SOLICITATION NOTICE
C -- LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
- Notice Date
- 8/16/2013
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541330
— Engineering Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1640, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1640
- Solicitation Number
- NB730010-13-04066
- Archive Date
- 9/17/2013
- Point of Contact
- Prateema E. Carvajal, Phone: 301-975-4390, Donald Collie, Phone: 301-975-6485
- E-Mail Address
-
prateema.carvajal@nist.gov, donald.collie@nist.gov
(prateema.carvajal@nist.gov, donald.collie@nist.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-69 The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541330 with a small business size standard is $14M. This requirement is a 100% small business set aside *** 1352.215-72 INQUIRIES (APR 2010) Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to Prateema.carvajal@nist.gov. Questions should be received no later than 7 calendar days after the issuance date of this solicitation. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract. (End of Provision) BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Engineering Laboratory of the U. S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a goal to develop measurement science for Net Zero Energy, High-Performance Buildings. Products of the laboratory's research include measurements and test methods, performance criteria and metrics, and technical data that support innovations by industry and are incorporated into building and fire standards and codes. The NIST Metrics and Tools for Sustainable Buildings project (commonly referred to as "BIRDS") contributes to the Net Zero Energy Building Program. Its objective is to develop, integrate, apply, and deploy measurement science assessing the sustainability performance of whole buildings. NIST is taking a lead role, with its sustainability performance measurement methods and tools, in providing guidance to the building community on the life cycle environmental performance of whole buildings. This guidance will be strengthened by linking environmental performance measurements with computer-aided design tools in wide use by building designers. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a requirement for Life Cycle Assessment for environmental performance of whole buildings. Line Item 0001: The contractor shall perform all services associated with the Life Cycle Assessment as defined herein. I. SCOPE OF WORK a. OBJECTIVES/PURPOSE Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a science-based approach for assessing the environmental performance of whole buildings. The Contractor shall determine the feasibility of developing whole building LCAs within the framework of computer-aided design (CAD) applications and Building Information Modeling (BIM) databases. CAD is commonly used by building designers during the design stage to help make key decisions about a building's structure, footprint, systems, and materials with the help of building data stored in structured BIM databases. These design decisions profoundly affect the environmental performance of buildings, and BIM databases provide rich sources of LCA input data, yet CAD/BIM and LCA measurement systems are not currently interoperable. As a result, environmental performance is typically assessed after a building is designed, when it is too late to make the most impactful changes to improve environmental performance. Furthermore, LCA data are developed independently of BIM databases, creating data inefficiencies and limiting data accessibility. The outcome shall be a report identifying and comparing options for creating interoperability between whole building LCA tools and CAD/BIM systems currently in widespread use by building designers. The deliverables will be reviewed by the NIST Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). b. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS: The Contractor shall provide all support for project oversight, administration and technical execution of this contract. The Contractor shall be responsible for maintaining accurate records of project activities. The specific requirements are detailed in Section VI Tasks of this document. II. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The period of performance shall be from the date of award through one year. III. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE All work shall be accomplished at the Contractor's facility. IV. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY None. V. TASKS There are six tasks for this effort. The six tasks, deliverables, and delivery dates are: Task 1. Review of existing CAD/BIM tools The Contractor shall develop a strong understanding of existing building design software applications and their environmental extensions. There are a number of CAD applications for engineers and architects that are widely used. There are also a number of add-ons and plug-ins that expand the capabilities of some of the applications and include limited environmental analyses such as energy use and carbon footprinting. The Contractor shall review key features of existing building design applications and identify candidates for further investigation in the subsequent tasks. At a minimum, the following CAD applications shall be reviewed in this task: ArchiCAD by Graphisoft, Sketchup by Google/Trimble, Revit by Autodesk, and Virtual Environment by Integrated Environmental Solutions. Key features to be reviewed shall include tool functionality and its use of BIM data. Deliverable 1: Review of the current state of the art in building CAD and BIM software with recommendations for specific applications for more detailed review, submitted electronically in MS Word format to the NIST COR. Due three months after date of award. Task 2. Evaluate CAD/BIM tool output The feasibility of integrating LCA with CAD/BIM tools will depend on the quality and quantity of the data they provide. Any missing or incomplete data would need to be collected from alternative sources. The completeness of the data provided by the CAD/BIM tools will be an important factor when determining the suitability of a particular tool for integration with whole building LCA modeling. Key building LCA data requirements are summarized below. Whole Building LCA Data Requirements Building Phase Required Data Construction Material Inputs Construction Inputs Occupancy Energy Use Water Use Maintenance & Repair End of Life Waste Types The Contractor shall conduct a detailed review of the outputs of the CAD/BIM tools identified for further review in Task 1. Any outputs related to LCA data requirements shall be evaluated against criteria related to their extrinsic and intrinsic properties to determine their suitability. Extrinsic properties include the format and structure of the data whereas intrinsic properties refer to the actual content and completeness of the information. Deliverable 2: Evaluation of outputs from each CAD/BIM tool selected for more detailed review in Task 1, within the context of their extrinsic and intrinsic properties, submitted electronically in MS Word format to the NIST COR. Due 1 month and three weeks from NIST COR acceptance of Task # 1 deliverable. Task 3. Identify and assess compatibility of LCA data sources with CAD/BIM output The Contractor shall review all available LCA data sources to identify those that are most relevant to whole building LCAs. Sources of LCA data include, but are not limited to, the NIST BIRDS and Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) databases, the Comprehensive Environmental Data Archive, the Ecoinvent database, and the U.S. LCI Database. The Contractor shall assess the compatibility of such data sources with the CAD/BIM tool outputs evaluated in Task 2. Criteria for the compatibility assessment include the feasibility of linking the datasets based on data content, format, and use of a standard classification system for building components, as well as on interoperability and consistency among multiple LCA datasets. Deliverable 3: Assessment of compatibility of available LCA data sources with CAD/BIM tool outputs, submitted electronically in MS Word format to the NIST COR. Due 1 month and three weeks from NIST COR acceptance of Task # 2 deliverable. Task 4.. Identify data gaps and solutions for filling them Task 2 reviews the output of the CAD/BIM applications and Task 3 looks at the LCA data that are needed to perform whole building LCAs. For Task 4, the Contractor shall compare the results of Tasks 2 and 3 to determine what, if any, additional data must be collected to complete a whole building LCA. Data gaps will occur whenever a whole building LCA data requirement is not provided by either the CAD/BIM tool output or existing LCA data sources. For such data gaps, the Contractor shall identify potential solutions for filling them. Deliverable 4: Identification of data gaps and proposed solutions for filling them, submitted electronically in MS Word format to the NIST COR. Due 3 weeks from NIST COR acceptance of Task # 3 deliverable. Task 5. Develop options for integrating CAD/BIM and LCA applications Based on the findings in the previous tasks, the Contractor shall establish options for integrating CAD/BIM and LCA applications. The Contractor shall evaluate the feasibility of several approaches to integration, provide an estimate of the resources required, and predict potential challenges. Options may include creating a plug-in for a CAD/BIM tool allowing users to access the BEES and BIRDS databases online, or creating a web interface where CAD/BIM outputs can be uploaded and LCA results retrieved. Special attention will be paid to the complexity and utility of each approach from an end-user perspective. Deliverable 5. Comparison of alternatives for integrating CAD/BIM and LCA applications, submitted electronically in MS Word format to the NIST COR. Due three weeks from NIST COR acceptance of Task # 4 deliverable. Task 6. Develop final report The Contractor shall formulate a final recommendation on the best approach to integrating CAD/BIM and LCA applications based on the findings of Tasks 1 through 5 and in consultation with the NIST COR. The recommendation will be delivered in a final report summarizing the results from Tasks 1 through 5 and justifying why the recommended approach is preferred to the other alternatives identified in Task 5. Deliverable 6. Recommendation on most feasible approach for integrating CAD/BIM and LCA applications, submitted electronically in MS Word format to the NIST COR. Due 2 months and two weeks from NIST COR acceptance of Task # 5 deliverable. VI. CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS The work described in this Statement of Work requires a minimum of one (1) Contractor key personnel. The Contractor key personnel working under this order must have a PhD in a field under the Environmental Sciences. VII. INSPECTION/ACCEPTANCE or PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY Standards for Acceptance of Deliverables: The COR will provide comments on each deliverable within 3 calendar days from receipt of a given deliverable. The contractor shall make any needed changes to the deliverables within 4 calendar days from receipt of electronic or written comments from the COR. VIII. TRAVEL None PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES: The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are hereby incorporated by reference. All FAR clauses may be viewed at http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html. Provisions 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items; 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items; 1352.209-70, Potential Organizational Conflict of Interest; Representation by Corporations Regarding an Unpaid Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction Under Any Federal Law (Class Deviation) (March 2012) 1) In accordance with Sections 543 and 544 of Public Law 112-55 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act 2012, Title V (General Provisions) none of the funds made available by that Act may be used to enter into a contract with any corporation that- a) Was convicted of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the preceding 24 months, unless the agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government. b) Has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, unless the agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government. 2) The Offeror represents that, as of the date of this offer- a) It is [ ] is not [ ] a corporation that was convicted of a felony criminal violation under a Federal law within the preceding 24 months. b) It is [ ] is not [ ] a corporation that has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreements with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability. (End of provision) Offerors shall complete annual representations and certifications on-line at http://orca.bpn.gov in accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required. Clauses 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (APR 2010)-Commercial Items including subparagraphs: 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards; 52.209-6, Protecting the Government' Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment; 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (section 740 of Division C of Public Law 111-117, section 743 of Division D of Public Law 111-8, and section 745 of Division D of Public Law 110-161); 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Representation; 52.222-3, Convict Labor; 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52-222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; 52.223-18, Contractor Policy to Ban Text Messaging while Driving; 52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases; 52.232-30, Installment Payments for Commercial Items 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration. 1352.201-70, Contracting Officer's Authority 1352.201-72, Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) 1352.209-73, Compliance With The Laws INSTRUCTIONS: System for Award Management (SAM) In accordance with FAR 52.204-99, the awardee must be registered in SAM (www.sam.gov) prior to award. Refusal to register shall forfeit award. Due Date for Quotations Offerors shall submit their Quotations so that NIST receives them not later than 8:00 a.m., September 2, 2013. Eastern Time on. FAX quotations shall not be accepted. E-mail quotations shall be accepted at Prateema.carvajal@nist.gov. Offerors' quotations shall not be deemed received by the Government until the quotation is entered into the e-mail address inbox set forth above. Quotations shall be sent to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Acquisition Management Division, Attn: Prateema Carvajal, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1640. All offerors should ensure the RFQ number is visible on the outermost packaging. Because of heightened security, FED-EX, UPS, or similar delivery methods are the preferred method of delivery of quotes. If quotes are hand delivered, delivery shall be made on the actual due date through Gate A, and a 48 hour (excluding weekends and holidays) prior notice shall be provided to Donald Collie, Contract Specialist on 301-975-6458. Addendum to FAR 52.212-1, Quotation Preparation Instructions 1) Price Quotation: The offeror shall submit an original and four copies of the completed price schedule. If the quotation is submitted electronically, additional copies are not required. The pricing quotation shall be separate from any other portion of the quotation. The offeror shall propose a firm-fixed-price for each CLIN. Price quotations shall remain valid for a period of 60 days from the date quotations are due. 2) Technical Quotation: The offeror shall submit an original and four copies of the technical quotation. If the quotation is submitted electronically, additional copies are not required. The technical quotation shall address the following: Technical Capability: The offeror shall demonstrate its understanding of the requirements and provide a concise, detailed, and thorough discussion of its approach and capability to fulfilling the requirements of each task in the Statement of Work/Specifications. The offeror shall describe its proposed methods and techniques. The offeror must demonstrate that its proposed solution meets or exceeds each minimum requirement described in the statement of work by providing a citation to the relevant section of its technical description or product literature. Experience: The offeror shall demonstrate the extent to which it has recently provided similar services. Past Performance: The offeror shall provide past performance information regarding relevant contracts over the past two (2) years with Federal, state, or local governments, or commercial customers. If the offeror intends to subcontract with another firm(s) for part of this requirement, that firm's past performance information shall also be provided. If the offeror has no relevant past performance, it may include a statement to that effect in its quotation. The government reserves the right to consider data obtained from sources other than those described by the offeror in its quotation. It is recommended that approximately 3-5 contracts be referenced. The description of each contract/order described in this section shall not exceed one half page in length. For each contract/order, the offeror shall provide the following information: 1. Contract number; 2. Description and relevance to solicitation requirements including dollar value; 3. Period of Performance - indicate by month and year the state and completion (or "ongoing") dates for the contract; 4. Reference Contact - If a non-Government contract, identify the name and address of the client with current telephone number and email address of a point of contact of the client responsible for the contract; 5. Contracting Office - If a Government contract (Federal or state), identify the Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO), administrative Contracting Officer (ACO), and Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), and their names, current telephone numbers and email addresses. 6. Problems Encountered - include information regarding information regarding any problems encountered on the contracts described above and corrective actions taken to resolve those problems. Acceptance of Terms and Conditions: This is an open-market solicitation for equipment as defined herein. The Government intends to award a Purchase Order as a result of this solicitation that will include the clauses set forth herein. The quotation should include one of the following statements: "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition." OR "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following: Offeror shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s) Note: This procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an offeror submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the offeror's FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation. QUOTATION EVALUATION: Evaluation Factors Award shall be made to the offeror whose quotation offers the best value to the Government price and other factors considered. The Government will evaluate quotations based on the following evaluation criteria: 1) Technical Capability 2) Experience, 3) Past Performance, and 4) Price. All non-price factors, when combined, are more important than price. Technical Capability: Evaluation of technical capability shall be based on the information provided in the quotation. NIST will evaluate whether the offeror has demonstrated that its proposed solution meets or exceeds all minimum requirements. The Government will evaluate the offeror's technical approach and capability to conducting the requirements of each task in the SOW to determine its overall understanding of the requirements and the extent to which its proposed approach will ensure successful performance of this effort. Quotations that do not demonstrate the proposed solution meets all requirements will not be considered further for award. If an offeror does not indicate whether its proposed solution meets a certain minimum requirement, NIST will determine that it does not. Experience: NIST will evaluate the extent of the offeror's experience providing similar services. Past Performance: The Government will evaluate the offeror's past performance information to determine its relevance to the current requirements and the extent to which it demonstrates that the offeror has successfully completed relevant contracts in the past three years. In assessing the offeror's past performance, NIST will evaluate the quality and timeliness of delivery of goods and/or services, effective management (including management of subcontractors if appropriate), level of communication between the contracting parties, ability to control cost, and customer satisfaction. The Government reserves the right to assess the past performance of proposed subcontractors. The Government will use its discretion to determine the sources of past performance information used in the evaluation and the information may be obtained from references provided by the offeror, the agency's knowledge of contractor performance, other Government agencies or commercial entities, or past performance databases. NOTE -- If an offeror does not have a history of relevant contract experience, or if past performance information is not available, the offeror will receive a neutral past performance rating; however, an offeror without a history of relevant experience may receive a lowered rating for the Experience Factor. Price: The Government will evaluate price for reasonableness. Past Performance, Experience, and Price shall not be evaluated on quotes that are determined technically unacceptable under the Technical Capability Evaluation factor. 1352.233-70 AGENCY PROTESTS (APR 2010) (a) An agency protest may be filed with either: (1) the contracting officer, or (2) at a level above the contracting officer, with the appropriate agency Protest Decision Authority. See 64 Fed. Reg. 16,651 (April 6, 1999) (b) Agency protests filed with the Contracting Officer shall be sent to the following address: NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION ATTN: DONALD COLLIE, CONTRACTING OFFICER 100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640 Gaithersburg, MD 20899 (c) Agency protests filed with the agency Protest Decision Authority shall be sent to the following address: NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION ATTN: HEAD OF THE CONTRACTING OFFICE (HCO) 100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640 Gaithersburg, MD 20899 (d) A complete copy of all agency protests, including all attachments, shall be served upon the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel within one day of filing a protest with either the Contracting Officer or the Protest Decision Authority. (e) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows: U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the General Counsel Chief, Contract Law Division Room 5893 Herbert C. Hoover Building 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230. FAX: (202) 482-5858 1352.233-71 GAO AND COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS PROTESTS (APR 2010) (a) A protest may be filed with either the Government Accountability Office (GAO) or the Court of Federal Claims unless an agency protest has been filed. (b) A complete copy of all GAO or Court of Federal Claims protests, including all attachments, shall be served upon (i) the Contracting Officer, and (ii) the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel, within one day of filing a protest with either GAO or the Court of Federal Claims. (c) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows: U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the General Counsel Chief, Contract Law Division Room 5893 Herbert C. Hoover Building 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230. FAX: (202) 482-5858 (End of clause)
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- Place of Performance
- Address: NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899, United States
- Zip Code: 20899
- Zip Code: 20899
- Record
- SN03151959-W 20130818/130816234640-09b1c5d2060e1488867e36bc37cd3561 (fbodaily.com)
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