Information to Offerors- Synopsis-W912ER21R0036_Amendment 01.pdf

INFORMATION TO OFFERORS

W912ER21R0036-TASK FORCE OPERATIONS CENTER - JORDAN

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM), has a requirement for the design and construction of a modular facility for the Task Force Operations Center mission at King Abdullah II Air Base (KA2AB), Jordan.

The project will be constructed in accordance with current building codes, safety, and security standards as described in the attached draft Summary of Work. This project will be awarded based on the CLINs in the bid schedule and possible award of optional CLINS, to a single offeror.

This acquisition will be competed full and open using a two-phase design-build selection procedure for a single award of a firm-fixed-price (FFP) construction contract. Award will be made to the offeror who represents the best overall value to the Government and has been determined to be responsible in accordance with FAR Subpart 9.1. In determining best value, the Government will use a best value tradeoff (BVTO) source selection process.

Phase One will consist of a non-price evaluation of proposals against the technical factors of technical approach and past performance and will be issued with the Synopsis in an effort to quickly advance the Source Selection process due to FY21 expiring funds being utilized for this acquisition. The Government intends to advance up to five (5) of the most highly qualified offerors from Phase One to Phase Two. All offerors can submit under Phase One and proposals will be evaluated in Phase One using the process in FAR 36.3 to determine which offerors will receive the Request for Proposal (RFP) and be requested to submit proposals for Phase Two. Phase One evaluations of qualification (technical) proposals will be utilized in the Phase Two evaluations in accordance with FAR 36.3. Both Phase One and Phase Two proposals will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 15.101-1 based on the Best Value Trade-Off (BVTO) source selection process.

Phase Two will be issued as the solicitation and released only to offerors advancing from Phase One. In Phase Two, only price proposals will be solicited from the qualifying firms. Technical features of an offeror’s proposal from Phase One proposals shall be evaluated in such a manner as to assess the value of those features as compared to the proposed prices or costs to the Government. Implicit in this process is the Government’s willingness to accept other than the lowest priced offer, if the added benefits of a higher priced offer outweigh the additional cost or price involved. The Government intends to award one firm fixed price (FFP) contract at the conclusion of Phase Two evaluations.

PHASE ONE: INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

This solicitation is for a firm-fixed price contract for construction services in Jordan using a two-phase design-build procurement process. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM), has a requirement for the design and construction of a modular billeting facility. The project will be constructed in accordance with current building codes, safety, and security standards.

Qualification (technical) proposals are requested under Phase One in which the most highly qualified offerors will be selected and requested to submit Phase Two proposals.

The Government intends to advance up to five (5) of the most highly qualified offerors to Phase Two from which it anticipates awarding one firm-fixed-price contract.

Magnitude of Construction: The estimated cost of this construction project is between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000.

The Primary NAICS code is 236220 Commercial and Institutional Building Construction with a small business size of $39.5 million.

System for Award Management (SAM). Contractors (including Joint Venture entities) shall be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and determined to be responsible prior to Award. For more information, see the SAM website at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. Please ensure that NAICS code 236220 – Commercial and Institutional Building Construction is listed in your SAM registration.

B. QUALIFICATION (TECHNICAL) PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS, CONTENT, AND

FORMAT

The Government will not reimburse any costs incurred or associated with preparation and submission of any responses to this solicitation. Oral explanations or instructions to offerors are not binding. Any information given to an offeror which impacts the solicitation and/or offer will be given in the form of a written amendment to the solicitation. Any and all amendments to the solicitation will be issued electronically at the Contract Opportunities website (https://sam.gov/). It is an offeror’s responsibility to continuously check for any amendments to this solicitation and acknowledge any and all amendments in its proposal submission.

http://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/

Offerors should not modify the terms and conditions of the solicitation in either the technical or price proposal or add conditions or qualifications to their offers. Should an offeror include terms and conditions that conflict with the terms and conditions of the solicitation, that offeror may be determined to be ineligible for award. Any questions related to specific terms and conditions contained within the solicitation should be resolved prior to submission of an offer.

References to “confidential” projects cannot be submitted to demonstrate capability unless all of the information required for evaluation as specified herein can be provided to the Government as part of an offeror’s technical proposal. Offerors that include information in their proposals they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose, or used by the Government except for evaluation purposes, shall clearly mark their proposals in accordance with the instructions at FAR clause 52.215-1, Instructions to Offerors-Competitive Acquisition, paragraph (e), Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data.

Use of the words “will”, “shall”, or “must” indicates a mandatory requirement for which failure to comply, at the time and date for submission of proposals, shall result in an offeror’s proposal being disqualified from consideration to Phase Two selection, unless the Government elects to initiate discussions with some or all offerors, thereby providing a means by which appropriate corrections by the offeror(s) involved can be made.

Failure to comply with non-pricing or pricing requirements that are annotated with the words “should” or “may” can result in a lowering of an offeror’s non-pricing ratings, and may have a significant effect upon an offeror being selected for the contract award.

Time periods, if stated as a number of days, are calendar days unless otherwise specified.

1. PROPOSAL CONTENT – PHASE ONE

Offerors are required to submit proposals with at least the minimum content specified herein. A Proposal without the minimum content may result in a determination that the proposal is unacceptable. The Government will not make assumptions concerning intent, capabilities, or experiences. Clear identification of proposal details shall be the sole responsibility of an offeror.

All information intended to be evaluated as part of the qualification (technical) proposal shall be submitted within the qualification (technical) proposal. Do not include references to material or information not found within the qualification (technical) proposal. Information referenced elsewhere could lead to an offeror’s proposal being determined unacceptable if materially incomplete in any aspect.

Pricing information is not required and shall not be submitted in Phase One.

a. COVER PAGE: A cover page shall appear at the beginning of each volume and, at a minimum, shall consist of the following information:

i. Solicitation number/Phase One

ii. Offeror’s name, physical mailing addresses, telephone number, and email address of the official having the authority to bind the offeror contractually.

iii. Offeror’s DUNS Number, CAGE Code, and Tax ID (TIN)

b. TABLE OF CONTENTS: A table of contents shall be placed in each volume and shall identify major areas by title, page numbers, and volume location.

c. VOLUME I QUALIFICATION (TECHNICAL) PROPOSAL: The information required within an offeror’s technical proposal is described under Basis of Phase One Evaluation. Do not submit pricing information in the technical proposal.

i. Factor 1: Technical Approach

ii. Factor 2: Construction Experience

iii. Factor 3: Past Performance

Offerors shall verify that the information for all forms submitted are current, correct, and complete, including names of points of contact, email addresses, and telephone numbers.

The Government will not evaluate any material that exceeds the page limits specified within each evaluation factor. Elaborately prepared proposals are not required, and any material in excess of what is requested, such as corporate marketing information, will not be considered.

Failing to submit or completely fill out attachments properly may result in a determination that the proposal is unacceptable. Therefore, offerors are urged to follow instructions and raise questions through inquiries if instructions are not understood.

2. PROPOSAL FORMAT

a. Proposals must be typed and submitted in English. Proposals submitted in a language other than English are unacceptable. Letters of Commitment, partnership agreements or joint venture agreements, if not written in English, must be accompanied by an English translated copy with a signed statement, in English, by an authorized representative who can bind the entity of each JV partner that the English translation is true and correct

b. An offeror’s Phase One proposal shall be submitted electronically, and shall be comprised of two files in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), or comparable format: the first file will include the offeror’s Volume I – Qualification (Technical) Proposal.

c. An offeror’s qualification (technical) proposal and representation and certification information must be submitted as two separate volumes (PDF files) as identified in Proposal Content. Page limits, if stipulated must be adhered to. The Government will not evaluate any material that exceeds the page limits specified herein. Proposals shall be sized to print on 8 1/2” x 11” paper (11” X 17” for drawings). Margins shall be no smaller than a half inch (1/2”), font face shall be Times New Roman or Arial, and font size shall be no smaller than 10 point font. Page is defined as a single sheet of paper with text on one side. Pages furnished for organizational purposes only, such as a cover page or a table of contents, are not included in the page limitation. Corporate certificates, Joint venture agreements, Partnership agreements and Letters of commitment are also not included in page limitations.

d. Offerors shall place the following notification on the bottom of each page of their proposals: “Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104. Do not disclose any source selection information to any unauthorized person.”

e. All information must be confined to the appropriate volume. In order to reduce proposal size, the Offeror must confine the proposal to required information sufficient to provide an adequate basis for evaluation. Offerors are responsible for including sufficient details, in a concise manner, to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of the proposal

C. PHASE ONE PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Phase One Proposals must be submitted electronically. The electronic submission must include Volume I and Volume II as two separate files in PDF (or comparable) format, submitted to Mr. Ryan Gregory at Ryan.k.gregory@usace.army.mil and Ms. Amanda Heck at Amanda.m.heck@usace.army.mil through the DoD Safe Access File Exchange (SAFE) site located at https://safe.apps.mil (Non-CAC Users). In order to submit a proposal, offerors must email Mr. Gregory and Ms. Heck at least four (4) calendar days prior to the proposal due date to request a DoD SAFE code. This code is required to upload and transmit proposals through the DoD SAFE website. Proposals for Phase I no later than July 16, 2021 by 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST). This date is the proposal due date for Phase I, after which a proposal revision(s) will not be accepted.

Email Proposals are permitted. It is an offeror’s responsibility to ensure its proposal is received by the Government system by the date and time of the proposal deadline, e.g., undeliverable messages due to an offeror’s proposal size or IT issues are not the responsibility of the Government.

Late Proposals: Any proposal, modification, or revision received by the Government after the exact time specified for receipt of offers is “late” and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made, the contracting officer determines that accepting the late offer would not unduly delay the acquisition, and – mailto:Ryan.k.gregory@usace.army.mil mailto:Amanda.m.heck@usace.army.mil

(1) if it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, and it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 4:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of proposals; or

(2) there is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of offers and was under the Government's control prior to the time set for receipt of offers; or

(3) it is the only proposal received. However, a late modification of an otherwise successful proposal that makes its terms more favorable to the Government will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted.

D. SOLICITATION INQUIRIES

1. All inquiries regarding this solicitation are to be submitted via Bidder Inquiry.

Telephone and email inquiries will not be accepted. Bidder Inquiry is a web-based program that allows bidders to post questions regarding the solicitation and view all questions by other bidders and responses by USACE. Bidder Inquiry can be accessed through ProjNet at https://www.projnet.org/projnet/.

a. Offerors shall only submit one question per inquiry. All inquiries containing multiple questions will be rejected.

b. Offerors will receive an acknowledgement of their question(s) via email, followed by an answer to their question(s) after it has been processed by our technical team. Offerors may view all bidder inquiries through ProjNet.

c. Inquiries must be submitted NO LATER THAN seven (7) calendar days prior to the proposal due date. Offerors will not be able to submit inquiries after this date as the ProjNet system must be shut down.

2. To submit and review bid inquiries, prospective offerors will need to use the Bidder Inquiry Key presented below and follow the instructions listed below the key for access.

The Bidder Inquiry Key is: QC3VPV-NCXZW2

Specific Instructions for ProjNet Bid Inquiry Access:

a. From the ProjNet home page linked above, click on Quick Add on the upper right side of the screen.

b. Identify the Agency as USACE.

c. Key. Enter the Bidder Inquiry Key listed above.

http://www.projnet.org/projnet/

d. Email. Enter the email address you would like to use for communication.

e. Click Continue. A page will then open saying that a user account was not found and will ask you to create one using the provided form.

f. Enter your First Name, Last Name, Company, City, State, Phone, Email, Secret

Question, Secret Answer, and Time Zone. Make sure to remember your Secret Question and Answer as they will be used from this point on to access the ProjNet system.

g. Click Add User. Once this is completed you are now registered within ProjNet and are currently logged into the system.

3. Submit questions or review questions and answers. A bidder who submits a question will receive an automated email notification that their question has been received. When an answer is posted to a question, the question and answer is then available for all other bidders to review.

4. For specific step-by-step for POSTING YOUR INQUIRIES, see the Reference link on the Contract Viewer.

5. For questions about the ProjNet-®, please contact the Call Center help desk toll free at 1-800-428-HELP, which operates from 8AM to 5PM (Central US time zone). ProjNet-questions can also be emailed to the helpdesk at staff@rcesupport.com.

6. Pre-proposal Conference/Site Visit. No pre-proposal conference or site visit will be conducted during Phase One. A pre-proposal conference and site visit may be conducted during Phase Two.

E. DEBRIEFING OF UNSUCCESSFUL OFFERORS

Unsuccessful offerors will be notified in accordance with FAR Subpart 15.5. An unsuccessful offeror may request a pre-award debriefing or a post-award debriefing after award by submitting a written request to the contracting officer within three (3) days after receipt of the notice excluding the offeror from the competition and award. Offerors are entitled to no more than one debriefing for each proposal.

F. BASIS OF PHASE ONE EVALUATION

1. Subject to the provisions contained herein, the most highly qualified offerors will be selected and requested to submit Phase Two proposals. In determining the most highly qualified offerors, the Government will evaluate qualification (technical) proposals to determine offerors who are responsible in accordance with FAR Subpart 9.1; who are responsive to the solicitation requirements; and whose proposal, judged by an overall assessment of the evaluation criteria and other considerations specified in this solicitation, mailto:staff@rcesupport.com meets the technical standards for non-price factors. The Government intends to advance up to five (5) offerors to Phase Two from which it anticipates awarding one firm-fixed-price contract.

1. The technical evaluation team, using reasoned judgment, shall evaluate qualification

(technical) proposals except past performance factor by identifying significant strengths, strengths, significant weaknesses, weaknesses, uncertainties, and deficiencies in each offeror’s proposal and assigning a combined technical/risk rating.

Definitions

Significant Strength is an aspect of an offeror's proposal that has appreciable merit or appreciably exceeds specified performance or capability requirements in a way that will be appreciably advantageous to the Government during contract performance.

Strength is an aspect of an offeror's proposal that has merit or exceeds specified performance or capability requirements in a way that will be advantageous to the Government during contract performance.

Significant Weakness is a flaw in the proposal that appreciably increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance.

Weakness is a flaw in the proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance.

Uncertainty is any aspect of a non-cost/price factor proposal for which the intent of the offer is unclear (e.g. more than one way to interpret the offer or inconsistencies in the proposal indicating that there may have been an error, omission, or mistake).

Deficiency is a material failure of a proposal to meet a Government requirement or a combination of significant weaknesses in a proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance to an unacceptable level.

A risk as it pertains to source selection is the potential for unsuccessful contract performance. The consideration of risk assesses the degree to which an offeror’s proposed approach to achieving the technical factor or subfactor may involve risk of disruption of schedule, degradation of performance, the need for increased Government oversight, and the likelihood of unsuccessful contract performance.

2. There may be contained within the evaluation factors certain mandatory or minimum requirements to be met for evaluation. There are also contained within the described factors certain documents for submission. Failure to satisfy any mandatory or minimum requirement may result in a determination that a proposal is unacceptable. A final determination that a proposal is unacceptable means that advancement to Phase Two to the offeror involved cannot be made.

3. The Government intends to select the most highly qualified offerors without discussions, but reserves the right to hold discussions if the Government determines that to do so would be in its best interests. Therefore, an offeror’s proposal should contain the offeror’s best terms from a technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if it is determined by the contracting officer to be necessary or requested by the source selection authority (SSA).

G. PHASE ONE EVALUATION INFORMATION

All of the submission items to be evaluated shall pertain to the offeror, whether a single contractor entity, partnership, or a joint venture. At a minimum twenty percent (20%) of work associated with this project is required to be performed by the contract awardee.

Subcontractors: The Government recognizes that completion of a project is often a team effort. An offeror that intends to have major subcontractor participation (twenty percent (20%) or more of the total on-site management and construction efforts or those performing 20% or more of the total dollar value of the project) shall submit a firm, unequivocal letter of commitment signed by the subcontractor(s). Offerors who propose to use a designer of record (DOR) shall submit a firm, unequivocal letter of commitment signed by the DOR. An offeror’s technical proposal will largely be diminished in the evaluation and selection process unless a letter of commitment is provided establishing the likelihood that the proposed subcontractor(s) will actually be available for this project.

If an offeror’s proposal includes the use of any major subcontractors, the offeror shall not change subcontractors without the contracting officer’s approval. If an offeror proposes to change major subcontractors after award, the offeror shall not change major subcontractors without the contracting officer’s approval. Approval will not be given unless the contracting officer considers the proposed substitute to be equal or better in all respects to the originally proposed major subcontractor and that the substitution is in the best interests of the Government.

Joint Ventures: A joint venture is defined as a legal business entity formed between two or more companies to undertake the performance activities of a contract together.

An offeror proposing as a joint venture shall provide evidence that the joint venture as a legal entity has been duly formed. Joint ventures shall include a copy of the legal joint venture agreement signed by an authorized representative who can bind the entity of each JV partner, with the chief executive of each entity identified. A prospective offeror that submits a proposal as a JV may not change their joint venture firms, if selected for award.

EVALUATION FACTORS/ PHASE I REQUIREMENTS

SEE ATTACHMENT Titled Evaluation Factors Phase One Requirements