NOTES TO QUOTERS:
1. In order for a quotation to have a complete quotation package, the following checklist items must be submitted to the Contract Specialist to be considered for award:
- A completed Technical Qualification and Approach Narrative (shall not exceed five pages in length and shall be submitted via .pdf or .doc format),
- A completed copy of Attachment 2 Vendor Experience Sheet,
- A completed copy of Attachment 1 Solicitation 12639523Q0082 Price Quotation Form. This form also includes a field requiring the Contractor's input of their SAM.gov Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).
The UEI will be utilized to obtain the Contractor's SAM.gov Federal Contractors Registration within the System for Award Management (SAM) at http://www.sam.gov, in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.204-7. The Contractor's registration within SAM must be current and active in SAM at time of quote and award. The online SAM Certification and Representations for business size determination must qualify as a small business in accordance with the applicable NAICS code 811310 Commercial and Industry Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance (2022 NAICS), with a Small Business Administration (SBA) size standard of $12.5 million. The applicable Product Service Code (PSC) is J061. This acquisition is a Total Small Business Set-Aside, in accordance with FAR 19.5 (Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.219-6 applies to this solicitation).
Please note that registering in the SAM database is free of charge. Free SAM registration assistance can be obtained by calling the help desk toll free at 866-606-8220. Free assistance can also be found at your local Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) office, please visit the following website to find an APTAC center: https://www.aptac-us.org/contracting-assistance/.
2. This is a solicitation for non-personal services for four (4) preventative maintenance (PM) inspections plus one PM service per the manufacturer's recommendations for one (1) Caterpillar Model 3412 (serial #9EP02309) generator; these services shall be performed during the base year period, April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024. Additionally, the contract will include four (4) one-year option periods that may be unilaterally exercised by the government in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.217-9. The contract will also include FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services, which allows the government to extend services not to exceed a total of six (6) months.
3. Any questions pertaining to this solicitation shall be directed to the Contracting Officer, Matthew Phillips at Matthew.Phillips3@usda.gov no later than Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 5:00pm CST.
QUOTATION DUE DATE: Quotes shall be emailed to Matthew.Phillips3@usda.gov no later than Monday, February 27, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. CST. No late submissions are accepted.
4. USDA is an agency of the federal government and is tax exempt. Federal tax ID number 41-0696271.
5. The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotations in accordance with FAR Part 13 procedures:
(i) Technical Qualification and Approach This factor will evaluate the Contractor's technical qualification and approach to meet the agency's needs and the demonstrated ability to perform the work requested in the SOW which includes the contractor's certifications/qualifications, expertise, personnel, and the requisite skills needed to perform the preventative maintenance inspections service on the respective generator, and proximity to the facility where the generators are located. The Contractor is responsible for providing a detailed description of what each inspection and PM service encompasses, including any exclusions. Restrictions or limitations in the level of service must be clearly outlined by the vendor within this document.
A completed Technical Qualification and Approach Narrative shall be submitted with the quotation; the narrative shall not exceed five pages in length and shall be submitted via .pdf or .doc format. The Narrative shall also include a sample checklist that is proposed to be used during the PM inspections and service. A primary and secondary point of contact (POCs) designated by the vendor for communications shall be provided within this narrative. All activities and work are to be scheduled through these POCs.
(ii) Experience and Past Performance Prior experience rendering similar services similar as the services required within the Statement of Work within this solicitation will be evaluated, which includes the contractor's experience performing comparable generator inspection, maintenance, testing and repair services of similar or greater complexity that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and experience of similar scope, magnitude, and complexity to the requirements described in this statement of work. The Quotation shall include a minimum of two (2), but no more than five (5) previous projects completed rendering similar services within the past five (5) years of the closing date of this solicitation.
Past Performance will be evaluated for all projects submitted to demonstrate similar experience to ascertain the probability of successfully performing the required efforts of the Statement of Work. The past performance evaluation will be specifically based upon the satisfactory completion of services performed to the services required under this solicitation, the record of conforming to contract requirements and standards of good workmanship, and the commitment to customer satisfaction. The Past Performance evaluation will also take into account any past performance information regarding predecessor companies, key personnel who have relevant experience or subcontractors that performed major or critical aspects of the requirement when such information is relevant. For joint ventures, past performance records of both firms will be considered. In the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance.
The Quotation shall include a completed Attachment 2 Vendor Experience Sheet submitted within the quotation; the Government will utilize the Attachment 2 Vendor Experience Sheet to evaluate experience and past performance.
(iii) Price - Quotations shall include a completed Attachment 1 Solicitation 12639523Q0082 Price Quotation Form . The total evaluated price will be calculated by adding the total price for the base and option periods combined, as stated within the Attachment 1 Solicitation 12639523Q0082 Price Quotation Form submitted within the quotation. The total evaluated price is for evaluation only and does not commit or obligate the Government to exercising options, nor does it commit the Government to extend services, in accordance with FAR 52.217-8.
The resulting award will be a Firm Fixed-Price contract. Price reasonableness will be utilized in the evaluation of the Firm-Fixed Price effort. The firm fixed-price of services within this Contract shall be inclusive of travel costs. The Government may use various price analysis techniques and procedures to evaluate price reasonableness.
6. Basis of Award: The Government will award a firm fixed-price contract for the base period of performance resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Contractor whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, presents best value to the Government, technical qualification, technical approach, experience, past performance, and price considered.
In this acquisition, the Government will obtain best value by using the Tradeoff Process source selection approach which permits tradeoffs among technical qualification, technical approach, experience, past performance, and price factors and allows the Government to accept other than the lowest-priced quotation. However, the Government will not make an award at a significantly higher overall price to achieve only slightly superior likelihood of successful performance.
Contractors are responsible for reviewing all attachments within this solicitation posting, and utilizing attachments as directed within the solicitation.
This request does not commit the Government to pay any cost incurred in the submission of any quotation or in making necessary studies for the preparation thereof, nor does it commit the Government to procure or contract for said services.
The USDA Contracting Officer is the only individual who can commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with this proposed procurement.
