INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS.pdf

INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

1. SUBMISSION OF BIDS:

The bidder shall submit the following in response to this Invitation for Bids:

(a) A completed and signed Standard Form 1442. Contractor must acknowledge all amendments in force at the time of the bid opening.

(b) A completed copy of the Representations and Certifications (See FAR 52.204-8 Annual Representations and Certifications (MAR 2012)).

(c) Compliant with VAAR 852.219-73 VA Notice of total set-aside for verified service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (NOV 2022).

(d) Compliant with VAAR 852.219-75 VA Notice of Limitations on Subcontracting – Certificate of Compliance for Services and Construction (NOV 2022).

(e) A fully executed bid bond.

(f) Documentation of their safety record.

(g) Itemized Schedule of Values Cost breakdown.

o NOTE 1: Offerors must submit an itemized breakdown of costs (Attachment A) to include an Itemized Schedule of Values Cost breakdown for Base Bid in sufficient detail to permit a complete analysis of labor burden, materials, equipment, transportation, supervision, disposal costs, overhead and profit and shall cover all work involved in accordance with (IAW) Statement of Work (SOW). If Itemized Schedule of Values Cost breakdown is not provided, bidders/offerors’ bid could be deemed non-responsive.

o NOTE 2: Copies of all subcontractor quotes are required.

2. BID SUBMISSION: All bids shall be submitted by the prime contractor in one of the following ways:

(a) In person: H.H. McGuire VA Medical Center, Building 500, Room 2K-115 (Main Hospital) 1201 Broad Rock Blvd.

Richmond, VA 23249, Room (Doors will close promptly at 10:30AM EST)

Or

(b) Email: Nicholas Ruppert, Contracting Officer, nicholas.ruppert@va.gov@va.gov Tonya Bradley, Contract Specialist, tonya.bradley@va.gov All bids are due by 9/12/2023 4:00 PM, EST.

NOTE 1: To be considered and accepted as timely the bid must be uploaded in its entirety prior to the deadline. Failure to provide a bid in its entirety prior to the deadline will render the bid noncompliant.

mailto:nicholas.ruppert@va.gov@va.gov

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3. BASIS FOR AWARD: The Government intends to award a contract to the responsible offeror with the lowest evaluated price. Offerors must submit a cost breakdown in sufficient detail to permit a complete analysis of labor, burden, materials, equipment, transportation, supervision, and disposal. When price is the only factor considered, award will be based on the lowest reasonable price received.

4. TECHNICAL BID: A technical bid is not required.

5. EVALUATION OVERVIEW: Bids will be evaluated and ranked according to price and price alone, from lowest to highest. All bids shall include a cost breakdown in sufficient detail to permit a complete analysis of labor, burden, materials, equipment, transportation, supervision, and disposal. The Government may use various price analysis techniques and procedures to make a price reasonableness determination. Bids unreasonably high or unrealistically low in price, when compared to the Government estimate, and market conditions evidenced by other competitive bids received, may be indicative of an inherent lack of understanding of the solicitation requirements and may result in bid rejection without discussion.

For a bids to be eligible for award, the bidders must ensure they are in compliance with the NAICS code listed on Page #1, block #10 of the 1442 and by issuing a bid for this solicitation confirms that the bidders amount is good for 120 days from the date issued.

6. ATTACHMENTS:

a. Itemized Schedule of Values Cost Breakdown

b. Specifications Volume 1 and Volume 2

c. Addendums

d. Architecture

e. Electrical

f. Life Safety Set

g. Mechanical

h. Plumbing-revised

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7. SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD: In order to be eligible for consideration and award, the contractor shall have no more than two serious, or one repeat, or one willful OSHA or EPA violation(s) in the past 5 years and have an Experience Modification Rate (EMR) of equal to or less than 1.0.

All Bidders/Offerors shall submit the following information pertaining to their past Safety and Environmental record with their bid.

1. A self-certification on company letterhead that the bidder has no more than two (2) serious, or one (1) repeat or one (1) willful OSHA or any EPA violation(s) in the past five years. Bidders shall submit copies of their OSHA logs (OSHA Form 300A) for the past three years with their bid. If the firm has been in business for less than three years, they shall submit copies of their OSHA logs for the period of time they have been in business.

2. Information regarding their current Experience Modification Rate (EMR) equal to or less than 1.0. This information shall be obtained from the bidder’s/offeror’s insurance company and be furnished on the insurance carrier’s letterhead.

Self-insured contractors or other contractors that cannot provide their EMR rating on insurance letterhead must obtain a rating from the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc.

(NCCI) by completing/submitting form ERM-6 and providing the rating on letterhead from NCCI. Note: Self-insured contractors or other contractors that cannot provide EMR rating on insurance letterhead from the states or territories of CA, DE, MI, NJ, ND, OH, PA, WA, WY, and PR shall obtain their EMR rating from their state-run worker’s compensation insurance rating bureau.

NOTE: Failure to submit this documentation with the bid shall be grounds for rejection of the bid as non-responsive.

8. Security – Background PIV requirement

In accordance with VHAPM Part 822.18 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY AND SUITABILITY SOP Part B:

1.4, Deputy Under Secretary for Health and Operations and Management (10N) Memorandum, Contractors Excepted from Background Investigation and Screenings, dated February 8, 2007, specifies that the following low risk or non-sensitive contractor positions are excepted from the requirement to have a background investigation:

1.4.1. Contract personnel not accessing VA information resources such as personnel hired to maintain the medical facility grounds, construction contractors, utility system contractors, etc.

1.4.2. Contract personnel with limited and intermittent access to equipment connected to facility networks where limited Personal Health Information (PHI) is available, including contractors who install, maintain and repair networked building equipment such as fire alarm, heating ventilating and air conditioning equipment, elevator control systems, etc. If equipment to be repaired is located within sensitive areas (e.g. computer room/communications closets) VA IT staff must escort contractors while on site.

https://vaww.pclo.infoshare.va.gov/PCLO/PMWeb/Contractor%20BI%20Excepted%20Feb2007.pdf.pdf

1.4.3. Contract personnel with limited and intermittent access to equipment connected to facility networks where limited PHI may be resident, including medical equipment contractors who install, maintain and repair networked medical equipment such as CT Scanners, EKG Systems, ICU monitoring, etc. Here, medical facilities must have a VA Business Associate Agreement (see VHAPM Part 839.105-70) if appropriate with the vendor to assure compliance with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Contract personnel, if on site, should be escorted by VA IT staff.

1.5. Special Agreement Check (SAC) Requirements and Exemptions: If it is determined that an exemption to a background investigation applies, the CO and COR shall determine whether or not a Special Agreement Check is required. All contract personnel who are exempt from a background investigation and who provide direct and/or ancillary health care services at VA facilities or have access to VA information systems or sensitive information must have a SAC completed unless an exemption applies. Deputy Under Secretary for Health and Operations and Management (10N) Memorandum, Contractors Excepted from Background Investigation and Screenings, dated February 8, 2007, specifies that the following low risk or non-sensitive contractor positions are excepted from the requirement to have a background screening (Special Agreement Check):

1.5.1. Contract personnel not accessing VA information resources such as personnel hired to maintain the medical facility grounds, construction contractors, utility system contractors, etc.

1.5.2. Contract personnel with limited and intermittent access to equipment connected to facility networks where limited Personal Health Information (PHI) is available, including contractors who install, maintain and repair networked building equipment such as fire alarm, heating ventilating and air conditioning equipment, elevator control systems, etc. If equipment to be repaired is located within sensitive areas (e.g. computer room/communications closets), VA IT staff must escort contractors while on site.

1.5.3. Contract personnel with limited and intermittent access to equipment connected to facility networks where limited PHI may be resident, including medical equipment contractors who install, maintain and repair networked medical equipment such as CT Scanners, EKG Systems, ICU monitoring, etc. Here, medical facilities must have a VA Business Associate Agreement if appropriate, with the vendor to assure compliance with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Contract personnel, if on site, should be escorted by VA IT staff.

Therefore, it is determined that this project is excepted from the background investigation and screening requirements. No access to VA Sensitive Information or access to VA network is required under this contract. Designers shall only be required to obtain flash badges for this project.

9. TRAINING: All employees of the general contractor and subcontractors shall have the 10-hour OSHA certified construction safety course and/or other relevant competency training, as determined by the COR with input from the ICRA (Infection Control Risk Assessment) team.

The General Contractor’s competent person shall have completed the 30-hour OSHA certified construction safety course. Documentation of training shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer for review and approval prior to any work being performed. No ID badge will be issued to https://vaww.pclo.infoshare.va.gov/PCLO/PMWeb/VHAPM_Part_839.105-70.aspx an employee who does not provide this documentation. There shall be no exceptions to this requirement.

10. MAGNITUDE OF CONSTRUCTION: Range between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000 IAW FAR 36.204(f) and between $2,000,000.00 and $5,000,000.00 IAW VAAR 836.204(f)(2).

11. PLANS/DRAWINGS:

a. See Drawings.

b. See Specifications.

c. Addendums.

d. See additional bid sets under #6 above.

12. DESCRIPTION OF WORK: This is a new requirement and being procured in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 36 and VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 836 and VA

Acquisition Manual (VAAM) 836. The Contractor shall provide the following services in accordance with this Scope of Work and all contract drawings, specifications, and amendments.

The overall intent of this project includes, but is not limited to the Installation of construction barriers and implementation of Infection Control measures to isolate the 2H Area from the rest of the hospital, Isolation of all utilities feeding into the space while not affecting surrounding areas of the hospital, Establish and maintain negative air pressure in the construction space for the duration of the work, Establish and maintain dust control measures at all times and prevent tracking of dust into areas outside of the construction barriers, Systematic demolition of the 2H

Area to include the removal of all finishes, walls, framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc. in accordance with the construction drawings and specifications and Systematic reconstruction of the 2H Area in accordance with the construction drawings and specifications.

13. COMPLETION TIME: All work shall be completed per above calendar days’ from receipt of the Notice to Proceed.

14. SDVOSB SET-ASIDE: This procurement is 100% set-aside for Service-Disabled, Veteran- Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Bids are solicited only from SDVOSB concerns and bids received from concerns that are not SDVOSB concerns shall be rejected. In order to be considered, the firm must be shown in the Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) Program (https://veterans.certify.sba.gov) website as verified at the time of submission of their bid.

15. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITY: Contractor shall be required to complete all contract work and schedule a final inspection within the specified contract performance period. Should the Contractor fail to complete the contract work (including scheduling of the final inspection), and it is determined by the Government to be a Contractor-caused delay, the Contractor shall be in default status. If the Government determines it to be in the best interest of the Government to allow the Contractor to continue to perform contract work, the Contractor shall provide equitable consideration to the Government for additional time granted for completion of contract work.

Such agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of the Government’s right to terminate this contract in the event the Contractor fails to complete the contract work (including scheduling of the final inspection) on or before the completion date.

16. TB TESTING: In accordance with VHA Directive 2011-036, CEOSH Construction Safety Guidebook, 2012 1.1.1 VHA Policy, CDC 2005 Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Health-Care Settings.

(a) The contractor must provide written certification that all contract employees assigned to the work site have had a pre-placement tuberculin screening within 90 days prior to assignment to the worksite and been found have negative TB screening reactions. Contractors will be required to show documentation of negative TB screening reactions for any additional workers who are added after the 90-day requirement before they will be allowed to work on the work site.

NOTE: This can be the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention and two-step skin testing or a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved blood test.

(b) Contract employees manifesting positive screening reactions to the tuberculin must be examined according to current CDC guidelines prior to working on VHA property.

(c) Subsequently, if the employee is found without evidence of active (infectious) pulmonary TB, a statement documenting examination by a physician must be on file with the employer (construction contractor), noting that the employee with a positive tuberculin screening test is without evidence of active (infectious) pulmonary TB.

(d) If the employee is found with evidence of active (infectious) pulmonary TB, the employee would require treatment with a subsequent statement to the fact on file with the employer before being allowed to return to work on VHA property.

17. PRE-BID CONFERENCE: A pre-bid conference has been scheduled Wednesday, August 9, 2023, at 10:30 a.m., at the H.H McGuire VA Medical Center, 1201 Broad Rock Blvd., Richmond, VA 23249, outside of the Engineering Department.

No more than two (2) representatives from each company and Contractor must submit their name(s) no later than Tuesday, August 8, 2023 @ 3:00 PM EST to nicholas.ruppert@va.gov and tonya.bradley@va.gov.

NOTE: QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS SOLICITATION MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA E-MAIL

TO nicholas.ruppert@va.gov and tonya.bradley@va.gov; NO TELEPHONE QUESTIONS

WILL BE ACCEPTED. CUT OFF FOR QUESTIONS IS 12:00 PM (LOCAL TIME),

WEDNESDAY, August 16, 2023. NO FURTHER QUESTIONS WILL BE ADDRESSED AFTER

THAT DATE/TIME.

18. KEYS: All keys provided the Contractor for use during the project shall be returned to the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) at completion of the work or upon request. No keys shall be reproduced by the Contractor. There shall be a charge of $10.00 for each key that is lost or not returned to the COR. Payment shall be made to the VA Medical Center, Richmond, VA upon receipt of a Bill of Collection.

19. PREPARATION OF BIDS/OFFERS/BIDS: Neither the VAMC nor the VISN 6 CAS will pay for any costs incurred in preparation and submission of bids or bids.

For a bids to be eligible for award, the bidders must ensure they are in compliance with the NAICS code listed on Page #1, block #10 of the 1442 and by issuing a bid for this solicitation confirms that the bidders amount is good for 120 days from the date issued.

mailto:nicholas.ruppert@va.gov mailto:nicholas.ruppert@va.gov

20. PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY: Contractors to the Department of Veteran Affairs may be unintentionally exposed to sensitive information. Information may be overheard, seen on documents or electronic devices, or observed that could potentially violate the privacy and confidentiality of our veterans, employees, volunteers, and their families. Regulations such as, but not limited to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act of 1974 have been enacted to protect sensitive information from being improperly disclosed. Information should not be divulged or released to anyone unless specifically authorized by this contract or its’ attached documents in accordance with the contracted services. Failure to comply with applicable statutes and regulation can result in the termination of this contract and civil and criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment. All suspected or actual breeches of privacy and confidentiality should be reported immediately to the Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or the Facility Privacy Officer.

21. VETS 100: Title 38, USC Section 4212(d), and Public Law 105-339, requires that federal contractors report, at least annually, the number and category of veterans who are within their workforce. Submission of the VETS 100 reporting information can be done electronically at:

http://vets100.cudenver.edu. Award cannot be made unless the awardee has filed their VETS 100 report. Therefore, all bidders/offerors are encouraged to file every year.

22. SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM): Federal Acquisition Regulations require that federal contractors register in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at http://www.sam.gov and enter all mandatory information into the system. Award cannot be made until the contractor has registered. Bidders are encouraged to ensure that they are registered in SAM prior to submitting their bid.

23. CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT REPORTING SYSTEM:

(a) FAR 42.1502 direct all Federal agencies to collect past performance information on contracts. The Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented use of the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) to comply with this regulation. One or more past performance evaluations will be conducted in order to record your contract performance as required by FAR 42.15

(b) The past performance evaluation process is a totally paperless process using CPARS. CPARS is a web-based system that allows for electronic processing of the performance evaluation report. Once the report is processed, it is available in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) for Government use in evaluating past performance as part of a source selection action.

(c) Please furnish the Contracting Officer with the name, position title, phone number, and email address for each person designated to have access to your firm’s past performance evaluation(s) for the contract no later than 30 calendar days after award. Each person granted access will have the ability to provide comments in the Contractor portion of the report and state whether or not the Contractor agrees with the evaluation, before returning the report to the Assessing Official. The report information must be protected as source selection sensitive information not releasable to the public.

http://www.sam.gov/

(d) When your Contractor Representative(s) (Past Performance Points of Contact) are registered in CPARS, they will receive an automatically-generated email with detailed login instructions. Further details, system requirements, and training information for CPARS are available at www.cpars.gov. The CPARS User Manual, registration for online training for Contractor Representatives may be found at this site.

(e) Within 60 calendar days after the end of a performance period, the Contracting Officer will complete an interim or final past performance evaluation and the report will be accessible at www.cpars.gov. Contractor Representatives may then provide comments in response to the evaluation or return the evaluation without comment. Comments are limited to the space provided in Block 22. Your comments should focus on objective facts in the Assessing Official’s narrative and should provide your views on the causes and ramifications of the assessed performance. In addition to the ratings and supporting narratives, blocks 1-17 should be reviewed for accuracy, as these include key fields that will be used by the Government to identify your firm in future source selection evaluations. If you elect not to provide comments, please acknowledge receipt of the evaluation by indicating, “No Comment” in Block 22, and then signing and dating Block 23 of the form. Without a statement in Block 22, you will be unable to sign and submit the evaluation back to the Government. If you do not sign and submit the CPARS within 30 days, it will automatically be returned to the Government and will be annotated: “The report was delivered/received by the contractor on (date). The contractor neither signed nor offered comment in response to this assessment.” Your response is due within 30 calendar days after receipt of the CPARS.

(f) The following guidelines apply concerning your use of the past performance evaluation:

(1) Protect the evaluation as “source selection information.” After review, transit the evaluation by completing and submitting the form through CPARS. If for some reason you are unable to view and/or submit the form through CPARS, contact the Contracting Officer for instructions.

(2) Strictly control access to the evaluation within your organization. Ensure the evaluation is never released to persons or entities outside of your control.

(3) Prohibit the use of or reference to evaluation data for advertising, promotional material, pre-award surveys, responsibility determination, production readiness reviews, or other similar purposes.

(g) If you wish to discuss a past performance evaluation, you should request a meeting in writing to the Contracting Officer no later than seven calendar days following your receipt of the evaluation. The meeting will be held in person or via telephone or other means during your 30-day review period.

(h) A copy of the completed past performance evaluation will be available in CPARS for your viewing and for Government use supporting source selection actions after it has been completed.

(End of Notice)