Market Research for construction of Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Upgrades at the Troy Lock and Dam in Troy, New York.

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT TO BE USED FOR MARKET ANALYSIS ONLY.  NO AWARDS WILL BE MADE FROM THE RESPONSES TO THIS SYNOPSIS.  NO SOLICITATION WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER, RESPONSES WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE ACQUISITION STRATEGY FOR A FUTURE ACQUISITION. 

The purpose of this announcement is to gain knowledge of potential business sources; with specific interest in small business, certified 8(a) serviced by SBA districts, certified HUB Zone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), and Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), for work on dredging and beach creation construction contract. The NAICS Code is 237130 (Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction) (size standard $45.0 million average annual receipts for preceding three fiscal years). No awards will be made from the responses to this synopsis. No solicitation will be available at this time.

Responses will be used to determine appropriate acquisition decisions for a future procurement.

BACKGROUND AND INFORMATION FOR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT

Project Overview:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, plans to solicit and award a construction contract for Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Upgrades at the Troy Lock and Dam in Troy, New York.

The lock's current hydraulic operating system and centralized Allen Bradley (AB) SLC5/03 lock PLC system utilize equipment that has reached the end of its useful life. Critical maintenance parts are no longer supported and have become increasingly difficult to acquire, necessitating full system upgrades.

The base project work includes, but is not limited to:

• Mobilization and demobilization.
• Removal and reinstallation of concrete panels to facilitate access to machinery.
• Removal and disposal of the existing electrical distribution system, power/control conductors, and machinery assemblies.
• Fabrication and installation of new machinery and a new power distribution system.
• Replacement and upgrade of the existing centralized PLC system, including component replacement and control programming.
• Full system commissioning for electrical power distribution, machinery, and PLC lock controls.
• Replacement of the existing hydraulic operating systems, actuators, and power units for the miter gates and culvert valves.

Construction costs are in the range of $5,000,000 to $10,000,000.

OPERATIONAL CONSTRAINTS

The Contractor will conform to all local, state, and federal laws while carrying out the construction process for this project.

The Contractor shall prepare and submit a site-specific safety and health plan to the government for approval prior to mobilization. 

SURVEY OF THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR INDUSTRY

The following is a confidential survey questionnaire designed to apprise the US Army Corps of Engineers, NY District, of any prospective construction contractors’ project execution capabilities.  Please provide your response to the following questions. At the end of this survey, you will be asked to provide your comments.

General

The proposed project is for Shore Protection and Beach Renourishment work.

1. Description of project:

The O&M funded project is for upgrading of the existing PLC system and replacement of Miter Gate and Tainter Valve hydraulic cylinders and rods.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 237130 (Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction).  The Small Business Size standard is $45,000,000.

1. The following information is required from interested sources:
   1. Name of firm with address, phone, and fax number, point of contact and email address.

-  Identification and verification of the company as a Small Business Administration (SBA) certified HUBZone Small business firm, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business firm, Women-Owned Small Business, or an SBA certified 8(a) firm with an SBA approved office for performing a competitive acquisition in the State of New York, or a Small Business firm under the size standard assigned to the procurement.

- A CAGE Code and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) for the firm.

- Statement of Interest:  Please indicate whether your firm intends to submit an offer for this project.

- Qualification Criteria:  Responses to this Source Sought shall provide information that indicates the contractor has the experience to perform the work as specified above. Firms should respond to this notice by providing at least three relevant projects that the firm performed as a Prime Contractor.  No more than five relevant projects can be submitted as Past Experience.  Firms SHALL provide the dollar value of past relevant projects that the firm performed.

- Also include: (i) Forecasted use of materials, equipment including land-based equipment and pumps and storage location if applicable; (ii) Capabilities and Capacity for intended operations.

- Have you worked with environmental window restrictions?

- Bonding Capacity:  per contract and total bonding capacity.

- The interested contractor should list the percentage and type of work that they will self-perform.  Interested responders should refer to the following FAR Clauses to see the Limitations on Subcontracting that pertains to specific Set-asides.

FAR 52.219-14 pertains to Small Business and 8(a) Set asides).  If the acquisition is set-aside for all Small Businesses or the 8(a) Program, the concern will perform at least 15 percent of the cost of the contract, not including the cost of materials, with its own employees. 

FAR 52.219-3 pertains to HUBZone Set asides.  If the acquisition is set-aside for HUBZone Small Businesses, at least 15 percent of the cost of contract performance to be incurred for personnel will be spent on the HUBZone prime contractor’s employees; and at least 50 percent of the cost of the contract performance to be incurred for personnel will be spent on the HUBZone Prime Contractor’s employees or on a combination of the HUBZone Prime Contractor’s employees and employees of HUBZone Small Business concern Subcontractors; and no more than 50 percent of the cost of contract performance to be incurred for personnel will be subcontracted to concerns that are not HUBZone Small business concerns.

FAR 52.219-27 pertains to Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) set-asides.  If the acquisition is set-aside for SDVOSB, at least 15 percent of the cost of the contract performance incurred for personnel will be spent on the concern’s employees or the employees of other Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business concerns. A joint venture may be considered a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business concern if at least one member of the joint venture is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business concern, and makes the following representations:  That it is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business concern, and that it is a Small Business concern under the North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) code assigned to the procurement; and each other concern is small under the size standard corresponding to the NAICS code assigned to the procurement; and  the joint venture meets the requirements of paragraph 7 of the explanation of Affiliates in 19.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.  The joint venture meets the requirements of 13 CFR 125.15(b).

- Would you be willing to bid on the project described above?  Please provide a brief description. If the answer is no, please explain why not.

- Would you be bidding on this project as a sole contractor, prime contractor with subcontractor(s) or as a joint venture?

- Is there a dollar limit on the size contract that you would bid?

 - What are the largest construction contracts (in dollar amounts) on which you were the prime contractor?

 - What is your bonding capacity per contract? What is your total bonding capacity?

- Is your company a small or large business as defined by the SBA? Are you classified as a certified 8(a) serviced by SBA districts, certified HUB Zone, or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)?

Equipment

What type of standard construction equipment do you own and/or operate for work on soft soils such as hydraulic excavators outfitted with long reach booms, low-pressure off-road hauling equipment, low ground pressure dozers, low ground pressure utility vehicles, use of timber mats to support excavators and to assist in moving across wet areas of the site that is suitable for the work described?  For each item of equipment that you list, please specify its load capacity, modifications and any other relevant characteristics. 

Contractor’s Comments or Recommendations

Please provide, if any.

Please note that this notice is not a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract as a result of this notice or to pay for any information received. This synopsis neither constitutes a Request for Proposal or Invitation for Bid, nor does it restrict the Government to an ultimate acquisition approach. The Government should not construe this Sources Sought Synopsis as a commitment for any purpose. The Government does not intend to rank submittals or provide any reply to interested firms.

Submit Survey Questionnaires as PDF documents via email to: matthew.e.lubiak@usace.army.mil

Survey Questionnaires will not be accepted after 4:00 pm on the response date shown in the advertisement in the Beta.Sam.gov.  If the original response date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal Holiday, the response date will move to the next business day.