INFO_TO_A&E_No.2.doc

U.S. Department of State

Roof & Façade Management Program

I N F O R M A T I O N F O R A & E s N o . 2

DATE:

April 27, 2017

SUBJECT:

A&E CONSULTING SERVICES FOR BUILDING ENVELOPE AND ROOF DESIGN

This Information to A&Es is to provide answers to questions posed and to provide supplemental information to the offerors.

1. We saw the response to the question about RCI’s sealing the drawings and we understand that the architect and/or engineer must seal all drawings. However, we did not see a direct response to the question of whether the requirement for RCI certification will be waived for architects and engineers that specialize in roofing, waterproofing and exterior wall design. Will this requirement be waived, or do we need to include an RCI certified consultant on our team even if we are licensed architects that specialize in roofing, waterproofing and exterior wall design?

· Licensed A&E professionals with superb knowledge of roofing and waterproofing are sufficient to meet the qualifications of this announcement, as well as other indicators of high quality performance. RCI certification was presented as an example for building envelope qualifications.

2. The IDIQ announcement states “All submissions shall be sealed and signed by a licensed professional; and specific to waterproofing by a registered roof/exterior wall consultant [rci-online.org].” Please clarify what RCI Certification is required and for what services performed. The requirement implies a certification is only required for waterproofing reports. Please clarify if a RCI Certification is required prior to submission of this IDIQ application or prior to preforming work. Please confirm that the RCI Certification may be obtained after being selected by DOS.

· Licensed A&E professionals with superb knowledge of roofing and waterproofing are sufficient to meet the qualifications of this announcement, as well as other indicators of high quality performance. RCI certification was presented as an example for building envelope qualifications.

· Though there is no specific requirement for RCI certifications, the A&E should be knowledgeable of the basic requirements for certification of a Registered Roof Consultant (RRC) and Certified Roof Observer (CRO). These professionals for the most part prove to have superior knowledge in designing waterproofing systems.

3. Factor 4 request the following information for project information: “Provide the following: “method of acceptance test”, “Initial cost vs. Final cost” and “Planned vs. Actual Schedule.” Please clarify what the method of acceptance test is and if the initial cost vs. final cost and planned vs. actual schedule are in regards to the entire project or specific to our consulting scope. For example, is the IDIQ requesting initial cost vs. final cost of our portion or of the entire building costs? The same question applies to planned vs. actual schedule – is this a request for the planned vs. actual schedule of the entire project or of our scope?

· The A&E is requested to provide examples of their past performance; for acceptance test – what tests did your company preform to certify to the owner the job met the contract requirements? For cost, and if this information is readily available - provide the owners budget, initial cost estimate, contract cost, and final project cost and similar for project scheduling. If your company was a sub-consultant to a larger project, use your portion of the cost and schedule.

4. What is the extent of historic preservation work needed at OBO facilities?

· Overseas Buildings Operations owns and maintains approximately 18,000 buildings worldwide and we haven’t found one without a roof. Within this list, there are over 200 historic or culturally significant properties. Some of these properties also fall under local historic authorities’ requirements in addition to OBO’s Office of Cultural Heritage requirements.

· Under this contract, the A&E maybe tasked to assess, design, coordinate with local authorities, and provide construction inspection of the exterior envelope waterproofing features of these historic structures. At this point in time, there are 10 historic structures of over 400 building envelope projects in the backlog to be investigated over the next five years.

5. Design excellence is referenced and the statement of design excellence in waterproofing is more than zero water leaks. Is this supposed to say “no more than”? Are there any other criteria surrounding design excellence that needs to be taken in to consideration.

In 2012, Overseas Buildings Operations began a Design Excellence Program for our new embassy buildings. This was then translated into individual building components in an attempt to improve their performance and maintainability. As to roofing, it was more a matter of tongue and cheek stating; Design Excellence in waterproofing is more than zero water leaks. Personally, if the roof doesn’t leak after we fixed it, that to me means, an excellent design!

END OF INFORMATION TO OFFERORS.

_1068545213.bin