J.2 Instructions to Offerors and Basis for Award (L&M).pdf

Supplies, Services, and Material Management Division Ford House Office Building, Room H2-263 Washington, DC 20515 202.226.2557 www.aoc.gov

Architect of the Capitol | Supplies, Services, and Material Management Division Ford House Office Building, Room H2-263 | Washington, DC 20515 | 202.226.2557 | www.aoc.gov

Instructions to Offerors and Basis for Award

AOCSSB24R0039

Release Date: 07/31/2024

The Architect of the Capitol (AOC), Supplies, Services, and Material Management Division (SSMMD) is issuing Request for Proposals (RFP) # AOCSSB24R0039 for AHU Filters. It is anticipated that this RFP will result in a firm fixed price contract to a responsible offeror actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and whose proposal provides the overall best value to the AOC in accordance with the requirements set forth by this solicitation and the Statement of Work (SOW). This solicitation will use the procedures in AOC Contracting Manual § 9.1 Negotiated Acquisitions. The AOC Contracting Manual can be found here:

https://www.aoc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/basic-page/aoc-order-34-1-contracting-manual-2019-03.pdf

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes for this requirement is 333415

- Air-Conditioning and Warm Air Heating Equipment and Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing. The Product Service Code is 4120 - AIR

CONDITIONING EQUIPMENT.

Period of Performance is as follows:

Base Contract (September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025)

Option 1 (September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026)

Option 2 (September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027)

The List of Attachments is in Section J of Standard Form 18 (SF18).

L.1 RFP GENERAL CONDITIONS

The submission of a proposal to the Government shall constitute the offeror’s acknowledgement, agreement and compliance with the terms and conditions of the RFP. The Government will not be obligated to pay any cost incurred by a contractor in the preparation and submission of a proposal. Offerors are cautioned to ensure that their proposal submissions are complete and reflective of the evaluation criteria and requirements described herein.

http://www.aoc.gov/ https://www.aoc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/basic-page/aoc-order-34-1-contracting-manual-2019-03.pdf https://www.aoc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/basic-page/aoc-order-34-1-contracting-manual-2019-03.pdf

Offerors are encouraged to provide their best terms with their initial proposal submission.

Offerors shall not assume that the Government will afford an opportunity to clarify, discuss, or revise a proposal. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if it determines that it is in the best interest of the Government.

Proposals shall be valid for 90 days from the date of final proposal submission.

Any exceptions or conditional assumptions taken with respect to the requirements outlined in the RFP or SOW shall be fully explained in the offeror’s Introductory Letter. The Government cautions offerors that taking exception to any term or condition may render their proposal non-responsive and the offeror will be ineligible for award, unless the RFP expressly authorizes such an exception with regards to a specific term or condition.

L.2 QUESTIONS AND PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS

All correspondence in conjunction with this solicitation, including questions and proposal submittals, shall be directed to the Contracting Officer, Tim Nyberg, via e-mail at tim.nyberg@aoc.gov. E-mail messages shall not exceed 20 MB. If necessary, offerors shall compress files with a .zip extension.

Please copy Contract Specialist, Roman Davydov, at roman.davydov@aoc.gov as well.

L.2.1 Questions Due Date

Questions about the technical or contractual details of this procurement must be submitted in writing via e-mail by August 07, 2024 by noon EST. When submitting questions, please include the RFP #, Company Name and the word “Questions” in the subject line of the email. For example, “AOCSSB24R0039_ ABC Inc. Questions”. Questions submitted after this cut off will be responded to at the discretion of the Contracting Officer. Offerors shall use Attachment J.4 to submit questions.

Answers to questions will be provided as an amendment to the RFP.

L.2.2 Proposal Due Date

Proposals must be received no later than August 15, 2024 by noon EST. When submitting your final proposal, please include the RFP #, Company Name and the word “Proposal” in the subject line of the email. For example, “AOCSSB24R0039_ ABC Inc. Proposal”. Proposals received after this date and time shall be considered late and shall not be accepted by the Government unless it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government.

L.3 VOLUMES AND ORGANIZATION

mailto:tim.nyberg@aoc.gov mailto:roman.davydov@aoc.gov

Proposals shall be clearly and concisely written, as well as being neat, indexed and logically assembled as described herein. Offerors are advised to supply all information in the sequence and format specified in the table below. The submitted proposal must provide a sufficient basis for a thorough evaluation and contain the information necessary for evaluation. The Government will not assume the offeror possesses any capability, understanding, or commitment not specified in the proposal. The proposal must not merely repeat the solicitation and Statement of Work requirements, but rather must provide convincing documentary evidence in support of conclusive statements of how contract requirements will be met.

Proposals shall be prepared in separate volumes: Volume I – Technical and Volume II – Price.

The offeror shall provide the requested information within the designated volume evaluation factor. Any requested information placed outside of the designated location shall not be considered or evaluated under that evaluation factor regardless of whether it is located somewhere else in the proposal. In order for the technical proposal to be strictly evaluated on the merit of the material submitted, Volume I and Volume II shall be submitted as separate documents. Pricing is prohibited in, and shall be omitted from, Volume I. Each volume shall be indexed by evaluation factor.

Volumes shall be organized in the following manner:

Volume Factor Title Page Limit (Not to Exceed)

I NA Introductory Letter No limit 1 Technical Approach 3 Pages

II

2 Price (in Excel)

NA Standard Form 18 (Provision Fill-Ins) No limit

All pages in Volume I, except the introductory letter, shall include page numbering.

Content which is outside the Page Limits in the above chart will not be considered by the Government during evaluations.

Table of contents does not count towards the page count.

L.3.1 Paper Size and Formatting

Written materials shall be submitted 1 sided single spaced pages using standard 8 ½” x 11” size paper with a minimum of 1” margins. Font size shall be Times New Roman or Calibri with a minimum of 12-point size for text and 10-point size for tables and graphics.

L.3.2 Introductory Letter

The following introductory information is required before the first index of Volume I:

• RFP Number & Title;

• Name and address of offeror;

• Dun & Bradstreet number (DUNS Number) & cage code;

• NAICS / PSC;

• Name, telephone number & e-mail address of offeror’s main point-of-contact;

• Date of submission;

• Name, title and signature of authorized representative;

• Whether or not all items proposed are Buy American Act compliant;

• All technical factor assumptions to the RFP and SOW shall be identified in this section.

Pricing assumptions shall be identified in Volume II. Exceptions identified in other areas of the proposal will not be considered.

L.3.3 Standard Form 18

The offeror shall complete Page 1 of the SF18 and all the provision fill-ins under Section K - Representations, Certifications, and other Statements of Offerors or Respondents. The entire form shall be returned in PDF format in Volume II. Any SF-30 associated with any amendments to this RFP shall be signed by the offeror and included in Volume II as well.

L.3.4 Factor 1 – Technical Approach

The offeror shall provide a technical approach plan in a narrative format that describes the offeror’s approach to managing and executing the requirements of the SOW.

The offeror shall submit the following information to describe their technical approach:

a) Methods of planning to provide sufficient quantities of AHU filters during a Normal Delivery and Emergency Delivery as described in the SOW.

b) Methods of how AHU Filters will be packaged for the HOB Jurisdiction as described in the SOW.

c) Do the products the contractor is specifying meet the requirements of the AOC HOB Jurisdiction as described within the SOW. Product cutsheets and Product informational Sheets for filters are required to be provided.

L.3.5 Factor 2 – Price

Offerors shall input the price per item in Attachment 3 – Pricing Sheet, in the green cells, the total yearly cost cells and Base and Options totals will auto calculate. The Architect of the Capitol requires FAR 52.225-1 Buy American Act – Supplies in all solicitations for supplies, the offeror shall indicate yes or no for Buy American Act compliance in its Introductory Page.

M.1 BASIS FOR AWARD

Evaluations will be conducted in accordance with the procedures defined below.

Offers will be ranked by price lowest to highest, the Government will evaluate the lowest priced offer for technical acceptability first, if found technically acceptable, evaluations will stop and award will be make to this lowest priced offer in accordance with the Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable best value determination. If not, the next lowest priced offer will be evaluated for technical acceptability, and so on, until a technically acceptable offer is identified.

The Government will make an award to the offeror whose proposal represents the best value to the Government. Within the best value continuum, the Government will use the Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable method in evaluating the proposals approved for evaluation.

The Government will reserve the right to make an award without discussions if there is a fully acceptable proposal received in the initial submissions. If not, the Government may enter into discussions with offerors. The Government also reserves the right to make no award.

Non Price Factors:

Factor 1: Technical Approach

Price Factors:

Factor 2: Price

The evaluation criteria for each factor is as follows:

M.1.1 Factor 1 – Technical Approach

The Government will evaluate the offeror’s Technical Approach to determine the offeror’s understanding of the requirement and method for completion.

The Government will determine whether or not the offeror’s response to L.3.4 items a) through

c) is acceptable.

M.1.5 Factor 5 – Price

The offeror’s price proposal shall be evaluated for price reasonableness to prevent the Government from paying too much for the services outlined in the SOW. Additionally, a price realism analysis may be performed to determine whether an offeror’s price is unrealistically low. An unrealistically low proposal may question whether an offeror fully understands the size, magnitude, complexity, and scope of service outlined in the SOW. An unrealistic price proposal may serve as a rejection for the proposal.

The offeror’s proposal will be evaluated for unbalanced pricing utilizing price analysis techniques. The Government may determine that a proposal is unacceptable if the prices proposed are materially unbalanced. A proposal may be rejected if the Contracting Officer determines that the lack of balance poses an unacceptable risk to the Government.

Price will not be rated adjectivally, but will be evaluated based on a comprehensive review.

Price proposals shall be evaluated with respect to accuracy and completeness based on information submitted in the offeror’s written submission. This process will involve verification that figures are correctly calculated, prices are presented in the requested format, and that proposed rates and any applicable discounts are accurate. Additionally, the Government may utilize one or more of the following methods to evaluate price:

• Comparison to other proposals received;

• Comparison and/or analysis based on Independent Government Cost Estimate; or

• Comparison/analysis to historical prices.

As part of the price evaluation, the Government will evaluate the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract.

M.2 RATING AND DEFINITIONS

The Government will evaluate non-price factor using the following definitions:

Rating Description

Acceptable Meets all requirements of M.1.1

Unacceptable Does not meet all requirement of M.1.1