QA 20200818.docx

Pre-Proposal Conference Questions & Answers for Sol. W912EP-20-R-0041 IDIQ for Multi-Discipline Miscellaneous Civil Works and Other A-E Services within the Florida Boundaries of the Jacksonville District, Puerto Rico, and the USVI Date: 18 August 2020

Question #1:

Will you make the slides available, and how will they be posted if so?

Government Response: Yes, the slides will be posted as an amendment to the solicitation after today's conference.

Question #2:

Why is "Military" included in the title of the solicitation if the contract is to be used only for civil works projects?

Government Response: If “Military” is in the title of the solicitation, it would be an error. The entire solicitation, as currently posted on beta.sam.gov, W912EP-20-R-0041, has been reviewed and no mention of ‘military’ was found. To further clarify, the IDIQ contracts which result from the subject solicitation are to be used for Civil Works projects; not military.

Question #3:

Section B.1 of the solicitation says that key personnel must have a professional license in Engineering. Will other licenses be considered to have met this requirement in place of a PE (e.g. PG, PH, etc.)?

Government Response: No, other licenses will not be considered to have met the requirement for professional license in Engineering.

Question #4:

Please clarify - will SB proposals be separately evaluated in source selection, or will they be concurrently evaluated with UNR?

Government Response: Yes, SB proposals will be evaluated separately for the purpose of selection. That said, SB proposals will be evaluated concurrently (at the same time as, during the same selection board) with the UNR pool. A separate board will not be convened for either SB or UNR selections.

Question #5:

Most small firms do not have mechanical, civil, structural, geotechnical, H&H and Electrical services all in-house. Can this requirement be changed to allow more small firms to apply?

Government Response: The solicitation, Part 3 (B) Qualified Professional Personnel states: “the prime firm shall have at a minimum two (main engineering discipline) registered professionals within their firm to qualify for award.” Which is the intent of the solicitation. However, the Government acknowledges there is an error in the solicitation Part 3(B)(1) which indicates those key personnel as ‘within the Prime Firm”. The Government will issue an amendment to correct this error.

Question #6:

Can you clear up the detail expected to be submitted on the small business contracting plan.? Typically a table with % goals for each category is submitted. Is that the expectation? Would it be goals for the amounts subcontracted only or total $?

Government Response: The table with % of goals for each of the socio economic category is included in the plan. The total amounts subcontracted and % of goals is included in the plan. Please follow the guidance in accordance with FAR Part 19.704 FOR Small Business subcontracting plan requirements which indicates what shall be included in the plan.

Question #7:

Is there a page limit or required font?

Government Response: Yes, there are page limitations listed in the solicitation for some of the proposal sections; such as each resume submitted shall not exceed one page in length and use no more than 2 pages per project example. While there is no overall page limitation on your proposal, we would advise firms to be concise in their submissions.

Question #8:

The solicitation says the prime firm must have all disciplines in house - civil, electrical, mechanical, etc. Is this true for Small Businesses?

Government Response: The Government acknowledges there is an error in the solicitation Part 3(B)(1) which indicates those key personnel as ‘within the Prime Firm”. The Government will issue an amendment to correct this error.

The solicitation, Part 3 (B) Qualified Professional Personnel states: “the prime firm shall have at a minimum two (main engineering discipline) registered professionals within their firm to qualify for award.” Which is the intent of the solicitation.

Question #9:

Is the 50% work requirement to be performed by the SB prime just for the prime or for the Prime and any SB sub-contractors?

Further Clarification: Question is possibly referring to the Similarly Situated Entities rule that states that the self-performance requirement can be met using similarly situated entities (in this case SBs).

Government Response: In accordance with “52.219-14– Limitations on Subcontracting (Mar 2020) paragraph (c)(1) Services. At least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern” which means 50% performed by the Small business prime contractor.

Question #10:

The solicitation lists specific types of projects that are to be included in Section F. Please distinguish the differences between the types (in particular the differences in a water resources project versus the others)

Government Response: The solicitation identifies the following areas of specialized emphasis: (1) Flood Risk Management, (2) Ecosystem Restoration, (3) *Removed-Coastal Storm Risk Management*, and (4) Water Resources.

Flood Risk Management, for the purposes of this solicitation includes, but is not limited to engineering and design support of dams, levees, dikes, channels, and emergency response after flood disasters. Please reference the following public sources to learn more about USACE and the Jacksonville District’s Flood Risk Management Program responsibilities and mission: https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/FloodRiskManagement/; and https://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Flood-Risk-Management/Flood-Risk-Management-Program/; and https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/2018SupplementalFL/; and https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/2018SupplementalPRUSVI/.

Ecosystem Restoration, for the purposes of this solicitation includes, but is not limited to engineering and design support of ecosystem restoration, everglades restoration, and watershed restoration projects. Please reference the following public source to learn more about USACE and the Jacksonville District’s Ecosystem Restoration responsibilities and mission: https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/Ecosystem-Restoration/

Coastal Storm Risk Management, has been removed from the solicitation as an area of specialized emphasis.

Water Resources, for the purposes of this solicitation includes, but is not limited to engineering and design support for coastal design, hydraulic design, hydrologic modeling, climate change, multi-purpose reservoir systems, water control and water management projects. Please reference the following public sources to learn more about USACE and the Jacksonville District’s Water Resource responsibilities and mission: https://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/About/Mission-and-Vision/; and https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/About/Divisions-Offices/Engineering/Water-Resources/

Question #11:

When is the last day for submitting questions? and will ProjNet be setup?

Government Response: Questions may be submitted up to the submission due date; August 31st. No, a ProjNet will not be set up. Please submit your questions in writing to the POCs listed in the solicitation instructions.

Question #12:

What does competing for multiple pools mean?

Government Response: Small Businesses may complete for multiple pools; i.e. Small Businesses may submit to compete for one of the Small Business Set-Aside (Pool) contracts – AND- Small Businesses may also submit to compete for one of the Unrestricted (Pool) contracts.

Question #13:

The solicitation suggests that the submission needs to be both sent electronically and then in hardcopy to USACE. Is this correct?

Government Response: The Government acknowledges there is an error in the solicitation under submission requirements, which states “The required forms shall be submitted to the following address…” The Government will issue an amendment to correct this error.

Question #14:

Several of us are on Professional Engineering Services Contracts with SFWMD does each work order get treated as a separate project or are each of the work orders part of the larger contract? For our Project Sheets - Is each Work Order considered separate, or are they part of one project?

Government Response: Work Orders or “Task Orders” are treated as separate from the larger ‘base’ Contract (the IDIQ). To further clarify, the subject IDIQ contracts may be used to award several task orders which support different projects. These IDIQ contracts are not limited to support of a single separate project. Task Orders themselves are typically awarded to support a separate project or requirement; although this is not always the case, occasionally task orders will include work for multiple projects, when reasonable.

Question #15:

Will this contract fall under the National Energy Policy Act of 1992?

Government Response: No, the primary purpose of the subject contract is to support civil works design of flood risk reduction and environmental restoration projects; not energy efficiency, conservation, or management. In the event a future task order requirement is subject to the EPACT92, it would be outlined at the task order level.

Question #16:

Are there are specific small business goals? If so, please advise whether they are of the estimated contract value or the subcontracted value.

Government Response: The RFP will include information on Small business goals. The plan shall include total dollars planned and percentage of planned subcontracted to small business is included in the plan. Please see FAR Part 19.704 for guidance.

Question #17:

Could you please describe your definition of “water resources” as noted in the four(4) key relevant experience areas.

Government Response: Water Resources, as defined by USACE and the Jacksonville District’s mission includes, but is not limited to: coastal design, hydraulic design, hydrologic modeling, multi-purpose reservoir systems, water management projects, and response to climate change. Please reference the following public sources to learn more about USACE and the Jacksonville District’s Water Resource responsibilities and mission: https://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/About/Mission-and-Vision/ - and -https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/About/Divisions-Offices/Engineering/Water-Resources/

Question #18:

Are all responses (small business set aside and other than small business) due under this new Solicitation# W912EP20R0041 noted as Partial Set-Aside or will there be a separate procurement notice and solicitation requirement for the three remaining ‘other than small business’ under the original Solicitation #: W912EP19Z0053?.

Government Response: Yes, all responses (small business set aside and other than small business) are due under this solicitation# W912EP20R0041. No separate notice will be issued for the subject procurement.

Question #19: Will 11x17-sized paper be permitted for inclusion in our response?

Government Response: The Organization Chart required in Section D and the Matrix required as Section G, PART I of the SF330 may be presented on a sheet up to 11 inches by 17 inches folded neatly to 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches, bound in the SF330 at the proper location, and counted as one page.

Question #20:

Who are the current USACE Jacksonville IDIQ contract holders?

Government Response: A list of current AE IDIQ Contract holders with USACE Jacksonville can be found on our small business and contracting webpages, as follows. https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/SmallBusiness/ - and- https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Business-With-Us/Contracting/Business-Opportunities/

Question #21:

Solicitation W912EP20R0041, Paragraph B. Qualified Professional Personnel: Paragraph 1 under B states that “… must have… and at least one key personnel from the team (prime or sub-consultant) with a license for Engineering in Puerto Rico.“

Under B, it states “the following disciplines with applicable registrations are required (1) U.S. Registered Professionals identifies that “Key personnel must include the following disciplines: Civil; Mechanical; Structural; Geotechnical; Hydraulic and Hydrologic; and Electrical within Prime Firm”.

Please clarify if these are the only disciplines plus Project Manager, required and if so, and they are all required to be from the Prime Firm, should the first paragraph be revised to state the Puerto Rico license should also be from the Prime? Or Jacksonville anticipating offerors will be providing other disciplines not identified in the solicitation and if so how will these be evaluated across the competition.

Government Response: Correct, the only disciplines whose resumes will be evaluated as qualified professional personnel are listed in the solicitation; Civil, Mechanical, Structural, Geotechnical, H&H, Electrical, and Project Manager.

No, not all disciplines are required to be from the prime firm. As the solicitation states, the prime firm must have a minimum of two main engineering discipline, registered professionals. The Government acknowledges there is an error in the solicitation Part 3(B)(1) which indicates those key personnel as ‘within the Prime Firm”. The Government will issue an amendment to correct this error.

The first paragraph is correct, no revision is required. The Puerto Rico license may be from either the Prime or subconsultant firm.

No, Jacksonville does not anticipate offerers will provide disciplines not identified in the selection criteria. If firms submit disciplines not identified in the selection criteria, those disciplines will not be evaluated for qualified professional personnel. Jacksonville strictly adheres to the selection criteria listed in the solicitation, no other selection criteria will be considered.

Question #22:

On page 6 in the Selection Criteria it states "B. QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL: The selected firm must have, either in-house or through consultants, the disciplines listed below, with registration required (include licensure, state, and certification numbers) where applicable."

On page 6 in the Selection Criteria about the required (1) U.S. Registered Professionals, the paragraph ends with “within Prime Firm”. Is the prime firm, if submitting as a Small Business set-aside, required to have all of these disciplines (Civil; Mechanical; Structural; Geotechnical; Hydraulic and Hydrologic; and Electrical) in-house?

Government Response: The Government acknowledges there is an error in the solicitation Part 3(B)(1) which indicates those key personnel as ‘within the Prime Firm”. Not all disciplines are required to be from the prime firm. Prime firms, small businesses and other than small businesses, must have a minimum of two main engineering discipline, registered professionals, as the solicitation states in Paragraph 3(B). The Government will issue an amendment to correct the error in Part 3(B)(1).

Question #23:

In the solicitation, under Selection Criteria it appears that Section F is missing. Please advise whether there are additional requirements in this section.

Government Response: The Government acknowledges a formatting error in the solicitation Part 3, where the secondary selection criteria “paragraph F” was inadvertently mislabeled as paragraph “1. EXTENT OF PARTICIPATION OF SMALL BUSINESSES. The Government will issue an amendment to correct this error.

Question #24:

The procurement notice, Section B states, “The prime firm shall have at a minimum two (main engineering discipline) registered professionals within their firm to qualify for award”. Section B(1) states “U.S. Registered Professionals: Key personnel must have a professional license in Engineering and a minimum of ten (10) years’ experience. Key personnel must include the following disciplines: Civil; Mechanical; Structural; Geotechnical; Hydraulic and Hydrologic; and Electrical within Prime Firm.”

Paragraph 3.B states “The prime firm shall have at a minimum two (main engineering discipline) registered professionals within their firm to qualify for award.” This would appear to be in conflict with 3.B.1 which states “Key personnel must include the following disciplines: Civil; Mechanical; Structural; Geotechnical; Hydraulic and Hydrologic; and Electrical within Prime Firm.” Please clarify and confirm that only 2 of the main engineering disciplines are required to be part of the Prime Firm.

Recognizing that small businesses may have some but not all of these key personnel on staff whereas our team members could fulfill this requirement, can we assume that the prime SB firm must have registered professionals in at least two of the six disciplines?

Government Response: The Government acknowledges there is an error in the solicitation Part 3(B)(1) which indicates those key personnel as ‘within the Prime Firm”. Not all disciplines are required to be from the prime firm. Prime firms, small businesses and other than small businesses, must have a minimum of two main engineering discipline, registered professionals; as the solicitation states in Paragraph 3(B). The Government will issue an amendment to correct the error in Part 3(B)(1).

Additional Questions

Question #25. We are a small business and extremely interested in participating in this solicitation and plan to submit our proposal for the Small Business contracts. We have also been contacted by a number of large A&E Consulting firms to join their “Other Than Small Business” teams. We would like to know how we can join with some of these large companies utilizing the Mentor-Protégé program.

Any info that you can provide would be deeply appreciated

Government Response: Please visit this SBA website on registering/applying for the Mentor Protégé program:

Also go to https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/SmallBusiness/ Please click on “Useful Links”

Question #26.The solicitation indicates that coastal storm risk management is to be one of the emphasized project types yet Coastal Engineer is not one of the required disciplines. This requirement could result in projects in Section F and G without a corresponding resume. We respectfully request that you add Coastal Engineer to the list of required disciplines.

Government Response: Coastal Storm Risk Management has been removed from the solicitation as an area of specialized emphasis. The selection criteria for required disciplines will remain as is.

Question #27 We understand that the Jacksonville District will award 6 - IDIQ contracts for this Solicitation; 3 to small businesses and 3 to other than small businesses. Will the Gov’t request proposals from all 6 companies, regardless of contract value or only to the 3 small business companies for work valued at less than $500,000?

Similarly will the Gov’t request proposals for task orders valued over $500,000 to only the 3 other than small businesses?

Government Response: Refer to the synopsis.

Question #28. At the pre-proposal video conference it was stated a small business could submit a proposal to be considered for award both as a small business and other than small business. Does this small business need to submit two separate proposals or just one proposal stating that they are going after both categories?

Government Response: If a small business would like to be considered for both the Small Business pool and the Other Than Small Business pool; a proposal is required for both pools.

Question #29. Can a small business include subconsultants that are otherwise large companies or do their subconsultants also need to be small businesses?

Government Response: A small business prime can have any subcontractor (Small business or other than small business) on his team as long as they adhere to FAR Part 52.219-14 – Limitation of Subcontracting.

Question #30. If a large, other than small business, company includes small business subconsultants as part of their team, how will the Gov’t insure that the large company has any or all work valued at less than $500,000 performed by its small business subconsultant?

Government Response: The intent to award task orders valued at $500,000 or less is in reference to the Small Business Pool Awards. Large or Other than Small Business firms will be required to achieve the goals in their Subcontracting Plan.

Question #31. Reference A. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence, items (2) Engineering and Design and (3) Civil Works Design, the paragraph proceeding these two items states in Part I, Section H offerors are to provide a narrative demonstrating breadth, knowledge, and experience for each of the aforementioned areas.

Please confirm information about the offerors experience in these two areas are to be evaluated in Section H and are not part of the evaluation criteria for Section F.

Government Response: Offeror’s experience in (2) Engineering and Design and (3) Civil Works Design will be evaluated with consideration to all information contained within the offeror’s proposal. Evaluators will not be limited; all included information will be considered for all criteria.

The solicitation’s instruction to provide 10 relevant projects under Section F and narratives under Section H is for uniformity and to ensure minimum information is included in each offeror’s proposal.

Question #32. As a Joint Venture responding to the solicitation, please confirm that registration of the Joint Venture entity in SAM can be done upon notification of award and is not specifically required for submission and evaluation of SF330 information (JV DUNS is not required until award)?

Government Response: Firms, joint ventures or otherwise, must be registered in SAM at the time an offer is submitted, not prior to award; reference amended FAR Part 4.1102(a), which took effect October 26, 2018.

END OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Pre-Proposal Conference Questions and Answers Solicitation No. W912EP-20-R-0041