C--Engineering & Design Services for Far East District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

1. CONTRACT INFORMATION: This contract is being procured in accordance with the Brooks A-E Act as implemented in FAR Subpart 36.6. Firms will be selected for negotiation based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the required work. A-E services are required for one Indefinite-Delivery Contract (IDC) with a maximum amount of $2,500,000 for the basic contract with a one-year option for $2,500,000 for a total maximum contract amount of $5 million. Minimum contract guarantee amount is $50,000. Services will normally be implemented through negotiated firm-fixed-price task orders. The basic contract period is one year from the contract award date and the option period extends the contract by an additional one-year period. The option period may be exercised before the basic contract period expires if the basic year contract maximum amount has been exhausted or nearly exhausted. The Government is not obligated to exercise the option. To be eligible for contract award, firms must be registered in the DoD Central Contractor Registration (CCR). Register via the CCR Internet site at http://www.ccr.gov/ or by contacting the DoD Electronic Commerce Information Center at 1-800-334-3414. The contracting officer will consider the following factors in deciding which contractor will be selected to negotiate an order (in order of importance): specialized experience and technical qualifications, professional qualifications of the firms staff/consultants to be assigned to the projects, past performance of the firm on projects of similar size and complexity, and capacity of the firm to perform the work in the required time. North American Industrial Classification System code is 541330, which has a size standard of $4.5M in average annual receipts. The wages and benefits of service employees (see FAR 22.10) performing under these contracts must be at least equal to those determined by the Department of Labor under the Service Contract Act, as determined relative to the employee's office location (not the location of the work). 2. PROJECT INFORMATION: The IDC requires A-E services for U.S. and Host Nation funded engineering and design work including new construction, planning, engineering studies, hydrology and hydraulics, site investigations, preparation of DD Form 1391, planning & design charrette, title II services during construction, title II services for Intelligence Community Directive (ICD) 705, and other general engineering activities. Projects are located at various US Army, Air Force, Marine & Navy bases/camps/installations within the Republic of Korea. Some of the types of facilities (not all inclusive) for these projects include training & operation buildings, administrative buildings, troop housing, dining facilities, hospitals, medical/dental clinics, communication buildings, sensitive compartmented information facilities (SCIF), fuel storage & dispensing facilities, religious and FMWR (family, welfare, morale, recreation) facilities, gymnasiums, multi-purpose sports fields, airfields, power, water, sewer, etc. Frequent site visits are required. All technical aspects of the work will be based on latest edition of technical criteria - National Codes and regulations, Unified Facilities Criteria, DoD Criteria and Standards. Blast hardening and chemical biological radiological (CBR) protection are required on some facilities. Sustainable Design/LEED and EPact05 are pre-requisite requirements on all facilities. Design deliverables must address local construction methods in the Republic of Korea and materials that meet the intent of U.S. criteria in order to facilitate the use of local methods and materials. All design documents shall be metric system units. Cost estimates must be prepared using the Corps of Engineers Micro Computer Aided Cost Estimating System (MCACES) - Second Generation (MII). MCACES software and training will be provided by the Corps. The contractor shall be responsible for accomplishing designs and preparing drawings using computer-aided design (CAD) and shall be compliant with the current A/E/C CAD standard available from the CAD/BIM Technology Center, Engineer Research and Development Center. A senior representative with decision making authority on behalf of the A-E must be present and available in Korea during all contract performance periods. 3. SELECTION CRITERIA: The selection criteria for this particular project are listed below in descending order of importance (first by major criterion and then by each sub-criterion). Criteria a thru e are primary. Criteria f and h are secondary and will only be used as "tie-breakers" among firms that are essentially technically equal. a. Specialized experience and technical competence in DoD military facilities. b. Qualified professional personnel in the following key disciplines: project management (architect or engineer), architecture, fire protection engineering, certified communication designer with C4I system, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, structural engineering, and civil engineering. The principals and primary lead architect or engineer in each discipline must be registered in the U.S. to practice in the appropriate professional field. The evaluation will consider education, certifications, training, registration, overall and relevant experience, and longevity with the firm. c. Firm needs to possess a clearance from the Defense Security Service and be cleared to work with classified documents or have the capability of working with classified documents and firm must have experience with ICD 705 and its application to OCONUS design and construction projects. d. Past performance on DOD and other contracts with respect to cost control, quality of work and compliance with performance schedules, as determined from PPIRS and other sources. e. The evaluation will consider the experience of the firm and any consultants in similar size projects, and the availability of an adequate number of personnel in key disciplines. f. [deleted] g. Volume of DOD A-E contract awards in the last 12 months, with the objective of effecting an equitable distribution of DOD A-E contracts among qualified firms. h. Presence of A-E personnel in Republic of Korea. Note: Selected A-E firm will not be granted Invited Contractor Status under the SOFA. A-E Firm may be provided Tech Rep status under the SOFA upon award of Task Orders when appropriate. 4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: a. Interested firms having the capabilities to perform this work must submit two copies of SF 330 Part I, and two copies of SF 330 Part II for the prime firm and all consultants, to the above address not later than 4:00 PM on the response date indicated above. The SF 330 Part I shall not exceed 50 pages (8.5" x 11"), including no more than 5 pages for Section H. Each side of a sheet of paper is a page. Use no smaller than 12-font type. b. Solicitation packages are not provided and no additional project information will be given to firms during the announcement period. This is not a request for proposal. c. Questions should be submitted in writing to the POC listed below via email. d. General Information: Point of Contact: Ms. Yi, Suk-Hui, (from U.S. 011-82-2-2270-7271 or email at Suk-Hui.Yi@usace.army.mil --------------------------------------- Please note that paragraph 3f. of the synopsis has been deleted in its entirety. Below are clarifications to questions received from interested parties: Question #1: Has a contractor fulfilled similar requirements in the past? If a current contract exists, could you please provide me with the Contractor Name, Contract #, Value, Expiration Date? Answer: This is a new requirement. There are no incumbents for this proposed contract. Question #2: Could you please clarify which NAICS code you plan on using for AEC ENGINEERING AND DESIGN SERVICES FOR FAR EAST DISTRICT US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS Solicitation # : W912UM12R0029? In the posting for this opportunity, NAICS codes 541330 and 541310 were mentioned. Also, could you please confirm whether you will use the March 2012 Small Business Size Standards associated with these NAICS codes? Answer: Either of the NAICS code applies for this solicitation. However, please note that this solicitation does not have a small business set-aside requirement, due to the project location being overseas. Question #3: Section 4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS requires the total SF330 Part I to be limited to 50 pages total. Would each cover and each tab for the different sections be counted to the 50 page limit? Answer: Every page including the cover and each tab pages will be counted in the 50 page limitation. Question #4: Section 4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS also requires fonts to be no smaller than the 12-font type. We are assuming that the font type for the original SF330 form are to remain the size on the original form. Please confirm. Answer: All fonts are to be no smaller than the 12-font type. Question #5: [We are] currently working on an existing FED contract. Would that be an equivalent authorization to holding a Korea business license? Answer: Korea business license is not required if given Tech Rep status under SOFA. Question #6: The FBO announcement requires a senior representative to be present and available in Korea during all contract performance periods. Does this mean 100% of the time in Korea? Answer: This means 100% of the time during the duration of the contract performance. Question #7: Also related to Q#6, does the senior representative need to be a resident of Korea? Answer: There's no requirement for the senior representative to be an ordinary resident of Korea but the person must be present and available in Korea during the contract performance periods so that he/she is able to meet and discuss and possibly resolve any issues on the spot. Question #8: If the selected A-E will not have an invited contractor status and if a Tech Rep status is NOT offered (it states "may" which could be yes or could be no) the firm must rely on its ROK business license. This in fact requires that business entity holding the Korean business license must possess a clearance from the Defense Security Service and be cleared to work with classified documents or have the capability of working with classified documents. As much as many firms may have offices that possess a clearance from the Defense Security Service and be cleared to work with classified documents the fact that the office that holds the Korean business license must hold the contract forces that the same office (with Korean license) be the one who holds the clearance for secure work. Please confirm that our interpretation is correct. If yes that will become an extremely restrictive requirement that may not be able to be fulfilled by most of the proposing firms if any. Also please clarify the Technical Representative status. Is this status allows US firms to perform work without requiring a Korean business license and hold the contract from one of their US offices. Given the due date for the proposal (July 20th 2012) we would highly appreciate your prompt response so we can maintain our ability to respond in time. Answer: It is our intention to seek Tech Rep designation for the contractor working on this contract. Proposing A-E Contractor must possess a clearance from the Defense Security Office and be cleared to work with classified documents. The office in Korea is not required to possess the clearance. The A-E's office in CONUS could possess the clearance and perform all classified work in CONUS while their Korean office would interact with the customer and perform non-classified work. It is not required to joint venture with a Korean firm to perform this contract. Tech Rep status allows US firms to perform work without a Korean business license. Question #9: Possess appropriate business licenses enabling firm to perform work in the ROK without Invited Contractor status under the US-ROK Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Does this statement require a partnership with a South Korean company who has a business license? Should this be in place before submitting a proposal? Answer: This statement does not require that the proposer to partner with a South Korean company. Under Tech Rep status, you do not need to have a Korean business license. Question #10: The response dead line is July 20th however it is not clear to whom and where our submission is addressed to and in what format (electronic or paper). Please advise. Answer: Mailing address for submission: US Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District ATTN: CEPOF-CT-P Unit #15546 APO AP 95205-5546 Format: hardcopy. Question #11: Please let us know if there are any special instructions and arrangements for delivery to get on Base. Local address for submission (We recommend using this address as there could be delays using the APO address for mail handling. APO also has limited services for delivery): #40, Eulchi-Ro 5 Ka, Chung-Gu, Seoul, Korea U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District ATTN: CEPOF-CT-P, Bldg #S-67 If you or the delivery person is hand carrying the proposal package for submission, please call Ms. Yi, Suk-Hui at DSN 721-7271 or Commercial 02-2270-7271 at the main gate upon arrival. Question #12: In the solicitation under 4.a. paragraph, we had questions regarding the 12 font size. Is 12 font size for only Section H? Answer: No. Question #13: If it includes all pages, does the 12 font size includes the headings of each block (see attached sample)? Answer: No, you can use default font pre-printed on the form. Question #14: Or does this apply to the filled in information within the block (see attached sample)? Answer: Yes, it applies to the filled in information within the block. Question #15: f. Possess appropriate business licenses enabling firm to perform work in the ROK without Invited Contractor status under the US-ROK Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). ( What is this mean?) Would you please explain this in detail? Does it mean that we need to have a Korea office that has the Korean A/E licence under our name? Answer: You do not need to have a Korea office or have a Korean business license. Our intention is to seek Tech Rep status for the contractor upon award when appropriate. Question #16: h. Presence of A-E personnel in Republic of Korea. (PDI's Korean representative member ; Do we need to have the A/E personnel in Korea now to be able to apply for this presolicitation?) Note: Selected A-E firm will not be granted Invited Contractor Status under the SOFA. A-E Firm may be provided Tech Rep status under the SOFA upon award of Task Orders when appropriate. Would you please explain this more? What are the differences between having the SOFA status and not? What is the Tech Rep. status? Answer: You do not need to have the A/E personnel in Korea now to be able to apply for this presolicitation. SOFA status refers to those categories of personnel subject to the provisions of the U.S.-ROK SOFA. The Technical Representative (TR) designation is a limited designation that affords the TR certain legal benefits under the U.S.-ROK SOFA. For example, SOFA benefits normally include entry into Korea in accordance with the provisions of the SOFA, Article VIII, Entry and Exit, exemption from the laws and regulations of Korea with respect to terms and conditions of employment, and licensing and registration of businesses and corporations, and exemption from Korean income and corporate taxes on any income derived under a contract with the U.S. for the benefit of USFK in connection with the construction, maintenance or operation of any of the facilities or areas covered by the SOFA.