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1. CONTRACT INFORMATION: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District (SWF) plans to award one “C” Type contract to perform Whole Building Commissioning Agent Services (CxA) during the Design... 1. CONTRACT INFORMATION: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District (SWF) plans to award one “C” Type contract to perform Whole Building Commissioning Agent Services (CxA) during the Design-Build (DB) Request for Proposal (RFP) development, with one option for CxA services to be performed during the DB construction and warranty period for the El Paso Veterans Affairs (VA) New Health Care Center (HCC) located in El Paso, Fort Bliss, TX. Architect-Engineer (AE) firms are invited to submit their qualifications via the Standard Form (SF) 330 and will be selected for negotiation based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the required work. The El Paso VA New HCC will deliver comprehensive primary health care and support services such as Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Audiology and Speech Pathology, Dental, Ophthalmology and Optometry, Mental Health, Pathology, Pharmacy, Radiology, and other diagnostic, treatment, and support services. The HCC is estimated to be approximately 500,000 square feet, sited on 24-acres with an estimated construction magnitude of over $500M. Additional structures include a central energy plant, surface parking, standby generator, site utilities, paving, walks, curbs and gutters, roadways, landscaping, site lighting and other associated improvements necessary to support the new HCC. A. General. This contract will be procured in accordance with 40 U.S. Code Chapter 11: Selection of Architects and Engineers (formally known as the Brooks Act), FAR Subpart 36.6, DFARS 236.6 “Architect-Engineer Services”, and USACE Engineering Pamphlet No 715-1-7. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this action is 541330 “Engineering Services”. A.1. Small Business Requirements. The small business size standard for NAICS Code 541330 is currently a maximum of $16.5 million of average annual receipts for its preceding three fiscal years. This contract will not be set aside but it is available to small businesses. All firms MUST identify in which category they are submitting. Firms should state the words “OTHER THAN SMALL BUSINESS” or “SMALL BUSINESS” after the solicitation number in Part 1, A Block 3 of SF330. Other than small businesses must comply with FAR 52.219-9 regarding the requirement for a subcontracting plan on that part of the work it intends to subcontract. The subcontracting plan is not required with this submittal but will be required with the fee proposal of the Most Highly Qualified (MHQ) firm(s) selected for negotiations. A.2. Rates will be negotiated for the entire contract period, including the option. A.3. Contract Award Procedure. Missing even one required element of the proposal requirements will be grounds for determining the firm to be nonresponsive and elimination of that firm from consideration. NO STATE LEVEL certifications will be accepted. B. Project Information: The AE firm shall furnish all labor, management, investigations, studies, travel, facilities, supplies, equipment, and materials to perform the CxA requirement from the initial RFP development through post-construction/warranty. Services include, but are not limited to, develop the CxA plan; document the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) and Basis of Design (BOD); develop Cx specifications; develop pre-functional checklist samples and functional performance test samples for inclusion in the final RFP; review construction plans, specifications, and submittals; conduct inspections and log issues, and verify and document the CxA of the systems and equipment. The selected AE firm shall ensure that the building is successfully commissioned and operates according to the developed OPRs and BOD. The CxA will be required to utilize the “DVA/USACE Projects General Commissioning Requirements”, Specification Section 01 91 00.01 as the basis for the construction phase Cx processes and procedures, which can be found at: (https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/VA/VAASC/VA%2001%2091%2000%2001.docx). The CxA are for the installed building systems and equipment (i.e., not personal medical equipment). Systems expected to require CxA may include: building envelope (foundation, basements, superstructure, exterior closure, roofing); specialties (headwalls, medical air and gas systems, patient lifts); equipment (security barriers, fume hoods, biological safety cabinets, incinerators); conveying equipment (elevators, material delivery systems, pneumatic tubes); fire protection systems; plumbing systems; mechanical systems (HVAC, humidity, energy recovery, controls); electrical systems (lighting, regular and emergency power, grounding, controls); communication systems (public and mass notification, intercom, nurse call, duress); safety and security systems; renewable energy and power sources. B.1. The award for this contract is anticipated to be in October 2021 with a 540-calendar day base period of performance for CxA during the DB RFP development, and approximately five years (1,825 calendar days) for the option period of performance during the construction and warranty phases of the project. The CxA firm will be responsible for providing the deliverables identified in the scope which may be affected by the DB RFP and/or the DB construction schedule. B.2. The AE firm performing the CxA requirement must not be a member of the future DB construction contractor team to avoid any potential conflict of interest. B.3. The awardee will be provided with the El Paso VA HCC Program Requirements Document (PRD) developed during the Planning Phase (also referred to as AE-0). The PRD contains the necessary information which establishes the pre-design requirements to include physical relationships and adjacencies; site and utility information; engineering schemes for the building systems; and costs. C. Selection Criteria. Selection criteria for this acquisition are listed below in descending order of importance (first by major criterion and then by each sub-criterion). Firms that demonstrate higher aggregate qualifications relevant to the primary selection criteria are considered to be the most highly qualified firms (MHQ) firms. The Primary Criteria are: Specialized Experience and Technical Competence Professional Qualifications Past Performance Capacity Knowledge of Locality The Secondary Criteria are: Small Business Participation Plan (SBPP) Geographic Proximity Volume of Federal Contract Awards The Secondary Criteria will only be used as "tie-breakers" among firms that are essentially technically equal. A sufficient number of firms will be recommended to ensure that at least two most highly qualified firms remain “in reserve” when negotiations commence on the final contract. C.1. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence: In Section H, Part I of the SF330, firms shall submit a narrative that demonstrates the proposed team’s specialized experience and technical competence as required below. The following criteria are rated in descending order. C.1.a. Experience and demonstrated competence conducting CxA in accordance with the VA Technical Information Library (TIL) to include US Green Building Council (USGBC) Guiding Principles Assessment (GPA) or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification during the DB and warranty phases of large healthcare building equipment and systems. C.1.b. Experience and demonstrated competence conducting CxA for large health care projects of similar scope and size on military installations. C.2. Professional Qualifications: This solicitation will require the AE firm to demonstrate that all expertise requirements are reflected on key personnel resumes in Section E, Part I of the SF330. The firm shall identify one team member who has met USGBC LEED enhanced commissioning requirements with experience supported by the resume. C.2.a. None of the required personnel can be dual disciplined, i.e. a separate employee must be provided for each stated requirement. If the firm does not provide a resume for each of the required key disciplines the proposal will be considered non-responsive. C.2.b. Evaluation of Relevant Professional Experience and Required Credentials: The Government will evaluate the relevant professional experience and required credentials of each person submitted for each key position. The qualifications of the proposed key personnel will be evaluated in terms of: C.2.b.(1) Possession of a required professional credential and the possession of other relevant, non-required credentials or education. Registrations and certifications shall be in accordance with Specification Section: 01 91 00.01 “DVA/USACE Projects General Commissioning Requirements”. The lack of required credentials for any key position that requires it will be considered non-responsive. C.2.b.(2) Longevity of work experience of the proposed key personnel of having performed relevant work on relevant projects, specifically with VA healthcare facilities. C.2.b.(3) Strength and relevance of professional experience of the proposed key personnel in the overall portfolio of projects worked. C.2.b.(4) The AE Firm must submit one resume for each of the following key personnel (preferably in the following order): Lead CxA; PE and Certified Mechanical Cx Technician; Certified Electrical Cx Technician; Certified Communications Cx Technician; Certified Building Envelope Cx Technician; PE or RA and Certified C.2.c. Evaluation of Example Project Teaming Experience: A team will be rated stronger whose matrices demonstrate team experience where a greater percentage of its members have worked together on more example projects. C.2.d. Evaluation of the Organization Chart: The organization chart will be evaluated for potential performance risks and opportunities related to organizational structure. C.3. Past Performance: In Section F, Part I of the SF 330, firms shall submit six example projects that demonstrate the proposed team's recent and relevant experience in CxA of recent health care facilities with similar magnitude (square footage and value), scope, and complexity. A project is defined as efforts leading to the completion of a specific requirement. Multiple projects performed under a multiple-award contract must be submitted as separate example projects; any combination of projects submitted as one example project will not be considered or evaluated. The firm must demonstrate experience in the following: C.3.a. Recent experience: Due to the scope and magnitude of this project, an example project will be considered recent for CxA completed within the last six years. C.3.b. Relevant experience: The experience will be evaluated based on example projects with large healthcare facilities. The strength of the example projects will be evaluated in terms of project complexity and value and depth of involvement to include CxA during construction and warranty phases. These factors are listed in descending order of importance. C.3.b.(1) Project Complexity and Value: Large, complex projects with a higher dollar value will be more relevant than smaller, less complex projects with a lower value. C.3.b.(2) Depth of Involvement: A team that has been directly involved in a greater number of critical disciplines on a project will be considered stronger than if the team has been directly involved in fewer, less critical disciplines on the project. C.3.c. Quality of performance: Past performance will be evaluated primarily upon official information available about the example projects submitted. However, the Government reserves the right to evaluate past performance evaluation information from any other relevant sources for recent and relevant projects performed by the prime AE Firm, key subcontractors and Joint Venture (JV) partners such as the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). In accordance with FAR 42.1503(g), past performance information in CPARS will be used that is within six years of the completion of performance of the evaluated contract or order, and information contained in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), e.g., terminations for default or cause. C.3.c.(1). The Government may elect to consider any credible and reliable information obtained from other sources. The relevance of such past performance information will be evaluated prior to consideration. In the event that adverse past performance information is obtained from the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) or other sources, the firm will have the opportunity to respond to any adverse information received if it had not otherwise had a previous opportunity to comment. C.3.c.(2). A firm’s overall past performance will be evaluated with respect to compliance with the contract’s rated quality of work, schedule, cost control, communication and issue resolution as determined by the CPARS, PPQ or other credible and reliable information. If no relevant past performance information is available on a firm, the firm will be given a neutral evaluation regarding past performance. C.4. Capacity: In Section H, Part I, SF330, demonstrate the team’s capacity to complete the CxA effort of a similar project and period of performance with a fee greater than $3M over 6.5 years. In addition, demonstrate the firm’s capacity to perform the CxA activities after the award of the DB contract and through the warranty phase. C.5. Knowledge of Locality: Firms must demonstrate familiarity with the El Paso, Fort Bliss, Texas area and their applicable architecture, building codes, environmental regulations, soil conditions, seismic requirements, and regulatory agencies. Greater consideration will be given to those firms with experience in the El Paso, Fort Bliss, Texas area. Provide evidence of knowledge of Region 3, Subtype B climate zone requirements as defined in ASHRAE 90.1 The following items are the Secondary Criteria for all firms: C.6. Small Business Participation Plan (SBPP) Evaluation Factor. In Section H, Part I, SF330, provide a description of the prime and any subcontractor's affiliation as a small business. Per FAR 52.219-8 Utilization of Small Business Concerns (Oct 2014), “It is the policy of the United States that small business concerns, veteran-owned small business concerns, service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, HUBZone small business concerns, small disadvantaged business concerns, and women-owned small business concerns shall have the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in performing contracts let by any Federal agency.” In Section H, Part I, SF330, also provide a description of the SBPP (note that the SBPP itself is not required as only the firm that is determined to be the most highly qualified and selected for negotiations will be asked to submit the SBPP (and subcontracting plan if applicable) in accordance with the provided format). The extent to which U.S. small businesses will participate in the performance on the proposed acquisition relative to the Government’s small business percentages will be evaluated to determine if they are realistic and justifiable, with additional consideration given for greater participation. Based on market research, the percentages for each socio-economic category are as follows: Small Business (SB): 7% of total contract value Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB): 4% of total contract value Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB): 3% of total contract value HUBZone Small Business: 1% of total contract value Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB): 1% of total contract value Service-Disabled VOSB (SDVOB): 1% of total contract value C.7. Geographic Proximity: In Section H, Part I, SF330, provide the physical location of the firm in relation to the location of a project. The geographic location of this project will be El Paso, Fort Bliss, Texas. C.8. Volume of Federal Contract Awards: In Section H, Part I, SF330, provide the volume of Federal contract awards, date of awards, number of awards, stated in dollars, for each firm for the past twelve months. Provide the project name, Government agency, contract number, dollar amount, and the month/year of the award. D. SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENT In an effort to reduce paperwork and cost, submit ALL SF330s electronically via email to DoD SAFE at https://safe.apps.mil. It is the offerors responsibility to submit the required information by the established deadline. In order for an outside user (the contractor) to submit through DoD SAFE, they must receive a drop-off request from an inside user (the Government). To request and receive a drop-off request for this solicitation, email the request not later than two (2) working days before the due date to: CESWF-IIS@usace.army.mil When the inside user generates the drop-off request, you will receive an email with a link to submit your drop-off. Optionally, the Government may provide you with a request code. In that case, click the Drop-off button on the SAFE home page and enter the Request Code. In accordance with FAR 4.1102(a), “Offerors and quoters are required to be registered in SAM [https://www.sam.gov] at the time an offer or quotation is submitted in order to comply with annual representations and certifications requirements…” Ensure you are fully registered prior to submission of your response to this synopsis. D.1. Interested firms (single firms or JVs) having the capabilities to perform this work must submit a SF330 (8/2016 Edition), for the prime firm and all consultants/subcontractors to the site stated above not later than the response date and time indicated above in “GENERAL INFORMATION”. Late proposal rules found in FAR 15.208 will be followed for late submittals. D.2. Submit a compiled SF330, Part I, completed in accordance with the SF330 instructions and additional instructions herein. It must contain information in sufficient detail to identify the team (prime, other offices of the prime firm, and subcontractors) proposed for this contract. Do not include company literature with the SF330. D.3. Use no smaller than 11 font arial. When submitting pages in addition to the SF 330, use pages sized 8-1/2 x 11 inches with a 1” margin, unless otherwise stated. Pages in excess of the maximums listed will not be used in evaluation of the selection criteria. The SF 330 shall be numbered to correspond to the paragraph numbers in this synopsis. The SF330's shall be submitted in searchable, bookmarked and hyperlinked PDF format. E. SF330, Part I, ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS: E.1. In Section C, identify the discipline/service to be supplied by each firm. With the firm name provide whether the firm is small business and what type. E.2. In Section D, include a Team Project Organization Chart to indicate how each firm on the proposed team (prime and each subcontractor is identified in Section C) integrates into the composite team. Job titles and organization chart must match the required discipline titles. Organizational charts can be up to two pages 8 ½ x 11 pages with a 1” margin, or one (1) 11x17 with a 1’’ margin, use no smaller than 11 font Arial. E.3. In Section E, provide resumes with a letter of commitment for the on-staff or sub-consultant employees as listed in paragraph C.2.b.(4) that you intend to use to perform the work. Resumes must be submitted for each employee required to meet the minimums stated in Paragraph C.2. Use no more than one page per resume and one page for the letter of commitment. E.4. In Section F, provide a total of six projects. A project is defined as work performed at one site or a single installation. If unable to provide six example projects, state the number of projects provided. Specify the square footage and dollar amount for each project to include the AE fee received by the firm on the projects submitted. For example, if the firm received a fee of $700K for mechanical CxA on a $5M construction project, submit the amount of the fee as $700K, not $5M. Use no more than one page per project. E.5. In Section G, Block 26, list the names of all individuals included in the resumes in Section E in Block G-26 along with their firm name, firm location and their roles even if example project experience in Block G-28 is not applicable. E.6. In Section H, provide a narrative to address each of the requirements, including subparagraphs, of items listed in Paragraph C. Selection Criteria, of this synopsis. When addressing team capabilities, clarify planned capability, existing capability, and prior experiences, if applicable. Include any other relevant information including a short discussion of why the firm is especially qualified based upon the specific selection criteria listed in Paragraph C. to include the SBPP. Do not exceed 20 pages (front and back count as two pages) for Section H. E.6.1. Under Paragraph C.8. above, provide an itemized summary of Federal contract awards to include the Agency, Contract Number/Task Order No., Project Title, Location and Award Fee to the firm. (Note: award of Indefinite Delivery Contracts should not be counted as award amounts; only actual Task Orders.) F. SF330, PART II, ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS: F.1. Responding firms must submit a copy of a current and accurate SF330, Part II for the specific prime, as well as for other offices of the prime and subcontractor offices proposed to perform the work, even if one is already on file. All Part IIs MUST be signed (signed within the past 36 months from the closing date of the synopsis) and dated either by an original handwritten (scanned copy) or electronic signature. Indicate in Block 5b of each Part II, if the firm is a Small Disadvantaged Business, Small Business, HUBZone, Veteran-Owned Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, or Woman-Owned Small Business. F.2. In Block No. 4, Part II, provide the Data Universal Numbering system (DUNS) number for the firm that will be performing the work. Go to the following website to obtain a DUNS number at no cost: https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/ For any questions regarding your legal business name and physical address or technical difficulties, contact Dun & Bradstreet at SAMHelp@dnb.com. G. OFFERORS QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS: G.1. All technical inquiries and questions relating to proposal procedures are to be submitted via Bidder Inquiry in ProjNet at http://www.projnet.org/projnet. G.2. The Solicitation Number is: W9126G21R2741 G.3. The Bidder Inquiry Key is: DGDSQA-ZGENEX G.4. To submit and review bid inquiry items, bidders will need to be a current registered user or selfregister into the system. To self-register go to web page, click BID tab select Bidder Inquiry, select agency USACE, enter Key for this solicitation listed below, and your e-mail address, click login. Fill in all required information and click create user. Verify that information on next screen is correct and click to continue. G.5. From this page you may view all bidder inquiries or add an inquiry. Multiple inquiries can be submitted but only one question will be allowed per inquiry. If multiple questions are included in a single inquiry, only the first question will be answered. All others will remain unanswered until entered in as single inquiries. G.6. Bidders will receive an acknowledgement of their question via email, followed by an answer to their question after it has been processed by our technical team. G.7. New inquiries must be received seven calendar days prior to proposal submission in order to ensure adequate time to form an appropriate response and if necessary, amend the solicitation. If an inquiry is posted within seven calendar days of the scheduled receipt of proposals date it will be regarded as untimely and will not be afforded a substantive response. G.8. Offerors are requested to review the specification in its entirety and review the Bidder Inquiry System for answers to questions prior to submission of a new inquiry. G.9. The bidder call center Help Line operates weekdays from 8am to 5pm U.S. Central Time Zone (Chicago). The telephone number for the Call Center is 1-800-428-HELP (1-800-428-4357). G.10. Offers will NOT be publicly opened. Information concerning the status of the evaluation will NOT be available after receipt of proposals. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL.