RACER-PACES_Sources Sought Announcement_20250313.pdf

SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCENMENT

1. This is a SOURCES SOUGHT announcement. The Government is seeking to identify qualified small and large business sources under the anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 541511, Custom Computer Programming Services. The small business size standard is $34 million. This notice is for market research purposes only and IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in preparation of a response to this notice. This notice is issued solely for informational and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation.

2. CONTRACT INFORMATION: The Huntsville Engineering and Support Center, U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers (CEHNC) is conducting market research to identify qualified firms capable of developing parametric cost models for building construction, remedial action cleanup, and site work construction on a multi-agency Government level. The parametric approach differs from traditional cost estimating methods by allowing the user to input a minimum amount of information to create a cost estimate. The models must be in the correct format, as outlined further in the attached draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) and be consistent in structure with other models developed to be used with/by the Parametric Cost Engineering System (PACES) and Remedial Action Cost Engineering and Requirements (RACER) software applications. PACES and RACER updates will include documentation updates as needed and all enhancements. Updates and fixes will be reviewed by the PACES or RACER committee, respectively, at the time of PACES and RACER software releases. A secondary objective of this contract is using parametric models within PACES and/or RACER to produce cost estimates and to develop utilities that function with RACER and/or PACES which produce estimates and batch reports. The intended contract period of performance is for a base year with four (4) one-year option periods. (See DRAFT PWS for more information.)

3. The purpose of this sources sought notice is to conduct market research to determine the availability of qualified contractors to perform these services to include Certified Small Businesses, 8(a) Small Businesses, HUBZone Certified Small Business Concerns, Woman Owned Small Businesses, Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, and Other Than Small Businesses. Offerors are requested to respond to the attached questionnaire.

Interested small business firms that meet the capability requirements outlined in this notice are encouraged to respond by addressing the questions below. If a firm has no relevant experience or capabilities for a particular question, the firm should indicate so.

Based upon the responses received, consideration will be given to defining what part, or all, of the acquisition will be set-aside for small business competition.

4. PROJECT INFORMATION: TRACES includes software applications and databases necessary to prepare, analyze, review and maintain construction cost estimates for the federal government. TRACES software packages which may be maintained, supported, interfaced with, and/or enhanced through this contract include a variety of parametric and detailed cost estimating and support systems to include, but not limited to, Microcomputer Aided Cost Engineering System—2nd Generation (MII) originally developed by Project Time & Cost, Inc.; Success Estimator developed by U.S. Cost;

Parametric Cost Engineering System (PACES) maintained and distributed by AECOM, Inc.; Remedial Action Cost Engineering Requirements (RACER) also maintained and distributed by AECOM, Inc.; Historical Analysis Generator – 2nd Generation (HII) developed by Project Time & Cost, Inc; Life Cycle Cost – 32 bit (LCC-32) developed by Building Systems Design, Inc; Crystal Ball developed by Oracle, Inc; PC Cost developed for the Corps of Engineers; and Area Cost Factors (ACF) developed by Project Time & Cost, Inc. This list of software applications is not considered to be all inclusive. During the performance period of this contract, the contractor may be tasked to interface with, develop, and/or enhance other cost engineering software applications deemed necessary to support the overall mission of the cost engineering community. These software applications support cost engineering efforts for a number of projects to include civil works, military construction, and hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste remediation projects for the Tri-Services (Army, Navy, and Air Force) as well as the Department of Energy (DoE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center located in Huntsville; Alabama is a center under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It has been designated as the assigned responsible agency for the TRACES Program and is responsible for awarding and administering this and other support contracts for TRACES. The Tri-Service Cost Engineering Steering Committee is composed of senior Tri-Service cost engineers. This committee is responsible for formulating the vision for TRACES and for providing advice and counsel to the TRACES Configuration Control Board. The Steering Committee appoints a technical development team for the purpose of defining enhancements for the software applications and/or technical review of the new/enhanced software. The Steering Committee appoints the technical development team members and maintains the right to replace one or more of the team members at any time during the life of the contract. (See DRAFT PWS for more information.)

The following table summarizes the Government’s rights to existing software applications:

Technical Data or Computer Software to be Furnished With Restrictions Basis for Assertion Asserted Rights Category

PACES trademarks and copyrights AECOM owns the US trademark and copyright outright.

The Government does not have trademark or copyright ownership.

RACER trademarks and copyrights AECOM owns the US trademark and copyright outright.

The Government does not have trademark or copyright ownership.

PACES core system (data/database/data tables/assemblies/assembly calculations, import, export, hierarchy, encryption, table structure/format, table interpretation, for example).

Government retains purpose rights to deliverables fully or partially funded under contract.

Government Purpose Rights

RACER core system (data/database/data tables/assemblies/assembly calculations, import, export, hierarchy, encryption, table structure/format, table interpretation, for example).

Government retains purpose rights to deliverables fully or partially funded under contract.

Government Purpose Rights

RACER Models, model features, model calculations, model algorithms, model help files, and model reports (as available)

Government retains purpose rights to deliverables fully or partially funded under contract.

Government Purpose Rights

PACES Models, model features, model calculations, model algorithms, model help files, and model reports (as available)

Government retains purpose rights to deliverables fully or partially funded under contract.

Government Purpose Rights

PACES/RACER Software Reports Government retains purpose rights to deliverables fully or partially funded under contract.

Government Purpose Rights

5. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Interested firms should complete and submit a capability statement which furnishes information describing relevant demonstrated experience and qualifications in the following format: The submissions should be Times New Roman, font size 12, not to exceed 15 pages. The submission will address all questions in the Capabilities Questionnaire listed below and your ability to perform the services stated in the draft Performance Work Statement attached to this Sources Sought Notice.

Submit responses via email to: Robert Marsh, Contracting Officer, Robert.G.Marsh@usace.army.mil and Tracey Neal, Contract Specialist, Tracey.Neal@usace.army.mil. Submission shall be received no later than 2:00 P.M.

Central Time, Monday, April 14, 2025.

NO HARDCOPY OR FACSIMILE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Cover letters and extraneous materials (brochures, etc.) will not be considered. Questions concerning submissions should be directed to Robert.G.Marsh@usace.army.mil and Tracey.Neal@usace.army.mil. Personal visits for the purpose of discussing this announcement will not be scheduled.

CAPABILITIES QUESTIONNAIRE

SECTION 1: GENERAL

1. Business Name: (Insert Business Name)

2. Business Address: (Insert Business Address)

3. Cage Code:

4. NAICS Code(s) (check all that apply):

541511, Custom Computer Programming Services

NOTE: If you feel the above NAICS Code is not sufficient for this acquisition, please provide your recommended NAICS code with an explanation.

5. Responsible Point of Contact(s):

6. Check All That Apply: Our firm is a:

8(a) Small Business

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business

Veteran-Owned Small Business

HUBZone Small Business

Small Disadvantaged Business

Woman Owned Small Business

Native American Owned Small Business

Minority-Owned Small Business

Small Business

Other Than Small Business

7. Would you propose as a prime contractor, joint venture, or a teaming arrangement?

SECTION 2: CAPABILITY

1. Interested parties shall submit a Capability Statement that directly addresses the following items to demonstrate the contractor's capability to perform the requirements of the draft PWS:

a. The contractor's ability to manage, as prime contractor, the types and magnitude of tasking in the draft PWS.

b. The contractor's technical ability, or potential approach to achieving technical ability, to perform at least 50% of the cost of the contract incurred for development of software.

c. The contractor's capacity, or potential approach to achieving capacity, to conduct the requirements of the draft PWS. For the purposes of this Capability Statement, capacity shall refer to matters such as the magnitude of the tasking, the amount of time required, and the size of the staff needed.

Demonstrated ability to manage, technical ability, and capacity may include citing and describing the same or similar relevant performance but does not limit the interested contractor's approach to demonstrate capability.

2. Feedback and questions regarding the feasibility or challenges to perform the work described.

SECTION 3: PWS SPECIFIC RQUIREMENTS

1. Can your firm meet 4.1 requirement 1, which states, “The Contractor shall have the functional and technical knowledge of developing parametric construction models and, programming software logic for and usage of PACES and RACER, cost engineering for Military, Civil Works, Environmental projects, and instruction expertise on the PACES and RACER”? Provide explanation.

2. Can your firm meet 4.1 requirement 2 which states, “The Contractor shall have at least three years of experience in construction and environmental parametric cost model development and have legal rights to use the PACES and RACER modeling methodology”? Provide explanation.

3. Can you firm document 4.1 requirement 3, which states, “The Contractor shall also have the knowledge to create the models in the correct structure format that are usable by the PACES and RACER software”? Provide explanation.

4. Can you firm document 4.1 requirement 4, which states, “The Contractor shall have at least three years of experience in providing effective instruction on the PACES and RACER software for the primary purpose of performing cost engineering on construction (MILCON & Civil Works) and remediation projects”? Provide explanation.

5. Can your firm meet 4.4 requirement 5 which states, “The Contractor shall provide key personnel to fill the roles identified below. The years of experience included within the minimum criteria as set forth below for key personnel are considered concurrent, i.e., any years shown for specialized experience are not in addition to the time for general experience. The Contractor’s personnel as described in the proposal are hereby incorporated by reference and the Contractor shall provide these persons as part of contract performance”? Provide explanation.

6. Does your firm possess permissions, rights, or access to modify any of the TRACES software applications? Provide explanation.