Z2DA--671-22-700 EHRM Infrastructure Upgrades- Construction (VA-23-00064160)

SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS

INTRODUCTION

In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 10.002(b)(2), this Sources Sought Notice is being issued to support a market research effort to obtain information only and shall not be construed as a solicitation nor as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) is conducting a market survey and is seeking interested sources for the Electronic Health Records Modernization (EHRM) Infrastructure Upgrades Construction Project at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veteran s Hospital located at 7400 Merton Minter, San Antonio, Texas 78229.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This construction project addresses necessary information technology (IT) upgrades to modernize existing infrastructure and to support implementing a new EHRM system. This project will include, but is not limited to the following infrastructure improvements: electrical panel upgrade power (Normal, Emergency), bonding, UPS; building management system interfaces; new and upgrading of existing HVAC; reconfiguration, expansion, and renovation of existing spaces, including demo, new construction, and finishes; Data Center (server rooms) work, HVAC, UPS, Power Distribution, Cable Management; communication infrastructure (new data outlets, patch panels, upgrade to Cat 6a cable) in buildings; physical security upgrades; upgrade fiber infrastructure backbone campus-wide within buildings and between buildings; and, hazardous material abatement.

PROCUREMENT INFORMATION

The proposed procurement will be competitive, utilizing the design-bid-build approach, and Final 100% Specifications and Drawings will be provided as attachments to the solicitation. The anticipated solicitation will be issued either as a Request For Proposal (RFP) in accordance with FAR Part 15, considering Technical and Price Factors, or as an Invitation for Bid (IFB) in accordance with FAR Part 14, considering Price only. The results and analysis of the market research will depend on the responses to this notice and any other information gathered during the market research process and will help to finalize the determination of the type of socio-economic set-aside, if any, that may be utilized for the procurement of this project. The resultant award will be a firm-fixed-price construction contract.

This project is planned for advertising in mid to late May 2023. In accordance with the Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 836.204, the estimated magnitude range of construction cost is between $20,000,000.00 and $50,000,000.00. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code of 236220 is applicable to this procurement.

The duration of the project is estimated at 365 calendar days from the issuance of a Notice to Proceed. The contractor awardee shall provide all labor, material, tools, equipment, supervision, project management, quality control and any other services required to complete the project in accordance with specifications, drawings and other solicitation documents prepared by an independent Architect-Engineer firm.

CAPABILITY STATEMENT

Respondents to this Sources Sought Notice shall provide a general Capabilities Statement which shall include the following information:

Section 1: Provide company name, DUNS number and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), company address, Point-of-Contact name, title, phone number and email address.

Section 2: Provide company business size based on NAICS code 236220. Also, provide business type (i.e., Large Business, Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned Small Business, Hub Zone Small Business, etc.).

Section 3: Provide a Statement of Interest in the project.

Section 4: Provide the prospective prime contractor s available bonding capacity in the form of a letter of intent from your bonding company with this submission. The letter should include the single project limit, aggregate limit and the current available bonding amount. *Please ensure that the individual bonding capacity is in line with the VAAR Magnitude of Construction range listed above.

Section 5: Provide the type of work your company has performed in the past in support of a project requirement that is the same or similar to this EHRM San Antonio construction requirement. This section is IMPORTANT as it will help to determine the type of socio-economic set-aside, if any. Please provide the following in your response for this Section:

(a) No more than three (3) contracts or task orders that your company has performed within the last seven (7) years that are of comparable size, complexity, and scope to this requirement. Include the project name, project owner and contact information as this person may be contacted for further information, project scope, project size (Example: square footage), building use (Example: Medical Facility, Office Building, etc.), project dollar value, start and completion dates.

(b) Describe specific technical skills and key personnel positions your company possesses to perform the requirements described under the description of work.

(c) Describe your Self-Performed** effort (as either a Prime or a Subcontractor). Describe Self-Performed work in terms of dollar value and description. **Self-Performed means work performed by the respondent themselves -- NOT work performed by another company for the respondent for any of the project examples provided in 5(a) above.

Section 6: Project Labor Agreement (PLA) - A PLA is defined as a pre-hire Collective Bargaining Agreement with one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project and is an agreement described in 29 U.S.C. 158(f). The PLA Questionnaire must be filled out by the respondent to this Sources Sought, and it must be returned with the respondent s Capability Statement. The PLA Questionnaire can be found at the end of this document.

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 22.503 Policy:

(a) Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a tool that agencies may use to promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement. Pursuant to Executive Order 13502, agencies are encouraged to consider requiring the use of project labor agreements in connection with large-scale construction projects.

(b) An agency may, if appropriate, require that every contractor and subcontractor engaged in construction on the project agree, for that project, to negotiate or become a party to a project labor agreement with one or more labor organizations if the agency decides that the use of project labor agreements will-

(1) Advance the Federal Government's interest in achieving economy and efficiency in Federal procurement, producing labor-management stability, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other matters; and,

(2) Be consistent with law.

(c) Agencies may also consider the following factors in deciding whether the use of a project labor agreement is appropriate for the construction project:

(1) The project will require multiple construction contractors and/or subcontractors employing workers in multiple crafts or trades.

(2) There is a shortage of skilled labor in the region in which the construction project will be sited.

(3) Completion of the project will require an extended period of time.

(4) Project labor agreements have been used on comparable projects undertaken by Federal, State, municipal, or private entities in the geographic area of the project.

(5) A project labor agreement will promote the agency s long term program interests, such as facilitating the training of a skilled workforce to meet the agency s future construction needs.

(6) Any other factors that the agency decides are appropriate.

See FAR Provision: 52.222-33 Notice of Requirement for Project Labor Agreement and FAR Clause 52.222-34 Project Labor Agreement for further details.

It is requested that interested prospective offerors submit a response (electronic submission) of no more than nine (9) single-sided pages, single-spaced, 12-point font minimum that addresses the above information (this page count limitation is inclusive of the PLA Questionnaire). This response must be submitted as a single application-generated (not scanned) PDF document that is less than or equal to 4MB in size. Please note that hard copies will not be accepted. Please also include a cover page, which includes, at a minimum: the company s name, address, Dun & Bradstreet number, Unique Entity Identifier (if available), socio-economic status, point-of-contact name, title, phone number, and e-mail address. Responses must include the Sources Sought number and project title in the subject line of their e-mail response. Responses (a Capability Statement and completed PLA Questionnaire) shall be submitted via email to the primary point of contact listed below by May 5, 2023 at 4:00 PM ET. No phone calls will be accepted.

The Capability Statement submitted in response to this Sources Sought Notice shall not be considered to be a bid or a proposal. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and is neither to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for information solicited. No evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. After completing its analyses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition among the small business categories listed above or proceed with full and open competition as other than small business.

At this time, no solicitation exists; therefore, please do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized and posted in Contract Opportunities at https://sam.gov/. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.

Contracting Office Address:

VHA Program Contracting Activity Central (VHA-PCAC)

6100 Oak Tree Blvd., Suite 300

Independence, OH 44131

Primary Point of Contact:

Mary Harding, Contract Specialist

mary.harding@va.gov

Secondary Point of Contact:

Megan Dohm, Contracting Officer

megan.dohm@va.gov

PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT (PLA) QUESTIONNAIRE

(Please respond to the questions below and include the completed Questionnaire in your Capability Statement response.)

Company Name of Respondent________________________________________

1. Is your company familiar with Project Labor Agreement (PLA) and its use on construction projects?

Yes/No:

Comments:

2. Would your company likely submit a proposal for the VA construction solicitation that requires the use of a PLA?

Yes/No:

Comments:

3. If the VA requires a PLA, would your proposed construction cost likely to increase or decrease and what is the likely percentage of cost increase or decrease?

Comments:

4. Would the VA requirement to use a PLA on a construction project, restrict competition?

Yes/No:

Comments:

5. Do you expect subcontractor resistance should the VA require the use of a PLA on this construction solicitation?

Yes/No:

Comments:

6. Do you have additional comments regarding the use of a PLA for this project?

Comments:

--- End of PLA Questionnaire ---