added. A Firm Fixed Price contract will be awarded to the firm with the lowest technically acceptable price. Design costs should be included in your overall pricing.

6. You don't have a CLIN for Project Management. If you require a PM from the Contractor, please add a line for Project Management so we can factor in time/cost for this in the project. You reference a PM in the SOW 11.2.

A CLIN for Project Management will not be added. Project manager has been removed from the SOW; however, contractor is responsible for ensuring they adhere to the terms of the contract.

7. Will you please add a note on the Delivery/Installation CLIN to include our Electrician in the cost - for the Connections from the furniture to the building power? ?

The CLIN wil not be adjusted. This is a Firm Fixed Price contract. Contractors should include electrician expenses in their overall pricing.

8. Will you please confirm that CE will add or extend any power if needed after award? i.e.

if power is not in the ceiling where needed, the furniture contractor would not be responsible for adding or extending power - only connecting the power from the furniture to the building.

There are no extensions of power after award, and CE will not be extending power if needed. The furniture contractor is responsible to connect furniture to available power (ceiling and walls). If ceiling power is not where it is needed, there are available power entries at the walls. In the event that their design does not account for power connections to the available power, they will be deemed technically unacceptable.

9. You state in 2. i. "Plan shall insure that no existing wall outlets or thermostats are covered or concealed by panels or other systems furniture components." Since we are placing work stations and power poles along the walls - it will be difficult not to block the duplexes on the walls. We would need to specify panels with open base (i.e. the panels would be open underneath the worksurfaces. Panels with open base are more expensive than typical fabric panels but this is possible. You would just need to specify in the RFQ that finished open base panels are required where there are duplexes agst.

the walls. Another way to address this issue is to have all bidders specify a tiled panel so that the user can pop of the fabric tile at any time and access the wall outlets if needed.

Or - you leave it up to the bidder to decide which option is more cost efficient for the bid. Either way would work. For the thermostats, we will not block them - we would drop the panel height lower where there was a thermostat.

Wall outlets may be blocked, as long as the workstations have adequate power. The contractor shall use most cost effective solution. Thermostats shall not be blocked.

10. You may want to specify in the RFQ that you don't want bidders to wall mount components to the drywall - in the systems furniture areas and private offices - unless you are ok with wall mounting in the private offices. You state in 2.i. that the "plan shall include wall mounted applications where possible".

We are ok with wall-mounted applications. They are not mandatory, and we do not want to prevent the designers from being able to utilize options we could not have thought of. RFQ has been updated to say “plan MAY include wall mounted applications where possible.”

Questions from the SOW:

1. You state in the SOW: 1.3. " If electrical circuits need to be added to satisfy the furniture power needs, the contractor shall ensure the circuits are installed and tested". The bidder awarded the contract would need their electrician to inspect the ceiling to know if there is enough power there, and there is a cost associated with this for each bidder, so will you please revise to state that CE will add power if needed after award - or that the contractor's electrician would need to add power if needed but would be paid for the site visit and adding the power. There is really no way to quote what is needed to add, if anything, without doing a detailed survey of the ceiling power.

Locations for the power circuits that are in the ceiling have been provided in a drawing.

An electrician walkthrough is scheduled for Wednesday, 11 September. The amount of power available in the ceiling and walls is enough to accommodate all the furniture that will be installed. We have 84 (20 Amp) circuits available. If the contractor feels that the provided power is not enough, they shall document that in writing.

2. You state in the SOW that the Modular Wall (Demountable Wall) should be 30 inches tall. Please confirm what you are referring to. I think this is just a typo.

This is not a typo. There is a furniture wall that is to be installed around the furniture for the area marked “CSS”. This 30 inch tall structure is to supply power and network connections to the individuals working in that area.

3. You state in the SOW: 3. the height of the upper glass surface shall be no shorter than 1 foot and no taller than 2 feet. You state in 3.3 that the private offices wall height shall be 18" from the ceiling (these are the walls that will be open at the top but have the ability to have glass added later if possible. Please note that this is a requirement. Also -for consistency - do you want us to use 18" high of glass at the upper glass surface on 3.

as well?(the wall that separates the 89 stations from the private offices?). Please confirm.

For consistency, yes, 18 inch is fine, and within the SOW constrains. Note SOW has been changed to make it no smaller than 18 inches as the strobe light that needs to be visible will be blocked if using 12 inches.

4. SOW 4.2. Please confirm that CE will move any vents needed to accommodate new furniture/wall design and not the furniture contractor. This was discussed at the site visit.

Yes, CE will move the one vent in question.

5. Please confirm the size of the Varidesk that will be used in the work stations and private offices: width, depth and height please.

Dimensions have been added to the SOW, but they are: 36 inches deep by 36 inches wide for our corner varidesks, and our desktop varidesk are 30 inches deep by 36 inches wide

6. If the Veridesk is deeper than 24" the bidders will need to specify a 30" deep work surface to support the veridesk. That will need to be noted in the SOW so all bidders will specify at least one 30" deep work surface for the systems furniture work stations and private offices.

The varidesk are all deeper than the standard 24” working surfaces. It is a requirement that the working surfaces should enable use of the varidesk thus requiring 30” deep work surface to accommodate it. Only one of the work surfaces might require the 30” surface. If design does not allow employment of varidesk, they would be technically unacceptable. Paragraph 4.9 states the dimensions of the Veridesks.

7. SOW 7. Please confirm if you would like one mobile box/file pedestal w/ cushion top in each panel supported work station vs. the mobile box/box/file pedestal. A mobile box/box/file pedestal w/ cushion won't fit underneath the work surface b/c of the casters but the mobile box/file w/ cushion will fit. Do you want a pencil tray inside of the box/drawer (they don't come standard, they are an addition).

Updated SOW to show box/file pedestal with cushion. We do not require pencil trays.

8. Task lights were not mentioned in the SOW. Please confirm if you want standard or LED Task lights. Please mention that the task lights shall be the same size as the overhead cabinet specified - not small lights under larger overheads.

Task light are not required.

9. SOW 9.8. Each bidder has a solution for wire management. Each will have wire baskets that screw to the underside of the work surfaces and cable management clips. We would recommend both for optimum wire management. Please specify that both are required and that you would like them on all work surfaces in the systems furniture work stations. Please specify that you would also like wire baskets under the work surfaces in the private offices (specifically which work surfaces in the private offices need wire baskets and wire management clips).

We do not want to limit to using both systems for wire management, as it would hinder competition. Bidding with both systems is adequate. SOW has been modified to add wire management to private offices. .

10. The layout of the 3 smaller private offices show the desk units backing up to the new Demountable Walls. Each bidder would need to provide power outlets and blank data ports inside the new Demountable Walls unless you plan to use the power/data in the drywall for those offices. Please confirm how many duplex outlets you want in the new Demountable walls in these locations if you do want them and how many blank data ports are needed.

There will be a total of 14 duplex outlets that will be needed on the demountable walls, and there blank data ports (with three inserts each). Theduplex ports will be installed on both sides of the wall. Four of the duplex ports would be located in the CC and DO office area (two in each), two duplex in the private office are, and four duplexes in the CSS area. The blank data ports shall be installed in the CSS and private office area. The remaining four duplex outlets shall be installed on the wall separating the CC and DO office (two on each side). Adding this information to the SOW.

11. For the CC Office please confirm that you are using power/data from the drywall for this office.

We are using the power and network from the drywall, for this area, however we need power in the demountable walls as well.

12. For the DO Office please confirm that you are using power/data from the drywall for this office.

We are using the power and network from the drywall, for this area, however we need power in the demountable walls as well.

13. For the CSS Office please confirm that you need furniture panels in this area with power for the existing work stations in this area. Please confirm how many duplex outlets you need in the panels for the 3 existing work stations on the left side of the layout. For the 2 existing work stations that back up to the New Demountable Wall in the CC Office -please confirm that you need power outlets and empty data ports in this wall and the quantity of each.

The CSS area shall have six duplexes available so that each desk has access to two of them, when the wall is installed. The wall shall provide blank network plates for each of the workstations (three holes per plate), and two network plates per workstation. This information has been updated in SOW. Please see answer 10 for power and network requirements on the demountable wall.

14. Please confirm that you have power in the ceiling available for the Demountable walls where needed as they will also need to be hardwired to the building if we add power to them.

There is power available above the ceiling, where the demountable walls will be located, as well as on the wall adjacent to the demountable walls.

15. SOW 10. Please confirm that the walls around the Multipurpose Room are to be Demountable Walls and not furniture walls. Please confirm that you would like the glass at the 18" that connects to the ceiling for this room.

The walls for the multipurpose room can be made of furniture wall, and do not need to be demountable walls. We would prefer that the ability to add glass (at a later date) to the remaining 18 inches that connect to the ceiling. The walls can be sealed all the way up once HVAC modifications are made. A swing door is also desirable in this area. SOW was updated.

16. SOW 10.4. Please confirm that the walls around this Storage Space are to be Demountable Walls and not furniture walls. Please confirm if these walls can go all the way to the ceiling and no glass at the top. Please confirm that the door is to be a solid door - not glass.

The walls around the storage space can be furniture walls. This walls can not go all the way to the ceiling (18 inches from the top), but we would like to be able to cover it up at a later date. Door shall be solid (no glass). SOW was updated to show this.

17. Please confirm that overhead cabinets require a "soft close" mechanism. This was mentioned at the Site Visit but I didn't see this noted in the SOW.

We do not require a soft close mechanism for the cabinets. Do not recall this in the site visit, but we do not require one.

18. The floor plan provided of the building is very small so the quality isn’t very good. Is there a larger scale of the PDF drawing or possibly a CAD file of the area that could be posted?

A PDF with the electrical circuit location has been provided that will address this concern. The location of the items in the drawing are notional, and have not been verified. CAD models of the area are not available.

19. What is the ceiling height of this area?

The ceiling area varies per location. The front office area (where the floor to ceiling walls will go) has a ceiling height of 8’11” with a variance of half an inch. This area also has a small drop where the height is 8’ 5.3125”. This drop is close to the pillar where the partition dividing the front office area from the cubicle area is.

The ceiling where the electrical boxes are located has a height of 12’8”.

The ceiling in room 315 is 8’ in the lower sections, and 8’10” in a small area close to the windows. The area that is 8’10” is approximately 360 sq ft.

20. We would like to request that you send out a range of panel heights for the 89 work stations - btwn 64" and 72" height - instead of saying that we need to be 6" plus or minus from the 6' height that you would like. Most people will be 64" or 66" high panels. 64" or 66" is the standard panel height to mount an overhead cabinet and that would be sufficient for all to bid. Our next panel height after 64" height would be 78" high and we would not be competitive with the 66" height that others would bid.

Minimum panel height has been adjusted in SOW to show 64”. We prefer taller panels as to allow people to have semi private conference calls. Please see question 2 in the table below for additional details.

21. Please confirm the height of the whiteboards needed on the interior and exterior of the workstations. Recommended height options for you project are 14" high and 28" high.

On the interior - we recommend 14" high since the overhead cabinet or shelf will block half of the whiteboard if we specified 28"high. On the exterior - either height works.

We prefer the writeable surface to be 28 inches or bigger for both internal and exterior areas. Preferably 36 inches wide for internal surfaces, and for the exterior surfaces, the idea is to cover the top sections of the wall panel. SOW updated

22. Will IT be on site during installation?

Yes

23. Can we get the bend radius of fiber and specs on data requirements?

Bend radius is 32 mm or 1.25”. What other specs on data requirements is the contractor interested on? The Goverment will run the network cables, and the contractor is not adding network cables into the furniture.

24. How many blank power poles will we need for data? I assume 1 per station pack.

At a minimum, one per station pack is desired. Depending on your design, need to ensure we get data to all stations without clogging the pole.

25. Do you prefer that power poles will be powering all the stations or try to come off the wall when able?

Come off the wall when able. There are plenty of circuits available in that area.

26. Are there any electrical or power needs that need to be specified in the modular walls?

Does a light switch need to be specified in each office?

Only electrical requirement for the walls is to have additional power outlets (see question 10 and updates to SOW). No light switches are needed in the offices.

27. We want to verify that the GC will be responsible for existing vents and light interference?

The government will be responsible for vent interference. The government acknowledges that some lights will be split between rooms/areas once the walls reach the ceiling. Those lights are going to be replaced by the government at a later date.

28. The customer will be relocating all the existing furniture, correct? Will we be placing the Varidesk in the stations?

The government will be moving the Varidesks, and also will be relocating existing furniture into the new areas.

29. What are the specs and sizing on the Varidesk?

Please see question 5

30. Do we need to provide the monitor arms, CPU holders so that they don’t sit on the floor and any ancillary items to function day to day operations?

For the workbench, yes, vendor needs to provide the monitor arms, CPU holders, and power/network connections. For the workstations, no.

31. What is the STC rating for the carpet flooring and acoustical ceiling tiles? These will be a factor for the wall rating average of STC 50.

The ceiling tiles are insulated to meet STC 50 rating. The carpet tiles are not rated, but the concrete sub-floor is rated for above STC 50

32. Yellow panel “walls” in the front office need what capabilities for power and data?

This area shall have six duplexes available so that each desk has access to two of them, when the wall is installed. The wall shall provide blank network plates for each of the workstations (three holes per plate), and two plates per workstation. Updated SOW with this information.

33. Can we get more information on where the station groups need to be location or the preference that they be gathered? Are there any important adjacencies besides the 6 personnel near the front office?

The only important adjacencies are the 6 personnel by front office, and team cohesion (each team should be located with all their people). It is expected that the designer will allocate the space as to maximize its use, so we are not restricting location of the station groups.

34. On 9.6, do we need tackable panels or an actual tack board attached to the panel?

Either or meets the criteria. Depends on the furniture product the vendor presents.

35. Where is the multi-purpose room to be located or any adjacencies needed?

No adjacencies are needed for the multi-purpose room. Just needs to be somewhere where everyone has access to it.

36. Does the storage room need to be walls like the green walls in the front office or a panel system enclosed with a door? Where does this need to be located, any adjacencies? Does the door need to be hinged or sliding?

The storage room does not need to be made of green walls. It can be constructed of modular furniture. The area has to be enclosed, with a hinged door. The designer must choose location and area. Minimum is 100 sq ft, but bigger is preferred, if space available. The walls have to have an 18 inch opening on the top that shall allow us to enclose it when HVAC mods can be done.

37. Does the work room on number 16 need to be enclosed or open to the stations?

There is no paragraph 16 in the SOW that was initially published. If referencing the multipurpose room, it has to be enclosed. If referencing the area for the refrigerators and microwaves, it does not have to be enclosed. If referencing the storage area, it does have to be enclosed.

38. Can you specify the quantity of CD’s again and this can in fact be a pull-out drawer system?

*This requirement is being eliminated.

39. Can we get estimated install dates and any deadlines that we will need to meet? Will this be a construction free zone with no obstructions?

The government estimates install dates to start around 11 Nov 19, and end NLT 6 Dec 19.

Ideally, we would like to be done building furniture before Thanksgiving Day.

40. Do we need to provide warranty specifications and any type of Green or Leed certifications for vendors?

Please provide warranty specs, but there is no need to provide Green or LEED certifications.

41. Should seating be included with case goods and/or cubicles?

No.

42. Regarding case goods, what type of filing storage is needed for under the worksurfaces?

For the private office furniture, two box-box-file wooden cabinets are desired.

43. What are the grommet and modesty panel requirements?

We need 5 grommets per workstation. The grommets shall be positioned as close as possible to the edge of the working surface, and wide enough to accommodate 10-12 cables. For sizing, each cable is 14 AWG/3 conductor in size. For the modesty, we would prefer for the modesty not to touch the ground as to allow us to route cables underneath the desk, if needed.

44. What type of overhead furniture in the case goods section is needed?

1. Wall mounted or desk mounted overheads storage?

We prefer desk mounted overhead (hutch) with a tackle board.

2. Is it open shelving or closed with hinged doors?

We prefer closed shelving with hinged doors. Updated SOW to show this.

45. Do we include task lights for overheads on case goods?

No, task lights are not required.

46. What is the power coming into the building (3+1) or something different?

3 phase, 208/120Y comes into the building. The panel supplying the junction boxes is a single phase, 120V panel. Each circuit is 20A. No circuits are permitted to share neutrals.

47. How is the proposal to be submitted?

1. Electronically only?

2. Hard Copy or both?

We prefer electronic delivery as the timelines are tight!

48. Please confirm the height of the whiteboards needed on the interior and exterior of the workstations. Recommended height options for you project are 14" high and 28" high.

On the interior - we recommend 14" high since the overhead cabinet or shelf will block half of the whiteboard if we specified 28"high. On the exterior - either height works.

Please see question 21. We prefer the writeable surface to be 28 inches or bigger for both internal and exterior areas. Preferably 36 inches wide for internal surfaces, and for the exterior surfaces, the idea is to cover the top sections of the wall panel. SOW updated.

49. Item 3. - The STC rating of 50 for the walls does not seem to be obtainable. Our manufacture on a solid monolithic panel can reach an STC of 47. However, once you add glass to the top, it will bring down the STC rating. We will provide laminated safety glass which has a higher STC rating than tempered glass. For example, on a standard monolithic glass panel, the STC for tempered glass is 30 and safety glass is 35. Will a starting STC rating of 47 be satisfactory?

The required STC rating has been lowered to STC 47 for both the walls. The safety glass (or any other see-through material) used at the top of the wall shall also meet a minimum of STC 47.

50. Item 4.9 – What electrical and data requirements are needed for the private office floor to ceiling walls. I am assuming the DO and CC office data and electrical will be coming off the sheetrock walls, but will power be needed in any of the other walls or offices?

Please see answers for questions 10, 11, and 13

51. Item 6. – please clarify that you need 12 workstations plus the (1) 8’ workbench.

Added clarity in the statement of work to show that we need 12 workstations and only one 8 foot workbench.

52. Item 7. – Do we need to provide the monitor arms for the (4) stacked monitors? Does the 21 analysis need an overhead or just a shelf? Cubicle specifications state everyone gets an overhead and an shelf, but item 7 just states shelf.

The arms for the monitors are not required. The analyst only require one overhead shelf.

This is different from other areas.

53. Item 10.3 – Please clarify that drawers can be used in lieu of a storage cabinets and they need to hold approximately 200 CDs.

The CD storage requirement is removed. Contractor shall only annotate where we can position a cabinet. SOW has cabinet dimensions.

54. Item 10.1 – What data requirements are needed for the printer workstations? (3) blank punchouts and (1) for the scanner? Do you require electrical duplexes for the printer areas as well?

For the printer workstations we need two of the three blank punchouts per station. We require electrical duplexes for the printer area as well. Two or three duplexes per station (more for the areas where the free standing copiers are).

55. Can we block the old air conditioning units that are on the floor?

Yes, the old, unused units that were left on the floor can be covered by the modular furniture.

QUESTION

SOW

REFERENCE #

QUESTIONS

1 4.9 What is the specification of the existing Varidesk? Depth and width?

Please see answers to question 5, and updated statement of work for information.

2 4.10 Workstation panel heights “No shorter than 6ft.” but in #7, the 27 Personnel for Analysis prefer collaboration. Can we lower the panel heights in this area? Or should we design areas for collaborative tables separate from the stations?\

You can lower the walls in sections to open collaboration, but there are other solutions available too! Like having U-shapped desks without walls between the stations, and others that all vendors should be able to create. Please note the minimum height of the walls has changed in the SOW.

The intent of the walls not being too short is that we need to ensure the teams have privacy and that when conversations are happening within another section, the teams working in the analysis area are not bothered by the additional conversations. Similar concept for the research personnel.

3 9.4 Do all stations have a Varidesk? What is the size?

Yes, all stations should allow use of a Varidesk. Please see SOW and answer to question 5 for varidesk dimensions.

4 Multipurpose room: Is this a conference room with a work table? Should the tables be mobile? Flip tops? Or a solid piece table?

This is not a conference room, but could be designed as one, if that is all the materials you have available. It is an area with writing surfaces that would allow teams to create designs, small team meetings, conduct small conference calls, scan documents, etc. Tables could be mobile, and flip tops could be utilized on the edges of the room. The designer is free to create the space with the requirements provided in the SOW.

5 10.4 Storage space: Does this require a door? Does it lock? Is it a swinging?

Yes, it requires a locking, swinging door. Please provide lock and key.

6 10.5 Do we need a door? Locking? Swinging door?

There is no need for door for the area that will accommodate the refrigerators, microwaves , coffee makers, etc. They could be arranged against walls in areas around the room that would allocate space, etc.

7 10.6 Does this require full panel enclosure to the ceiling? Or leave the 18” open? Do you need a door? Locking?

Swinging door?

This area does not require a full panel enclosure. It could be located within the multipurpose room, working surfaces around the hallways, an small area next to a wall, etc. As long as it is functional and allows people to use the laminator, hole punchers, etc, we are satisfied.

8 Are lock cores required in swing doors, or is Government supplying afterword for security reason?

Yes, lock cores are required.

9 3 Private Offices Are these to be real wood veneer, or wood grained laminate?

Wood grained laminate

10 3 Private Offices DO & CC Offices

Are all doors to be solid swing doors?

Yes, statement of work was modified to show this.

11 Are any electrical outlets required in modular walls in command section? If yes, please specify how many and where.

Yes, electrical outlets are required in the modular walls.

Please see updated SOW, and answers to question 10

12 Are task lights required under the overhead storage unit in each workstation?

No

13 Can the Government please supply minimum bend radius requirements of fiber optic cables? Are there any other special requirements for fiber?

Bend radius is 32 mm or 1.25”

14 9.2 States 2 popup or table top boxes. Does each require four outlets or does there need to be four total outlets?

We need four total outlets at the working surface.

15 10.3 Please provide specification for the cabinet to hold 200 CDs.

Requirement has been removed, but we need space somewhere in the design to store a cabinet that we currently have.