1681 Retention of engineering firms

DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION

Retention of Engineering Firms

[26 Pa.B. 4806]

Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna,
Wayne and Wyoming Counties
Reference No. 08430AG2017

   The Department of Transportation will retain an engineering firm to provide supplementary inspection staff under the Department's Inspectors-in-Charge to perform inspection and documentation of Highway Occupancy Permit projects and General Maintenance Inspection, in Engineering District 4-0, that is, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming Counties. The contract will be for a period of 24 months.

   It is anticipated that a maximum supplementary construction inspection staff of ten Transportation Construction Inspectors (TCIs) may be required at one time. The job description for this classification can be obtained from the District contact person identified at the end of this solicitation.

   The Department will establish an order of ranking of a minimum of three firms for the purpose of negotiating an Inspection Contract based on the Department's evaluation of the acceptable letters of interest received in response to this solicitation. The ranking will be established directly from the letters of interest. Technical proposals will not be requested prior to the establishment of the ranking.

   The following factors, listed in order of importance, will be considered by the Department during the evaluation of the firms submitting letters of interest:

   a.  Number of available inspectors in each payroll classification.

   b.  Number of NICET certified inspectors in each payroll classification.

   c.  Review of inspectors' resumes with emphasis on inspection capabilities and specialized experience in the maintenance and protection of traffic, soils compaction, concrete, asphalt pavement restoration and drainage.

   d.  Understanding of Department's requirements, policies and specifications.

   e.  Past performance.

   f.  Workload.

   The maximum reimbursement of direct payroll cost for the Department Payroll Classification for calendar year 1996 will be limited to the actual direct salary of the individual employe, or the following rate, whichever is less:

		Direct
Payroll Classification		Payroll Rate
Transportation Construction    Inspector	(TCI)	$15.18

   Maximum reimbursable direct payroll rates for subsequent calendar years, if applicable, will be established at the scope of work meeting.

   The selected firm will be required to provide transportation construction inspectors for permit work who have the ability to perform the following:

   Inspect work being conducted by permittee as well as ensure restoration of occupancy areas within our right-of-way;

   Ensure permittees compliance with regulations, and enforce compliance with the Department of Transportation Publication 203, Work Zone Traffic Control;

   Maintain a diary of permits which require intensive study and follow-up on violations;

   Perform the above duties and any other related assignments that a permit inspector may be required to perform or assigned by the District Permit Engineer.

   The qualifications and experience required of the firm's inspectors will be established by the Department, and the qualifications of the firm's proposed employes will be reviewed and approved by the Department.

   At least eight of the ten TCIs required for this agreement must meet at least one of the following requirements:

   1.  Be certified by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) in the field of Transportation Engineering Technology, subfield of Highway Construction, or subfield of Highway Materials, at the level required for the Inspection Classification.

   2.  Be registered as a Professional Engineer by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with the required highway experience specified for the Inspection Classification.

   3.  Be certified as an Engineer-in-Training by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with the required highway experience specified for the Inspection Classification.

   4.  Hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering or a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering Technology with the required highway experience specified for the Inspection Classification.

   5.  Hold an Associate degree in Civil Engineering Technology with the required highway experience specified for the Inspection Classification.

   Technical questions concerning the requirements for this project should be directed to Robert Horutz, P.E., District 4-0, at [phone].

   Questions concerning the submittal of the letter of interest can be directed to the Consultant Agreement Division at [phone].

Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton,
Huntingdon and Somerset Counties
Reference No. 08430AG2018

   The Department of Transportation will retain an engineering firm to perform bi-annual NBIS bridge safety inspections for designated bridges on the local system throughout Engineering District 9-0, that is, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset Counties. This contract will be for a period of 5 years.

   The selected firm will be required to inspect/reinspect approximately 160 locally owned bridges at various locations and provide updated inspection reports including a bridge load capacity rating/rerating and/or posting recommendation as warranted; furnish bridge inventory and appraisal data and completed BMS coding sheets; to provide inventory and operating ratings based on existing conditions for H, HS and ML 80 loading using the Department's latest version of the appropriate bridge software for all newly inspected bridges and for some previously inspected bridges; and to provide load posting recommendations in accordance with the Department's current load posting policy.

   Technical questions concerning the requirements for this project should be directed to David L. Sherman, District 9-0, at [phone].

   Questions concerning the submittal of the letter of interest can be directed to the Consultant Agreement Division at [phone].

Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence Counties
Reference No. 08430AG2019

   The Department of Transportation will retain two engineering or surveying firms, each with a minimum of two survey corps, for the preliminary, final and construction survey for various projects in Engineering District 11-0, that is Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence Counties.

   The contract will be for a period of 30 months from date of the Notice to Proceed. It is estimated that approximately 880 corp days will be used for each of the two firms selected.

   The two selected firms will be required to adequately staff a minimum of two four-person survey crews. The firms will be required to furnish each survey crew with all required material, equipment, liability insurance, safety equipment and procedures necessary for the efficient, timely and professional completion of preliminary highway surveys, property surveys, construction stakeouts for structures and roadways, retracing alignment, referencing control points and right-of-way, and other related projects as directed by the Department. Preliminary highway surveys shall be performed using three-dimensional (3D) electronic survey procedures, unless otherwise directed by the Department. To ensure that all survey data is collected in a format that is compatible with the Department's existing Electronic Theodolite Interface (ETI) Software, the Department will provide Department developed Electronic Survey Collection (ESC) Software and User's Manual to the selected firms. The software will be restricted to use on Department projects. The selected firm will be responsible for providing the hardware configuration necessary to complete surveys using the Department's software.

   The hardware requirements are a Corvallis Microtechnology, Inc., M C V-Q hand-held computer with 640K of memory or compatible data collection equipment: a 3-1/2" floppy disk drive: and an electronic total station surveying instruments and serial cables to communicate with the hand-held computer. The Total-Station will be comparable or better than a five second instrument (5").

   The Department will establish an order of ranking a minimum of seven firms for the purpose of negotiating an agreement based on the Department's evaluation of the acceptable letters of interest received in response to this solicitation. The ranking will be established directly from the letters of interest. Technical proposals will not be requested prior to the establishment of the ranking.

   The following factors, listed in order of importance, will be considered by the Department during the evaluation of the firm submitting letters of interest:

   a.  Review of employe's resumes with emphasis on surveying capabilities and specialized experience in Highway/Route Surveying.

   b.  Geographical location of Consultant in relation to the Engineering District.

   c.  Understanding the Department's requirements, policies and specifications.

   d.  Ability to provide survey crew on short (5-day minimum) notice.

   e.  Present workload.

   f.  Past performance.

   g.  Additional equipment not required such as: radios, laptop computers, calculators, digital levels and the like, will be considered.

   The qualifications and experience required of the firm's personnel must meet or exceed the requirements of the Department's surveyor class specification. The descriptions for these classifications can be obtained from the District contact person identified at the end of this solicitation.

   The survey personnel and supporting resume information must be submitted with the letter of interest. There shall be no substitution or addition of personnel without first submitting resumes and receiving written approval by the Department.

   1.  All field survey work shall be under the supervision of a Professional Land Surveyor licensed in the State of Pennsylvania.

   2.  Each survey crew shall consist of minimum of one party chief, one instrument person and rod/prism/chain personnel to complete the crew, whether it be 3, 4 or 5 people.

   3.  Electronic equipment and procedures, as described above, must be utilized in completion of surveys, unless otherwise directed by the Department.

   4.  The party chief should have a minimum of 3 years experience as a party chief in highway related work. When the party chief is unavailable for work, the crew will only work when the Professional Land Surveyor is available to actually be in charge of the survey crew.

   5.  Provisions will be included for railroad insurance, rental of arrow boards, ladders and/or boats when and if needed.

   Technical questions concerning the requirements for this project should be directed to William J. Somplatsky, P.L.S., Chief of Surveys, District 11-0, at [phone].

   Questions concerning the submittal of the letter of interest can be directed to the Consultant Agreement Division at [phone].

General Requirements and Information

   Firms interested in performing any of the above services are invited to submit letters of interest to: Director, Consultant Selection Committee, Room 1118, Transportation and Safety Building, Harrisburg, PA 17120.

   A separate letter of interest and required forms must be submitted for each project for which the applicant wishes to be considered. The letter of interest and required forms must be received within 13 calendar days of this notice. The deadline for receipt of a letter of interest at the above address is 4:30 p.m. of the thirteenth day.

   If the project advertisement indicates that the Department will retain an engineering firm, letters of interest 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 desires to submit a letter of interest, 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.

   If a Joint Venture responds to a project advertisement, the Department of Transportation will not accept separate Expressions of Interest from the Joint Venture constituents. A firm will not be permitted to submit on more than one Joint Venture for the same project advertisement. Also a firm that responds to a project advertisement as a prime may not be included as a designated subcontractor to another firm that responds as a prime to the project advertisement. Multiple responses under any of the foregoing situations will cause the rejection of all responses of the firm or firms involved. The above does not preclude a firm from being set forth as a designated subcontractor to more than one prime responding to the project advertisement.

   If a goal for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation is established for an advertised project, firms expressing interest in the project must agree to ensure that Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms as defined in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 and currently certified by the Department of Transportation shall have the maximum opportunity to participate in any subcontracting or furnishing supplies or services approved under Form 442, Section 1.10(a). The act requires that firms owned and controlled by women (WBEs) be included, as a presumptive group, within the definition of Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE). The goal for DBE participation shall be as stated in the individual project advertisement. Responding firms shall make good faith efforts to meet the DBE goal using DBEs (as they were defined prior to the act), WBEs or combinations thereof. Proposed DBE firms must be certified at the time of submission of the letter of interest. If the selected firm fails to meet the goal established, it shall be required to demonstrate its good faith efforts to attain the goal. Failure to meet the goal and to demonstrate good faith efforts may result in being barred from Department contracts in the future.

   Responses are encouraged by small engineering firms, disadvantaged business enterprise engineering firms and other engineering firms who have not previously performed work for the Department of Transportation.

   Each letter of interest must include in the heading, the firm's Federal Identification Number and the Project Reference Number indicated in the advertisement. The letter of interest must also include the following:

   1.  Standard Form 255, ''Architect-Engineer and Related Services Questionnaire for Specific Project.''

   2.  Standard Form 254, ''Architect-Engineer and Related Services Questionnaire'' not more than 1 year old as of the date of this advertisement, must accompany each letter of interest for the firm, each party to a joint venture and for each subconsultant the firm or joint venture is proposing to use for the performance of professional services regardless of whether the subconsultant is an individual, a college professor or a company. Please disregard the statements on Standard Form 255 that indicate a Standard Form 254 is only required if not already on file with the contracting office. The Department does not maintain a file for Standard Form 254 for contracting purposes; therefore, this Form is required for the prime consultant and each subconsultant as stated above.

   3.  Two copies of the Department's Form D-427 (Rev. 6-89), ''Current Workload'' for the firm submitting the letter of interest. At least one copy of Form D-427 must remain free and not bound in any way to any other portion of the letter of interest or accompanying documentation. Copies of Form D-427 are available upon request from the above address or by contacting the Department's Consultant Agreement Division at [phone].

   4.  Firms with out-of-State headquarters or corporations not incorporated in Pennsylvania must include with each letter of interest a copy of their registration to do business in the Commonwealth as provided by the Department of State. Firms who are not registered to do business in Pennsylvania at the time of this advertisement must document that they have applied for registration to the Department of State, Corporation Bureau. The telephone number for the Corporation Bureau is [phone] or [phone].

   The Standard Form 255 must be filled out in its entirety including Item No. 6 listing the proposed subconsultants and the type of work or service they will perform on the project. If a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goal is specified for the project, the DBE must be presently certified by the Department of Transportation, and the name of the firm and the work to be performed must be indicated in Item 6. If a Women Business Enterprise (WBE) firm is substituted for the DBE, the WBE firm must also be presently certified by the Department of Transportation and indicated in Item 6.

   The Standard Form 254 must be signed and dated and must be less than 1 year old as of the date of this advertisement. A Standard Form must accompany each letter of interest for the firm submitting the letter of interest, each party to a joint venture, and for each subconsultant shown under Item 6 of the Standard Form 255.

   Unless other factors are identified under the individual project reference number, the following factors, listed in their order of importance, will be considered by the Committee during their evaluation of the firms submitting letters of interest:

   a.  Specialized experience and technical competence of firm.

   b.  Past record of performance with respect to cost control, work quality, and ability to meet schedules. The specific experience of individuals who constitute the firms shall be considered.

   c.  Current workload and capacity of firm to perform the work within the time limitations.

   d.  Location of consultant.

   e.  Special requirements of the project.

   f.  Other factors, if any, specific to the project.

   The Department currently limits its participation in the remuneration of principals or consultant employes performing work on projects to $72,800 per annum or $35 per hour or their actual audited remuneration, whichever is less. The Department currently limits its participation in the consultant's indirect payroll costs (overhead) on design and miscellaneous projects to 130% of the direct payroll cost or the consultant's actual audited overhead rate, whichever is less. The Department currently limits its participation in the consultant's indirect payroll costs (overhead) on construction inspection projects to 85.2% of the direct payroll cost or the consultant's actual audited overhead rate, whichever is less. The Department's limitations will apply to the projects advertised above unless the Department policy is revised prior to the negotiation of an agreement or contract.

   The assignment of the above services will be made to one of the firms responding to this notice, but the Committee reserves the right to reject all letters of interest submitted, to cancel the solicitations requested under this notice, and/or to readvertise solicitation for these services.

BRADLEY L. MALLORY,   
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 96-1681. Filed for public inspection October 4, 1996, 9:00 a.m.]