C--VISN 1 Architect and Engineering IDIQ

This is a list of questions that have been submitted for this presolicitation, along with answers for each. Continue to use the latest modified presolicitation posted on 2/3/2010 for the requirements. The Solicitation states that, "A/E firms must be located within a 100 mile radius of at least one of the facilities in VISN 1 listed above and be fully A/E qualified and licensed in those States to be considered". Can a firm be fully qualified in one or more of the states but be in the process of becoming fully A/E qualified in other states with the anticipation that such licensing would need to be secured prior to signing any contracts for work? Yes, a firm must be licensed in at least one of the states in the VISN and they will still be able to do work for a Federal Facility. This seems to contradict in my interpretation "Full and open competition will be utilized. The NAICS Code is 541310, Architectural Services, and the Small Business Size Standard is $4.50 million gross annual revenue." Are we disqualified for consideration for this presoliciation? This presolicitation is open to all size firms and is just asking for SF330's. Is this IDIQ limited to just firms that can provide all of the services listed in the solicitation? Will an engineering firm that can provide a subset of the services requested be considered also, or must they team up with a firm that can provide the architectural services also? The VA is looking for firms to provide the services and disciplines that are listed in the presolicitation. How firms achieve this is up to them. Can each one of our team members submit 10 project examples in Section F, or is our team limited to a total of 10 project examples? The team is to submit ten projects that they have been a part of in section F. It is the firms decision if more projects are to be added there. What is the maximum file size limit that the VA email system can accept from outside senders? Would you accept multiple emails 1 of 2 , 2 of 2 etc for the same submittal? The limit is around 6 MB that we can accept. Multiple emails are acceptable, if labeled 1 of 2, etc. If the firm submits as a sub consultant on one team does that pre-clued them from acting as prime? A firm can only submit as a prime once, but firms can be sub-consultants for multiple teams. Questions 5, 6, and 7 of SF330-Part H (Additional Information) refer to relevant projects that were listed in SF330 Part 19 - Relevant Projects listed under the Individual Resumes. However, SF330-Section F list Example Projects which best illustrate Proposed Team's Qualifications? These Projects do not have to be the same. Would you please clarify; for questions 5, 6, and 7, are you wanting the additional information of the Individual Resume Projects in Part 19 (as currently stated), or the Team's Projects displayed in Section F? This presolicitation is asking for question 5,6, and 7 to be addressed through part 19. Both Part 19 and Section F do overlap with some of the information, while some is different. It is up to the firms to determine how to address this section. There is room for flexibility here, as long as this part is answered. Do we send electronic versions for each one via email and no hard copies? Also, in the past, for SF-330 submittals, I have submitted a SF-330 for each of our subconsultants in their own section, which was widely accepted. Is this acceptable with your agency too? Please send electronic copies via email to [email protected]. It is acceptable and up to each firm whether or not they would like to submit a SF330 for each sub. With regards to section F how would you be ranking this section would more weight be given to VA projects, Retro-Commissioning Projects, or Governmental work? The reason we ask the question is that we have preformed considerable amount of work in each category and we want to demonstrate the projects that you are looking for. The projects that were listed in this email, are similar to what is listed in the presolicitation. Firms are to put projects that best demonstrate what is listed in the presolicitation. The section F portion of the SF 330 allows the VA to view what projects a firm has performed on. Can a non-architect/engineer owned SDVOSB firm submit to provide A/E services using consultants as the professionals to provide the A/E services as long as the SDVOSB has engineering services listed on their CCR registration? The criteria in the presolicitation must be met to be considered for this AE IDIQ contract. If the interested firm meets the NAICS code, and the other criteria then it will be evaluated. Also reference FAR 52.219-14 regarding subcontractors of SDVOSB firms. These three items request a considerable amount of information for projects listed in Part 19 of the SF 330, which are the Relevant Projects that are listed in Section E, Resumes. Are you sure this what you want? We estimate a minimum of 25 resumes. Each resume has ~5 projects. Many are duplicates, but there could easily be over 50 projects. Did you mean to provide the information for the projects in Section F, which are limited to 10? A list of questions and answers for this presolicitation was posted on 2/1/2010, and this question was one of them on there. The response basically suggested a representative sampling from the resumes will work, as long as it best illustrates what the firm and its team members have done in terms of items 5, 6, and 7. By no means do we expect all fifty projects to be addressed. Do you have to qualify as a small business to submit? This is open to any size firm under the 541310 or 541330 NAICS Codes. We are preparing a submittal for the above referenced solicitation. We are a Civil Engineering and Landscape Architectural firm. Are submittals being accepted for just these disciplines or do the submittals have to include ALL disciplines? The presolicitation lists the possible disciplines that the VA may require during the period of the AE IDIQ contract. Firms are to best address the criteria for this that is listed in the presolicitation. We recognize this to be a pre-solicitation notice. Is it the intent for this to also serve as the combined synopsis / solicitation for this particular offering? This presolicitation is asking for SF330's which is the main part of the FA36.6 and Brooks Act process for Architect and Engineering Services. After receipt of the SF330's we will be evaluation using Brooks Act and FAR 36.6 AE Services procedures. So the answer to your question is this serves as the only posted form of a solicitation, as the actual solicitation only is given to the highest rated firm or firms after evaluations and interviews have been held. Are there specific initiatives and/or goals for the VA in the area of bio-mass renewable energy? This was included in the criteria of the presolicitation as one of the many potential energy projects that may be needed over the course of these AE IDIQ contracts. Could you clarify what you mean by "Management Plan"? The VA is looking for how the Management of the firm will handle each of the phases mentioned in this section. This is left open for the interpretation of each firm to address this in the manner they feel will fit best. The Pre-solicitation notice states that "If acceptable SF-330 packages are received from Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) or Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) firms, the government reserves the right to conduct discussions with the highest qualified SDVOSB or VOSB firm." Will companies receive a preference if they utilize a SDVOSB company as a subcontractor under this procurement? This is only available for the prime firms. Does the VA require the A/E to be able to evaluate building energy use and provide an EPA Energy Star energy performance rating? This will be on a per task order basis depending on the project type. What is the design goal energy performance rating for renovations and additions to VA buildings? The goals will be on a per task order basis depending on the type of project. For estimating effectiveness (point #5 in section H), breaking out percentage change orders for major divisions is difficult and often misleading. Most changes affect more than one discipline and multiple subcontractors, making it difficult to track on large projects. Can we list the total percent of change orders and provide narrative to describe any special situations? Yes, you can list the total percent of change orders and provide narrative for special situations. What percent or anticipated percentage of work will be allocated to the different disciplines requested? (eg. Architecture, MEP, Structural, Civil) A percentage for each discipline has not been set.