#1 This amendment is to add the questions and answers.
- This is a combined synopsis / solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 and pursuant to the simplified acquisition procedures of Part 13 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; a proposal is being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued.
- This solicitation is being issued as a request for proposal (RFP). The government’s intent is to establish a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) contract. Period of performance: The contractor will have no more than thirty (30) calendar days from award of Contract to schedule the appointment through the Point of Contact (POC) at the survey site. The contractor will have no more than ninety (90) calendar days from award of Contract to complete all survey requirements, to send survey samples to appropriate laboratory and to submit the report to the RIHS office.
- This solicitation incorporates the provisions and clauses that are in effect through Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Circular FAC 2024-04 effective April 1, 2024.
- The associated North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) is 541690, Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services, with a Small Business Size Standard of $16.5 million. This requirement is being set-aside for a Small Business.
- Contract line item number(s) (CLIN) and items, quantities, units of measure, and option years (if applicable): Refer to the “Industrial Hygiene Quote Template” attachment.
- Description of Requirements: Refer to “Performance Work Statement” (PWS) attachment.
- Period of Performance: Base Year: 16 September 2024-15 September 2025
Option Year 1: 16 September 2025-15 September 2026
Option Year 2: 16 September 2026-15 September 2027
Option Year 3: 16 September 2027-15 September 2028
- Date(s) and place(s) of delivery and acceptance: Refer to PWS attachment.
- Additional Contract Requirements(s) or terms and conditions: N/A
- Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) and assigned rating: N/A
- The following clauses or provisions and their respective addenda apply to this acquisition:
- 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items. (JUN 2020)
- 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items. (OCT 2014)
- 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items. (FEB 2021)
- 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items. (OCT 2018)
- 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items. (JAN 20210)
- Other contract requirements or terms and conditions as stated herein.
CONTRACT CLAUSES
INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS ADDENDUM TO PROVISION 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERICAL ITEMS (JUN 2020)
- Submission of quotes. The offeror shall submit signed and dated quotes to the contract specialist, Ms. Lavon Wilson, via email at lavon.d.wilson.civ@army.mil not later than 3:00 PM CST August 22, 2024. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Quotes shall be submitted in the format as specified in the Industrial Hygiene Quote Template attachment. At a minimum, quotes must show --
- The solicitation number.
- The name, address, email, and telephone number of the offeror.
- “Remit to” address, if different than mailing address.
- A completed copy of the representations and certifications at FAR 52.212-3 (see FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the offeror shall complete electronically).
- Acknowledgment of Solicitation Amendments.
- Quote must include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Quotes that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.
- Technical, Past Performance and Price Volumes.
- Quote Preparation Instructions. Offeror’s quote shall consist of the following three Volumes as contained within the Industrial Hygiene Quote Template attachment.
- Volume I: Technical
- Volume II: Price
- Volume III: Past Performance
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- Page and Format Limitations. Use of the Industrial Hygiene Quote Template attachment is mandatory.
- Volume I – Technical. Use the Industrial Hygiene Quote Template attachment to fill out technical information. The quote shall define the policies and procedures for the overall management and execution of the requirements of the contract to ensure quality, efficiency, and timeliness. The quote should be practical and be prepared simply and economically, providing straightforward, concise delineation of what the offeror will do to satisfy the PWS of the contract. The technical volume shall also provide the following information:
Statement of Understanding. The offeror shall submit a brief statement that demonstrates that he/she understands the scope of work and objectives the Government has established within the PWS. This cannot be a repeat or mere summary of services provided in the PWS, but rather the offeror’s statement of understanding of the required work.
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- Volume II – Price. Use the Industrial Hygiene Quote Template attachment to fill out pricing information and include it with the quote. Pricing information will be used to evaluate the completeness, realism, and reasonableness of the cost numbers. The pricing must include all costs (including travel expenses) required to manage and perform all outlined tasks identified in the PWS.
- Volume III – Past Performance. Use the Industrial Hygiene Quote Template attachment to fill out past performance information and include it with the quote. Include recent and relevant (last 3 years) contracts or projects similar in scope and other references (including contract numbers, client name, total contract amount, description of work performed, points of contact with telephone numbers, email addresses, and other relevant information). May include work performed for federal, state, and local government and commercial firms; and may include work performed as a prime contractor, team member, or subcontractor. An offeror lacking direct relevant past performance shall provide citations and discuss projects that nearest approximate the type of work, complexity, size or work that otherwise demonstrates the quality of the work they can provide.
Offeror must submit information regarding at least two (2) contracts or projects that are similar in scope. The government reserves the right to verify the validity of these projects via Contractor Performance Assessment Reports System (CPARS), Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), or by references provided in the offeror’s submission.
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- Evaluation of volumes. Refer to FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items for details on how the volumes will be evaluated.
- Questions. All questions shall be submitted electronically only via email to the contract specialist (KS), Ms. Lavon Wilson, at lavon.d.wilson.civ@army.mil not later than 3:00 PM CST August 19, 2024. Any effort to contact the Industrial Hygiene Office with questions concerning the solicitation process is NOT allowed and can result in your quote being removed from consideration. If an offeror believes the requirements in these instructions contain an error, an ambiguity, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the offeror shall immediately notify the KS via email with supporting rationale.
- Period for acceptance of quotes. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its quote firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of quotes, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.
- Multiple quotes. Offerors are encouraged to submit multiple quotes presenting alternative terms and conditions or commercial items for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. Each quote submitted will be evaluated separately.
- Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of quotes.
- Offerors are responsible for submitting quotes, and any modifications, revisions, or withdrawals, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified above.
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- Any quote, modification, revision, or withdrawal of a quote received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of quotes is “late” and will not be considered unless it is received before award is made and the Contracting Officer (KO) determines that accepting the late quote would not unduly delay the acquisition; and—
- If it was transmitted through an electronic commerce method authorized by the solicitation, it was received at the initial point of entry to the Government infrastructure not later than 5:00 p.m. one working day prior to the date specified for receipt of quotes: or
- There is acceptable evidence to establish that it was received at the Government installation designated for receipt of quotes and was under the Government’s control prior to the time set for receipt of quotes; or
- If this solicitation is a request for quote, it was the only quote received.
- However, a late modification of an otherwise successful quote, that makes its terms more favorable to the Government, will be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted.
- Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government installation includes the time/date stamp of that installation on the quote wrapper, other documentary evidence of receipt maintained by the installation, or oral testimony or statements of Government personnel.
- If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that quotes cannot be received at the Government office designated for receipt of quotes by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation or other notice of an extension of the closing date, the time specified for receipt of quotes will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume.
- Quotes may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before the exact time set for receipt of quotes. Oral quotes in response to oral solicitations may be withdrawn orally. Facsimile quotes are NOT authorized. A quote may be withdrawn in person by an offeror or its authorized representative if, before the exact time set for receipt of quotes, the identity of the person requesting withdrawal is established and the person signs a receipt for the quote.
- Contract award. The Government intends to evaluate quotes and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial quote should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all quotes if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest quote; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in quotes received.
- Multiple awards. The Government may accept any item or group of items of a quote, unless the offeror qualifies the quote by specific limitations. Unless otherwise provided in the Schedule, quotes may not be submitted for quantities less than those specified. The Government reserves the right to make an award on any item for a quantity less than the quantity quoted, at the unit prices quoted, unless the offeror specifies otherwise in the quote.
- System for Award Management. Unless exempted by an addendum to this solicitation, by submission of a quote, the offeror acknowledges the requirement that a prospective awardee shall be registered in the SAM database prior to award, during performance and through final payment of any contract resulting from this solicitation. If the Offeror does not become registered in the SAM database in the time prescribed by the Contracting Officer, the Contracting Officer will proceed to award to the next otherwise successful registered Offeror. Offerors may obtain information on registration and annual confirmation requirements via the SAM database accessed through https://beta.sam.gov or https://www.acquisition.gov.
- Debriefing. If a post-award debriefing is given to requesting offerors, the Government shall disclose the following information, if applicable:
- The agency’s evaluation of the significant weak or deficient factors in the debriefed offeror’s quote.
- The overall evaluated cost or price and technical rating of the successful and debriefed offeror and past performance information on the debriefed offeror.
- The overall ranking of all offerors, when any ranking was developed by the agency during source selection.
- A summary of rationale for award;
- For acquisitions of commercial items, the make and model of the item to be delivered by the successful offeror;
- Reasonable responses to relevant questions posed by the debriefed offeror as to whether source-selection procedures set forth in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed by the agency.
(End of Provision)
EVALUATION OF QUOTES
ADDENDUM TO PROVISION 52.212-2 EVALUATION--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2014)
- The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose quote conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotes:
Evaluation
Technical
Price
Past Performance
- Basis for award. This acquisition utilizes FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The Government will utilize a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) evaluation method for this requirement. The Government intends to award a single contract to the offeror who is deemed responsible in accordance with the FAR, as supplemented, whose quote conforms to all contract requirements, and provides the lowest priced, technically acceptable response to satisfy the requirements. Trade-offs between cost/price and non-cost/price factors are not permitted. Responses that fail to address all the requirements set forth in the Industrial Hygiene Quote Template and PWS will not be considered.
- Evaluation Criteria and Factors.
- Volume I – Technical. The technical volume will be evaluated based on the following subfactor(s) within the Industrial Hygiene Quote Template attachment:
Subfactor 1 - Statement of Understanding
The Government will evaluate the offeror’s statement of understanding to determine whether it satisfies the requirements of the PWS. In order to be considered for award, the offeror must receive an “Acceptable” rating in all of the above subfactors. A determination will be rendered as to whether the statement of understanding is evaluated as Acceptable or Unacceptable based on the following table:
Rating
Description
Acceptable
Statement of Understanding clearly meets the minimum requirements of the solicitation.
Unacceptable
Statement of Understanding does not clearly meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation.
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- Volume II – Price. Pricing information will be used to evaluate the completeness, realism, and reasonableness of the cost numbers. The Government will evaluate the unit price quoted for each CLIN using the offeror’s Industrial Hygiene Quote Template attachment submission.
Offerors may be required during the evaluation process to provide sufficient price/cost information that will enable the Government to perform a meaningful evaluation. If an offeror proposes an unusually low price, the offeror should also provide rationale to justify the price.
A written notice of award or acceptance of a quote, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the quote, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the quote's specified expiration time, the Government may accept a quote (or part of a quote), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.
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- Volume III – Past Performance.
The Government will evaluate the offeror’s past performance in the Industrial Hygiene Quote Template attachment submission to determine its relevancy to the requirements of the PWS. In order to be considered for award, the offeror must receive an “Acceptable” rating. In the context of acceptability/unacceptability, a neutral rating shall be considered “acceptable.” A determination will be rendered as to whether the past performance is evaluated as Acceptable or Neutral based on the following table:
Rating
Description
Acceptable
Based on the offeror’s performance record, the Government has a reasonable expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort, or the offeror’s performance record is unknown. (See note above)
Unacceptable
Based on the offeror’s performance record, the Government does not have a reasonable expectation that the offeror will be able to successfully perform the required effort.
Neutral
Offeror does not have a record of relevant past performance or it is so sparse that no meaningful past performance rating can be reasonably assigned.
(End of Provision)
END OF COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION