REAC_Sources_Sought_Region.docx

RFI REAC INSPECTIONS SOURCES SOUGHT AND CAPABILITY STATEMENTS

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. This is not a request for offers, quotes or proposals. This notice does not represent a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or award a contract. This is a market research tool only to determine the capability of potential sources.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is contemplating establishing a multiple award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract under NAICS Code(s) 541350 Building Inspection Services for Housing Inspection Services. This Request for Information (RFI) will solicit responses from capable sources and capability statements to ensure sufficient competition exists to meet the government’s requirements.

Teaming arrangements and joint ventures will be considered for any subsequent procurement based on the Government's market research.

Please review the draft solicitation and associated documents and provide your feedback to Joel Bartholomew at Joel.J.Bartholomew@HUD.Gov .

BACKGROUND

HUD management determined that REAC would lead a number of efforts toward the Department’s commitment that HUD-assisted and HUD-insured housing is decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair, to include initiating quality assurance inspections of Section 8 housing stock during Calendar Year (CY) 2015, collecting the inspection data, and providing results to the PHAs, field offices, and program offices; and implementing a standardized inspection protocol for Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs that is more consistent with the Uniform Physical Condition Standards (UPCS) used to assess the physical condition of public housing (PH) properties. This effort stems from the FY2011 Delivering Together initiative to enhance customer service by reducing PHA burdens while improving HUD’s PHA oversight. REAC is also eliminating duplicative physical inspections for property owners inspected by more than one federal program under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Alignment Initiative.

Uniform Physical Conditions Standards In FY2013, it was determined that contract services would be required to schedule and complete different types of inspections simultaneously at numerous properties in wide-ranging locations in the United States (U.S.) and in U.S. territories to support REAC’s Physical Assessment Subsystem (PASS). The PASS collects data and reports the actual state of repair and habitability of real property and key PASS business functions include: (1) the collection of profile data for all public housing and multifamily (MF) properties for which HUD has a statutory obligation or a financial interest, (2) the inspection of these properties which provides the capability to assess their physical condition, and (3) quality assurance that UPCS-certified inspectors conduct accurate, reliable, and replicable inspections in full compliance with established UPCS inspection protocol.

Housing Quality Standards In FY2014, the Housing Choice Voucher Inspection Oversight Division (“HCVIOD”) was created in an effort to increase federal quality assurance oversight to ensure that HCV units are decent, safe, sanitary, and in good repair. HCVIOD conducts quality assurance inspections of HCV housing units and assesses the compliance efforts of local PHAs. Contract services will be used to schedule and complete inspections at numerous properties across the United States and U.S. territories.

Physical Needs Assessment/Capital Needs Assessment The Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) is developing a Physical Needs Assessment (“PNA”) and or a Capital Needs Assessment (“CNA”) process to achieve a number of critical goals in the management of public housing and HUD’s oversight of Public Housing Authorities (“PHAs”).The primary objectives of the new PNA/CNA process will be to:

a. Enable HUD to measure the impact of annual Capital Fund appropriations on the physical needs of the public housing inventory.

b. Enable PHAs to better assess the capital needs of their portfolios, to facilitate capital planning and to allow PHAs to take advantage of capital improvement opportunities

c. Evolve the management practices of PHAs toward development-based capital planning

d. Further the energy integration goals of the 2005 Energy Policy Act

e. Produce data on green activities for the Capital Fund, in support of HUD’s Performance Goal to create energy efficient housing Contract services will be used to schedule and complete PNA/CNA inspections at numerous properties across the United States and U.S. territories.

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS/MANUALS/DOCUMENTS/PUBLICATIONS:

The Contractor shall abide by all applicable regulations, publications, manuals, and policies and procedures in the performance of this contract including, but not limited to the following:

a. The contractor shall perform Federal HQS physical inspections in conformance with the standards in Federal regulations at 24 CFR 982.401.

b. The contractor shall utilize either the Form HUD-52580 Inspection Checklist Housing Choice Voucher Program (03/2001) or Form HUD-52580-A Inspection Form Housing Choice Voucher Program (09/2000). These forms are available at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/forms/hud5.cfm.

c. The contractor shall be conversant with the Uniform Physical Condition Standards (UPCS) and able to apply HUD UPCS to existing HCV units integrating HQS and UPCS data. The UPCS standards can be found at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=pass4.0scoringnoticefr.PDF.

d. The contractor shall be conversant with the Uniform Physical Condition Standards (UPCS) and all associated HUD Inspector Notices and Inspector Guides. The contractor shall able to apply HUD UPCS to other Federal assisted housing, as required, integrating UPCS data with standards in Federal regulations and existing Federal agency publications.

e. The contractor will stay abreast of regulatory changes that impact the UPCS-Type inspection protocol. HUD will provide notice of new regulatory developments and follow normal Notice and Comment procedures prior to implementing the UPCS-Type inspection protocol.

f. The contractor shall be conversant with the PNA and GPNA and associated HUD Inspector Notices and Inspector Guides.

1. Physical Needs Assessment Web Page: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/ph/capfund/physicalassessment

2. GPNA Tool Web Page: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/ph/capfund/gpnatool

g. The contractor shall be conversant with Other Federal Agency-Type Inspections, including but not limited to, IRS Low Income Housing Tax Credit, USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing Inspections, and FHA Minimum Housing Standards.

a. HUD will provide detailed requirements and guidance for all inspections, prior to issuing task orders under the IDIQ, to ensure that Contractors have the opportunity to accurately calculate pricing for inspections.

Training:

The Contractor shall be responsible to train and ensure satisfactory completion of physical inspection training in accordance with HUD standards. The Government will provide a one-time, initial training to each contractor in the requirements under this contract and in each of the following inspection protocols as outlined below:

a. Federal HQS inspections and HQS QA inspection reviews;

b. UPCS Phase I classroom training for physical inspection/inspection review protocols and the use of the PASS;

c. UPCS Phase II training, evaluation and certification;

d. UPCS QA Inspector training;

e. The Government will provide training in the use of UPCS-Type, PNA/CNA, and other Federal Agency-Type inspection standards prior to the first task order requiring these types of inspections.

f. The Government will provide updates of policy/protocol changes, for integration into the Contractor’s training program.

Scheduling:

The contractor shall be responsible for scheduling of Uniform Physical Condition Standards UPCS, UPCS-Type, HQS, PNA/CNA, and Federal Agency-Type inspections, in accordance with the requirements of the PWS and individual Task Orders.

Inspections:

The contractor shall be responsible for performing HQS, HQS Quality Assurance (QA) UPCS/UPCS-type, PNA/CNA, and other Federal Agency-Type in accordance with the requirements of the PWS and individual Task Orders.

Computer System/Information Technology Capability:

The Contractor shall possess and sustain the capacity to interface with HUD’s Computer Systems using standard industry protocols and formats described in the PWS and individual Task Orders. The contractor’s computer systems shall perform the following functions within their system:

a. Ability to pull property profile information using above standards and formats from HUD.

b. Ability to provide HUD with up to date schedule information.

c. Download individual inspection information to the inspectors.

d. Perform Quality Control functions to ensure completeness and accuracy of the inspection.

e. Upload to HUD the inspection information, results, and any required photos within 72 hours using above standards and format.

f. Ensure that information transmitted is encrypted.

g. Inspectors using the contractor’s system must use Public Key Infrastructure to authenticate.

Quality Control:

The Contractor shall establish and maintain a complete Quality Control Program that shall ensure services are performed in accordance with the PWS and individual Task Orders.

Quality Control Plan:

The Contractor shall develop, maintain, enforce and document a Quality Control Plan (QCP).

Special Qualifications:

The Contractor(s) shall ensure all contractor(s) (including any subcontractor) personnel that will be conducting inspections, shall meet the special qualification requirements contained in the PWS and individual Task Orders.

CONTEMPLATED REPORT REQUIREMENTS:

Weekly Scheduling Report HQS Inspection Reporting UPCS Inspection Reporting Other Federal Agency-Type Reporting UPCS-Type Reporting Project Plan Monthly Performance Report Performance Metrics Performance Report

CONTEMPLATED MAGNITUDE OF THE PROJECT

HUD is contemplating a multiple award IDIQ using a regional approach with a minimum of Three (3) firms and a maximum of ten (10) firms within each region. HUD anticipates utilizing these contracts for a minimum of 50,000 inspections and maximum of 250,000 inspections annually.

CONTEMPLATED PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Place of Performance: The physical inspection and inspection review services to be performed during this contract shall be performed at a select number of HUD and other Federal agency funded/assisted properties located in the United States (U.S.) and U.S. Territories to include the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Guam.

The Contractor(s) must at all times maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within the Contract when the Government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce is essential.

The draft regions for this IDIQ are:

· Region 1: Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island

· Region 2: New York, New Jersey

· Region 3: Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C.

· Region 4: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

· Region 5: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin

· Region 6: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

· Region 7: Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska

· Region 8: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming

· Region 9: California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada

· Region 10: Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon

RESPONSE REQUESTED

Small Businesses are encouraged to respond. The type of small business set-aside within each region or overall will be determined by the response to this sources sought.

HUD is interested in the capabilities of perspective contractors in the following areas and comments and questions on the draft documents:

· HUD is considering using a regional approach to select the eligible Contractors. It is imperative that each Contractor analyze its cumulative capacity to perform inspections, in multiple locations.

· Contractor’s ability to perform HQS, UPCS, UPCS-Type, and PNA/CNA, and Other Federal Agency-Type inspection standards.

· Contractor’s inspection capacity within the HUD traditional regions.

· Region 1: Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island

· Region 2: New York, New Jersey

· Region 3: Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C.

· Region 4: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

· Region 5: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin

· Region 6: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

· Region 7: Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska

· Region 8: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming

· Region 9: California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada

· Region 10: Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon

· Contractor’s inspection capacity in within a 200 mile radius of any major metropolitan area in which the contractor seeks to bid.

· See the United States Office of Management and Budget’s listing for the 381 Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

· For each location, provide the percentage of inspections that will be conducted using local travel and the percentage of inspections that will be conducted using overnight travel.

· Contractor’s ability to schedule and inspect state and federally subsidized or regulated housing.

· Training of inspectors.

· Development & implementation of quality control programs.

· The use of electronic data collection tool to perform onsite inspections.

· Ability to interface with HUD’s Computer Systems using standard industry protocols and formats.

· Ability to download and upload inspection information electronically per HUD’s guidelines.

· Any comments pertaining to the draft solicitation documents posted.

This synopsis is a market research tool being used to determine the availability and capability of potential sources prior to determining the method of acquisition and whether the government will proceed with this acquisition. The Government will not pay for any information solicited. If a contract is ultimately pursued, responses to this RFI will be used to aid in determining whether the acquisition is set-aside for small business or in establishing small business subcontracting goals. All qualified firms are encouraged to respond.

The capability statement shall address, at a minimum, the following for the past three years:

1. Name and address of company and or companies (if there is a teaming arrangement or joint venture);

2. Technical expertise relevant to the requirement and corporate experience relevant to the requirement;

3. Technical approach relevant of the requirement and management approach relevant to the requirement;

4. Indicate if you are a small business or any other socio-economic categories that apply to your firm under the designated NAICS code;

5. Relevant past performance. Your capability statement needs to include a list of three customers (Government/non-Government) within the past three (3) years highlighting similar work in nature, scope, complexity, and difficulty and a brief description of the scope of work. Your submission for relevant past performance must include for each customer:

· Contract name;

· Contracting Agency or Department, POC and contact information;

· Yearly contract value (in $$);

· Whether your firm was the prime or a subcontractor;

· Period of performance;

· Description of work and how it relates to the requirements.

In addition Contractors are being given the opportunity to review the draft solicitation and provide and comments, questions or concerns regarding the document and its attachments.

Also please provide any relevant information and responses to the capabilities HUD is interested in above.

Submission requirements:

1. Page limit capabilities- eight (8) 8 ½ x 11 pages

2. Page limit draft document comments- two (2) 8 ½ x 11 pages

3. 1 inch margins (top, bottom and sides)

4. Times New Roman font - 12 point

5. Page limitation does not include (1 cover page or 1 letter of introduction page)

6. Do not include promotional materials

Interested firms responding to this market survey must provide a capability statement demonstrating their experience, skills and capability to fulfill the Governments requirements for the above. The capability statement shall be in sufficient enough detail, but not exceed the eight (8) page limit and the response shall not exceed the ten (10) pages TOTAL, so that the Government can determine the experience and capability of your firm to provide the requirements above. The Government technical team will then assess the experience & capabilities based on: 1) geographic location; 2) technical expertise relevant to the requirement and corporate experience relevant to the requirement; 3) technical approach relevant to the requirement and management approach relevant to the requirement; and 4) relevant past performance. HUD will also use any comments and questions regarding the draft solicitation to shape the final solicitation documents that will be published and determine what if any set-aside(s) will be made if this requirement moves forward. Please specify one primary and one alternate Point of Contact (POC) within your firm, including telephone numbers and email addresses.

Only electronic copies of capability statements will be accepted and should be emailed to: Joel.J.Bartholomew@Hud.Gov. The e-mail shall contain the following subject line: Response to Sources Sought Notice – REAC Inspections Requirement. The Government will use the responses received to determine whether to proceed with the acquisition as a set-aside, or in the absence of a least two small business responses to this notice, may determine to proceed with a full and open competition. This decision and whether to proceed with the acquisition is at the sole discretion of the Government.

All interested contractors should submit their capability statements by TIME 3:30 EST on January 15, 2015. Late responses will not be considered.