PA TAC SS Notice__02-17-2009

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) intends to award up to four (4), Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ), subject to the availability of funds. Each basic IDIQ contract will consist of a one (1) base period year and four (4) one year option periods.

The basic IDIQ contract will be structured to allow for the issuance of Time and Materials (T&M) and Firm Fixed Price (FFP) task orders. The minimum guaranteed amount for each contract will be $500,000.00. The life cycle cost for this procurement is estimated at $2 billion. The Government anticipates awarding up to four (4) contracts.

Award of individual task orders will be made based upon each contractor’s capacity or ability to perform the current requirement, geographic location, qualifications, past performance and other considerations under the Brooks Act. Individual task orders will not exceed the total amount of each contract. Contractors must be capable of responding to and working on multiple task order concurrently.

This procurement is classified under the North American Industry Classification System code of 541330 (Engineering Services) with a size standard of $4.5 million.

The selected firms will be required to provide architect-engineer, consultant, and other professional services in support of the Public Assistance (PA) Program under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5206 (hereinafter referred to as the Stafford Act). The program activities of the Stafford Act are highly visible. The PA Program provides supplementary Federal assistance to State and local governments, certain private nonprofit organizations, and Indian Tribes and Alaskan Native Villages under Presidential major disaster declarations to clear debris; implement emergency protective measures for the preservation of life and property; repair or replace infrastructure, such as streets, bridges, water control facilities; repair or replace public buildings and related equipment; repair or restore public utilities; and repair or restore public recreational facilities and parks.

The selected firms shall provide the necessary resources to adequately support FEMA PA operations in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands, and augment FEMA’s capacity to respond to natural catastrophes, with emphasis on riverine and coastal flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis, or regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion. Due to the nature of FEMA’s mission, the Contractor must be accessible 24 hours a day, seven (7) days a week. The Contractor must be able to identify technical specialists within 48 hours of the Government’s notification. The selected firms will be required to provide technical expertise to perform the services set forth in the attached Draft Statement of Work.

Selection Process and Criteria

The selection process will be in conformance with the provisions of the Brooks Architect-Engineer Act, 40 U.S.C 1101 et seq., and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 36.6. The selection process will be accomplished in two phases:

Phase 1: During Phase 1, the Standard Forms (SF) 330s will be used to select the most highly technically rated firms (i.e. offerors) for continued participation in the procurement process. Unsuccessful offerors will be notified and provided guidance on the opportunity for debriefings. Firms selected under Phase 1 will be referred to as “short-listed firms.”

Due diligence will be held after the short-listed firms are so notified. The short-listed firms will be given the opportunity to schedule one-on-one due diligence sessions with FEMA staff as the firms are preparing their submissions for Phase 2. Expenses for due diligence will not be reimbursed. For planning purposes, it is anticipated that each due diligence session will be conducted in Washington, D.C., and should not take longer than two (2) hours.

Phase 2: During Phase 2, the short-listed firms will be invited to make oral presentations pursuant to FAR 36.602-3(c). The oral presentation is to be conducted by the firm’s proposed management team. After oral presentations, and discussions if held, the short-listed firms will be re-evaluated, re-rated and re-ranked. (NOTE: In accordance with draft Statement of Work (SOW), Paragraph 1.4.3 TAC Manager.com, the highest technically rated firm selected for award will be the Lead for maintenance of the real-time web reporting site for the program). Oral presentations do not constitute discussions; however, FEMA reserves the right to hold discussions.

The Selection Criteria listed below will be used for rating and ranking firms during Phase I. After completion of Phases I and II, firms selected for consideration of an IDIQ contract will be notified. Negotiations will be conducted beginning with the most highly ranked firm in the selection, and will proceed until an award or awards are made.

Five (5) factors will be used in the selection of firms. Criteria 1 through 3 are equally important and are more important than Criteria 4 and 5. Criterion 4 is less important than Criteria 5. These five criteria will be used to evaluate firms’ SF 330s. An unacceptable rating in any factor for Criteria 1 through 3 will result in an unacceptable rating overall.

1. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND TECHNICAL COMPETENCE. The firm must demonstrate successful specialized experience of its firms and key personnel in the following subfactors. Subfactor (a) is significantly more important than subfactor (b):

(a) Experience developing reliable cost estimates for a variety of major multi-million dollar construction projects and/or repair of damaged infrastructure systems (e.g., buildings, roads, schools, hospitals, and power and water systems, etc.). Cost estimates should reflect the total budget necessary for the project. Give a detailed explanation of the reasons for any variances that exceed plus or minus 10 percent between estimated and actual costs.

(b) Experience in evaluating projects for compliance with environmental regulations and preparing environmental documents (environmental assessments or environmental impact statements); conducting historical or archeological reviews; complying with wetlands and endangered species regulations; reviewing insurance adjustments (i.e., general property (i.e., all hazards except flood) and flood); and evaluating hazardous waste and debris removal issues.

(c) Experience in staffing at the levels in Evaluation Factor 2.

2. CAPACITY TO ACCOMPLISH WORK WITHIN REQUIRED TIME. The firm must demonstrate the ability to identify technical specialists within 48 hours of the Government’s notification, the minimum personnel in the quantities specified below, for an eight-month assignment, and of that number, 200 to be available for an additional four months:

Civil Engineer (50); Structural Engineer (50); Architect (20); Construction Inspector (20); Engineering Technician (20); Estimator (20); Planner, General (15); Soils/Geotechnical Engineer (15); Environmental Planner (10); Insurance Specialist (10); Sanitary Engineer (10); GIS Specialist (5); Electrical Engineer (4); Environmental Engineer (4); Mechanical Engineer (4); Accountant (3); Architectural Historian (3); Certified Public Accountant (3); Coastal Engineer (3); Computer Specialist (3); Financial Analyst (3); Health Scientist (3); Historical Architect (3); Landscape Architect (3); Archaeologist (2) Geologist (2); Hydrologist (2). The firm must have one (1) each of the following skills: Appraiser; Arborist; Biologist; Chemical Engineer; Draftsman; Horticulturist; Surveying Technician; Surveyor; Telecommunications Specialist; Wetlands Specialist.

The firm must address how it will maintain staffing during the life of the contract, including whether by in-house employees or by subcontractor employees, or a combination thereof.

3. PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS. The firm must demonstrate the education, experience, and professional registration/certifications, for staff listed in Evaluation Factor 2. Firms demonstrating extensive knowledge of building codes and standards, floodplain and riverine zones, and seismic and wind zones across the geographic area noted in Factor 5 will be preferred.

4. PAST PERFORMANCE. The agency will evaluate the firm’s past performance on contracts of similar size, type, and scope with Government agencies and private industry in terms of project management, accuracy of costs estimates, cost control, quality control, completion of projects within budget, and compliance with performance schedules. The firm must provide references for at least five contracts within the past three (3) years with names, affiliations, and telephone numbers, with a narrative discussion. If the firm is a Joint Venture, contracts performed by its individual members must be included. In the case of a firm without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the firm will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. The Government reserves the right to use information outside of the response in evaluating past performance, including agency knowledge of the firms performance.

5. LOCATION IN THE GENERAL GEOGRAPHICAL AREA OF THE PROJECT AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE LOCALITY OF THE PROJECT. Location of personnel in multiple locations is generally indicative of greater flexibility and experience in a wider variety of work that would be tasked under the draft SOW. The firm must demonstrate how its location(s) supports the wide dispersion of disasters to which it would be required to support under this contract. Disasters can occur in any of the following locations: FEMA’s ten (10) regions, which include the 50 States of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

General Instructions

Firms interested in performing this work are to submit one (1) original and seven (7) copies of their Standard Form (SF) 330 showing project experience and personnel who will perform the work. Strict adherence to the submission instructions will be enforced. Firms not performing all work in-house must identify subcontractors in their submittal.

A prime or joint venture SF 330 submittal must not exceed sixty (60) pages, 8 1/2" x 11" front side only. Charts and drawings will be counted as two pages if submitted on 11 x 17" size paper. The 60 page limit does not apply to Part II of the SF 330. Front and back cover pages and tab pages will not be counted in the page limit nor will these pages be evaluated; i.e., any information listed on these pages will be ignored. All pages following the first sixty (60) pages will be discarded upon receipt. All other material such as brochures or samples of work, attachments or extra pages will be discarded upon receipt.

All submittals, to include portions from subcontractors, shall use a type pitch that is no smaller than a standard 11-point font type, with the exception of charts, graphs, or tables, which shall use a pitch no smaller than 10-point. Joint ventures must include a copy of the legal joint venture with the chief executive of each entity identified. Copies of agreements between firms participating in a prime/subcontractor relationship must also be included in the submittal. The joint venture and the prime/subcontractor documents will not be subject to the page limitation set forth above.

All interested large firms are reminded that successful firms will be expected to submit a subcontracting plan that complies with DHS’ small business goals prior to award.

The Interested Vendors List feature has been activated on the Vendors portal to the Federal Business Opportunities website (www.fbo.gov), and firms are encouraged to provide their contact information there to help maximize teaming arrangements and small business participation on this procurement.

The Governments’ objective is to identify and achieve reciprocal goals, ensure effective and efficient contract performance, and resolve disputes in a timely, professional and non-adversarial manner through the use of voluntary Alternative Dispute Resolution methodologies.

Responses must reference Synopsis Number HSFEHQ-09-R-0411: PA TAC, on the face of all forms and on the outside of the envelope, and submissions must acknowledge notice/receipt of all amendments or modifications. No other announcement is anticipated for this requirement.

To assure consideration, all information must be received by the Contracting Officer no later than 3:00 PM local time on March 18, 2009 , at DHS/FEMA, Acquisition Management Division, Disaster Assistance Section, 395 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20472-3205. Late submissions will be subject to the provisions of FAR Part 15. This is not a Request for Proposal.

Contracting Office Address:

DHS/FEMA, Acquisition Management Division, Disaster Assistance Section, 395 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20472-3205.

Place of Performance:

NATIONWIDE

Point of Contact(s):

Antoine Barnes, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-646-3148, Fax 202-646-3846, Email

La Shawn Smith, Contracting Officer, Phone 202-646- 4306, Fax 202-646-3846, Email

�AMD Question: When should the subcontracting plan be submitted and should we be specific about its submittal in the SSN?

�Do not forget to add date.