Indefinite Quantity A-E Contract

The USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), has a requirement for an Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC) for Architect-Engineering (A-E) Services to support major facility renovation projects, repair and maintenance, alteration and/or new construction projects for its research laboratory facilities (including greenhouse and biological safety laboratories) and area support facilities (including boiler plants, water treatment plants, administrative offices, etc.) in the Maryland and Washington, DCArea. Services under the proposed contract will include, but not be limited to, energy conservation, design, historical preservation, feasibility and conceptual studies, geotechnical investigations, radon testing, asbestos and other hazardous materials abatement, engineering design criteria development, Program of Requirements development, design analyses, designs, construction drawings, specifications, detailed costs estimates and analyses, bid phases services, construction management/administration/inspection, bid evaluations, shop drawings and submittals review and approval, construction monitoring, design review, technical consultation, field surveys (i.e., GPS coordination, centerline survey, property maps, etc.), engineering reports, computer aided drafting, web portal updates and development/preparation of Statement of work for various research facilities, and as-built design/construction documents in accordance with the latest version of AutoCAD. The following web sites may provide some insight on the location missions and size: USNA: http://www.usna.usda.gov; ARS: http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=12-00-00-00; and NAL: http://www.nal.usda.gov/. An IQC-type contract will be negotiated and awarded with a base period not to exceed one year from date of award and four (4), 12-month, option periods. Task orders will be issued for each individual project. The minimum guarantee is $500 for the base period and for each of the option years exercised. The annual contract ceiling will not exceed $600,000. The cumulative amount of all delivery orders over the life of the contract will not exceed $3,000,000. Firms qualified and interested in providing professional Architectural Engineering Design Services are hereby invited to submit Standard Form (SF) 330, Architect-Engineer and Related Services Questionnaire in one (1) original and three (3) copies with the appropriate data. Parts 1 and 2 must be completed and submitted for all contractors and subcontractor or consultants. No faxed, electronic, telegraphic, or telephonic submittals will be accepted. ARS will evaluate all offerors based on the evaluation criteria as described below. Based on the evaluation rankings, a list of at least 3 of the most highly qualified firms per FAR Subpart 36.602-(3)(c) will be established. These most highly qualify firms will be notified that they have been selected for discussions with the A-E evaluation board. The A-E firms who are selected to participate in the discussions will be given specific guidance and instructions at the appropriate time and will be given time to prepare their response regarding concepts relevant to the scope of work. Any information submitted and/or received during the discussion process may be used as justification for the final ranking of the firms recommended to the Selecting Official to make the final selection, in order of preference, to determine apparent successful offeror(s) prior to cost discussions. Final selection of the most highly qualified firm and negotiation of the A-E contract will be done in accordance with FAR 36.602-4 and 36-606. The following specific factors will form the basis for evaluation and determination of those highly qualified firms and selection of the best qualified. Your SF 330 form, Part I and Part II or an attachment, should specifically address the following areas. The evaluation factors are ranked as follows: (3) is most important; (1) and (2) are next and of equal importance; (4) is next; and lastly (5). (1) Professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required service. Key Personnel: (a) Architect(s); (b) Engineers: Energy; Structural; Mechanical; Civil; and Environmental; (c) Principal/Project Manager (Facility Manager); and (d) Cultural Resources Manager/Historic Architect. Each Key Personnel listed above shall have a minimum of 5 years of experience in office/lab facility designs. Experience in designs for Maryland and Washington, DC, for locations and Federal Government lab/office/greenhouse preferred. (2) Specialized experience and technical competence in the type of work required. (a) Describe energy conservation measures used by your firm. What energy conservation guidelines have you used?; (b) Describe your HVAC experience; (c) Construction management and administration including inspection, shop drawing/submittal review, technical advice, quality control, cost estimating, and commissioning; (d) Describe your construction management, administration, and inspection capabilities and experience; (e) Provide disciplines, capabilities and experience of proposed subcontractors; (f) Describe your quality control program for construction inspection. (3) Capacity of the firm to accomplish the work in the required time and to handle multiple delivery/task orders simultaneously. Staffing, skill sets, and team dynamics (prime percentage in-house to accomplish vs. percentage subcontracted, where expertise does not exist in-house), and how the work will be performed in the required time and how you intend to handle multiple delivery/task orders simultaneously. (a) How would our requirements fit into your present workload? How would our requirements fit into your subcontractor's workload? How will our priorities be accommodated into both schedules?; (b) If a member of the proposed project team becomes unavailable, how would your firm backfill this position?; and (c) what procedures will be utilized to ensure coordination and consistent work quality between you and your subcontractors and across disciplines? (4) Past performance on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of costs management, quality controls and assurance, critical path scheduling and modeling, performance metrics management. (a) Discuss two (2) projects completed by your company which are most similar to our requirements, relative to agricultural and/or research laboratory facilities, greenhouses, and bio-containment facilities. This should include the experience of the project manager, mechanical, electrical, architectural, lab planners/designers, other disciplines, your consultants and/or subcontractors; (b) Describe the procedures within your company to assure compliance with contract limitations on construction costs. Include how you apply local cost considerations and inflation to construction estimates. For instance, how have you handled the recent cost increases in construction relative to your estimates?; (c) What is your historical record for compliance with design/construction schedules, as well as compliance with budgets for design, construction, and change order budgets?; (d) Please discuss your past performance regarding quality of work and the satisfaction of your clients; (e) E. Describe the relationship between your company and your subcontractors to include coordination and control of subcontractors. Are all of the subcontractors familiar with Federal Government work? (5) Location in the geographical area of the project and knowledge of the locality of the project. Explain how you will effectively manage such a project, especially if your office in not in close proximity to our facility. Companies are advised of the limitations on subcontracting contained in FAR 52.219-14, where by the prime contractor must perform at least 50 percent of the cost of the work with their own employees. Pursuant to the negotiation process, ARS will issue cost related instructions to the short-listed firms and those firms will be given time to provide a cost submission. The Government will conduct negotiations with the selected firm as necessary. If ARS and the A-E firm are not able to reach an agreement, the Government reserves the right to terminate cost negotiations and to begin negotiations with the next most highly rated A-E firm. To be eligible for contract award, a firm must be registered in the (1) Central Contractor Registration (CCR) via the CCR Internet site at http://www.ccr.gov; (2) Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA). The web site for ORCA is http://orca.bpn.gov. Please note that while ORCA has you complete some of the SF-330 online, our office is requiring that hard copies be submitted for this requirement; and (3) Firms must also have a current Veterans Compliance Report on file at http://www.vets100.com/Vets100Search.htm. This is a 100 percent 8 (a) Total Small Business Set-Aside. North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code is 541310, which has a size standard of $4.5 million in average annual receipts for the previous 3 years. This is not a request for proposals. The SF330 version (6/2004) must be used, and may be obtained from the Government Printing Office or from the following website: http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/formslibrary.do?formType=SF Include DUNS number in SF330 Part I, Section B, Block #5. Prospective Offerors may submit written questions in response to this synopsis no later than June 3, 2008, 3:30 p.m. (eastern time). Questions must be sent to Darleen Masten, Contracting Officer, via e-mail at darleen.masten@ars.usda.gov. SUBJECT line must read: Questions for Architect-Engineer BARC-IQC. The closing date for receipt of the SF-330s shall be 3:00 p.m. (local time) on June 13, 2008. Please send four copies (1 original plus 3 copies). Please label your information as BARC A-E IQC Project and submit your information to: Contracting Officer Darleen Masten, USDA, ARS, AFM, FD, Facilities Contracts Branch; 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, MS-5124; RM. 4-1252B; Beltsville, Maryland 20705-5124. Personal visits for the purpose of discussing this requirement are strongly discouraged and will NOT be scheduled. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. Fax submissions will not be accepted.