DLA Disposition Services, Precious Metals Recovery

Added: Sep 04, 2014 8:02 am AMENDMENT #0004:

The purpose of this amendment is as follows:

1.  To post additional questions and answers recieved in the document attached.  See also the revised bid schedule and PWS attached. 

2.  The solicitation section, "Processing Plan/Technical Proposal (Technically Acceptability):," Paragraph 3 is also amended to remove "and the bid price per CLIN (based on the unit of issue for that CLIN)" from the evaluation.  Bid prices shall not be required in the Processing Plan but shall instead be submitted via the bid schedule.  Reference Question 12 of the attached document.

3.  All other terms and conditions herein remain unchanged

Added: Sep 02, 2014 11:19 am AMENDMENT #0003:

The purpose of this amendment is as follows:

1.  To extend the solicitation response due date to September 11, 2014 at 4:30 P.M. EST.  This is necessary to post additional questions and their corresponding answers in a future amendment.

2.  All other terms and conditions herein remain unchanged.

Added: Aug 14, 2014 7:47 am AMENDMENT #0002:

1. To post pictures of example scrap material.

Added: Aug 11, 2014 1:49 pm AMENDMENT #0001:

The purpose of this amendment is as follows:

1.  To post questions and their corresponding answers.  See document attached.

2.  To post pictures of example scrap material.

Added: Aug 05, 2014 12:52 pm This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items 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; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.  The details of this procurement are located below and in the attached Performance Work Statement.

The solicitation will be issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ).  The Government is seeking to award one Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract.  The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-74.  This procurement is being set aside 100% for small business concerns under NAICS 331529, which has a size standard of 500 employees.

A. The provision at FAR 52.212-1 (Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial) applies to this procurement.
B. The provision at FAR 52.212-2 (Evaluation -- Commercial Items) applies to this procurement.  The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the offeror that has passed the technical acceptability test (pass/fail), and demonstrates the best value to the Government.  Past Performance is significantly more important than price.
C. In accordance with FAR 52.212-3 (Offerors Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items) the contractor shall ensure that it has completed the annual representations and certifications on SAM.gov or submit a completed copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3 with its offer.
D. FAR 52.212-4 (Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items) applies to this procurement.
E. FAR 52.212-5 (Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders -- Commercial Items) applies to this procurement.  The additional FAR clauses which are cited in FAR 52.212-5 are listed here:

52.203-3, Gratuities (Apr 1984)
52.203-6 Alt. 1, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (Oct 1995)
52.222-50, Combatting Trafficking in Persons (Feb 2009)
52.233-3, Protest After Award (Aug 1996)
52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First Tier Subcontract Awards (Aug 2012)
52.209-6, Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or
Proposed for Debarment (Dec 2010)
52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (Oct 2004)
52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2011)
52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (Jan 2011)
52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Nov 2011)
52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Representation (Apr 2009)
52.222-3, Convict Labor (June 2003)
52.222-19, Child Labor - Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (Mar 2012)
52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999)
52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (May 2007)
52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans (Sep 2010)
52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (Oct 2010)
52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans (Sep 2010)
52.222-40, Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (Dec 2010)
52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policy to Ban Text Messages While Driving (Aug2011)
52.225-1, Buy American Act - Supplies (Feb 2009)
52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Fund Transfer - Central Contractor Registration (Oct 2003)

The following FAR clauses (in full text) are applicable to this procurement:

FAR 52.216-18 Ordering

As prescribed in FAR 16.506(a), insert the following clause:

ORDERING (OCT 1995)

(a) Any supplies and services to be furnished under this contract shall be ordered by issuance of delivery orders or task orders by the individuals or activities designated in the Schedule.   Such orders may be issued from contract award through the end of the effective period of performance (inclusive of Option Years, if exercised).

(b) All delivery orders or task orders are subject to the terms and conditions of this contract.  In the event of conflict between a delivery order or task order and this contract, the contract shall control.

(c) If mailed, a delivery order or task order is considered "issued" when the Government deposits the order in the mail. Orders may be issued orally, by facsimile, or by electronic commerce methods only if authorized in the Schedule.

(End of clause)

FAR 52.216-19 Order Limitations

As prescribed in FAR 16.506(b), insert a clause substantially the same as follows:

ORDER LIMITATIONS (OCT 1995)

(a) Minimum order. When the Government requires supplies or services covered by this contract in an amount of less than $3,000, the Government is not obligated to purchase, nor is the Contractor obligated to furnish, those supplies or services under the contract.

(b) Maximum order. The Contractor is not obligated to honor-

(1) Any order for a single item in excess of $1,000,000;

(2) Any order for a combination of items in excess of $1,000,000; or

(3) A series of orders from the same ordering office within 5 days that together call for quantities exceeding the limitation in paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section.

(c) If this is a requirements contract (i.e., includes the Requirements clause at subsection 52.216-21 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)), the Government is not required to order a part of any one requirement from the Contractor if that requirement exceeds the maximum-order limitations in paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the Contractor shall honor any order exceeding the maximum order limitations in paragraph (b), unless that order (or orders) is returned to the ordering office within 5 days after issuance, with written notice stating the Contractor's intent not to ship the item (or items) called for and the reasons. Upon receiving this notice, the Government may acquire the supplies or services from another source.

(End of clause)

FAR 52.216-22 Indefinite Quantity.

As prescribed in FAR 16.506(e), insert the following clause:

INDEFINITE QUANTITY (OCT 1995)

(a) This is an indefinite-quantity contract for the supplies or services specified, and effective for the period stated, in the Schedule. The quantities of supplies and services specified in the Schedule are estimates only and are not purchased by this
contract.

(b) Delivery or performance shall be made only as authorized by orders issued in accordance with the Ordering clause. The Contractor shall furnish to the Government, when and if ordered, the supplies or services specified in the Schedule up to and including the quantity designated in the Schedule as the "maximum." The Government shall order at least the quantity of supplies or services designated in the Schedule as the "minimum."

(c) Except for any limitations on quantities in the Order Limitations clause or in the Schedule, there is no limit on the number of orders that may be issued. The Government may issue orders requiring delivery to multiple destinations or performance at multiple locations.

(d) Any order issued during the effective period of this contract and not completed within that period shall be completed by the Contractor within the time specified in the order. The contract shall govern the Contractor's and Government's rights and obligations with respect to that order to the same extent as if the order were completed during the contract's effective period; provided, that the Contractor shall not be required to make any deliveries under this contract after the last day of the perfomance period on any task order issued by the Government before the contract's expiration.

(End of clause)

FAR 52.217-8 OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES (NOV 1999)

The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract.  These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months.  The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 30 calendar days before expiration date of the contract.

(End of clause)


FAR 52.217-9 OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT (MAR 2000)
(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 15 calendar days before expiration date of the contract; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 30 calendar days before the contract expires.  The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 4 years and 6 months.

(End of clause)


The following DFARs clauses are applicable to this procurement:
252.203-7000, Requirements Relating to Compensation of Former DoD Officials (Sep 2011)
252.203-7003, Agency Office of the Inspector General (Apr 2012)
252.225-7012, Preference for Certain Domestic Commodities
252.227-7015, Technical Data - Commercial Items (Dec 2011)
252.227-7037, Validation of Restrictive Markings on Technical Data (Jun 2012)
252.232-7003, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests and Receiving Reports (Mar 2008)
252.232-7006, Wide Area WorkFlow Payment Instructions (May 2013)
252.243-7002, Requests for Equitable Adjustment (Dec 2012)
Additional FAR clause incorporated by reference:FAR 52.247-34, F.O.B. Destination (Nov 1991)


Additional DLAD clause incorporated by full text:

DLAD 52.215-9023, Reverse Auction (OCT 2013)

The Contracting Officer may utilize on-line reverse auctioning as a means of conducting price discussions under this solicitation. If the Contracting Officer does not conduct a reverse auction, award may be made on the basis of initial offers or following discussions not using reverse auctioning as a pricing technique. If the Contracting Officer decides to use on-line reverse auctioning to conduct price negotiations, the Contracting Officer will notify Offerors of this decision and the following provisions will apply:

(a) The award decision will be made in accordance with the evaluation factors as set forth in the solicitation. The reverse on-line auction will be used as a pricing technique during discussions to establish the final offered prices from each Offeror. These prices will be used in conjunction with the evaluation factors stated elsewhere in the solicitation in order to make the award decision in accordance with the basis for award stated in the solicitation.

(b) Following the decision to conduct discussions using reverse auctioning as a pricing technique, the Contracting Officer or his/her representative will provide Offerors determined to be in the competitive range with information concerning the auction process.

(c) Prior to conducting the reverse auction, the Contracting Officer may hold discussions with the Offerors concerning matters appropriate for discussion, such as issues involving technical proposals or unbalanced pricing.

(d) Unless auction instructions indicate that only Offeror's rankings will be displayed, the lowest Offeror's price(s) for each round of the reverse auction will be disclosed to other Offerors and anyone else having authorized access to the auction. This disclosure is anonymous, meaning that each Offeror's identity will be concealed from other Offerors (although it will be known to the Government; only a generic identifier will be used for each Offeror's proposed pricing, such as "Offeror A" or "lowest-priced Offeror"). By submitting a proposal in response to the solicitation, Offerors agree to participate in the reverse auction and that their prices may be disclosed, including to other Offerors, during the reverse auction.

(e) An Offeror's final auction price at the close of the reverse auction will be considered its final price proposal revision. No price revisions will be accepted after the close of the reverse auction, unless the Contracting Officer decides that further discussions are needed and final price proposal revisions are again requested in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.307, or the Contracting Officer determines that it would be in the best interest of the Government to re-open the auction.

(f) The following requirements apply when the Government uses a commercial web-based product to conduct the reverse auction:

(1) Each Offeror identified by the Contracting Officer as a participant in the reverse auction will be contacted by Defense Logistic Agency's commercial reverse auction service provider to advise the Offeror of the event and to provide an explanation of the process.

(2) In order for an Offeror to participate in the reverse auction, such Offeror must agree with terms and conditions of the entire solicitation, including this provision, and agree to the commercial reverse auction service provider's terms and conditions for using its service. Information concerning the reverse auction process and the commercial service provider's terms and conditions is embedded within the email notification sent by the on-line reverse auction pricing tool system administrator.

(3) Offerors shall secure the passwords and other confidential materials provided by the commercial reverse auction service provider or the Government and ensure they are used only for purposes of participation in the reverse auction. Offerors shall keep their own and other Offeror's pricing in confidence until after contract award.

(4) The reverse auction system currently in use designates offers as "Lead,"meaning the current low price in that auction, or "Not Lead," meaning not the current low price in that auction. In the event of a tie offer, the reverse auction provider's system designates the first offer of that price as "Lead" and the second or subsequent offer of that price as "Not Lead." Offerors shall not submit a tie offer, since this is inconsistent with the purpose of the reverse auction. If a tie offer is submitted and no evaluation factors other than price were identified in the solicitation, the "Not Lead" Offeror that submitted the tie offer must offer a changed price; otherwise its offer will be ineligible for award if their final price in the auction is the tie offer price. If evaluation factors in addition to price were listed in the solicitation, tie offers that are "Not Lead" will be considered and evaluated in accordance with those evaluation factors.

(5) Any Offerors unable to enter pricing through the commercial reverse auction service provider's system during a reverse auction must notify the Contracting Officer or designated representative immediately. The Contracting Officer may, at his/her sole discretion, extend or re-open the reverse auction if the reason for the Offeror's inability to enter pricing is determined to be without fault on the part of the Offeror and outside the Offeror's control.

(6) The reverse auction will be conducted using the commercial reverse auction service provider's website as embedded in the email notification. Offerors shall be responsible for providing their own computer and internet connection.

(7) Training:

(i) The commercial reverse auction service provider and/or a Government representative will provide familiarization training to Offerors' employees; this training may be provided through written material, the commercial reverse auction service provider's website, and/or other means.

(ii) An employee of an Offeror who successfully completes the training shall be designated as a "Trained Offeror." Only Trained Offerors may participate in a reverse auction. The Contracting Officer reserves the right to request that Offerors provide an alternate Offeror employee to become a Trained Offeror. The Contracting Officer also reserves the right to take away the Trained Offeror's designation from any Trained Offeror who fails to abide by the solicitation's or commercial reverse auction service provider's terms and conditions.

(End of provision)

QUOTE EVALUATION:
A bid schedule table is attached and shall be completed with any submission.  Award will be made to the offeror who is deemed technically acceptable (pass/fail basis) and demonstrates the best value to the Government in terms of past performance and price (past performance is significantly more important than price).  Offerors shall provide the applicable CAGE code and DUNS number with their bid submission. The information located in FAR 52.212-3 (Offerors Representations and Certifications) shall be current on SAM.gov at the time of quote submission.

Processing Plan/Technical Proposal (Technically Acceptability):
The processing plan will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis.  A quote will not be technically acceptable unless it is determined to be technically acceptable for all of the items required to be included in the processing plan.  The Government will evaluate the processing plan to ensure the contractor can meet all of the requirements in the Performance Work Statement.  If a proposal contains a deficiency for any criteria, it will not be considered technically acceptable.  A deficiency is defined as 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.

The Government reserves the right to perform an onsite visit of the contractor's facility during the solicitation phase and during the performance of the contract.  The Government will have the right to audit/inspect for accuracy any records relating to the receipt and processing of precious metal bearing scrap material.

The contractor shall be required to provide a written processing plan detailing the methodology and technology used to recover precious metals and non-precious metals.  The processing plan should identify in sufficient detail how precious metals and non-precious metals (copper, ferrous, and non-ferrous metals) will be recovered and where in the contractor's facility each type of non-precious, precious metal, and precious metal bearing scrap material will be stored.  The plans demonstrate the contractor's ability to meet the performance timeframes in the contract, permit adequate monitoring of the contract, demonstrate the contractor's understanding of the scope of work required.

The processing plan will identify for each CLIN; the minimum quantities of precious metal bearing scrap material that can be processed (in a single batch run) and the bid price per CLIN (based on the unit of issue for that CLIN).  In addition, the contractor's processing plan will include the disposal method for any waste, including RCRA hazardous waste, generated as a result of processing precious metal bearing scrap material under this contract.  If the contractor will utilize subcontractors to process any parts of the precious metal bearing scrap material, each of the subcontractors must be identified in the processing plan.  The plan should also include copies of any permits held by the facility and subcontractors to be used.

Past Performance:
Contractor is to provide any current relevant information regarding the level of performance, in terms of delivery and quality achieved under either Government or Commercial awards for the same or similar services within the last 3 years.

Past performance information may also be obtained from any other sources available to the Government, including but not limited to: Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), interviews with Program Managers and Contracting Officers, or the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA).

The Government will utilize a subjective assessment of all the relevant facts and circumstances when evaluating past performance.

Price:
The Government will evaluate the entire price (inclusive of options).

INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS:
Submit quotes by email (preferred) to: Nicholas.Moore@dla.mil no later than September 4th, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.  Attention should be noted to FAR 52.212-1(f), concerning late submissions.  The offeror bears the risk of non-reciept of any email transmissions, and should ensure that all pages of the quote have been recieved by the designated office before the deadline indicated.   Quotes may also be mailed to:

DLA Disposition Services
ATTN: Nicholas Moore (J7)
74 N. Washington Ave.
Battle Creek, MI 49037

Any solicitation questions shall be submitted no later than August 25th, 2014.  In the event questions are received, a solicitation amendment will be posted before the quote submission deadline.