NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Retention of Professional Engineering Firms for Building Inspection Services Project Reference No. FDC-500-820
[55 Pa.B. 286]
[Saturday, January 11, 2025]The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Department) is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) from interested and qualified professional engineering firms (Consultant or Offeror) for an open-end contract or contracts to perform building inspection services for various projects located in State forests and State parks throughout this Commonwealth. The services will include inspection of building construction including associated site improvements. The contract or contracts 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 operations of the Department's infrastructure and facilities. The contract or contracts will be managed by the Department's Bureau of Facility Design and Construction (Bureau).
The number of open-end contracts and the dollar amount of each contract will 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.
Proposals will only be accepted from individuals, firms or corporations duly authorized to engage in the practice of engineering. If an individual, firm or corporation not authorized to engage in the practice of engineering wishes to submit a proposal, said individual, firm or corporation may do so as part of a joint venture with an individual, firm or corporation which is permitted under State law to engage in the practice of engineering in this Commonwealth.
Background
Established on July 1, 1995, the Department is charged with: maintaining and preserving the 124 State parks; managing the 2.2 million acres of State forest land; providing information on the ecological and geologic resources in this Commonwealth; 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 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. This 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 design 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 INFORMATIONI-1. Issuing Office. The Department has issued this RFP on behalf of the Commonwealth. The sole point of contact for this RFP will be the Issuing Officer listed as follows. Refer all inquiries to the Issuing Officer at https://bidexpress.com/solicitations/.
Issuing Officer:
Ryan B. Rhoades, PE
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Bureau of Facility Design and ConstructionI-2. Purpose. Services to be provided will include inspection of construction activities for building projects, associated site improvements and special inspections required by the Uniform Construction Code. The Consultant will be required to attend a preconstruction conference and regular job conferences with the Department and the construction contractor for each project. Under the direction of the Department, the Consultant will be required to keep records; document the construction work and provide daily site inspection reports to ensure conformity with contract specifications; prepare current and final estimates for payment to the construction contractor; assist the Department in obtaining compliance with the labor standards, safety and accident prevention and equal opportunity provisions of the construction contract; and perform other duties as required.
I-3. Qualifications. The Consultant shall have staff available to provide services associated with assigned projects. It is anticipated that up to four construction inspectors may be needed to perform the required work and services at any given time. The Consultant shall have demonstrated knowledge of the construction method.
The following minimum qualification will be required 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.
• Ensure that all inspectors are equipped with camera, laptop and mobile Internet to facilitate the daily submission of inspection reports and photographs.
• Have an established quality control and assurance program that includes all members of the team, including subconsultants, for checking documents for accuracy, consistency, coordination, quality and compliance with all necessary codes and regulations and Department standards.
The Consultant's inspection staff must comply with at least one of the following requirements:
• Be certified by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies.
• Be registered as a Professional Engineer by the Commonwealth with 1 year of construction experience acceptable to the Department.
• Be certified as an Engineer-in-Training by the Commonwealth with 2 years of construction experience acceptable to the Department.
• Hold a Bachelor of Science in Engineering or Architecture with 2 years of construction experience acceptable to the Department.
• Hold an Associate Degree in Engineering or Architecture Technology with 3 years of construction experience acceptable to the Department.
Special Inspector Qualifications—The special inspector shall be qualified for the type of construction requiring special inspection to the satisfaction of the Department of Labor and Industry building officials. The special inspector shall hold the relevant credentials, experience or training for the applicable construction type and provide written documentation to the Department and the building official demonstrating competency upon request.
I-4. Type of Contract. The type of contract as a result of this RFP will be an open-end, requirements contract. The Department will assign work on an as needed basis as determined by the Department. Reimbursement for services will be based upon hours of service and qualifying expenses. Reimbursement type will be at the Department's discretion. Bureau staff will review and, when applicable, approve the work. The selected Offerors will be expected to enter into an agreement for professional services with the Department in substantially the same form as the contract found at https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/programs-and-services/business/construction-bids. html.
I-5. Small Business Certification. Consultants must hold a current small business certification from the Department of General Services (DGS). The Offeror must enter its DGS Small Business Certificate Number on the Proposal Cover Sheet (Appendix A) where indicated. The Offeror also must provide a copy of its current DGS small business certification along with its proposal. See Part II, Section II-1, H.
I-6. Worker Protection and Investment. Under Executive Order 2021-06, Worker Protection and Investment (October 21, 2021), the Commonwealth is responsible for ensuring that every worker in this Commonwealth has a safe and healthy work environment and the protections afforded them through labor laws. Contractors of the Commonwealth must certify that they are in compliance with all applicable State labor and workforce safety laws. The certification must be made through the Worker Protection and Investment Certification Form (BOP-2201) and submitted with the proposal. See Part II, Section II-1, J.
I-7. Rejection of Proposals. The Issuing Office may, in its sole and complete discretion, reject any proposal received as a result of this RFP.
I-8. Incurring Costs. The Issuing Office is not liable for any costs the Offeror incurs in preparation and submission of its proposal, in participating in the RFP process or in anticipation of award of the contract.
I-9. Questions and Answers. If an Offeror has any questions regarding this RFP, the Offeror must submit the questions in the Q&A section of the Bid Express website at https://bidexpress.com/solicitations/. Questions must be submitted as individual questions. Questions must be submitted no later than 7 days prior to the proposal response date. Offerors shall not attempt to contact the Issuing Officer for questions by any other means. Questions and responses are considered an addendum to, and part of, this RFP. The Issuing Office is not bound by any verbal information, nor is it bound by any written information that is not either contained within the RFP or formally issued by the Issuing Office. The Issuing Office does not consider questions to be a protest of the specifications or the solicitation.
I-10. Addenda to the 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 Bid Express at https://bidexpress.com/solicitations/. It is the Offeror's responsibility to periodically check the website for any new information or addenda to the RFP.
I-11. Response Date. To be considered for selection, electronic proposals must be submitted on or before the time and date specified. The Issuing Office will reject any late proposals.
I-12. Notification of Selection. The Department will notify offerors whose proposals are not selected when the Department has successfully completed contract negotiations and has received the final negotiated contract signed by the selected Offeror.
I-13. Debriefing Conference. The Department will not offer a debriefing session to the unsuccessful Offerors.
PART II
PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTSOfferors 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. Technical Submittal. Proposals must include the following items and information:
A. Proposal Cover Sheet (Appendix A).
B. A description of the Offeror's understanding of the Department's needs and the services required. This description must include why and how the Offeror is qualified to provide these services.
C. A detailed description of the Offeror's quality control and assurance program, including how subconsultants are included in this program. Provide the name of the person responsible for quality control and describe their qualifications to perform this task.
D. A description of the Offeror'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. Include roles and experience of proposed subconsultants.
E. Resumes of personnel who will be involved in providing the services described in this RFP 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 sub-consultant's personnel.
F. A description of the Offeror's ability to work on multiple projects of various sizes at the same time.
G. A list of at least three of the Offeror's most recent completed projects similar to the projects anticipated under the contract. In addition to photographs and a descriptive narrative, the list must include the client, contact person and contact information, the completion date, the estimated or actual total construction cost, the firm's Project Manager and the names of all of the firm's personnel who made contributions to the project.
H. A copy of the Offeror's current DGS small business certification.
I. A standard Design Professional Selection Application for Professional Services Form (Appendix B), indicating the individual in charge. Additional information pertinent to the Offeror's qualifications to do the work of this contract may be included on this form.
J. Worker Protection and Investment Certification Form (BOP-2201) (Appendix C), certifying that the Offeror is in compliance with all applicable State labor and workforce safety laws in this Commonwealth.
II-2. Proposal Submission. Offerors must submit their proposals electronically at https://bidexpress.com/solicitations/.
Proposals must be signed by an official who is authorized to bind the Offeror to its provisions.
Offerors must submit a complete proposal. Failure to include any of the required information or forms will delay evaluation of the proposal and may, at the Commonwealth's sole discretion, result in its rejection.
II-3. Offeror's Representations and Authorizations. By submitting its proposal, each Offeror understands, represents and acknowledges that:
A. The Offeror's information and representations in the proposal are material and important, and the Issuing Office may rely upon the contents of the proposal in awarding the contracts. The Commonwealth will treat any misstatement, omission or misrepresentation as fraudulent concealment of the true facts relating to the proposal submission, punishable under 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904 (relating to unsworn falsification to authorities).
B. The Offeror has not attempted, nor will it attempt, to induce any firm or person to refrain from submitting a proposal on this contract.
C. The Offeror makes its proposal in good faith and not under any agreement or discussion with, or inducement from, any firm or person to submit a complementary or other noncompetitive proposal.
D. To the best knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Offeror, the Offeror, its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors and employees are not currently under investigation by any governmental agency and have not in the last 4 years been convicted or found liable for any act prohibited by Federal or State law in any jurisdiction, involving conspiracy or collusion with respect to bidding or proposing on any public contract, except as the Offeror has disclosed in its proposal.
E. To the best of the knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Offeror and except as the Offeror has otherwise disclosed in its proposal, the Offeror has no outstanding, delinquent obligations to the Commonwealth including, but not limited to, any State tax liability not being contested on appeal or other obligation of the Offeror that is owed to the Commonwealth.
F. The Offeror is not currently under suspension or debarment by the Commonwealth, any other Federal or State government, and if the Offeror cannot so certify, then it shall submit along with its proposal a written explanation of why it cannot make the certification.
G. The Offeror has not made, under separate contract with the Issuing Office, any recommendations to the Issuing Office concerning the need for the services described in its proposal or the specifications for the services described in the proposal.
H. Each Offeror, by submitting its proposal, authorizes Commonwealth agencies to release to the Commonwealth information concerning the Offeror's taxes in this Commonwealth, unemployment compensation and workers' compensation liabilities.
I. Until the selected Offeror receives a fully executed and approved written contract from the Issuing Office, there is no legal and valid contract, in law or in equity and the Offeror shall not begin to perform.
J. The Offeror is not currently engaged in and will not, during the duration of the contract, engage in a boycott of a person or an entity based in or doing business with a jurisdiction which the Commonwealth is not prohibited by Congressional statute from engaging in trade or commerce.
PART III
SELECTION AND AWARDIII-1. Selection Criteria. The Department will evaluate proposals based on the following criteria:
A. Consultant's and subconsultant's experience on past projects of similar scope, type and size.
B. Consultant's staff qualifications, experience and ability to perform the required services, including available manpower to perform the required services. This includes the qualifications, experience and abilities of subconsultant's staff.
C. Consultant's understanding of the Department's requirements, policies and specifications.
D. Consultant's project approach and methodology.
E. Consultant's quality control and assurance program and procedures.
F. Equitable distribution of contracts.
III-2. Final Ranking and Award. The Issuing Office will rank responsible Offerors according to the total overall score assigned to each, in descending order. It is the intent of the Department to select more than one Offeror for projects to be assigned on a regional basis. The Issuing Office may reject all proposals or cancel this RFP at any time prior to the time a contract is fully executed when it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth. The reasons for the rejection or cancellation will be made part of the contract file.
CINDY ADAMS DUNN,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 25-42. Filed for public inspection January 10, 2025, 9:00 a.m.]
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