Inactive Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside (FAR 19.14)

INTRODUCTION: This is a Pre-Solicitation Notice for Project Number 568-20-SL0002, that requires Architect and/or Engineering (A-E) Design Services for Update Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeas... INTRODUCTION: This is a Pre-Solicitation Notice for Project Number 568-20-SL0002, that requires Architect and/or Engineering (A-E) Design Services for Update Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plans 2021 at the Black Hills VA Healthcare System, Hot Springs and Ft Mead, South Dakota. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE WILL BE ISSUED UNTIL AFTER AN EVALUATION HAS BEEN MADE ON THE SUBMITTED SF-330s. The contemplated A-E Services that are anticipated to be awarded will be procured in accordance with the Selection of Architects and Engineers Act (Public Law 92- 582), Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 36.6, and VA Acquisition Regulation 836.6. DESCRIPTION: The Black Hills VA Health Care System at both the Hot Springs and Fort Meade VA Medical Centers are seeking a professional A-E firm to provide all A-E services required to update an existing Five (5) Year Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan . The updated plan will have to meet current EPA SPCC Plan requirements as outlined in 40 CFR 112. Also, each individual updated SPCC Plan must be certified by a Registered Professional Engineer in accordance with current SPCC Plan requirements. The Black Hills VA Healthcare System SPCC Plan was last updated for both campuses in 2016. SUMMARY of REQUIREMENTS: The AE firm (including SPCC subject matter expert) will review existing SPCC Plans and will visit each site and note and review each regulated tank and related operations/ equipment at each site. The current SPCC regulations will be reviewed and any required changes will be incorporated into the respective SPCC Plan Updates. Any required changes to SPCC plans for tanks removed, new tanks, or those missed on previous plans since the last major revision in 2016 will addressed in the updated plan. Black Hills Facilities Engineering Departments at each facility will provide tank locations and relative tank history. In addition to the current Statement of Work for this requirement, known information regarding existing tanks and locations at each site are also attached. The successful AE firm awarded this requirement is responsible for completion of the individual updated plan for each site. The updated plans will include three hard copy binders of the final signed report and associated hard copy drawings for each site. The report and drawings contained within will include Professional Engineering Certifications. Electronic copies of the plan will be provided in PDF and also Word format for completion of forms and completing future annual updates and related drawings will be provided in PDF and Auto-Cad format on three CD s for each site. All offerors are advised that in accordance with VAAR 836.606-73, the total cost of the contract for A-E services must not exceed 6 percent of the estimated cost of the construction project plus any fees for related services and activities. Additionally, FAR Clause 52.236-22 (c) - Design Within Funding Limitation, will be applicable to this procurement action. Design limitation costs will be provided to the most highly rated A-E firm selected to complete the design. Interested firms should submit electronic copy of their current SF-330 to: George.Bolter@va.gov and Kenneth.Spohn@VA.Gov. The SF-330s are due on November 24, 2020 at 2:00 PM (CT). NO FAX RESPONSES WILL BE ACCEPTED: Personal visits for the purpose of discussing this announcement will not be entertained or scheduled. Selection shall be in order of preference from the AE firms considered Most Highly Qualified. Questions may be directed only by e-mail to George.Bolter@va.gov. In accordance with FAR 36.209 Construction Contracts with A-E Firms and 36.606 (c), all interested contractors are hereby put on notice that no construction contract may be awarded to the firm that ultimately designs this requirement. Security Issues, Late Bids, Unreadable Offers Late submission of offers are outlined at FAR Parts 52.212-1(f) and 52.215-1(c). Particular attention is warranted to the portion of the provision that relates to the timing of submission. Please see FAR 15.207(c) for a description of the steps the Government shall take with regard to unreadable offers. To avoid rejection of an offer, vendors must make every effort to ensure their electronic submission is virus-free. Submissions or portions thereof submitted and which the automatic system detects the presence of a virus or which are otherwise unreadable will be treated as unreadable pursuant to FAR Part and FAR 15.207(c ). Password protecting your SF-330 is permitted. The Contracting Officer will file the offer electronically which will allow access only by designated Government individuals. The selection of the most qualified contractor will follow the guidance provided in FAR 36.6 Architect-Engineer Services. Additionally, this solicitation is also issued in accordance with Public Law 109-461, the Veterans Benefits, Healthcare Information and Technology Act of 2006, Sections 502 and 503, as a set-aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) contractors. Pursuant to 38 USC 8127(d), competition is restricted to SDVOSB firms, as there is a reasonable expectation that two or more offers from SDVOSB contractors will be received under this solicitation. Apparent successful offerors must apply for and receive verification from the Department of Veteran Affairs Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE) in accordance with 38 CFR Part 74 and VAAR 819.70 by submission of documentation of Veteran status and ownership and control sufficient to establish appropriate status. Failure to be both VERIFIED by CVE and VISIBLE on VetBiz.gov at the time SF-330s are submitted, when the proposal is received as a result of the solicitation issued to the most qualified firm, and on the date of contract award will result in the offerors proposal/SF-330 being deemed not acceptable. All offerors are urged to contact the CVE and submit the aforementioned required documents to obtain CVE verification of their SDVOSB status if they have not already done so. The Government will not pay, nor reimburse, any costs associated with responding to this request. The Government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this announcement. Firms will be selected based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the required work. The estimated cost for this requirement is: Less than $25,000.00. Contract Award Procedure: At time of award, the contractor must be certified by VetBiz and registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database. Register via the SAM internet site at https://beta.sam.gov. Failure of an SDVOSB to be VERIFIED by CVE and VISIBLE in VetBiz shall result in elimination from consideration as a potential contract awardee. Failure of a SDVOSB to be registered in SAM at the time of contract award shall result in elimination from consideration as a proposed contract awardee. The proposed services will be obtained by using a Negotiated Firm-Fixed Price Contract. The review/design of architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, civil, or other engineering features of the work shall be accomplished by architects or engineers registered in a State or possession of the United States, or in Puerto Rico or in the District of Columbia. The project plan shall be in compliance with applicable standards and codes described in VA Program Guides and design materials. Master Construction Specifications Index, VA Construction Standards Index, VA Standards Index, and Criteria are available in the Technical Information Library (TIL) on VA Website address: http://www.cfm.va.gov/til/. The successful AE firm (including SPCC subject matter expert) will review both existing SPCC Plans and will visit each site (Fort Meade and Hot Springs) and note and review each regulated tank and related operations/equipment at each site. The current SPCC regulations will be reviewed and any required changes will be incorporated into the respective SPCC Plan Updates. Any required changes to the SPCC plans for tanks removed, new tanks, or those missed on previous plans since the last major revision in 2016 will addressed in the updated plan. The NAICS code for this project is 541330 with a small business size of $16.5 million. The SF-330 can be downloaded through the GSA Forms Library at: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/type/TOP, type in SF-330 in the Find a Form block and click on search. SELECTION CRITERIA: The VA will utilize the following selection criteria in descending order of importance: 1. Professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services; Submit the Professional Qualifications of Team Proposed including the background of firms (Prime and Sub) and key personnel (Project Manager, Principal, and other key personnel) provided in the SF330. 2. Specific experience and technical competence in the type of work required, including, where appropriate, experience in energy conservation, pollution prevention, waste reduction, and the use of recovered materials; Submit information demonstrating relevant experience and qualifications pertinent to this project; Submit the Previous Experience of Proposed Team and their record of working together as a team. 3. Location in the general geographical area of the project and knowledge of the locality of the project; Identify on map the distance of A/E firm or branch office location relative to the facility listed above. Distance must be within a 150 road-mile radius of the Black Hills VA Healthcare System in South Dakota to be considered. 4. Firms Capacity to accomplish the work in the required time; Describe the firms ability to accomplish the work in the required time, including the possibility of one or more projects simultaneously. Indicate the firms present workload and the availability of the project team, for the specified contract performance period. 5. Past performance on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, accompliance with performance schedules; Submit past performance information (In accordance with VA Information Letter (IL) 049-03-9, past performance evaluations may also be conducted using information obtained from CPARS and any other sources deemed appropriate by the CO.) . Responses to this notice should include recent (within the past 5 years) experience in projects of this nature. 6. The extent to which potential contractors identify and commit to the use of service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses, Veteran-owned small businesses, and other types of small businesses as subcontractors; Submit contractor information on SDVOSB and VOSB current status. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. This is a request for SF-330 A-E Qualification packages only. Any requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. No material will be issued, and no solicitation package or bidder/plan holder list will be issued. The most highly rated firm based on the technical review of all of the SF-330s received will be sent a Request for Pricing Proposal. A solicitation will only be issued to the most highly qualified firm after being evaluated. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Firms must provide a customer reference list with addresses and telephone numbers, and bidding records (low bid vs. estimate) for all projects listed as related experience, and a project workload schedule showing proposed team members for the project period. All responding firms, including consultants to the primary firm are required to submit one completed electronic copy of Standard Form 330, Architect-Engineer Qualifications, Part I and Part II. The SF 330, Part I must clearly indicate the office location where the work will be performed, and the qualification of the individuals and subcontractors proposed to work on the contract and their geographical location. You must submit your electronic copy, and any supplemental information (such as spreadsheets, backup data, technical information), using any of the electronic formats and media described below. However, contractors will be notified of the award via an electronic Notice of Award e-mail. The award document will be attached to the Notice of Award e-mail. Acceptable Electronic Formats (Software) for Submission of SF-330 packages: Files readable using the current Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). When submitting construction drawings contractors are required to submit one set in AutoCAD and one set in Adobe PDF. (Purpose: contracting can open the PDF version and engineering can open AutoCAD files); Files in Adobe* PDF Files: When scanning documents scanner resolution should be set to 200 dots per inch, or greater; Other electronic format. If you wish to submit an offer using another format other than described in these instructions, e-mail the Contracting Officer who issued the solicitation. Please submit your request at least ten (10) calendar days before the scheduled closing date of the solicitation. Request a decision as to the format acceptability and make sure you receive approval of the alternate format before using it to send your offer; SF-330s shall be provided on standard letter size 8-1/2 by 11-inch paper, limited to a maximum of twemty-five (25), single-sided, single-spaced, and numbered pages, excluding any indexes and file tabbing. If more than twenty-five (25) single-sided pages are submitted, all pages after twenty-five (25) pages will not be evaluated. The font for text shall be Times New Roman 12-point or larger. Please note that we can no longer accept .zip files due to increasing security concerns. VA PRIMARY POINT of CONTACT: George B Bolter Jr, NCO 23 Contracting Specialist Email: George.Bolter@va.gov