C--A-E IDIQ Contract for Geotechnical Engineering to include Soil Borings, Soil Testing, Concrete & Other Materials Testing, Vibration Monitoring & Other Related Services for the New Orleans District and the Mississippi Valley Division

Amendment 01 to A-E Synopsis # W912P8-15-R-0040 The purpose of this amendment is to provide the following Questions & Answers received in response to this synopsis: Q1: Is the 100 page limit and 1 inch margin still a requirement? If so, do the covers, tabs, dividers count toward the 100 page limit? A1: The limits and margins are further explained in the notes and are defined as such that the 100 page restriction does not pertain to the covers, tabs and dividers. The margins shall not be less than 1 quote mark . Under no circumstance should the SF 330 be modified to accomplish this margin. Q2. Are nuclear densometers soil testers the same as nuclear gauges? A2: As written in the synopsis, the nuclear densometer soil tester is required. The term quote mark nuclear gauges quote mark can refer to this item, but the intent is that the device must be able to measure soil density Q3. To confirm, is the Specialized Experience and Technical Competence (Section 3.b) only to be provided within the projects and not within Part I, Section H? A3: Specialized Experience & Technical Competence are components of the SF330's Section quote mark H quote mark that provide additional information specifically requested by the agency or to address selection criteria that are not covered by the information provided in Sections A-G. Any other project unique experience may be placed with the project descriptions as well. Section quote mark I quote mark specifically pertains to an authorized representative of a joint venture or the prime contractor who must sign and date the completed form. Signing attests that the information provided is current and factual, and that all firms on the proposed team agree to work on the project. Q4. To confirm, Part I, Section H, Item 1 Management Plan-should the management plan also include the capacity section (3.c)? Please note that Item 2 also requires narrative discussing the capacity. A4: The Management Plan requirement is referencing the extent of the small business participation and the capacity of the principle necessary to perform quote mark At least 50% of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern quote mark (Ref. FAR Clause 52.219-14). See H. Extent of Participation of Small Business and I. Authorized Representative. The closing date for receipt of submittals remains 10:00am on 27 August 2015. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 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; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. 1.CONTRACT INFORMATION: (This announcement was previously issued under W912P8-15-D-0040) This announcement is a 100% Small Business Set Aside. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code is 541330. The resulting contract is being procured in accordance with the Brooks A-E Act as implemented in FAR Subpart 36.6. The firms selected for negotiations will be based on demonstrated technical competence and qualifications for the required services. The contract is anticipated to be awarded on or about 19 November 2015. To be eligible for contract award, the firm must be registered in the DOD System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.sam.gov. The resulting contract will be a Firm Fixed-Price Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity type contract. One (1) contract award shall be made from this announcement with a base period not to exceed one year and four option periods not to exceed one year each. The contract ceiling shall not exceed $15,000,000 or 5 years in duration, whichever comes first. A minimum guarantee amount of $10,000.00 will apply for the life of the contract. Work will be issued by negotiated firm fixed-price or labor hour task orders. The contract awarded under this announcement will be administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District. The New Orleans District may elect to transfer capacity to other USACE Districts within the Mississippi Valley Division with includes, Vicksburg, MS; Memphis, TN; St. Louis, MO; Rock Island IL; and St. Paul, MN. 2. PROJECT INFORMATION: The majority of services required by the Government under this Contract are Geotechnical Engineering, Soil Borings, Soil Testing, and Vibration Monitoring. A-E Services will be assigned by Task Orders on the IDIQ contract established as a result of this announcement. Each task order to be issued will fully describe the project to be accomplished. The types of projects may include all or part of the following: (1) Field assignments may include: periodic structural inspections; levee inspections; locating borings in the field and providing location information consisting of elevation, latitude and longitude, and station and offset; taking soil borings and sealing bore holes; setting permanent benchmarks; installing piezometers, pressure transducers, strain gages, slope inclinometers, wells, settlement plugs and settlement plates. Procedures for Drilling in Earth Embankments are to be performed in accordance with CORPS ER-1110-1-1807. Contractor must have the capability to conduct the following test types: pile driving analysis, obtaining subsurface information by using cone penetrometer, vane shear testing and performing noise and vibration monitoring. Hand auger, soil probe, general type soil borings (3-inch x 42-inch thin wall Shelby tubes); split spoon and 5-inch x 4.5-foot undisturbed fixed-piston type methods are to be used in the soil boring operations. Samples from the thin wall Shelby tube and split spoon samplers must have a minimum diameter of 2-7/8 inches ID and 1-3/8 inches ID respectively. Some borings will require hard access (marsh, swamp or heavily forested areas) and work over water requiring special equipment. Samples must be delivered promptly to the testing lab, either Government or A-E, as specified by the task order. All sampling equipment including the sampling head device for 5-inch diameter sampling, 5-inch diameter sample tubes, and sample extruder for 5-inch undisturbed borings will be furnished by the Contractor. A Corps representative may inspect field operations to verify geotechnical investigations are being performed in accordance with CORPS, EM 1111-1-1804. (2) Design assignments may include: selection of design parameters; stability analyses of levees, dikes and other earthen structures; stability analyses of slopes for revetments, channels and excavations; pile capacity curves; settlement analyses; numerical geomechanical (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua Version 7 or later, FLAC) modeling analysis; cantilevered, anchored, and braced sheet pile analyses; bearing capacity determinations; structural periodic inspections; levee periodic inspections; retaining and flood walls analyses; seepage and piping analyses; dewatering design; downdrag analysis; ground water study; axial and lateral loads in piles; filter design; relief well design; and operation and interpretation of data obtained from A-E-provided pile driver analyzer or static pile load testing. The contractor must be capable of deriving material properties for soil and rock characterization and for soil/rock/structure interfaces from laboratory and field testing and be able to calibrate models to lab and/or field data as well have experience in full-or pseudo-coupling fluid flow with mechanical analysis both static and dynamic with a minimum of 10 years experience and a minimum of 20 models on separate projects where at least 10 of the models have incorporated structural elements. Geotechnical design reports, inspection reports, Design plates and design drawings shall be prepared and furnished as paper copies, MS Word files, pdf files and as a Microstation compatible design file as applicable. Structural inspection reports must follow the guidance in CORPS, ER 1110-2-1156. Levee inspection reports must follow the guidance in CORPS, HQUSACE Policy Guidance Letter dated 17 December 2008, subject Periodic Inspection Procedures for the Levee Safety Program. (3) Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste (HTRW) projects to include: Phase I/II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs); site/remedial investigations and assessments under CERCLA, RCRA, and TSCA; risk characterization and assessment; environmental monitoring, sampling, and testing of various media including solid materials, soil, sediment, surface water, and groundwater; remedial action design; hazardous material and waste management; and lead, asbestos, PCBs, and radon testing, management and remedial design. The Contractor shall also assist and advise Corps personnel on environmental compliance for the DESIGN OF HAZARDOUS, TOXIC AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE (HTRW) remedial action projects, and waste stream issues associated with Government facilities and activities. All wastes shall be properly disposed and manifested in accordance with local, state and federal requirements and guidance by Corps of Engineers EP 200-2-3 as well as provide air monitoring and modeling for Air Pathway Analysis (APA) for determining the acceptability of air emissions from remedial action projects. The Corps of Engineer's guidance for APA is EP 1110-1-21, AIR PATHWAY ANALYSIS. (4) Testing laboratory and storage facility shall be established/furnished by the contractor within 50 road miles of the New Orleans District headquarters building once the contract has been awarded. Testing laboratory assignments may include: classifying, determining water content and Atterberg limits; performing unconfined compression tests; performing (Q) and (R) triaxial compression shear tests; permeability test; performing direct shear (S) tests; direct simple shear tests (DSS); 4-inch diameter consolidation tests; mechanical and hydrometer grain size and hydrometer analysis; performing 15-blow and 25-blow compaction control testing on selected samples; computing and compiling test results; furnishing boring and laboratory data in both text and CADD files fully compatible with the Bentley MicroStation CADD software (Version 8 or later) and in the form of plotted boring logs. The Contractor will perform extruding of 5-inch undisturbed samples under controlled lab environment. Laboratory soil testing shall be performed in accordance with CORPS, EM 1110-2-1906. Other ASTM tests may be assigned. (5) Geotechnical Quality Assurance: Design and Construction of Levees shall be performed in accordance with CORPS, EM 1110-2-1913. Geotechnical engineering services during construction may include: vibration monitoring, in-place density testing, moisture content testing, pile load test monitoring, organic content determination, sand content determination, jet index testing, compaction control testing (including one-point compaction testing). Tasks may require a geotechnical engineer or technician to be stationed on site for consultation and material testing. Field QA testing services, including soils, concrete and asphalt, during construction. Field QA services will also include steel testing and inspections services in accordance with AWS D1.1. Structural Welding Code Steel and as specified by task order during construction or fabrication/procurement phases of the project. The Contractor must prepare and submit a Quality Control Plan (QCP) in accordance with ER 1110-1-12. The A-E firm shall also provide any required coordination with the appropriate environmental regulatory (federal, state and local) bodies necessary for successful completion of task objectives. (6) The A-E firm must have a Senior Corrosion Consultant/Engineer with the ability to provide experience in the analysis of corrosion on all flood control structures and have an in-depth understanding of USACE policies, regulations, and procedures to facilitate immediate response to program needs such as peer reviews. The Corrosion Engineer personnel must have certifications with the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) with a minimum of 15 - 25 years experience and a CP-4 level endorsement. (7) All work shall be performed in accordance with the Greater New Orleans Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) Design Guidelines and appropriate USACE EMs, ERs and ASTMs. 3. SELECTION CRITERIA: The selection criteria are listed below in descending order of importance. Submittals will be evaluated on each of the criteria factors. Criteria A through E are primary. Criteria F and G are secondary and will only be used as tie-breakers between firms deemed equally qualified under the primary criteria. PRIMARY SELECTION CRITERIA (A-E) a. Professional Qualifications: Qualified Registered/Licensed Personnel are required in the following key disciplines: Project Manager, Civil Engineer, Environmental Engineer, Corrosion Engineer, Geotechnical Engineer, Structural Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Geologist and Geophysicist. Additional qualified personnel are required in the following key disciplines: Engineering Technician, Laboratory Technician, Draftsmen/CADD operator, GIS Technician and Environmental Professional (in accordance with ASTM E 1527-05). The evaluation will consider education, training, registration, relevant experience, and longevity with the firm of key personnel who will be assigned to this contract. Registered/Licensed Professionals shall be registered in accordance with requirements set forth by the state in which the work is performed. Resumes contained in Standard Form (SF) 330, Part I, Section E shall be completed for each discipline. b. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence: of the firm and sub consultants in the areas listed below. Only experience that has occurred in the last 10 years should be included in the submittal. All projects cited shall identify start/complete dates as well as the project size (cost and scope). Provide this information in SF 330, Part I, Section F. (1) Geotechnical exploration and testing. (2) Geotechnical engineering and engineering geology. (3) Concrete and asphalt materials testing and evaluation. (4) Corrosion Analysis. (5) Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC) modeling. (6) Environmental remediation and design. (7) Computer Generated Geotechnical Databases, GIS, and Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD) and ability to produce deliverables fully compatible with the following New Orleans District systems: MicroStation (version V8 2004 or later) ESRI ArcGIS (version 10.0 or later), giNT version 8 or higher and Data Forensics Rapid CPT Version 3 as required. Finished products shall be in compliance with the AEC CADD Standards or Spatial Data Standards as appropriate and the New Orleans District Electronic Deliverables guidance. These standards are published by the CADD/GIS Technology Center in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and the New Orleans District. (8) Utilization of latest technology, which improves efficiency of effort. (9) Environmental investigative services including HTRW Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments. (10) HTRW Site remedial investigations and assessments. (11) Experience and capability with materials testing and environmental monitoring, sampling, and testing including the use of a USACE-approved laboratory for materials testing and a National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) accredited laboratory for environmental testing. (12) Experience in the design, construction, maintenance and operation of the types of structures to be inspected, including: locks, pumping stations, floodgates, control structures, drainage structures, floodwalls, bridges and hydroelectric structures. (13) Experience in the evaluation of instrumentation data and determining its impact upon the structural integrity of the project. (14) Experience in the evaluation of deficiencies noted from a site visit and determining its impact upon the structural and operational integrity of the project. c. Capacity (Personnel & Equipment): to accomplish work in the required time. Provide the following minimum personnel to perform work: three (3) 4-person drill crews and two (2) crews must be stationed within 50 miles of New Orleans District Headquarters building; two (2) 2-person survey crews; capacity to produce up to 10 triaxial 3 point UU tests and 25-Atterberg limits per day; four (4) Registered Professional Engineers specialized in Geotechnical Engineering practice; engineering/soils/concrete lab technicians; soil/concrete field technicians, CADD draftspersons, Geologist and inspection team personnel. A structural inspection team consists of the following disciplines: Structural Engineer; Geotechnical Engineer; Electrical Engineer; Mechanical Engineer; and Hydraulics Engineer. USACE may furnish a Hydraulics Engineer in some situations. A levee inspection team consists of the following disciplines: Geotechnical Engineer, Structural Engineer, and Civil Engineer. It is anticipated that a maximum of two inspections could occur at the same time: (a) one levee and one structural inspection or (b) two levee inspections. Demonstrate capacity to produce CADD drawings utilizing CADD programs fully compatible with the Intergraph/Bentley MicroStation CADD software, Version 8 (or later). Provide the following minimum equipment to be utilized for the project: three (3) core drill rigs with off road access capability (undisturbed drill rig Central Mine Equipment (CME) 750 or equivalent), two (2) wireless-type pile driving analyzers, two (2) soil probes, two (2) cone penetrometers, two (2) shear vanes, ten (10) vibration monitoring devices, three (3) noise monitoring devices, three (3) triaxial test cells, five (5) 4-inch diameter consolidometers, one (1) direct-shear machine, one (1) direct-simple shear machine, two (2) ovens suitable for determining organic content, and two (2) flat boats with outboard motors. Provide adequate temperature controlled space for storage of undisturbed samples before testing and until instructed to discard such samples. Provide USACE Validated laboratory within 50 miles of the New Orleans District Headquarters building to perform soil and concrete ASTM/USACE test procedures; provide facilities to cure and test ten (10) concrete compressive strength samples a day; automatic soil compaction hammer; and two (2) to four (4) nuclear densometers soil testers. The prime firm must have the capacity to perform at least 50% of the work themselves over the life of the contract in order to meet or exceed the requirements of FAR Clause 52.219-14 (c )(1), -Limitations on Subcontracting.- d. Past Performance: On Department of Defense (DoD) and other contracts from https://www.ppirs.gov/ with respect to quality of work, cost control and compliance with performance schedules. Evaluations will be based on Architect-Engineer Contract Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) from the past five (5) years as well as rating information and other credible documentation included in the SF 330 to demonstrate past performance with respect to cost control, quality of product/service, compliance with performance schedules and business relations. Performance evaluations for key sub-consultants may also be considered. e. Knowledge of the Locality: This criterion will be evaluated on the firm's knowledge of the local conditions pertaining to topographic features, geological features, climate conditions, and other laws or regulations that are unusual or unique to the locale as well as knowledge of geology and geographic area within the limits of the New Orleans District. SECONDARY SELECTION CRITERIA (f-g) f. Volume of DoD Contract Awards: Firms must show their past 12 months DoD contact awards stated in dollars. (SF 330, Part I, Section H, Item 4) g. Geographic Proximity: Proximity is the physical location of a firm in relation to the location of a project. The primary geographic location of this contract is the New Orleans District's area of responsibility. (SF 330, Part I, Section H, Item 5) 4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: a. Interested firms must submit five (5) copies and one (1) CD, each containing Parts I and II of the SF 330 information. Each copy shall be divided by tabs (dividers) separating Parts I and II, and tabs dividing the subsequent sections from each other (Note: Part I, II, and Subsequent Sections are as defined in the SF 330 Instructions). The SF 330 shall have a page limit of 100 pages, and it will have a limit of 10 projects illustrating specialized experience. A page is one side of a sheet, 8-1/2 by 11. If a fold out is used, each sheet of a fold out shall count as a minimum of 2 pages. Font size shall not be less than 10 font and margins shall not be less than one inch. b. Include the firms CAGE code and DUNS number on the SF 330, Part 1, Block B. On the SF 330, Part 1, Block C, provide the CAGE code and DUNS number for each sub consultant, if available. c. SF 330, Part I, Section H (Additional Information) shall contain the following information: (1) Item 1 - Management Plan - Include the information requested in Paragraph 3.c above. (2) Item 2 - Capacity to accomplish the work. Reference Paragraph 3.c above. Provide a 1-2 page narrative discussing the capacity of the prime firm to meet schedules, including adequacy of qualified personnel and equipment available and past experience in meeting tight schedules. (3) Item 3 - Volume of DoD contracts within the last 12 months. Reference Paragraph 3.f above. (4) Item 4 - Geographic Proximity: Location of the firm with respect to the geographical location described. Reference Paragraph 3.g above. NOTE: There is no limit to the number of pages in any specific section of the SF330. As stated in paragraph a above, The SF 330 shall have a page limit of 100 pages, and it will have a limit of 10 projects illustrating specialized experience. A page is one side of a sheet, 8-1/2 by 11. If a fold out is used, each sheet of a fold out shall count as a minimum of 2 pages. d. Mailing Address for Submission: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ATTN: CEMVN-CT (Elaine Gray-Frasure) 7400 Leake Ave. New Orleans, LA 70160-0267 The cutoff date for questions pertaining to this announcement will be 10 August 2015. Please submit your questions to contact@example.gov. The due date for the SF330 submittals is 27 August 2015,10:00am hours CST. e. Contracting Office Address: For Overnight or courier deliveries, the physical address is U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, 7400 Leake Avenue, ATTN: CEMVN-CT, Room 172, New Orleans, LA 70118-3651