Architect-Engineer Services for Various Civil Works Projects

Solicitation Number: W912P9-19-R-0035
Synopsis:
1. CONTRACT INFORMATION: This contract(s) is being procured in accordance with the Brooks A-E Act as implemented in FAR Subpart 36.6. Firms will be selected for negotiation based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the required work. A-E services are required for an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to provide for the primary disciplines of Architectural, Structural, Civil, Geotechnical, Hydraulic and Hydrologic, Mechanical, and Electrical engineering (each of equal priority); additional disciplines are Landscape Architecture, Cost Engineering, Surveying, Cartography, and Specification Writing. This announcement may result in up to four (4) awards including three (3) or more unrestricted awards and one (1) is restricted to small businesses. In the final selection process, the most highly qualified firms will be interviewed. The total capacity of the four (4) contracts is $48,000,000; total value of each contract will not exceed $12,000,000. The four (4) contracts will be IDIQ contracts for a period of five (5) years. In the event there are no small business firms among the most highly qualified A-E firms, the award will go to an Unrestricted A-E firm. The Government intends to negotiate and award these contracts within one year after the required response date to this solicitation.

2. All firms responding to this announcement MUST identify to which category they are submitting. Those most highly qualified small businesses that do not receive an award in the restricted solicitation, due to the Brooks Act requirement, will have their SF 330s automatically reviewed with the unrestricted (large business) solicitation SF 330 responses. No one will receive more than one award as a result of this solicitation. The top ranked firm in the SF 330 evaluation will be requested to provide a firm fixed price proposal and may be awarded the first contract, if negotiations are completed; the second ranked firm to negotiate may be awarded the second contract, and so on. If necessary, secondary selection criteria will be used as a tie breaker between firms considered as technically equal.

3. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this action is 541330 and the Small Business size standard is $15 million in average annual receipts. Small Business Firms are reminded FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting, requires at least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern. Large Businesses that are selected for award must comply with FAR 52.219 regarding the requirement for a subcontracting plan for that part of the work it intends to subcontract will be required to submit a detailed subcontracting plan during contract negotiations if selected as one of the top ranked firms. Firms must adhere to local legal requirements for conducting business in the area where the work will be completed.

4. Work under this contract is subject to satisfactory negotiation of individual task orders. Work will be ordered by firm-fixed price task orders. The Contracting Officer will consider the following factors in deciding which contractor will be selected to negotiate a task order: past performance; the special qualifications of the firms; the nature of the work involved in the task order; the capacity of the firms to accomplish the work in the required time; and knowledge of the region. The wages and benefits of service employees (see FAR 22.10) performing under this contract must be at least equal to those determined by the Department of Labor under the Service Contract Act as determined by the employee's office location (not the location of the work). Rates will be negotiated for each 12-month period of the contract at the time of the original award and will become effective on the anniversary of the contract award date. The estimated minimum task order amount is $3,000, the estimated average task order is $100,000 - $250,000, and the maximum task order amount will not exceed the contract amount.

5. PROJECT INFORMATION: A-E services are required for various civil works projects and support for other agencies. The primary A-E service capabilities desired include the following types of projects and related skills and experience:

a. Flood Risk Management projects such as, but not limited to, levee, floodwall, pumping station, and channel projects. Specific projects may include the rehabilitation of existing flood risk management systems; the formulation, conceptual design, and final design of new flood management systems (including all environmental aspects) involving primarily riverine and coastal flooding, and assessments of existing flood risk management systems. Rehabilitation work may include design improvements to meet desired outcomes such as increased resiliency, reduced risk, higher levels-of-protection, improved operation, and recreational and aesthetic enhancements. New protection systems may involve floodwall and levee designs along with conceptual design formulations and analysis; civil site layout; utility and roadway relocations; roadway or railroad closure gates, berms, relief wells, interior drainage structures; and pumping stations. The Contractor must possess experience in pumping station design and layout including mechanical, electrical, structural, geotechnical, architectural, and civil. The Contractor must possess experience with hydraulics and hydrology including interior and coastal flood control analysis for flood risk management and analysis projects. Assessments will include inspection and investigation of existing flood risk management systems for condition evaluation and compliance with levee safety standards.
b. Other Civil Works projects, including a variety of projects such as dredging; ecosystem evaluation and restoration; wetlands and stream restoration, water management, design of parking lots; roadways; buildings to include structural, mechanical, and electrical features; erosion protection; water and wastewater structures; hoists and cranes; hydrologics or hydraulic related projects.
c. Other non-Civil Works projects include building projects for other federal agencies to include Veteran Affairs (VA) Administration and Department of Energy (DOE). Potential projects include design of vertical construction, bridges to include material and weld testing; utilities; recreational trails; and security fencing among other items. Work may include the rehabilitation of existing facilities, to include places listed on the historic register, and design of new proposed facilities.
d. Geotechnical and geology related efforts, designs, and investigations. Geotechnical exploration and analysis may require the use of boring equipment, in situ testing methods to include geophysics, developing detailed exploration logs, geotechnical laboratory testing, and logging in gINT format. Registered geologists or Professional Engineers will be required to oversee all data gathering activities. Understanding of intermediate and advance soil mechanics principles is required. Understanding of seepage analysis, stability analysis, soil shear strength and compressibility, soil-structure interaction, deep and shallow foundation design methodologies amongst other knowledge for design of flood risk structures is required.
e. Dam and Levee Safety Analyses, Periodic Inspections, and Periodic Assessments. The Contractor may be required to conduct interdisciplinary engineering and/or periodic inspections of USACE and non-USACE owned structures. In addition to the actual inspection, preparation of planning documents, schedules, safety plans, progress reporting, progress monitoring, pre-inspection brochure, and preparation of the draft/final reports including recommendations for repairs, photographs, trip reports, and data plots, or portions of the above may be required. The work may include risk analysis or assessments in support of USACE Dam and Levee Safety Program polices. Work may include Probable Failure Mode Analysis (PFMA), Semi-Quantitative Risk Assessments (SQRA) and Qualitative Risk Assessments (QRA). Familiarity with probabilistic methodologies in assessing flood risk and infrastructure risk is required in particular with regards to life safety and economic considerations. The work may include coordination with several USACE offices as well as coordination with local project sponsors who operate various features to be inspected. Result briefings may be required to various USACE Officials. These structures include embankment dams, locks and dams, levees and flood walls, pump stations, bridges, outlet structures, gravity drains, etc.
f. Incidental services may include engineering during construction activities to include submittal review, request for information response, and construction verification, HTRW investigations and analysis; alternative assessments; NEPA documentation, formulation, and evaluation; architecture; climate change analysis, fire protection and fire system design, total building commissioning, force protection, surveying and mapping; permit development and coordination, and landscaping design.
g. Support for the USACE Inland Navigation Design Center (INDC) and Inland Marine Transportation System (IMTS) projects such as locks and dams, channel and harbor projects, and the rehabilitation of existing facilities or the design of new facilities. Support for USACE Major Rehabilitation Projects related to inland navigation locks and dams. Rehabilitation work may include the repair and replacement of deteriorated concrete; outdated machinery and electrical systems; lock and dam gates including miter, sector, tainter, vertical lift, slide and roller gates; harbor walls, wharves, general improvement and modernization of the facility, and scour remediation. New facility work includes the design of both in-the-dry and in-the-wet lock chambers along with the appurtenant structural, geotechnical, mechanical, electrical and architectural structures and equipment such as concrete lockwalls and guidewalls, sheet pile cofferdams, earthern cofferdams, miter/lock gates, culvert valves, dam gates, machinery systems (including electromechanical and hydraulic), hardwired (relay based logic) and PLC electrical controls, and control buildings. The Contractor must possess experience in lift-in and other prefabrication methods to construct inland marine structures and familiarity with wintertime construction practices. The Contractor must possess experience in hydraulic steel structures analysis and design to include expertise in fracture and fatigue design, detailing, site inspections, and fabrication inspection. The Contractor should be familiar with performing risk analysis for major rehabilitation reports including for the disciplines of mechanical, electrical, structural, and geotechnical. The Contractor must possess experience with geology and the design of soil and rock bearing structures founded on piles, footings, mats, and drilled shafts. The Contractor must possess experience with temporary shoring during construction. Contractor must possess experience with design of mechanical and electrical systems for locks and dams. Contractor shall also possess experience in Finite Element Modeling of hydraulic structures and hydraulic gates. The Contractor should be able to perform numerical modeling for riverine and hydraulic structures at locks and dams.
h. The primary purpose of this proposed contract is to provide services for projects located in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. However, individual task orders may be located in other CONUS and OCONUS areas. Services provided under this contract will include, but are not limited to:
i. Preparation of preliminary and final designs, including preparation of drawings using computer-aided design and drafting (CADD), and delivering the two or three-dimensional drawings in Bentley's MicroStation or Autodesk software. Development of civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, and architectural three-dimensional models may be required with the capability of displaying the models on two-dimensional drawings. Development of Building Information Models (BIM) in Bentley's Microstation or Autodesk software. Drawings must be in compliance with A/E/C CADD Standards and SDSFIE (Spatial Data Standard for GIS;
ii. Preparation of specifications in Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) using the Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (UFGS) produced using SpecsIntact version 4.6.2 (or most recent release) software;
iii. Preparation of quantity take-offs and MCACES cost estimates using MII 4.4.2 (or most recent release) software;
iv. Geotechnical expertise to include exploration, testing, preliminary and final design and reports, and construction contract drawings and specifications.
v. Construction engineering services including shop drawing review, contract modifications, engineering advice during construction, and field inspection;
vi. Preparation of Operation and Maintenance manuals;
vii. Bridge inspections to include material and weld testing of various bridge components;
viii. Construction scheduling services including use of Primavera and MS Project scheduling software;
ix. Inspection, evaluation, and reports on completed projects;
x. Value engineering;
xi. Site master planning;
xii. General structural inspection and welding inspections, including those requiring specialty access methods and equipment (eg. utilization of rope access, snooper trucks, etc.);
xiii. Analysis of abnormal operation of equipment or systems including analysis of operation anomalies.

6. SELECTION CRITERIA: The specific selection criteria (a through e are primary and f is secondary and will only be used as a tie-breaker among firms that are essentially technically equal) in descending order of importance are as follows and must be documented with resumes in the SF330. Letters of commitment shall be submitted if credit for the experience and past performance of key subcontractors is desired.

PRIMARY CRITERIA:
a. PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS: The selected firm must have, either in-house or through consultants, the following registered professionals: (1) Structural; (2) Mechanical; (3) Electrical; (4) Geotechnical; (5) Civil; (6) Geologist; (7) Hydrologic and Hydraulic; (8) Cost Engineers; and (9) Architects. Project Managers must be identified and have at least five (5) years of relevant experience and possess a professional license in Engineering or Architecture. Other required experienced personnel include: Specification Writers; Engineering Technicians and CADD Technicians/Operators, Lab technicians, GIS Technicians. Evaluation will consider education, training, registration, overall and relevant experience and longevity with the firm of key personnel who will be assigned to this contract. Resumes contained in Standard Form (SF) 330, Part I, Section E, Page 3 shall be completed for each discipline and show relevant education and training, intended contracts role(s) to be filled by person, as well as experience both past and recent (within the last five years). Note one individual possessing the required expertise of more than on contract role is acceptable but the resume must clearly demonstrate meeting the required length of experience of each contract role via documented assignments/experience.
b. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND TECHNICAL COMPETENCE: The A-E shall demonstrate that all expertise requirements are reflected on key personnel resumes. Limit project submissions to 10 projects for the entire A-team in SF 330 Section F. Project submissions should have been completed within the last twelve (12) years. A project is defined as a stand-alone contract or task order(s) for a single project. For example, separate task orders issued for a Preliminary Engineering Report, Feasibility Study, and Design for rehabilitation of a dam would count as one project example instead of three examples. An IDIQ contract does NOT count as a project as it covers multiple projects. All projects shall be clearly annotated with applicable A-E firms from the proposed team that performed the work. All pages shall be numbered sequentially either for the entire package or within each Section. Project summaries should document breadth and depth of expertise and technical competence for the following evaluation criteria. In the following numbered items in descending order of importance:
1) Corps engineering and architectural design, for large and small projects the Preparation of Corps project contract plans and specifications in the following ranked sub-order: a. flood risk management projects; b. other civil works projects; c. other non-civil works project; d. geotechnical and geology projects; e. dam and levee safety analysis, periodic inspections and assessments; f. incidental services; and g. inland navigation projects. See project information for further definition of each project type.
2) Preparation of engineering planning reports such as reconnaissance, feasibility, flood risk management feasibility, navigation rehabilitation evaluation, formulation, and conceptual design, general reevaluation and design documentation reports;
3) Capability to deliver CADD files in the Bentley Microstation and Autodesk format, for each project example provide details of software utilized for preparation of plans and specifications;
4) Quality management procedures to include Quality Control Plans and Management Plan;
5) Construction cost estimation and preparation of estimates using the most current MII version of MCACES;
6) Construction specification writing and preparation of specifications using SpecsIntact;
7) Demonstrated success in prescribing the use of recovered materials and achieving waste reduction and energy efficiency in facility design.
c. CAPACITY TO ACCOMPLISH THE WORK: Firms must have the capacity to proceed with work and accomplish it in a timely manner once a notice to proceed is issued and accomplish it in accordance with scheduled completion dates. The A-E should demonstrate their (1) ability to meet overall project schedules and certain phase schedules and (2) ability to accomplish multiple task orders simultaneously in a one-year contract period for delivery of a quality product on a timely schedule, and capacity to perform up to $12,000,000 in work of the required type over the life of the contract, 5 years. The evaluation will consider the availability of an adequate number of key personnel, equipment availability and the extent of in-house facilities, versus subcontracting needs; should be included in the SF 330 Section H.
d. PAST PERFORMANCE: Past Performance on DOD and other contracts with respect to quality of work, cost control and compliance with performance schedules will be reviewed. Firms should submit a single page narrative form and Past Performance data for all projects submitted in Section F under Specialized Experience and Technical Competence. The firm shall provide past performance data with respect to cost control, quality of work and compliance with performance schedules, as determined from Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs), ACASS/CPARS/PPIRS data, credible documentation included in the SF 330 Section H and other sources. Provide CPARS reports, if available, for all relevant projects for each firm. If a CPARS is not available, the firm shall complete Part I of the Past Performance Questionnaire, send it to the customers for these projects to complete Part II of the Past Performance Questionnaire, request that it be returned to the firm, and submit it with the SF330 submission. No sealed envelope is required. A blank Past Performance Questionnaire can be found attached to this synopsis/solicitation. The contractor should provide the Point of Contact Names and Telephone Numbers (Point of Contacts should be verified those individuals may be contacted) and full contract number and task order number (if applicable). Lack of available data will not be evaluated negatively. The evaluation board may seek additional information on past performance from other sources.
e. KNOWLEDGE OF LOCALITY: Firms shall be familiar with design and engineering in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

TIE-BREAKER CRITERIA, WILL BE USED IF NECESSARY:
f. GEOGRAPHIC PROXIMITY TO FIRM RELATIVE TO THE WORKSITE: Firms based in or having branch offices in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will be given preference, provided there is an adequate number of qualified firms for consideration. Provided in SF 330 Section H.
g. VOLUME OF PAST DOD CONTRACTS AWARDED TO FIRM: Volume of DoD A-E contract awards in the last 12 months, with the objective of effecting an equitable distribution of DoD A-E contracts among qualified firms. Provided in SF 330 Section H.

7. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Interested firms having the capabilities to perform this work must submit five (5) copies of their SF330 and one (1) cd containing an electronic version of all the proposal documents, each containing Parts I and II of the SF330 information to the address below not later 2:00 PM Central Time, September 18, 2019. Parts I and II shall be in separate binders. Each copy shall be divided by tabs (dividers) separating the subsequent sections from each other (Note: Parts I, II, and Subsequent Sections are as defined in the SF330 Instructions). Include the firm's DUNS number on the SF330, Part 1, and Block B. On the SF330, Part 1, Block C, provide the DUNS number for each subcontractor or consultant, if available. The SF330 shall have a page limit of 150 pages (not including CPARS or PPQs), and will have a limit of ten (10) projects illustrating specialized experience. A page is one side of an 8 ½ x 11 sheet. If a fold-out is used, each sheet of a fold-out shall count as a minimum of 2 pages. Font size shall not be less than 10 font and margins shall not be less than one-half inch.

In order to comply with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, all contractors must be registered in the System for Acquisition Management (SAM) which replaced the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), to be considered for award of a Federal contract. Information regarding registration can be obtained through the SAM Assistance Center at 1-866-606-8220. The use of DUNS numbers to identify vendors is limited to identifying different SAM records for the same vendor at the same physical location. For example, a vendor could have two records for themselves at the same physical location to identify two separate bank accounts. If you do not have a DUNS number, or want to register subsidiaries and other entities, call Dunn and Bradstreet at 1-800-700-2733.

Mail your firm's submission of the SF330 to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St, Louis District,
Contracting Division, Room 4.207, CEMVS-CT
ATTN: Mrs. Angie Grimes
1222 Spruce St., St. Louis Mo. 63103-2833
Mrs. Grimes can be reached at Angie.L.Grimes@usace.army.mil or 314-331-8965. Responses to this add should be in writing only; telephone calls and personal visits are discouraged. Solicitation packages are not provided. This is not a Request for Proposal. Personal visits for the purpose of discussing this announcement will not be entertained or scheduled. Please check for updates to this announcement after the publication date.

.