SOLICITATION INFORMATION, QUOTATION EVALUATION CRITERIA, INSTRUCTIONS & KEY DATES:
This solicitation is a Request for Quotations (RFQ) to establish a firm fixed-price purchase order for non-personal services for the cleaning of ducts for the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Cotton & Tobacco Program, Memphis Cotton Classification Facility located at 3275 Appling RD, Memphis (Bartlett), TN 38133-2701.
This solicitation is issued as a Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 52.219-6) under NAICS code 238290 - Other Building Equipment Contractors, with a Size Standard of $22.0 Million in annual sales.
All relevant documents (services requirements, locations, terms and conditions, etc.) are included as an attachment to this notice. Interested vendors should thoroughly read and complete all requested documents to confirm their ability to provide the services as required. NOTE: THE "EXHIBIT 1 - DUCTWORK CLEANING FLOORPLAN" IS A RESTRICTED DOCUMENT; VENDORS MUST REQUEST ACCESS TO THE DOCUMENT VIA SAM.
SITE VISITS ARE AVALABLE AUGUST 12TH THROUGH 23RD, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. VENDORS MUST COORDINATE THE SITE VISIT WITH JOE GIACCO (joseph.giaccio@usda.gov, (901) 384-3309.
Questions are due Friday, August 16, 2024, at Noon Central Time. All questions/inquiries must be submitted via email to the Contract Specialist, Matthew Phillips, at Matthew.Phillips3@usda.gov. Inquiries submitted via telephone will be redirected to an e-mail submission. Questions will be answered by USDA and responses will be distributed to Vendors via amendment of the solicitation posting within SAM.gov prior to the due date for quotations. Late questions will be answered at the discretion of the Contract Specialist.
Vendors must submit their quotation package in its entirety to the Contract Specialist, Matthew Phillips, via e-mail at Matthew.Phillips3@usda.gov. Vendors who fail to complete and submit their quotation in accordance with the requirements of this solicitation may be considered non-responsive. Quotations received prior to the solicitation closing date and time, Monday, August 26, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. Central Time will be considered by USDA. Incomplete quotations will not be considered.
Award will be made to the responsible Vendor whose quotation is determined to provide the best value to the Government, per FAR 52.212-2. Trade-off analysis of price or technical factors will be used in the award determination. After evaluation of quotations is completed, the Government will make an award to the responsible Vendor whose quotation (technical and price) conforms to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the Government, price and technical factors identified within this solicitation considered.
For this solicitation, all evaluation factors other than price, when combined, are significantly more important than price. As quotations become more equal in their technical merit, the evaluation of price becomes more important. The Government will not make an award to any Vendor whose quoted prices are not considered to be fair and reasonable.
A COMPLETE QUOTE MUST INCLUDE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
- The company name, address, phone number, contact person, and SAM.gov Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) within Block 17a. on page 1 of the attached Standard Form 1449.
- A Technical Quotation that addresses the Technical Quotation Evaluation Factors as provided below, including Attachment 2 - Vendor Experience & Past Performance Sheet and Miscellaneous Documents (including Attachment 3 - Vendor Representations for Federal Acquisition Regulation Provisions).
- A Price Quotation using Attachment 1 – Vendor Quotation Form attached to this solicitation. The Vendor must only fill in the blue-shaded areas of the pricing template to be considered for award.
TECHNICAL QUOTATION EVALUATION FACTORS AND INSTRUCTIONS:
The Government will award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Vendor whose quote conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors will be used to evaluate technical quotations:
The following Factors are listed in a descending order of importance:
- Factor 1 – Technical Approach: Factor 1, Technical Approach: This Factor considers the Technical Approach narrative provided by the Vendor.
- Factor 1 (PWS) Quotation Submission Instructions: The Vendor must provide a Technical Approach narrative, not-to-exceed five (5) pages in length, to specifically address the scope of services required within this Statement of Work.
- Factor 2 – Required Qualifications: This Factor considers the qualifications of the Vendor; at a minimum, the Vendor must possess the following:
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- Membership: The HVAC system cleaning contractor must be a certified member of The National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA).
- Certification: The HVAC system cleaning contractor must have a minimum of one (1) Air System Cleaning Specialists (ASCS) certified by NADCA on a full-time basis.
- Full-time, on-site Supervisor Qualifications: A person certified as an ASCS by NADCA, must be responsible for the total work herein specified.
- Experience: The HVAC system cleaning contractor (must submit records of experience in the field of HVAC system cleaning as requested by the Cotton & Tobacco Program will only consider bids from firms, which are regularly engaged in HVAC system maintenance with an emphasis on HVAC system cleaning and decontamination.
- Equipment, Material and Labor: The HVAC system cleaning contractor must possess and furnish all necessary equipment, materials and labor to adequately perform the specified services. Sub-contracting is not permitted.
- The Contractor must assure that its employees have received safety equipment training, ladders and scaffolds training, confined space training and power elevated work platform training, material handling/back care site safety, safety precautions, personal protective equipment, and manufacturers product and material safety data sheets (MSDS) as required for the work.
- The Contractor must maintain a copy of all current MSDS documentation and safety certifications at the site at all times, as well as comply with all other site documentation requirements.
- Factor 2 (Required Qualifications) Quotation Submission Instructions: For this evaluation factor, the Vendor must demonstrate that they possess the required minimum qualifications.
- Factor 3 - Experience: The Vendor must submit a minimum of two (2) but no more than five (5) separate projects within the last 5 years (from August 2024) that details experience that is similar to the scope and magnitude of this requirement.
- Factor 3 (Experience) Quotation Submission Instructions: Vendors must complete Attachment 2 - Vendor Experience & Past Performance Sheet and submit a completed sheet for each project referenced.
- Factor 4 - Past Performance: Past Performance will be evaluated for the projects submitted for the experience factor.
- Factor 4 (Past Performance) Quotation Submission Instructions: Vendors must include complete and current contact information for each customer for each project submitted within the Attachment 2 - Vendor Experience & Past Performance Sheet. The government reserves the right to contact references to verify any information provided.
- Miscellaneous Documents: This is not an evaluation factor. However, failure to submit completed, required documents may result in the Vendor being considered non-responsive and eliminated from further consideration.
- Miscellaneous Documents Quotation Submission Instructions: In addition to submitting a PWS, and completed Attachments 1, 2, and 3 (if applicable) as required for the evaluated factors, the Vendor must submit the following other documents:
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- Standard Form (SF) 1449 (Vendor must complete Blocks 17a., 30a., 30b., and 30c. on page 1 of the SF 1449).
- Attachment 3 - Vendor Representations for Federal Acquisition Regulation Provisions.
- Standard Form (SF) 30 (Vendor must acknowledge amendments to the solicitation, if any are issued, by completing Blocks 8., 15A., 15B., and 15C. on page 1 of the SF 30).
Technical and past performance, when combined, are significantly more important than price.
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS, EXHIBITS, AND DRAWINGS:
- Standard Form (SF) 1449
- Statement of Work (SOW)
- Standard Form (SF) 30 (if the solicitation is amended)
- Attachment 1 – Vendor Quotation Form
- Attachment 2 – Vendor Experience & Past Performance Sheet
- Attachment 3 - Vendor Representations for Federal Acquisition Regulation Provisions
- Exhibit 1 – Duct Cleaning Floorplan
- Exhibit 2 – Applicable U.S. Department of Labor Wage Determination
