Investigation Support for Mechanical Properties of Concrete Under Sustained Loading

Amendment 0001: The purpose of this amendment is to revise the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and the evaluation factors based on an update in NIST needs. Copies of the the revised PWS and solicitation (with evaluation factors) are attached to this amendment and use traceked changes. The evaluation factors below are updated to reflect the revised document. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged. Questions remain due on December 16, 2024 at Noon and Quotations remain due on December 20, 2024 at Noon. _____________________________ FAR 13 Request for Quotations Champlain Towers South Investigation Support: Mechanical Properties of Concrete Under Sustained Loading RFQ No. NIST-RFQ-25-7300162 This is a Combined Synopsis / Solicitation for Commercial Items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6 - Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation of Commercial Items - as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. The solicitation is issued using simplified acquisition procedures under the authority of FAR Part 13. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT (i.e. STANDARD FORM) WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2025-01 dated November 12, 2024. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541330 - Engineering Services. The small business size standard is $25.5 Million. This is an unrestricted solicitation. Both large and small businesses are eligible to respond. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS Background On June 24th, 2021, the Champlain Towers South Condominium suffered a partial collapse. NIST sent a preliminary reconnaissance team to collect information and data related to the collapse. Based on the recommendations of the preliminary reconnaissance team and evaluation of the criteria listed in the regulations implementing the Act, specifically in 15 CFR - 270.102, on June 30, 2021, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce, established a Team to study the collapse of the Champlain Towers South Condominium in Surfside, FL. The Team may include members who are Federal employees and members who are not Federal employees. The Federal conflict of interest laws governs team members who are Federal employees. Team members who are not Federal employees will be Federal government contractors. The National Construction Safety Team (NCST) investigation into the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South requires subject matter expertise and testing of concrete materials to assist the Materials Science Project with conducting tests on concrete materials to assess the strength of the material under long-term sustained loads. Objectives The objective of this scope of work is to conduct mechanical property tests on concrete cylinders provided by NIST, create new concrete cylinders from two concrete mixtures, and conduct additional mechanical property tests on the newly created cylinders. Scope of Work & Specific Tasks Please see the attached Performance Work Statement details. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The base period of performance shall be twelve months from date of award. The requirement also contains to Options for Increased Quantity. If exercised, the options may extend the period of performance. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE The Place of Performance shall be at the Contractor's work site/place of business. CONTRACT TYPE & PAYMENT TERMS A firm fixed price purchase order is anticipated. Payment will be made on a NET30 basis using milestone payments following inspection and acceptance of individual deliverables. APPLICABLE PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES Please see the attached document for applicable provisions and clauses. QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD CAR 1352.215-73 INQUIRIES (APR 2010): Quoters must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing electronically to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. Questions must be received by or before December 16, 2024 at 12:00 PM Noon ET. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract. (End of Provision). DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS All quotations must be submitted via email to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. Submission must be received not later than December 20, 2024 at 12:00 PM ET. Note: Quoters must have an active registration at www.SAM.gov at time of quote submission to be considered for award. Quoters must remain actively registered at time of any potential award in order to receive an award. INSTRUCTIONS TO QUOTERS (Addendum to FAR 52.212-1) The Quoter's quotation shall be submitted electronically via email and shall consist of two volumes as detailed below. Each quotation volume shall include the Quoter's name, UEI number, and point of contact information in a cover page, header/footer, or other easily identified location. The Contracting Officer intends to award a purchase order without discussions but reserves the right to enter into discussions if in the best interest of the Government. Volume 1: Technical Response This volume shall contain the Quoter's technical response. The technical response (not including table of contents, figures, schematics, key personnel resumes, certificates, cut sheets, or past performance information) shall not exceed ten (10) single-spaced, single-sided pages. Text shall be no less than 12-point font in read-only Microsoft Word or searchable Adobe PDF format. The technical response shall include the name, title, phone number, and email address of the Quoter's primary point of contact and the individual authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Quoter (if negotiations are determined to be necessary). The technical response shall include: A narrative of the Quoter's relevant technical capabilities and the proposed approach to executing the Performance Work Statements. If subcontractors will be used, the Quoter shall provide the names of the companies or organizations and their expected roles. Relevant Florida Department of Transportation laboratory certifications The resume(s) of the proposed key personnel which demonstrate qualifications and expertise, including years of experience in each role and professional certifications. Quoters shall clearly identify the individual(s) being proposed as key personnel and the positions for which they are proposed. Quoters shall clearly map their proposed candidate(s) to each of the required key personnel position title(s) detailed in the - Key Personnel Requirements section of the SOW. Corporate experience information to include information on up to three (3) purchase orders or contracts in which the Quoter performed work similar to the scope of this requirement. Corporate experience information provided shall be for work completed or substantially completed within the past five (5) years. Corporate experience shall include the following information: Name of the Organization Supported Contract Number Period of Performance Dollar Value of the Contract Narrative describing the services performed. The narrative should make clear similarities to the scope of work outlined in this solicitation. Completed provision responses, from the provisions attached to this solicitation. Provisions requiring response are highlighted in yellow. A list of assumptions and/or exceptions made in preparing the quotation. Volume 2: Price Quotation This volume shall contain the Quoter's price quotation in Microsoft Excel format. All figures must be rounded to the nearest hundredth. Price Quotation: Price quotations shall be submitted on a firm fixed price basis in accordance with the contract line item numbering structure provided in this solicitation. Quotations shall be valid for 60 days after solicitation close. To assist the Government in evaluating firm fixed price quotations, the Quoter shall provide a breakdown of the proposed labor per task identified in the Statement of Work. The proposed labor breakdown shall include proposed labor categories and estimated hours per labor category. Quoters shall also include a proposed fixed price payment schedule based on requirement milestones/deliverables in relation to the deliverables table in the SOW. CONTRACT LINE ITEM STRUCTURE: Please see the CLIN structure in the attached Combined Synopsis Solicitation MS Word attachment. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD (Addendum to FAR 52.212-2) The Government intends to award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible contractor whose quotation conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous and represents the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. Best value shall be determined using the trade-off evaluation method. Therefore, the Government may award to other than the lowest priced quote or the highest technically rated quoter. The Government intends to evaluate quotations and issue a purchase order based on the initial quotations received. Therefore, the quoter's initial quotation should contain the quoter's best terms from a price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to request revised quotations from, or negotiate final purchase order terms with one or more, but not all, quoters if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all quotations if the quotation fails to comply with the requirements of this solicitation. The factors identified below will be used to evaluate quotations. Factor A (Technical Factor): Technical Approach Factor B (Technical Factor): Key Personnel Factor C (Technical Factor): Corporate Experience Factor D (Non-Technical Factor): Price Technical / non-price factors are listed in descending order of importance. Technical / non-price factors, when combined, are more important than price. However, price will become more important as the degree of equality among technical non-price evaluations increases. A. Technical Approach The Government will evaluate the quoter's technical approach and capabilities for performing each task in the SOW. The technical volume will be evaluated for the quoter's overall understanding of and capability to complete the Government requirements, as well as the expected effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach. Technical approach evaluation will include consideration of proposed methods to work with Miami Limestone (lime rock). B. Key Personnel The Government will evaluate the extent to which the resume(s) submitted for the quoter's proposed key personnel demonstrate that the proposed individual(s) meet the minimum qualifications detailed in the SOW. Greater experience working with the Florida Department of Transportation and with Miami Limestone (lime rock) will be evaluated positively. C. Corporate Experience The Quoter's corporate experience will be evaluated to determine the extent to which the quoter has corporate experience relevant to the work described in the SOW. Relevancy will be considered similarity to the current requirement in scope of work, period of performance, and total dollar value. The government will consider corporate experience on efforts completed or substantially completed within the past five (5) years. The government prefers corporate experience which includes conducting cement and concrete testing for the Florida Department of Transportation. E. Price Quoted pricing will be evaluated but not scored. Price evaluation will determine whether the quoted price is complete, fair, and reasonable in relation to the RFQ requirements.