GS05P11SLD0111_Questions Answers 003.pdf

Questions & Answers 003

GS05P11SLD0111

Question 1: Is it possible for the base term to be three years or to accept an annual bond form where non-renewal by a surety wouldn't constitute a default under the bond?

Answer 1: The successful offeror must maintain performance bonding over the life of the contract by a qualified surety.

Question 2: Please clarify whether the price should be a part of the technical proposal? Do you require separate volume for the pricing or should we include it into technical phase I&II?

Answer 2: The price proposal should be submitted separately from the technical proposal.

Question 3: Technical Proposal, do you require 1 original and 4 copies? How many copies of price proposal needed to be submitted?

Answer 3: 1 original and 4 copies of all proposal materials should be submitted.

Question 4: Can a brief tour of the mechanical equipment in the building be arranged?

Answer 4: Amendment 001 issued October 20, 2011 scheduled a pre-proposal meeting for Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. EST. Additionally, Questions & Answers 002 scheduled an additional walk-through for Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. EST.

Question 5: Can you please provide monthly price for Potter Stewart building and separately monthly price for the John W. Peck Building?

Answer 5: Monthly pricing per building is as follows:

Potter Stewart US Courthouse: $53,527.36 John W. Peck Federal Building: $35,447.64

Question 6: Is it the intent of this contract to have personnel at the site 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, for performing watches on the mechanical cooling and heating systems?

Answer 6: The systems in place at this facility do not require a 24/7 watch currently.

Question 7: Can the Government please provide the anticipated contract award date for offeror planning purposes?

Answer 7: The anticipated award date is on or about March 1, 2011.

Question 8: To provide a better basis of estimate for determining necessary operations, maintenance, and support personnel, can the Government please provide at least one years (preferably three years) maintenance history for the Potter Stewart Courthouse and the John Weld Peck Federal Building?

Answer 8: The previous contract performed preventative maintenance per the GSA PM Guide Cards and to comply with codes/regulations for all equipment and systems.

Question 9: The solicitation indicated that the Potter Stewart CH was built in 1964, which would leave it just outside of the threshold to be declared a historically significant building. Does the Government intend to apply historically significant building maintenance standards during the period of performance of the base five year contract or defer this until the first contract renewal period? Maintaining the architectural look and feel of a historically significant has a potentially higher cost than that of maintain a non-historically significant building and needs to be included to provide an accurate cost proposal.

Answer 9: The Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse is currently eligible, but not listed as a historic building.

Question 10: The Building Automation Systems (BAS) are not included in the J4 Equipment Inventory List for either building. However, the contractor is required to maintain the hardware and current software status of these systems. Can the Government please provide the manufacturer, model number, and current software version installed on these systems so that the offeror can define support and training requirements to fully support these systems?

Answer 10: The Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse operates a Johnson Controls Metasys System and the Peck Federal Building operates via a 1998 Johnson Controls Metasys System currently.

Question 11: During the building walk through that was part of the site visit, the location of the BAS was not evident. Can the Government please clarify the location of the BAS in each building, subject to GSA security requirements?

Answer 11: The BAS main points of service are in the current maintenance shops of each building.

The Potter Stewart BAS is expected to be available remotely as part of a current retro-commissioning project. The new JWP BAS is also expected to have remote access capabilities.

Question 12: Contract clause FAR 52.223-5, Hazardous Materials requires the offeror to include a list of existing hazardous materials known to be in the facilities. Can the Government please clarify if this list is required as part of the offerors submittal? If it is required, will the Government provide a listing or copies of the Material Safety Data Sheets for hazardous materials currently in the buildings?

Answer 12: This is required after award.

Question 13: Instructions received during the site visit specified bidding only the equipment included in the equipment list included in the solicitation as J4. However, several items on the list were not in evidence during the building walk through (three large boilers, chillers, etc.).Is it the Government’s intent to have offerors bid equipment preventative maintenance and operations from the J4 list “as is” or is there a more accurate equipment inventory available?

Answer 13: In accordance with Section C.10, The inventory is for informational purposes only.

Omissions on the existing inventory does not relieve the contractor from the responsibility for the maintenance of the equipment.

Question 14: Ohio boiler codes (4101:4-10-01 Licensure and attendance requirements of operators, Paragraph B). This paragraph, and the subparagraphs associated with it, state:

“(B) The operator described in paragraph (A) of this rule shall maintain continuous, manned attendance during all times of operation of a steam boiler or stationary steam engine operating at more than thirty horsepower, except as follows:

(1) When the steam boiler or stationary steam engine can be monitored, controlled, and shut down from a central control room and is equipped with manual operational resets, the continuous, manned attendance may occur from the central control room during all times of operation of such steam boiler or stationary steam engine.

(2) A steam boiler of more than thirty horsepower may be operated without manned attendance for a maximum length of time equal to the time it takes for the boiler to go into a low water condition when subjected to an annual evaporation test conducted in accordance with the “ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section VI, 7.05 (H)” referenced in rule 4101:4-3-01 of the Administrative Code.”

Can the Government please confirm:

1.That all of the boilers associated with both buildings are controlled by the building BAS, allowing exemption 1 to be used?

2.That all boilers are monitored by a single BAS?

That staffing requirements, as defined in this paragraph of the solicitation, include this level of monitoring and control?

Answer 14: The boilers are monitored by a B.A.S. The successful bidder is responsible for assuring conformance with applicable regulations and codes.

Question 15: Can the Government please clarify if there is there an Administrative Support Person who works directly at the GSA Field Office under this contract? If so, is this the same contract employee who maintains the CMMS Work Management Program for the project, or is there a separate position who handles this function?

Answer 15: The contract being bid on is substantially different than the contract currently in place for out mechanical services. The government strongly recommends that the administrative support person be located on-site. CMMS Work Management Program needs to maintained by a qualified person, this may or may not be the Administrative Support Person.

Question 16: The roof at the John Weld Peck Federal Building was not accessed during the building walk through. Since equipment there was not observed, can the Government please provide the manufacturer of the Motorized Window Washing Platform on site, when the unit was last inspected and certified, and how often are windows washed on site?

Is the track mentioned in the Equipment Inventory to support the Motorized Window Washing Platform?

Answer 16: The window washing platform has been removed from the building, and the rail which used to support its function is currently being removed.

Question 17: During the building walk through, there were no Pressure Vessel Certificates observed posted near applicable equipment in both buildings. Can the Government please confirm that these certificates are the certificates compiled in a centralized location? If not, where are these certificates located? What is the due date for this service at each building?

Answer 17: The pressure vessel certificates are posted near applicable equipment. The due date for service varies by type of vessel being certified and the specific requirements of the vessel.

Question 18: Under the list of equipment to be operated, maintained and repaired, generators are included on the list but are not reflected in the Equipment Inventory. This equipment was not observed during the walk through of both facilities because we did not access Generator Rooms. Can the Government please provide the manufacturers, KW ratings, and dates when units were last load bank tested at each building?

Answer 18: A generator is being installed in the Peck Federal Building, which is scheduled to be completed in early 2013. The generator in the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse has not been turned over from the Prospectus Project.

Question 19: Service/test stickers are not visible on numerous electrical distribution equipment throughout the facilities. Does this indicate that this equipment has not been serviced or tested on 12/10 as with the rest of equipment? Can the Government please clarify if there is a minimum designated amp rating for circuit breakers to be tested under this contract?

Answer 19: The lack of a sticker does not necessarily indicate a lack of thermal preventative maintenance service performance. The contractor is responsible for assuring contract, NEC, and other applicable requirements are met.

Question 20: During the walk through of the facilities, there were no large steam boilers rated at 14,000 LBS/HR noted in Room B-08 at the Potter Stewart US Courthouse Bldg as specified in the Equipment Inventory. Can the Government please clarify if these boilers have been removed and demolished?

Answer 20: The old boiler plant was replaced with the 5 boilers seen during the walk through.

Question 21: During the walk through of the Potter Stewart CH, a fitness center was observed in the building. The fitness equipment was not on the J4 Inventory list for the building, nor was it on the Agency Owned or Excluded Equipment lists. Does the Government intend for the Contractor to maintain the fitness equipment on site or simply provide janitorial services for the health center?

Answer 21: The fitness center is not a part of the contract and is maintained separately. Please remind him this is a mechanical service contract and not a full facility service contract.

Question 22: Are the incumbent’s 13 employees included in the current monthly price? Clarifications for the 13 positions would be helpful.

Answer 22: The incumbent’s contract has different staffing requirements than this solicitation.

Question 23: In what building is the contractor’s maintenance office?

Answer 23: Potter Stewart US Courthouse currently, but there are maintenance shops in both buildings.

Question 24: Please furnish the names for key project manager and building supervisors for this project, a contact phone number would be helpful in getting necessary information.

Answer 24: This information cannot be released.

Question 25: Can the contractor stagger working hours of the six journeymen level mechanics to cover 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM?

Answer 25: As long as the minimum building requirements and minimum overall staffing requirements are met, it is the contractors’ discretion how to schedule his employees.

Question 26: Will a copy of the Building Operating Plan be available to the contractor upon transition phase startup?

Answer 26: A Building Operating Plan shall be developed by the successful offeror and submitted to the COR for approval not later than the end of the Start-up Phase.

Question 27: How many repairs were over the $2,000 threshold at each building?

Answer 27: This information would not necessarily represent future amounts, and will not be provided.

Question 28: At each building, when were the 6 and 12 year maintenance done on the fire extinguishers?

Answer 28: Varies by extinguisher.

Question 29: When was the last switchgear electrical testing done at each building?

Answer 29: Available PM records will be transferred to the successful bidder.

Question 30: There are no chillers and cooling towers installed to provide cooling. Where is the Government getting chilled water from? District energy plant?

Answer 30: We currently purchase chilled water through a local utility provider.

Question 31: The equipment inventory lists show no emergency power electrical equipment. Where is the emergency power coming from?

Answer 31: Both buildings have generators currently being installed. The Peck Federal Building currently has a pre-existing agency owned generator.

Question 32: The Peck building equipment inventory list does not list any F-32 air filter sizes for the air handlers. Is this correct?

Answer 32: The equipment list is not conclusive of building systems and equipment to be maintained under this contract.

Question 33: Who is the company, including the phone number, that inspected the fuel oil storage tanks and when was it last done?

Answer 33: Information on subcontractors will not be released.

Question 34: Who is responsible for purchasing the fuel oil?

Answer 34: The government purchases fuel oil as needed.

Question 35: Is there a dumpster on-site for O&M material waste?

Answer 35: The site has basic office trash and recycling services, but the successful bidder is responsible for the proper disposal of any material or equipment.

Question 36: For weekend tours, what months do boilers normally operate at the building? Are the boilers producing low pressure steam below 15 PSI? On some piping, 90 PSI was noted.

Answer 36: The boilers operate as needed based on weather. Last year they ran for approximately

5.5 months.

Question 37: Is parking available for employees?

Answer 37: No.

Question 38: Is a government-owned high lift available to the contractor?

Answer 38: A vertical lift is currently available, but the contractor will be responsible for the testing/inspection/training to ensure proper operation, and compliance. This lift may not necessarily satisfy all needs for elevated work.

Question 39: Will tenant service request come in to the contractor’s maintenance office or come into the GSA office and then sent to the contractor?

Answer 39: Service calls currently come from the GSA office to the contractor, but GSA reserves the right to change this process as necessary.

Question 40: Will the building key control program be available to the contractor upon transition phase startup? Who is responsible for issuing and collecting keys from subcontractors?

Answer 40: The government regulates the issuance of keys, but tasks such as making copies, performing related repairs, etc. will be required from the successful offeror.

Question 41: Can the contractor submit three separate bonds for the 3 year base performance period or must the contractor submit one single bond for the initial three years of the base performance period?

Answer 41: Performance bonds shall be furnished as a bond for the initial 36 month period as outlined in FAR 52.228-16 Performance and Payment Bonds – Other Than Construction as outlined in Section I of the RFP.

Question 42: Is the contractor to furnish a performance bond equal to 20 percent of the initial 3 year base contract price or will the bond be based on the 5 year contract price?

Answer 42: See FAR 52.228-16 in Section I of the RFP which states: “The contractor shall furnish each performance bond for the protection of the Government in an amount equal to 20 percent of the proportional contract price, which shall be determined by multiplying the most current monthly contract price by the corresponding 36 month or 12 month periods.”

Question 43: Please provide a list of the current subcontractors at the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse and the John Peck Federal Building

Answer 43: Information on a subcontractor list will not be released.

Question 44: Has either of the buildings undergone any significant renovations and/or equipment upgrades since they were built?

Answer 44: Both buildings have undergone extensive renovations and upgrades.

Question 45: What replacement/alteration projects are planned for execution during the life of the contract? Will the successful contractor be given the opportunity to perform, or at a minimum bid on, those projects?

Answer 45: This information would be purely speculative. Projects are solicited in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations.

Question 46: Please provide elevator equipment data for both buildings, including: capacity in pounds, number of elevators by type (hydraulic, friction, etc.), whether those elevators are passenger of freight, number of floor stops per elevator car, and the current elevator maintenance service provider.

Answer 46: Elevator maintenance is not included in this solicitation.

Question 47: According to the equipment lists, both buildings contain holding cells.

a. Is the maintenance of holding cell equipment (e.g., toilets, sinks, re-lamping, etc.) included in the scope of work?

b. Will contractor personnel require escort from U.S. Marshals when working in these areas? If so, what is the average length of time contractor personnel wait to be escorted? Additionally, will contractor personnel be required to be present for U.S.

Marshal inspection of the work site after work completion?

Answer 47: Maintenance of all building equipment and systems is required per the contract specification. The successful bidder is required to conform to all agency access and security restrictions.

Question 48: Please provide the last inspection date for the Fire and Smoke Dampers at the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse.

Answer 48: Available fire system records will be transferred to the successful bidder.

Question 49: Since the Fire Extinguisher Inspection was just performed at the Potter Stewart U.S.

Courthouse, please provide an actual count of fire extinguishers installed at this location.

Answer 49: Available fire system records will be transferred to the successful bidder.

Question 50: Please provide the last inspection date for the Fire and Smoke Dampers at the John Peck Federal Building.

Answer 50: Available fire system records will be transferred to the successful bidder.

Question 51: Reference Attachment J.1, QASP Standards:

a. Fire Alarm Systems, Section 11.16.3.1 does not exist. Is it the intent of the government to reference 11.17.4.1?

b. Water Based Fire Suppression System Inspection, Section 11.16.3.1 does not exist. Is it the intent of the government to reference 11.17.4.2?

c. Water Based Fire Suppression System Inspection indicates that all testing will be performed after normal working hours unless approved by the COR. NFPA 25 requires testing to be performed Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-Annually, and so on. Please indicate which inspections and tests are required to be performed after hours.

d. Portable Fire Extinguishers - Shall be performed per NFPA 10. While performing the walk through it was noticed that the April tagged Fire Extinguishers did not have the back of the Tag signed to indicate Monthly Inspection requirements - is it the intent of the government to use the back of the Inspection tags for Monthly Inspection recording or will the contractor be required to provide separate Inspection documentation?

Answer 51: GSA is unable to reference the sections listed above and unable to answer your question.

Question 52: Must the contractor have at least one on-site supervisor and / or one to three journeyman technicians on duty in either or both buildings “24 / 7,” or, as C.8.1 states, are personnel required on-site only from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.? Are only weekdays meant by those hours?

What about any required weekend / shift / emergency coverage by on-duty and / or on-call O&M personnel other than that described in sections C.8.1 and C.8.2?

Answer 52: There are staffing requirements/minimums 6-6 pm for each building Monday-Friday, excluding federal holidays.

Question 53: Must the Strike Contingency Plan, the Alternate Staffing Plan, and the Contactor Emergency Plan be included with the Quality Control Program / Plan submitted with the proposal? Each of these additional plans (which fall within C.8.6) are types requiring specific integration with the facilities’ existing plans, e.g. Emergency Plan. Please confirm that these additional components/plans should be submitted during startup and not included in the full QCP we submit with the proposal but integrated with the QCP plan submitted during startup for COR approval.

Answer 53: It is to be submitted as part of the contractor’s bid package as a part of the QCP.

Question 54: Must the Building Operating Plan be submitted not later than the end of the startup phase (specified as 5 days), or not later than 14 calendar days after award, whichever is later (see page 40, RFP)? The RFP is ambiguous.

Answer 54: The new Building Operating Plan must be submitted not later than the end of the startup phase or 14 calendar days after award, whichever is later

Question 55: Must GSA Form 139, Recording Presence forms, be submitted within 10 days after each week, or, as RFP deliverables table states, monthly?

Answer 55 : Sign in sheets are to be provided monthly or more frequently if requested by the COR.

They are also required with each delivery order against the contract in order to be paid.

Question 56: “The Management Plan will be evaluated based on information provided by the offeror and assigned an adjectival rating, which in turn will be translated into a numerical score.” – Can the Government please provide the mechanism that will be used to determine the adjectival rating / translation into numerical score?

Answer 56: See Amendment 005.

Question 57: “The Quality Control Plan will be evaluated based on information provided by the offeror and assigned an adjectival rating, which in turn will be translated into a numerical score.” Can the Government please provide the mechanism that will be used to determine the adjectival rating / translation into numerical score?

Answer 57: See Amendment 005.

Question 58: “The O&M Work and Staffing Plan will be evaluated based on information provided by the offeror and assigned an adjectival rating, which in turn will be translated into a numerical score.” - Can the Government please provide the mechanism that will be used to determine the adjectival rating / translation into numerical score?

Answer 58: See Amendment 005

Question 59: May the Project Manager act as the required supervisor for 1 of the sites?

Answer 59: Yes.

Question 60: In speaking to our nationwide insurance bond broker no bonding agency will write a 5 year bond agreement at most they will approve a 3 year bond. We request GSA to amend their bonding requirements so that surety will issue a new bond for years 4 and 5 and new bonds for each option year.

Note: the word “renew” as currently used implies that the surety is required to guarantee 5 year bonding capacity – something the surety will not do. A change of “renew” to “new” will remedy this situation.

Answer 60: In accordance with FAR 52.228-16 in the RFP, “The contractor shall furnish a performance bond (Standard Form 1418) for an initial three year period and separate performance bonds annually thereafter, until completion of the base performance period for any subsequent executed options.”

Question 61: The equipment list F.34 in which the contractor is to provide a price per-fixture cannot be found. Will you please provide this list in schedule B?

Answer 61: See Amendment 005.

Question 62: Please confirm that the CMMS software updates must be provided by the contractor.

Answer 62: Yes, the CMMS software updates must be provided by the contractor

Question 63: RFP states a min. of 20 hours of on-site administrative support per week.

Does the government not want a full time service desk? If so, what are the hours of the service desk?

Answer 63: There is no full time service desk requirement

Question 64: Major repairs – Please confirm that the contractor is not responsible for any major repairs over $10,000, or any portions thereof? What about critical failures?

Answer 64: See Section C.2.31.

Question 65: 5 days is not a sufficient amount of time to test each piece of equipment in order to create an accurate deficiency list. Further, with respect to transition/startup a reasonable amount of time to effectively transition facilities of this size should be approx. 30 days. To ensure the quality of transition and prevent disruption to GSA’s tenants.

Answer 65: quote spec

Question 66: 14 days is not a sufficient amount of time to estimate the cost to remediate all deficiencies and provide a solution. Further, with respect to transition/startup a reasonable amount of time to effectively transition facilities of this size should be approx.

30 days. To ensure the quality of transition and prevent disruption to GSA’s tenants.

Answer 66: See Sections C.4 – C.6.

Question 67: 5 days is not a sufficient amount of time to train an incoming contractor and to provide them with the information that they need to be successful during phase-out. Further, with respect to phase-out a reasonable amount of time to effectively transition facilities of this size should be approx. 30 days. To ensure the quality of transition and prevent disruption to GSA’s tenants.

Answer 67: See Sections C.4 – C.6.

Question 68: Page 41 states that the contractor will provide “a minimum of 1 full-time On-Site

Supervisor per building.”

Page 113 contradicts this statement by stating, the contractor must designate a minimum of one On-Site Supervisor for each shift.”

Would you clarify whether or not the On-Site Supervisor is supposed to be full time working 8 hours a day or have an On-Site Supervisor for 12 hours a day?

Answer 68: Each building should have on-site supervisor a minimum of 8 hours a day, a contractor may opt to stagger supervisors

Question 69: By duty mechanics do you mean journeymen (which in turn implies all maintenance employees)? Also, please confirm that the communication device must have email support and not just telephone/radio support.

Answer 69: See Section C.8.

Question 70: GSA states that it reserves the right to provide its own CMMS for any reason.

Is GSA providing its own CMMS? Are there currently plans to adopt a GSA provided CMMS in the future?

Answer 70: The contractor is responsible for providing the CMMS system to meet contract requirements. GSA reserves the right to provide in the future, but there are no immediate plans to do so.

Question 71: How much of the square footage of both facilities is known to contain asbestos.

Answer 71: This information is not readily available.

Question 72: Must the contractor provide at its own cost analog lines and paid monitoring service for the fire alarm system in both facilities.

Answer 72: Yes

Question 73: Please confirm that the contractor is not required to turn over the following items to the COR because they are maintained by GSA: Occupant Emergency Plan, Key Control and Custody

Answer 73: Yes

Question 74: Please provide the year in which the Potter Stewart Courthouse was originally commissioned.

Answer 74: The Potter Stewart was built in 1936. The original commissioning date is not relevant due to renovations and upgrades over time.

Question 75: Please provide the year in which the John Weld Peck Federal building was originally commissioned.

Answer 75: The John Weld Peck was completed in 1964. The original commissioning date is not relevant due to renovations and upgrades over time.

Question 76: Please provide the average time frame for processing security clearances for both long term and short term employees

Answer 76: 60 days

Question 77: When does contract performance start – We assume this is after startup. Please confirm.

Do any new employees after contract start need to wait 30 days before working on the contract?

Does the PM need to submit the contractor’s security package 30 days prior to contract start-up?

Answer 77: Contract performance is expected to commence on or about May 1, 2012. The contractor should submit all security clearance paperwork within 10 days after award. All personnel must be cleared prior to starting work.

Question 78: Please confirm that transition will not start until a notice to proceed has been granted by GSA security.

Answer 78: All personnel must be cleared prior to starting work.

Question 79: Please clarify if the PM must be located fulltime onsite as stated on page, 26 in the RFP.

(Note: page 113 states the location must simply be “satisfactory” to the COR).

Answer 79: The Project Manager is required to be onsite.

Question 80: Why would a pandemic plan be required for an O&M contractor without including the management of janitorial services within the scope?

Answer 80: please provide a pandemic plan in accordance with Section H.22.

Question 81: Please confirm that this contract allows for annual SCA increases.

Answer 81: See FAR 52.222-43 Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Act – Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option Contracts) in Section I of the RFP.

Question 82: Are there any CBAs on this contract? If so please provide copies. Can we also get a copy the seniority list for all non-management employees?

Answer 82: No, there are not any CBAs.

Question 83: One other important question CMI has is the RFP was released using NACIS code 238220Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors $14.0 Million. Any reason why the NACIS code of 561210 Facilities Support Services $35.5 Million since the contract requires much more than Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning maintenance.

Currently the contract calls for the following service which is best represented under 561210.

The Contractor shall provide all management, supervision, labor, materials, supplies, repair parts, tools, and equipment including inspection, testing, and maintenance of all fire protection systems and shall plan, schedule, coordinate and ensure effective and economical completion of all work and services specified in this contract to include:

1. Electrical systems and equipment.

Answer 83: GSA has chosen to use NAICS code 238220 for this procurement.