C1DA--632-24-112 Complete Sprinklers Buildings 63,64,65 at Northport VA Medical Center

SYNOPSIS THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PAY NOR REIMBURSE ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH RESPONDING TO THIS REQUEST. THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a qualified Architect-Engineering (AE) firm to provide Schematics, Design Development, Construction Documents, Technical Specifications, Construction Period Services, Site Visits, Cost Estimates, As-Built Documentation, and all other related information for Project 632-24-112, Complete Sprinklers Buildings 63,64,65 at Northport VA Medical Center, 79 Middleville Road, Northport, NY 11768. This requirement is being procured in accordance with the Brooks Act as implemented in FAR Subpart 36.6. Applicable NAICS code is 541330 and small business size standard of $25.5 Million. Magnitude of Construction is between $250,000 and $500,000. This is a 100% Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set Aside. The anticipated award date of the proposed Architectural and Engineering Contract is on or before October 30, 2024. Potential contractors must be registered in SAM (www.sam.gov) and visible/certified in VetCert (https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/) at time of submission of their qualifications in order to be considered for an award. As a prospective offeror or bidder for this Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) set aside, you are verifying your company meets the status requirements of a SDVOSB concern as established by VAAR 852.219-10. NOTE - Offerors are referred to 852.219-11 (d)(1) Services. In the case of a contract for services (except construction), it will not pay more than 50% of the amount paid by the government to it to firms that are not VIP-listed SDVOSBs. In order to assure compliance with this clause, all firms submitting a SF330 for this Sources Sought Notice are required to indicate what percentage of the cost of contract performance will be expended by the concerns employees and in which discipline(s) and percentage of cost of contract performance to be expended (and in what disciplines) by any other subcontracted or otherwise used small or large business entity(s). Any subcontracted or otherwise business entity(s) used must be identified by name, office location and size/type of business (i.e. SDVOSB, VOSB, 8(a), large, etc). The scope of this project is to review the existing fire protection system (sprinkler, standpipe, and fire alarm) that had been previously designed and built, however the installation had not been completed. Due to the length of time that project has remained in its current unfinished state, the A/E will need to perform a complete review of the drawings and a detailed survey of the existing system to identify the accuracy of installation as compared to the existing drawings, as well as for code compliance. The A/E shall submit a design narrative to describe the accuracy of the existing drawings (to be provided by the VA), a description of the work that will be performed by the A/E, including the design modifications needed for system functionality and code compliance, including proposed dates of submissions. The A/E shall submit completed signed and sealed design drawings (accurately depicting the system in its current state) of the standpipe/sprinkler (wet & dry) systems with the incorporated changes (as needed) including the design modifications needed for system functionality and code compliance. The drawings shall include integration of all applicable electrical components (i.e. tamper/flow switches, etc) into the existing fire alarm system. Upon completion of the design, the construction work will be performed through a solicited contract, outside of this solicitation. The A/E shall provide Construction Administration support during the construction period & upon finalization of construction, the A/E shall submit accurate signed and sealed drawings of the as-built standpipe and sprinkler systems with the incorporated changes (as needed) to conform to the latest codes and integration of all applicable electrical components into the existing fire alarm system. Additionally, A/E shall include a construction cost estimate. The A/E drawings shall include sprinkler/standpipe plans & riser diagram(s), electrical/ fire alarm plan(s) and one-line diagrams. All sensing devices that are applicable to the sprinkler and standpipe systems (i.e. tamper switch, flow switch, etc) shall be shown on the drawings. The drawings must include location of; fire hose valves, sprinkler floor control valves (SFCV), risers, spare sprinkler cabinet, main fire alarm panel, Fire department connections and all required components as stated in the VA TIL. The final drawings shall include but not limited to; Hydraulic calculations, pipe size and label (i.e, SP, FPS, etc) and all associated components labeled/ identified, hose travel, code adoption information, equipment/material schedules, details and notes. The A/E shall perform a hydrostatic flow test (valid for one year) with assistance from the VA Fire Department to include the system flow and pressure in the hydraulic calculation(s). A/E shall submit hydraulic calculation report and the A/E drawings shall include hydraulic calculation information (area of calc., node numbers, etc) that show a fully functioning system design that meets all requirements. The final signed and sealed drawings shall be from a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of New York. The drawings are to be delivered in phases as listed below. Each milestone/submission will be reviewed by the VA Engineers and a VA contracted third party A/E Firm. The delivery method for each submission shall be one (1) set of paper drawings per trade, at half-size scale, and licensed AutoCAD 2020 drawings (bonded with no external references). The A/E shall review and respond to the collective comments within 14 calendar business days. The period of performance is 196 calendar days. Milestones Description Percent of Completion AE Time Allotment (calendar days) VA Time Allotment (calendar days) 1 Design Narrative 15 56 14 2 35% CD 25 28 14 3 65% CD 25 28 14 4 100% CD 25 28 14 5 CA Service during construction 10 TBD TBD The Project shall comply with the latest VA-adopted codes and standards including, but not limited to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), VA Directives, VA Design Manuals, VA Master Specifications, VA Design Criteria and other documents found on the Technical Information Library website (https://www.cfm.va.gov/til). I. SCHEMATICS. General Scope. The Architect-Engineer (A/E) shall review the program materials furnished by VA to ascertain the requirements of this phase of work, perform a detailed site survey and subsurface investigation, soil borings (as required) and shall prepare Schematic Documents for review and approval of VA as further described in the A/E Submission Instructions, which details the minimum requirements for various A/E submissions. Services under this phase shall include, but not be limited to the following: (1) Site Design; (2) Fire standpipe, sprinkler and fire alarm plans, elevations, preliminary selection of building systems and materials; (3) Project Specifications; (4) construction Phasing Plans (5) Design Narrative, Hydrant flow info, Required Calculations and any other support information; (6) Cost Estimating and other work as necessary and outlined in A/E Submission Instructions. II. DESIGN DEVELOPMENT DOCUMENTS. General Scope. The A/E shall review the program materials furnished by VA and all prior submissions to ascertain the requirements of this phase of the work and shall prepare Design Development Documents illustrating the scale and relationship of project components for review and approval of VA as further described in A/E Submission Instructions. Services under this phase shall include, but not be limited to the following: (1) Site Design; (2) Fire standpipe, sprinkler and fire alarm plans, sections, elevations, preliminary selection of building systems and materials; (3) Project Specifications; (4) construction Phasing Plans; (5) Design Narrative, Reports, Required Calculations and any other support information; (6) Cost Estimating and other work as necessary and outlined in A/E Submission Instructions. III. CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS. General Scope. Based upon the approved Schematics and Design Development Documents, other program materials furnished by VA, and any further adjustments in the design scope or quality of the Project, the A/E shall ascertain the requirements of this phase of the work and shall prepare, for approval by VA, Construction Documents and Final signed and sealed documents (by NYS PE). Services under this phase shall include (1) Site Design; (2) Fire standpipe, sprinkler and fire alarm plans, sections, elevations, preliminary selection of building systems and materials; (3) Project Specifications; (4) construction Phasing Plans; (5) Design Narrative, Reports, Required Calculations and any other support information including hydraulic calculations; (6) Cost Estimating and other work as necessary and outlined in A/E Submission Instructions. IV. SITE SURVEYS, SUBSURFACE AND OTHER INVESTIGATIONS. The A/E shall obtain the services of subcontractors as necessary to conduct any architectural surveys, hydrostatic flow testing survey, subsurface utility survey and other such investigations as required for the proper design of the Project. The reports from these investigations shall be included in the Design Narratives along with a technical report summarizing the deficiency findings proposed recommendations. All the above is included in the scope of work. V. PROJECT INDUSTRIAL HYGIENIST. (Not used.) VI. BID ALTERNATES (Not used.) VII. SERVICES DURING BIDDING PERIOD. The A/E shall attend authorized conferences, including Pre-Bid Walk-thru and Pre-Construction Conference, as requested by the Contracting Officer or the COR. The A/E shall at a minimum provide representatives of the following professional registered disciplines for each conference: Professional Engineer (Fire Protection), Architect, Electrical Engineer. VIII. SERVICES DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PERIOD. The A/E shall act in an advisory and consultant capacity to the Contracting Officer. The A/E, when requested, shall assist the Contracting Officer and the Resident Engineer to interpret the construction documents and shall: (1) recommend any action(s) he deems suitable for the satisfactory prosecution of the construction work; (2) prepare any supplemental drawings, specifications or other documents that may be required to clarify or supplement the construction documents; and (3) assess the preparation of Construction Contract Modifications initiated by or through VA to be executed in accordance with the Construction Documents. The A/E shall review all Government initiated and/or the Construction Contractor's cost proposals for construction modifications when requested by the COR/Resident Engineer. The A/E's reply regarding his/her review of cost proposals and recommendations shall include an independent breakdown of costs in detail with quantities and unit prices and shall cover both additions and deductions of labor, materials and equipment. The A/E shall review the Construction Contractor's shop drawings, product cut sheet submittals, schedules, manufacturer s product literature and samples, testing laboratory reports, field test data and review the materials for compliance with the construction documents (drawings and specifications). The A/E shall recommend approval, disapproval, or recommend to revise and resubmit based on comments provided in the review. The AE shall perform the review and return the submittal to the COR in a timely manner (10 business days). The A/E shall notify the Resident Engineer in writing of any deviations from the requirements of the construction documents that he has found in the Construction Contractor's submittals. The A/E shall visit the construction site when requested to do so by the COR. The A/E shall perform periodic inspections when requested by the COR, advising the COR/Resident Engineer of any deviations or deficiencies in a Field Report to be submitted in a timely fashion following the visit. The AE shall respond to RFI s submitted by the contractor in a timely manner. The AE shall submit As-Builts at the completion of the project which will be based on red-line drawings received from the contractor as well as a site survey at the completion of work. The A/E shall provide registered architects and professional engineers who are familiar with the project design work to act as advisers to the VA team conducting intermediate inspections, partial final and/or final inspection(s) and Punch List inspections of the Project. IX. POST-CONSTRUCTION SERVICES. For a period of one (1) year after final payment, the A/E shall be obligated to furnish advisory or consulting services which are normal to such a professional contract and necessary to assure the proper functioning of elements of the A/E design. The Construction Contractor shall furnish to the A/E a marked-up set of prints showing all changes made during the construction period. The A/E shall incorporate into the drawings all significant changes marked-up by the Construction Contractor and, any significant changes made by solicitation amendments and construction contract modifications. The A/E shall prepare record drawings (As-Builts) by making changes on the original contract drawings. Submission shall be subject to the approval of the Contracting Officer as to quality and completeness. X. CONTRACT SECURITY. This contract does not involve VA sensitive information and contractor personnel do not require access to VA systems. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of VA. This contract does not involve VA sensitive information/data. XI. INFORMATION SECURITY PRIVACY. Information made available to the Contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the Contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the Contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1). The term security incident means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The Contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COTR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the Contractor/subcontractor has access. The C&A requirements do not apply, and a Security Accreditation Package is not required. VA Privacy Training for Personnel without Access to VA Computer Systems or Direct Access to or the Use of VA Sensitive Information: The Department of Veterans Affairs, VA must comply with all applicable privacy and confidentiality statutes and regulations. One of the requirements in VA is to have all personnel trained annually on privacy requirements. Privacy represents what must be protected by VA in the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information whether the medium is electronic, paper or verbal. This document satisfies the basic privacy training requirement for a contractor, volunteer, or other personnel only if the individual does not use VA sensitive information or protected health information (PHI) in any form such as electronic or paper or have access to any VA computer system. The COTR/ Project Manager is responsible to obtain this training from the contractor and to maintain according to the Records Control Schedule (RCS 10-1). XII. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Records Management 1. Contractor shall comply with all applicable records management laws and regulations, as well as National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) records policies, including but not limited to the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. chs. 21, 29, 31, 33), NARA regulations at 36 CFR Chapter XII Subchapter B, and those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a). These policies include the preservation of all records, regardless of form or characteristics, mode of transmission, or state of completion. 2. In accordance with 36 CFR 1222.32, all data created for Government use and delivered to, or falling under the legal control of, the Government are Federal records subject to the provisions of 44 U.S.C. chapters 21, 29, 31, and 33, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), as amended, and the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended and must be managed and scheduled for disposition only as permitted by statute or regulation. 3. In accordance with 36 CFR 1222.32, Contractor shall maintain all records created for Government use or created in the course of performing the contract and/or delivered to, or under the legal control of the Government and must be managed in accordance with Federal law. Electronic records and associated metadata must be accompanied by sufficient technical documentation to permit understanding and use of the records and data. 4. The Department of Veterans Affairs Northport Medical Center and its contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Records may not be removed from the legal custody of The Department of Veterans Affairs Northport Medical Center or destroyed except for in accordance with the provisions of the agency records schedules and with the written concurrence of the Head of the Contracting Activity. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701. In the event of any unlawful or accidental removal, defacing, alteration, or destruction of records, Contractor must report to [FACILITY]. The agency must report promptly to NARA in accordance with 36 CFR 1230. 5. The Contractor shall immediately notify the appropriate Contracting Officer upon discovery of any inadvertent or unauthorized disclosures of information, data, documentary materials, records or equipment. Disclosure of non-public information is limited to authorized personnel with a need-to-know as described in the [contract vehicle]. The Contractor shall ensure that the appropriate personnel, administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are established to ensure the security and confidentiality of this information, data, documentary material, records and/or equipment is properly protected. The Contractor shall not remove material from Government facilities or systems, or facilities or systems operated or maintained on the Government s behalf, without the express written permission of the Head of the Contracting Activity. When information, data, documentary material, records and/or equipment is no longer required, it shall be returned to The Department of Veterans Affairs Northport Medical Center control or the Contractor must hold it until otherwise directed. Items returned to the Government shall be hand carried, mailed, emailed, or securely electronically transmitted to the Contracting Officer or address prescribed in the [contract vehicle]. Destruction of records is EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED unless in accordance with Paragraph (4). 6. The Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under, or relating to, contracts. The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and The Department of Veterans Affairs Northport Medical Center guidance for protecting sensitive, proprietary information, classified, and controlled unclassified information. 7. The Contractor shall only use Government IT equipment for purposes specifically tied to or authorized by the contract and in accordance with The Department of Veterans Affairs Northport Medical Center policy. 8. The Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any non-public The Department of Veterans Affairs Northport Medical Center information that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract. 9. The Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected from public disclosure by an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act. 10. The Department of Veterans Affairs Northport Medical Center owns the rights to all data and records produced as part of this contract. All deliverables under the contract are the property of the U.S. Government for which The Department of Veterans Affairs Northport Medical Center shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest. Any Contractor rights in the data or deliverables must be identified as required by FAR 52.227-11 through FAR 52.227-20. 11. Training. All Contractor employees assigned to this contract who create, work with, or otherwise handle records are required to take VHA-provided records management training. The Contractor is responsible for confirming training has been completed according to agency policies, including initial training and any annual or refresher training. XIII. Construction management platform contract language: A. Construction contractors and A/E design firms, selected by award to perform work at VISN 2 VA facilities, are required to utilize VISN 2 Autodesk Build Construction management platform, also called Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC). Access to the platform and training portal will be provided by VISN 2 through project Contracting Officer Representative (COR) at no cost for the duration of the project. Autodesk Build is the management and collaborative environment that VISN 2 uses for all its Non-Recurring Maintenance (NRM), Minor Program projects, Feasibility Studies, Commissioning and Retro-Commissioning contracts. There is no user, license, or subscription fee to the contractor for using this cloud-based platform. B. Contractor shall accomplish and complete the following tasks upon award of contract: 1. Request access to ACC platform and ProductivityNOW eLearning Site to project VA COR NLT 14 days from contract award. 2. Only staff that shall utilize the platform to be granted access. Examples: Project manager, sub-contractors POC, Site manager, Safety officer, etc. 3. The access request shall be in writing and include a list of staff. The list shall include the following information: Full Name Company Name Email Address Role/Position on the project (i.e., Project manager, site super) 4. Upon granting access, staff shall complete required ACC training through ProductivityNOW platform within 12 Calendar days. 5. Upon successful completion of training, contractor shall submit certificates of completion to COR NLT two business days. C. Access to ProductivityNOW eLearning will expire after 12 Calendar days after online access is granted. Contractor shall complete ACC training within that period. D. Additional Staff and Subcontractors can be added at any time with a request submission to the project COR as described above. E. The contractor shall only use the ACC platform for contract required submissions, official project correspondence to be acknowledged, reviewed, and actioned by the responsible party. No additional time shall be added to the contract, nor an increase in contract amount be provided for the contractor s failure to utilize the ACC platform as the project s official communication and collaboration system. Any correspondence out of platform shall not be the governing authority contradicting direction and will be at the contractor s expense. Official project correspondence and collaboration includes but not limited to: RFIs, submittals, schedules, shutdown requests, actionable tasks, reports, testing, safety inspections, photos, and site surveys. F. Contractor must inform the COR of any staff changes NLT 2 business days from the change. Staff changes pertains to staff who was granted access to the ACC platform. Contractor shall request termination of access, replacement of personnel and/or any other action that might impact the contractor ability to maintain required utilization of the platform. G. Contractor submission requirements cannot be accepted for work to begin without meeting all ACC Platform requirements outlined herein, including completing required ACC platform training. SELECTION CRITERIA DESCRIPTIONS The selection criteria descriptions are provided below. (1) PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS NECESSARY FOR SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE OF REQUIRED SERVICES. Provide brief resumes of proposed team members who will specifically serve as the Project Managers and Designers of Record. The Designers of Record shall perform and direct the design within their respective discipline and shall sign and seal the drawings. All Designers of Record must be professionally registered in their discipline. Each resume shall include a minimum of two (2) specific completed projects that best illustrate the individual team members experience relevant to this contract scope. (2) SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND TECHNICAL COMPETENCE Specialized experience and technical competence required for this specific project, including, where appropriate, experience in energy conservation, pollution prevention, waste reduction, and the use of recovered materials. (3) CAPACITY This factor evaluates the ability of the firm, given their current projected workload and the availability of their key personnel, to accomplish the possible myriad of design projects in the required time. The general workload and staffing capacity of the design office will be evaluated. i. List current projects with a design fee of greater than $20,000 being designed in the firms office. ii. Indicate the firms present workload and the availability of the project team (including sub-consultants) for the specified contract performance period. iii. Describe experience in successfully delivering projects per performance schedule, providing timely construction support, and successfully completing multiple projects with similar delivery dates. (4) PAST PERFORMANCE: VISN2 will evaluate past performance on recent and relevant contracts with government agencies (emphasis on VA work) and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, compliance with performance schedules and a record of significant claims against the firm due to improper or incomplete engineering services (references required). i. Recent is defined as performance occurring within 5 years of the date of this Sources Sought, except that ongoing projects must have begun no less than one (1) year prior to the issuance of this Sources Sought. ii. Relevancy is defined as performance of work on projects that are similar in scope to the types of projects anticipated under the resultant contracts. iii. Respondents with no previous past performance shall state this when addressing the selection criteria. Where there is no record of past performance, the proposal will be evaluated neither favorably nor unfavorably. Superior performance ratings on relevant projects may be considered more favorably in the evaluation. Submission Requirements: i. Submit a minimal of three (3) references; any of the following evaluations are acceptable: a. Contractor Performance Assessment Report System (CPARS), or b. Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) evaluation for each project submitted under Criterion 2. ii. If a completed CPARS evaluation is available, it shall be submitted with the completed SF330 package. If there is not a completed CPARS evaluation, the PPQ included with this notice is provided for the Offeror or its team members to submit for each project included in criterion (2). If a PPQ is submitted, but an official CPARS evaluation is found for that project in government databases, the official evaluation will take precedence. If a CPARS evaluation is not available, ensure correct phone numbers and email addresses are provided for each contract customer/reference. Completed PPQs should be submitted with your SF330. If the A-E is unable to obtain a completed PPQ from a contract customer/reference for a project before the response date set forth in this notice, the A-E should complete and submit with their response the first page of the PPQ (Attachment #1), including contract and point of contact information for the respective projects. iii. A-Es should follow-up with references to ensure timely submittal of questionnaires. At the reference s request, questionnaires may be submitted directly to the Governments point of contact, Yingjie Yeung via email at contact@example.gov, prior to the response date. A-Es shall not incorporate by references into their response CPARS or PPQ evaluations previously submitted in response to other A-E services procurements. However, this does not preclude the Government from utilizing previously submitted PPQ information in the past performance evaluation. Submitted CPARS and PPQ evaluations shall be attached to the SF330, behind the SF330 Part II document. (5) LOCATION i. The A/E Firm proximity to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Northport VA Medical Center, 79 Middleville Rd, Northport, NY 11768 is an evaluation criterion. ii. This distance is determined according to http://maps.google.com/. iii. This factor evaluates the 350-mile distance the AE firm's design office or offices lies from the location of work. Please provide the address (es) and distance of your closest office to the address listed below. (6) The extent to which potential contractors identify and commit to the use of service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses, Veteran-owned small businesses, and other types of small businesses as subcontractors. (7) Experience in construction period services to include professional field inspections during the construction period, review of construction submittals, support in answering requests for information during the construction period, and support of construction contract changes to include drafting statements of work, and cost estimates shall be included as an evaluation criterion when construction period services is included in the statement of work for A-E services. PLEASE NOTE: The AE Evaluation Board must be provided with complete and accurate information for ALL seven (7) evaluation factors above in order to rank as qualified and eligible firms. Therefore, the AE firm must expand upon, as it deems necessary, on any evaluation factor not well demonstrated or addressed with Part 1A to Part IG and Part II of the SF330. The AE firm shall use Part IH and/or use additional sheets to supplement/address all evaluation factors to clearly demonstrate its qualifications. LIMITATIONS 852.219-11 VA NOTICE OF VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE (NOV 2020) (DEVIATION) (a) Definition. For the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran-owned small business or VOSB: (1) Means a small bus...