Laredo_7003_Questions_(3)cp.docx

Full Maintenance Services for Laredo, Texas Solicitation GS-07P-16-JU-D-7003

1. Title page: What is included in the price the Government quoted in the “current contractor and price”? Is the price just for standard services in the current option period of the incumbent contract?

Answer: YES

2. Sections CC and CM: Are these sections, as written (before the strike-outs and highlighted added text), already in force on the current contract?

Answer: YES

3. CC.5.4:

a. Is there GFE provided for Grounds Maintenance?

b. Will the Government provide maps of the Land Ports of Entry to show the physical limits of the Grounds Maintenance services covered by this solicitation?

c. What is the growing season in the Laredo area? Is it year round, or do the grasses and other vegetation go dormant?

Answers:

a. No Government furnished equipment will be provided for grounds maintenance.

b. Maps are not available – the Field Office would need to provide this information probably via square footage.

c. The growing season in Laredo is year round.

4. CC.5.4.2:

a. Where is composting currently performed by the incumbent?

b. How are trimmings and composting materials removed from sites?

Answers Composting is not in current contract. Composting is a new requirement in the solicitation.

5. CC.7:

a. Contractor must respond to service calls during building operating hours noted in the Building Information Sheets. Does this apply to the Courthouse, Border Patrol Sector Headquarters and all four Ports of Entry?

b. Service calls are limited to 20 hours per month. Is this an aggregate for all buildings or per building amount for the Courthouse, Border Patrol Sector Headquarters, and each of the four Ports of Entry?

Answers:

a. Custodial service calls can be used at all facilities covered by the solicitation.

b. 20 hours per month is the aggregate for all facilities.

6. CC.7: Contractor will be reimbursed for service calls if the request is made outside the building’s operating hours and outside the Contractor’s regular cleaning schedule. Since the Building Information Sheet (JC. Exhibit C1) indicates Columbia, Convent, Lincoln-Juarez, and World Trade Ports of Entry operate 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, are we correct to understand we would then never be reimbursed for service calls at these locations since a request outside building operating hours is not possible?

Answer: The successful contractor will be reimbursed separately for service calls made when outside of the established cleaning schedule.

7. CC.12.7: Pesticide application shall be according to need not by schedule. Therefore, if the initial pest assessment or anytime during the contract thereafter indicates a need for pest control, that quantity of work to be priced cannot be determined at this time for the proposal. This could result in unnecessary added cost to the Government to account for an unknown workload.

a. Request the Government provide an average annual expense for pest control services or quantifiable workload data (e.g., type and quantity of pest control services provided annually for each location) so offerors can determine a price based on known workload.

b. Would the Government consider making as needed services reimbursable?

Answers:

a. Average annual expense for pest control is not available.

b. Pest control is a part of the basic contract requirements and will not be made reimbursable.

8. CM.5.1: The solicitation states, “the Contractor shall provide 60 days of transition startup services, prior to the Contract start date”. On the tour a comment was made that the award would be made by 1 May so work can begin by 1 June. Request the Government clarify how long a startup phase should be planned and estimated.

Answer: Yes, you are right, on this particular contract the award will hopefully be made by May 1 with start date of June 1.

The Government attempts to give the incoming contractor 60 days start up. However, if 60 days cannot be given, the Government will allow additional time for any deliverables that will be due.

9. CM.8.5: During the site visit the Government indicated the contractor’s service request desk operations could be performed from a remote, corporate location.

a. Will the Government provide remote access to the CMMS (or N-CMMS) for use in support of the Laredo facilities?

b. If remote access is granted, how many users will the successful offeror be allowed.

c. Will the CMMS (N-CMMS) work be performed on a Government provided computer?

Answers:

a. Once proper clearance have been obtained, the successful contractor will be allowed remote access.

b. As long as proper clearances are obtained there is no limit to the number of users allowed remote access.

c. The Government will provide computers on site; however, these Government furnished computers cannot be removed from the site. Remote access will be available if the contractor wishes to use their own computer.

10. CM.35.1: Air filter replacement shall be according to need not by schedule as described in the current GSA R7 CMMS. Therefore, if the initial inspection or anytime during the contract after that indicates a need for filter replacements, that quantity of work to be priced cannot be determined at this time for the proposal. This could result in unnecessary added cost to the Government to account for an unknown workload. Request the Government provide an average, annual expense for air filters or quantifiable workload data (e.g., type and quantity of air filters replaced annually for each location) so offerors can determine a price based on a known workload.

Answer: This information is not available.

11. G.7.1.A: Temporary reduction of space will be calculated using 4,000 SF per hour as the productivity rate while in B.6 the productivity rate is 4,200 SF per hour. Should these rates be consistent?

Answer: One is a productivity rate that we want the successful contractor to strive for. The other is the productivity rate that will used for vacant space reductions. One incorporates the time necessary to maintain the grounds, the other is interior cleaning only.

12. HC.1.0: A supervisor shall be available at all times when the contract work is in progress. By available at all times, must the supervisor be on-site or is reachable by phone acceptable?

Answer: GSA is not advocating that a supervisor should be on-site at all times work is in progress; however, we understand that sometimes it will be sufficient for a supervisor to be available by phone.

13. HM.15.3.15: “One technician will be required to attend a one week controls training class once per year for each year of the contract.” Who is the current company providing this BAS training?

Answer: This is a new requirement. There is no current company. The contractor will propose training for the Government’s approval.

14. L.1 (pg 287): 52.252-1 cautions offerors that listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed and submitted with the offer. Does submitting a current printed copy of the company’s SAM data (as specified in L.4.2.5) in Part Three – Miscellaneous Documents satisfy this requirement?

Answer: FAR 52.252-1 only states that clauses or provisions provided by reference can be viewed in full text at the address provided.

15. L.4.2.2. (pg 290): “The electronic copy of the proposal shall be provided on CD-R (not CD-RW) compact disks, using Adobe Reader (.pdf format) (Version 9.4) and Microsoft Word format (.doc format)….” The .doc format is associated with Microsoft Word 2003 or earlier. Will the government accept the documents in a later version (2007 or later) of Microsoft Word (.docx format)?

Answer: YES (NLT 2007)

16. L.4.2.3 (pg 291): “Note: For Miscellaneous Documents, the offeror must sign and submit the Standard Form (SF) 33 with their proposal, submit a copy of their CCR and SAM Registration in accordance with the paragraphs (4) and (5).”

a. Does “SAM Registration” include the offeror’s SAM Entity Record or also the entire Reps & Certs and Exclusions?

b. Please clarify which paragraphs are being referenced as “(4) and (5).”

Answer: (a) Yes

(b) Under L.4.2.3 last paragraph should read instead of (4) and (5) - “L.4.2.4 and L.4.2.5.”

17. L.4.2.5 (pg 291): Does GSA only require a printed copy of the offeror’s SAM Entity Record or also the entire Reps & Certs and Exclusions?

Answer: All of above

18. L.5.1.1 (pg 292): Is the 10-page limit for the Management Plan Narrative inclusive of both the Management Approach and Quality Control Plan?

Answer: Yes

19. L.5.1.1 (pg 292): Would a cover page, table of contents, and list of exhibits be excluded from the 10-page limit for the Management Plan?

Answer: NO

20. L.5.1.2 (pg 293):

a. Historically, the Worksheet Narrative was to describe how an offeror’s proposed staffing differed from the Government’s manpower projection. Since Figure L-1 contains only a staffing example, what does the Government want the offerors to address in this 2-page Worksheet Narrative?

b. Will the Government provide its manpower projection or the current manpower projection for each performance location?

c. If the Government will not provide a manpower baseline, will the Government delete the requirement for the Worksheet Narrative, or otherwise clarify instructions regarding this Narrative?

Answers:

a. The proposers should complete Figure L-2 with the staffing they are proposing to provide. GSA will not be providing a Government manpower projection. The proposers need to propose staffing that will best meet the requirements contained in the solicitation.

b. The wording in Section L will be corrected. The Government will not be providing a manpower projection.

c. Even though the Government will not be providing a manpower projection, the proposers will still be responsible for providing their proposed staffing on the Figure L-1.

21. L.5.1.2.1 (pg 293): Is instruction 5 missing?

Answer: NO – just a typographical error – corrected on revised Section L

22. L.5.2 (pg 293): Will the Government allow an Introductory Summary to the Experience section separate from the 2-page limit for each project?

Answer: This should be included in the 2 page limit.

23. L.5.2 (pg 293): “Evaluations for the Experience sub-factor will be reserved only for offeror’s experiences and no past performance shall be included in this section.” Request the Government clarify which descriptors of a specific project are considered “experience” versus “past performance”?

Answer: Experience is work the proposer has performed. Past Performance is how a past performance reference rated the proposer’s work.

24. L.5.2 (pg 294): A criteria set by the Government is that “Performing required services for building with approximately 867,672 square feet (in the aggregate, 125,480 per single building) or greater”. Does this mean that the individual project must have an accumulative area of about 867,672 square feet, and that one of the buildings must have 125,480 square feet?

Answer: Yes

25. L.5.2 (pg 294): A criteria set by the Government is that “Ability to maintain large grounds areas (in excess of 4.7 million SF)”. Does this area include paved surfaces?

Answer: Yes

26. L.5.2 (pg 294): The Government states that each project should be submitted separately. It’s unclear if this means as a separate PDF file, that the text of a new project must begin on a separate page, or something else. Can the government clarify what is meant by “separately”?

Answer: Each new project needs to be submitted on separate pages.

27. L.5.3 (pg 295): Will the Government allow an Introductory Summary to the Past Performance section separate from the Figure L-2 for each project?

Answer: Past performance must be submitted using the Past Performance Questionnaire or CPARS. The Past Performance Questionnaire must be submitted to the CO by the past performance reference. An introductory summary may be submitted if it will fit within the 2 page limit.

28. L.5.3.1, 1st paragraph (pg 295): We appreciate the Government considering CPARS in lieu of the Past Performance Questionnaires.

a. If a project has been evaluated in CPARs, should offerors submit just the Past Performance Questionnaire with the CONTRACT IDENTIFICATION section completed or should we also include a copy of the most recent CPAR report with the Questionnaire?

b. If the CPARS was completed over a year ago, or if the offeror believes recent performance improvements or achievements would be beneficial to their evaluation, may the offeror also submit a Past Performance Questionnaire to that project for completion in order to capture the more recent contract performance information?

Answer: Yes, however, you are limited to 5 submissions on the Performance Questionnaire.

29. L.5.3.1 (pg 295): The Government provided the Past Performance Questionnaire as file titled Figure L-3. Is this Figure L-3 the desired PPQ called out in the solicitation as “Figure L-2”?

Answer: The sentence under L.5.3.1 is incorrect and has been corrected on the revised Section L and M.

30. M.3.1.1 (pg 300): In the third bullet, it states the Management Plan Worksheet will in part be evaluated based on an offeror’s ability to identify, mitigate, manage, and control risks. This seems out of place considering the Worksheet is an Excel document and description of such ability would be narrative. Wouldn’t evaluation of such ability be part of the Quality Control Plan or will the Government otherwise clarify evaluating this item?

Answer: This bullet should read “Management Plan Worksheet will be evaluated on how well the offeror demonstrates a clear understanding of the service requirements, proposed labor and labor mix” The rest of the paragraph has been deleted. (See attached revised Section L)

31. M.3.1.1 (pg 300 and 301): In the third bullet, the Government states, “If the offeror deviates from the government’s baseline and submit a Worksheet Narrative, the narrative will be evaluated on the ability to meet the requirements of the solicitation with the proposed manpower.” Will the Government provide a staffing baseline that the offerors will use in comparison to their staffing shown in Figure L-1, and address in their 2-page Worksheet Narrative?

Answer: The portion of M.3.1.1 referenced in this question (Government’s baseline) will be deleted in accordance with the answer to the previous question.

32. Excel Figure B-3, Option Year IV tab: When inputting data, cells F17, H17, F21, H21, and H23 automatically populate with “###########.” Since these cells are protected and we are not to modify the form per L.4.1, there appears to be a built in error that needs to be corrected. Will the Government provide a revised Figure B-3 with these cells corrected?

Answer: A revised Figure B-3 with corrected formulas will be attached.

33. Site Visit: Will the Government publish the attendance/sign-in sheets from the Pre-proposal Meeting and site visits?

Answer: YES

34. Site Visit: Juarez-Lincoln (Bridge 2) Port of Entry has two buildings that are scheduled for demolition, one is unoccupied (the other has some offices), yet the contractor is still responsible for them. Request the Government clarify whether these buildings are to receive which services before their demolition. A revised building information sheet for J & L is attached. Neither custodial or operations and maintenance services will be required at Building 6 at J&L port of entry.

35. Site Visit: Juarez-Lincoln (Bridge 2) Port of Entry, please verify that Building 6, second floor (being used for training 0730-1600) still requires custodial and O&M services.

Answer: Yes, Building 6 second floor requires O&M and custodial services.

36. Is it safe to say none of the Laredo buildings (6 each) are currently part of Maximo?

Answer: The Laredo contract buildings are under the Region 7 CMMS. They are scheduled to migrate to National CMMS in August or September.

37. The RFP calls for cleaning Convent and Juarez-Lincoln 3 times per day with the World Trade facility 2 times per day. Please clarify if this means to price the cleaning of the entire facility multiple times per day as listed. Or, do just specific areas need to be cleaned multiple times per day. If the later is the case, please define the specific areas. In the Brownsville RFP, it only called for multiple cleanings on the holding cells and interrogation rooms at each of the facilities Answer: Clean the entire facility at World Trade, Convent, and Lincoln-Juarez multiple times per day.

38. If full cleaning is to be accomplished multiple times per day as in the above question, do the cleanings have to be distributed equally on a first, second, and third shift to accomplish a 3 times per day cleaning for example.

Answer: Cleanings should be spread out over the day.

39. Please confirm if locations such as the courthouse and various POE site boiler and chiller systems equipment have remote reporting capabilities that can be monitored at the central office at the J&L POE. Or, is there another central location where all energy systems can be monitored.

Answer: Yes, boiler and chiller systems equipment can be monitored from any site.

40. Please clarify options for employee parking at the courthouse during work hours.

Answer: Contractor employees must make arrangement for their own parking. GSA will not provide parking.

41. Please confirm if the CBA allows for the use of part time custodians and grounds maintenance personnel. The language in the CBA is not definitive enough to draw a specific conclusion. Calls to the Union have not been returned.

Answer: The Union will have to answer this question

42. During the walk through, a question was asked concerning the availability of tie off points on the courthouse roof for window washing. This question was left unanswered. Please confirm the availability of tie off points for window washing that the courthouse. Or, what other method is available for accessing the high exterior windows in order to provide the required 1 time per year window washing activity.

Answer: Yes but the Government does not guarantee the safety of the tie off points. Safety would have to be addressed by the contractor in order to use the tie off points.

43. The RFP refers to “Fine Arts” collection on the exterior of buildings in the custodial section in section CC.5.2.10. I do not recall having any fine arts articles pointed out on the site visit. Please confirm if there are actually fine arts articles that exist and require cleaning.

Answer: For instance, there is a sculpture on the grounds at World Trade. The contractor will not clean the sculpture but the contractor needs to be aware that there are fine arts on the exterior of the facilities so that they do not damage the sculpture while performing work around it.

44. B.1.1: Above Standard Services specifically calls out “Tracts B and C at World Trade Port of Entry”

(a) Would the Government provide the size and makeup of Tracts B and C?

Answer: It is unimproved grounds. Tracts B and C at World Trade are 367,009 square feet.

45. The RFP in Section CM.1.1, item a) requires the contractor to be responsible for electrical systems. Please define to what voltage level the contractor is responsible for O&M on electrical systems. Need to know if the contractor is just responsible from the main service panels (480 volt) at the buildings and beyond. Or is there any responsibility for electrical systems upstream of the building panels above 480 volts involving the electrical distribution systems. This would include transformers as well Answer: Nothing above 480 volts, from main service panels and beyond.

46. Section F.4.1 calls for a Radon mitigation plan. However, there is no mention of radon mitigation in the remainder of the documents (or at least one that I could find). What exactly is this radon mitigation plan to cover and what is the contractor’s responsibility with regard to radon mitigation. There are no other details in the RFP.

Answer: The successful contractor will meet with the GSA Property Manager and review the Building Operating Plan. The radon mitigation program should be in the Building Operating Plan which will be reviewed by both the contractor and GSA.

***The following is a change to Section HM 15.3.14 Qualifications of HVAC Technicians in Solicitation GS-07P-16-JU-D-7003, and is incorporated into said solicitation as of 3/14/2016:

“HM.15.3.14 Qualifications of HVAC Technicians All HVAC personnel designated to work on, operate, maintain, and (or) repair HVAC equipment or systems shall maintain a minimum of 16 hours of continuing education annually from a NATE, HVAC Excellence, or UA Star recognized provider program. All HVAC personnel designated to work on, operate, maintain, and (or) repair HVAC equipment or systems shall possess one or more of the following certifications:

a. North American Technician Excellence (N.A.T.E.) HVACR Service Technician Certification

b. HVAC Excellence Professional Level Certification

c. UA Star HVACR Mastery Certification

The contractor will be required to send one technician to a one-week controls training class once per year for each year of the contract. A typical training class of this nature cost approximately $2,000 and another $2,000 in travel costs. Contractor shall include $4,000 in their bid to cover this cost (contractor is responsible for the cost of this training). The Technician and the class must be approved by R7 FMSP Operations Branch prior to scheduling the trip. A copy of the certification of the class will be provided to R7 FMSP after the successful completion of the class. If the individual does not complete the class, the cost of the class itself will be reimbursed to the Federal Government.

Note: if the person who received the training leaves the contract within 12 months after completion of the training, then the contractor will be expected to reimburse the Government for the full cost of the course and the travel up to $4000. Or the contractor may submit another name and course to be approved by Regional FMSP office and send that person to the training at no additional cost to Government. The intent is to get the Contractor’s staff trained in the proper use and operation of the BAS/Tridium system. Failure to send a technician to this controls training will result in a reduction of contract cost in the amount of $4,000.”

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