RFI___1_Responses_dated_Septembver_12-2017.pdf

Request For Information #1 – September 12, 2017

Question 1: General Contractor Agreement, Paragraph III.R. – Apprenticeship Plans – Please confirm that the awarding contractor will not need to participate in or maintain a registered apprenticeship program as defined in this paragraph.

Answer: See Apprenticeship Plan page 17 on the Agreement document. "The contractor's plan for using apprentices and the achievement of that plan is for data collection purposes only. The contract requirements are to submit a plan and quarterly reports. Failure to submit plans or reports will be noted in past performance evaluations for the contract. A plan that states that the contractor currently cannot forecast the use of apprentices on the project due to lack of apprentice opportunities in the market because of high availability of skilled labor is an acceptable plan. The contractor is still required to report quarterly. "

Question 2: The Solicitation Factor 6 – Project Labor Agreements(PLA): The requirements of this section indicate that full credit (10%) for this factor will be provided to offerors who agree to be bound by a Project Labor Agreement. There appears to be no form of Project Labor Agreement contained in the solicitation. Kindly clarify. Furthermore, this evaluation criteria appears to provide preference for contractors who are signatories to a collective bargaining agreement, as per the terms of FAR 52.222-34. Please clarify if that is the intent of the GSA on this solicitation.

Answer: The GSA does not provide an actual PLA form or agreement to sign. The Offeror must submit a statement that their proposal will be subject to the PLA requirements. "The Offeror shall submit a signed statement that the proposal is or is not submitted subject to the PLA requirements." See page 11 of the Solicitation for details.

Question 3: General Contractor Agreement, Paragraph I.C Period of Performance – Commencement – Please confirm that the awarding Contractor will need to commence performance of the Work within One (1) day of receipt of the Notice to Proceed. This does not appear to allow for a sufficient time for the awarding contractor to mobilize. Please clarify is this is the intent of the GSA, and the anticipated duration between Contract Award and the Notice to Proceed.

Answer: The GSA will allow the GC to begin worker security clearances after contract award. The NTP is anticipated to be issued 30 calendar days after award. The contractor can begin mobilizing on site after NTP as long as those workers that are mobilizing have received the proper security clearances and the mobilization is coordinated with GSA.

Question 4: The more subcontractor interest and involvement in this project, the more benefit the Government will receive in competitive pricing. Due to feedback from the subcontractor market we would like to request an extension to the bid period of two weeks. The corrupted files, Labor Day weekend, and short duration between the Pre-Proposal meeting and bid date are a few of the reasons we are receiving.

Answer: The proposal due date is extended to October 9, 2017 at 3 P.M.

Question 5: Kindly confirm the requirement in Proposal Preparation Volume 1 – Price Proposal Item 4 - Employee Compensation Plan (See FAR 52.222-46).

Answer: Tab number 4 in Volume 1 (Employee Compensation Plan) is deleted from the proposal instructions. See the updated Proposal Preparation Instructions dated 9-12-17.

Question 6: Kindly Confirm if the preference for experience in geothermal systems requested for the MEP coordinator under Factor 2 – Qualifications of Key Personnel is appropriate as there are no Geothermal systems in the scope of work of the project.

Answer: The preference for experience in geothermal systems requested for the MEP coordinator under Factor 2 – Qualifications of Key Personnel is not appropriate.

Contractors should disregard this expected qualification.

Question 7: On page 5 of 35 of the Solicitation under section II.A. Proposal Contents it states that a “Subcontracting Plan” shall be submitted with the Proposal. However, on page 11 of 35 under Factor 5: Small Business Subcontracting Methodology it states “a large business shall be required to submit an acceptable subcontracting plan prior to award”. Please confirm that a Small Business Subcontracting Plan is not required until written notification by the Contracting Officer requesting the apparently successful offeror to submit an acceptable subcontracting plan.

Answer: The Small Business Subcontracting Plan must be submitted with the Technical proposal. The offeror's subcontracting plan is an evaluation factor. An "acceptable" subcontracting plan and goals will be reviewed and may be negotiated.

Question 8: Per the Proposal Preparation Instructions, the length of the Volume 1 - Technical Proposal is limited to 15 pages (not including past performance reference forms). Request to increase page limit.

Answer: The page limit on the Proposal Preparation Instructions of 15 pages increases to 25 pages. See updated Proposal Preparation Instruction sheet dated 9-12-2017

Question 9: Per the Proposal Preparation Instructions, the “Contractor’s Qualifications & Financial Information, GSA Form 527” is to be submitted under both Volumes, Vol 1 - Technical and Vol 2 - Price. Please confirm this form should only be submitted with the Vol 2 - Price Proposal.

Answer: Contractor’s Qualifications & Financial Information, GSA Form 527” is removed from Volume 1 tab. The GSA Form 527, Contractor’s Qualifications and Financial Information should be included in Volume 2 (Price Proposal). See updated Proposal Preparation Instruction sheet dated 9-12-2017

Question 10: Volume 2- Tab 4 under the Proposal Preparation Instructions is titled “Employee Compensation Plan (See FAR 52.222-46)” This FAR seems to apply to Professional Employees employed under Service Contracts. Please confirm that compensation information does not need to be provided for full-time salaried employees directly employed by the General Contractor.

See Question answer number 5

Question 11: On page 9 of 35 of the Solicitation under Factor 2 – Qualifications of Key Personnel, MEP Coordinator, it states that “It is preferred, but not a required, that the MEP coordinator be licensed to practice as a professional engineer in the location of the project and has experience working with geothermal systems”. Please remove the requirement for the MEP Coordinator to have experience working with geothermal systems as it is not part of the contract.

Answer: Disregard the geothermal project experience requirement.

Question 12: We would like to request another site visit for the purposes of reviewing entry and egress logistics with our major trades.

Answer: Additional walk thru will be held on September 19, 2017 at 9 A.M. Walk thru will be held at the 26 Federal Plaza. Attendees must meet at the Lobby on the annex Broadway side. Contact Thomas Zick at 202-510-3264. Send email to Claudia.rivera@gsa.gov to confirm attendance.