The following is a Notice of Intent to Contract for Architect-Engineer Services PROJECT INFORMATION: The USDA Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, has a requirement for routine bridge inspections to be completed on approximately 24 to 29 structures throughout the forest. The structures are a mix of road and trail bridges, with the majority being road bridges. A small number of the trail bridges are located in wilderness areas and are only accessible by walk-in. The intent of the Forest Service is to procure the services of an engineering firm licensed in the state of Washington to perform these inspections. The routine bridge inspections and reports will be required to fully comply with and satisfy the requirements for a routine bridge inspection as specified in Section 4.2.2 of the AASHTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation (2011, Second Edition with Interims to current year), the National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 650, Subpart C (1/13/2005), and the specific requirements in this contract. Routine bridge inspections and reports shall also comply with the USDA Forest Service, Region 6, Guidelines for Routine Bridge Inspections & Bridge Load Ratings, (January, 2005). The on-the-ground individual in charge of performing any and all types of bridge inspection work shall be qualified, under the NBIS (1/13/2005) requirements, as a bridge inspection Team Leader. The NBIS qualifying bridge inspection experience shall include Forest Service type wood, steel, and concrete bridges. All bridge inspection work will be performed under the supervision of a Professional Engineer, licensed by the State of Washington. The Engineer shall also be qualified as a bridge inspection Team Leader under the NBIS requirements and experienced in the inspection of Forest Service type wood, steel, and concrete bridges. The Engineer does not have to be on-site at the time of the inspection. The Engineer will be required to place an original professional seal and an original signature on the first page of each "hard copy" of the bridge inspection report. The Engineer shall be solely responsible for integrity of the field inspection work and the veracity of the inspection report. Further requirements for the performance of inspections and completion of reports will be included in the contract document. It is intended that the work on this project will begin on or about August 15th, 2013 and that all inspections will be completed and reports submitted to the Forest Service no later than September 14th, 2013. CONTRACT INFORMATION: This contract is being procured in accordance with the Brooks Act (P.L. 92-582) as implemented in FAR Subpart 36.6. A single firm will be selected for negotiation based on demonstrated competence and qualifications for the required work. The Government anticipates award of a firm fixed price contract for the services described in this synopsis. This project is advertised as a total small business set-aside. Submittals from firms who do not meet the small business requirement will not be considered. The NAICS Code for this project is 541330 and the Size Standard is $14.0 million. All interested firms who meet the small business size standard and choose to submit a Standard Form 330 will be considered. In accordance with FAR clause 52.204-7, Central Contractor Registration (DEC 2012), all contractors doing business with the federal government must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database prior to any award. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Interested parties shall submit the following: One (1) original and one (1) copy of SF 330 for the prime offeror (which also includes a completed Part II for the firm and key sub-consultants) addressing in detail the following selection criteria, which are listed in descending order of importance. (1) Professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services. The ability to provide a supervisory Professional Engineer licensed in the State of Washington and a Team Leader or Team Leaders meeting the requirements above is a mandatory element and should be clearly outlined in the offerors proposal; (2) Specialized experience and technical competence in the type of work required, including experience conducting bridge inspections for concrete, steel and wood structures similar to those found on National Forest land. This item also includes a measure of the offerors familiarity with working in a Forest environment (i.e. working in remote areas, accustomed to navigating Forest roads, etc.) and the ability to manage a project of this nature with minimal guidance from the Forest Service; (3) Capacity to accomplish the work in the required time; (4) Past performance on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work, and compliance with performance schedules; (5) Location in the general geographical area of the project and knowledge of the locality of the project; provided, that application of this criterion leaves an appropriate number of qualified firms, given the nature and size of the project; and ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: All information must be included in the SF 330 package. The firm rated by the Evaluation Board (EB) as the most qualified shall receive the RFP package with the terms and conditions applicable to any resultant contract. Should the Forest Service and selected contractor be unable to reach an agreement on a fee and contract terms, the negotiations will be terminated and the Forest Service will enter in to negotiations with the next highest ranked firm. Those firms that meet the requirements in this announcement and wish to be considered must submit their Standard Form 330 per above listed Submission Requirements, to: USDA Forest Service Gifford Pinchot National Forest Attn: Contracting 10600 NE 51st Circle Vancouver, WA 98682 Submissions will be made no later than 3:30 p.m., Pacific Daylight Savings Time, on August 1, 2013. Submittals received after this date and time will not be considered. Firms not providing the required information may be negatively evaluated. Facsimile and E-mail submittals will not be accepted. E-mail address for inquiries is:
[email protected]