Geotechnical A-E IDIQ

1. CONTRACT INFORMATION: One Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for geotechnical engineering and related services is being procured in accordance with the Brooks A-E Act as implemented in FAR Subpart 36.6. North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code is 541330; size standard = $16.5 M of gross annual revenues per year over the last 3 fiscal years. The top firm will be selected for negotiation based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the required work. Work will primarily be performed within the boundaries of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New England District (ME, MA, NH, CT, VT, and RI), but could also include other states and districts covered by the USACE North Atlantic Division's (NAD) mission areas (NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, WV, and the District of Columbia). The contract will be negotiated and awarded with a five-year ordering period. The amount of the contract will not exceed $4,000,000. Work will be issued by negotiated firm-fixed-price task orders. Award of the contract to the selected firm is anticipated in January 2021. The minimum guarantee amount over the life of the contract is $20,000. If selected for negotiation, a large business must comply with FAR 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan. The selected firm must respond to a Request for Proposal and submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan that will contain small business goals for all of the Small Business Programs (Small Business, Women-Owned, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Small Disadvantage Business and HUBZone). The small business percentages are based off the total value of the IDIQ. The Subcontracting Plan must be reasonable, attainable and challenging. 2. PROJECT INFORMATION: The work includes, but is not limited to, geotechnical engineering, coastal engineering, and related services pertaining to: site investigations and characterization; site assessments reports requiring geotechnical engineering and coastal engineering data collection tasks; inspection and instrumentation reports; technical reviews; and studies and designs for the remediation and construction of related projects including: flood risk management structures such as dams, levees and channels (including but not limited to large embankments, floodwalls, channels, cutoff walls, drainage systems, and relief wells); dewatering systems; foundations for buildings and other structures; shoreline and river protection projects; and urban/habitat restorations. While the above provides a broad scope of potential services, currently the contract is anticipated to be used primarily for inspections of completed works, subsurface investigations and analysis, laboratory testing, and geotechnical engineering evaluations. Architectural-Engineering Services that may be required under this contract may include: land and marine geological and geophysical investigations including borehole logging; subsurface investigations and sampling (including but not limited to sonic and rotary wash drilling methods); geotechnical instrumentation installation; assessment and manipulation of instrumentation data stored and accessed via databases and web portals; in-situ testing; soil and rock laboratory characterizations; material properties and index testing; seepage, slope stability and seismic analyses; groundwater/seepage analysis; earth dam analysis; finite element modeling; data management; preparation of subsurface cross-sections; detailed assessment and/or risk assessments/potential failure modes of dams or levees; developing foundation design/construction parameters; coastal and shoreline evaluations; coastal modeling; engineering consultation services; and development of design documents for related projects as listed previously. Design services may include development of construction plans and specifications construction cost estimates, design and construction schedules, design analyses, and engineering calculations; related services such as topographic surveying, aerial and other types of surveying, development and use of GIS systems to support design development; and construction phase services to include shop drawing review, as-built drawing preparation, preparation of O&M manuals, and engineering consultation services. Products shall be produced to Corps of Engineers guidelines and specific formats set forth under the base contract and/or by individual task order. The firms shall be required to: provide design and engineering drawings in Autodesk CADD software (latest version); use Corps computer-based specification software for the development of Specifications (SPECSINTACT); use the latest version of MII (cost engineering software as provided by the Government and licensed to the firm) for the development of construction cost estimates; and utilize ProjNet (DrChecks) (https://wwwprojnet.org) for comment resolution of design review submittals. Geotechnical analyses shall be performed using the GeoStudio suit of programs and borehole logging performed using gINT and Rockworks. 3. SELECTION CRITERIA: The selection criteria are listed below in descending order of importance (first by major criteria and then by each sub-criteria). Criteria a-f are primary factors. Criteria g-i are secondary factors and will only be used as - tie-breakers among firms that are essentially technically equal. (a) Specialized Experience and Technical Competence. Firms should demonstrate specialized experience and technical competence in: 1. Inspection of Completed Works such as dams, levees, channels, floodwalls, breakwaters, hurricane barriers, and pump stations. 2. Designing, performing and inspecting subsurface geotechnical field investigation and laboratory testing programs. 3. Evaluation and analysis of flood control structures using conventional 2-dimensional software program for soil/structure interaction. 4. Design and construction oversight for the geotechnical elements of flood control structures. 5. Inspection of Federally-funded infrastructure projects such as those listed above in item #1. 6. Geophysical investigations and interpretation including subsurface borehole geophysics. Information contained in the SF 330 Part I, Section F will be the primary basis for evaluation against this criteria. Projects in which the firm's work was completed in the last six years will be given more consideration. Experience working on projects for USACE will be looked upon favorably when evaluating these criteria. (b) Professional Qualifications. Identification, qualifications (professional registration/licensure/certification and education) and experience of architecture and engineering personnel to accomplish the work specified above. (1) The firm must have on staff (or provide through a consultant[s]) personnel licensed as registered professional engineers and professional geologists (as applicable) in the six New England District states (ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, and RI) as specified below. Should any task orders be issued for work in other portions of NAD's mission areas (NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, WV, and the District of Columbia), the firm will need to demonstrate applicable professional registration in those locations within the task order proposal. Should any survey work need to be accomplished under this contract, the firm must demonstrate in the task order proposal that its proposed survey team member is registered in the state or district where the work is to be performed. (2) Resumes demonstrating experience and associated qualifications are required for the following key personnel. The evaluation will consider education, training, registration, certifications, longevity with the firm, and relevant experience of specified personnel performing the role for which they are proposed to be used on the contract. Key Personnel: - Project Manager*; - Geotechnical Engineer (minimum 2 resumes)** - Geologist* - Structural Engineer*; - Mechanical Engineer*; - Electrical Engineer*; - Civil/Site Engineer*; - Coastal Engineer* - Hydrology & Hydraulics Engineer* * Professional registration in one of the six New England States is required. Project Manager shall be registered as a professional engineer or professional geologist. ** Firms and their team shall demonstrate professional registration as geotechnical engineer in all six New England States. (c) Knowledge of the Locality. The firm must demonstrate knowledge of local soils, geology, and the coast of the New England states and the extent of their capabilities to support projects located throughout New England. The basis of the evaluation will be the information in Sections F, E, and H of the SF 330. (d) Work Management and Teaming. A proposed management plan shall be presented in Part I, Section H of the SF 330 that references the organization chart provided in Part I, Section D of the SF 330. The plan shall briefly address the firm's management and philosophical approach for executing the work to be performed under this contract and its approach for ensuring the quality of work performed by the firm and their subcontractors. The plan shall include information on quality control procedures, coordination of in-house disciplines and consultants, and relevant experience working with each of the subcontractors on similar projects. Section C, Section F, and Section G will also be used to evaluate this criterion. (e) Past Performance. The firm must possess a good record of past performance on contracts with respect to cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules as determined by information pulled from the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). The Government will retrieve and evaluate the CPARS reports, if available, for the first five projects provided in Section F of the SF330, as these projects should be the most relevant project examples provided. (NOTE: A CPARS report will not be available if the contractor has not yet completed its portion of the CPARS.) If a CPARS report is not available, the firm shall complete Part I of the Past Performance Questionnaire, send it to the customers for these three projects to complete Part II of the Past Performance Questionnaire, request that it be returned to the firm, and submit it with the SF330 submission. No sealed envelope is required. A blank Past Performance Questionnaire can be found attached to this synopsis/solicitation. The contractor should provide the full contract number and task order number (if applicable) for any Federal contract listed in Section F of the SF330. The evaluation board may seek information on past performance from other sources, but is not required to seek other information on the past performance of a firm, if none is available from CPARS or if no Past Performance Questionnaire is provided. If little to no relevant past performance data (CPARS reports, Past Performance Questionnaires or information in Section H) is available for the three most relevant projects, the contractor may be given a neutral evaluation regarding past performance. (f) Capacity to Accomplish the Work. The firm must demonstrate the capacity to execute the full value of the contract over the ordering period - accomplishing multiple task orders concurrently while maintaining quality and schedule. A firm shall be evaluated on the available capacity of key personnel from the prime firm and its team. (g) Geographic Proximity. Location of the firm's office(s) as well as those of their team in the general geographical area of the six New England states will be considered. (h) Small Business (SB) and Small Disadvantage Business (SDB) Participation. The firm shall identify its small business team members and indicate its commitments to utilizing small businesses on its team. The small business program includes utilization of SBs and SDBs to include Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), HUBZone Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB). Extent of small business participation will be measured as a percentage of the total anticipated contract effort as determined by the Government, regardless of whether the small business concern is a prime contractor, sub-contractor, or joint venture partner; the greater the participation the greater the consideration. (i) Volume of DoD A-E Contract Awards. Firms shall indicate in Section H of the SF330 the volume of DoD A-E contracts awarded to the prime or Joint Venture in the last 12 months. The information will be verified and updated during the interviews with the most highly qualified firms. The equitable distribution of DoD A-E contracts among firms, including SB and SDB, will be considered. 4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Interested firms able to perform this work must submit Parts I and II of the SF 330 for the prime firm (or joint venture). Part II of the SF 330 must also be submitted for each consultant and if a joint venture, for the joint venture entity. Please note that a separate Part II is required for each branch office of the prime firm and any subcontractors that will have a key role in the proposed contract. If a joint venture is being utilized, a copy of the joint venture agreement is to be included in Part II. Submissions must be made electronically to: Guesley Leger, Contract Specialist, not later than 2 pm EDT on August 10, 2020. Facsimile transmissions will not be accepted. Include the firm's DUNS number on the SF 330, Part 1, Block B. On the SF 330, Part 1, Block C, provide the DUNS number for each consultant. On the SF 330, Part I, Block F, example projects shall be listed in order of relevance to the type of work anticipated to be performed under this contract. Note that multiple projects performed under an IDIQ contract cannot be submitted as a single example project. In the SF 330, Part I, Block F, Box 24, provide the following information for each project: month/year the firm's work started and completed; total contract value of the contract and the value of the work performed by the firm and any team subcontractors to be used on this contract; and customer point-of-contact who can be reached for references (phone number and email address). For designs projects, indicate the construction cost of the project. If a sample project is a federal procurement, include the applicable contract number. In the SF 330, Part I, Section H, provide the firm's proposed Work Management approach for this contract including its approach for ensuring the quality of work performed by its subcontractors - see also SELECTION CRITERIA, item (c). In the SF 330, Part I, Section H, the A-E firm may also provide supplemental information to address all aspects for which Specialized Experience and Technical Competence is being sought as well as documentation to support past performance selection criteria such as copies of applicable certificates and/or awards. The Offeror's response shall be submitted electronically. Files shall not contain classified data. The use of hyperlinks in responses is prohibited. THE ONLY AUTHORIZED TRANSMISSION METHOD FOR SUBMISSIONS IN RESPONSE TO THIS SYNOPSIS SOLICITATION IS THROUGH E-MAIL TO contact@example.gov. Please also provide a courtesy copy e-mail to contact@example.gov. NO OTHER TRANSMISSION METHODS (FILE TRANSFER, FACSIMILE, REGULAR MAIL, HAND CARRIED, ETC.) WILL BE ACCEPTED. RECEIPT OF SUBMISSIONS: For the purposes of establishing whether a submission is considered late, the government considers (the earlier of) the date and time of receipt of the email to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer. The government will not be responsible for submissions delivered to any location or to anyone other than those designated to receive responses on its behalf. Offerors are responsible for ensuring that responses are submitted so as to reach the designated recipient. Offerors are responsible for allowing sufficient time for the response to be received in accordance with the instructions provided. The SF 330, Part I, shall have a page limit of 50 pages. A page is one side of an 8 x 11 sheet of paper. 11 x 17 (single side) pages may be used to provide graphical information or images that do not fit well on an 8 x 11 sheet but this counts as two pages. Front and back cover and section dividers do not count toward the page limit. Font size shall not be less than 10 font and the margins for pages that supplement the SF 330 forms shall not be less than one inch with the exception that - inch margins are allowed when using the Standard Form 330. Pages in excess of the page limit will not be evaluated. The New England District does not retain SF 330 Part IIs on file. All contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be considered for award. Information regarding registration can be obtained online at www.sam.gov or by telephone at +1 (555) 000-0000. Effective immediately, the use of DUNS+4 numbers to identify vendors is limited to identifying different SAM records for the same vendor at the same physical location. For any general or administrative questions, contact the contract specialist, Guesley Leger, at +1 (555) 000-0000 or via email at contact@example.gov. Solicitation packages are not provided. This is not a request for proposal. Personal visits for the purpose of discussing this announcement prior to the closing date of this announcement will not be entertained or scheduled. However, questions may be directed to the point of contact for this announcement.