Combined responces to VTE Maintenance Questions 27Feb2020.pdf

VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE & REPAIR

For Joint Base San Antonio Solicitation No. FA301620R0006 Response to Questions

1. Contract Termination: Does either party, the contractor or USAF, have a means to end the contract at the end of the first year, or subsequent years thereafter if they so choose?

Response: The government has the right to not issue a new task order for the next year of service if they decide not to do so or do not need the service any more.

2. Modernization: There are references to the possibility of the contractor selected for the maintenance and service contract to also modernize equipment if needed. Will any elevator that is being serviced under this contract and needs modernization be handled as a ‘change order’ and modification to the contract?

Response: Not a modification unless additional funding is required. This will be covered under the additional labor hours and parts CLIN(s) 0X02 and 0X03, the Contracting Officer must also approve before any work is performed.

3. Bid Schedule Definitions: Please define ‘over and above’ for labor, parts and materials on the bid schedule.

Response: CLINs 0X02 and 0X03 cover work on items under paragraph 2 of the PWS.

Additionally see DFAR reference below:

DFAR Clause 252.217-7028 for the definition.

As prescribed in 217.7702, use a clause substantially as follows:

OVER AND ABOVE WORK (DEC 1991)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause—

(1) “Over and above work” means work discovered during the course of performing overhaul, maintenance, and repair efforts that is—

(i) Within the general scope of the contract;

(ii) Not covered by the line item(s) for the basic work under the contract; and

(iii) Necessary in order to satisfactorily complete the contract.

4. Bid Schedule Definitions: Please define ‘NONPERSONAL SERVICES’ as described on the bid schedule.

Response: Please refer to FAR 37.101 Definitions Nonpersonal services contract means a contract under which the personnel rendering the services are not subject, either by the contract’s terms or by the manner of its administration, to the supervision and control usually prevailing in relationships between the Government and its employees.

5. Numbering Discrepancy: The bid schedule CLIN numbering and CLIN numbers on page 34 of 47, paragraph 4.6 are different. Please clarify.

Response: Please provided pricing for CLINS 0X01, and 0X02.

CLINS 0X03 are estimated by the government, do not provided pricing for these CLINS https://www.acquisition.gov/dfars/part-217-special-contracting-methods#217.7702

6. Periodic Deliverables: Other than paragraph 4.7 of the PWS, are there any other periodic deliverables that are required for this contract?

Response: Reference Appendix C of the PWS.

7. Certified Payroll Reports: Are weekly certified payroll reports required for this contract? If not, what is the reason for including the wage determination register?

Response: Certified payrolls are not required for this service contract, this wage determination is for service contact, service contracts require wage determination to ensure that the minimum wage for that profession is paid to employees of contractor and sub-contractors for this Government contract only. Weekly payrolls will not be required for this contract.

8. Survey Repairs: Is the referenced ‘over and above’ labor, parts and materials CLIN numbers in the bid schedule intended to cover repairs needed that are discovered in the 30-day survey (para. 4.1 of PWS)?

Response: Yes and items under paragraph 2 of the PWS

9. Bonding: Does the USAF require bonding of any kind for this contract?

Response: Bonding is not required for this service contract.

10. Repairs and Replacements: The PWS states that ‘maintenance, repairs, replacements’ are all included in the monthly fixed price provided by contractors under this contract (para. 1.1). Under para. 2. EXCLUDED SERVICES, there are many exclusions for vandalism, acts of god, modernizations, cosmetic, construction, etc. This does not address some of the more costly items related to an elevator like the pump, valve, motor, controller, etc. Will the contractor be liable for those items not listed like the ones just mentioned? If so, how is a contractor supposed to account for these items for bid purposes? Contractors have no way of knowing what might go down at any of the 208 existing VTE under this contract. Is that the purpose for the ‘Over and Above’ CLINs on the bid schedule? See question #3.

Response: The “Over and Above” CLINs are only for items that fall under paragraph 2 of the PWS. Contractor will have to factor in replacement parts for normal wear and tear under the monthly maintenance and repair CLIN 0X01.

11. Section 8.3, Periodic Meeting: Are these meetings per year, per quarter, how many?

Response: These meetings will be held as required (Note: may be done via conference call).

12. Excluded Services: Section 2.2 of the PWS states: ‘Acts of God including power generator damage to elevator equipment due to spikes and low quality’ are excluded from being covered under this contract. Then, in section 5.2 Emergency Calls, it includes ‘acts of God’. This is conflicting. How is a contractor supposed to account for these items for bid purposes? There is no way to accurately and objectively allocate dollar amounts to the prospect of acts of God occurring for bid purposes.

Response: The replacement cost for excluded items (including “Acts of God”) will be covered under the “Over and Above” CLINS for parts and labor. Contractor does not have to account for this cost in their bid under CLIN 0X01.

13. Can you tell me if we can provide pricing for the 3rd party inspector ONLY?

We are a 3rd party inspection company located in Texas. We have found that many entities are no longer allowing their elevator company to hire the 3rd party inspector, to avoid any conflicts of interest.

Response: No

14. Reading the solicitation i was wondering if I could get an explanation of the statement in the PWS

5.0 REPAIR SERVICE CALLS: "Contractor shall repair and replace components of the VTE at no additional cost to the Government." I understand that to mean your not going to reimburse for labor or materials? I may need a clarification on that statement.

Response: Cost for repair services is included in CLIN 0X01 Monthly Maintenance/Repair of

VTE

15. Another concern we have is that there is no hours requirement for the 208 elevators at these locations.

1.1…“The Contractor assumes all responsibility and determines the amount of service visits and types of service required to keep the VTE operating safely and within the performance objectives of paragraph 6.”

When the Government does not dictate the amount of time spent maintaining this many elevators, it allows for contractors to bid very low, knowing that once they are awarded they have a wide‐open door to under‐perform the contract. As I mentioned, we routinely see Major elevator companies operate this way to win contracts and the life‐safety, elevator equipment becomes very neglected. The awardee then turns right around and bills the Government for repairs caused by their negligence and lack of preventative maintenance.

Based on the number of units and type of units we think this contract requires at least two full‐time mechanics on‐site 40 hours a week. we believe there should be much more rigor applied to this process to ensure the proper maintenance is performed. Any further info we can obtain about current level of service will help us understand the Government’s expectations.

Response: Contractor is required to perform maintenance IAW manufacturer’s recommendations and ANSI/ASME standards.

16. Will the Government consider adding an hours requirement for this contract?

For this reason, we believe there should be much more rigor applied to this process to ensure the proper maintenance is performed. Any further info we can obtain about current level of service will help us understand the Government’s expectations.

Response: No

17. What is the current level of service?

Response: Same as the new contract: per manufacturer’s recommendations and ANSI/ASME standards.

18. On page two of the SOW, in 4.1. it states, “The Contractor with the Contracting Officer (CO)/COR (or representative) shall determine the working order and condition of all VTE listed in Appendix A within thirty (30) calendar days of contract award. The Government will either replace missing items or repair all items not in working order or serviceable condition, or the CO will direct the Contractor to replace the missing items, accomplish the repair, and reimburse the Contractor in accordance with the contract. The CO will give instructions for situations where a unit requires a level of repair potentially constituting alteration as described by paragraph 3. The Contractor and the CO shall certify their agreement as to the working order of the equipment. All repair work shall be in accordance with standard commercial practices using only new parts of equal quality specified by the VTE manufacturer in effecting repairs (substitution of a different component is only permitted where it is equivalent to that which was tested, as determined by the certifying agency).”

Based on experience, we believe it would be impossible to adequately inspect 208 elevators in 20 working days. Not only would this leave no time for the actual maintenance but the manpower for this would be cost prohibitive. To solve this issue, will the Government consider increasing this timeframe to 90‐120 days or some other more reasonable period?

Response: A time extension may be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Contracting Officer.

19. Appendix A – VTE Equipment listing.

Can we get more information on the units. This will help determine a fair price per unit, as the equipment type and approximate floors can change the price per unit dramatically. This will also determine the MCP that is required for the Bid. #of floors, Is the unit a Hydraulic Passenger (HP), Hydraulic Freight (HF), Traction Passenger (TP), Traction Freight (TF) If Possible - Controller information. (Model make).

Can we provide any clarifications/qualifications to the SOW or does it have to be accepted as is?

Response: No, cannot provide in a timely manner, the additional information to the extent being asked would delay the award process by over 30 days as that is how long it would potentially take to gather all the requested information.

20. For the BID do you require an MCP for each piece of equipment? Or can one be provided for the similar types of equipment?

Response: The MCP can be an all inclusive program.

21. There is nothing that states how often maintenance visits are required. Do you have a minimum requirement? (monthly, quarterly, etc). What is the current visit schedule now?

Response: See question 15’s answer. Contractor is required to perform maintenance IAW manufacturer’s recommendations and ANSI/ASME standards.

22. Can we get a copy of the last inspection reports and can you confirm that any violations were taken care of by the current elevator company?

Response: No cannot provide in a timely manner, the additional information to the extent being asked would delay the award process by over 30 days as that is how long it would potentially take to gather all the requested information.

Response to Questions