Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 FBO #5411
DOCUMENT

M -- Grounds maintenance at a NCA cemetery in the Oklahoma district. - Attachment

Notice Date

9/14/2016
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

561730 — Landscaping Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;NCA Contracting Service;155 Van Gordon Street;Suite 520;Lakewood, CO 80228
 

ZIP Code

80228
 

Solicitation Number

VA78616N0519
 

Response Due

9/20/2016
 

Archive Date

11/19/2016
 

Point of Contact

Ann R. Manning
 

Small Business Set-Aside

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
 

Description

The National Cemetery Administration is executing a sources sought for the purposes of identifying qualified Service Disabled Veteran Small Business concerns for grounds maintenance at a NCA cemetery in Oklahoma. The overall period of performance would be for a base and four follow-on option periods, not to exceed a total of five years. This sources sought is for research purposes only, and is not indicative of an actual requirement. A historical description of the requirement is as follows: 1.DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES: The Contractor shall furnish all personnel, supervision, professional expertise, vehicles, tools, materials, services, equipment and quality control necessary to ensure that grounds maintenance is performed in a manner that shall meet or exceed the requirements to maintain healthy grass and that presents a clean, neat, professional and aesthetic grounds appearance throughout the Cemetery in accordance with Contract Specifications and the Performance Work Requirements Summary (PWRS) found at Attachment 1. Services include, but are not limited to, mowing, trimming, edging, removal of trash, leaves and debris, as well as sweeping or blowing off grass from sidewalks, roads and headstones. Scheduling of services shall be coordinated with the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) to avoid disruption of ongoing cemetery operations. All work shall be done during normal Federal workdays during Cemetery workday hours. The exception is Memorial Day, which may be a workday for Federal employees, but not for the Contractor. No work shall be allowed during special weekend activities. 2.PROGRAM OBJECTIVES: a.The Contractor shall be responsible for full management of the facility's maintenance services described herein. The Government's objectives are described in the NCA's "Operational Standards and Measures" (given upon request of the Contracting Officer), the Performance Work Statement (PWS), and other requirements identified herein, as they are applicable to the services required in the Pricing Schedule. The Contractor shall develop a "Performance Work Plan" that contains solutions to accomplish the Government's objectives. The Contractor may use whatever method it chooses to meet the objectives, as long as the end result satisfies the minimum acceptable levels of performance as defined in the Performance Work Requirements Summary contained in Attachment 1. b.The Contractor shall be responsible for: 1)Providing all grounds maintenance services including, but not limited to: regular mowing, trimming, edging, removal of leaves and debris, as well as, sweeping or blowing off roads, around flagpole bases, and sidewalks, and trash removal. 2)Turf Maintenance: Maintain proper grass heights, different mowing patterns, for the type of turf at the Fort Gibson National Cemetery. 3)Turfgrass surrounding headstones or flat markers trimmed to its recommended height for the type of turf at the Fort Gibson National Cemetery. 4)Trimming Turf Grass Heights: Trimmed and mowed grass shall be at the same height; including, areas such as around planting beds, monuments, curbs, buildings, walls, fences, signs, etc. 5)Flat Marker Edging: The Contractor shall edge turf perpendicular to the outside perimeter (edge) of the flat markers to remove all grass/vegetation that is growing around or over the outside perimeter of the flat grave markers. 6)Edging: Blade Edging accomplished around streets, curbs, walkways, tree wells, permanent building/structure lines and planting beds. Edging zone shall be free of all vegetation. 7)Weed Control in Improved Areas: All broadleaf and grassy weeds are brought under total control through a variety of pest management methods, including application of pre- and post-emergent herbicide. Herbicide is applied in such a manner as to bring about the total control of in the improved turf areas of the Cemetery. Repeat, follow-up, and/or spot spray herbicide applications, as needed, have been applied. 8)Fertilizer Applications: Proper fertilizer is applied at the appropriate rate and in a manner that achieves uniform coverage throughout the area of application. 9)Debris and Trash Removal: Items such as twigs, branches, waste products from Contractor service and foreign materials (loose and/or blowing) on Cemetery grounds. Not included would be emptying trash found within the trash receptacles located throughout the Cemetery grounds. 10)Provide a safe working environment for Contractor, Cemetery staff and general public. 11)Ensuring all work conforms to the NCA's established National Shrine Standards. 3.CONTRACT OBJECTIVES: a.To use an innovative and creative technical approach to manage the Cemetery grounds maintenance operation at the Fort Gibson National Cemetery in order to maintain the high standards of appearance as a National Shrine, in accordance with best commercial practices and the requirements identified in this solicitation. b.To have the Contractor perform to its Technical Performance Approach focused on criteria designed to maintain healthy grass and a clean, neat and professional grounds appearance overall. The Guidance Specification Section at Attachment 3 is included as an example of the minimum requirements the Contactor is expected to meet or exceed. c.The minimum life of the contract is planned for one base period with up to four (4) one- year options individually exercised at the VA's discretion and dependent on the availability of funds. 4.QUALITY CONTROL: The Contractor shall develop, submit for Contracting Officer and COR acceptance, and maintain a Quality Control program to ensure grounds maintenance services are performed in accordance with the requirements of this contract. a.The Contractor shall submit a Quality Control Plan (QCP) for Contracting Officer and COR acceptance within fourteen (14) calendar days after contract award. Any changes thereafter must also be provided to Contracting Officer and COR for acceptance. b.The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. As a minimum the Contractor shall develop Quality Control procedures addressing the areas identified in Paragraph 3, Description of Services. The Contractor shall provide at least one (1) full time person dedicated to Quality Control. c.The Contractor's QCP shall include the following or have incorporated into during performance of contract, at a minimum: 1)An inspection plan covering all services required by this contract. The inspection plan must specify the areas to be inspected on either a scheduled or unscheduled basis; how often inspections will be accomplished and documented; and the title of the individual(s) who will perform the inspections. 2)On-site records of all inspections conducted by the Contractor noting necessary corrective action taken. The Government reserves the right to request copies of any and/or each inspection. 3)Incorporation of either active or established internal policy and procedures for updating equipment and procedures that may affect performance of contract. 4)The methods for identifying and preventing deficiencies in the quality of service performed, before the level of performance becomes unacceptable and organizational functions noting intermediate supervisory responsibilities and overall management responsibilities for ensuring total acceptable performance. 5)On-site records identifying the character, physical capabilities, certifications and ongoing training of each employee performing services under this contract. 6)A log to account for all requests for immediate service. The log shall indicate the date and time of services, and description of results and completion of these services. 7)On-site records of any complaints or problems, with procedures taken to allow for corrections and/or elimination before effects caused interruption of performance of contract. 5.QUALITY ASSURANCE: The COR will evaluate the Contractor's performance through on-site inspections, evaluation of the Contractor's quality control program and receipt of complaints from Cemetery personnel in accordance with the attached Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), Attachment 7. a.The COR may inspect each task as completed or increase the number of Quality Assurance inspections if called for by repeated failures discovered during inspections or repeated customer complaints. Likewise, the COR may decrease the number of Quality Assurance inspections if performance dictates. b.The COR will also receive and investigate complaints from various customers visiting the Cemetery. The Contractor shall be responsible for initialing validated visitor complaints. The COR will make final determination of the validity of visitor complaint(s). 6.SUPERVISION: a.Contractor Superintendent: The Contractor shall provide a competent and experienced supervisor who speaks and writes fluent English on site for at least four (4) hours a day whenever work is being performed, other than trash and debris pick-up. b.The Contractor Superintendent must have not less than five (5) years' experience as a direct supervisor of grounds maintenance operations that included mowing, trimming, edging, and cleanup in industrial, commercial or public sites. c.The Contractor Superintendent shall ensure all specifications are being met, ensure contract work does not conflict with ceremonies and funerals, and ensure employees are adequately supervised and proper conduct is maintained. d.The Contractor shall be responsible for maintaining satisfactory standards of personnel conduct and work performance and shall administer disciplinary action as required. The Contractor is expected to remove any employees from the Cemetery for cause, to include, but not limited to, safety violations, other misconduct in performance of duty under these specifications and/or e.conduct contrary to the best interests of the Government. If the Contractor fails to act in this regard, or the reason for a removal is immediately required to protect the interests of the Government, the COR may direct the removal of an employee from the premises. Contractor objections to any such action shall be referred to the Contacting Officer (CO) for final resolution; however, the Contractor will first immediately comply with COR direction pending any CO final resolution at a later time or date. The Contractor shall not be due any type of compensation for their costs incurred as a result of an employee being removed for cause; unless the removal is directed by the COR, and is later found invalid and/or unreasonable by the CO. f.In the absence of the Superintendent, the Contractor shall appoint an English-speaking crew foreman or an employee who shall be responsible to insure that the work is being accomplished in an expeditious manner, is performed in accordance with the contract specifications and that the work will progress without undue delay. 7.INSPECTION AND CLEANING OF CEMETERY FACILITIES: a.The Contractor shall perform a weekly inspection. During this inspection the appearance of the Cemetery shall be observed, and any deficiencies noted within the scope of the contract shall be corrected as soon as practicable. Items that need correcting outside the scope of the contract shall be reported to the COR or his/her representative. b.The Contractor shall be required to submit inspection reports and work accomplished to the COR weekly. The inspection forms will be provided to the Contractor. (See Attachment 5, Work Summary and Progress Report) 8.REPORTING AND RECORD KEEPING: a.The Contractor Superintendent shall report on a daily basis to the COR at the Maintenance Building of the Cemetery and log in on days when work is being performed. This DAILY check-in is mandatory and shall be at a time agreed upon by the COR and the Contractor Superintendent. The purpose of the DAILY meeting is to coordinate and establish the daily work schedule to ensure that no work is being performed at the immediate site of a scheduled interment or ceremony, and to submit the required written reports to the COR. These Daily meetings are for the Contractor Superintendent to ask questions and ensure he/she understands the off-limit areas, which may vary depending on the event. The Contractor Superintendent can thus assign tasks accordingly throughout the rest of the Cemetery so that productive use of labor and equipment is assured, and downtime is avoided. If the Contractor Superintendent fails to re-direct employees away from an event in a timely fashion, the COR may then assist in doing so. b.The Contractor Superintendent shall provide WEEKLY and DAILY work schedules to the COR. The Contractor is required to schedule all required services and is further required to comply with his schedule except for delays beyond his control. Such delays shall be coordinated through the COR. The work schedule shall include deficient work identified by Contractor's quality control inspections and not yet corrected. c.The Contractor shall submit the WEEKLY schedule every Friday by 3:00 P.M. indicating the work to be performed during the following week and the DAILY schedule shall be submitted on a daily basis by 8:00 A.M. indicating work being performed on that day. d.The Contractor Superintendent shall provide WEEKLY an accurate written report identifying all work that took place within the previous seven (7) calendar days. The Contractor shall document services performed, indicate the location where work was to be performed, and provide information to the COR as required. e.A list of scheduled ceremonies will be provided to the Contractor Superintendent the week prior to the scheduled events, and a list of scheduled funerals will be provided daily. The Contractor Superintendent shall be solely responsible for ensuring that no contract work causes any funeral, ceremony, procession or visitation to be delayed, altered, or otherwise impacted in such a way that the dignity or security of the event is compromised. The Contractor shall be solely responsible for staying abreast of all such upcoming events and when in doubt, he/she must ask the COR. f.The Contractor's performance and progress on this contract shall be measured weekly based on how timely, accurately, and adequately he/she accomplishes and completes the weekly work scheduled and as needed to systematically accomplish the contract work over the duration of the project. In instances where the COR determines that the work is behind schedule, he will notify the Contracting Officer and the Contractor shall increase workforce and/or hours of operation at no additional cost to the Government in order to achieve completion of the contract work within the specified timeframe. g.SUBMITTALS - The Contractor shall submit the following documents or information in accordance with the table below. SubmittalFrequencySubmittal Schedule Work Plan/Staffing Plan As RevisedWith Proposal Quality Control PlanAs RevisedWithin 14 calendar days after award Fire Safety PlanAs RevisedWithin 14 calendar days after award Emergency ContactsAs RevisedWithin 14 calendar days after award Licenses, Permits, Insurance on Vehicles, Liability, Workman's Compensation Insurance, etc.As RevisedPer Contracting Officer direction Pesticide Applicator Certification(s)For each applicatorPrior to herbicide application Herbicide Information Sheet and Safety Data SheetsWith each new product10 calendar days prior to chemical use Fertilizer Information Sheet and Safety Data SheetsWith each new product10 calendar days prior to chemical use Chemical Application LogDailyBefore close of business, same day as application Proposed Weekly Work ScheduleWeekly Preceding Friday by 3:00 p.m. Daily Work ScheduleDailyBy 8:00 a.m. Weekly Report and Rework ListWeeklyFollowing Monday or next business day 9.PERFORMANCE EVALUATION MEETING: a.The issuance of a Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR) found at Attachment 6 may be cause for the scheduling of a meeting among the Contractor, CO, and the COR. A mutual effort will be made to resolve all problems identified. The Government will prepare written minutes of the meeting. The Contractor, CO, and the COR will sign minutes of the meeting(s). b.Should the Contractor not concur with the minutes, they shall so state their objections in writing to the Contracting Officer, within ten (10) calendar days, and also explain the reasons for non-concurrence. The Contracting Officer will review and consider the reasons submitted for the Contractor's non-concurrence and make a decision to revise or uphold the comments as written. The Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor of the decision in writing within ten (10) calendar days of submission of any objections. 10.ACTIONS: a.Normally, the COR will verbally advise or give a written inspection report to the Contractor of discrepancies the first time they occur and ask the Contractor to correct the problem. A notation will be made on the COR checklist of the date and the time the deficiency was discovered and the date and time the Contractor was notified. b.If the Government created any of the discrepancies, these will not be counted against the Contractor's performance. When the Government has caused the Contractor to perform in an unsatisfactory manner, the COR will forward a written notice to the responsible organizational element requesting corrective action be taken. c.When the Contractor is not meeting the acceptable limits of satisfactory performance, a CDR will be issued to the Contractor. The seriousness of the failures should govern whether to issue CDR at the end of the period, or as soon as work performance is less than satisfactory. d.When a CDR is issued for a service, the CO and/or the COR may exercise any contractual remedy available for non-performance, in accordance with FAR 52.212-4, "Inspection and Acceptance". e.If the Contractor does not achieve satisfactory performance by the end of the next period or agreed suspense date, further actions may be considered, to include a determination on whether continued performance by the Contractor is feasible. An estimated historical usage and breakout of requirements is as follows: CLIN No.Supplies/ServicesEst. QtyUnitUnit CostTotal Cost 201Mow all improved turf areas. Remove grass clippings, debris, trash and clean sidewalks, patios, roadways, curbs, and parking areas. (Est. 35 acres, mowed 36 times = Est. 1,260 acres mowed.)1,260Acre$ ____________$ ____________ 202String trim grass in improved turf areas inaccessible to mowing equipment to include all sidewalks, curbs, driveways, trees, planting beds, monuments, buildings, walls, fences, signs, other vertical surfaces. Remove grass clippings, debris, trash and clean sidewalks, patios, roadways, curbs, and parking areas. (Est. 35 acres, trimmed 36 times = Est. 1,260 acres trimmed.)1,260Acre$ ____________$ ____________ 203Trim headstones and markers in conjunction with every mowing. Remove and replace graveside flowers and associated items. Remove grass clippings, debris, and trash from headstones and flat markers. (Est. 20,400 headstones and markers, trimmed 36 times = Est. 734,400 headstones/markers trimmed.) 734,400Headstone or Marker$ ____________$ ____________ 204Blade Edge all curbing, sidewalks, and roads. Remove grass clippings, debris, trash and clean sidewalks, patios, roadways, curbs, and parking areas. (Est. 17,100 linear feet, edged 6 times = Est. 102,600 linear feet edged.)102,600Linear Feet$ ____________$ ____________ 205Pre-Emergent Herbicide Applications (Est. 35 acres, applied 2 times = 70 acres treated.)70Acre$ ____________$ ____________ 206Post-Emergent Herbicide Applications (Est. 35 acres, applied 3 times = 105 acres treated.)105Acre$ ____________$ ____________ 207Fertilizer Applications (Est. 35 acres, applied 3 times = 105 acres treated.)105Acre$ ____________$ ____________ $ _____________ ? Any interested Service Disabled Veteran Small Business entity shall be required to provide a full capability statement that verifies that any firm can execute the requirement based on: Documented primary company experience on an ongoing basis within the last three years for the comparable requirement; Qualifications of Technical Personnel (training, experience, certifications) Evidence and extent of teaming arrangements on all past similar requirements to ensure your company will comply with subcontracting limitations as straight pass-through arrangements are not permissible. A minimum of three past performance references for relevant (scope and complexity) and recent (within the last three years) requirements.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/VANCA/VANCA/VA78616N0519/listing.html)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA786-16-N-0519 VA786-16-N-0519.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=3004733&FileName=VA786-16-N-0519-000.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=3004733&FileName=VA786-16-N-0519-000.docx

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN04270676-W 20160916/160914234541-0a9e8903c16de93f3ae0fea3e8764a03 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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