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THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR STANDARD FORM (SF) 330 ARCHITECT-ENGINEER QUALIFICATIONS PACKAGES ONLY. ALL INFORMATION NEEDED TO SUBMIT SF 330 DOCUMENTS IS CONTAINED HEREIN. NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE, TECHNICAL INFORMATION, OR BIDDER/PLAN HOLDER LIST WILL BE ISSUED. THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PAY FOR, 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. 1. GENERAL INFORMATION: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) is seeking sources and intends to award a firm-fixed price design contract for Architect-Engineering (A-E) services for the EHRM Infrastructure Upgrades #578-22-710 Construct Data Center design project located at the Edward Hines, Jr. VAMC, 5000 South 5th Avenue, Hines IL. 60141. The A-E shall provide investigative and feasibility design services, schematic design drawings, design development drawings, construction documents, bid documents, specifications, calculations, cost estimates, narratives, solicitation support services and construction period services. The A-E Services contract that is anticipated to be awarded will be procured in accordance with the Selection of Architects and Engineers Statute [formerly known as the Brooks Architect Engineer Act], Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 36.6 Architectural and Engineering Services, VA Acquisition Regulation 836.6, and VA Acquisition Manual M836.6 Architect-Engineer Services. In accordance with FAR 36.209 Construction Contracts with Architect-Engineer Firms, no contract for the construction of a project shall be awarded to the firm that designed the project or its subsidiaries or affiliates, except with the approval of the head of the agency or authorized representative. 2. PROJECT INFORMATION This project is a 100% Set-Aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concerns (SDVOSB). The NAICS Code for this procurement is 541330 Engineering Services and the annual small business size standard is $16.5M. This project requires a full design team to complete this project. The anticipated period of performance for completion of design is 226 calendar days after notice of award. The VAAR Magnitude of Construction between $10 - $20 Million. 3. SCOPE OF DESIGN A-E Part One Services (also known as Design Phase) for this design project includes site visits, field investigation, conduct of studies and user interviews to prepare drawings, specifications, and cost estimates for all facets of work and disciplines/trades to facilitate a construction project. SOW attachments will be included in the RFP. A-E Part Two Services of this design project (also known as Construction Period Services) includes responding to construction contractor Requests For Information (RFIs) during the solicitation (Solicitation Support) and construction phases of the construction project, and commissioning kick off construction project conferences, review of construction material submittals and shop drawings, approximately 2 site visits during construction (Structural completion and final punch list inspection) to ensure compliance with the design drawings and specifications, coordination with project commissioning requirements, review of any construction project modifications for cost and technical acceptability, attendance in the final acceptance inspection, preparation of the punch list and preparation of record drawings of the completed construction project based on the construction contractor s as-built drawings. The A-E shall prepare a submittal log to be utilized by the VA during construction period services, maintain RFI log and provide meeting minutes for weekly construction meetings throughout the duration of construction. The A-E shall be professionally licensed in any state in the United States. The A-E is responsible for all services to complete the deliverables listed in the A-E SOW (P01 - SOW 578-22-710 EHRM Infrastructure Upgrades Data Center Hines VAMC). Please note that the 226 calendar-day period of performance for the design completion begins with the issuance of the Notice of Award (NOA) and that a Notice to Proceed (NTP) will not be issued for the completion of a design project. The construction period services will be an option item that will be exercised after the award of the construction project. The period of performance for construction period services will match the period of performance for the construction project. 4. A-E SELECTION PROCESS: Firms submitting SF 330s in response to this announcement, not later than the closing date and time specified herein and in accordance with submission requirements, will be considered for initial selection evaluation. Request for SF 330 s consists of the evaluation of the provided SF 330s and determination of the highest rated firms. A minimum of three of the highest rated firms will then be short listed and invited to continue with Discussion portion of the process. All firms not short listed will be notified at this time. The discussion consists of written responses for the short-listed firms and selection of the top ranked firm to receive the solicitation and conduct negotiations. The firms selected for the written responses will be notified by email of selection and provided further instructions as well as all the evaluation criteria requirements. After the written responses are received, the firms will be evaluated and the highest rated firm will be selected and sent the solicitation, and negotiations will follow. A site visit will be authorized for the highest rated firm during the negotiation process. Award selection will be made based on the results of the written responses and successful negotiation of rates and fees for the project, and not the SF 330 qualifications. If negotiations are not successful with the highest rated firm, they will continue with the next highest rated firm, and so on until award can be made. Please note that during the evaluation of the written responses, the prior evaluation of the SF 330s will not be taken into consideration as they shall be considered separate evaluations. 5. REQUEST FOR SF330 SELECTION CRITERIA: The following are listed in descending order of importance: Primary Selection Criteria: Professional Qualifications: Professional qualification necessary for satisfactory performance of required services. The design firm and A-E on staff representing the project or signing drawings in each discipline must be licensed to practice in any one of the United States of America. Provide Professional License numbers and/or proof of Licensure. The board will evaluate the resumes for all proposed key personnel and shall consider the specific experience and qualifications (i.e., education, training, registration, certifications, overall relevant experience, and longevity with the firm as full-time employees) of personnel proposed for assignment to the project, and their record of working together as a team when evaluating professional qualifications. Relevant experience includes projects with the VA and/or accredited hospitals that are related to Facility Maintenance Storage Buildings or other projects similar in scope to this project. This criterion is primarily concerned with the qualifications of the key personnel and not the number of personnel. Key positions and disciplines required for this project include, but are not limited to: Architect, Structural Engineer, Estimator, Civil Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Fire Protection Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Plumbing, Project Manager, Quality Assurance, and Physical Security Specialist. Offer must include the following statement of SDVOSB compliance when submitting the personnel proposed to perform the work under this requirement: I [signatory authority]___________________, [company] __________________ certify that the team proposed to perform under this requirements demonstrates the capability of 50% SDVOSB performance in compliance of 48 CFR 852.219-10. The information provided in sections C through E of SF 330 will be used to evaluate this evaluation factor. Do not include this information in section H, unless it is pertinent to support the information listed in the other sections. Specialized Experience and Technical Competence: Specialized Experience and Technical Competence of the firm with the type of services required. The board will evaluate specialized experience on similar projects of size, scope and complexity and the technical capabilities of the prime firm and any subcontractors. The evaluation will consider the management approach, coordination of disciplines and subcontractors, quality control procedures, prior experience of the prime firm and any key subcontractors working together on relevant projects and familiarity with VA Design Guides/Manuals, Master Specifications, and other applicable standards. Include no more than five (5) projects completed or substantially completed within the past eight (8) years that best illustrate specialized experience related to this project scope: such as geotechnical studies, underground site investigations, new steel building design, structure design including foundation design, structural design, historic preservation, and environmental impact preservation. Any projects submitted that exceed the limit will not be considered during the evaluation. All projects provided in the SF 330 must be completed by a firm, office, branch, or individual team member proposed to perform work under this contract. Note that completed is considered 100% design completion and substantially completed in construction. The information provided in sections F and G of SF 330 will be used to rate this evaluation factor. Do not include this information in section H, unless it is pertinent to support the information listed in the other sections. Capacity: Professional capacity to accomplish the work in the required time. The evaluation will consider the team's overall ability to meet the schedule of the project, as well as the available capacity of key disciplines to perform the work in the required time. Please provide a table to demonstrate the available capacity of each of the Key Personnel identified in Sections D and E for the prime firm and all subcontractors. At a minimum ensure that the table includes the following for each key team member: name, firm, role in project and percentage of available capacity to take on new work. Provide all projects awarded by the VA to the prime firm and all subcontractors during the previous 12 months (from the date of the SF330 submission). At a minimum, include the following for each project: project name, location, award date, completion percentage, and expected completion date, project name, location, award date, completion percentage, and expected completion date. Provide the full potential value of any current indefinite delivery contracts. The information for this factor shall be provided in Section H of the SF 330. Please ensure the capacity applies toward the team/personnel provided in the SF 330. Past Performance: Past performance on contracts with Government agencies and/or private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules. The past performance will be evaluated for all projects provided in section F, to include a review of Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) ratings. Provide performance reports for all projects submitted in section F and include the following information for each project: contract/task order number, project title, prime firm, start date, and completion date. Evaluations may also include additional performance-related information from the firm, customer inquiries, Government databases, publicly available sources, additional projects in CPARS, and other information available to the Government, including communications with points of contact in other criteria. Evaluations will consider superior performance ratings on recently completed VA projects as well as the reputation and standing of the firm and its principal officials with respect to professional performance, general management, and cooperativeness. Also, consider, as appropriate, the record of significant claims against the firm because of improper or incomplete architectural and engineering services. Failure to provide requested data, accessible points of contact, or valid phone numbers could result in a firm being considered less qualified. All projects provided in the SF330 must be completed by a firm, office, branch, or individual team member proposed to perform work under this contract. The information for this factor shall be provided in Section H of the SF330. If there is no CPARS data available, Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQs) will be accepted. Please utilize the attached PPQ document. *PPQs should not be submitted by the evaluator to VHA PCAC directly. Completed PPQs must be incorporated into the SF330 submission. PPQs will be counted towards the page limitation for this submission. Locality: Knowledge of the locality. May include the following, demonstrate and describe specific knowledge of certain local conditions or project site features, such as geological features, climatic conditions, local construction methods, or local laws and regulations. Soil conditions related to trenching or digging required Any prime firm or subcontractor experience at the VAMC and/or within the VISN, this should include the experience of both the prime and sub Knowledge of specific state or local codes, laws, or regulations Approach to addressing unique climate conditions Geological conditions such as seismic The information for this factor shall be provided in Section H of the SF330. Note that the intent of this factor is to showcase a firm s understanding of the site and locality, and not where the firm is located and how they would travel to the site. Information related to the firm s location shall be provided in section H, under Secondary Selection Criteria Factor 1 - Geographic Location. Construction Period Services: Describe your team's approach to providing construction period services, to include professional field inspections during the construction period; review of construction submittals; support in answering requests for information (RFIs) during the construction period; support of construction contract changes to include drafting statements of work and cost estimates; attendance at weekly conference calls; providing minutes of meetings between the A-E, VA, and contractors; pre-final inspection site visits; generation of punch-list reports; and production of as-built documentation. List project examples to demonstrate the prime firm or any subcontractors' experience with construction period services. The information for this factor shall be provided in Section H of the SF 330. Secondary Selection Criteria: Geographic Location: Location of the firm, as measured by the driving distance (miles) between the Offeror s principal business location and the Edward Hines VA Medical Center, 5000 South 5th Avenue, Hines, IL. 60141. Determination of the mileage will be based on Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/). * The secondary selection criterion are used as a tie-breaker, if necessary, in ranking the most highly qualified firms following the completion of the SF330 evaluations. The secondary selection criterion will not be applied when determining a firm s SF330 submission Excellent, Acceptable, Good, Marginal, or Unacceptable. The information for this factor shall be provided in Section H of the SF 330. 6. SUBMISSION CRITERIA/REQUIREMENTS: The below information contains the instructions and format that shall be followed for the submission of the SF330 Statement of Qualifications: Submit ONE (1) SF330 Statement of Qualifications via email to the Contract Specialists Jeannine Larsen at jeannine.larsen@va.gov and Samantha Mihaila at samantha.mihaila@va.gov. This shall include Parts I and II and any applicable attachments. The SF330 submission is due by 2:00 PM EST on December 21, 2022. The SF330 shall be submitted in one email and have a file size that shall be no larger than 5 MB. No hard copies will be accepted. The subject line of the email shall read: SF330 EHRM Infrastructure Design Hines 578-21-710 . The submission must include the SF330, Architect/Engineer Qualifications (form is available on-line at http://www.cfm.va.gov/contract/ae.asp). The page limitation of the SF330 shall not exceed a total of FIFTY (50) pages. This includes CPARS and/or PPQs and any other relevant information. Each page shall be in Arial or Times New Roman, size 12 font, single spaced. The title page, table of contents and Part II of the SF330 Form will NOT count as part of the page limitations. Within the SF330 submissions, firms must provide a document that includes the following information (This document will not count towards the page limitation of the SF330): 1) Cage Code; 2) Unique Entity Identifier; 3) Tax ID Number; 4) The E-mail address and Phone number of the Primary Point of Contact; 5) A copy of the firms Vet Biz Registry (https://vetbiz.va.gov/vip/). All questions shall be submitted to jeannine.larsen@va.gov and samantha.mihaila@va.gov with the subject line Hines Data Center - Design Questions . The cutoff date for question submissions is 2:00 PM EST on November 28, 2022. Questions will be answered through modification to the Pre-Sol Notice posted to Contract Opportunities https://sam.gov/content/opportunities NOTE: This procurement is 100% set-aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) concerns. Offers received from other than SDVOSBs will not be considered. All SDVOSB must be listed as verified by the VA s Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) (https://www.va.gov/osdbu/verification/index.asp). Offerors must be verified by CVE and visible in the Vendor Information Portal (VIP) database (https://vetbiz.va.gov/vip/) at the time of the SF330 Submission, Written Response Submission, and at the time of Award. Failure to be BOTH visible and verified at these times will result in the offeror being deemed unacceptable and ineligible for award. All prime firms are required to meet the NAICS code requirement specified for this project. The Contracting Officer shall verify the NAICS Code in VIP and/or the System for Award Management (SAM). Failure to meet the NAICS code requirement may result in the rejection of the SF330 submission. All Joint Ventures must be CVE verified at time of the SF330 Submission, Written Response Submission, or Interview Presentation (as applicable) and at the time of Award. They must also submit agreements that comply with 13CFR 125.15 prior to contract award. SF330 submissions received after the date and time specified will not be considered. Late proposal rules per FAR 15.208 will be followed for late submittals. Firms not providing the required information may not be evaluated. All information must be included in the SF330 submission package. It is the offeror s responsibility to check the Contract Opportunities website at https://sam.gov/content/opportunities for any revisions to this announcement prior to submission of SF330s.