Fire Life Safety Construction Services

1.0 Background The United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), is conducting market research to identify small business concerns which possess the capabilities to provide Fire Life Safety Construction services. This Sources Sought Notice does not constitute a solicitation and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. The Government will not pay for any effort expended in responding to this Sources Sought Notice. 2.0 Description The Volpe Center is seeking to identify small business sources for constructing, upgrading, and sustaining Fire Life Safety systems in Airport Traffic Control Towers (ATCT) on a national level. The Volpe Center is seeking contractor support to continue providing the Federal Aviation Administration with construction management and construction services. This consists of providing the necessary personnel and materials to implement multiple Fire Life Safety system upgrades (minimum of two (2) simultaneously) and comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards for ATCTs, base buildings, and similar air traffic control facilities. Work requirements will typically involve providing various data submittals for detailed shop drawings, work plans, health and safety plans, quality assurance plans, data sheets, training, and testing plans, etc., specific to construction upgrades. Construction upgrades will typically involve installing hardware systems/components/equipment for listed Class A fire detection and alarm systems, repairs to penetrations with listed fire stopping systems, fireproofing of unprotected steel beams, installing new fire dampers and stair pressurization systems, sprinkler system/fire pump repairs and upgrades, installation of fire and smoke dampers, fire rated doors/walls/ceiling assemblies, updating of portable fire extinguishers and egress signage, and other small miscellaneous upgrades, including new system training. Contractors are required to meet specific qualifications and experience with respect to fire alarm, fire stopping, fire proofing, sprinkler, and electrical work, as follows: - A licensed General Contractor (GC) with a minimum of five (5) years verifiable experience as a GC for similar U.S. Federal, State, or Local Government projects having a minimum value range of $100,000 to $500,000. For those GCs residing in states not requiring a GC license, possess at least five (5) years verifiable experience as a GC for similar U.S. Federal, State, or Local Government projects having a minimum value range of $100,000 to $500,000 - Sprinkler installations supervised by a National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) Level III or NICET Level IV Sprinkler System Engineering Technician, and at least five (5) years of experience in sprinkler system upgrades/additions - Fire Alarm installations supervised by NICET Level III or NICET Level IV, and at a minimum NICET Level II technician workers, and at least five (5) years of installation experience for type of manufacturer systems - Licensed electricians, and at least five (5) years of experience installing fire alarm wiring - Fireproofing factory-trained, manufacturer-certified, and at least three (3) years of experience applying fireproofing - Fire stopping factory-trained, manufacturer-certified, and at least three (3) years of experience installing fire stopping material Potential contractors will also be required to work in controlled-access ATCTs that are active and will require background checks. Work schedules may require some or all night work to install or upgrade systems and limit disturbance to Air Traffic operations and personnel. 3.0 Submission Instructions All interested parties shall submit a Statement of Capabilities of sufficient detail to allow the Government to assess the capabilities described above. Interested parties shall identify their socio-economic small business status (Small Business, 8(a) Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Woman-Owned Small Business, and HUBZone Business). As a result of recent changes to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 19, small business concerns must ensure that their status certifications are up to date. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this Sources Sought is 236220, with a small business size standard of $33.5 million. At a minimum, the capabilities information shall include a statement verifying capability and willingness to support national work coverage, staffing capabilities (both as Prime Contractors and subcontractors), ability to perform simultaneous project work, ability to perform as a Site Supervisor (GC) on-site at all times as the Prime Contractor, ability to provide the necessary teams of trades and qualifications listed above, and the ability to perform at least 15 percent of the cost of the contract, not including the cost of materials, with its own employees. Project experience shall include: Contract number; Customer (Government agency or private industry); Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) name, telephone number, and e-mail address; contract value and type of contract; period of performance; and description of supplies and services. Information provided should be sufficiently detailed in the area(s) described above so the Government can assess the ability of the company to provide the described services. No resumes should be provided. Statements of Capabilities should be no more than ten (10) one-sided pages, 8.5" x 11" paper size, text font must be no smaller than 11 point; text must be double-spaced. All capable business concerns who are interested shall submit responses. Each response must reference the Sources Sought title. Statements of Capabilities must be submitted via e-mail to the Government no later than Thursday, April 25, 2013, at 3:00 PM, Eastern Time. Telephone requests will not be honored. Responses received after the deadline may not be reviewed. All responses must be submitted to Elizabeth A. Segal via e-mail at Elizabeth.Segal@dot.gov. Electronic attachments to the e-mail must be submitted in either Microsoft Word or PDF format. 4.0 Information Availability THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. This notice is for information and planning purposes only, and is a market research tool to determine the availability and adequacy of potential business sources prior to determining the method of acquisition and possible issuance of a Request for Proposal, including the use of any small business program. The notice does not constitute a solicitation for bids, quotations, and proposals, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. The information provided herein is subject to change and in no way binds the Government to solicit for or award a competitive contract. The Government is not obligated to and will not pay for any information received from potential sources as a result of response to this Sources Sought Notice. The Government will not pay for any materials provided in response to this Sources Sought Notice and submittals will not be returned to the sender. Submissions must be disclosable to the public or the submitter should provide a summary statement that can be disclosed to the public with fuller supporting information that is clearly marked as restricted. The Government will use customary means to safeguard proprietary information, but only when such information is (1) clearly marked as proprietary; (2) is, in fact, information that could not have been obtained from another party or source; and (3) is otherwise deserving of such treatment under standards and processes described in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Executive Order 12600.