NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Retention of Underwater Diving Consultants; Project Reference No. FDC-500-814
[49 Pa.B. 2733]
[Saturday, June 1, 2019]The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Department) is seeking proposals from interested and qualified professional underwater diving firms for open-end contracts for inspection, maintenance and repair of various hydraulic structures owned and operated by the Bureau of State Parks and Bureau of Forestry throughout this Commonwealth. Each contract will be for a 12-month period with four 12-month extensions possible. Projects will be assigned on an as-needed basis to ensure proper and safe operation of Department infrastructure and facilities.
The number of open-end contracts and the dollar amount of each contract shall be at the discretion of the Department for the first year. The extent of the work for the subsequent 4 years of the contract will be dependent on the availability of additional funds and additional projects for those years, also at the discretion of the Department.
Letters of Interest for this project will only be accepted from individuals, firms or corporations who are certified professional divers having been trained in the inspection, maintenance and repair of hydraulic structures. If an individual, firm or corporation not authorized to engage in the inspection, maintenance and repair of hydraulic structures desires to submit a Letter of Interest, the individual, firm or corporation may do so as part of a joint venture with an individual, firm or corporation who is trained in the inspection, maintenance and repair of hydraulic structures.
Typical inspection services work will consist of the inspection of control tower structures and intake structures and their appurtenances including sluice gates, trash racks, valves, ladders, pipe conduits, and the like. Each field inspection shall be supplemented by a written inspection report, narrated underwater video and an electronic version. The electronic version shall be compatible with the Department's computer system.
Typical maintenance and repair projects will consist of but not be limited to debris removal from sluice gates, pipe conduits and trash racks; silt removal at intake structures; stop log removal and installation; sluice gate and valve adjustment and repair; installation and repair of gate stems and guides; installation and repair of trash racks; application of underwater coatings; concrete repairs; and injection grouting and crack repair.
Section 105.53 of 25 Pa. Code (relating to inspections by permittees or owners and inspection reports) details the conditions and requirements of inspections and their corresponding reports that are to be prepared for submission to the Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Waterways Engineering, Division of Dam Safety.
Background
Established on July 1, 1995, the Department is charged with maintaining and preserving the 121 State Parks; managing the 2.2 million acres of State Forest land; providing information on the Commonwealth's ecological and geologic resources; and establishing community conservation partnerships with grants and technical assistance to benefit rivers, trails, greenways, local parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space and natural areas.
The Bureau of Facility Design and Construction (Bureau) provides multidisciplined facility and infrastructure technical support to the other bureaus in the Department in the areas of project design, project inspections, construction management, contract administration, surveying and other technical advice and consultation. The Bureau is comprised of three divisions: Dams, Bridges and Roadways Engineering; Environmental Engineering and Architecture; and Field Engineering and Contracts Management.
The Bureau's Central Office (located in Harrisburg) is responsible for the development of architectural, landscape architectural, water and sanitary, bridge and roadway and civil and environmental projects required to support the Department's facility construction and maintenance program. The Central Office is comprised of five sections: Architectural Design, Landscape Design, Sanitary and Water Management, Bridges and Road Management, and Civil Design. In addition to project design, staff also provides technical architectural and engineering support and advice to assist field operation in State Parks and State Forests.
The Bureau also has four field offices: Northcentral Office in Emporium; Western Office in Moraine State Park; Southcentral Office in Shawnee State Park; and Eastern Office in Nockamixon State Park. Each office is responsible for providing direct engineering and technical support to the State Parks and State Forests field operation staff in their area. Staff is responsible for project inspection and construction management to ensure contractor compliance with the construction contract documents as well as some project design.
PART I
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS I-1. Specific Requirements.
A. All divers shall be certified professional divers. All diving operations shall be performed in accordance with the latest revisions of the Association of Diving Contractors Consensus Standards for Commercial Diving Operations and the OSHA Commercial Diving Regulations (1910 OSHA Subpart T) in conjunction with the United States Navy Diving Manual.
B. The consultant dive team shall be trained and experienced in the inspection, maintenance and repair of hydraulic structures. The dive team shall consist of a three-man, four-man or five-man dive crew dependent on the complexity of the inspection or the maintenance and repair project. The dive team shall have an effective blend of diving and engineering expertise and be knowledgeable in the inspection, repair and maintenance of the structural and nonstructural components of a dam. The dive team shall be familiar with concrete intake structures, sluice gates, trash racks, gate valves, concrete conduits, outlet pipes, and the like.
C. Firms shall be responsible for providing their own equipment for the field inspections and maintenance and repair work. Firms shall provide all necessary materials including access and handling equipment to perform the work in a safe and workmanlike manner.
D. All diving to be performed will be surface-supplied air diving. Divers shall be equipped with helmets with two-way communication. Continuous two-way voice communication shall be provided between all divers and the surface crew at all times.
E. The dive consultant shall upon notification be able to respond to a site within 24 hours. In the event of an emergency, as perceived by the Department, the dive consultant may be required to mobilize in a shorter period of time.
F. The underwater inspection shall be supplemented by a written report of the observations made. The inspection report shall include descriptions, locations, measurements and sketches for each inspection performed. The inspection report shall document all areas of deterioration, voids, damage, and the like, discovered during the inspection. Four copies of the inspection report shall be submitted to the Department. Each dam inspection shall be submitted as a separate report.
G. Three copies of the compact disc, DVD or thumb drive containing the video inspection, an electronic version of the report and any still photos shall be submitted for each dam. The inspection should document typical conditions encountered and areas of distress. The video inspection equipment shall be equipment useful and required to view and record underwater inspections as clear pictures. Narration of the inspection shall be included on the video. Only one dam inspection shall be included on each disc, DVD or thumb drive. All discs, DVDs or thumb drives shall be clearly marked with the name of the dam and the inspection date.
I-2. Qualifications. The consultant shall have staff available to provide rapid services associated with assigned projects. The consultant may be called upon to provide services on multiple projects at the same time.
The following minimum qualification will be expected of all consultants:
• Possess current professional registrations required to perform required services.
• Be licensed to conduct business in this Commonwealth.
• Have sufficient staff or subconsultants experienced in the various required services.
• Have an established quality control and assurance program for safety and compliance with all necessary codes and regulations.
I-3. Addenda to the Request for Proposals (RFP). If the Department deems it necessary to revise any part of this RFP before the proposal response date, the Issuing Office will post an addendum to the Department's web site at https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/Business/ConstructionBids/Pages/default.aspx. It is the offeror's responsibility to periodically check the web site for any new information or addenda to the RFP. Answers to the questions asked during the questions and answers period also will be posted, as necessary, to the web site as an addendum to the RFP.
PART II
PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS Offerors must submit their proposals in the format, including heading descriptions, outlined as follows. To be considered, the proposal must respond to all requirements in this part of the RFP. Offerors should provide any other information thought to be relevant, but not applicable to the enumerated categories, as an appendix to the proposal.
II-1. Requirements. Proposals shall include the following items and information:
• Letter of Interest including the consultant's Federal identification number and the project reference number.
• A description of the consultant's understanding of the Department's needs and the services required. This description shall include why and how the consultant is qualified to provide these services.
• A description of the consultant's project approach and methodology, including the approach to the managerial, technical and administrative aspects of the project. Describe how the scope, schedule, budget and quality of a project are managed and controlled. Address communication and coordination strategies internal to the design team, with the client and with other outside agencies. Describe how an integrated design process is approached and has been used on past projects.
• A description of the consultant's sustainable design experience, including specialized knowledge and expertise in as many of the following areas of sustainable design as possible: environmentally sound site design and planning, sustainability performance standards for energy efficiency, water efficiency, environmentally sound materials, construction waste management and prevention, low maintenance design and materials. Include a description of how sustainable design is made an integral part of the consultant's design process.
• A detailed description of the consultant's quality control and assurance program, including how sub-consultants are included in this program. Describe what steps are taken to assure accurate, fully coordinated construction documents. Provide the name of the person responsible for quality control and describe their qualifications to perform this task.
• A description of the consultant's qualifications to complete the required services. Include firm history and experience on similar projects. Describe the resources of the firm, including number/discipline of personnel, ability to respond to schedule acceleration, and the like. Describe roles and experience of proposed subconsultants.
• Resumes of personnel who will be involved in providing the services described herein to the Department. Describe their relevant experience, years of experience, what roles they will fill in providing the required services and percent of time they will be committing to Department-assigned projects. The resumes must include their professional education and professional registrations and licenses. Provide resumes of subconsultant's personnel.
• A description of the consultant's ability to work on multiple projects of various sizes at the same time.
• A list of at least three of the consultant's most recent completed projects similar to the projects anticipated under the contract. In addition to photographs and a descriptive narrative, the list shall include the client, contact person and contact information, the completion date, the estimated or actual total construction cost, the estimated or actual construction cost of the portion of the work which the firm designed, the firm's project manager, and the names of all of the firm's personnel who made contributions to the project.
• A standard Department of General Services (DGS) Form 150-ASP indicating the individual in charge. The Form 150-ASP is available by downloading from the DGS web site at https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Businesses (search for document Form 150-ASP). A sample of this form is found in Appendix A. This form should be submitted electronically on the CD or flash drive as per Part II, II-2 of the RFP. The electronic submission instructions on the DGS web site are for DGS projects only. Additional information pertinent to this firm's qualifications to do the work of this contract may be included.
II-2. Number of Copies. Offeror's proposals must be submitted electronically on a CD or flash drive in quantity of six each and include DGS Form 150-ASP. Offerors must provide their Small Business Certificate as a separate pdf file on the CD or flash drive. Submittals must be accompanied by the Letter of Interest and received no later than 4 p.m. on July 10, 2019. The assignment and services will be made to one or more of the firms responding to this notice. However, the Department reserves the right to reject all Letters of Interest submitted, cancel the solicitation requested under this notice or readvertise solicitation for this service, or both.
II-3. Small Diverse Business and Small Business Information. The offering firm must be a self-certified SB/SDB verified by the DGS, Bureau of Small Business Opportunities. The Department encourages participation by SDBs and SBs as prime contractors, and encourages all prime contractors to make significant commitments to use SDBs and SBs as subcontractors and suppliers.
A SB must meet each of the following requirements:
• The business must be a for-profit, United States business;
• The business must be independently owned;
• The business may not be dominant in its field of operation;
• The business may not employ more than 100 full-time or full-time equivalent employees;
• The business, by type, may not exceed the following 3-year average gross sales:
o Procurement goods and services: $20 million
o Construction: $20 million
o Building design services: $7 million
o Information technology goods and services: $25 million
A SB must complete the DGS/Bureau of Diversity, Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities (BDISBO) self-certification process. Additional information on this process can be found at https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Small%20Business%20Contracting%20Program/Pages/default.aspx.
A SDB is a DGS-verified minority-owned SB, woman-owned SB, veteran-owned SB, service-disabled veteran-owned SB, LGBT-owned SB, disability-owned SB or other SB as approved by DGS, that are owned and controlled by a majority of persons, not limited to members of minority groups, who have been deprived of the opportunity to develop and maintain a competitive position in the economy because of social disadvantages.
A SDB must complete the DGS verification process. Additional information on this process can be found at https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Small%20Diverse%20Business%20Program/Pages/default.aspx.
An offeror that qualifies as a SDB or a SB and submits a proposal as a prime contractor is not prohibited from being included as a subcontractor in separate proposals submitted by other offerors.
A SDB or SB may be included as a subcontractor with as many prime contractors as it chooses in separate proposals.
The Department's directory of self-certified SBs and DGS/BDISBO-verified SDBs can be accessed at https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Businesses/SmallDiverseBusinessProgram/Small-Diverse-Business-Verification.
Questions regarding the SDB and SB Programs, including questions about the self-certification and verification processes, can be directed to the Department of General Services, Bureau of Diversity, Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities, Room 601, North Office Building, Harrisburg, PA 17125, (717) 783-3119, fax (717) 787-7052, RA-BDISBOVerification@pa.gov, www.dgs.pa.gov.
II-4. Debriefing. The Department will not offer a debriefing session to the unsuccessful firms. The Department disclaims any liability whatsoever to its review of the proposal submitted and in formulating a recommendation for selections. Recommendations made by the Department shall be final.
PART III
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION III-1. Selection Criteria. The firm will be evaluated upon, but not limited to, the following criteria:
A. Professional's understanding of the problem as demonstrated in Letter of Interest, and as stated in their own interpretation of the tasks to be performed.
B. Qualifications of firm.
C. Professional personnel in firm.
D. Soundness of approach as demonstrated in Letter of Interest and as stated in their own interpretation of the tasks to be performed.
E. Available manpower to perform the services required.
F. Equitable distribution of the contracts.
G. Offeror is a self-certified Small Diverse and Small Business. To be eligible for selection for this project, the offerer's firm must be a self-certified SB/SDB verified by the DGS, BDISBO. Refer to Part II, II-3.
III-2. Number of Contracts. The Department may select more than one firm.
PART IV
MAILING AND CONTACT INFORMATION Firms interested in performing the required services for this project are invited to submit Letters of Interest to Alfred Uzokwe, Sr., PE, Director, Bureau of Facility Design and Construction, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 8th Floor, 400 Market Street, P.O. Box 8451, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8451. Contact Chuck Lutter at (717) 783-3318 for general information concerning this RFP.
CINDY ADAMS DUNN,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 19-824. Filed for public inspection May 31, 2019, 9:00 a.m.]
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