FA302225R0002_RFI Answers.pdf

Contractor RFI’s

Please see RFI’s below in reference to the Solicitation #FA302225R0002:

1. In executing this project, can one superintendent fulfill the supervision, safety, and QAQC roles?

Superintendent and QAQC must be separate people.

2. Are contractors required to issue a contract specific QA/QC Plan?

Yes

3. Are contractors required to issue a contract specific Safety Plan?

No

4. Is this project tax exempt?

No

5. Per the solicitation, the water heater is to remain. However, during the site visit, it was observed that the equipment tag is illegible, and the unit appears to have exceeded its expected service life. Can you please confirm whether it is still the AFB’s intent to retain the existing water heater, or if replacement should be considered?

CAFB’s intent is to retain the water heater.

6. Per the solicitation, the boiler is to remain. However, during the site visit, it was noted that the boiler burner tag is dated 11/2006, with a startup date of 10/2009. Given the typical boiler life expectancy is approximately 18 to 20 years, the unit is nearing the end of its service life. Can you please confirm whether it is still the AFB’s intent to retain the existing boiler rather than replace it?

CAFB’s intent is to retain the water heater.

7. If the boiler is to be reused as indicated in the Statement of Work, can you please confirm whether it is also the AFB’s intent to reuse the associated gas train, flue, burner, and concrete pad?

CAFB’s intent is to reuse the associated gas train, flue, burner, and concrete pad.

8. Per the solicitation, the intent of this project is to replace all mechanical and plumbing equipment in the mechanical room of Building 348 in its entirety, excluding the boiler and water heater. Could you please confirm whether this scope includes the replacement of the fire water piping and fire riser located within the mechanical room?

CAFB’s intent is to not include the replacement of the fire water piping and fire riser.

9. Per the solicitation, the intent of this project is to replace all mechanical and plumbing equipment in the mechanical room of Building 348 in its entirety, excluding the boiler and water heater. Could you please confirm whether this scope includes the replacement of the fire alarm system located within the mechanical room?

CAFB’s intent is not to replace the fire alarm system.

10. Per the solicitation, the contractor must provide a new air handler sized to handle both the sensible and latent loads of the facility. Can you please confirm whether it is the AFB’s intent to have an engineer perform a site survey and conduct a detailed heat load analysis for this project, rather than simply replacing the existing chiller and AHU in kind?

It is the Contractor’s responsibility to have an engineer perform the design.

11. During the site visit, we observed that the existing air handling unit does not receive any outside air, as the intake opening has been sealed with sheet metal. Could you please confirm whether it is the AFB’s intent for the new air handling unit to include outside air, and if so, should the outside air rates be designed to meet current code requirements?

CAFB’s intent is for the new air handling unit to include outside air. It should be designed to meet current code requirements.

12. Per the solicitation, “additional space temperature sensors should be provided depending on the existing zone configurations where temperature variations are to be expected.” Could you please clarify whether the determination of these additional sensor locations should be made by the design engineer, onsite personnel, or AFB maintenance staff?

Locations should be determined by the design engineer.

13. Per the solicitation, the intent of this project is to replace all mechanical and plumbing equipment in the mechanical room of Building 348, excluding the boiler and water heater.

Based on the drawings provided, it appears the building’s ductwork was installed around February 1973. Given that the typical life expectancy of ductwork is approximately 30 to 50 years, the existing system is at or near the end of its service life. Can you please confirm whether it is the AFB’s intent to retain the existing ductwork throughout the building, or if replacement is to be included in the project scope? If replacement is desired, would this also include associated air devices such as diffusers, grilles, registers, dampers, and access panels?

The intent is to retain current ductwork.

14. Based on our site visit, it appears there are no fire, smoke, or combination fire/smoke dampers installed at any of the existing interior walls. Can the AFB please confirm whether these dampers are not required at the existing interior wall penetrations, or if any must be added to meet current code requirements?

If not existing they must be added in transition between mechanical room and facility interior to meet code. Added drawing shows fire dampers installed when minor ductwork occurred.

Contractor still responsible to verify.

15. Per the solicitation, the contractor is required to prime and paint the interior mechanical room walls. Can the AFB please clarify whether any existing items to remain—such as control panels, breaker panels, or other equipment—must be removed to allow for full wall coverage, or if the contractor is permitted to paint around these existing components?

The contractor is permitted to paint around current existing components that are remaining.

16. Based on the site visit it was noticed that there are still pneumatic and electrical controls. Can CAFB provide a list of what is currently electronic and what is currently pneumatic?

The only remaining piece of equipment on the pneumatic system is the air handler.

17. Can we expand the scope of work outside of the mechanical room to existing portions of the building if needed?

The area of responsibility already includes work outside of the mechanical room and minor interior portions of the facility.

18. Has there been any additions or retrofits to the original HVAC system?

Chiller was changed out previously. Minor ductwork has occurred interior to the facility.

19. Have there been any additions are changes to the original footprint of the building?

The foot print of the HVAC system being replaced has not changed.

20. Are we to remove both the operable and inoperable air compressors within the mechanical room?

Remove both air compressors within the mechanical room. Deliver the operable air compressor to CE for salvage.

21. If the operable air compressor is to be removed, would the CAFB like to salvage it?

Deliver the operable air compressor to CE.

22. Is there an incumbent supplier for this solicitation?

There is no incumbent supplier. Only required manufacturer.

23. Have any performance challenges or areas for improvement been identified in previous contracts that have influenced the requirements for this bid? If so, could you provide details on any specific issues encountered or information about performance criteria not met by previous contractors for similar services?

No.

24. Cost Breakdown (Appendix A): Could you provide more specific guidance on the required level of detail for line items such as MOBILIZATION, MATERIAL, EQUIPMENT, LABOR, and MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES? For instance, are specific labor hours and rates required to be shown, or is a total cost sufficient for these categories, provided the overall basis and rationale for pricing is demonstrated?

Section L, Part 4, Para 1: Unless otherwise, instructed, offerors shall submit proposals in a format usinge4Clicks, or in the alternative RS Means format. If these two formats are not available, offerors shall utilize the attached Appendix A.

Section L, Part 4, Para 2: Offerors shall provide a price breakdown to include quantity, unit price, and total price and shall ensure that proposals reflect the total cost of the project.

Section L, Part 4, Para 3 Offerors shall provide notes within line items, where appropriate, to ensure clear understanding of all line items.

Appendix A: The purpose of the requested information in the attached worksheets is to assist government personnel in the review and evaluation of proposals submitted by offerors. Offerors are reminded that the responsibility for providing adequate supporting data and attachments lies solely with them. Further, the offeror must also bear the burden of proof in establishing reasonableness of proposed pricing; therefore, it is in the offeror’s best interest to submit a fully supportable and well-prepared cost proposal. The basis and rationale for all proposed costs should be provided as part of the proposal so that Government personnel can place reliance on the information as current, complete and accurate. Further, FAR 15.403-4 sets forth those circumstances in which offerors are required to submit certified cost or pricing data.

25. Design Submittals (Section 3.6.2): Regarding the intermediate design submittals, specifically the 35% Design Submittal, could you clarify the expected level of detail beyond "complete and thorough detailing to leave no question as to how demolition and construction is intended"? Are there specific document types, calculations, or formats required at this stage?

We follow the USACE design definitions. Please refer to the USACE Architect-Engineer Guide 35%.

26. Material Submittals and Shop Drawings (Section 4.5): For the "Schedule of Material Submittals" (AF Form 66) and individual Material Approval Submittal (MAS) forms, what is the required number of hard copies in addition to the MS-Excel electronic format? The form template includes various columns (e.g., Certificate of Compliance, Shop Drawings, Samples, Catalog Data, etc.); should Offerors indicate which of these document types will be provided for each line item on the form?

The design submittals are the only hard copy submittal required.

27. Past Performance Relevancy (Section M): The relevancy criteria for past performance mention requiring demonstration of “similar scope and magnitude of effort and complexities" and specifically refer to a "dollar threshold greater than $1,000,000". Since the estimated magnitude for this project is between $500,000 and $1,000,000, could you confirm if past performance on projects within this estimated range but below the $1,000,000 threshold will be considered relevant if they demonstrate similar scope, effort, and complexities?

Yes, past performance of similar scope and magnitude of effort and complexities greater than $500K will be considered. An amendment will be posted with the correction.

28. Temporary HVAC Units (Section 2.3.15): Could you provide additional details regarding the requirement to "provide temporary HVAC units to condition the whole building throughout the project duration"? Does "whole building" refer to all occupied areas, and are there specific technical requirements (e.g., capacity, number of units, noise limitations) or placement restrictions for these temporary units?

All occupied areas. Cooling requirements must maintain 76 degrees cooling and 68 degrees heating.

29. SOW 2.3.1 | 23 64 00 – Packaged Water Chillers: Confirm if a chilled water buffer tank is required and its capacity if needed.

We will require system volume of 4 gallons per ton of cooling. Total system volume equals the internal capacity of all piping and coils plus the capacity of a buffer tank, if required.

30. SOW 2.3.1 | 23 00 00 – HVAC: Clarify if the mechanical room heater is to be tied to existing EMCS or locally controlled.

Locally controlled.

31. SOW 2.3.1 / 2.3.11 | 08 11 13 – Hollow Metal Doors and Frames: Confirm exact placement and size of new mechanical room doors; are they to match existing or follow a specific CAFB standard?

Door frame to remain in place. New doors to match size of existing.

32. SOW 2.3.1 | 23 64 00: Provide criteria for determining if a chilled water buffer tank is “required.”

We will require system volume of 4 gallons per ton of cooling. Total system volume equals the internal capacity of all piping and coils plus the capacity of a buffer tank, if required.

33. SOW 2.3.2 | 23 31 00 – HVAC Ducts: Clarify duct connection and transition requirements between new AHU and existing ductwork.

Design to meet UFC 3-410-01.

34. SOW 2.3.2 | 23 05 93 – Testing, Adjusting, Balancing: Confirm whether UFC 4-010-01 outside air intake separation distances apply for all roof penetrations.

Yes

35. SOW 2.3.3 / CAFB Mechanical Standards | 07 60 00 – Flashing and Sheet Metal:

Confirm if existing roof penetrations are suitable for reuse per current CAFB mechanical and ATFP standards.

Fresh air intake must meet ATFP requirements.

36. SOW 2.3.4 | 02 82 00 – Asbestos Remediation: Verify if abandoned compressed air system tubing is asbestos-wrapped or requires hazmat procedure for demo.

Asbestos has been abated in the facility.

37. SOW 2.3.5 / NEC 110.26 | 26 00 00 – Electrical: Provide required minimum clearance distances from new pumps and electrical panels (i.e., code citation required).

SOW calls for integrated chilled water pump. Minimum clearances required per NEC must be met.

38. SOW 2.3.6 / CAFB Mechanical Standards | 23 64 00: Confirm if Daikin chiller must be air-cooled or water-cooled; chiller tonnage not provided.

The Daikin chiller must be air cooled, with R32 refrigerant, and contain the single pump package.

39. SOW 2.3.7 | 23 21 13 – Hydronic Piping: Confirm whether new chilled water piping routes through all mechanical room penetrations must match existing sleeve/conduit paths.

New or existing sleeve conduit paths for chilled water are permitted. If new sleeves are installed in a new location, patch the existing holes to match the surrounding construction.

40. SOW 2.3.8 | 22 11 00 – Facility Water Distribution: Verify if make-up/domestic water lines are to be routed above ceiling or below slab.

Lines shall be accessible. Routing should be determined during design.

41. SOW 2.3.9 | 26 51 00 – Interior Lighting: Confirm fixture whip type and manufacturer for LED lights.

Determine during the design phase, submit for government approval.

42. SOW 2.3.10 | 09 91 00 – Painting and Coating: Confirm approved paint system for mechanical room; provide CAFB standard color.

Paint system to be determined during design. Accessible beige is an example color, color choice to be submitted for approval.

43. SOW 2.3.11 | 08 11 13: Confirm whether the existing wall frame or threshold must be modified for the new louvered mechanical room doors.

No

44. SOW 2.3.12 | 26 24 16 – Panelboards: Confirm if existing panelboards are compatible with updated schedules or if panelboard replacement is required.

Panelboard replacement is not required.

45. SOW 2.3.13 / CAFB Mech Standards | 03 30 00 – Cast-in-Place Concrete: Provide specification or standard for chiller pad construction and finish.

Follow manufacturer requirements for the equipment pad.

46. SOW 2.3.14 | 22 05 19 – Mains and Testing: Clarify if hydrostatic testing includes domestic water lines and if testing pressure is specified.

Follow UFC 1-200-01.

47. SOW 2.3.15 | 23 81 00 – Decentralized HVAC Equipment: Confirm number and capacity of temporary HVAC units and whether fuel/power must be provided by contractor.

Provide capacity to meet 76 degree cooling and 68 degree heating. Power available in facility.

48. SOW 2.3.16 / CAFB Mechanical Standards | 23 08 00 – Commissioning of HVAC: Verify if CAFB requires final RCx report to be submitted in a specific format and include baseline comparison.

Follow UFC 1-200-02 requirements for retro commissioning.

49. CAFB Mechanical Standards / SOW 2.3.2 | 23 09 23 – DDC for HVAC: Will the government provide access to EMCS for programming and integration or is this contractor responsibility?

Access to EMCS will be made available.

50. SOW 2.3.2 / CAFB Mechanical Standards | 23 36 00 – Air Terminal Units: Clarify if slide-in VAVs will be duct-mounted or exposed and if ductwork modifications are required to receive them.

It is the intention to install the new VAV boxes exposed near the ceiling space within the mechanical room. New ductwork within the mechanical room is required.

51. SOW 2.5 | 23 09 13 – Instrumentation and Control Devices for HVAC: Confirm whether all salvaged JCI actuators are to be reinstalled or turned over to the government as surplus.

The salvaged JCI actuators are to be turned over to the government.

52. General Conditions | 01 30 00 – Administrative Requirements: Do the Superintendent, SSHO and QC Manager need to be 3 separate individuals?

Superintendent and QC Manager must be separate individuals.

53. General Conditions | 01 10 00 – Summary: Are there any phasing requirements?

No

54. SOW 2.3.15 | 01 14 00 – Work Restrictions: If the building remains occupied, how many people will be in the building?

Peak hours 100 occupants.

55. General Conditions | 01 32 00 – Construction Progress Documentation: Can the period of performance be extended after award once the material/equipment lead times are confirmed due to current market conditions for the equipment for this project?

Yes, but a manufacture delay letter will be required to extend the construction completion date.

56. General Conditions | 02 20 00 – Subsurface Investigation: Are soil boring reports available? If not, it will be assumed that excavation will be clear of rocks and obstructions.

Soil borings not available or required.

57. General Conditions | 01 29 00 – Payment Procedures: Please provide bidding quantities for deteriorated underlayment (roofing) and base course (paving).

Not applicable.

58. Roof Work Scope | 07 50 00 – Membrane Roofing: Please confirm the manufacturer of the existing roofing system and who carries the current warranty of the roofing system.

It is a standing seam metal roof. Roof warranty expired.

59. General Conditions | 02 82 00 – Asbestos Remediation: Please confirm whether asbestos or lead is present on this project, and if so, provide the relevant documentation.

Asbestos has been abated in the facility.

60. Controls | 23 09 23 – DDC for HVAC: Please provide the contact information for the building controls contractor.

Johnson Controls

61. Fire Alarm | 28 31 00 – Fire Detection and Alarm: Please provide the contact information for the building fire alarm company.

Notifier

62. Procurement | 01 31 00 – Project Management and Coordination: Please provide the site visit attendee sign-in sheet.

The 14th Contracting Squadron will not be supplying site visit sign in sheets.

63. Existing Conditions | 01 71 00 – Examination and Preparation: Please provide photos of the job site and existing conditions.

As-builts provided, contractor is still responsible to field verify. Contractor is free to schedule a site visit to verify conditions.

64. General Conditions | 01 29 00 – Payment Procedures: Is this project tax exempt?

No