C1DA--626A4-25-201 - AE Upgrade Primary Power Distribution

626A4-25-201 - 36C24925R0037 - AE Upgrade Primary Power Distribution

Responses to RFIs:

Question 1: Can you please confirm you are not looking for an SF330 proposal and just a 6298 Fee for this project?Â

Question 2: This is strictly a request for a fee proposal, not for qualifications. Is that correct?

Answer 1 and 2: Correction to solicitation announcement. Provide SF330, 6298 Fee Proposal are NOT needed until after evaluations have been made. Instructions are provided below.

NO FEE PROPOSAL SHALL BE NEEDED UNTIL AFTER EVALUATIONS HAS BEEN MADE ON THE PROVIDED SF330 AND THE TOP-RATED FIRM SELECTED.

Interested firms should submit their current SF330 to jen.jamieson@va.gov. The SF330s are due on Friday, July 25, 2025, at 1:00 pm CT via email. See Electronic Submission Requirements for instructions on submitting your SF330.

The selection of the most qualified contractor will follow the guidance provided in FAR 36.6 Architect-Engineer Services, except as provided in FAR 36.602-5 Short Selection Process for Contracts Not to Exceed the Simplified Acquisition threshold.

The Government will not pay, nor reimburse, any costs associated with responding to this request. The Government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this announcement. Firms will be selected based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the required work.

Bid Deduct Alternates of at least 20% of the approved construction budget shall be developed, planned, and estimated as necessary to ensure award of contract within available funds. Bid Deduct Alternates shall be clearly identified on contract drawings.

All offerors are advised that in accordance with VAAR 836.606-71 the total cost of the architect or engineer services contracted for must not exceed 6 percent of the estimated cost of the construction project plus any fees for related services and activities. Additionally, FAR Clause 52.236-22 (c) - Design Within Funding Limitation, will be applicable to this procurement action. Design limitation costs will be provided to the most highly rated AE firm selected to complete the design.

Important Notice: Apparent successful offerors must be registered in the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) site at the time of submission of proposal. Failure to be both VERIFIED by the SBA and VISIBLE at the time of proposal submission, time of interview, and at time of award will result in the offeror s proposal being deemed non-responsive. All offerors are urged to contact the SBA DSBS (https://dsbs.sba.gov/search/dsp_dsbs.cfm) and submit the required documents to obtain verification of their SDVOSB status if they have not already done so.

Contract Award Procedure: Before a small business is proposed as a potential contractor, they must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) website located at https://sam.gov. Failure of a proposed SDVOSB to be VERIFIED by SBA and VISIBLE in SBA DBSB and registered in SAM at the time the SF 330 is submitted shall result in elimination from consideration as a proposed contractor. The proposed services will be obtained by a Negotiated Firm-Fixed Price Contract.

The review/design of architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, civil, or other engineering features of the work shall be accomplished by architects or engineers registered in a State or possession of the United States, or in Puerto Rico or in the District of Columbia.

The project drawings/design shall follow applicable standards and codes described in VA Program Guides and design materials. Master Construction Specifications Index, VA Construction Standards Index, VA Standards Index, and Criteria are available in the Technical Information Library (TIL) on VA Website address: http://www.cfm.va.gov/til/.

The submitted SF330s will be evaluated in accordance with the following eight criteria from the Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 36.602-1 and Veteran Administration Acquisition Regulation Subpart 836.6. Then a minimum of three of the most highly qualified firms will be selected to hold discussions regarding concepts and relative utility of alternative methods of furnishing the required services. A fee proposal will be requested from the top-rated firm chosen.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

- Professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services,

- Specialized experience and technical competence in the type of work required, including where appropriate, experience in energy conservation, pollution prevention, waste reduction and use of recovered material;

- Capacity to accomplish the work in the required time. Provide the available capacity of key disciplines to perform the work in the required time. Provide the available capacity of key disciplines by providing current project workload, inclusive of all projects awarded by the VA during the previous 12 months and the full potential value of any current indefinite delivery contracts. Offers shall clearly state their available capacity presenting workload percentages for the key disciplines and/or team members. Also, the offeror must provide the completion percentages and expected completion date for the VA projects awarded in the previous 12 months. The information for this factor shall be provided in section H of the SF330. Please ensure the capacity applies toward the team/personnel provided in the SF330.

- Past performance on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules. The past performance will be evaluated for all projects provided in section F to include a review of Contractor Performance Assessment Rating System (CPARS). The following information is required for all projects noted in section F: contract/task order number, project title, prime firm, start date, and completion date.

Also, consider, as appropriate, the record of significant claims against the firm because of improper or incomplete architectural and engineering services. Failure to provide requested data, accessible points of contact or valid phone numbers could result in a firm being considered less qualified. All projects provided in the SF330 must be completed by the office/branch/individual team member performing the work under this contract. The information for this factor shall be provided in Section H of the SF330.

If there is no CPARS data available, Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) will be accepted. Please utilize the attached PPQ document. Complete PPQs should be incorporated into the SF330 directly. The PPQs will be counted towards the page limitations for this submission.

- Location in the general geographical area of the project and knowledge of the locality of the project; provided, that application of this criterion leaves an appropriate number of qualified firms, given the nature and size of the project. This information should be provided in Section H of the SF330. Note that the intent of this factor is to showcase a firm s understanding of the site and locality, and not where the firm is located and how they would travel to the site. Information related to the firm s location, shall be provided in section H, under Secondary selection Criteria Factor 1.

The awarded A/E firm will prepare drawings and specifications in enough detail such that qualified outside General Contracting companies can prepare accurate and timely proposals for the desired work. The awarded A/E firm is responsible for ensuring that the specifications and drawings supplied fully represent all the work described in the Request for Proposal (RFP). The Medical Center must remain operational throughout the construction period and a detailed sequence of work will be provided by the A/E to minimize impact of the construction. The SF330 can be downloaded through the GSA Forms Library at: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/type/TOP, type in SF-330 in the Find a Form block and click on search.

- Reputation and standing of the firm and its principal officials with respect to professional performance, general management, and cooperativeness.

- Record of significant claims against the firm because of improper or incomplete architectural and engineering services.

- Specific experience and qualifications of personnel proposed for assignment to the project and their record of working together as a team

- Experience in construction period services to include professional field inspections during the construction period, review of construction submittals, support in answering requests for information during the construction period, and support of construction contract changes to include drafting statements of work, and cost estimates shall be included as an evaluation criterion when construction period services is included in the statement of work for A-E services.

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 36.209, no contract for the construction of a project shall be awarded to the firm that designed the project or its subsidiaries or affiliates, except with the approval of the head of the agency or authorized representative.

ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

Unless paper offers are specifically authorized in an individual solicitation, all responses to solicitations must be submitted electronically as described below. Responses submitted in a paper form are unacceptable and will be returned. Failure to comply with this requirement may jeopardize the possibility of receiving an award for the contract due to noncompliance with the terms of the solicitation. You must submit your electronic offer, and any supplemental information (such as spreadsheets, backup data, technical information), using any of the electronic formats and media described below.

In addition, contractors are notified of the award via an electronic Notice of Award e-mail. The award document will be attached to the Notice of Award e-mail.

Acceptable Electronic Formats (Software) for Submission of Offers:

Files readable using the current Microsoft* Office version Products: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Please see security note below for caution regarding use of macros. When submitting construction drawings contractors are required to submit one set in AutoCAD and one set in Adobe PDF (purpose: contracting can open the PDF version and engineering can open AutoCAD files).

Files in Adobe* PDF (Portable Document Format) Files: When scanning documents scanner resolution should be set to 200 dots per inch, or greater,

Other Electronic Format: If you wish to submit an offer using another format other than described in these instructions, e-mail the Contracting Officer who issued the solicitation. Please submit your request at least ten (10) calendar days before the scheduled closing date of the solicitation. Request a decision as to the format acceptability and make sure you receive approval of the alternate format before using it to send your offer; and please note that we can no longer accept .zip files due to increasing security concerns.

E-mail Submission Procedures: For simplicity in this guidance, all submissions in response to a solicitation will be referred to as offers.

Subject Line: Include the solicitation number, name of company, and closing date of solicitation,

Size: Maximum size of the e-mail message shall not exceed five (5) megabytes. Only one email is permitted unless otherwise stated in this paragraph or in writing by a Contracting Officer, and

The offer will be date and time stamped by the Microsoft Email system and will be the official record of receipt for the submission.

SECURITY ISSUES, LATE BIDS, UNREADABLE OFFERS:

Late submission of offers is outlined at FAR Parts 52.212-1(f), 52.214-7, and 52.215-1(c) (3). Particular attention is warranted to the portion of the provision that relates to the timing of submission.

Please see FAR 15.207(c) for a description of the steps the Government shall take regarding unreadable offers.

To avoid rejection of an offer, vendors must make every effort to ensure their electronic submission is virus-free. Submissions or portions thereof submitted and which the automatic system detects the presence of a virus, or which are otherwise unreadable will be treated as unreadable pursuant to FAR Parts 14.406 and FAR 15.207(c).

The virus scanning software used by our e-mail systems cannot always distinguish a macro from a virus. Therefore, sending a macro embedded in an e-mail message or an e-mail attachment may cause the e-mail offer to be quarantined. You may send both the spreadsheet and the spreadsheet saved in PDF format to ensure that your proposal is readable.

Password protecting your offer is not permitted. The Contracting Officer will file the offer electronically which will allow access only by designated individuals.

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