13-R-0018_Questions_and_Answers_-_7_Aug_13.doc

SOLICITATION NO. FA4417-13-R-0018

PROJECT: NRG-RETROCOMMISSION HVAC

PROJECT NO. FTEV 12-1082

QUESTIONS - ANSWERS

7 Aug 2013

I.

QUESTIONS:

Question 1: Reference Section B - Supplies or Services and Prices, page 5 of 49 and Section M Evaluation Factors for Award, (4) (a) Past Performance Evaluation, page 47 of 49: “The government will evaluate the lowest priced proposal, determined to be technically acceptable”.

Will the basis for determining the lowest priced proposal be the sum of all CLINs?

Answer 1: Yes, refer to Section M, Clause 52.217-5 – Evaluation of Options and Clause HF022 – Evaluation Criteria for Award, 1st paragraph Question 2: Reference HF021 PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS (2) Specific Instructions (a) (i) Proposed Construction Schedule: “Prepare and submit a practicable construction schedule showing all necessary work elements to complete the project identified under this solicitation”.

Section F – Deliveries or Performance, page 7 of 49, all CLINs show a delivery date of 120 days for each of the four CLINs.

Must the schedule required to be submitted with our proposal include all four CLINs or only CLIN 0001, the one for the base bid? If all four CLINs are to be included, will the delivery date be 120 days?

Answer 2: No construction schedule required. The POP of 120 days is for the base bid only. 28 additional days will be allowed for each option awarded.

Question 3: Reference Section M Evaluation Factors for Award, (3) Price/Cost Evaluation and Teaming Agreements (if applicable), (b) Teaming Agreements (c) Identify each member’s share of the prospective contract, 50/50, 51/49, etc.

A teaming agreement could establish a Prime Contractor and Subcontractor relationship without the Subcontractor’s participation in the contract between the Prime Contractor and the Government. If the contract is awarded to the Prime Contractor, the Subcontractor would then have a Subcontract Agreement at an agreed upon price with the Prime Contractor. Is this acceptable?

Answer 3: Yes, The teaming agreement is applicable only if the subcontractor’s past performance is being included as part of the Prime’s evaluation and they are receiving a share of the profits.

Question 4: Reference 52.217-7, OPTION FOR INCREASED QUANTITY, page 18 of 49: “The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 90 Calendar days of Notice to Proceed. Delivery of added items shall continue at the same rate that like items are called for under the contract, unless the parties otherwise agree”.

Please clarify if this means that notice can be given up to 90 calendar days after the Notice to Proceed is issued.

Will 120 calendar days be added to the schedule for each additional CLIN that is added or will it be a total of 120 days for all optional CLINs that are included?

Answer 4: Yes, Notice include the option may be given up to 90 calendar days after Notice to Proceed. The period of performance is 120 for all CLINS if awarded at the same time. If an option is awarded after the Notice to Proceed, the period of performance may/or may not be extended depending on the work and amount of time between award of the basic contract and the options.

Question 5: Reference Section M Evaluation Factors for Award, (6) Contractor Responsibility. “Once the apparent successful offeror is selected the government will evaluate the offeror’s financial capabilities. In the case of a Teaming Agreement, the financial capabilities of both teaming partners will be evaluated, with the Prime Contractor’s financial capability carrying significantly more weight than the subcontractor’s. Attachment 5, Financial Reference Worksheet will be forwarded to the financial institution and a determination will be made regarding the apparent successful offerors financial capabilities”.

If through the Teaming Agreement the teaming partners establish a Prime Contractor and Subcontractor relationship and the Subcontractor does not share in the Contract but rather will have a Subcontract Agreement at an agreed upon price with the Prime Contractor, will the Subcontractor’s Financial Reference Worksheet be required to be submitted with the proposal?

Answer 5: No, In this case the Subcontractor is not sharing in profits and/or their past performance was not considered in the Prime contractor’s past performance evaluation.

Question 6: Reference General Notes on Sheet I2. Note #5 provides a list of items and their respective quantities to be included in the base bid.

Will you be providing the same information for Options 1, 2 and 3?

Answer 6: The bid options do not include replacement of any additional items.

Question 7: Will the CA have ‘operator-level’ access to the building automation system (BAS) in order to:

a. Perform functional tests

b. Perform point-to-point testing

c. Set up trends that can be stored for a minimum of 2 weeks at 15-minute intervals

Answer 7: Yes, access to the BAS will be arranged through our controls shop. You will need to have qualified people that are capable of using the bases BAS.

Question 8: Will the Commissioning Agent (CA) have the necessary access/permissions to temporarily override all analog and digital inputs/outputs at the BAS in order to appropriately carry out functional testing procedures (i.e. is it a fully writable system?)

Answer 8: Yes, but you will need the knowledge, skills and ability to work on the system as well the necessary software/hardware.

Question 9: Will the CA have the access/permissions to remotely ‘dial-in’ the BAS from a location off-site?

Answer 9: No, there will be no access to the BAS from off base.

Question 10: Are energy/cost savings and payback/ROI calculations expected to be provided in support of resolving identified issues?

Answer 10: No.

Question 11: Will the CA be allowed to leave portable data loggers where needed on-site at specific building equipment for a minimum of 2 weeks?

Answer 11: Yes Question 12: The RCx scope (Section 23 08 00) calls for verifying chilled water pump(s) GPM, hot water pump(s) gpm, and AHU supply and outside airflow. Does this information have to provided uniquely by the CA or can it be shared from the results of the TAB scope (23 05 93) to avoid duplicate efforts?

Answer 12: The intent of the contract is to verify these items. It can be done by the RCx or TAB. Does not need to be done by both.

Question 13: What sampling rate of major equipment (AHUs, Chillers, Boilers) is expected for the point to point and functional performance tests?

Answer 13: 100% Question 14: What sampling rate of end-device equipment (VAV boxes, fan terminal units, baseboard heaters, etc…) is expected for the point to point and functional performance tests?

Answer 14: 100% Question 15: Is the CA expected to perform RCx tasks on equipment not controlled or monitored by the BAS?

Answer 15: All equipment shown on the drawings is to be RCx even if it is not controlled or monitor by the BAS.

Question 16: Is the existing BAS capable of collecting trend data?

Answer 16: Yes Question 17: If the CA is expected to perform RCx tasks on the CRAC units, will the CA be allowed to access the respective Data Center/Computer rooms and if necessary, turn the CRAC units OFF temporarily for testing?

Answer 17: The intent is to RCx CRAC units. If for some reason we are not able to get access or do testing these items will be deleted from the contract.

Question 18: Are there any pneumatic controls or devices remaining and being actively used for building control such as E-P transducers or pneumatic actuators?

Answer 18: No.

Question 19: Does the Client understand that RCx tasks may require temporarily shutting down equipment at the local disconnect for periods of up to 1 hour in order to safely assess equipment condition and operation?

Answer 19: They will be made aware of that requirement before we start commissioning the buildings.

Question 20: Are there any security restrictions for when and where photos of related HVAC equipment may be taken?

Answer 20: Yes, there may be some buildings or areas where pictures will not be allowed. These areas will be identified before we start work in those areas.

Question 21: Sheet 3 of the drawings (FTEV_12-1082) indicates the contractor is responsible for replacing the first 10 valve actuators, 10 damper actuators, 10 pressure sensors, 10 temperature sensors, 5 relative humidity sensors, and 5 thermostats. Are there additional specifications that need to be followed for these replacements?

Answer 21: See specification section 23 09 23.

Question 22: What is the SF of each building in scope?

Answer 22:

90020 – 61,500 sf 90021 – 29,601 sf 90063 – 6,999 sf 90069 – 6,686 sf 90141 – 10,775 sf 90215 – 7,880 sf 90333 – 25,347 sf 90349 – 22,867 sf 90531 – 52,074 sf 90802 – 49,933 sf 90816 – 43,207 sf 91048 – 29,126 sf Question 23: If prime contractor wants to supplement work force with subcontractor support in order to robust completion of the initial and additive bid items within the 120 day period of performance, is that acceptable? Subcontractor would be expected to have current Cx/RCx credentials from one of the accrediting organizations acceptable within the industry and would be under the quality control of the prime’s commissioning agent.

Answer 23: Yes Question 24: The POP is 120 days for the Base Bid buildings. Will the POP expand if any of the Bid Option buildings are added, or will the POP stay the same regardless of the number of buildings added to the ultimate scope? This will affect team size and the price of labor for the site investigation.

Answer 24: The POP of 120 days is for the base bid only. 28 additional days will be allowed for each option awarded.

Question 25: Item #4 on drawing sheet I-2 requests AMEC to submit as-builts as if we have made modifications; however, as-built verification is not identified in item #2, scope of work. Please clarify.

Answer 25: The scope includes documenting any deviations from that shown on the design drawings and submitting as-built drawings in AutoCAD format.

Question 26: Will off shift work be required?

Answer 26: No Question 27: Will we need to coordinate all functional tests or can we turn equipment on/off (or change setting) at any time?

Answer 27: Anything that will be detectable by the occupants needs to be coordinated. In most cases this should be a general notification to the occupants of what to expect during the commissioning process.

Question 28: Can you provide a sample report or an outline of what they would like the commissioning report to look like?

Answer 28: We do not have a sample report to provide. Report should follow requirements of the specification.

Question 29: Will you provide details on building: type of building, equipment lists?

Answer 29: Equipment lists are show on drawings.

90020 – Technical training lab/shop

90021 – Technical training lab/shop

90063 – Electronic research testing

90069 – HQ group

90141 – Shop aircraft maintenance 90215 – Comm facility 90333 – HQ major command 90349 – HQ group 90531 – Field training facility 90802 – Operations support 90816 – Hangar 91048 – Flight training classroom Question 30: Do they want testing of all equipment or is a sampling of major equipment sufficient?

Answer 30: All equipment listed is to be tested.

Question 31: I don’t see mention of doing energy saving calculations in the document, are you anticipating that we perform energy savings calculations?

Answer 31: No Question 32: Do you need individual building reports or one main campus report?

Answer 32: Individual building reports.

Question 33: Will testing be limited in certain areas (ie only certain times ok to ramp fan up/down)?

Answer 33: Work will need to be coordinated with building occupants.

Question 34: Will there be knowledgeable staff to escort staff around the premises and answer questions?

Answer 34: We can have someone available when needed but only on a limited basis.

Question 35: Due to the little gap between the Question and Answer phase and the due date for the solicitation – is it possible to extend the due date to Aug 19 to give the vendor enough time to digest the answers?

Answer 35: Depends on how long it takes to get responses and the complexity of the questions/responses. Once the responses are received we will make a determination if the proposal response date needs to be moved and how many days.

Question 36: Please confirm that for this specific solicitation -Specialty Trade Contractors then FAR is clear in 52.219-30 (d)(4) Construction by special trade contractors, the concern will perform at least 25 percent of the cost of the contract with its own employees (not including the cost of materials). Thus the Prime must conduct 25% of the work?

Answer 36: Yes, the prime must perform 25% of the cost of the contract with its own employees (not including the cost of materials), but not necessarily 25% of the work.

Question 37: Regarding section: 1.7 Commissioning Agent Qualifications: The Prime Firm has an employee that is ACG certified – however as a small business with limited resources –our firm is not ACG certified. Is having an employee with ACG certification acceptable? Does it fulfill your requirements?

Answer 37: Yes provided he will be in charge of the commissioning activities.

Question 38: Section 230800, paragraph 1.9.A of the project specifications states that the Contractor is to “Update as-built drawings and submit in AutoCAD format”. Are current as-built drawings, in AutoCAD format, going to be made available to the Contractor for use? If so, in what version of AutoCAD will the drawings be made available?

Answer 38: Drawings will be provided in AutoCAD 2012.

Question 39: Section 230800, paragraph 1.9.A of the project specifications states that the Contractor is to “Update as-built drawings and submit in AutoCAD format”. What is the extent of drawing updating anticipated/required?

Answer 39: Just those items that deviate from what is shown on the design drawings.

Question 40: Section 230800, as presented in the solicitation, appears to be incomplete. Are additional pages available beyond the 4 pages included in the solicitation?

Answer 40: Yes, there is a page 5 for Section 230800. It will be added to the contract.

Question 41: Plan M9.1 shows a supply air fan (SF-1) in the mechanical room. However, no design equipment schedule information is included on the drawings for this fan. Is this fan included in the scope of work?

Answer 41: No, if performance data is not provided it is not included in the scope.

Question 42: Exhaust fans for the 2nd floor are not indicated on the plans for Building 90333. Do fans exist? If so, how many fans serve this floor?

Answer 42: Exhaust fan in women’s restroom is 500 cfm @ .125”wg and the men’s restroom is 320 cfm @ .125”wg. The fans are controlled by wall switch.

Question 43: Reference HF018 HOURS OF WORK – Normal hours of work on Hurlburt Field are 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM (CST), Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Access to work site is restricted to these hours and days unless otherwise approved by the Contracting Officer three (3) workdays in advance.

The mechanical repairs of the HVAC systems may require periodic outages to perform component replacements. Since the building will be occupied, will these repairs require off hours work?

Answer 43: No Question 44: Please provide the manufacturers of the controls systems within the building.

Answer 44: Schneider Electric I/A Network 8000 Direct Digital Control System consisting of a G3 Building Controller with Web page engineering and graphics, Microzone II, MNL or MNB for air handling units, Microzone II, MNL or MNB for the boiler and chiller, and Variable Air Volume Box Controllers for variable air volume terminals. The system is set up for connection to the Base's dedicated VLAN 466.

Question 45: Please provide the age of the buildings/HVAC systems.

Answer 45: Original buildings were constructed as follows. No data on when current systems installed. You can assume all buildings older than 20 years old have had HVAC systems replaced in the last 20 years.

90020 – 2006 90021 – 2006 90063 – 1993 90069 – 1993 90141 – 1988

90215 – 1955 90333 – 1955 90349 – 1973 90531 – 2007 90802 – 1994 90816 – 1956 91048 – 2007 Question 46: Ref I2 GN 2A - Is the contractor being asked to clean strainers at VAV boxes?

Answer 46: No, strainers at VAV boxes do not need to be cleaned.

Question 47: Ref I2 GN 2D - Is the contractor to measure airflow at the grilles/registers/diffusers?

Answer 47: No, Air flow at grilles is not required.

Question 48: Are there any pieces of equipment that will require scissor lifts, articulating lifts, or other special accessibility issues?

Answer 48: Most of the equipment is located on the ground, in mechanical rooms, in attics and above suspended ceilings. Unit heaters in M19.1 are suspended from roof at high bay area. Infrared heaters in 90816 are suspended from hangar bay roof.

Question 49: Are there any pieces of equipment or areas of our work that will require an escort?

Answer 49: Exterior mechanical rooms will not require escorts. Interior spaces or certain areas of buildings 90020, 90021, 90063, 90069, 90215, 90349, 90802, and 91048 will most likely require escorts.

Question 50: Will the contractor be required to have an office on base?

Answer 50: No Question 51: Will there be a signage requirement?

Answer 51: If you have an office trailer on base it will require a project sign.

Question 52: The Controls section mentions Commissioning in several areas, is that actual CA work or is it the development of this by the Controls Subcontractor?

Answer 52: The CA work is to commission the existing control systems. Commissioning in the controls specification is meant for any new controls being installed.

Question 53: Section 23 08 00 1.9 Closeout shows updating as-built drawings and submit in AutoCAD format; is this required and if so are the as-builts to be provided to us in AutoCAD?

Answer 53: Yes this is required and the base will provide the design drawings in AutoCAD for creating as-builts.

Question 54: The technical proposal shows a schedule required in the solicitation; however, at the site visit I believe it was stated that a schedule was not required, just the CA certification and project list; is this correct?

Answer 54: No schedule required.

Question 55: Please provide a list of security clearances needed for the buildings that are part of this solicitation.

Answer 55: No security clearances are required. Contractor will be escorted in sensitive areas.

Question 56: In the event that off-hour work will not be granted, please provide allowed durations of system outages that may be required as part of servicing the systems.

Answer 56: Off-hour work is not anticipated but can be requested if needed with no guarantee of approval. In general systems outages should be kept to a minimum with nothing more than about 6 hours.

Question 57: Please provide information on whether provisions need to be made for asbestos near or on any control valves that require replacing.

Answer 57: No asbestos containing materials are anticipated, but if any suspected materials are found they should be reported to the contracting officer.

Question 58: Will the coils on the computer room units require cleaning?

Answer 58: No, computer room units do not require coils to be cleaned.

Question 59: Will the condenser coils on the air cooled chillers require cleaning?

Answer 59: No condenser coils require cleaning.

Question 60: Will the split system units require cleaning?

Answer 60: Yes, coils and fans at the air handling units on split systems should be cleaned.

Question 61: Will the strainers and coils on the Terminal air units require cleaning?

Answer 61: No.

Question 62: Will the fans on the gas heating units require cleaning?

Answer 62: No.

Question 63: Will exhaust fans and dampers require cleaning?

Answer 63: No.

Question 64: Will it be required to verify operation of manual dampers on discharge air grills?

Answer 64: No.

Question 65: Specification Section 01 10 00, Paragraph 1.02.A.3 indicates “….repair HVAC controls and EMCS hardware and operation sequence as necessary.”

How are contractors to quantify the amount of repairs necessary for the system for pricing purposes?

Will a unit price system be used to price different types of repairs?

When operational conditions of systems will not allow evaluation until repairs are made, how will these repairs be addressed – by request for change?

Answer 65: Repairs to the controls are limited to that indicated on drawing I2. Any other repairs need shall be indicated on the deficiency report. Additional repairs if needed for operational evaluation will be address by modification to the contract.

Question 66: Referencing Section 23 08 00 – Retro-commissioning of HVAC, please define who the CM (Construction Manager), GC (General Contractor), and PM (Project Manager are for the buildings to be retro-commissioned. It appears that this section is for a new building project and has not been edited completely for retro-commissioning existing buildings. Please clarify.

Answer 66: The construction and project manager will be 1 Special Operations Civil Engineering Squadron and the GC will be the prime contractor on the contract.

Question 67: Referencing Section 23 08 00 – Direct Digital Control System for HVAC, it appears that this section has not been edited for the existing building control systems but rather is a specification for the installation of a new building control systems, reference the Paragraph 1.03, 1.04, and 2.01. Please clarify the intent of the Section.

Answer 67: Section was included to identify what is required for any controls being replaced under this contract.

Question 68: Are operation and maintenance manuals including existing equipment drawings available for use by this contract’s personnel for the equipment in each building?

Answer 68: We will provide whatever we can but no guarantee that this info is available on all buildings or systems.

Question 69: Are as-built drawings available for use by this contract’s personnel for each building?

Answer 69: We will provide whatever we can but no guarantee that this info is available on all buildings or systems.

Question 70: Are the design calculations available for use by this contract’s personnel for the systems in each building?

Answer 70: No.

Question 71: Regarding the hours of work (7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), the retro-commissioning of systems during the hours the buildings are in operation will create situations where systems may have to be turned off for modifications, set-points reset, and other activities that will impact occupants of the building. What type notifications will be required to occupants of the buildings and who will be responsible for issuing those notifications to occupants?

Answer 71: See paragraph 9 on drawing sheet I2. I would like to see coordination with the occupants done a week in advance where practical.

Question 72: For scheduling purposes, what will be the turn-around time for the Government to process submittals and return them for this project?

Answer 72: We will try to turn them around in 10 days but that is dependent on our work load.

Question 73: Will the contractor be required to have an office on base?

Answer 73: No Question 74: Will there be a signage requirement?

Answer 74: If you have an office trailer on base it will require a project sign.

Question 75: The Controls section mentions Commissioning in several areas, is that actual CA work or is it the development of this by the Controls Subcontractor?

Answer 75: The CA work is to commission the existing control systems. Commissioning in the controls specification is meant for any new controls being installed.

Question 76: Section 23 08 00 1.9 Closeout shows updating as-built drawings and submit in AutoCAD format; is this required and if so are the as-builts to be provided to us in AutoCAD?

Answer 76: Yes this is required and the base will provide the design drawings in AutoCAD for creating as-builts.

Question 77: The technical proposal shows a schedule required in the solicitation; however, at the site visit I believe it was stated that a schedule was not required, just the CA certification and project list; is this correct?

Answer 77: No schedule required.

Question 78: Does the period of performance change if any of the options are awarded?

Answer 78: The POP of 120 days is for the base bid only. 28 additional days will be allowed for each option awarded.

Question 79: Drawing I2 General Notes 2. Scope Of Work Includes; D: Balancing of individual grilles is not mentioned. According to industry standards (AABC, NEBB, etc.), to properly adjust Air Handling Units, Fans, and Air Terminal Units, individual grilles will need to be balanced with the most resistive airflow path’s dampers 100% open. Also, balancing of individual grilles makes the systems more efficient. If individual grilles are to be balanced, please specify to what percentage of design airflow, such as industry standard of plus or minus 10%.

Answer 79: Balancing of individual grilles not required.

Question 80: Is cleaning of strainers on individual Air Terminal Boxes required?

Answer 80: No.

Question 81: Is cleaning of outside condenser coils required?

Answer 81: No.

Question 82: If Air Handling Unit coils and other equipment components require removal from the equipment to be properly cleaned, is this part of the Scope of Work?

Answer 82: The intent is to clean coils and fans in place, not to be removed.

Question 83: If isolation valves do not work properly to isolate strainers, do we note this in the commissioning report as a deficiency and no further work is required?

Answer 83: Yes

Question 84: If strainers are frozen and corroded in place and not removable by standard means, do we list them as a deficiency in the commissioning report and no additional work is required?

Answer 84: Yes.

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