McGuire MMHS Pre-Proposal Conference Minutes.docx

Pre-Proposal Conference Minutes Solicitation FA8604-10-R-7938 McGuire Air Cargo Handling System Upgrade McGuire AFB, NJ 30 June 2010

The pre-proposal conference began at 8:45 a.m. in the conference room of building 1706 on McGuire AFB. The meeting began following a brief introduction and greeting.

Attendees were requested to sign in. The attendee list is attached to this document.

Mr. Larry Nugent reminded all attendees that nothing said at the meeting could change the terms and conditions of the solicitation. Only the Contracting Officer, Mr. Lynn Jefferies, is authorized by the U.S. Government to modify the terms and conditions of the solicitation and the resulting contract.

Photos of the existing equipment, structures, and surfaces will be allowed during the site visit. However, do not point cameras towards aircraft on the flightline.

Ms. Deloris Cotton-Smith highlighted some of the contractual aspects of the solicitation:

a. Two amendments have been issued thus far.

b. Ms. Cotton-Smith reviewed the Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) structure. There are 15 CLINs which includes 5 options. The CLINs consist of the Engineering Design, equipment items, construction items, test and acceptance of the entire system, and data items.

c. Central Contractor Registration (Clause #1 on page 25) - All contractors are required to register in the CCR prior to submitting their offer.

d. Liquidated Damages (Clause #3 on page 27 and clause #4 on page 28) - Liquidated damages are $2,465.00 per calendar day for exceeding the ETV phasing schedule and $440.00 per calendar day for exceeding the overall contract delivery schedule.

e. Davis-Bacon Act (Clause #10 on page 36) - On-site laborers performing construction work must be paid in accordance with the general wage determination attached to the solicitation. Note this flows down to subcontractors.

f. Withholding of Funds (Clause #11 on page 37) - Payments can be reduced or withheld if the Contractor (and subcontractors) are suspected of violating the Davis-Bacon Act.

g. Insurance (Clause 21 on page 42) - Insurance requirements are included in this clause.

h. Federal, State, and Local Taxes (Clause 26 on page 45) - The Contractor will be responsible for paying all federal, state, and local taxes. A question was asked regarding the local tax rate. A McGuire employee stated the local tax rate is 7% but offerors should verify this for themselves.

i. Specifications and Drawings for Construction (Clause #45 on page 63) - The Contractor is required to maintain a copy of the drawings and specifications on site at all times during installation.

j. Suspension of Work (Clause #47 on page 64) - The U.S. Government reserves the right to have the Contractor suspend, delay, or interrupt installation. The offerors were told they would not be allowed to file a claim for the suspension of work. The offerors questioned this and it will be investigated and an update provided. [Update - The Contractor is permitted to submit a request for equitable adjustment as specified in the clause.]

k. Warranty of Supplies of a Noncomplex Nature (Clause #51 on page 67) - The equipment warranty is for 1 year from the date of final acceptance.

l. Warranty of Construction (Clause #52 on page 69) - The construction warranty is for 1 year from the date of final acceptance.

m. Termination for Convenience of the Government (Clause #54 on page 71) - The U.S. Government may terminate the contract when determined to be in the Government’s interest. The Contractor is entitled to a negotiated termination settlement.

n. Default (Clause #55 on page 75) - The contract may be terminated if the Contractor does not comply with the schedule. The Contractor may be liable for additional costs to complete the work.

o. Payrolls and Basic Records (Clause 77 on page 88) - Contractor must submit a copy of Davis-Bacon payrolls to the Contracting Officer.

Minutes of this meeting and the site visit will be posted to the FedBizOpps web site next week.

This is a full and open acquisition, but an offeror must have prior experience as specified in 3.10 of the Cover PD to be technically acceptable. An offeror that does not meet or does not document such experience will be found not technically acceptable.

The U.S. Government intends to award on the first round. Offerors are strongly encouraged to comply with all technical requirements and provide their best price on the initial proposal submittal.

If an offeror takes exception to a technical or contractual requirement, it should do so in writing to Ms. Cotton-Smith prior to proposal submittal, allowing enough time for a response before sending in the proposal.

Offerors are advised to read Differing Site Conditions (Clause #31 on page 57) and Site Investigation and Conditions Affecting the Work (Clause #32 on page 57). The Contractor is required to absorb the cost to accommodate or comply with any existing condition or requirement that can be determined from a visual inspection. A request for a differing site conditions equitable adjustment will only be considered if the site has changed prior to installation, technical data or subsurface items on the as-built drawings provided in the technical library differ materially from the actual conditions, or a similar situation where a detailed inspection of the area during the pre-proposal conference would not reveal the true conditions.

Payments will be made via Wide Area Work Flow. The Contractor will be required to register and enter data online to submit invoices. A question was asked regarding the payment schedule as the milestone payments used on past projects could not be found. This will be investigated and an update provided. [Update - Progress payments are permitted on construction CLINs but not on equipment CLINs. The engineering non-construction CLINs can be paid in full upon completion of each CLIN.]

Offerors are cautioned to allocate prices to CLINs in proportion to their cost and to not front-load the contract. The distribution of costs will be reviewed.

Note that data CLINs are priced separately and attachment 1 is a Contract Data Requirements List Pricing Sheet.

Installation cannot begin on-site until the Engineering Plan and all equipment shop drawings have been accepted.

Note the maximum on-site time and phasing requirements in 3.8 and its subparagraphs of the Cover PD. These times include any and all options that are exercised. Three weeks are allowed for the modifications on each ETV. The pallet storage enclosure extension has a performance period of 365 days. The multi-pallet system has a 180-day allowable on-site installation time.

Non-U.S. citizens (foreign nationals) will have a more difficult time getting a permanent base pass and obtaining access to the base computer network for ICS installation. Allow extra time for the additional documentation and review time prior to approval.

We would like to discuss recommendations to improve the technical aspects or lower cost following the site visit. Offerors are encouraged to share their ideas so they can be incorporated into the specification.

A list of what to submit with the proposal is provided in the solicitation. Highlights include the pricing proposal including the data prices from attachment 1, technical proposal questionnaires (TPQs) from each specification document, and insurance forms.

Past performance evaluations are also required as part of the proposal, but they are sent directly from the offerors’ customers to Ms. Cotton-Smith.

The closing date is 3 August 2010 and the date is not likely to be extended.

Bonds are required from the winning offeror prior to award. See Performance and Payment Bonds - Construction (Clause #24 on page 44) and Performance and Payment Bonds - Other Than Construction (Clause #25 on page 45).

The equipment and equipment data portions of the work will be inspected and accepted by Mr. Nugent’s office from Wright-Patterson AFB. The construction and construction data portions of the work will be inspected and accepted by representatives of the McGuire base civil engineering office. See Inspection and Acceptance (Clause #76 on page 88).

A question was asked about k-loaders not being able to access many of the staging docks due to bottoming out following the original contract. As currently written, the solicitation does not require the offeror to modify the concrete in front of the staging docks. A swale in the area was moved shortly after building construction was completed to allow k-loaders to access the staging docks.

A question was asked regarding whether or not the offeror is responsible for performing the work on the 60% design provided in the technical library titled MMHS Support. The offeror is NOT responsible for this work. This work will be carried out under a separate contract before installation under this contract begins.

On the 60% design drawings which will be accomplished under a separate contract, assume the road at the east end will not be accomplished prior to installation and that a traffic island will remain in the north east corner of the work but it will not interfere with truck access to the pre-pack docks. The technical library will be updated to reflect this information. Further changes may take place as this is only a 60% design. [Update - Power for the new multi-pallet area will be provided via empty conduit from the transformer to an underground vault location within 10 feet of the disconnect switch location shown on the 60% drawings. The Contractor will need to run wire from the transformer to the motor control centers where disconnect switches will need to be installed.]

When modifying the concrete around the terminal, the Contractor shall remove entire slabs and shall not saw cut the existing slabs.

The inventory control system (ICS) server location has changed. It will now be located in the east end of the existing terminal. This will be indicated in a specification revision.

All ICS network connections shall be hard-wired except the ETVs and between multi-pallet area and the north west corner of building 1757. These locations and only these locations may be wireless. This will be clarified in a specification revision.

A question was asked about modifying the FMC deck on the ETV. Could as-built drawings and software be made available? These items will be available for review after award.

A question was asked about whether or not the ETV PLCs are ready for the ICS. All existing PLCs will be made available for inspection during the site visit. The ETV PLCs are probably ICS ready, but each offeror would have to make that determination on their own. The other existing PLCs will likely need to be replaced or upgraded.

Offerors were notified that the contractor will have to comply with Airfield Safety Precautions (Clause #66 on page 81) and the requirements of 3.3.11 of the Cover PD.

The meeting was moved outside to the existing system and the surrounding areas where installation will take place.

a. The elevation at the east end of the extension was examined. Potential problems with the elevation difference were discussed.

b. A storm sewer drain in the east extension area was examined and its possible impact on k-loader access to the staging docks was discussed. The impact on k-loader access is outside the scope of this contract.

c. A question was asked whether McGuire has a program to recycle pavement. This will be investigated and a response provided later. [Update - McGuire does not currently have a program to recycle pavement.]

d. The existing ALOC (pre-pack) operation was examined and discussed. A typical truck that is used for this mission and that is required to interface with the new lifts was available for inspection.

e. The outside and inside of the east end of the existing pallet storage enclosure was examined. The ETV access doors may be reused. Upper and lower level personnel pathways must be provided between the existing enclosure and the extension on both sides of the aisle. The crane rail, electrical feed rail, and horizontal position encoder system must pass through the east wall to the extension.

f. The motor control centers on the east ETV, for the east staging docks, and for the east pallet lifts were opened up so the PLCs, wiring and components, and available space were available for inspection.

g. Modifications to the existing ETVs were discussed while on the east ETV.

h. The ETV platform was raised so the offerors could look underneath to examine the available space and other constraints for deck modifications.

i. The heliroll deck on the ETV was examined in detail and the proposed operational modes were discussed. A relatively heavy and a relatively light pallet were transferred across the deck and rotated to observe how smooth the transfer was accomplished and how much the pallets skewed during transfer. The pallets exhibited little skewing during these transfers.

j. Personnel walked along the staging docks and the south edge of the system. The existing multi-pallet conveyor was pointed out and the scale system examined.

k. K-loaders and forklifts were pointed out and made available for inspection.

l. Personnel then walked to the area where the new multi-pallet crane and workstation conveyor will be installed. The new power run was discussed. The exact location was purposely not specified so the contractor can adjust the location in a north-south direction to minimize interference with sub-surface utilities. Limits on the location shifting will be incorporated as a specification revision. [Update - A specification revision is not required to allow adjustment of the crane location. The location was not dimensioned on Figure 3 of the Cover PD. Any location between the existing traffic islands that does not interfere with tractor-trailers backing under the crane canopy on both sides of the multi-pallet workstation conveyor as specified in 3.2.4 of Appendix G will be acceptable.]

m. The new multi-pallet location relative to the existing building was pointed out. This area will connect to the ICS via a wireless network connection that the Contractor must install. The wireless link must be mounted on the north west (nearest) corner of the terminal (building 1757).

n. Personnel then walked to the main entrance of building 1757 near the middle of the north side. The fire alarm panel just inside the door was identified. The graphic display will need to be replaced with a new graphic showing the extension. The existing panel lights still need to function on the new panel and testing will be required.

o. Personnel walked into the warehouse portion of the freight terminal. The existing power panels for the ETVs, conveyors, and lighting located near the center of the south wall were discussed. The fire pump location on top of a mezzanine in the north east corner of the building was pointed out.

p. A question was asked about office space and restrooms. Offices and restrooms would not be provided by the Government for construction personnel, so trailers and portable lavatories would be necessary. Power and phone connections can be obtained from base civil engineering for the trailers. Office space may be available once only one or two personnel were on-site, but could not be guaranteed.

q. The location of the ICS server room near the middle of the east side of building 1757 was pointed out. The room currently lacks air conditioning. Air conditioning and any required power upgrades will be provided by the Government after award and are outside the scope of this contract.

Everyone walked back to the conference room to wrap-up discussions. The offerors had three suggestions.

The first suggestion was to replace the heliroll deck with a right-angle deck mounted on a turntable. This was considered during design and the decision was made to keep the heliroll deck knowing there would be some issues with the ICS. Several points were made supporting replacement of the deck. A decision will be made next week and posted on FedBizOpps. [Update - The existing deck will remain. The cost, complexity, weight, liability, and additional downtime required are all in favor of keeping the existing deck. An alternative deck (such as rubber pop-up wheels) that does not add significant weight or complexity (wiring) will be allowed as deck modifications to provide automatic alignment. No revisions will be made to the specification.]

The second suggestion was to provide direction on how to proceed on the elevation issues on the east end of the system. A decision will be made next week. [Update - Assume the road and the elevations at the east end of the extension will not be modified prior to installation on this contract. Therefore, for bidding purposes, assume enough excavation, a retaining wall, and proper drainage so forklifts can pass along the east end of the extension and enter the overhead door on the east end. Being able to remove the ETV is not required under this contract, but any new surfaces provided must support ETV removal as well as forklift access to the east end. This will be clarified in specification revisions or modifications to text in the technical library.]

The third suggestion was to specify limits or a range on the location of the multi-pallet system to minimize movement of sub-surface utilities. This will be clarified in specification revisions. [Update - No revisions are necessary, see 31.l above.]

Closing remarks included a list of data to be posted on FedBizOpps the following week:

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