Attachment_9_RS_Means_Instructions.pdf

ATTACHMENT 10 – RS MEANS Utilization Instructions

1. Acquisition of Unit Price Book (UPB). The contractor shall obtain at his own expense the most recent version (at time of award) of the approved estimating software with the latest version of the RS Means Facilities Construction Cost Data and Master Composite databases for their use during the base year of this contract, in as many licensed copies as required for his operation.

The contractor shall also obtain and provide to the Government up to 12 annually licensed copies of the specified estimating software and databases to run on the Government computers during the base year of this contract.

The contractor shall also obtain two copies of the current year RS Means Facilities Construction Cost Data books in hard copy form. One copy shall be provided to Fort Leonard Wood Directorate of Public Works (DPW) JOC activity, the other copy shall be retained by the contractor. The RS Means Cost Data shall be used for the base year of the contract. All UPB support requirements (including software) shall be provided and verified as operational before any Task Orders will be awarded.

2. Option Year Adjustment. Annual price adjustment for option year(s) under this contract shall be made in the following manner: Upon arrival of each new calendar year, the Cost Data catalog databases (compatible with the previously supplied estimating software) for that current year (e.g.

2010, 2011, etc.) shall be acquired by the contractor for both their use and DPW use during the applicable follow-on year, in as many copies as identified for the base year. The contractor shall also obtain two current-year copies of the same RS Means cost data books in hard copy form as provided in the base year. One set of the hard copy books shall be provided to Fort Leonard Wood Public Works (DPW) JOC activity, the other set shall be retained by the contractor.

Should a data base or cost data book cease to be published, or should MEANS introduce new ones deemed by the Government to be more appropriate for the JOC than those currently required, the Contractor shall provide the alternate(s) identified by the Government at no additional cost.

3. Constructing Price Proposals.

a. The contractor shall price all work using the computerized UPB database(s) as the sole source of pre-priced work.

b. Non-Pre-priced Work shall not exceed 10% of the total Task Order amount without approval of the Contracting Officer. Items of work not covered by this contract but within its scope and general intent may be negotiated by the Contracting Officer or designated representative at any time during the contract term. Non-Pre-priced work shall be manually entered into the estimate and noted on the contractor’s proposal as non-pre-priced, and shall include all direct and indirect costs. The contractor’s pre-priced coefficients shall not be applied to Non-Pre-priced items.

4. UPB Application - General.

a. Content / Construction: The pricing contained in RS Means Cost Data reflects National average pricing of labor, equipment and materials for both large and small construction and repair projects captured by the publisher. The publishers indicate that their cost data is intended primarily for commercial and industrial projects costing $10K to $1M.

The cost data contains net unit prices for the description of work to be accomplished at the unit of measure identified. These net prices (utilizing the “Total Bare Costs” column for work performed in-house, or the “Total Incl O&P” cost column for subcontracted work) provide consideration for all direct labor, materials, and equipment costs necessary to provide complete, in-place construction (or demolition); the column for subcontracted work includes all OH&P considerations at the executing (or sub) contractor level.

Under this contract, this data shall be adjusted with the applicable MEANS Location factors (selected and applied by ZIP code) for the individual projects, and the appropriate contractor’s coefficient.

b. What is Considered Included: For the purpose of this contract, incidental labor, materials, and/or work not specifically defined in the description of an item of work but which are clearly required for the typical execution/installation and/or function of the item of work are considered an included cost (i.e., “complete, in-place construction”) and shall not be priced separately as either pre-priced or non-pre-priced items. Examples of included work include, but are not limited to:

fasteners; connectors; slump tests and/or compaction tests for contractor installed material;

lamps; keys; charging of refrigerant lines; balancing and commissioning of contractor installed systems; disinfection of contractor installed potable water systems; performance/compliance test reports; aiming of sensors, light fixtures; pavement crack cleaning prior to sealing, etc.; etc.

Also, as the UPB is constructed from averaging cost data from projects nationally, there is considerable variance in what features and incidental options/accessories were incorporated into the various projects’ costs; as such, the Government reserves the right to require commonly available features, options, and/or accessories without additional cost, except where the required additions are specifically spelled out as a modifier (added cost) within the UPB.

c. Other Considerations Applicable to this Contract: Due to how cost data is developed by various vendors, differences between MEANS pricing and other available published cost data is expected and shall not constitute grounds for requesting additional consideration under this contract.

Any concerns the Contractor may have regarding size of projects ordered, or differences between “new” construction type projects and repair of existing work beyond those attempts made to address these issues by the UPB publisher in the published costs are the contractor’s responsibility to capture in his coefficients.

Cost estimates prepared using the identified UPB will not, and are not expected to mirror actual costs of performing work on each order under this contract - therefore it is imperative that the Contractor include all anticipated adjustments and indirect costs in his coefficients. The Government will not negotiate or otherwise discuss differences between UPB and “actual” costs;

the UPB is the cost source for the pre-priced portion of the contract regardless of the actual costs of construction, and no guarantees concerning loss-avoidance or profit are provided or implied.

d. UPB Vendor Clarifications: When clarifications are required regarding content or scope of a UPB line item which is not reasonably or clearly stated in the UPB and the issue is not covered elsewhere in this contract, the Government will act as the sole liaison with the vendor for obtaining the necessary clarifications.

5. UPB Application – Specific Considerations.

a. Demolition: Though there may exist appurtenant components or "options" contained in or attached to an affected item or equipment scheduled for demolition, these components shall not be priced out separately for demolition unless the component must be removed before the demolition of the larger item can be completed.

b. Assemblies Pricing: Where applicable based on project requirements, and available in the UPB, assemblies unit pricing shall take precedent over individual component unit pricing.

c. Minimum labor/equipment or set-up charges: For projects where the calculated labor/equipment total cost the work task is less than the minimum charge (if one is provided in the UPB), calculate the material cost and substitute the minimum labor charge for the calculated labor, prior to calculating the extended price of the work task. See the UPB publisher’s instructions for more detailed coverage of their application.

d. Minimum / Maximum Cost line items: For the purposes of this contract, work tasks which provide a range of pricing from “minimum” to “maximum” is differentiated as follows:

“Minimum” pricing is applicable when one or more of the following apply: the work complexity is limited (e.g., not a large number of cuts or angles, etc.); when the quantity of like work is sufficient to minimize non-productive time; when it does not involve confined or restricted work spaces;

when it is not impacted by a significant number of encumbrances; when the materials specified are standard utility or builders grade; or when there are few other factors which negatively impact productivity.

Conversely, “Maximum” pricing is applicable when the work is substantially impacted by one or more of these factors.

Work which involves combinations of complex and non-complex applications will require the establishment of percentages of the total which are appropriate for “minimum” and “maximum” pricing; these percentages shall be established as early in the process as possible, and finalized during negotiations.

e. Small vs. Large Area line items: For the purposes of this contract, when work pricing items provide coverage for both small (or irregular) or large areas with neither being defined with a specific quantity of work, the following selection criteria shall apply: Small area pricing shall only apply if the total work quantity is at or below the UPB daily output for that small area pricing line item – otherwise, the Large Area pricing shall be applied to the total quantity.

f. Location Factors: MEANS “Location” factor adjustments (“Total”) shall be applied to each project cost proposal total prior to submission to the Government, in order to refine the national averages used in MEANS data to local market conditions as much as possible. No other adjustments which may be available within the UPB shall be applied.

g. Line Item Cost Adjustments: The only adjustment of price for the construction line items is the contractor coefficient (with the appropriate Means Location Factor). All prices in the UPB are for complete and in-place construction unless explicitly described otherwise. Incidental fasteners (nails, screws, welds, adhesives or other connectors), incidental options/accessories, and small tools required for a normal installation are included in the line item cost unless the line item description specifically states otherwise. Line item prices include all work required to result in the end finish specified in the line item unless the line item description specifically states otherwise.

Equipment costs include normal operating expendables (e.g., fuel, blades, bits, etc.) and servicing including routine parts. All line item prices are valid to perform the work described to a height up to fourteen (14) feet above finished floor or above grade level unless the line item description specifically states otherwise. Testing, adjusting, balancing and start-up of installed equipment (normal commissioning) and up to four hours of familiarization training for operation and maintenance of that equipment, is included unless the line item description specifically states otherwise.

Scaffolding/lifts, Staging, etc. will be allowed only on a Task Order basis (per job), not per subcontractor or discipline.

h. Software Generated Line Items: Should the software be capable of generating Demolition and Remove-&-Reinstall line items from existing line items, those items will be accepted as pre-priced so long as they: 1) are based on existing pre-priced line items, 2) are calculated using established MEANS methodology, and 3) do not supplant an otherwise existing pre-priced line item for the same demolition or R&R work.

i. Linear interpolation between line items shall be used when a required item size is between two existing UPB line items, and the necessary item is a manufacturer's standard size. The price of the interpolated item shall be based on linear interpolation based on the prices and sizes of the two closest UPB line items (in size), one above and below the interpolated item.