Customized Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Course Combined Synopsis Solicitation

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

This procurement is being made in accordance with the procedures in FAR Part 12 and FAR Subpart 13.5, and FAR Subpart 17.205. The solicitation number is HSCG23-08-R-PBM018 and it is being issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 05-21. There is no set-aside, the NAIC code is 611519 with a small business size standard of $6.5 million. All eligible potential contractors, large and small, are encouraged to submit a proposal.



The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has a annual requirement for two Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Courses (LGCEC). The proposed contract will be a one year fixed price commercial contract with four option years. The LGCEC course is expected to be five days in duration with a maximum of 20 students per course. The period of performance will be from date of award through 365 days thereafter. Courses will be held twice a year approximately in June and July with the first class to be held in June of 2008.



The course will be customized for the USCG according to the attached Statement of Work (SOW) and will address the following objectives: The specific hazards associated with liquefied gas carrier cargoes (i.e. low temperature, flammability, toxicity) and gas carrier terminology; Discussions on international and domestic liquefied gas carrier design and construction requirements and how these requirements address particular hazards associated with the cargoes carried; Discussions on international and domestic liquefied gas carrier design and construction requirements and how these requirements address particular hazards associated with the cargoes carried; Expectations for the scope of examination of liquefied gas carriers during a USCG Certificate of Compliance examination; and Recommended procedures for examination of liquefied gas carriers during a U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Compliance examination. Access to the USCG Foreign Gas Carrier Examination Book and the USCG Foreign Gas Carrier Examiner Port State Control Officer Performance Qualifications Standard for use in course development will be provided by email upon request. Please send your request to Ms. Katherine West at katherine.k.west@uscg.mil.



The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: Technical Proposal, Technical and Instructor Qualifications and Experience, Past Performance and Price. The technical proposal should demonstrate: (a) Understanding of the gas carrier examination course requirements according to the Statement of Work, (b) The ability to create and conduct a gas carrier examination course; (c) Description of contractor facilities, equipment, & materials to be used in creating and conducting the course. (d) Course approach in training students how to complete both the Foreign Gas Carrier Examiner Position Qualification Standards and Foreign Gas Carrier Examination Book. Technical, Instruction Qualifications and Experience information shall include resumes demonstrating the ability to create and conduct a gas carrier examination course based on projects similar in function, scope, and complexity. In addition, requirements of Section 1.3 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL of the SOW must be met. The offeror shall provide past performance information citing specific experience concerning this type of effort. It is the intent of the USCG to contact the Offeror?s references to ascertain the level of performance that the offeror provided to that particular customer. The following past performance information shall be provided: Contract Number, Customer Name, Customer Address, Customer Point of Contact, Customer Point of Contact Phone Number, Customer Point of Contact Email, Description of the Effort, Period of Performance, Type of Contract. A lack of any relevant past performance information will be treated by the Government as a neutral evaluation under this factor. The relative importance of Technical Proposal, Technical and Instructor Qualifications and Experience and Past Performance factors when combined are equal and significantly more important than cost or price.



Offerors are required to submit separate Technical and Price Proposals to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Technical proposal must be in 12-point Arial font, contain margins of no less than one inch and shall not exceed 30 pages. Offerors should not include hyperlinks or references to other documents within the text. Tables and schedules must be clearly readable and contain no less than 9-point Arial font. Solicitation provisions and clauses will be posted by amendment. Offerors shall include a completed copy of provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certification --Commercial Items Alt I, with their proposal, or reference their current certifications in the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) system.



Offeror is to submit pricing by CLIN using the following Schedule:



Base Year

CLIN 0001 Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Course (LGCEC)

CLIN 0002 Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Course (LGCEC)



Option Period One:

CLIN 1001 Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Course (LGCEC)

CLIN 1002 Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Course (LGCEC)



Option Period Two:

CLIN 2001 Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Course (LGCEC)

CLIN 2002 Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Course (LGCEC)



Option Period Three:

CLIN 3001 Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Course (LGCEC)

CLIN 3002 Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Course (LGCEC)



Option Period Four:

CLIN 4001 Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Course (LGCEC)

CLIN 4002 Liquefied Gas Carrier Examination Course (LGCEC)



Proposals are due no later than 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST) on January 11, 2008. If your proposal is being submitted by REGULAR, EXPRESS or COURIER MAIL, use the following address: Commandant (CG-9121/KW) USCG Headquarters, 2100 Second St, SW, Washington, DC 20593-0001, Attention Ms. Katherine West. 202 475-3241. If your proposal is being submitted electronically, use the following email address: katherine.k.west@uscg.mil. It is each offeror?s responsibility to ensure the offer is received (in total) by the Contract Specialist prior to the deadline. Questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted to the above email address no later than 5 p.m., EST, January 2, 2008. Questions and answers will be posted by attachment to the solicitation.

NOTICE FOR FILING AGENCY PROTESTS

It is the policy of the Coast Guard to issue solicitations and make contract awards in a fair and timely manner. The Ombudsman Program for Agency Protests (OPAP) was established to investigate agency protest issues and resolve them without expensive and time-consuming litigation. OPAP is an independent reviewing authority that is empowered to grant a prevailing protester essentially the same relief as the General Accounting Office (GAO).



Interested parties are encouraged to seek resolution of their concerns within the Coast Guard as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) forum, rather than filing a protest with the GAO or some external forum. Interested parties may seek resolution of their concerns informally or opt to file a formal agency protest with the contracting officer or Ombudsman.



Informal forum with the Ombudsman. Interested parties who believe that a Coast Guard procurement is unfair or otherwise defective should first direct their concerns to the cognizant contracting officer. If the contracting officer is unable to satisfy the concerns, the interested party is encouraged to contact the Coast Guard Ombudsman for Agency Protests. Under this informal process, the agency is not required to suspend contract award performance. Use of an informal forum does not suspend any time requirement for filing a protest with the agency or other forum. In order to ensure a timely response, interested parties should provide the following information to the Ombudsman: solicitation/contract number, contracting office, contracting officer, and solicitation closing date (if applicable).



Formal Agency Protest with the Ombudsman. Prior to submitting a formal agency protest, protesters must first use their best efforts to resolve their concerns with the contracting officer through open and frank discussions. If the protester?s concerns are unresolved, an independent review is available by the Ombudsman. The protester may file a formal agency protest to either the contracting officer or as an alternative to that, the Ombudsman under the OPAP program. Contract award or performance will be suspended during the protest period unless contract award or performance is justified, in writing, for urgent and compelling reasons or is determined in writing to be in the best interest of the Government. The agency?s goal is to resolve protests in less than 35 calendar days from the date of filing. Protests shall include the information set forth at FAR 33.103(d)(2). If the protester fails to submit the required information, resolution of the protest may be delayed or the protest may be dismissed. This will not preclude re-filing of the protest to meet the requirement. To be timely, protests must be filed within the period specified in FAR 33.103(e). Formal protests filed under the OPAP program should be forwarded to the address below: Commandant (G-A), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, Acquisition Planning and Performance Measurement, 1900 Half St. SW, Room 11-0402, Washington, DC 20593, Telephone: (202) 372-3692, Fax: (202) 475-3904