Material Testing Service

***This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This is a Request for Proposal (RFP) for commercial items in accordance with the procedures of FAR Part 12 Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. This RFP incorporates all provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2005-72, effective January 30, 2014 and Transportation Acquisition Regulation (TAR), effective June 26, 2012. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is seeking Full and Open Competition under NAICS code 541690, Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services. Size Standard is 15millions of dollars. The solicitation number is DTFR5314Q00007. This solicitation is issued request for quotation (RFQ) only. 1. General Overview: he Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) was created by the Department of Transportation (DOT) Act of 1966. It is one of ten agencies within the DOT concerned with intermodal transportation. FRA's mission is to enable the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of people and goods for a strong America, now and in the future. Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Hazardous Materials Division administers a safety program that oversees the movement of hazardous materials (including dangerous goods), such as petroleum, chemical, and nuclear products, throughout the Nation's rail transportation system, including shipments transported to and from international organizations. The Division also has authority to oversee the movement of a package marked to indicate compliance with a Federal or international hazardous materials standard, even if such a package does not contain a hazardous material. FRA continues to drive improvements in the design, manufacture, maintenance and qualification of railroad vehicles used to transport hazardous materials. To this end, it is incumbent on the industry and FRA to perform a comprehensive analysis of the factors surrounding the event, including the design/manufacturing/maintenance/qualification actions, the operating environment, the contribution of human factors, and their level of compliance with current regulations, specifications and industry practices. Details on FRA's Hazard Materials' mission, role, and responsibilities are available at http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0444 . This notice will be posted on FBO from Wednesday July 23, 2014 to Wednesday August 6, 2014 at 10AM EST. The requested cutoff date and time for questions is Wednesday July 30, 2014, 2014 at 10AM EST. Additional information regarding this requirement will be detailed in the attached Statement of Work (SOW). - 1. Minimum Specifications: In order to be eligible for award, offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), www.sam.gov , with completed Representations & Certifications (Reps & Certs). Offerors not registered in SAM with completed Reps & Certs will not be eligible for award. Interested offerors must state all the supplies/ services that are included in the proposed pricing. - 2. Period of Performance (PoP): The anticipated period of performance is: Base Period: August 11, 2014 through August 10, 2015 Option Period 1: August 11, 2015 through August 10, 2016 Option Period 2: August 11, 2016 through August 10, 2017 Option Period 3: August 11, 2017 through August 10, 2018 Option Period 4: August 11, 2018 through August 10, 2019 - 3. Place of Performance Work will take place at the Contractor's business location and such off-site locations (to include any of the 50 states within the USA) as needed to accomplish work objectives and meet FRA's stated goal of improved tank car safety unless directed by FRA to perform at other locations. The contractor will not be provided with a workspace, phone, and workstation computer for on-site personnel at FRA facilities during the contract's period of performance. All contractor work will be performed off-site, at contractor's facilities, unless additional onsite support is needed to complete a deliverable, and is approved by the COR to be done on-site. The estimated percentage of time for off-site work (telework) is 100%. - 4. Evaluation Detail: FACTOR 1- Technical Approach for adhering to the education requirement or 5 year + experience in Metallurgical Engineering / Chemistry/ Mechanical Engineering FACTOR 2- Technical Approach adhering to relevant experience producing technical writings/ reports FACTOR 3- Technical Approach adhering to experience in mechanical testing FACTOR 4- Technical Approach adhering to experience in chemical testing FACTOR 5- Technical Approach adhering to experience in nondestructive testing FACTOR 6- Cost/Price Order of Importance: Factors 1 -5 are all equal in weight. Factors 1--5 combined are more important than Factor 6. - 5. Award Details: A Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract will be awarded to the responsive offeror whose proposal is best aligns to this solicitation, thereby being the most advantageous and best value to the Government in terms of price and other non-priced factors considered. The Government may select for award the offeror whose price is not necessarily the lowest, but whose technical proposal is more advantageous to the Government and warrants the additional cost. The Government will award to the offeror whose proposal offers the best value in terms of Technical Approach for factors 1-5 and Price utilizing the Trade-off process. - 6. Questions - The requested cutoff date and time for questions is Wednesday July 30, 2014, at 10AM EST. Offerors are requested to email questions to Summer Griddine at summer.griddine@dot.gov . Questions may not be submitted via telephone. Responses to all questions will be posted electronically to all Offerors via the FBO website. - 7. Submission Deadline: Offerors shall submit their proposals before the due date and time for this solicitation. The due date and time for proposals is Wednesday August 6, 2014 at 10AM EST. - 8. Submission Requirements: The Offeror shall submit all proposal information in electronic format only via FBO and the Contract Specialist email address (listed in the contact information) no later than the proposal submission date provided under section 8. Failure to submit the electronic copy by the date and time specified in section 8 shall render the offeror as "late" and therefore not eligible for consideration for award. The Government shall receive 2 types of proposals (Technical and Price) - I. Technical Proposals - should include responses to the Technical Factors (Technical Approach for adhering to the education requirement or 5 year + experience, experience producing technical writings/ reports, experience in mechanical/ chemistry and non-destructive testing) shall be presented in one (1) electronic version (soft copy) and must be submitted via FBO and the Contract Specialist email ( - II. listed in the contact information). No price information shall be included in the Technical proposal. - III. Price Proposals - shall be submitted in one (1) electronic version (soft copy). Additionally, 1 electronic version (soft copy) must be submitted via FBO and the Contract Specialist email (listed in the contact information). Cover Sheet - A cover sheet shall be included with each proposal, clearly marked as to the RFP identification, date of submittal, acknowledgement of all amendments, the Offeror's name, address, Taxpayer ID number, CAGE code, DUNS, GSA Contract Number (if applicable), the Offeror's POC name, phone, and email. The cover sheet shall also include a list of all subcontractors and team members. The cover sheet does not count toward the page limitation. Submission Summary - Below is a summary of the page limitations required for each proposal: TECHNICAL Factor Page Limit Factor 1-Technical Approach adhering to the education requirement or 5 year + experience in Metallurgical Engineering / Chemistry/ Mechanical Engineering 6 pages Factor 2-Technical Approach adhering to relevant experience producing technical writings/ reports 6 pages Factor 3-Technical Approach adhering to experience in mechanical testing 6 pages Factor 4- Technical Approach adhering to experience in chemical testing 6 pages Factor 5- Technical Approach adhering to experience in nondestructive testing 6 pages TOTAL (NTE) 30 pages PRICE Factor 7-Price Unlimited Table of Contents and Table of Figures do not count towards the total technical proposal page count. The ceiling price in the order is $50,000.00/ year. If this order exceeds the ceiling price then the contractor is at its own risk.