Question_ _Response__62_-_82.pdf

PRE-AWARD REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

VENDOR QUESTIONS/GOVERNMENT RESPONSES

#62 – 82

FINAL

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

FA8601-14-R-0007

Multiple Award Construction Contract (MACC)

24 JULY 2014

Question #62 Per the below excerpt from the solicitation, proposers are required to provide certification by the Joint Certification Program in our proposal. Our bidding JV team has submitted the required DD 2345 to DLIS however; this certification process can take several weeks before receiving approval. If the certification is not received by the proposal due date, will a copy of our DD form 2345 in lieu of the certification be acceptable? We have performed numerous projects in recent years at WPAFB and currently hold other MACC contracts with the USAF at other locations without having this certification in place. Please advise.

4.2.2.3 Subfactor 1: Management Plan

The offeror shall:

• In accordance with paragraph 2.3 of the SOW, provide certification by the Joint Certification Program (JCP) administered by the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS). To apply for certification submit DD Form 2345 in accordance with the instructions found on the form. The form can be found at:

http://www.dlis.dla.mil/jcp/forms/DD2345Form.pdf. (Applicable to the Basic Contract only)

Government Response: Amendment 0003 was issued to clarify that the required JCP certification must be provided to the Contracting Office prior to award.

Question #63 Per Amendment #3, "If an offeror has not received certification by the Joint Certification Program (JCP) administered by the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) at the time of proposal submission, then they shall provide proof that the DD Form 2345 was completed and submitted for approval as part of the proposal." Will these pages count toward the page limit?

Government Response: Since the proof that the DD Form 2345 was completed and submitted for approval would be taking the place of the actual certification and those pages are not listed in RFP Section L, Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Bidders, Provision PZIOC L-004 – Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Offerors or Respondents, Alternate II (April 2014), Section 3.0, Proposal Preparation Instructions, Paragraph 3.1.2, Page Limitations, as a page count exemption, these pages will count toward the page count.

Question #64 Is the ceiling tile mastic asbestos?

Government Response: The wall and finish material are assumed ACM. An addendum will be issued directing the offerors to abate in accordance with WPAFB Master Spec Section 02 08 10.

Question #65 The Volume I page limit for the Summary states a maximum of 1 page. Is this correct? If so, do you want this in a 3 ring binder?

Government Response: The page limit of 1 page for Volume I is correct. Please reference RFP Section L, Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Bidders, Provision PZIOC L-004 – Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Offerors or Respondents, Alternate II (April 2014), Section 3.0, Proposal Preparation Instructions, Paragraph 3.1, Organization/Number of Copies/Page Limits that sates “…The volumes identified in the table shall be separately bound in three-ring, loos-leaf binders, as necessary.” The offeror may submit the information required for Volume I at the front of Volume II. If included in Volume II, please ensure that the binder is labeled accordingly to reflect that it contains both Volume I and II.

Question #66 Will offshift work be required? If not, will it be allowed?

Government Response: Off-shift hours are not required. However if the need arises for 2nd or 3rd shift work or weekend work that should be requested when the need arises through the Contracting Officer and contract inspector as outlined in the statement of work.

Question #67 Architectural Plans do not give wall detail construction, including height of existing ceiling. Are the new interior walls to be constructed to the existing deck, if so, what is the height of the existing deck?

Government Response: Please see Addendum 2, for a clarification on wall construction. Additionally, ceiling heights are available on sheet A400. Per addendum 2 walls are generally only required to extend 6” above the acoustical ceiling.

Question #68 The ACT Tile call for a high NRC rating – are the walls to have any NRC or STC rating?

Government Response: Please see Addendum 2, for a clarification on wall construction.

Question #69 Sheet A001 – Chair Rail ST1 in the legends calls for a new cherry chair rail and in the legend it calls for an OAK chair rail – please clarify which type of chair rail is required?

Government Response: Contractor is only to match the Wilsonart plastic laminate sample “Collector’s Cherry.” In this case “Collector’s Cherry” is referring to a color not he actual material. Per the finish schedule provide an oak chair rail.

Question #70 The attachment 7 pricing sheet does not give a space to insert the Option #1 price. Please clarify where we are to list this.

Government Response: Offerors should include any costs associated with option in with their overall costs for the Sample Project. Provide one lump sum cost incorporating both the base price and the option 1 price for additional chair rail.

Question #71 The subcontracting community has become aware that the sample project is not going to be awarded so subcontractor quotes are sparse for this task. Would it be possible to extend this for a few days to a week in order to get better coverage on pricing?

Government Response: Amendment 0004 has been issued to extend the closing date from 2:00 p.m. local time on 23 July 2014 to 2:00 p.m. local time on 28 July 2014. Amendment 0005 will extend the closing date to a date/time to be determined at the time the Amendment is issued.

Question #72 In reference to the Seed Project, Base Facility Standard (BFS) 8.2.2.3 Page 111 calls for smoke detectors to be attached to the fire alarm system. Are there smoke detectors in the building, especially in the HVAC units?

Government Response: Best available record drawings have already been provided. Provide new detectors in accordance with UFC 3-600-01 and other pertinent code requirements.

Question #73 In reference to the Seed Project, Base Facility Standard (BFS) 8.4.1.8 Page 113 and 8.4.2 Page 114 describes the approve riser layout. The current riser configuration does not comply with the specifications. Are we to redo the service to comply with these provisions?

Government Response: Replacement of the existing riser is not required by the SOW and therefore paragraph 8.4.2 of the BFS is not applicable to the project. Similarly, the existing riser is already equipped with a back-flow preventer as reference paragraph 8.4.1.8 of the BFS.

Question #74 In reference to the Seed Project, Base Facility Standard (BFS) 8.5 Page 114 identifies fire extinguisher requirements. Are we to provide or will the existing building extinguisher locations be sufficient

Government Response: The task of this scope does not require the replacement of the existing fire extinguishers.

Question #75 In reference to the Seed Project, Base Facility Standard (BFS) 8.4.1.11 Page 113 calls for a visual strobe to be 8’ – 10’ in the air above the PIV and connected to the fire alarm. Since this is now away from the building will the strobe still be necessary? Is it to be on a free standing post, or can it be part of the bollard?

Government Response: Per the current BFS, a visual strobe is only required on facilities with multiple FDCs.

Question #76 In reference to the Seed Project, has there been an environmental inspection completed on the existing glued on ceiling tile for ABM?

Government Response: Additional information will be provided on suspected ACM in the form of an addendum to be incorporated by Amendment 0005.

Question #77 In reference to the Seed Project, will the fire suppression system need to stay in service during the project or can it be decommissioned for the duration of the project? Is it possible to do a fire watch in lieu of the sprinkler system during the work?

Government Response: There is going to be duration of time where the sprinkler system and the fire alarm control panel may be out of service. You should phase the project where only one system is out of service while the other is in service during construction. Neither system shall be allowed to be out of service for the duration of this project. The contractor shall be required to establish a fire watch when either system is out of service for any time exceeding fifteen minutes.

Question #78 In reference to the Seed Project, will each room be vacant during the construction sequence or will the building be vacant during the project? Will there be unlimited access to the work area in aggregate or will the project have to be completed in phases?

Government Response: The building is lightly occupied at present with only six or seven people there at any given time. You will have access to all areas of the building during normal working hours as described in the statement of work.

Question #79 We apologize for this question so late in the process, but we respectfully request that you review tab “Non-DBA Pricing Scenario” of the attached pricing worksheet.

Because the form is “locked” for most edits, we cannot expand column E to see the actual number associated with the (FOR EVALUATION PURPOSES ONLY) cell E76. We only see “###########”

Would it be possible to expand this cell and reissue?

Government Response: The columns are being expanded and the document will be reissued via Amendment 0004.

Question #80

We feel that the performance requirements that are illustrated in the Statement of Work (3.

Performance Capabilities, 3.1 Contract Manager ((CM), 3.2 Contractor’s Quality Control Manager (CQCM), 3.4 Site Safety and Health Officer (SSHO)) are excessive and become exclusionary to developing contractors bidding on this project.

The complexity that has been illustrated in the sample project and also the seed project may not justify “dedicated” degreed staff personnel. The Performance Capabilities section requires that three staff members working for the General Contractor (CM, CQCM, SSHO) are graduate engineers, architects or construction managers, the CM may only be degreed in selected disciplines (civil or structural) or hold a bachelor’s degree in architecture. We are not aware of any published government metric, law, or industry standards that “require” these positions to be degreed personnel. We feel that the Government will pay an unnecessary higher than industry standard price for completed projects due to this requirement.

The requirement becomes exclusionary, particularly for developing (8)a contractors, who may otherwise be able to illustrate that they are capable of performing the base contract, SEED, and Sample projects but do not have a developed degreed architectural/engineering staff. The requirement makes no allowance for these positions to be filled by otherwise experienced company personnel. Further, the requirement dictates to contractors the necessity to employ degreed personnel, when it is not an industry standard to do so, putting an unreasonable, arbitrary, financial burden on developing (8)companies in order to compete.

We feel that the requirements are unnecessarily narrow and limit the competition.

1) May the Government provide the metric that justifies the level of oversight that is illustrated in the Performance Capabilities requirement?

2) We ask that the Government establish Performance Capabilities requirements that are commensurate with the level of difficulty for both the sample and the seed projects which are illustrated in the Solicitation.

Government Response: The required qualifications for the CM, CQCM, and SSHO were based on comparisons to similar contracts utilized within the DoD. The current degree requirements established in the SOW are commensurate with the size and difficulty level of tasks that could potentially be executed against the MACC.

Question #81

4.2.2.3 Subfactor 1: Management Plan

Bullet # 3: “Describe how the offeror plans to manage, supervise, and coordinate subcontractors/partners. The description shall include organizational structure, responsibilities, and lines of authority established for the contract. Include an organizational chart detailing the organization described in your proposal. The organizational chart shall include names and qualifications of proposed personnel to include key positions as defined in Section 3 of the SOW.

Include descriptions pertaining to the management of both the design and construction phases of potential task orders. (Applicable to the Basic Contract only)

Given the Performance Capabilities listed in section 3 of the SOW, including years of experience, degrees, certifications, etc. We would assume the Government would want to see key personnel resumes, including past work experience, outlining the minimum experience required by the SOW.

If this is so, we do not feel an organizational chart depicting over 7 key positions, even if placed on 11x17” paper and with a minimum of 8 point font will be sufficient space to depict the organizational structure of our team as well as each individuals’ names and qualifications; unless it is acceptable by the Government’s standards, to make a general statement, for example :

(John Doe, CM, 10 years relevant experience, bachelors in civil engineering).

May the Government considered allowing resumes for the key positions that we must name, as well as changing the requirements of the organizational chart to remove personnel qualifications as they will be listed in the resumes?

If, the government allows the addition of personnel resumes may the technical page count be increased to allow 1 page per resume, or the resumes not be counted in the 50 page limit?

Government Response: An organizational chart is required by Section L of the RFP. However, the chart can reference other pages of the technical proposal, including a resume if the offeror chooses to convey personnel qualifications in this manner. Per section 3.0 of the RFP the page limit for the Technical Proposal shall not exceed 50 pages.

Question #82

4.2.2.3 Subfactor 1: Management Plan

Bullet # 4: “If the proposal is based on a teaming/partnership relationship, the offeror shall provide all required solicitation information for all parties…”

Please define “all required solicitation information,”. Does this include a 1442, reps and certs, and 3-5 projects for each teaming partner even if 1 teaming partner is the Prime and the other teaming partner is an AE/MEP firm?

Government Response: Per section L: Management Plan, provide an agreement which identifies the responsibilities for each entity under this contract, and demonstrates the intent of the business relationship between the firms. The requirement for 3-5 projects is part of a different sub-factor. Each offeror (be it an individual company or joint venture) need only provide a total of 3-5 projects which demonstrate the experience referenced in that sub-factor.