This is a SOURCES SOUGHT notice. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to conduct market research pursuant to FAR Part 10 to gain knowledge of interest, capabilities and qualifications of firms, especially small businesses including: Native American/Indian-Owned Businesses, 8(a) Certified Small Businesses, Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUB-Zone) Small Businesses, Women Owned Small Businesses, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), and Veteran Owned Small Businesses. This notice is intended strictly for Market Research to determine if a Set Aside can fulfill the requirements set forth in this request for information.
This sources sought is for market research purposes only and IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) AND IS NOT A REQUEST FOR A STANDARD FORM 330; nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in preparation of a response to this notice.
The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) 541330, Engineering Services. The small business size standard is $22.5M.
Project Description:
The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for millions American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). IHS is responsible to provide water, sewer and solid waste facilities for Native American housing at, adjacent to or near Indian Reservations as authorized by Public Law 86-121. Community sizes range from 15 to 10,000 people. IHS is authorized to design, construct and improve facilities, acquire lands and right-of-way for sanitation facilities projects, and transfer complete facilities to Native American Tribal organizations or other public authorities for operation and maintenance. Work to be performed under this Sources Sought notice shall include the IHS Area Offices and their surrounding coverage areas across the United States: Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Portland. Each of these areas has a unique group of Tribes that they work with on a daily basis.
The Indian Health Service (IHS), Division of Engineering Services (DES), under Public Law 92-582 (the Brooks Act) and FAR Part 36 procurement procedures, is seeking responses to the sources sought information listed below from Architect & Engineering (A-E) firms interested in proposing on an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The A-E shall provide professional services relative to Sanitation Facilities Construction (SFC) requirements (i.e., environmental engineering, water/wastewater, etc.) for IHS projects throughout the portion of the United States. The IDIQ contract will have a maximum capacity of $8.0 million for each contract awarded. It is anticipated that multiple IDIQs will be awarded; therefore, this market research will aid the Government in determining what firms possess the capability to execute the requirements within this notice and how many SFC A-E IDIQ contracts will be awarded. Additional information on IHS’s SFC program can be found at: https://www.ihs.gov/dsfc/
The A-E firms awarded under this IDIQ will be providing professional services related to the planning, design, construction contract administration, post construction contract services and construction support services on SFC requirements for various Indian Health Service and Tribal facilities. Work on specific projects under this contract will not be requested or required except when the Contracting Officer awards task orders under the contract for such work. The A-E services that may be required under this contract include, but are not limited to:
- Evaluations, Assessments, and Planning Services:
- Preparation of master water-use plans, feasibility studies, sanitation facilities studies (infiltration and inflow studies, hydraulic analysis of water distribution and sewage collection systems. etc.);
- Geodetic and engineering surveying;
- Photogrammetry, spatial computing, mapping, and geographic information system (GIS) development;
- Computer aided drafting and design (CADD);
- Geotechnical investigations/evaluations and hydrogeologic studies/evaluations;
- Analysis of structural systems;
- Water quality analysis;
- Environmental site assessments and testing;
- Right-of-way documentation; environmental reviews, assessments to include biological assessments, reports and permitting; and
- Technical/management presentations.
- Design Services:
- Conceptual, tentative and final design documentation (drawings, specifications, bidding/contractual documents), preparation of other technical portions of SFC construction contracts, technical/design presentations and evaluating existing water storage tanks and plans/specifications for renovation, including lead paint abatement requirements, buildings, pumping systems with electrical and mechanical controls, HVAC, distribution systems and appurtenances/accessories. Sewer system design services may include individual and community treatment and disposal systems (subsurface wastewater disposal facilities, sewage treatment lagoon facilities, mechanical treatment facilities, etc.);
- Hydrogeological studies, hydraulic analysis, flood plain studies, surveying, and AutoCAD drafting
- Examples of Design Services include:
- Community sanitation facility designs;
- Engineering calculations and design of water source;
- Storage and distribution systems;
- Wastewater collection;
- Treatment and disposal systems and solid waste facilities; and
- Electronic control design and integration.
- Engineering services may also include:
- Design of accessory facilities to water, sewer and solid waste facilities such as utility crossings of roads, arroyos, and railways, earthwork – including soils and gravel excavation and placement; and
- Concrete work (structural and non-structural), roads, drainage, dikes, fencing, and electrical control systems (SCADA, programmable logic controls, radio telemetry).
- Design tasks may be for new, remodeled and expanded sanitation facilities for Native American communities and homes.
- Construction Contract Administration and other A-E related services:
- Water Storage tank inspection by a NACE certified inspector;
- Administrative activities such as advising the CO or the IHS Project Manager during meetings and coordinating post-construction contract services;
- Maintain a daily diary of construction activities and furnish weekly construction progress reports to the IHS Project Manager, Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and/or Contracting Officer (CO);
- Performing inspection and acceptance services, reviewing contractor submittals, reviewing construction contractor progress schedules and pay requests and monitoring the construction contractor's submission of shop drawings and other data to ensure they are timely, complete, and conform to the construction contract requirements;
- As necessary to confirm construction contractor compliance with the specifications, material, paint and compaction testing;
- Advise the IHS Project Manager, COR and/or CO on appropriate actions when construction issues arise during the construction phase of the SFC project;
- Review of shop drawings and other submittals for recommendation on approval or rejection, preparing drawings and specifications for changed requirements or conditions, preparing operation and maintenance manuals and preparing record drawings after final inspection and acceptance of SFC construction projects. Layout of work by survey crews shall also fall under this service category.
Interested firms who meet the capability requirements identified in this notice are requested to reply to this announcement with a response to the specialized qualifications below. If no experience or capabilities are associated with a particular requirement, so indicate.
Submission Package:
Interested firms should submit a document which furnishes information describing relevant demonstrated experience and qualifications in the following format:
* Shall not exceed 20 pages, Microsoft Word compatible, version 2003 or newer or PDF. The submission shall address all eleven (11) questions in the Sources Sought Questionnaire (below) and the firm's ability to perform the services as stated in description section of this Sources Sought Notice.
SOURCES SOUGHT QUESTIONNAIRE:
1. Business Name: (Insert Business Name)
2. Business Address: (Insert Business Address)
3. SAM Unique Entity ID (UEI):
4. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code(s) (list all NAICS codes your firm is registered under):
5. Identify a responsible point of contact who can be contacted regarding your response, their phone number and email address:
6. Check All That Apply:
Our firm is a:
( ) 8(a) small business,
( ) Service-disabled veteran-owned small business,
( ) HUBZone small business,
( ) Small Disadvantaged Business,
( ) Woman Owned,
( ) Minority Owned,
( ) Native American (Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise (ISBEE),*(see below)
( ) Indian Economic Enterprise (IEE) (large business), *(see below)
( ) Small Business,
( ) Large Business
*For Indian owned businesses (ISBEE/IEE), the following form shall be completed and submitted along with your firm’s response:
(1) A10 Attachment 1 - IHS IEE Representation Form Jan 2022 along with the controlling enterprise’s Tribal enrollment/certificate of Degree of Indian Blood documentation. Please note that there shall be no personally identifiable information (PII), such as social security numbers, included in the documentation submitted. Any PII shall be redacted prior to submission.
7. Will your firm be proposing as an:
( ) Sole A-E Firm, or
( ) ISBEE Prime A-E Firm (small business) performing more than 50% of the work with other ISBEE subconsultant(s) (Insert ISBEE business name, business size, UEI and cage code (if applicable) and work which will be sub-consulted), or
( ) Prime A-E Firm (if small business) performing more than 50% of the work with the following team member subconsultant(s) (Insert business name, business size, UEI and cage code (if applicable), and work which will be sub-consulted), or
( ) Joint venture with (Insert business name, business size, UEI and cage code).
(See FAR subpart 9.6 for Government policy on teaming arrangements, as well as 8(a) Program regulations described in 13 CFR 124.513, HUBZone Program regulations described in 13 CFR 126.616, and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Program regulations described in FAR 19.1403(c) and 13 CFR 125.15(b).
8. Experience: Has your firm performed and/or are in the process of performing A-E services as described above? Please provide a minimum of 3 and no more than 6 projects examples that range from $250,000.00 to 1,000,000.00. These examples should include all services (i.e., planning, design and construction support) for a minimum of 3 projects
If so, provide customer references, locations, scope of effort, dollar value and dates of efforts performed within the past five years.
***With each project experience provide, include the following information: the owner, date when the project was completed (or will be completed), location of the project, contract amount, size of the project, estimated construction cost (if applicable), and the portion and percentage of work that your firm performed, and a description of how your firm's experience relates to the proposed project(s).
9. Has your firm worked with or had any interaction with any tribal nations or groups? Please describe and provide examples if applicable.
9. Capabilities: Does your firm have qualified and experienced personnel to provide A-E Services relative to the requirements stated above? Provide the number of qualified key personnel, minimum and maximum years of experience and the average years of experience.
10. Does your firm possess, or have the ability to possess, the required licenses, permits and/or certifications to perform A-E Services?
11. Location: Please indicate if services are provided nationwide and/or IHS area preference.
A list of all IHS Healthcare Facilities can be located at this website: https://www.ihs.gov/locations/.
Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the above listed services are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by 19 November 2024, 12:00 P.M. Pacific Time. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be emailed to Taylor Kanthack, Contracting Specialist, at taylor.kanthack@ihs.gov. Interested firms should submit a document which furnishes information describing relevant demonstrated experience and qualifications in the following format:
NO HARDCOPY OR FACSIMILE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Cover letters and extraneous materials (brochures, SF330, etc.) will not be considered. Questions concerning this notice should be directed to Taylor Kanthack, Contract Specialist at taylor.kanthack@ihs.gov. Personal visits for the purpose of discussing this announcement will not be scheduled.
