Attach_13_Section L Instructions to Offerors.pdf

Section L – Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors

L-1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

L-1.1 To ensure timely and equitable evaluation of proposals, offerors must follow the instructions contained herein. This Section L of the Request for Proposal (RFP) provides general guidance for preparing proposals as well as specific instructions on the format and content of the proposal. The offeror’s proposal must include all data and information requested in Section L and must be submitted in accordance with these instructions. Non- conformance with the instructions provided in this Section L and/or failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award.

L-1.2 The proposal acceptance period is specified in Block 13, SF 1442, of this solicitation. By signing block 20B of the SF 1442, the offeror certifies that the proposal is valid from the due date and time listed in block 13A through the entire period specified in block 13D.

L-1.3 All referenced documents for this solicitation are available on the Contracting

Opportunities website at https://sam.gov and within the Solicitation Module in PIEE

(https://piee.eb.mil). Potential offerors are encouraged to subscribe for real-time e-mail notifications when information has been posted to the website for this solicitation.

L-1.4 The Government reserves the right to revise or amend the specifications, drawings, or the solicitation prior to the proposal closing time. Such revisions or amendments will be communicated by amendments to the Request for Proposal (RFP) and posted to the aforementioned websites. If such amendments require material changes in quantities or prices, the proposal closing date may be postponed by enough days to enable offerors to revise their proposals. In such cases, the amendment will include an announcement of the new closing date and time. Offerors MUST acknowledge all amendments in their proposal, either by completing

SF 1442 Block 19, providing signed copies of the amendments with their proposal (Section III), or by separate letter which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers.

Furthermore, the Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation at any point before contract award. In the event this solicitation is cancelled, the Government has no obligation to reimburse offerors for any costs incurred. NO OFFEROR WILL BE COMPENSATED FOR

SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL.

L-1.5 Government Points of Contact: The Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist listed below are the Government's sole points of contact for this acquisition. The deadline for all questions, concerns, and/or request for clarification regarding this solicitation is no later than 14 calendar days prior to the proposal due date. To address any questions or concerns you shall email all individuals at the following:

James B. Laney, Contracting Officer, Email: james.laney.3@us.af.mil

L-1.6 In accordance with FAR Subpart 4.8 (Government Contract Files), the Government will mailto:james.laney.3@us.af.mil retain a copy of all unsuccessful proposals.

L-1.7 Debriefings. The Contracting Officer will promptly notify offerors of any decision to exclude them from the competitive range if a competitive range is established; whereupon the offeror may request and receive a debriefing in accordance with (IAW) FAR 15.505. Offerors excluded from the competitive range may request a pre-award debriefing or a post-award debriefing. NOTE: Offerors excluded from the competitive range are entitled to a single debriefing. The CO will notify unsuccessful offerors in the competitive range of the source selection decisions IAW FAR 15.506. Upon such notification, unsuccessful offerors may request and receive a debriefing. Offerors desiring a debriefing must make their request IAW the requirements of FAR 15.505 or 15.506, as applicable.

L-1.8 Discrepancies. If an offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the offeror shall immediately notify the Contracting

Officer in writing with supporting rationale as well as the remedies the offeror is asking the

Contracting Officer to consider as related to the claimed omission or error. The offeror is reminded that the Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussions. This reservation also includes matters of additional or substitute pages of the initial proposal.

L-1.9 Additional Cost Information. The Contracting Officer has determined there is a high probability of adequate price competition in this acquisition. Upon examination of the initial offers, the Contracting Officer will review this determination and if, in the contracting officer's opinion, adequate price competition exists no additional cost information will be requested and certification under FAR 15.406-2 will not be required. However, if at any time during this competition the contracting officer determines that adequate price competition no longer exists, offerors may be required to submit information to the extent necessary for the contracting officer to determine the reasonableness and affordability of the price.

L-1.10 Small Business Eligibility. Proposals may only be submitted by Small Business

Administration (SBA) Certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) registered in the North American Industrial Classification System Code (NAICS) 236220, ONLY SDVOSB Participants are eligible to submit offers. Additionally, a Joint Venture may be considered an SDVOSB concern eligible under the SDVOSB program if it complies with the requirements at FAR 19.1403(d).

L-2. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

L-2.1 Offerors are responsible for submitting proposals (including any revisions, and amendments) to reach the Government office designated in this solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. Paper (hard copy) proposals shall NOT be provided and will not be evaluated.

EMAIL SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Proposals shall be submitted as follows:

L-2.1.1 Offerors shall deliver proposals through the Solicitation Module in Procurement

Integrated Environment (PIEE). Offerors are responsible for ensuring PIEE registration and any training needed is completed prior to anticipated solicitation closing date. See links below for details:

Vendor Registration:

https://www.acq.osd.mil/asda/dpc/ce/cap/docs/piee/PIEE_Solicitation_Module_Vendor_Access_

Instructions.pdf

Solicitation Module Training: https://pieetraining.eb.mil/wbt/xhtml/wbt/sol/index.xhtml

L-2.1.2 Reserved

L-2.1.3 Reserved

L-2.2 Any proposal, modification, or revision, that is received at the designated Government office after the exact time specified for receipt of proposals will be “late” and will not be considered unless the Contracting Officer determines the criteria set forth in FAR 15.208 exists.

L-2.3 Proposals shall be complete, clearly presented, and include sufficient detail for effective evaluation as detailed in section M of this solicitation and for substantiating validity of stated claims. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements but rather, shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of the offeror’s facilities and/or experience and will rely heavily on the information presented in the offeror’s proposal. Proposals shall be neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and assembled electronically in an orderly manner. NOTE: Elaborate artwork and expensive visual and other presentation aids are neither necessary nor desired. Include only information that is relevant to this source selection.

L-2.4 Organization/Format/Number of Copies/Page Limits.

L-2.4.1 A complete proposal shall consist of three (3) volumes:

http://www.acq.osd.mil/asda/dpc/ce/cap/docs/piee/PIEE_Solicitation_Module_Vendor_Access_

Volume I, Executive Summary

Volume II, (a), Past Performance; Volume II (b), Signed Teaming Agreement (if applicable);

and

Volume III, Cost/Price Proposal (Executed RFP Documents)/Contractor Responsibility.

Specific guidance regarding the content of each volume will be discussed further below. Page limitations shall be treated as maximums. If exceeded, the excess pages will not be read or considered in the evaluation of the proposal. When Evaluation Notices (ENs) are necessary, the

Government will issue them by electronic means to prospective offerors. Page limitations may be placed on responses to these ENs and such limitations will be provided at the time the EN is issued.

L-2.4.2 Page Size/Format & Page Limitation. An electronic page is defined as each face of an

8 ½” X 11” electronic sheet of paper containing information. Page limits apply to all electronic files. Pages in excess of the maximum page limits defined below will not be evaluated. For the purposes of formatting, the type font shall not be less than 12 pitch. Pages shall be numbered sequentially by volume.

Volume I – Executive Summary: 2 Page Limit

Volume II (a) – Past Performance: 20 Page Limit

Volume II (b) – Signed Teaming or JV Agreement (if Teaming or JV is proposed): No page limit

Volume III – Cost/Price Proposal and Contractor Responsibility: No Page Limit

L-2.4.3 Labeling. All pages of each part shall be appropriately numbered and identified with the

Request for Proposal (RFP) number. Pages in excess of the maximum will not be evaluated. Be sure to apply all appropriate markings including those prescribed IAW FAR 52.215-1(e), Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data, and FAR 3.104-4, Disclosure, Protection, and

Marking of Contractor Bid or Proposal Information and Source Selection Information.

L-2.4.4 Operations System and Application. Proposals will be accessed with Microsoft

Windows 11 Operating System. Proposal files shall be submitted using only the applications listed below:

Application / File Valid Extensions

Portable Document Files .pdf

Microsoft Word .docx

Microsoft Excel .xlsx

Microsoft Power Point .pptx

L-2.4.5 Cost or Pricing Related Data. All cost and/or pricing data shall ONLY be addressed in the Cost/Price Proposal Volume.

L-2.4.6 Indexing. Electronic files should be titled appropriately so as to easily discern each volume as outlined in paragraph L-2.4.1. Each file shall contain a more detailed table of contents to delineate the subparagraphs within that file. Tab indexing shall be used to identify sections.

Indexing is not included in the page limitations.

L-2.4.7 Proposal Acceptance Period. The proposal acceptance period is specified in Block 13d of the Standard Form 1442 of the Solicitation. In accordance with Block 17, the number inserted must be equal to or greater than the number of days listed in Block 13d.

L-3.1 Volume 1 – Executive Summary. Each offeror shall submit an executive summary consisting of a narrative summary and a table of contents.

The narrative summary of the entire proposal shall be concise. The salient features should tie in with Section M evaluation factors/subfactors. Any summary material presented here shall not be considered as meeting the requirements for any portions of other volumes of the proposal.

Each proposal shall include a master table of contents of the entire proposal.

L-3.2 FACTOR 1, Volume II - PAST PERFORMANCE AND SIGNED TEAMING

AGREEMENT

L-3.2.1 General. Each offeror shall submit a Past Performance Volume prepared IAW all instructions contained within this Section L. The past performance proposal volume will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria in Section M, Evaluation Factors for Award.

L-3.2.2 Volume Organization. Offerors Past Performance Volume shall be organized according to the following general outline:

1) Table of Contents

2) Summary Page

3) Present/Past Performance Information (PPPI)

4) Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ)

5) Teaming Agreement or Joint Venture Agreement

L-3.2.3 Table of Contents and Summary Page(s). Describe the role of the offeror and each major subcontractor, teaming partner, and/or joint venture partner for whom the offeror is required to provide PPPI IAW L-3.2.4. The table of contents and summary pages shall not exceed five (5) pages combined.

L-3.2.4 Present/Past Performance Information (PPPI): Offerors shall provide adequate past performance information on completed or current contracts (including Federal, State, local government and private) considered most relevant in demonstrating the ability to perform the proposed work as identified within the Arnold SABER SOW (Attachment 01). Offerors must provide past performance information to establish Recency and Relevancy on all Federal contracts before State, local government or private contracts. The Government's evaluation of past performance information will take into account past performance information regarding predecessor companies, or subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects (See

Teaming Agreements, para L-3.2.6 through L-3.2.14), when such information is relevant to the

SABER acquisition. Offerors are required to explain what aspects of each contract are deemed relevant to complexity and magnitude as related to the requirements of this solicitation and in accordance with Section M. Failure to provide required relevancy description may impact the acceptability rating, (i.e. aspects of previous projects should match work elements identified in the Solicitation/specification).

Provide a summary of NO MORE THAN five (5) references using information described above, not to exceed one (1) page of past performance information per reference. The summary should explain what aspects of each contract are deemed recent and relevant as related to the requirements of this solicitation and in accordance with Section M. Failure to provide required relevancy description may impact the acceptability rating, (i.e. aspects of previous projects should match work elements identified in the solicitation/specification). The summary should include:

a) Name of project (Contract number, if applicable)

b) Name and address of customer or Government agency

c) Name, telephone, fax number and/or email of customer contact or contracting officer

d) Dollar value

e) Period of performance/Completion date

f) Narrative addressing how performance of how reference is relevant to requirements of this solicitation.

- Recency Assessment is defined:

To be recent, the effort must be ongoing or must have been performed during the past six (6) years from the issuance month of this solicitation. Past performance information that fails this condition will not be evaluated.

- Relevancy Assessment is defined:

Projects involving the type of construction and work elements described in the attached

Statement of Work and Specifications. Relevant past performance information must demonstrate design and construction experience with contracts that manage multiple simultaneous task order type projects. Project work elements include renovation, alteration and repair, additions and upgrades, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), electrical, mechanical, and other major trades. Managing multiple simultaneous task order projects is defined as having at least five (5) active task order projects at the same time with cumulative value of all task orders totaling approximately $2 million annually.

L-3.2.5 Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ). Offerors shall complete Section A of the PPQ (Attachment 11) and mail or email to all POC(s) the offeror has identified in the PPPI.

The POC(s) will then complete the PPQ and send them directly to the Government representatives identified in the PPQ by e-mail, no later than the proposal due date stated in SF

1442 Section A, Block 13 of this RFP. Offerors shall follow-up with respondents to ensure they have completed the PPQ and sent them to AFTC/PZIC. Once submitted, the information contained therein shall be considered sensitive and shall not be released to the offeror. Include the completed Sections A of the PPQ in the Past Performance proposal Volume. Any PPQs submitted directly by an offeror will not be considered. Any PPQ document submitted in format other than the document at Attachment 11 will not be considered. It is the sole responsibility of the offeror to send out and track the completion of a PPQ to ensure it is received by AFTC/PZIC before the proposal deadline.

In lieu of a Past/Present Performance Questionnaire, if a project is currently available in the

Contractor Past Performance Reporting System (CPARS), the contractor may attach a copy of the evaluation with its reference list. Copies of CPARS reports will not count against page count/limit.

L-3.2.6 Signed Teaming Agreement - If Teaming Agreements or Joint Ventures are contemplated, they must comply with the appropriate Federal Regulations (13 C.F.R. Part 121 -

Small Business Size Regulations). The teaming members must provide complete information as to relevant and recent past performance information on previous teaming agreements. If this is a first-time joint effort, each party to the teaming agreement must provide information on all relevant contracts as specified in paragraph L-3.2.4. The maximum number of references combined shall not exceed five (5) per team member/partner.

L-3.2.7 The Government will recognize the integrity and validity of formal contractor teaming agreements; provided, the agreements are identified, and company relationships are fully disclosed in an offer. A teaming agreement must establish each party's role in the proposal preparation process and will be incorporated into the contract. Failure to clearly define roles and/or provide a teaming agreement with a proposal shall make teaming arrangements and related subcontractor past performance ineligible for evaluation and consideration of award. The prime contractor shall remain fully responsible for contract performance, regardless of any teaming agreement between the prime contractor and its subcontractors as the contract is solely between the prime contractor and the United States Government. Teaming Agreements must provide the following information as part of their proposal, Volume II, not later than the date/time proposals are due:

L-3.2.8 Clearly establish roles of each party (who is prime and who is subcontractor, who is responsible for what tasks, contract administration, proposals, work management, etc.).

L-3.2.9 Provide for protection of competition-sensitive proprietary information. (Subcontractor past performance cannot be disclosed to the prime offeror without the subcontractor’s consent).

Provide a letter from all subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement, consenting to the release of their past performance information to the prime contractor, only if it is being used as part of the past performance evaluation.

L-3.2.10 Identify each member’s share of the prospective contract, 50/50, 51/49, etc.

L-3.2.11 Reserved

L-3.2.12 The offeror must provide a statement of acknowledgement that the Prime Contractor is responsible for adhering to contract terms and conditions and daily management. The Prime

Contractor is obligated to negotiate in good faith and responsible for conveying mandatory government terms and conditions to subcontractors.

L-3.2.13 The prime contractor shall remain fully responsible for contract performance, regardless of any teaming agreement between the prime contractor and its subcontractors.

L-3.2.14 Reserved

L-3.3 FACTOR 2, VOLUME III - PRICE/COST PROPOSAL Submit the Standard Form

(SF) 1442 and all pages originally included in the RFP. Submit one (1) copy.

L-3.3.1 Complete blocks 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, and 20a-c of the SF 1442, Solicitation, Offer, and

Award. An authorized official of the firm submitting the offer must sign and date the SF 1442 in block 20a-c. (In doing so, the offeror accedes to the contract terms and conditions as written in the RFP, Sections A through K).

L-3.3.2 Insert coefficients of base period and option years in the Coefficient Bid Schedule for each Contract Line Item. All line items must be filled in. Failure to provide coefficients for all line items may eliminate you from competition. Offerors coefficient shall be identified as a percentage increase (e.g., 1.10) or decrease (e.g., 0.95) to the current edition of the Construction

Task Catalog (CTC). They include all cost elements not included in the current CTC (e.g., overhead, profit, G & A expenses, bond premiums, gross receipts taxes, quality control, cleanup, subcontractor mark-up, labor burden, mobilization/demobilization, permits and licenses, taxes, depreciation, as-built drawings, submittals, site security, etc.). Coefficient shall also include any costs for the use or licensing fees associated with the eGordian software and access.

L-3.3.3 Project distribution. It is estimated that the maximum dollar amount of this contract will be distributed based on the Average Estimated Volume (AEV) as follows (this shall be reflected in the proposed coefficient for each CLIN/performance period identified in Section B).

- 97% -- Standard Hours: 0700-1630hrs

- 03% -- Non-Standard Hours

L-3.3.4 Initial Total Evaluated Price (TEP). To ensure an efficient evaluation process, the

Government will rank all proposals from the lowest to the highest priced offerors, as indicated in

Section M-1.3.2, to establish the proposal evaluation order. To accomplish this, the initial TEP

(for the ranking purpose only) will be calculated by multiplying the offeror's coefficient rate proposed for the base period and all option periods identified in Section B against the Average

Estimated Volume (AEV) of each category. AEV is based on a maximum contract value of

$15M over a potential five year period and will be used for evaluation purposes only.

L-3.3.5 Complete representations and certifications in Section K or within the System for Award

Management.

L-3.3.6 Submit the Financial Reference Worksheet, Attachment 12, with the top portion completed.

L-3.3.7 Submit electronic copy of original Bid Bond. Note, successful offeror will be required to provide hard-copy of Bid Bond after award.

L-3.3.8 Provide evidence of bonding capacity. Shall be provided from an acceptable surety in accordance with FAR 28.202, Acceptability of Corporate Sureties. Evidence must show the contractor's sufficient bonding capability to meet the maximum task order amount of $1,000,000 as well as an aggregate amount of $4,000,000. The document must include the surety company’s name, address, telephone number, and points of contact. The surety must be listed in the

Department of Treasury Circular 570, “Companies Holding Certificates of Authority as

Acceptable Sureties on Federal Bonds and Acceptable Reinsuring Companies”. The project and aggregate bonding amounts shall not exceed the surety’s underwriting limit certified by the U.S.

Department of the Treasury. This information will be used in the Contracting Officer’s determination of responsibility.

L-4.0 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INSTRUCTIONS AND EVALUATION.

Your attention is directed to the functional relationship between Sections L and M of this solicitation. Section L provides information for the purpose of organizing the proposal and is not intended to be all inclusive. Section M describes evaluation factors for award. Since the

Government evaluation of proposals will cover areas identified in Section M, proposals should address all such areas of evaluation.

L-5.0 QUESTIONS. All questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted in writing. All questions and subsequent answers will be posted to the PIEE Solicitation Module as well as the

SAM.gov website (https://sam.gov/). It is the responsibility of the contractor to continuously monitor the site for updates. To mitigate the risks associated with the cancellation of this solicitation due to untimely submission of questions, all questions must be submitted electronically to the individual(s) listed in section L-1.5 no later than close of business 14 calendar days prior to proposal due date. Any questions submitted after this period may not be answered.