Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

AMENDMENT 0002: The purpose of this solicitation is as follows: 1. Anonymized Contractor questions and Government responses are provided in the attached “Amend 002 Concrete Durability Q&A” document. 2... AMENDMENT 0002: The purpose of this solicitation is as follows: 1. Anonymized Contractor questions and Government responses are provided in the attached “Amend 002 Concrete Durability Q&A” document. 2. A revised Statement of Work is provided which incorporates the information in the question and answer document. Changes are tracked. This revised Statement of Work, titled “Amend 002 SOW Corrosion and Durability QandA,” supersedes the original Statement of Work. 3. The solicitation response deadline is changed from January 24, 2023 at 11:00 AM ET to January 31, 2023 at 11:00 AM ET. 4. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged. ___________________ AMENDMENT 0001: The purpose of this amendment is to extend the solicitation response deadline to January 24, 2023 at 11:00 AM to provide NIST with additional time to review and prepare responses to questions received about the solicitation. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged. Another amendment with questions and answers will be posted as soon as possible. ___________________ BASE SOLCITATION: 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 13.5. 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 2022-08 dated October 28, 2022. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541690 – Other Scientific and Consulting Services. The small business size standard is $16.5 Million. This is a total small business set-aside solicitation. Only small businesses are eligible to respond. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS Background On June 24th, 2021, the Champlain Tower 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. Team members who are Federal employees are governed by the Federal conflict of interest laws. Team members who are not Federal employees will be Federal government contractors. Objectives The objective of this requirement is to obtain expert consulting services related to reinforced concrete corrosion as well as contractor services to 1) conduct corrosion potential and corrosion rate measurements on 30 reinforced concrete specimens, 2) measure the transport properties of 100 concrete cores extracted from specimens, 3) conduct accelerated corrosion testing on reinforced concrete slabs, 4) communicate the results to the Structural Testing Contractor and to the Bureau of Reclamation (under an Inter-Agency Agreement with NIST), and 5) conduct service life prediction modeling of specimens. The Contractor shall provide technical input to the NCST investigation into the collapse of Champlain Towers South regarding corrosion of steel in reinforced concrete, concrete durability, concrete transport property measurements, simulations of reinforced concrete durability, estimates of service life, and shall conduct an accelerated corrosion test on reinforced concrete slab specimens. Scope of Work & Specific Tasks Please see the attached Statement of Work (SOW) for details. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The period of performance shall be one (1) year from date of award. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE The primary place of performance is expected to be the Contractor’s facility. However, travel to and from Surfside, FL, and Miami, FL is required. NDT and evaluation of concrete elements shall occur in the PEF located in Miami, FL. Travel to meet with the NIST Structural Contractor and the BOR is also required, per the Travel section above. Travel is also anticipated for meetings in or around the NIST Gaithersburg, MD campus, Washington, DC, and Surfside, FL. Normal duty hours at NIST are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, with the exception of Federal holidays or other official closures. 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 lauren.roller@nist.gov. Questions must be received by or before January 5, 2023 at 11:00 AM 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 Lauren.Roller@nist.gov. Submission must be received not later than January 31, 2023 at 11:00 AM ET. Note: Quoters must have an active registration at www.SAM.gov at time of quote submission to be considered for 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. 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 fifteen (15) single-spaced, single-sided pages or thirty (30) double-spaced, single sided pages. Text shall be no less than 12-point Arial or otherwise reasonably legible 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 technical approach to executing requirements. If subcontractors will be used, the Quoter shall provide the names of the companies or organizations and their expected roles. The following items should be included in the technical approach narrative: Description of the proposed safety plan, including industry standards that would be followed and any applicable safety certificates. Proposed methods to obtain corrosion potential information as well as a data management and storage plan. Proposed methods for corrosion acceleration and the proposed method to mix, cast, and cure concrete for mock up specimens. Proposed methods to transport materials including applicable industrial standards A summary of laboratory facilities and equipment to be used, including copies of calibration certificates for instruments to be used to collect data when available A description of the service life modeling method proposed (Stadium or NT Build 492 testing) and associated rationale as well as documentation of appropriate accreditation and equipment for the proposed method. The resume of the proposed key personnel which demonstrates qualifications and expertise. Past performance information to include information on at least three (3) purchase orders or contracts in which the Quoter performed work similar to the scope of this requirement. Past performance information provided shall be for work completed or substantially completed within the past five (5) years. Past performance shall include the following information: Name of the Organization Supported Organization Point of Contact with Current Phone Number and Email Address 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. A narrative of the Quoter’s management approach for the requirement. The management approach shall outline responsibilities of key individuals, consultants or sub-contractors, communications plans, project administration and reporting, operational procedures, interactions between the tasks and subtasks outlined in the Statement of Work, and procedures to monitor and assure progress to meet the project schedule. Completed provision responses, from the provisions attached to this solicitation. Provisions requiring response are highlighted in yellow. Volume 2: Price Quotation This volume shall contain the Quoter’s price quotation in read-only Microsoft Excel format, or in searchable PDF format. All figures must be rounded to the nearest hundredth. Price quotations shall be submitted on a firm fixed price basis in accordance with the contract line item numbering structure identified 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 and materials costs 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 Statement of Work. Quoters may propose alternate payment schedules. CONTRACT LINE ITEM STRUCTURE: Please see the required CLIN structure in the attached PDF version of this solicitation document. 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): Past Performance Factor D (Technical Factor): Management Approach Factor E (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 for performing each task in the Statement of Work. The Government will evaluate the proposed technical approach’s modeling procedures; assumptions for materials, connections, and supports; and data presentation for analysis. The technical approach proposed will be evaluated for overall understanding of Government requirements, realism, and expected effectiveness. Included in the evaluation will be the quoter’s understanding of the relevant safety concerns and plans to mitigate safety risks, evaluation of the technical approach and applicability of the methods proposed to perform each task identified in the statement of work, proposed methods of managing, storing, and maintaining data and materials, verification of calibration certificates for equipment proposed to be used to address requirements, and verification of the quoter’s active STADIUM software access or the necessary accreditation and equipment necessary to conduct NT Build 492 tests. NIST prefers use of STADIUM software. B. Key Personnel The Government will evaluate the extent to which the resume submitted for the quoter’s proposed key personnel demonstrates that the proposed individual meets or exceeds the minimum qualifications detailed in the Statement of Work, and has the appropriate education, qualifications, and experience to efficiently and effectively address requirements in accordance with the Statement of Work. C. Past Performance The Quoter’s past performance will be evaluated to determine the extent to which the quoter has past performance relevant to the work described in the Statement of Work. Relevancy shall be considered similarity to the current requirement in scope of work, period of performance, and total dollar value. The government will consider past performance on efforts completed or substantially completed within the past five (5) years. The Government prefers past performance that includes evaluation of the service life and durability of a recently constructed mid-rise reinforced concrete building, evaluation of a mid-rise reinforced concrete building built in the 1980s, conducting accelerated corrosion tests on reinforced concrete specimens, and assessing the severity of corroded steel embedded in concrete elements. References may be contacted and the Government may consider past performance information from other sources, such as the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). D. Management Approach Quotes shall be evaluated based on the expected effectiveness of the proposed project management plan which outlines responsibilities of key individuals, consultants or sub-contractors, project administration and reporting, operational procedures, interactions between the tasks and subtasks outlined in the Statement of Work, and procedures to monitor and assure progress to meet project schedule for the three tasks. The Government will evaluate the approach for realism and expected effectiveness as well as for productive communications, schedule adherence, and successful performance of tasks. 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.