Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

Amendment 003: The purpose of this amendment is to provide a question and answer as follows: Question: Would non-galvanized mild steel cages with galvanized top collars be acceptable? The top collars ... Amendment 003: The purpose of this amendment is to provide a question and answer as follows: Question: Would non-galvanized mild steel cages with galvanized top collars be acceptable? The top collars are stamped parts and are hard to get in mild steel. Answer: Yes, this is acceptable. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged. ____________________ Amendment 002: The purpose of this solicitation amendment is as follows: 1. The solicitation is reopened to revise requirements. 2. The Statement of Work is revised, with tracked changes, to clarify requirements. Specifically, cages must be non-galvanized mild steel. 3. The quotation deadline is revised to Monday, June 24, 2024 at 11:00 AM ET. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged. ___________________________ Amendment 001: The purpose of this solicitation amendment is as follows: 1. Anonymized Questions and Answers are provided, as attached. 2. The Statement of Work is revised, with tracked changes, to reflect answers to questions. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged. The quotation deadline remains Friday, June 7, 2024 at 11:00 AM ET. _____________________________ 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 2024-04 dated May 1, 2024. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 238290 – Other Building Equipment Contractors. The small business size standard is $22 Million. This request for quotation is issued on a total small business set-aside basis. Only small businesses under the identified small business size standard are eligible for competition. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS Background The National Fire Research Lab (NFRL) is a unique experimental facility dedicated to understanding fire behavior and structural response to fire. The NFRL, located in Gaithersburg Maryland, operates an environmental control system (ECS) that treats smoke and combustion products during fire testing. The (ECS) was provided by Amerex Industries, Inc. in 1998 (trains one and two) and is vital to the mission and operations of the NFRL. An additional ECS was brought online in 2015 (trains three and four) to double the exhaust flow capacity. The system must be run during every fire experiment. The combustion products that are created during a fire test travel through duct work to be treated by one to four scrubbing “trains”. Each train consists of a natural gas preheater, lime slurry dry scrubber, 1020 filter bags, exhaust fan, fan motor and a flue gas exhaust stack. Maintenance and the installation of new parts is required for the efficient operation of the system. Objectives The NFRL requires contractor labor and materials to change out all the filter bags in the bag house of trains one and two, service the pulse jet system, clean the work area, and inspect the bag house structure and systems for deficiencies. Scope of Work & Specific Tasks Please see the attached Statement of Work and other relevant documents for details. The attached documents are summarized in the list below: 1. Combined Synopsis Solicitation 2. Statement of Work 3. Attachment 1: Applicable Provisions and Clauses 4. Attachment 2: DN-52 Form Template 5. Attachment 3: NIST-1260 Form Template PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The contract period of performance shall be 6 months from the date of award. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE The place of performance shall be the NIST campus located at 100 Bureau Drive, Building 205, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. CONTRACT TYPE & PAYMENT TERMS A firm fixed price purchase order is anticipated. Payment shall be made on a NET 30 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. SITE VISITS Site visits will be conducted by NIST personnel to allow potential Quoters to view the space where work shall take place and to obtain a better understanding of the work required. Site visits will include an escorted view of the NIST’s environmental control system’s bag house on trains one and two and the work site at building 205. While not required in order to submit an offer, potential Quoters are strongly encouraged to schedule and participate in a site visit. In no event shall failure to attend a site visit or to inspect the site constitute grounds for a claim after contract award. Site visits are available on Thursday May 16 and will be scheduled between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM at NIST discretion. Tuesday May 21 will be considered a rain date in case of inclement weather on the day of Thursday May 16. Site visits will be scheduled on the hour and will last approximately 45 minutes. One site visit may be held per requesting contractor, one contractor at a time. A maximum of two contractor participants may attend each site visit. It is estimated that up to six NIST employees will also be present for each visit. Contractors must be physically present to participate in the site visit and may not participate via teleconference. Note that NIST may not be able to accommodate specific date and time requests for site visits. Site Visit Details To participate in a site visit, potential Quoters must request a visit via email to the Contracting Specialist, Ms. Lauren Roller, at lauren.roller@nist.gov. Requests must be received not later than Wednesday May 15 at 11:00 AM ET. Potential Quoters must provide the following information with their requests: Full name of each attendee (maximum of 2 attendees per request). The name must match the individual’s photo identification (driver’s license, passport, etc.) which will be presented at the NIST Security Office before the site visit. Company Name (If subcontractor) Prime Company Name Contact Information for each attendee, including email address and phone number NIST will respond to timely requests with confirmation of assigned site visit date and time information as well as site access guidance. NIST may not be able to accommodate all time and date preferences. Questions will be allowed during the site visits. However, note that any questions asked during the site visits will be recorded, anonymized, and answered in the Question and Answer amendment associated with this solicitation. Photographs are not allowable at the site visits. Potential Quoters are cautioned that all terms and conditions of the solicitation remain unchanged unless they are changed by written amendment to the solicitation. It is the responsibility of each Quoter, prior to submitting a quotation, to seek clarification of any perceived ambiguity in the solicitation or created by an amendment of the solicitation. 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 Thursday May 23, 2024 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 Monday June 24, 2024 at 11:00 AM ET. Note: Quoters must have an active registration at www.SAM.gov at time of offer 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, System for Award Management Unique Entity Identifier (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 or past performance information) shall not exceed ten (10) single-spaced, single sided pages or twenty (20) double-spaced, single sided pages. Text shall be no less than 12-point font in read-only Microsoft Word or searchable Adobe PDF format. 10-point font is acceptable for graphics. 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: Confirmation of ability to obtain and/or manufacture Amerex Part No. 101P-C4X2W8Z4DDHH Filter Bags or equivalent in accordance with the Statement of Work. Demonstration of ability shall include confirmation that the proposed bags meet each of the equivalency specifications identified in the Statement of Work. Confirmation of ability to obtain and/or manufacture Amerex Part No. 101P-A8l1K1T Cages or equivalent. Demonstration of ability shall include confirmation that the proposed cages meet each of the equivalency specifications identified in the Statement of Work. A narrative of the Quoter’s technical and management approach to executing the installation of filter bags, cages, and producing a leak free job. The narrative shall include discussion of proposed labor, equipment, and resources to be used to perform the tasks successfully and on time from start to finish. The narrative shall also include discussion of the Quoter’s approach to health and safety, and to completing badging forms timely. If subcontractors will be used, the Quoter shall provide the names of the subcontractors and their expected roles. 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 ten (10) 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. 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 materials costs and labor costs. Quoters shall also include a proposed fixed price payment schedule based on requirement milestones/deliverables. Quoters may propose any fixed price payment schedule based on milestones/deliverables. However, a sample schedule is as follows: MILESTONE 1: Successful Completion of Badging MILESTONE 2: NIST Acceptance of Revised Safety Plan MILESTONE 3: Completion of Materials Delivery MILESTONE 4: Successful Completion of Requirement, including clean up CONTRACT LINE ITEM STRUCTURE: Responsible Quoters shall provide pricing for the following line item: LINE ITEM 001: Environmental Control System Filter Changes and Maintenance in accordance with the attached Statement of Work EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD (Addendum to FAR 52.212-2) The Government intends to award a firm fixed price purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Quoter whose Quotation, conforming to the solicitation, will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The Government reserves the right to make an award to other than the lowest-priced Quoter or to the Quoter with the highest technical rating if the Contracting Officer determines that to do so would result in the best value to the Government. The Contracting Officer intends to award without discussions but reserves the right to initiate discussions if necessary. Upon receipt of Quotations, the Contracting Officer will review them to determine if each Quoter followed all of the Quotation preparation/submission instructions in this solicitation. A Quotation that did not follow the Quotation submission instructions to an extent that the Government cannot properly evaluate the Quotation in accordance with the stated evaluation factors may be deemed unacceptable and may not be further evaluated. The Government intends to evaluate quotations using the tradeoff method. The following factors will be used to evaluate offers. Evaluation will consist of two steps: Step 1) a mandatory pass-fail criterion and Step 2) a trade-off best value evaluation based on non-price Factors A and B, and Price factor C. Quoters which do not successfully pass the mandatory criterion will not be further considered. In determining best value for Evaluation Step 2, non-price factors A and B when combined shall be of greater importance than price, Factor C. Non-Price Factors A and B are equally important. Mandatory Pass/Fail Criterion The Government will evaluate quotations to confirm that quoters have affirmed that their quoted bags and cages meet the equivalency specifications identified in the Statement of Work. Quotations which do not specifically affirm that quoted bags and cages meet each equivalency specification in the Statement of Work will be deemed unacceptable and removed from further consideration. Intentional falsification of information in an affirmation will be grounds for a quotation to be determined unacceptable. Factor A: Technical and Management Approach The Government will evaluate the Quoter’s technical and management approach to executing the installation of filter bags and bag house maintenance. The Quoter’s technical and management approach will be evaluated for expected efficiency, and effectiveness in performing each of the Statement of Work tasks. This will include evaluation of ability to complete the required work safely, accurately, and on schedule. Evaluation will consider Quoter ability to meet schedule requirements for badging, planning, ordering materials, and completing the job. The Quoter’s approach will also be evaluated for the reasonableness of proposed methods to move and stage materials, perform the bag and cage changes, and methods of communication with the Government on any and all issues that may arise in performance of this requirement. 3. Factor B: Past Performance The evaluation of past performance information will consider the extent to which the Quoter’s past performance for work completed or substantially completed within the last ten years demonstrates the capability and capacity to provide successful filter bag and cage change support. The term “Quoter” here is defined as the prime contractor and any of its primary subcontractors. The Government may contact provided references and may consider contractor CPARS records or any other past performance information available to the Government. The Government may also use data obtained from other sources. The Government will consider the relevance of the Quoter’s previous contracts to the subject requirement, and the Quoter’s performance on the previous contracts. Quoters without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on Past Performance, and will be assigned a Neutral rating. 4. Factor C: Price Proposed pricing will be evaluated but not scored. Price evaluation will determine whether the proposed price is complete, fair, and reasonable in relation to the RFQ requirements.