RFQ Specifications.docx

STATE OF MAINE

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES

BUREAU OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

DIVISION OF PROCUREMENT SERVICES

RFQ # 18B 19082200000000000053

Optical Fiber Construction

Quotations/Responses Due: 9/17/2019 not later than 4:00 p.m. local time

Note: All questions and responses must be provided via the State of Maine’s e-Procurement system: AdvantageME / Vendor Self Service (VSS).

General Instructions on Bidder Questions It is the responsibility of each Bidder to examine the entire RFQ and to seek clarification by submitting questions through the Q & A List tab on the Solicitation page. Any answers to questions will appear there as well. It is the vendor's responsibility to log in to view all questions and answers posted. Additional information obtained any other way will not be valid.

In the event that you must contact us for any other reasons than the Q & A previously mentioned, only the Buyer listed on the Solicitation page may be contacted from the time this RFQ is issued until award notification is made. No other person/State employee is empowered to make binding statements regarding this RFQ. Violation of this provision may lead to disqualification from the bidding process, at the State’s discretion.

Summary For this competitive Request for Quotations (RFQ) process, the State of Maine Division of Procurement Services (“Division”) is acting on behalf of the Office of Information Technology (“Requesting Department”). The Division and the Requesting Department seek quotations (also referred to as “bids” or “responses” herein) to provide the goods/services listed above. This document provides instructions and descriptions of requirements for this competitive process.

RFQ REQUIREMENTS

1. Description of Requirements

The following is a description of the goods and/or services sought by the State of Maine under this RFQ.

· Please see Appendix B on page 10

2. Bid Contents Requirements

In addition to the cost, delivery, and other information required in VSS, all bids should contain the following information as attachments, in the Appendices listed below:

· Appendix A: Bid Cover Page and Debarment Form (Pages 8 & 9 of this document)

· Detailed Itemized Quote

· Product Data/Information Sheets

· Warranty Information

3. Submitting a Quotation

a. Quotations Due: Quotations must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), on the date listed in VSS. Quotations received after the 4:00 p.m. deadline will not be accepted.

b. Submission Instructions: Bidders must submit their bids in the State of Maine’s electronic procurement system: Advantage “Vendor Self Service” (VSS). More information on this system can be found at the following internet link: https://www.maine.gov/dafs/bbm/procurementservices/vendors/vendor-self-service-system

c. Multiple Quotations: Unless specifically prohibited in Section 1 of this RFQ, Bidders are permitted to submit multiple quotations for this RFQ, offering alternative items or pricing for the State of Maine to consider in its best value determination.

d. Withdrawal of a Quotation: Bidders are permitted to withdraw their own quotations up until the due date and time for receipt of quotations. To do so, a Bidder must enter the VSS system (as referenced above), identify and open their submitted quotation located in the Solicitation Responses tab, and click the “Withdraw” button found at the bottom of the screen. Quotations cannot be withdrawn after the due date and time for receipt of quotations.

e. Attachments: Any attachments provided with the Advantage VSS bid submission must be in MS Word, MS Excel, or Adobe (.pdf) format, unless otherwise specified in Section 1 of this RFQ. Vendors are encouraged to submit supporting documentation that aid the requesting department in understanding how the bid conforms to the requirements. The VSS attachment file size limit is 2Mb. Please contact the buyer for this RFQ if you must submit attachment files larger than this.

f. Vendor specifications: Unless otherwise stated in this RFQ document, limited specification information will be required upon submission of a bid in response to this RFQ. However, a Bidder’s response should include an affirmative statement that their bid complies with all requirements of this RFQ, unless the Bidder specifically addresses how its bid differs from the specifications, and why the differences should be deemed acceptable by the State.

4. General Instructions

a. The Bidder must submit a cost quotation response that covers the goods and term of the contract, including any optional renewal.

b. The cost quotation shall include the costs necessary for the Bidder to fully comply with the contract terms and conditions and RFQ requirements.

c. Failure to provide the requested information may result in the exclusion of the quotation from consideration, at the discretion of the Division.

d. No costs related to the preparation of the quotation for this RFQ or to the negotiation of the contract with the Department may be included in the quotation.

e. The State is exempt from the payment of Federal, State and local Taxes on articles not for resale. Please provide quotations that do not include these taxes. Upon application, an exemption certificate can be furnished by the State at the point of contract finalization.

5. Quotation Evaluation and Selection

Evaluation of the submitted quotations shall be accomplished as detailed below:

a. State of Maine RFQ documents are evaluated on a Best Value basis. The term “Best Value” may take into consideration the qualities of the goods or services to be supplied, their conformity with the specifications listed in the RFQ, the purposes for which they are required, the date of delivery, and the best interest of the State. Once the goods or services have been determined to conform to the specifications then the Division will make its award decision based on the lowest price among the Bidders. Delivery days can be a factor in awarding.

b. The State reserves the right to not make an award to the lowest price bidder when that bidder has had documented poor performance, and/or a contract terminated or not renewed within the last five years.

c. At the discretion of the Division, if a Bidder’s submission is deemed to not conform to the specifications listed in the RFQ, or otherwise not conform to the requirements of the RFQ, then that Bidder’s submission may not be considered for contract award.

d. In the event that no Bidder submission conforms to the specifications of this RFQ, then the Division may choose not to make any award. Alternatively, the Division may make an award to the Best Value Bidder whose specifications most closely meet the specifications of this RFQ. For example, if there are five specification requirements, and two responses are received with one Bidder meeting four requirements, and one bidder meeting three requirements, then the Division, at its discretion, may make a contract award to the Bidder meeting four requirements.

e. If the specifications provided with this RFQ are of a technical nature, then the Division’s RFQ Coordinator, at his or her discretion, may seek to use an evaluation team comprised of subject matter experts, end-users from the Requesting Department, or other State Department representatives. In such a case, the evaluation team will judge the merits of the quotations received in accordance with the best value criteria defined in the RFQ.

6. Negotiations

a. No Best and Final Offers: The State of Maine will not seek a best and final offer (BAFO) from any Bidder in this procurement process. All Bidders are expected to provide their Best Value pricing with the submission of their quotation.

b. The Division reserves the right to negotiate with the successful Bidder to finalize a contract at the same rate or cost of goods and services as presented in the selected quotation. Such negotiations may not significantly vary the content, nature or requirements of the quotation or the RFQ to an extent that may affect the price of goods or services requested. The Division reserves the right to terminate contract negotiations with a selected Bidder who submits a proposed contract significantly different from the quotation submitted in response to the RFQ.

c. In the event that an acceptable contract cannot be negotiated with the highest ranked Bidder, the Division may withdraw its award and negotiate with the next-highest ranked Bidder, and so on, until an acceptable contract has been finalized. Alternatively, the Division may cancel the RFQ, at its sole discretion.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR RFQ AND CONTRACT

PART I GENERAL INFORMATION ON RFQs

A. Purpose and Background

The State of Maine (“State”) Department of Administrative and Financial Services (“Department”), Bureau of Business Management (“Bureau”), Division of Procurement Services (“Division”) acts as the purchasing agent on behalf of all Executive Departments and other agencies within State Government. For this competitive Request for Quotations (RFQ) process, the Division is acting on behalf of the Requesting Department listed on the cover page. The Division and the Requesting Department seek quotations (also referred to as “bids” or “responses” herein) to provide the goods/services as defined above in Section 1 of this document. This document provides instructions for submitting quotations, the procedure and criteria by which the Bidder(s) will be selected, and the contractual terms which will govern the relationship between the State and the awarded Bidder(s). Following Bidder selection and upon reaching a mutual agreement, the State and the selected Bidder will enter into a contract – taking the form of a State of Maine Master Agreement or Buyer Purchase Order (all generally referred to as “contract” herein), as applicable.

B. General Provisions

http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/1/title1sec401.html

C. Eligibility to Submit Bids

Public agencies, private for-profit companies, and non-profit companies and institutions are invited to submit bids in response to State of Maine Requests for Quotations.

D. Delivery Terms

For the purchase of goods, the Division and selected Bidder will decide upon a delivery date in accordance with the State’s requirements and the terms offered in the Bidder’s quotation. Unless stated otherwise in Section 1 of this RFQ, all deliveries are expected with shipping terms of “Free on Board (FOB) – Destination”. The State intends for this to mean that all goods shall be priced in the bid response to include shipping charges, if any, to the State’s desired location. The “FOB – Destination” shipping term is also intended to mean that the State shall not bear any responsibility for the goods in question until the State takes possession of them at the destination point of delivery.

E. Alternate Bids and Approved Equals

When, in bid forms and specifications, an article or material is identified by using a trade name and catalog number of a manufacturer or vendor, the term “or approved equal,” if not inserted with the identification, is implied. Any Bidder that seeks to propose an alternate item from what is specified in this RFQ should refer to State of Maine Statute 5 MRSA §1825-B, for “Bids, awards and contracts”, found here: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/5/title5sec1825-B.html

F. Appeal of Contract Awards

Any person aggrieved by the award decision that results from this RFQ may appeal the decision to the Director of the Bureau of General Services in the manner prescribed in 5 MRSA § 1825-E and 18-554 Code of Maine Rules, Chapter 120 (found here: Chapter 120). The appeal must be in writing and filed with the Director of the Bureau of General Services, 9 State House Station, Augusta, Maine, 04333-0009 within 15 calendar days of receipt of notification of contract award.

If this RFQ results in the creation of a pre-qualified or pre-approved list of vendors, then the appeal procedures mentioned above are available upon the original determination of that vendor list, but not during subsequent competitive procedures involving only the pre-qualified or pre-approved list participants.

PART II CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND CONDITIONS

A. Contract Document

The successful Bidder will be required to execute a contract in the form of a State of Maine Buyer Purchase Order, Contract Agreement to Purchase Services or State of Maine Master Agreement.

The Standard Terms and Conditions used with the aforementioned contract types may be found on the Division of Procurement Services’ website at the following link:

https://www.maine.gov/dafs/procurementservices/sites/maine.gov.dafs.procurementservices/files/inline-files/BPO_General_Terms.doc

In the event that the State of Maine’s Standard Terms and Conditions or RFQ provisions do not otherwise cover contractual scenarios that are specific to the goods or services being purchased under this RFQ, then the State is willing to consider a Bidder’s standard terms and conditions. Consideration or use of a Bidder’s standard terms and conditions shall only occur under the general agreement that in the event of a conflict, the State of Maine’s Standard Terms and Conditions and RFQ provisions shall take precedence.

Other forms and contract documents commonly used by the State can be found on the Division of Procurement Services’ website at the following link: https://www.maine.gov/dafs/bbm/procurementservices/forms

B. Independent Capacity

In providing services and performing under the contract, the successful Bidder shall act independently and not as an agent of the State of Maine.

C. Payments and Other Provisions

The State anticipates paying the selected Bidder for goods and services received, on the basis of net 30 payment terms, upon the receipt of an accurate and acceptable invoice. An invoice will be considered accurate and acceptable if it contains a reference to the State of Maine contract number, contains correct pricing information relative to the contract, and provides any required supporting documents, as applicable, and any other specific and agreed-upon requirements listed within the contract that results from this RFQ.

The State of Maine reserves the right to pay for goods purchased through this solicitation by any of several available means, which include but may not be limited to check, EFT, and/or procurement card. Bidders are advised that state statute precludes sellers from imposing a surcharge on credit or debit card purchases (text follows):

“9-A MRSA §8-509 (1): A seller in a sales transaction may not impose a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card or debit card in lieu of payment by cash, check or similar means.”

Appendix A

STATE OF MAINE

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES

DIVISION OF PROCUREMENT SERVICES

BID COVER PAGE and DEBARMENT FORM

Bidder’s Organization Name:

Chief Executive - Name/Title:

Headquarters Street Address:

Headquarters City/State/Zip:

(provide information requested below if different from above)

Lead Point of Contact for Bid - Name/Title:

Street Address:

City/State/Zip:

By signing below Bidder affirms:

· Their bid complies with all requirements of this RFQ;

· This bid and the pricing structure contained herein will remain firm for a period of 180 days from the date and time of the bid opening;

· That no personnel currently employed by the Department or any other State agency participated, either directly or indirectly, in any activities relating to the preparation of the Bidder’s proposal;

· That no attempt has been made or will be made by the Bidder to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a proposal; and

· The undersigned is authorized to enter into contractual obligations on behalf of the above-named organization.

Name:

Title:

Authorized Signature:

Date:

State of Maine RFQ# 18B 19082200000000000053 Rev. 7/15/2019 Debarment, Performance, and Non-Collusion Certification

By signing this document, I certify to the best of my knowledge and belief that the aforementioned organization, its principals, and any subcontractors named in this proposal:

1. Are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, and declared ineligible or voluntarily excluded from bidding or working on contracts issued by any governmental agency.

1. Have not within three years of submitting the proposal for this contract been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for:

0. fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a federal, state or local government transaction or contract.

0. violating Federal or State antitrust statutes or committing embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property;

0. are not presently indicted for or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity (Federal, State or Local) with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph (b) of this certification; and

0. have not within a three (3) year period preceding this proposal had one or more federal, state or local government transactions terminated for cause or default.

1. Have not entered into a prior understanding, agreement, or connection with any corporation, firm, or person submitting a response for the same materials, supplies, equipment, or services and this proposal is in all respects fair and without collusion or fraud. The above-mentioned entities understand and agree that collusive bidding is a violation of state and federal law and can result in fines, prison sentences, and civil damage awards.

· Failure to provide this certification may result in the disqualification of the Bidder’s proposal, at the discretion of the Department.

To the best of my knowledge all information provided in the enclosed proposal, both programmatic and financial, is complete and accurate at the time of submission.

Name:

Title:

Authorized Signature:

Date:

Appendix B

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES

DIVISION OF PROCUREMENT SERVICES

DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS

RFQ # 18B 19082200000000000053

Optical Fiber Construction

Equivalent items may be bid, however all equivalent item bids MUST include documentation to prove equivalency. The final decision on equivalency will be determined by the requesting Department.

Synopsis: The State of Maine/Office of Information Technology (OIT) is soliciting a Request for Quote (RFQ) to build an extension of an existing optical fiber point-to-point outside plant (OSP) cable segment in the City of Hallowell, Maine. The terminating endpoints for this build will be A) Sewall Street, Cross Office Building MDF, Augusta (existing), and B) 19 Katherine Drive MDF, Hallowell (new endpoint – Figure 1). The extension of the cable will be generally from a designated intercept/splice point of the existing cable segment at a point near Second Street and Winthrop Street in Hallowell (figure 2).

OIT seeks a “turnkey” solution where all services, including site survey, pole applications, make-ready, pathway design, materials, construction, traffic control, testing and certification are covered by the awarded vendor (Vendor). Upon satisfactory completion of the project, OIT will assume ownership of the cable plant. All bids must include a one-year warranty, to cover construction defects, Vendor must be available for a minimum of one-year after project acceptance for emergency repair/support. Non-warranty emergency repair to be paid based on standard rates for repair projects.

General Technical Requirements: The new segment of the optical fiber cable plant will consist of 24 strands of 9/125 micron G.652D-compliant single-mode fiber, loose tube, rated for outdoor aerial and underground applications. The point-to-point length of the cable span over public utility poles and into each endpoint (via customer-owned conduit) is approximately 6000 feet, excluding service (slack) loops along the length of the cable and at the endpoints.

OIT will prepare endpoint entry points for the cable ingress, including all innerduct and pull strings. The 19 Katherine Drive endpoint shall be within the building’s designated MDF room on the ground floor. The OSP optical fiber cable will be brought into the MDF room, with an adequate slack coil affixed to the backboard per OIT instructions. The end of the cable will then be dressed into the OIT-provided backboard-mounted splice enclosure and fusion-spliced to the OIT-installed interior optical fiber cable within the splice enclosure, using the OIT-provided splice trays. Upon completion of the cable installation and splicing, the Vendor will then perform end-to-end testing and certification of each terminated fiber. OIT will develop and implement fiber labeling at the terminating patch panels at each endpoint. The Vendor shall be responsible for documenting and providing a complete fiber splice map to OIT immediately upon completion of all splice work.

The OSP cable plant will be constructed in accordance with all applicable telecommunications industry standards and best practices, and in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations, codes and ordinances.

A survey of existing conditions at the existing aerial cable presence at 101 Second Street in Hallowell would seem to indicate that a partial reroute of the exiting cable will be necessary to extend the new cable segment to the Katherine Drive location. Currently, there is no aerial communications cable pathway on the pole line where it traverses the railroad bed at Winthrop Street. This may require interception of the existing aerial cable further north, near Lincoln Street, then construction of the new cable segment along Lincoln Street (westerly), Middle Street (southerly), then to and along the pole line on Winthrop Street, westerly of the railroad bed, to Katherine Drive. Final configuration will be determined by Vendor field survey/design, and with final configuration approval by OIT.

Once the cable build is complete and spliced, the Vendor will test all terminated fibers, bidirectionally, at the endpoint patch panels and correct all deficiencies in that portion of the cable plant installed by the Vendor. Once satisfactory test results on all terminated fibers have been completed, they will be submitted to OIT for review and determination of acceptance. Acceptable test results will be based upon industry recognized tolerances for cable, splice and connector losses. Typically, this will be no more than 0.1 dB per splice point, no more than 0.5 dB per connector mating point, and cable loss within manufacturer material specifications. Testing will be conducted using both calibrated optical power meter/light source and a calibrated OTDR at wavelengths of 1310 nm and 1550 nm. Final test results, including power meter and OTDR traces will be provided to the Customer in both individual .pdf and trace (*.trc/*.sor) files for each fiber.

The specific OIT provided and installed hardware and materials shall include:

· Rack-mounted optical fiber patch panel fitted with LC-APC connectors.

· Indoor-rated 9/125 micron single-mode optical fiber, tight-buffered, pre-terminated in the patch panel, dressed into the backboard-mounted splice enclosure and ready for final splice preparation and splicing by the Vendor. Backboard-mounted optical fiber splice enclosure will be a Corning #WSH-11SPT-F. Splice trays will be Corning #M67-076-C.

· The Cross Office Building MDF termination point is already in place and will require no further work under this RFQ, other than access to the patch panel for testing purposes.

It is anticipated that all non-disruptive preliminary construction and preparatory work will be completed prior to cutting the new cable segment into the existing one. The cable cut and splice date/time will be determined by OIT and coordinated with the Vendor.

Schedule: Project must be completed on or before March 1st, 2020. Bidder shall supply State of Maine monthly project status reports.

Payment: Onetime payment to vendor will be approved and made after construction, testing and acceptance of fiber.

Bidder Qualifications:

· Bidder must have successfully installed outside fiber, greater than 1,000 feet length, along public right-of way previously in the State of Maine.

· Bidder must have appropriate insurance coverage. Insurance accord form to be supplied prior to initiation of work.

Bid Submission: Bidder to submit following:

1) Fixed price bid for project including all services outlined and one-year warranty.

2) Project Statement of Work outlining cost and install timetable.

3) List previous Maine outside fiber install project(s) greater than 1,000 feet length, along public right-of way completed in the State of Maine.

Pole and GPS info of cable end-point Figure 1 - 1Katherine Ave. Pole 44.1746, -69.4819

Pole and GPS info of splice point Figure 2 - Second St & Winthrop Pole 44.1714, -69.4728

Appendix C

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES

DIVISION OF PROCUREMENT SERVICES

COST RESPONSE

RFQ # 18B 19082200000000000053

Optical Fiber Construction

All responses to this RFQ will require a cost quotation response, in a format selected by the State of Maine. That format is described below.

Fill out required sections in this word document, in Vendor Self Service (VSS) enter in contract amount, delivery days, attach word document and descriptive literature and submit your response.

· Appendix A: Bid Cover Page and Debarment Form (Pages 8 & 9 of this document)

· Detailed Itemized Quote

· Product Data/Information Sheets

· Warranty Information image1.jpeg image2.jpeg