CAT_6_SOW_Questions.docx

1. The cable rating is identified as CMP (Plenum) in 5.0 but as CMR (Riser or Non-Plenum) in 5.1. On the RFQ in A.1 it is identified as CMP. Please confirm with facilities that Plenum cable is required (Plenum cable is about twice the material cost of Non-Plenum) Answer : Blue Plenum Category 6 cable.

2. Horizontal cable managers are identified as 2U in 3.0, but as 1U in 5.1. The CAT5 drops in the rack currently occupy 6x 2U 48 port patchbays with no additional space. The 154 drops will require 4x 2U patchbays for 192 port capacity (or possibly 3x 2U and 1x 1U for 168 port capacity) leaving only 2U or 3U remaining for horizontal management.

Answer: Replace requirement with Rear Cable Management Bar for horizontal cable management on the back of the rack vice in the front. See picture below.

3. Cable jacket color and jack color are not identified. Industry standard is blue cable jacket for horizontal runs. Answer: Blue Plenum Category 6 cable.

4. For 6x CMP/CMR CAT6 cables the fill for a 1” EMT conduit is only 26%, well below the 40% maximum allowed. A 1-1/2” conduit would be way oversized for the current and projected.

Answer: Contractor is responsible for determining appropriate requirements IAW industry standards.

5. Existing conditions evidence Ortronics low voltage solution, SOW calls out TE/Tyco. Please confirm that TE brand is required or if desire is to remain with Ortronics system. Answer: Remove TE/Tyco name brand requirement. Reuse existing Ortronics CAT-6 Patch Panels.

6. Please confirm contractors responsibility to furnish and install patch cords. Answer: Reuse existing government furnished CAT-6 patch cords.

7. Please confirm that all drops (~154) that are being upgraded will be off-line for the (7)day performance period.

Answer: Changed performance period to 14 days total: 7 Days offline and 7 days for any prep & finish work.

8. Please confirm pathway for data drops in RM 124 under desk. Recommend x-ray/scan concrete, saw cutting floor, installation of EMT/PVC conduit into wall and refinish floor & wall. Answer: Drop will be a foot of wall across from table. No sawcut/x-ray or conduit under flooring required.

9. Please confirm raceway for corridor hallway (ie. 2" EMT with flex and LB for pulling).

Answer: Contractor is responsible for determining appropriate requirements IAW industry standards.

10. SOW 5.1 calls for CMR rated cable. Please confirm what runs need to be plenum rated or if all drops should be plenum rated. Answer: Blue Plenum Category 6 cable for all cable runs.

11. Existing conditions evidenced very little if any cable tray/j-hook/bridal ring. Confirm extend of low voltage raceway/pathway. Please provide diagram depicting desired layout or will j-hooks suffice. Answer: J-Hooks will suffice in most areas, contractor’s responsibility to determine hardware required to support new wiring infrastructure IAW industry standards.

12. Confirm if cable re-organization of existing data drops above or behind data racks is required. If so please specify extent. Answer: Vendor will work with FEMA staff to identify any and all existing connections currently terminated in the rack that is NOT being replaced by the new Category 6 cabling. Vendor punch down on patch panels in contiguous order and label the patch panel and drop box according to patch panel location at test as part of the overall test plan and provide results. The majority of the data drops are being replaced so there will only be a limited number of data drops remaining.

13. Confirm 1:1 replacement of existing with new data drop. Contract calls for (154) new drops, are we to assume (154) cables to be demo'ed ? If less cables are coming out please confirm space in racks for (4) new 2U patch panels and (5) new 2U cable organizers. Answer: Majority of the new data drops are 1;1 replacements, there are a few new drops

14. Please quantify CAT5/5E cables that exist, and how many are going to remain for consolidation purposes. Answer: Exact count will be determined after demo is completed.

15. Existing conditions evidenced no firestopping between risers, or wall penetrations. If required, please quantify. Answer: All penetrations where cables are pulled through fire-rated building structures (walls and floors) shall be sealed with an appropriate firestop system as determined by the vendor. Firestop systems shall at a minimum be UL Classified to ASTM E814 (UL 1479).

16. Please distinguish ceiling vs. wall. vs. furniture end points on floor plans. Answer: This was the purpose of the site survey and should have been done at that time. Recommend the vendor schedule a time for another site survey.

17. SOW 5.0 calls for fiber protection around existing fiber. Existing conditions evidence poor routing and placement of fiber jumpers and cross connects. Recommend innerduct racewya between cabinets and fiber LIU and complete re-route of fiber. This requires disconnecting and reconnecting all fiber ends. Please confirm intent/extent of fiber work. Answer: Agree, contractor is responsible for determining appropriate requirements IAW industry standards.

18. Confirm that updated PDF layout will suffice as an as-built or will CAD files be provided ? Answer: PDF or VISIO files are sufficient.

19. Due to existing conditions (no low voltage pathway, no pathway under conference room table, poor cable management in IDF) we recommend additional time alotted prior to pulling cable to allow for installation of low voltage pathway in ceiling, conduit installation in tunnel, sawcutting and EMT install in conference room) as well as time after the 7 days. Answer: Changed performance period to 14 days total: 7 Days offline and 7 days for any prep & finish work. There will be no sawcut in conference room, that drop will terminate in drop box on the wall.

20. Please confirm Bid due date and time. Reference updated RFQ

21. The FBO main page shows the bid due date/time as 10Aug15 1:PM but the SF18 Block 11 shows as 10Aug15 COB, Which is correct? Reference Updated RFQ

22. If COB is correct what time is considered COB? Reference updated RFQ

23. Paragraph 4.0 of the statement of work states “ All modular jacks, patch cords, consolidation points, and patch cord performance shall be verified (not just tested) by a third party to be category 6 component and channel compliant” Can you verify that all patch cords are to be provided and installed by FEMA and are not the responsibility of the contractor? Answer: Yes FEMA.

24. Paragraph 5.0 of the Statement of work calls for Plenum rated cable but paragraph 5.1 calls for Riser rated cable, page 3 of the SF18 also calls for plenum rated cable, which is correct? Answer: Blue Plenum Category 6 cable.

25. Table 1 in Paragraph 5.0 has estimated cables lengths, does this length include ups, downs, and service loops? Answer: Yes, but up to contractor to verify, as we only provided estimates, it is their responsibility to verify.

26. Some of the lengths in Table 1 are over the 295’ allowable and will not pass testing because of length, will FEMA accept these cables? Answer: No, if they are uncertain of the length, they should have verified when they did site visit and are welcome to schedule another visit if needed. We will not waive testing. There are other drops beyond that that are just fine. Plus estimates are not based on shortest path.

27. The TDMM recommends slack loops of 10’ in the TR and 1’ on the user end, is this acceptable to FEMA? Answer: Yes

28. Can you provide a list of all new locations? Answer: See Table 1.

29. Can you provide a list of cables to be removed? Answer: See Table1. Where ever old ones exist where they install new drops in each of the specified locations.

30. Soma locations may have existing cables that will not be replaced, will these be compatible with the new TE faceplates? Answer: Need to identify these locations during site survey.

31. Can you provide a count of the Cat 5e cables to remain and be consolidated on a separate patch panel? Answer: Exact count will be determined after demo is completed, can just leave and re-label these in contiguous order on the patch panel and drop box according to patch panel location and test as part of the overall test plan and provide results.

32. The existing patch panels are Ortronics category 6, is FEMA requesting that we provide new TE category 6 patch panels for the new cables? Answer: No, reuse Ortronics patch panels, this was initially done to allow us to leave original in place while installing new ones when we originally planned on doing work at night & weekends. Removed from SOW.

33. Paragraph 5.0 calls for a 2RU horizontal wire manager, paragraph 5.1 calls for a 1RU horizontal wire manager, which is correct? Answer: Replace requirement with Rear Cable Management Bar for horizontal cable management on the back of the rack vice in the front. See picture below.

34. Paragraph 5.0 calls for the installation of 2RU horizontal wire managers, will this be for the new patch panels only? Answer: Replace requirement with Rear Cable Management Bar for horizontal cable management on the back of the rack vice in the front. See picture.

35. Will there be enough rack space to accommodate the 8RU needed for the new horizontal wire managers? Answer: Replace requirement with Rear Cable Management Bar for horizontal cable management on the back of the rack vice in the front.

36. In case of variance of counts between Table 1 and he cable chart, which document will take precedence? Answer: Table 1 which has been updated in SOW.

37. Can you identify areas where cable tray will be required? Answer: J-Hooks will suffice in most areas, contractor’s responsibility to determine hardware required to support new wiring infrastructure IAW industry standards.

38. Will the contractor be responsible for grounding existing racks ect? Answer: Yes if needed.

39. In areas where thru wall sleeves are required, is FEMA requiring a specific type of sleeve such as Hilti or EZ path, or is EMT with proper firestopping acceptable? Answer:

All penetrations where cables are pulled through fire-rated building structures (walls and floors) shall be sealed with an appropriate firestop system as determined by the vendor. Firestop systems shall at a minimum be UL Classified to ASTM E814 (UL 1479).

40. Paragraph 5.0 states “The vendor will provide proper cable support throughout the ceiling meeting or exceeding BICSI standards and local electrical codes” Does this apply to only the new cables we are installing? Answer: Yes only new cabling.

41. Can you clarify which (or how many and what length) fiber optic cables will require split loom duct? Answer: Contractor is responsible for determining appropriate requirements IAW industry standards.

42. Will imaging be required for all concrete floor and wall cores and cuts? Answer: No concrete cuts. This drop will be a wall box vice in the table.

43. Can you clarify the requirement of the As-Built drawings? If CAD drawings are required will FEMA provide the background drawings?

Answer: The drawings are to include cable routes and outlet locations. Outlet locations shall be identified by their sequential number. Numbering, icons, and drawing conventions used shall be consistent throughout all documentation provided. The government will provide floor plans in electronic Visio format on which as-built construction information can be added. These documents will be modified accordingly by the contractor to denote as-built information.

44. Paragraph 8.0 of the Statement of Work calls for a performance period of 7 days, Will this time be extended to allow for the installation of conduit pathways? Answer: Changed performance period to 14 days total: 7 Days offline and 7 days for any prep & finish work.

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