Indefinite Delivery Contracts for A-E Services; Design and Evaluation

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 of Design and Evaluation Services for Railroads and Roadways, Worldwide [CONUS/OCONUS]. Target two (2) indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts to be negotiated and awarded, with a five year ordering period and $4,500,000 in capacity for each. There will be no task order minimums, and task order maximums will be limited to amount of available remaining contract capacity. Work will be issued by negotiated firm-fixed-price task orders. When two or more indefinite delivery contracts (IDCs) available to the procuring agency contain the same or overlapping scopes of work so that a particular task order might be issued under more than one IDC, the contracting officer will have available for consideration the following factors in deciding which contractor will be selected to negotiate an order: performance and quality of deliverables under the current contract, current capacity to accomplish the order in the required time, professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services, uniquely specialized experience and technical competence in the type of work required, and equitable distribution of work among the contractors. For any task order requiring OCONUS work, the Contractor shall visit the Department of State website to view the Treatise in Force at http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/tif/index.htm, for any current treaties and other international agreements in place, specific to the country(ies) identified in the task order, as it will be responsible for knowledge of and compliance with such, as may be applicable. Country(ies) where work has been performed thus far via task order(s) under incumbent IDCs for these services include: Bahrain. Future OCONUS performance locations may include Japan, Korea, the Middle East, Turkey and Germany (list may not be all inclusive). North American Industrial Classification System code is 541330, which has a size standard of $15,000,000 in annual average gross receipts over the past three years. This announcement is open to both Small and Other than Small (OTS) service providers. Both Small and OTS Offerors will be evaluated on the extent of participation of small business community (SBC) members in the performance of the acquisition. Offerors are required to meet the minimum mandatory total small business participation objective/target of 20% of total acquisition value to SBC members. Offerors proposing a higher objective/target of 20% will receive a more favorable evaluation. SBC members can propose work they will self-perform toward small business participation objectives. The small business subcontracting goals for this acquisition will be calculated based on the apparent successful Offeror(s)' proposed small business participation objective (i.e. target percentage) of total acquisition value. The following informational percentages for identified small business categories are considered reasonable and achievable for the performance period of the resultant IDCs: a. 40% of planned subcontracting dollars will be placed with all small business concerns (SB); b. 3% of planned subcontracting dollars will be placed with small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged concerns (SDB). NOTE: b. is a subset of a. (Count firm in all applicable areas.); c. 7% of planned subcontracting dollars will be placed with small women owned business concerns (WOSB). NOTE: c. is a subset of a. Also, the WOSB may meet the definition of a SDB. If so, c. will also be a subset of b. (Count firm in all applicable areas.); d. 1% of planned subcontracting dollars will be placed with Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small business concerns. NOTE: d. is a subset of a. A HUBZone firm may also be SDB, WOSB and/or VOSB. (Count firm in all applicable areas.); e. 2% of planned subcontracting dollars will be placed with Veteran Owned Small Business concerns (VOSB). NOTE: e. is a subset of a. (Count firm in all applicable areas.); f. 3% of planned subcontracting dollars will be placed Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business concerns (SDVOSB). NOTE: f. is a subset of a. and e. (Count firm in all applicable areas.); g. 2.5% of planned subcontracting dollars will be placed with Historically Black Colleges and Universities or Minority Institutions (HBCU/MIs). NOTE: g. is a subset of a. (Count firm in all applicable areas.) The Subcontracting Plan is NOT required with this submittal. In accordance with FAR Subpart 19.7 and FAR Clause 52.219-9, if an other-than-small (i.e. 'large') business firm(s) is selected, it will be required to submit a detailed Subcontracting Plan. Submission of such by the selected firm will be required with its price proposal, to be reviewed, negotiated and approved in parallel with the price negotiation (note that Subcontracting Plans are not required from SBCs). The acceptable Subcontracting Plan will be incorporated into the basic IDC award, as a material part of the contract. Minimum negotiated goals, progress and achievement will be monitored and evaluated through the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS). If the contractor fails to comply in good faith with the approved plan, the Contracting Officer may take action in accordance with FAR 52.219-16 'Liquidated Damages - Subcontracting Plan'. If the selected firm fails to negotiate a Subcontracting Plan acceptable to the Contracting Officer, then the offeror will be ineligible for award. Award of the first of the two targeted contracts is anticipated between September and November 2015. Award of the second of the two targeted contracts is anticipated between December 2015 and February 2016. To be eligible for contract award, the Contractor must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). Registration is free and can be accessed at: http://www.sam.gov. The small business size standard for NAICS code 541330 increased from $14M to $15M, effective 14 July 2014. Ensure representations and certifications in SAM are current. 2. PROJECT INFORMATION: The scope of this Unrestricted IDC(s) is for Design and Evaluation Services for Railroads and Roadways, Worldwide [CONUS/OCONUS]. The types of services to be provided under this contract include, but are not limited to, preparation of plans, specifications and design analysis for the design of railroads, roads, railroad and vehicular bridges and specialized railroad support facilities; inspection and maintenance recommendations for railroad tracks, roads and bridges; implementation of the PAVER Engineering Management System for roadway pavements including inspection, analysis and project formulation; construction support services; specialized consulting services and engineering studies related to the planning, design, construction and evaluation of railroads and roads; field and laboratory testing of pavement materials and subgrades; traffic engineering and transportation studies. It is expected that most projects will be located on Army and Air Force installations. Railroad projects may include, but not be limited to: spur tracks, sidings, interchange yards, loading/unloading tracks for military vehicles, container loading/unloading tracks, grade crossings (signalized and unsignalized), loading docks, container transfer pads, railroad support facilities (deployment operations buildings, locomotive maintenance buildings, etc.). Construction support services may include, but not limited to: participation in on-site partnering/pre-construction meetings; review of construction contractor's submittals for government approval and for information only; review of contractor's request for information (RFI); participation in site visits and development of inspection reports at critical points of construction; participation in start-up and commissioning of systems; attending warranty inspections; participation in lessons-learned sessions; preparation of operations and maintenance support information manuals. Specialized consulting services and engineering studies may include development of transportation systems engineering criteria. The AE selected would be required to have sufficient staff, flexibility and capability to be available on an as-needed basis. Design and/or construction support services for specific facilities or projects will be assigned by Task Orders on the IDIQ contract(s) established as a result of this solicitation. Each task order to be issued will identify all work to be accomplished. Design services to be performed include, but are not limited to, preparation of design/construction documents, preparation of design/build requests for proposals (RFPs), charrette/concept designs, schematic designs, planning, programming, site investigations, surveying and geotechnical investigations, space planning, interior design, parametric and construction cost estimating, feasibility studies, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents, plan formulation, etc. Construction cost estimating will be accomplished for all design projects using the Micro-Computer Aided Cost Estimating System 2nd Generation (MII) software. All specifications shall be developed and edited using the SpecsIntact automated specification processing system. Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD) will be used for design projects under this solicitation. CADD format (Microstation (DGN) or AutoCAD (DWG) will be specified in the task order. The AE shall use the latest version (reference: https://cadbim.usace.army.mil/) of the A/E/C CAD Standard and the latest workspace and templates. The AE may be required to use the Dr Check's design review and checking system. The AE may be required to provide master planning services such as: facility master planning for various federal customers such as Army and Air Force, Public Works real property master planning, facility allowance analysis, MILCON DD Form 1391 development and other programming level analysis. Sustainable design shall be accomplished using an integrated design approach and emphasizing environmental stewardship; energy and water conservation and efficiency; use of recovered and recycled materials; waste reduction; reduction or elimination of toxic and harmful substances in facilities construction and operation; efficiency in resource and materials utilization; development of healthy, safe and productive work environments. Integration of current Antiterrorism and Force Protection (AT/FP) measures will be required on all military design projects. 3. SELECTION CRITERIA: The selection criteria for this particular project are listed below in descending order of importance. Criteria 'a' through 'd' are primary. Criteria 'e' and 'f' are secondary and will only be used as 'tie-breakers' among firms that are essentially technically equal. a. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence. Submittals shall demonstrate the specialized experience and technical competence to execute the types of projects and activities as indicated above in paragraph 2, PROJECT INFORMATION, and in the list of subitems (i) through (v) below. The subitems below are listed in descending order of importance. Only relatable experience that has occurred in the last five years should be included in the submittal. Project examples submitted should be of completed projects (i.e. design complete). All projects cited shall identify design start/complete dates as well as the project size (cost and scope). (SF 330, Part I, Section F) (i) Experience in design of new railroad track. Include a minimum of 4 projects. Experience designing railroad track and rail loading facilities on Army installations is preferred. (ii) Experience inspecting railroad track and preparing inspection reports and track maintenance plans. Experience with Army Track Maintenance Standards is preferred. (iii) Experience in design of roads, streets, parking areas. (iv) Experience in design, construction, and inspection of railroad and vehicular bridges. (v) Experience implementing the PAVER Pavement Management System. Experience performing PAVER implementations on Army and Air Force installations is preferred. b. Professional Qualifications. Firms shall demonstrate professional personnel qualifications and specialized experience for key disciplines. Evaluation of professional qualifications will consider education, training, relevant experience in design of military and federal facilities and longevity with the firm. Experience working on applicable Army and Air Force projects is desirable and should be identified. (SF 330, Part I, Sections E & G). Provide resumes for a minimum of two (2) project managers (team leaders). Project Managers should be a registered Professional Engineer and have at least five (5) years of experience in project management. Provide resumes for a minimum of two (2) railroad engineers. Railroad engineers should be a registered Professional Engineer and have at least five (5) years of experience in railroad design and evaluation. Experience designing railroad track projects on Army installations is desirable as is experience using the Army's RAILER computer program. Provide resumes for a minimum of two (2) railroad track inspectors. Railroad track inspectors should have at least five (5) years of experience inspecting railroad track. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and/or Army track inspector certification is desirable and should be noted. Provide resumes for a minimum of two (2) bridge structural engineers. Bridge structural engineers should be a registered Professional Engineer and have at least five (5) years of experience designing and evaluating bridges. Experience designing railroad and roadway bridges should be provided. Provide resume for a minimum of one (1) geotechnical engineer. Geotechnical engineer should be a registered Professional Engineer and have at least five (5) years of experience designing and evaluating pavements. Experience using PCASE and familiarity with UFC 3-250-01 is preferred. Provide resumes for a minimum of two (2) civil engineers or technicians. Engineers and technicians should have at least five (5) years of experience inspecting pavements and implementing the PAVER Pavement Management System. Experience performing PAVER implementations on Army and Air Force installations is preferred. Provide resume for a minimum of one (1) electrical/signal engineer. Electrical/signal engineer should be a registered Professional Engineer and have at least five (5) years of experience designing signalized grade crossings. Provide resumes for a minimum of two (2) traffic engineers. Traffic engineers should be certified as a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE) and have at least five (5) years of experience performing traffic studies. c. Capacity. Demonstrate capacity to perform CONUS and OCONUS. Demonstrate capacity to complete task orders within a reasonably aggressive schedule. Firms shall demonstrate the capacity to accomplish at least three (3) $500,000 simultaneous individual task orders, or two (2) $1,000,000 simultaneous task orders. The evaluation will consider the availability of an adequate number of personnel in key disciplines to complete the task orders and offeror's project execution strategy. The evaluation will consider the key persons identified in Sections D, E, and G of the SF330, as well as other available staff and information provided in Section H and Part II (SF 330, Part I, Section H, Item 1). A proposed Management Plan shall be presented that includes an organization chart (reference SF330, Part I, Section D) and addresses team organization (reference SF330, Part I, Section C), any anticipated sub-contractors or entities to supplement the design team, quality control procedures, cost control, coordination of in-house disciplines and consultants required to meet work capacity. The SF 330 shall clearly indicate the primary office where the work will be performed and the staffing at that office. (SF 330, Part I, Section H, Item 2). d. Past Performance. Past performance on DoD and other contracts with respect to the quality of work, cost control (maintaining the project construction cost below the programmed amount), and compliance with performance schedules, as determined by CPARS/ACASS and other sources. (Note: Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ) may be used to provide or supplement a firm's past performance with other than U.S. Governmental clients. Firms which choose to use the PPQ may obtain a PPQ standard form by submitting a request to the below referenced POC via email.) e. Volume of DOD Contract Awards. 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, including SB and SDB (SF 330, Part I, Section H, Item 3). f. SB/SDB Participation. Both Small and OTS Offerors will be evaluated on the extent of participation of small business community (SBC) members in the performance of the acquisition. Offerors are required to meet the minimum mandatory total small business participation suggested objective/target of 20% of total acquisition value to SBC members. Offerors proposing a higher objective/target than 20% will receive a more favorable evaluation. SBC members can propose work they will self-perform toward small business participation objectives. (SF 330, Part I, Section H, Item 4). 4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Interested firms having the capabilities to perform this work must submit three (3) copies of SF 330 Part I, and three (3) copies of SF 330 Part II for the prime firm and all consultants/subcontractors, to US Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, ATTN: Edward Jackson (CENWO-CT-M), 1616 Capitol Ave., Omaha, NE, 68102, not later than 2:00pm Central time on the response date indicated in this announcement. SUBMITTAL PACKAGES MUST ALSO INCLUDE A CD CONTAINING A COMPLETE COPY OF THE SUBMITTAL AS A SINGLE PDF FILE (where a 'complete copy of the submittal' is equal to an SF 330 Part I and Part II combined, where 'Part II' means a separate SF330 Part II that is complete for the prime firm and each consultant/subcontractor firm). Submittal must clearly identify the announcement number. Regulation requires that the Selection Board not consider any submittals received after the specified time and date. Late proposal rules in FAR 15.208 will be followed for submittals received after 2:00pm Central time on the closing date specified in this announcement. The SF 330, 3/2013 edition, must be used, and may be obtained from the following web site: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/download/116486. Include DUNS number and CAGE code in SF330 Part I, Section B, Block 5. Additionally, the DUNS number and CAGE code should be identified in SF 330 Part I, Section C, Block 9, for EACH TEAM MEMBER. The submittal shall have a page limit of 100 pages (total of 100 pages allowed for complete copy of the submittal, ALL-INCLUSIVE). The selection board will not evaluate beyond 100 pages. A page is one side of a sheet. Blank sheets/Tabs separating the sections within the SF 330 will not count against the maximum page count. All fonts shall be at least 10 pitch or larger. Pages shall be 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches. Organizational charts may be presented on a sheet up to 11 inches by 17 inches. If an 11 inch by 17 inch sheet is used it shall be neatly folded to 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches, bound in the SF 330 at the proper location, and counted as one page. A Part II is required for each branch office of the prime firm and any consultants/subcontractors that will have a key role in the proposed contract (i.e. a Part II is required for all entities identified in SF 330 Part I, Section C of the submittal). Cover letters, company literature and extraneous materials are not desired and will not be considered. Sections E and G of SF 330 Part I must include only individuals proposed to perform the anticipated work, including all consultants/subcontractors. In SF 330 Part I, Section G, Block 26, along with the name, include the firm with which the person is associated. A maximum of ten (10) projects including the prime and consultants/subcontractors will be reviewed for SF 330 Part I, Section F. If more than 10 projects are submitted, only the first 10 projects will be evaluated. Use no more than two (2) pages per project. When listing projects in SF 330 Part 1, Section F, an Indefinite Delivery Contract (IDC) with multiple Task Orders as examples is not considered a project. A task order executed under an IDC contract is a project. Past Performance evaluations (CPARS/ACASS, PPQ - reference Paragraph 3.d. above) shall be submitted for each project provided in SF 330, Part I, Section F. SF 330, Part I, Section H (Additional Information) shall contain the following information. (1) Item 1 - Capacity. Reference Paragraph 3.c. above. Provide a 1-2 page narrative discussing the capacity of the design firm to perform CONUS and OCONUS and to meet schedules, including adequacy of qualified personnel available and past experience in meeting tight design schedules. (2) Item 2 - Management Plan - Include the information requested in Paragraph 3.c. above. (3) Item 3 - Volume of DOD Contract Awards - Reference Paragraph 3.e. above. Provide a complete listing of all DOD A-E awards within the last 12 months. For IDCs, include total value of task orders actually issued by agencies in the last 12 months, not the potential value of the IDCs. For all types of contracts, do not include for consideration options that have not been exercised. (4) Item 4 - SB/SDB Participation - Reference paragraph 3.f. above - provide a) - f) below: a) Identify if you (Prime offeror) are a Small Business or Other-than-Small Business. b) If a Small Business, also identify which SBC categories, if any, you belong to (i.e. SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, VOSB, SDVOSB, HBCU/MIs). c) Provide overall percentage (%) of total acquisition value planned to be subcontracted to SBC members. d) Provide TOTAL planned subcontracted dollar amount ($), and its corresponding percentage (%) as a percent of total acquisition value, to ALL business types (both to SBC members and other-than-small businesses combined). e) Provide percentages (%) and corresponding dollar amounts ($) of that total dollar amount per item d) above that is planned to go separately to SBC members and other-than-small businesses. f) Use the informational goals by Small Business category provided in announcement Section 1 above as a reference to also provide percentage (%) of planned subcontracted dollars to each SBC category. Note that this is NOT the detailed subcontracting plan that would be required from a selected large business concern. NOTE for a) - f) above: SBC members submitting as Prime offerors may count the work it intends to self-perform toward small business participation objectives. Joint ventures shall submit the following additional documentation of the evidence of a joint venture entity: 1) Firms shall provide a copy of a legally binding joint venture agreement, and 2) Identification of the party who can legally bind the joint venture. Facsimile and email submissions will not be accepted. 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. ALL QUESTIONS SHALL BE SUBMITTED VIA THE BIDDER INQUIRY PORTAL in ProjNet at http://www.projnet.org/projnet. Questions should be submitted no later than 07 MAY 2015 at 2:00 p.m. Central Time to allow time for a response. On this date and time the portal will be closed. For questions, no other means of communication, e-mail, fax, or telephone will be accepted. To submit and review inquiry items, prospective vendors will need to use the Bidder Inquiry Key presented below and follow the instructions listed below. A prospective vendor who submits a comment/question will receive an acknowledgement of their comment/question via email, followed by an answer to the comment/question after it has been processed by our team. All timely questions and approved answers will be made available through ProjNet. To submit and review inquiries, firms will need to be current registered users of the ProjNet system. Registration for ProjNet Bidder Inquiry Access (If you are already registered, go to Entering Bidder Inquiries in ProjNet Bidder Inquiry System below.) 1. From the ProjNet home page link above, click on Quick Add on the upper right side of the screen. 2. Identify the Agency. This should be marked as USACE. 3. Key. Enter the Bidder Inquiry Key listed below. 4. Email. Enter the email address you would like to use for communication. 5. Click Continue. A page will then open saying that a user account was not found and will ask you to create one using the provided form. 6. Enter your First Name, Last Name, Company, City, State, Phone, Email, Secret Question, Secret Answer, and Time Zone. Make sure to remember your Secret Question and Answer as they will be used from this point on to access the ProjNet system. 7. Click Add User. Once this is completed you are now registered within ProjNet and are currently logged into the system. Entering Bidder Inquiries in ProjNet Bidder Inquiry System 1. For future access to ProjNet, you will not be emailed any type of password. You will utilize your Secret Question and Secret Answer to log in. 2. From the ProjNet home page link above, click on Quick Add on the upper right side of the screen. 3. Identify the Agency. This should be marked as USACE. 4. Key. Enter the Bidder Inquiry Key listed below. 5. Email. Enter the email address you used to register previously in ProjNet. 6. Click Continue. A page will then open asking you to enter the answer to your Secret Question. 7. Enter your Secret Answer and click Login. Once this is completed you are now logged into the system. 8. Follow online screen instructions to enter specific bidder inquiries for the project. The Solicitation Number is: W9128F-15-R-0003 The Bidder Inquiry Key is: EAHWII-3JEEKW Firms are requested to review the Bidder Inquiry Portal for previous questions and responses, prior to submission of a new inquiry in the Portal. Caution: Any inquiry submitted and answered within this system will be accessible to view by all interested firms on this solicitation. The call center for the ProjNet operates weekdays from 8 AM to 5 PM U.S. Central Time Zone. The telephone number is 1-800-428-HELP.