Architect/Engineer Services IDIQ Multi-Year Humboldt-Toiyabe Natl Forest

SYNOPSIS: Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity Multi-Disciplinary Architect-Engineer Services, NOTE: This is a Request for Qualifications (SF-330) resulting from the sources sought notice number: AG-9360-SS-09-0001. You may respond to this notice regardless of whether or not you were aware of, or responded to the referenced sources sought notice. It was not a pre-requisite for participation in this procurement. SUMMARY OF WORK: Provide Architect-Engineer (A-E) Services for the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Region, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The principal firm, including all consultants and subcontractors, shall provide technical professional services in the areas of Architecture, Historical Preservation and Rehabilitation, Landscape Architecture, Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Surveying, Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Fire Protection Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Construction Engineering and Project Management, Exhibit Planner, Exhibit Fabricator, Graphic Designer, and writer/editor. The contractor will design and prepare construction drawings and specifications for public roads, trails, bridges, utility systems, buildings, administrative, and recreational sites. Typical administrative facility work includes, but is not limited to: design of offices, warehouses, housing, fire stations, landscape areas, roadways, utility systems, and site planning. Typical recreation facility work includes, but is not limited to: design of trails, roadways, bridges, visitor centers and/or visitor orientation and learning facilities, retail space, picnic/campgrounds and amenities including comfort stations, utility systems, site plans, off road vehicle areas and winter sports areas. The Forest Service may also require additional services including, but not limited to: cost estimating, topographical surveys, right-of-way plats, special reports, testing services, soil boring reports, historical facility surveys and renovation design, traffic studies, interpretive display/exhibit design, and special engineering reports. The contractor will also provide construction contract support services, which may include construction inspection, construction permit applications, responses to RFI's (Request for Information), contract record keeping, project management and maintenance inspection. The Contractor or a Subcontractor working for the principal firm may furnish any work required. See the attached statement of work for more specifics concerning the types of services for task orders under this contract. Also attached to this posting are two documents: the Middle Kyle Canyon Framework Plan and the Spring Mountains NRA Built Environment Image Guide. These documents are included to provide offerors background information on one of the major Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA) projects that may require professional services under this contract. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION OF WORK: Task Orders under this contract will be issued primarily for Forest Service projects near Las Vegas, Nevada in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA) of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. In some cases, tasks may be issued for other Forest Service projects located within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, which includes National Forest lands in California and Nevada. For information on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/htnf/. The majority of the work will be located on the SMNRA. MINIMUM/MAXIMUM ORDERS, CONTRACT TERM: There may be one or multiple IDIQ awards made under this solicitation. The Firm Fixed-Price IDIQ contracts may be awarded for a base year with four option periods. Options may be exercised within the time frame specified in the resultant contract at the sole discretion of the Government. The estimated start date for the referenced IDIQ contracts is on or about January 1, 2010, with a base year of 12 months. Task orders issued under the basic contracts will include a specific statement of work and will be negotiated as individual projects. The minimum order guarantee is $5,000. The maximum individual task order amount is $3,000,000 with a maximum annual cumulative order amount of $5,000,000. The total cumulative life-time contract amount, over 5 years, is $11,000,000. The Government makes no representation as to the number of task orders or the actual amount of work to be ordered. Contractors are not guaranteed work in excess of the minimum guarantee. EXTENT OF COMPETITION: This acquisition is not set-aside and is unrestricted, full and open competition. The NAICS Code is 541310. Before award of the contract, the A/E (if not a small business of no more than $4,500,000 gross average receipts per year) shall be required to present an acceptable Small Business and Small Disadvantaged Business Subcontracting Plan in accordance with Public Law 95-507. Small, women-owned, and small disadvantaged firms are strongly encouraged to participate as prime contractors or as members of joint ventures with other small businesses. All interested large business firms are reminded that the successful firm will be expected to place subcontracts to the maximum practical extent with small and disadvantaged firms as part of their original team submittal. SELECTION PROCESS This synopsis is the only notification that is required or that will be made for this acquisition. Solicitation packages are not provided for A-E contracts. This is a Request For Qualifications (RFQ), not a Request For Proposals. The A-E Firm as used in this RFQ means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity permitted by law to practice the profession of architecture or engineering that will have contractual responsibility for the project design, construction management and other services identified in the attached Statement of Work. The A-E selection will be completed in two stages as follows: In the first stage, represented by this synopsis, the interested A-E firms will submit portfolios of accomplishments and qualifications in response to the submission requirements and Evaluation Factors 1-5 identified below. The government will evaluate submissions and develop a short-list of the highest qualified firms. In the second stage, the short-listed A-E firms and representatives from their team will be interviewed. Evaluations from both stages will be used by the government to select the highest qualified firm(s) for negotiations. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATIONS: Firms that have the qualifications to perform the services described above and wish to be considered for these contracts should submit six copies of Standard Form (SF) 330 Architect-Engineer Qualifications, parts I and II, dated no earlier than 12 months prior to the date of this synopsis, as well as responses to the evaluation factors 1-5 outlined below. Current SF 330s are also required for, subcontractors, sub-consultants or joint firms. The SF 330 may be obtained from http://www.gsa.gov/forms/far.htm. Submit a separate response for the evaluation factors. Failure to submit a package with all required documentation outlined in this synopsis may result in disqualification of the firm. Offerors are informed that the SF 254/SF 255 are no longer permissible and will not be considered in response to this announcement. All documentation will be in an 8 x 11 inch format, should be spiral bound, developed and assembled in a manner that chronologically corresponds to and addresses the technical Evaluation Factors. The entire proposal should not exceed 50 double-sided pages (100 pages total), including the SF 330. Submissions received via e-mail or facsimile will NOT be considered. As an attachment, provide an organization chart of the proposed team showing the names and roles of all key personnel listed in Section E with the associated firm as listed in Section C of form SF 330. Please include DUNS, CAGE, TIN and state registration numbers in Block 30 of the SF 330. Registration in Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) is required to be considered for this acquisition (http://www.bpn.gov). Information may not be incorporated by reference into the SF 330! Questions regarding this acquisition must be received via e-mail no later than June 26, 2009, 12:00 pm, Pacific Time, addressed to sroehr@fs.fed.us. Answers to all offeror questions will be posted as an amendment to this synopsis as soon as practicable. ALL SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY 4:00 PM PST, July 27, 2009. Send all six copies to USDA Forest Service, Spring Mountains National Recreation Area; Attention Steve Roehr, Contracting Officer, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130. EVALUATION FACTORS Potential Contractors shall be evaluated in terms of the factors/criteria identified below. Submissions will be evaluated against the evaluation factors as they relate to the requirements of the solicitation, as well as evaluated for meeting mandatory responsibility criteria per FAR Subpart 9.1. A detailed evaluation will be made of the submissions. Submissions must demonstrate a thorough understanding of and the capability to accomplish the overall requirements as stated in the following evaluation factors. Firms will be evaluated on the following factors listed in descending order of importance: Evaluation Factor 1 - Specialized Experience and Technical Competence The Board will evaluate the specialized experience on similar projects and the technical capabilities of the prime offeror and any subcontractors. The Board will examine the effectiveness of the proposed project team to ensure the Offeror's ability to coordinate the needs of several of the Government's key partners. This will include evaluating the management structure; coordination of disciplines; offices and/or subcontractors; and the prior working relationships between team members. Also to be reviewed is how successful the offeror is in integrating the needs of multiple clients/partners. The Board will evaluate submissions to determine if a history of successful execution of designs for public administrative and recreation facilities, including Visitor Orientation and Learning facilities in environmentally sensitive settings can be demonstrated. Specifically the Board will evaluate offeror's/teams experience with: (a) Sustainable design; (b) Previous LEED-certified designs and projects; (c) Recreational design specifically addressing needs of multicultural communities; (d) Managing projects with natural resource agencies corporate cultures; (e) Designing interior/exterior spaces that effectively gather, engage and inspire people to interact and learn together; (f) Land planning of recreational day use areas and other public gathering and discovery spaces as well as Visitor Orientation and Learning facilities; (g) Producing designs for unique and sensitive environments which are integrated into the environment; and, (h) Energy conservation, pollution prevention, waste reduction, and the use of recovered materials. Provide the specific project name, construction cost, point of contact, phone number, email and key personnel for those projects profiled under this category. A minimum of five projects are desired and no more than ten will be reviewed. Include a representative floor plan, site plan, building section, or other appropriate drawing, and a minimum of two photographs must be included for each project. The Board will examine and note the offerors organizational structure, approach and philosophy regarding construction management of small to medium construction projects (e.g. $100,000 to 50 million) with complex demands. The Board will examine the offeror's experience with design and/or construction management projects where community members, fundraising specialists/donors/board member, non profits, and/or diverse stakeholders had meaningful involvement in the process. Please provide the specific project name, construction cost, point of contact, phone number, email and key personnel for two projects under this category. The Board will examine the offeror's ability to produce notable and distinctive architecture while working within a design guideline framework. Please provide the specific project name, construction cost, point of contact, phone number, email and key personnel for two projects under this category. Include at least two photographs for each project. The Board will investigate AutoCAD and design presentation software capabilities. Responses should include software name, version and number and/or names of skilled operators on the team. The Board will evaluate the scope of experience with the types of work and disciplines noted in the attached Statement of Work Document. Evaluation Factor 2 - Proximity Factor The Board shall consider the geographic proximity for coordination and communication with key Forest Service staff, and the offeror's knowledge of locality. It is expected that the majority of the work under this solicitation will be for the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA), Las Vegas. The remaining work load may include locations throughout the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Consequently, a geographic location preference will be given for Las Vegas, Nevada and surrounding area (50 mile radius). Scoring for the proximity factor will apply to office/key personnel locations for the lead architect-engineer firm and the construction management firm. Other consultants that are part of the offerors team which would have an incidental role in meeting contract requirements (e.g., interpretative exhibit design, specialty technical experts, etc.) may be located outside of the geographic area without affecting the proximity score. The offeror should demonstrate knowledge of geological features (e.g. desert and mountain environments) climatic conditions or local construction methods that are unusual or unique to the Las Vegas area and experience with local government organizations, regulations, laws and unique criteria associated with the construction climate in the Las Vegas, Nevada area. The offeror should demonstrate general knowledge of geological features, climatic conditions or local construction methods that are typical to National Forest locations within the remainder of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Evaluation Factor 3 - Professional Qualifications The Selection Board will evaluate the education, training, registrations, professional certificates, awards, peer recognition, overall and relevant experience, and longevity of the key management and personnel with the offeror: The Board will consider the level of education of the staff in the disciplines needed to successfully complete the work. The Board will consider the availability of professionals with appropriate training in specialized subjects such as energy savings and energy modeling, building inspection services, new technologies and systems, environmentally sensitive design, construction techniques appropriate for the setting/locations, development of infrastructure and recreational sites, etc., as appropriate to support the development of the work of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area and other National Forest locations within the Intermountain Region. The Board will consider the offeror's depth and breadth of staff with LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) Accreditation as defined by the US Green Building Council. The Board will consider the depth and disciplines on staff who are professionally registered Engineers, Architects, and Surveyors, etc. The designers or project managers in each discipline and surveyors must be registered in the state(s) services are proposed. The Board will consider overall and relevant experience. Relevant experience includes A-E work typical with that encountered in the Forest Service (e.g., visitor centers, interpretative and education facilities, campgrounds, play spaces, administrative offices, etc.) and A-E experience with federal land management agencies. The Board will consider the longevity of key staff involved with the offeror and the offeror's subcontractors, indicative of the stability and continuity of each offeror's practice. Evaluation Factor 4 - Past Performance The Board will evaluate the past performance on design services and construction management on contracts of similar size and scope. The Board will examine the documented past performance of the Offeror and Subcontractors in the Government's PPIRS site, (The Past Performance Information Retrieval System) a government database for Civilian Agencies. The Board will evaluate the design quality, timeliness and cost controls implemented in projects of similar size (e.g. $100,000 to $50 million) and scope (described in Factor 2) in the public and/or private sector. Provide a list of four projects with the project name, description, award price, final price, client name and contact information. Include similar information on construction management projects. The Board will examine the trend of repeat business with clients, which suggests strong long-term relationships. Please provide the specific project name, point of contact, phone number, email for three past clients to verify successful performance of the proposed Offeror. The Board will compare the list of personnel involved in successful projects with the proposed team for the contract. The availability of successful professionals with proven track records will be a key factor in the selection of a submission. Evaluation Factor 5 - Capacity to Accomplish the Work Provide a brief narrative regarding the size of the firms (prime and subcontractors), current workload (number of projects and dollar value), and ability to absorb additional work. The Board will consider an offeror's experience with similar size projects and the available capacity of key disciplines when evaluating the capacity of a offeror to perform the work. The board will consider the full potential value of any current contracts that a offeror has been awarded when evaluating capacity. The Board will evaluate evidence of the success of long term relationships between the offeror's proposed team (prime and subconsultants) which suggests the ability to work together and accomplish successful projects. An exhibit illustrating past projects where the multiple firms of the offerors team have worked together should be submitted to assist the agency in understanding this element. Evaluation Factor 6 - Oral Interview Oral interviews will be required in the second stage of evaluations for the short-listed firms notified by the government. This factor is included in this synopsis for information only and is not to be included in the submissions to this synopsis posting. Interviews will be conducted with the offerors determined to be the most qualified based on evaluation of SF-330's and Evaluation Factors 1-5. Interviews will be conducted with a minimum of three offerors and no more than six offerors. Interviews will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will last no longer than two hours. Offerors should be prepared to discuss all aspects of the evaluation factors and demonstrate their ability to fulfill all project requirements. The key project staff from the offeror's team (prime and subconsultants) should attend the interview, up to ten persons. Emphasis will be placed on the lead designer/engineer-A/E team's understanding of the unique aspects of the SMNRA Middle Kyle Complex project, their design philosophy, project management process, and quality assurance processes. This is not a Request for Proposals.