RFP - Final.pdf

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Managed and Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

Request for Proposals (RFP) Number AGR-2024-24116

“Minor Construction Roofing Repairs – Work Ordering Agreement”

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY

This solicitation is being conducted under the procedures for competitive subcontracts established by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). NREL will award 0-1 Work Ordering Agreement(s) based on the following:

BEST VALUE SELECTION

All Statement of Work (SOW) requirements being met with the best combination of:

• Technical factors (based on qualitative merit criteria), and

• Evaluated price

Issue Date: 3/19/2024 Due Date: 4/19/2024 Time Due: 5pm MST

Technical questions must be received in writing no later than 4/2/2024 at 5pm MST

Written questions concerning this solicitation document and its requirements will be answered in writing. In response to technical questions, NREL will issue an amendment to this solicitation document that will formally provide all the questions and answers. All recipients of the solicitation document will receive responses to questions.

1. Solicitation Type Best Value Selection Firm Fixed Price, or Time and Materials Work Ordering Agreement

**100% Small Business Set-Aside**

This procurement action is a total set aside for the following small business certifications ONLY:

• Small Business, and/or

• HUBZone – SBA Certified, and/or

• Small Service-Disabled Veteran-owned, and/or

• Small Veteran-owned, and/or

• Small Disadvantaged, and/or

• Small Woman-owned.

There is no weighting applied to any one small business subcategory, or any combination of subcategories applicable to a business entity. The subcategories are provided only for determining eligibility of offerors.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes for this solicitation are:

Code Classification Size Standard 236220 Commercial and Institutional Building

Construction $39.5M

Amounts shown in the table above represent the corresponding small business size standard for the applicable NAICS code. Dollar amounts are reflective of total annual receipts. (“Annual receipts” of a concern means the annual average gross revenue for the last three fiscal years.)

SUBMIT OFFERS TO AND REQUEST INFORMATION FROM THE NREL RFP CONTACT

BELOW

2. NREL RFP Contact Scott Rydwell, Subcontract Administrator National Renewable Energy Laboratory 15013 Denver West Parkway, MS: RSF030 Golden, CO 80401

Email: Scott.Rydwell@NREL.gov

Electronic copies of forms and appendices can be found at:

http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/standard-terms.html

Procurement Forms | NREL

If through the course of considering this opportunity an offeror elects to decline to propose, NREL requests a written response to the Subcontract Administrator named in this RFP specifically identifying the considerations leading to the decision. NREL may contact offerors invited to propose that elect to reject the offer to propose on the work as appropriate.

3. Scope of Work:

In accordance with Section 4 below, NREL intends to award up to 1 Work Ordering Agreement under which work orders will be issued. This will provide a method to complete minor construction work on NREL facilities that range between $2,000 and $100,000 per project in various disciplines in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The Subcontractor shall provide minor construction services (existing facility modifications, retrofits, additions, changes, alterations) required to support NRELs mission, research operations and continued facility functionality as specified in the Appendix A - Statement of Work titled “Minor Construction Services (Work Ordering Agreement)”, (Attachment 1).

The Subcontractor shall provide the construction services listed below, in accordance with the description of work identified in each Work Order. The work effort generally required under each Work Order may include, but is not limited to:

• Construction involving roof work and roof repairs.

• Safety improvements.

http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/standard-terms.html https://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/forms.html

The Subcontractor shall provide the ancillary services as required for permitting including architectural, civil, structural, mechanical and construction documents as needed to complete the work effort. The Subcontractor shall provide a design for use of safe construction methods and materials, equipment, and labor necessary to complete the work effort.

Project Description:

The documents listed in the following table provide details of the project:

Date of

Document Title/Description of Document 9/14/2023 Attachment 1 – Appendix A Statement of Work (SOW) 3/19/2024 Attachment 2 – Sample Subcontract

12/01/2023 Attachment 3 – Work Ordering Agreement – Fully Burdened Rate Proposal Form

6/1/2023 Attachment 4 – ES&H Risk Evaluation Form Exhibit A - Reserved

10/27/2023 Exhibit B – Site Locations Exhibit C – Reserved

1/1/2024 Exhibit D – Construction Environment, Safety & Health Manual Exhibit E – Offsite Waste Material Disposal Log

3/3/2023 Exhibit F - NREL Temporary Traffic Control Manual 4/1/2011 Exhibit G – QA Plan Guidance 1/4/2024 Appendix G - Wage Determination CO20240023 Building

4. Proposed subcontract award and period of performance

The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC has entered into Contract No. DE-AC36-

08GO28308 with the Department of Energy (DOE), an agency of the U.S. Government, for the management and operation of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (hereinafter called “NREL”). All references to “NREL” in this solicitation shall mean the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

It is the intent of NREL to award 0 - 1 Firm Fixed Price / Time and Materials Work Ordering Agreement under this solicitation. Depending on the individual Work Orders, work may be awarded as either Firm Fixed Price or Time and Materials. The anticipated funding availability is approximately $1,250,000.00. The anticipated period of performance for the awarded Work Ordering Agreement(s) is Notice to Proceed through 12 Months (base period) plus four (4) 12-month option periods totaling 60 months if all option periods are exercised. The table below shows the anticipated ceiling amounts per period.

Base Period $ 250,000.00

Option 1 $ 250,000.00 If exercised

Option 2 $ 250,000.00 If exercised

Option 3 $ 250,000.00 If exercised

Option 4 $ 250,000.00 If exercised

Total $ 1,250,000.00 If all Options are exercised

5. Competitive negotiated subcontract using Best Value Selection

This solicitation shall be conducted using Best Value Selection that may result in an award that is most advantageous to NREL based on the best value combination of (a) evaluated qualitative merit and (b) evaluated price of the offers submitted.

Best Value Selection is based on the premise that, if all offers are of approximately equal qualitative merit, award(s) may be made to the Offeror(s) with the lowest evaluated price.

However, NREL may consider awarding to an Offeror with a higher evaluated price if the offer demonstrates the difference in price is commensurate with the higher qualitative merit. Conversely, NREL may consider awarding to an Offeror with a lower evaluated qualitative merit if the price differential between it and other offers warrant doing so.

6. Qualitative merit criteria for Best Value Selection

The Statement of Work in this RFP serves as NREL’s baseline requirements that must be met by each offer.

The qualitative merit criteria establish what NREL considers the technical factors valuable in an offer. These qualitative merit criteria permit selection of a higher priced offer that provides higher qualitative merit.

The following qualitative merit criteria will be used to determine the technical value of the offer in meeting the objectives of the solicitation. Sub-criteria, if listed, are not individually weighted, but are factors in the overall weighting.

Each qualitative merit criterion and its assigned weight are listed below:

Criterion # Descriptions Assigned Weight (Points) Notes

6.1 Technical Expertise 35 6.1

6.2 Management Personnel 35 6.2

6.3 Safety Requirements 30 6.3

Total Points on Merit Criteria 100

Notes:

6.1 Technical Expertise – 35 Points

• Provide information on the company’s processes and experience related to the following items:

o Demonstrate the processes for communication with owner, cost management, quality assurance, subcontractor management, building systems coordination and activity scheduling. Include a list of the computer software utilized to manage these processes.

o Provide the company’s local construction industry affiliations (e.g., Associated Builder and Contractors (ABC); Associated General Contractors (AGC);

Design Build Institute of America (DBIA), etc.).

o Provide a description of the company’s process for subcontractor bidding and cost estimating.

o Provide a letter from the company’s bonding company indicating bonding capacity.

o Provide details on experience in project completion including project reporting for post-repair work and project closeout o Provide the following details for previous laboratory, campus, federal or local experience within the last 5 years:

• Size of the projects

• Location of the projects: physical address

• Description of the Scope

• Schedule Summary o Provide the following details for experience with LEED certified projects or the application of LEED principles:

• Size of the project

• Location of the project: physical address

• Description of the Scope

• Schedule Summary

6.2 Management Personnel – 35 Points

• Provide resumes indicating project experience, education, safety training and certifications for the following positions (it is preferred that the resumes emphasize the following criteria for each position):

o Executive Management - Experience with federal or campus projects.

Involvement in local construction and business organizations.

o Project Manager (s) – Experience with federal or campus projects. LEED or

Project Management Certifications/Training o Superintendent (s) – Experience with federal or campus projects. OSHA training o Safety Manager – Construction safety management experience, OSHA training o Payroll Administrator – Experience with certified payroll and LCP tracker

(preferred)

6.3 Safety Requirements – 30 Points

6.3 Safety Requirements 30%

6.3.1 Sub-criterion

Demonstrate how safety is effectively communicated, managed and flowed down to all workers including lower tier subcontractors.

6.3.2 Sub-criterion

Identify who will be responsible for ensuring your safety policy is implemented on this contract, and their qualifications.

6.3.3 Sub-criterion

Describe how you ensure lower tier subcontractors meet the requirements in your safety program.

6.3.4 Sub-criterion

Describe the formal health & safety training your site management staff have.

6.3.5 Sub-criterion

Provide whether your Company employs a full or part-time professional health & safety officer/ adviser, and their qualifications.

6.3.6 Sub-criterion

Answer Yes or No: “Has your Company been the recipient of one or more OSHA violations within the last 3 years?” If yes, please provide details.

6.3.7 Sub-criterion

Describe how you will monitor compliance with Health and Safety requirements on this Project.

7. Price evaluation for Best Value Selection

After evaluation of the qualitative merit criteria, the following price evaluation will be used to determine the best value of the offer in meeting the objectives of the solicitation.

The combined qualitative merit value will be considered of approximately equal importance to the price.

Proposal pricing shall be evaluated, for award purposes, based upon the price proposed for fully burdened labor rates and proposed indirect rates (markup on lower-tiers, markup for materials, and profit) which are applicable to the basic requirements of this Work Ordering Agreement.

Basis of Award:

- NREL may award to other than the lowest priced offeror or other than the highest technically rated offeror.

Hourly rates for the eight (8) labor categories proposed on the (Attachment 3) “Work

Ordering Agreement – Fully Burdened Labor Rate Proposal” form will be averaged and evaluated competitively between Offerors.

8. Evaluation process

NREL will evaluate offers in two general steps:

Step One—Initial Evaluation An initial evaluation will be performed to determine if all required information has been provided for an acceptable offer. Offerors may be contacted only for clarification purposes during the initial evaluation. Offerors shall be notified if their offer is determined unacceptable and the reasons for rejection will be provided. Unacceptable offers will be excluded from further consideration.

Step Two—Discussion, Selection, Negotiation, and Award All acceptable offers will be evaluated against the Statement of Work and the qualitative merit criteria listed above. Based on this evaluation, and taking into consideration the proposed price, NREL has the option, depending on the specific circumstances of the offers received, to use one of the following methods of selection:

(a) make individual selection(s), conduct negotiations, and make an award(s);

(b) conduct parallel negotiations with all offerors and make award(s);

(c) conduct discussions with all offerors, select successful finalists, conduct parallel negotiations with successful finalists, and then make award(s);

(d) conduct discussions with all offerors, conduct parallel negotiations with the finalists, select successful finalist(s), and then make award(s);

(e) select successful finalists, conduct successive negotiations, and make successive selections and awards;

(f) make no award(s).

9. Proposal preparation information

This solicitation does not commit NREL to pay costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal in response to this RFP.

Formatting instructions

- A page is defined as one side of an 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper.

- Use a 12-point font.

- Maintain at least 1-inch margins on all sides.

- All pages must have the same page orientation (i.e., do not present pages that offset by 90 degrees).

- Proposals shall be submitted in PDF format via email

- Include the following notice on your title page:

“Notice for Handling Proposals:

This proposal shall be used and disclosed for Alliance/NREL and Government evaluation purposes only. Any authorized restrictive notices which the Offeror places on this proposal shall also be strictly complied with. Disclosure of this proposal outside the Government, Alliance/NREL, Alliance/NREL consultants, or other national laboratories personnel for evaluation purposes shall be made only to the extend authorized by, and in accordance with, the procedures in DEAR 915.207-70 and, as applicable stated in the procurement solicitation document for source evaluation and selection process.

Upon completion of the evaluation, the evaluator shall certify in writing to the Source Evaluation Team Chairperson that all copies of this proposal have been destroyed and/or deleted from any electronic device, medium or storage location with the exception of those retained in the procurement file or in the case of successful offeror(s) in the project management file.”

The proposal shall not exceed 50 pages in total and must include:

• Title page, including the RFP title and number, name of your organization and principal investigator or project manager (with postal address, telephone number(s), and email address). The offeror’s price must be valid for 90 days from the date of the offer.

• A cover letter including:

o Indicate your acceptance or change/exception to the Statement of Work (Attachment 1) or any change with the reason(s).

o Indicate your acceptance or change/exception to the sample Work Ordering Agreement (Attachment 2). Any proposed change/exception must contain sufficient amplification and justification to permit evaluation. Such proposed changes/exceptions will not, of themselves, automatically cause an offer to be termed unacceptable.

However, a large number of proposed changes/exception or one or more significant exceptions not providing any obvious benefit to the NREL, or the Department of Energy may result in rejection of such offer as unacceptable.

o Indicate your acceptance or change/exception to the anticipated period of performance.

o Indicate your acceptance or change/exception to Appendices B-4, C- 3, and D.

o Indicate your acceptance of the NREL Site Access requirements for COVID-19 protocols (Attachment 6)

• Technical proposal directed toward meeting the requirements of NREL’s

Statement of Work and qualitative merit criteria (see item 6 above).

• A completed “WOA - Fully Burdened Labor Rate and Expense Proposal Form” (Attachment 5) in an electronic copy.

• A completed “Representations & Certifications for Subcontracts” form.

Please download from the NREL general access website link below:

http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/forms.html

• EITHER the “Organizational Conflicts of Interest Representation Statement” OR the “Organizational Conflicts of Interest Disclosure Statement”, as applicable per the “Instructions for Completion of Organizational Conflicts of Interest Statement – Disclosure or Representation Statement” . The forms and instructions are located at the following link:

10. Requirements after Award and Post-Award Documents:

• Performance and Payment bonds will be required for this Subcontract. See forms in the following link under Construction Specific Forms:

• Insurance Certificates in accordance with Appendix B-4, Standard

Terms and Conditions in the Subcontract Schedule.

• The Construction Environmental, Health & Safety Plan (CEHSP) shall be submitted to the NREL RFP Contact listed in Item 2, above, for review and concurrence by NREL Project Manager and EHS prior to performing work. The CEHSP shall be prepared in accordance with and the NREL Construction Environmental, Health & Safety Manual found in the following link: https://www.nrel.gov/about/ehs-construction.html

11. Solicitation Provisions—full text provided

a. Late submissions, modifications, and withdrawals of offers

Offers, or modifications to them, received from qualified organizations after the latest date specified for receipt may be considered if received prior to award, and NREL determines that there is a potential price, technical, or other advantage, as compared to the other offers received. However, depending on the circumstances surrounding the late submission or modification, NREL may consider a late offer to be an indication of the offeror’s performance capabilities, resulting in downgrading of the offer in the technical evaluation process. Offers may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before award.

b. Restrictions on disclosure and use of proprietary data in the Technical Proposal

Offerors who include in their proposals proprietary data that they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose of used by the government or NREL, except for evaluation purposes shall:

1. Mark the title page with the following legend:

“This offer includes proprietary data that shall not be disclosed outside the government or NREL and shall not be used or disclosed—in whole or in part—for any purpose other than to evaluate this offer. If, however, a subcontract is awarded to this offeror as a result of—or in connection with—the submission of proprietary data, the government or NREL shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the proprietary data if obtained from another source without restriction. The proprietary data subject to this restriction are contained on pages [insert page and line numbers or other identification of pages] of this offer”; and

2. Highlight (in yellow) the proprietary data on each page it wishes to restrict and add the following footer:

http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/forms.html https://www.nrel.gov/about/ehs-construction.html https://www.nrel.gov/about/ehs-construction.html

“Use of disclosure of proprietary data contained on this page is subject to the restriction on the title page of this offer.”

Restrictions on disclosure of sensitive financial information in the Cost Proposal

The subcontractor’s labor rates, or other sensitive financial information may be protected from disclosure by placing the footer “Sensitive Financial Information” on the title page of the Cost Proposal and such information shall be protected from disclosure by NREL and the Government and used only in connection with the implementation and execution of the subcontract, or applicable task order agreement.

c. Workers Compensation Insurance

Unless specifically exempted by State law, the Subcontractor shall procure adequate workers’ compensation insurance and provide proof of such insurance to the NREL Subcontract Administrator, or its agent before the commencement of work under the subcontract. The workers’ compensation insurance shall be maintained in full effect as required by applicable State law and regulations covering all employees engaged in work related to this subcontract or performing services throughout the duration of this subcontract. As applicable, the Subcontractor shall be responsible for complying with all requirements to obtain an exemption from coverage under the applicable State law and shall provide proof of such exemption to the NREL Subcontract Administrator or its agent before the commencement of work under the subcontract. Noncompliance with this insurance provision shall be considered a material breach of the subcontract. This insurance provision supersedes any workers’ compensation requirement that may be resident in an applicable B-Appendix to the subcontract.

d. Construction Wage Rate Requirements (formerly known as Davis Bacon Act) - Wage Determination

Pursuant to the provisions of the Construction Wage Rate Requirements (formerly known as Davis-Bacon Act), 40 U.S.C. 276 (a)-276(a)-7, as amended, the Secretary of Labor has determined that rates of wages and fringe benefits listed in the enclosure entitled “Davis-Bacon Wage Determination”, are those prevailing for the specified classifications in the locality of the work covered by this RFP’s specifications. Such rates of wages and fringe benefits listed in the Construction Wage Rate Requirements Determination shall be the minimum rates per hour to be paid for the work covered by this RFP’s specifications. Refer to the clause entitled “Construction Wage Rate Requirements (formerly Davis-Bacon Act)” of the Appendix B-4 (Construction) for additional requirements.

The latest wage rate determination made by the Secretary of Labor for Jefferson County, Colorado, is included herein. The complete Construction Wage Rate Requirements Wage Determination is incorporated in this RFP and shall be incorporated into any subsequent subcontract, regardless of whether the offeror / subcontractor will employ all the classifications of laborers and mechanics listed in the Construction Wage Rate Requirements Wage Determination.

e. Disclaimer

NEITHER THE UNITED STATES; NOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY; NOR

ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, LLC; NOR ANY OF THEIR

CONTRACTORS, SUBCONTRACTORS, OR THEIR EMPLOYEES MAKE ANY

WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OR ASSUME ANY LEGAL LIABILITY OR

RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS

FOR ANY PURPOSE OF ANY OF THE INFORMATION, TECHNICAL

INFORMATION OR DATA ATTACHED, INCORPORATED, OR OTHERWISE

PROVIDED HEREIN AS REFERENCE MATERIAL.

f. Solicitation disputes

The General Accountability Office and the Department of Energy do not accept or rule on disputes for solicitations for Requests for Proposals issued by Management and Operating Contractors for the Department of Energy (operators of Department of Energy National Laboratories). Should an offeror have any concerns regarding the NREL solicitation process or selection determination, the offeror may contact Mark Barela, Advocate for Commercial Practices, at (303) 384-7559. NREL will address each concern received from an offeror on an individual basis.

g. Prohibition on use of certain telecommunications and video surveillance services or equipment per the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act Section 889(a)(1)(B)

In accordance with the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act Section

889(a)(1)(B), NREL is prohibited from contracting with any offeror that uses, and/or whose lower-tier subcontractor(s) use, covered telecommunication equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as a critical technology of any system, on or after 08/13/2020, unless an exception applies or a waiver is granted. This includes such equipment or services from five Chinese companies: Huawei, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision, and Dahua Technology.

h. Compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (found at 29 U.S.C. 794d)

The requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act apply to NREL’s procurement of all electronic and information technology (EIT) and any development, maintenance, or use of EIT.

12. Solicitation provisions

The following solicitation documents are attached:

▪ Attachment 1, Appendix A - Statement of Work dated 9/14/2023

▪ Attachment 2, Sample Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Work Ordering Agreement (WOA)

▪ Attachment 3, Work Ordering Agreement, Fully Burdened Labor Rate and Expense

Form Attachment 4, WOA Fully Burdened Labor Rate and Expense Proposal Form

13. Solicitation provisions—incorporated by reference—general access

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. The following documents can be downloaded from http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/standard-terms.html and http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/forms.html or the NREL RFP Contact (see item 2) will make available upon request.

The documents and forms that are listed below are applicable to this solicitation:

Appendix/Form

NREL Standard Terms and Conditions: Appendix B-4 (3/1/2021);

NREL Intellectual Property Provisions: Appendix C-3 (3/1/2020);

NREL Terms and Conditions for Subcontracts in excess of $700,000.00 Appendix D (3/01/2020);

NREL Representations and Certifications (8/1/2019) for Subcontracts/Purchase Orders;

NREL Proposal Form – Fully Burdened Labor Rate and Expense Proposal Form (MS Excel)

NREL Conflicts of Interest Forms

This solicitation incorporates the following wage determination by reference with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text.

The following wage determination(s) can be downloaded from the SAM.gov Wage Determination website at https://sam.gov/content/home/.

• Construction Wage Rate Requirements Wage No. CO20240023 Rev. 1, Building, dated 2/24/2024

14. Notice Regarding NREL Payments to Subcontractors

It is NREL’s standard practice to make all payments to domestic subcontractors via electronic (ACH) payments or to international subcontractors via wire transfers. Any Offeror receiving notification of an award under this solicitation must complete and submit a “Request for ACH/Wire Banking Information” form to the applicable NREL Subcontract Administrator. Payments to subcontractors will be deposited directly into the subcontractor’s designated bank account in accordance with the banking account/wire transfer information provided on the form by an authorized company representative. An electronic (PDF) copy of the form will be provided by the NREL Subcontract Administrator upon notification of award. Please do not include an ACH form with your response to this RFP.

http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/standard-terms.html http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/forms.html http://www.wdol.gov/