CSP - Chilled Water Heat Exchanger Plate Refurbishment and System Upgrades at Ben Taub Hospital for Harris Health (Estimated Budget - $2, 100, 000)

Harris Health System, a Harris County entity in Texas, is issuing a Competitive Sealed Proposal (CSP) for Chilled Water Heat Exchanger Plate Refurbishment and System Upgrades at Ben Taub Hospital with an estimated budget of $2,100,000. The project requires comprehensive refurbishment and system upgrades to the chilled water plant infrastructure, including replacement of heat exchanger plates across three brazed-plate heat exchanger units (expanding each from 381 to 581 plates through phased installation), replacement of pump impellers, updates to variable frequency drive (VFD) duty points, installation of new instrumentation and controls including electromagnetic flow meters and temperature/pressure sensors, and complete system balancing. The vendor must furnish all personnel, labor, materials, equipment, and incidentals necessary for project completion within 180 calendar days of the Notice to Proceed, with the facility maintaining continuous 24-hour operations throughout construction. Mandatory attendance at a pre-proposal conference and site visit is required on March 30, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. CST at Ben Taub Hospital (1504 Taub Loop, Houston, TX 77030) for proposal eligibility. Written questions must be submitted by April 2, 2026, with responses posted by April 10, 2026, and proposals are due by 2:00 p.m. CDT on April 20, 2026. Award will be made to the responsible vendor whose proposal represents the best evaluated offer based on three weighted criteria: Qualifications, Safety & Past Performance (30%); Technical Approach & Methodology (20%); and Pricing (50%). Vendors must demonstrate experience with at least five similar projects in healthcare environments and provide current bonding capacity documentation. Board of Trustees approval is anticipated by June 10, 2026.

This procurement includes an 18% Minority/Woman-Owned Business Entity (M/WBE) utilization goal, with Harris Health accepting certifications from the City of Houston, Texas HUB, DBE, and SBA 8(a) programs; bidders must either meet this goal or provide documented good faith efforts to achieve it. All bidders must submit a bid bond or cashier's check equal to 5% of the total bid amount and execute a 100% performance and/or payment bond within ten days of award. A mandatory 5% bid security requirement applies to all submissions. Prevailing wage rates per Texas Government Code Section 2258 are mandatory, with certified weekly payroll submissions required; failure to comply results in financial penalties of $60 per worker per calendar day. Contractors must maintain comprehensive insurance including Commercial General Liability ($2 million general aggregate/$1 million per occurrence), $1 million Automobile Liability, statutory Workers' Compensation with $1 million Employers' Liability limits, and $1 million Umbrella Liability coverage, with Harris Health named as additional insured. All work must comply with Harris Health's extensive facilities engineering policies, including mandatory contractor training, identification badge acquisition, OSHA-compliant safety practices, hot work permits for welding operations, infection control requirements, and pre-construction risk assessments scheduled at least four weeks prior to work commencement. The estimated project budget is $2,100,000, with all pricing to be all-inclusive of labor, materials, equipment, and other costs; payment terms are Net 30 from invoice approval by Harris Health. Harris Health reserves the right to award to a single vendor or multiple vendors and anticipates award by June 10, 2026.