FMU HVAC maintenance

Francis Marion University (FMU) in South Carolina is seeking comprehensive HVAC maintenance, operation, and repair services through a solicitation issued by the State Fiscal Accountability Authority Division of Procurement Services. The contract covers approximately 35 campus buildings and facilities, including academic buildings, student housing, administrative offices, and satellite locations in Florence. The scope encompasses preventive maintenance, emergency response, equipment repairs and replacements, facility management system monitoring, water treatment, and filter management across five service lots. Bidders must provide three full-time technicians, including a primary technician with ten years of verifiable HVAC experience and Metasys system training, and two assistant technicians with five years of experience. All technicians must hold EPA refrigerant certification. The solicitation includes a non-mandatory pre-bid conference on April 17, 2024, at noon EST, with written questions due by April 19, 2024, at 4:00 PM EST. Bids are due online by May 29, 2024, at 11:00 AM EST, with award notification planned for June 7, 2024. The contract will have an initial one-year term beginning July 1, 2024, with four one-year renewal options for a maximum five-year period.

The procurement does not specify any specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises. The contract includes a unique cost-sharing structure where the contractor covers 100% of repair costs up to $8,000, with shared costs above that threshold based on equipment age relative to ASHRAE life expectancy standards. While no incumbent vendor is explicitly mentioned, the solicitation indicates significant existing infrastructure challenges, including aging HVAC systems from the 1970s and 1980s, obsolete pneumatic controls, and R-22 refrigerant-based units requiring replacement. The chiller plant alone is projected to need approximately $500,000 in capital expenditures over the next five years. Contractors will be responsible for maintaining complex systems across multiple buildings, including air handling units, condensers, heat pumps, boilers, chillers, and associated control systems. The contractor must maintain commercial general liability insurance with limits of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and provide 24/7 emergency response with a one-hour maximum response time.