Month: August 2020

Korte Construction Co., St. Louis, Missouri Awarded a $21,894,868 Contract for the Construction New Consolidated Storage and Distribution Center at Joint Base Charleston

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Korte Construction Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $21,894,868 firm-fixed-price task order under a multiple award construction contract for the construction of a new consolidated storage and distribution center at Joint Base Charleston.

The work to be performed provides for the construction of a new consolidated storage and distribution center (approximately 95,000 square feet). Work will be performed in Charleston, South Carolina, and is expected to be completed by September 2022. Military construction (Air Force) contract funds in the amount of $21,894,868 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One proposal was received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Korte Construction Awarded a Contract for the Construction

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Korte Construction Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $21,894,868 firm-fixed-price task order under a multiple award construction contract for the construction of a new consolidated storage and distribution center at Joint Base Charleston.

The work to be performed provides for the construction of a new consolidated storage and distribution center (approximately 95,000 square feet). Work will be performed in Charleston, South Carolina, and is expected to be completed by September 2022. Military construction (Air Force) contract funds in the amount of $21,894,868 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One proposal was received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Ecosystem Acquisition Restructure for Sustainment Support East

Posted on by Eric Coffie

The Infrastructure and Sustainment Line of Business, also known as SEL3, Sustainment Support is seeking information for potential sources for application support for Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and mission partner written software which runs on various operating systems, including but not limited to UNIX, LINUX, UNISYS, Operating System 2000 and Windows server in the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet) and Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet) environments on a 24x7x365 basis.  The contractor shall provide installation, implementation, testing, maintenance, monitoring, web administration, troubleshooting, repair, and application security administration support.

These systems are governed according to Department of Defense (DoD) standards and include industry best practices to provide a secure environment for server database functionality.  Full lifecycle support for DISA managed database systems will be provided to include, but not limited to, initial installation and configuration of database technologies to deploy engineered system design solutions; daily operations, administration, and management of database technologies for the sustainment of database system availability, reliability, performance and security; and 24x7x365 issue/incident response, analysis, and resolution services supporting system return to operations.

Request that your response be returned no later than Aug 27, 2020 02:00 pm EDT. Full details HERE.

NAVY Awards Whiting-Turner Contracting Co $149,115,855 for Construction of Hurricane Florence Recovery Package 1 located in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., Greenbelt, Maryland, is awarded a $149,115,855 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of Hurricane Florence Recovery Package 1 located in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. The contract also contains 21 planned modifications and six unexercised options, which if exercised, would increase cumulative contract value to $161,250,305. This project provides replacements for various buildings damaged during Hurricane Florence.

The proposed replacements are divided into five separate projects:

  1. Construction of a 23,000 square foot, two-story security building and a 15,000 square foot, two-story headquarters and headquarters squadron (H&HS) and Marine wing headquarters squadron (MWHS-2) facility.
  2. Construction of a 36,000 square foot vehicle maintenance shop.
  3. Fire stations replacement involving construction of a 32,000 square foot main fire station with five bays and a 12,000 square foot satellite fire station with two bays.
  4. Range operations center (ROC) replacement involving construction of a 15,000 square foot ROC to support range management activities at Bombing Target 11.
  5. Station academic facility/auditorium involving construction of a 21,000 square foot general-purpose auditorium to provide an assembly area for instruction, training, and movies.

Work will be performed in Cherry Point, North Carolina, and is expected to be completed by August 2025. Fiscal 2019 military construction (MILCON), Marine Corps (MC) contract funds in the amount of $132,325,843; and fiscal 2020 MILCON, MC contract funds in the amount of $16,790,012, are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov website with 11 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-20-C-0055).

 

Whiting–Turner provides construction management, general contracting, design-build and integrated project delivery services on projects small and large for a diverse group of customers. Our people manage some of the most exciting, challenging construction projects in the country.

Video Visitation System Contract Opportunity

Posted on by Eric Coffie

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is seeking information about video visitation systems which can assist the BOP in providing safe and secure visitation between incarcerated inmates and their families.  BOP previously issued an RFI in March 2020, however, that solicitation was focused on video visitation systems which could be used to facilitate visits with inmates in an institution’s Special Housing Unit (SHU) or other secure area.  The solicitation also expected that a corresponding unit would be placed in the institution’s front lobby area.

Request that your response be returned no later than Aug 28, 2020 02:00 pm EDT. Full details HERE.

IDIQs and IDVs : MasterMinds Monday

Posted on by Eric Coffie

On this episode of MasterMinds Monday, Eric Coffie shares the benefits of IDIQs and IDVs and how to prepare your company in order to get these kinds of contracting opportunities.

BENEFITS OF IDIQs and IDVs

In the government contracting marketplace, there is a misconception that having a small business certificate would equate to a handful of contract opportunities. Although, this may slightly be true, you will not achieve much success from the programs if you are not ready yet. 

“I think everyone out here should get 8a program, it is a pathway to riches and fortunes and generational wealth (however) only if you get it when you’re ready. If you do not wait until you’re ready, it can be a pathway to destruction because you spend so much time consumed with trying to learn it and trying to figure it out.”

This is further proven by one of the recent guests of the GovCon Giants podcast who did research on the companies that are part of the 8a program. The conclusion of the research made clear that the successful companies are the ones getting indefinite delivery vehicle (IDV) contracts. They keep on rising in terms of sales and are extending the life of their multi-year contract vehicles. 

This is because IDVs are essentially a blanket purchase agreement that has hundreds and even thousands of smaller contract opportunities that only selected companies are eligible to compete. These types of vehicles also provide a definite time period that are usually 5 to 10 years but can be stretched up to more than that.

This is why if you’re doing your research for contract opportunities on beta.sam, you will find contracts that say ‘only vehicle holders are eligible to bid.’ In this case, regardless if you are part of the 8a or VOSB, you can’t still bid on these types of contracts. 

So now instead of going to beta.sam and bidding on contracts, spend more time and effort on pre-qualifying for a contract vehicle. 

PREPARE YOUR COMPANY FOR IDVs, IDIQs, AND OTHER CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES

In order to pre-qualify your company and take advantage of these indefinite delivery vehicles, you need to have a list of the IDV opportunities that are in your particular space first. Go to your nearest Procurement Technical Assistance Centers or small business organization. 

Then, check if there are active or recently closed IDV opportunities in your industry, pull down the requirements, and analyze if you are qualified or not. 

If you are not qualified, then make sure that you are ready and qualified for the next opportunities. 

“If I were to give you a contract and give you an opportunity, you’re not even ready to receive it. So, how about we start getting ourselves ready and in a position so that we can receive opportunities.”

1. Get Funds.

Don’t use your own money to fund your company in order to get these contract opportunities. Rather, get supplier credit, vendor credit, or business credit.

This is for the reason that before the government pays, they still need to approve the products or services that you offer first. It’s not even about being financially stable or not. Unless the government has already approved the products that you sell, then don’t use your own money as it may go to waste. 

2. No Ability 

There are many requirements for a specific contract and you need to check all of these boxes. Because of this, contractors might be intimidated to do a project and just say that they can’t bid on it. 

But rather than avoiding an opportunity, why not put all the stuff in place in order to get qualified? IDV is going to probably require the highest levels in terms of requirements so you need to make sure that you achieve this. And the best way to do this is to find people or a team to help you. 

3. No Experience

Many people say that they don’t have enough experience and past performance to qualify for contracts. However, you can achieve this by including your team’s experience in your capability statement.

For instance if you’re bidding for a landscaping project. If you haven’t done anything like it before, you should not lie about your experience. However, you can hire another person who has experience in doing landscaping projects in the past and include their experience in your capability statement. This way, you are using that person’s performance to qualify for that specific project. 

Remember that you do not build a building alone, you have a team who have various experiences depending on their qualifications. You can use that to qualify for contracts that require past performance. Besides, in the government marketplace, they allow you to bring on people that complement your strength. 

RESOURCES

If you want to watch the full video where we talk about the benefits of IDIQs and IDVs and how to prepare your company in order to get these kinds of contracting opportunities, then be sure to click the links below:

Are you ready to win a contract, prepare your corporation for success using IDV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqs1D_TKZIg

Multiple year contract award (IDIQ) explained in simple terms – Eric Coffie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgVtj-Iv7yI

ARMY Awards $45M To Power and Instrumentation Service Inc For Temporary Roofing Projects in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Power and Instrumentation Service Inc, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for numerous rapid-response temporary roofing projects in the U.S. Virgin Islands in the event of an emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0044).

Power & Instrumentation Services Inc operates as an electrical contractor. The Company installs and maintain electrical wiring, equipment, and other components.

Beam Characterization Instrumentation Suite For Power Measurement & Beam Profiling

Posted on by Eric Coffie

The Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division, China Lake, CA, in accordance with FAR 6.302-1, intends to procure, on an other than full and open competition basis a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract with Bosque Computer for a Beam Characterization Instrumentation Suite for power measurement and beam profiling.

The aforementioned items must meet the following specifications:

  1. Heat Capacity: greater than 500kJ
  2. Peak Beam Irradiance: greater than 500W/cm2
  3. Power Measurement Accuracy: ±5% from 10-500kW
  4. HEL Wavelength Range: 0.9 – 1.7 um
  5. Beam Spot Size: 3-90 cm
  6. Power/Irradiance Sample Rate: greater than 100 Hz
  7. Power/Irradiance Measurement Duration: 1-15 sec
  8. Spatial Resolution of Beam Profile: 1mm
  9. Beam Centroid Jitter Sampling: greater than 200Hz
  10. Timing: IRIG-B

Responsible interested parties may submit information in which they identify their interest and capabilities to respond to this requirement. The Government will consider all information received via email to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer by 28 August 2020 at 12:00 PM PST. 

Full details can be found HERE.

Sources Sought Notices and the Rule of Two – MasterMinds Monday

Posted on by Eric Coffie

On this episode of MasterMinds Monday, Eric Coffie shares the benefits of responding to sources sought notices and the rule of two in getting contracting opportunities.  

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICES

Sources sought notices are not actual bids and solicitations. Rather, these are solicits of interest from a specific government agency in order to look for contractors that can provide the same products and services that are in the notice.

Because of that same purpose, there are not a lot of people who don’t respond to these notices. However, that’s the wrong way to think about these notices. 

“You should be going after these sources opportunities the same way you go after contracts. In fact in my personal opinion, I believe that you should go after source soughts harder than you go after contracts and bids.”

Consider it this way, because there are not a lot of responses to these notices, you can be able to shape the way this government research will come out. This is your opportunity to gain a set-aside or a contract meant for small businesses. 

Although there are times that no project or contract will come out of this research, this is also a way for you to be able to market to the agency and let them know you exist even before they put out a formal request. 

Let’s just say you responded to a sources sought notice about a portable toilet cleaning service job. You can contact or email the contract officer who handled that notice and ask if there’s a project that came out from that research or not. If there is none, you can ask for a similar project related to the sources sought notice or the contract officers will be the one to contact you when a related opportunity comes out. 

“I have never received a contract from a source of sought notice… What I receive is another contract that is related to my skill set, my company’s skill set, and our abilities because of submitting to a source of sought notice… So, I’m not expecting you to necessarily receive this contract because you submitted a source of notice however because you showed that you could do this, they may have an opportunity right now, today that’s a simplified acquisition that they could call you for and invite you to participate in.”

THE RULE OF TWO

In a sources sought notice, there is a factor that affects whether a project be given as a set-aside for small businesses or not and that is through the rule of two. 

The rule of two  has to be met for contract opportunities above the simplified acquisition to be set aside. In this process, there should be two or more companies that must submit to market research and let the government agency know that a business that provides a specific product or service exists. 

Consider that government agencies can just look for businesses that can provide a specific product or service through DSBS and other government contracting databases but they chose to publicly post a sources sought notice to provide opportunity to small businesses and to look for those that are really interested in such type of opportunity. 

This is why it is very important for small businesses as a whole to respond to these market research because if there is only one small business that responds, opportunities related to these sources sought notices will most likely be given to large companies rather than to small businesses. 

However, don’t expect that you will directly get a return on investment by responding to these notices. The rule of two has to be met by two or more companies. Slowly, when more companies respond to these notices, this can change the paradigm and this can shape future opportunities coming down the path of small business contractors. 

“Why don’t we help them (small business activists, liaisons, and some offices) do their job easier? Like let’s make their job easier by giving them the information they need, finding people that can do these types of jobs, and if even if you can’t do it, reaching out to someone who you know that can do it and have it helping them submit their information. All that does is creates more opportunity for all of us small businesses out there.”

So that’s essentially the rule of two in a nutshell. Respond in the market research phase and ask other businesses to do the same. Put together your teams. Send your capability statement and response to the government. Lastly, allow them to take the evaluation.

RESOURCES

If you want to watch the full video where Eric shares the benefits of responding to sources sought notices and the rule of two in getting contracting opportunities, then be sure to click the links below:

[GovCon] What is an RFI/Sources sought, the rule of two and why does it matter?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CTh_tUOY04

Last week’s sources sought notices in Beta.Sam and why this is important 0727

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhUk2MhhzQI

What is a ‘Sources Sought’ on FedBizOpps (FBO) & how to respond? – Eric Coffie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra8q2SfKeD0

Let your competitors know about a sources sought

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8oNJ0tSyqs

Deloitte Consulting awarded a Systems Engineering, Technology, and Innovation Contract For $106M

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Deloitte Consulting LLC, Arlington, Virginia, was awarded a Systems Engineering, Technology, and Innovation prime integrator task order for an estimated $106,352,518 to design and build the Joint Common Foundation artificial intelligence development environment for the Department of Defense Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.

The period of performance is a one-year base period from Aug. 17, 2020, through Aug. 16, 2021, valued at approximately $31,000,000, with three one-year option periods through August 16, 2024.

Work will be performed in the greater Washington, D.C., area. The contracting activity is the Defense Information Systems Activity/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, commonly referred to as Deloitte, is a multinational professional services network. Deloitte is one of the Big Four accounting organizations and the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of professionals, with headquarters in London, United Kingdom.