The City of Alexandria Utility Division 2015 Request for Proposals (RFP) Underground Utility Locating Services

Transcription

1 The City of Alexandria Utility Division 2015 Request for Proposals (RFP) Underground Utility Locating Services Proposal Due Date- September 2, 2015 by 12:00 p.m. Contact: Michael P. Marcotte Director of Utilities City of Alexandria P.O. Box 71 Alexandria, LA (318) Electronic copies of RFP are available at: The information within a proposal is your sole responsibility. Proposal materials should be clearly written and signed by an individual or individuals legally authorized to bind your organization or company.

2 Section 1: Overview The City of Alexandria ( City ) is seeking proposals from qualified Contractors to provide locating of underground utilities. This document is a Request for Proposal ( RFP ) for the services described below and does not obligate the City to accept responses from eligible Contractors. The RFP establishes minimum requirements a bidder must meet in order to be eligible for consideration as well as information to be included in the Contractor s response. The successful bidder will be required to comply with all laws and regulations of the State of Louisiana ( Louisiana ) and Louisiana One-Call Center ( One-Call ) in the performance of locating utilities. Contractor will receive facility locate requests from One-Call and manage the entire locating process for the City. Contractor shall furnish all labor, supervision, tools, materials, paint, flags and equipment. Equipment shall include hardware compatible with existing communication systems used by the One-Call and transportation to perform underground facilities locating and marking services. The following specific criteria will be evaluated and must be addressed in the proposal: Company History and Organization Experience Cost Proposal and Invoicing Safety Procedures with regards to Person and Property Methods Utilized to Locate The City is not obligated to accept the lowest bid and reserves the right to reject any and all bids or amend the scope of the project. The contractor shall have completed a job of similar scope within the last 3 years. The contractor shall employ an experienced, competent and adequate work force licensed, if applicable, in their specific trade and properly supervised at all times. At all times the contractors shall comply with all applicable local, state and federal guidelines, practices and regulations. Failure to be able to comply with these requirements is suitable reason for rejection of a bid. Section 2: Submission of Proposal All proposals shall be sent via U.S. Mail or michael.marcotte@cityofalex.com Michael P. Marcotte Michael P. Marcotte Director of Utilities Director of Utilities City of Alexandria City of Alexandria P.O. Box N. 3 rd Street Alexandria, LA Alexandria, LA (318) (318) Responses to this RFP are due by _12:00pm_ on September 2,2015. Late submittals will be rejected. 1

3 Section 3: Contract Term The term of this contract shall be for a one (1) year period from award date. Contingent upon the availability of funds and the ability of the successful contractor to honor the quoted rates, the City reserves the right to renew the existing contract for an additional two (2) years, in one (1) year increments. Section 4 : Scope of Services Services shall be performed as requested by the City and One-Call, in accordance with the following specifications: 1. Contractor shall assist City utility operating departments as needed and assigned. 2. Contractor will receive and respond to all Excavation notices directed to City through One-Call in accordance with current State Laws. Contractor shall provide such markings and protection as may be required. Markings shall include painting, flagging or staking in accordance with Louisiana Laws governing the protection of underground facilities and City specifications. 3. Contractor will comply with all applicable federal, state, parish and local laws, ordinances and regulations including current Louisiana State Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act. 4. Contractor will be responsible for obtaining any and all licenses, permits, inspections and other authorizations which may be required for Contractor s performance of the Services. 5. Contractor s personnel shall be proficient in the use of approved locating devices, methods, marking procedures, communicative skills, and record-keeping requirements necessary to perform the locate request and marking tasks. a. Contractor s personnel shall be solely dedicated to work tasks as assigned by the City of Alexandria and may not locate for other utility companies (utilities), communications providers, or other facility owners in conjunction with their work for the City. b. Contractor shall provide sufficient staffing to complete all One-Call requests within the time prescribed under Louisiana law. Contractor shall always have a minimum of two (2) employees on duty during normal business hours. 6. Contractor s locating equipment or devices are subject to City of Alexandria s approval. a. All Underground Facilities shall initially be electronically located, except where electronically impossible. If electronically impossible then manual locating shall methods shall be utilized. For the purposes of this RFP the 2

4 term electronically means utilizing trace wires, locators, pipe locators, metal detectors, probe rods, or similar methods and equipment. 7. Contractor employees will participate in an approved Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) drug testing program as approved by City. Contractor shall supply City with appropriate documentation and updates as requested. 8. Contractor will participate in an approved PHMSA Operator Qualification (OQ) program as approved by City. All Contractor employees must successfully complete the approved OQ training/certification prior to working on City facilities. Contractor shall supply City with appropriate documentation and updates as requested. 9. Contractor s personnel shall represent City in a courteous and professional manner at all times. a. Contractor s personnel shall wear uniforms easily identifiable with its logo. b. Contractor s vehicles utilized under this Agreement shall be easily identifiable with its logo and state that Contract for City. 10. Contractor shall receive and record locate requests from One-Call during normal service hours consistent with the One-Call Center and City, but should be no less than Monday through Friday,(7:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. CST), except for holidays observed by One-Call Center and/or City. 11. Contractor shall complete the requirements of a normal locate request within two (2) business days of receiving the locate request. 12. Contractor shall receive and record emergency locate requests at any time of any day. 13. All emergency notices shall be responded to within two (2) hours of receipt by Contractor, unless otherwise required by law or regulation to be sooner, unless otherwise agreed to with requesting party or excavator. 14. Contractor shall provide all circuits and equipment required to receive requests from One-Call. City shall be responsible for all other contractual and cost obligations from the One-Call. 15. Contractor shall be responsible for making arrangements with all excavators for locate purposes. a. All locate requests will be processed within the required timeframe or contact will be made with the excavator to arrange an appropriate time to perform the locate. b. All excavators will be called as soon as possible to confirm requested time of appointments or to make appropriate arrangements, as required. 16. Contractors administrative responsibility shall include, but not be limited to receipt, recording, dispatching, reporting, monitoring and closing out of notices of excavation. 3

5 17. When the Underground Facility is Identifiable, but Un-locatable, Contractor must contact Owner. Owner will then determine the course of action to be taken. a. If no course of action is successful, Contractor shall notify the Excavator of the presence of any "Identified, but Un-locatable" Facilities of City of Alexandria and shall caution the Excavator that any location information supplied may not be within the scope of the definition of Reasonable Accuracy. 18. In the event Contractor fails to meet the demands for Locate Requests, City of Alexandria, in its sole determination, shall have the right to use its own employees or the services of another outside vendor to satisfy such needs. City of Alexandria shall then invoice Contractor for City of Alexandria s costs in using its own employees or vendor. 19. If requested by City of Alexandria, Contractor shall provide additional services, such as site Surveillance (standby protection) or Extended Locate. 20. Additional visits to the Excavation Site required due to Contractor s unsatisfactory performance shall not be treated or considered an additional ticket. 21. Contractor shall keep a record for a minimum of two (2) years of each Notice of Excavation indicating the time and date; when locate was received, the type of facility marked, date and name of the call-back person notified. 22. Contractor shall at all times afford City of Alexandria access to any and every part of the Services so as to enable them to inspect and ensure that the Services being performed conform to the terms of the Agreement. 23. Contractor shall provide and maintain at all locations where work is being performed, adequate and suitable warning signs, all necessary suitable guards, and appropriate warning signals of any hazards in connection with the work, in order to prevent accidents during the course of the work. 24. Contractor shall share excavation notice data; initial and closed, via their electronic management system. 25. Contractor shall provide invoices to City of Alexandria on a monthly basis. Contractor s monthly invoice will include the following: a. City of Alexandria s name b. Period during which the services were performed (the Billing Period ) c. Total number of Locate Requests received d. Total number and nature of additional services performed for City of Alexandria e. Total charges for the Billing Period 26. A monthly report will accompany and support the monthly invoice, which will include an itemized tabulation of the following information with respect to each Locate Request Contractor received: a. Ticket number 4

6 b. Locate date c. Locations of proposed excavation d. Type of request 27. In the event that an Underground Facility is damaged by a third party as a result of Contractor errors and omissions to properly mark such Underground Facilities in accordance with its contractual agreement with the City of Alexandria, all applicable laws and regulations, and state laws governing utility protection, the Contractor shall be liable for full costs for such damage, unless such damages resulted due to circumstances or factors beyond the control of the Contractor. Contractor will also be responsible for downtime/delays to Company due to inaccurate locates. 28. Contractor shall investigate incidents of damage, as requested by City of Alexandria, for accuracy of the Locates(s). a. Contractor shall respond, within one hour, to the work site following notification by City of Alexandria. b. Contractor shall submit a written report of damage investigations within 5 days and maintain a copy of such written reports for a period of three (3) years. c. Contractor and City of Alexandria shall hold meetings as needed to review completed investigation reports, and to assess responsibility. d. Should the damage review process between City of Alexandria representative and Contractor reveal that City of Alexandria does not find Contractor liable for damage, City of Alexandria agrees to hold Contractor harmless from any ensuing damages owed to any third party as a result of the damage to the City of Alexandria s Underground Facilities or any fines that may later be levied by the State of Louisiana. e. Should the damage review process between City of Alexandria and Contractor reveal that the Excavator is responsible for the damage, Contractor shall provide testimonial and investigative support for any recovery efforts by the City of Alexandria. f. Should the damage review process between City of Alexandria and Contractor reveal that Contractor is liable for the damage, Contractor agrees to hold City of Alexandria harmless from any ensuing damages owned to any third party as a result of the damage to the City of Alexandria s Underground Facilities or any fines that may later be levied by the State of Louisiana. 29. Contractor will be responsible for any costs involved with distributing electronic mapping, or updates to maps and records for its employees. 30. Contractor shall retain and safeguard City of Alexandria s location maps and records. 5

7 31. Contractor shall be responsible to notify City of Alexandria, of any discrepancies or omissions in the City of Alexandria-provided records, to the extent Contractor can determine the discrepancies and omissions. 32. Contractor shall acknowledge that City of Alexandria s maps may not be available and to the extent that maps are available, they do not reflect the actual physical location of Underground Facilities and may not exist for all installations. 33. Contractor shall be solely responsible for determining the existence of Underground Facilities. 34. Contractor shall be responsible for and liable for any failure to locate Underground Facilities consistent with the provisions of this Statement of Services. City shall: 1. Provide maps and data in an electronic format at no charge. 2. Provide sufficient copies and updates of the maps and diagrams of City s Underground Facilities for all Excavation Sites. The maps and diagrams (or CD Rom, if available) will reflect the most current information available to City of Alexandria. 3. Work with Contractor to arrange for One-Call to send all Locate Requests directly to Contractor and shall pay One-Call invoices for Locator Requests transmittals. City shall forward any direct Locate Requests to One-Call Locator Service Center and/or Contractor. Section 5: Instructions to Bidders Bidders should include in their bid response an executive summary of the company, a list of personnel who will be assigned to contract and their position, a list of references, a letter stating that the company is bonded or insured for damages, and a copy of the proposed billing format. 1. Under the City s AFEAT (Alexandria Fairness, Equality, Accessibility, and Teamwork Program), participation by minority and/or disadvantaged business enterprise firms is encouraged. The AFEAT Program should be inquired about through the Division of Finance. The goals for qualifying disadvantaged, minority and female owned business in the use of professional service agreements with prime contractors will help effectuate the goals of increasing: the competitive viability of small business, minority, and women business enterprise by providing contract, technical, educational, and management assistance; business ownership by small business persons, minority persons, and women (including professional service opportunities); and the procurement by the City of professional services, articles, equipment, supplies, and materials from business concerns owned by small business concerns, minority persons, and women. 6

8 Prime contractors offering subcontracting should take specific action to ensure that a bona fide effort is made to achieve maximum results towards meeting the established goals. Primes shall document efforts and shall implement steps at least as extensive as the following in a good faith effort to reach or exceed the established goals: A. Establish and maintain a current list of minority and female owned businesses in Alexandria, in Rapides Parish, and in the State of Louisiana. B. Document and maintain a record of all solicitations of offers for subcontracts from minority or female construction contractor and suppliers in Alexandria, in Rapides Parish, and in the State of Louisiana. C. Secure listing of minority and women owned businesses from the City of Alexandria Purchasing Department, the Central Louisiana Business Incubator, and the State of Louisiana Department of Minority Affairs. D. Participate in associations which assist in promoting minority and women owned businesses such as the Central Louisiana Business League, the Central Louisiana Business Incubator, d the Entrepreneurial League System. E. Designate a responsible official to monitor all activity made in the effort to achieve or exceed the established goals; record contacts made, subcontracts entered into with dollar amounts, and other relevant information For more information on AFEAT and the City of Alexandria s Diversity in Action Initiative, and to explore a local and statewide directory of small, minority, and disadvantaged businesses, please visit Preparation Costs: The City of Alexandria will not pay any cost(s) associated with the preparation, submittal, presentation, or evaluation of any proposal. Preparation of Proposals: Each offer must be legible and signed. All proposals must be submitted in the following order: Company Overview - Contractor to locate and mark the City of Alexandria s underground utilities in an effort to prevent damage by person(s) engaged in any type of excavation activity near the owners underground facilities. Locate Services to be provided in accordance with all Iowa Laws, rules, regulations, and standard practices. Executive Summary - This section of your proposal should outline your company history and give detail of your company s ability to provide the requested services. Identify in this section a list of company personnel who will be assigned to the account, their position, years of service, experience, industry certifications, licensees, or other relevant data. References - Contractor shall provide references for recently completed (similar in scope) projects upon request from the City of Alexandria. 7

9 Locating Services - Detail methods and equipment used for locating services. Discuss in this section your companies equipment resources relevant to the locating services. Damages - Provide your damage ratio (per 1,000 locates) for the last three (3) years for similar type projects, as well as company-wide damage ratios during this same period. Additionally, provide evidence that your company is bonded or insured for damages as a result of services requested. Discuss in detail your companies action plan and policy for restoring the City of Alexandria s services in the event service is interrupted due to any failure on your part to effectively locate underground facilities. Billing - Provide a copy of your proposed billing format. This section should also contain language that allows the City of Alexandria to review and audit call records and ticket or locate requests that support any billing documents. Pricing - For purposes of comparison, please use the sheet provided to submit pricing for requested services. Modification of Offers: A vendor may modify a submitted proposal by letter at any time prior to the deadline for the receipt of bids. Modifications must be received in a sealed envelope or container with the Company s Name, Proposal Name, Proposal Number, and the Closing Date and Time clearly marked. Withdrawal of Offers: A proposal may be withdrawn on written request from the vendor to the Director of Utilities prior to the closing date. Disclosure: At the time of closing all proposals and other material(s) submitted become the property of the City of Alexandria and may be returned only at the City s option. All proposal information, including detailed price and cost information, will be held in confidence during the evaluation process and prior to the time of notice of Intent to Award is issued. INSURANCE Workers Compensation Insurance as required by applicable statute and Employer s Liability Insurance. Commercial General Liability Insurance. Contractor shall maintain commercial general liability with a limit of not less than $2,000,000 each occurrence and $4,000,000 aggregate. The policy shall cover liability arising from premises, operations, independent contractors, products-completed operations, personal injury and advertising injury, and liability assumed under an insured contract 8

10 (including the tort liability of another assumed in a business contract). Completed Operations coverage is to extend for two (2) years following the last to occur of the following events: (i) termination of this Agreement; or (ii) termination of all outstanding Services. Automobile Liability. Contractor shall maintain automobile liability with a limit of not less than $2,000,000 each accident. Such insurance shall cover liability arising out of the use of any auto including owned, hired, and non-owned autos. Umbrella or Excess Liability Insurance. Umbrella or excess liability insurance in excess of Employers Liability, General Liability and Automobile Liability with a limit of not less than $5,000,000 per occurrence. Any aggregate limits on this policy shall not be impaired as of the date the Contractor commences Work. The policy shall not contain exclusions for the perils of explosion, collapse or underground. PERMITS, CODES AND REGULATIONS Contractor shall provide work in accordance with applicable codes, rules, and regulations of Local, State, and Federal Government and other authorities having lawful jurisdiction. The Contractor shall give all notices and comply with all laws, codes, ordinances, rules, and regulations bearing on the conduct of the work specified. If the Contractor observes that the contract documents are at variance with any rules and regulations, they shall promptly notify the Owner in writing, and any necessary changes shall be adjusted as provided in the contract for changes in the work. If the Contractor performs any work knowing it to be contrary to such laws, ordinances and regulations, and without such notice to the Owner, they shall bear all costs arising from violation. SAFETY Precautions shall be exercised at all times for the protection of all persons (including employees and visitors to job site) and property. The safety provisions of applicable laws, building and construction codes shall be observed. Machinery, equipment, and hazards shall be safe guarded. RFP Schedule DATE SELECTION PROCEDURE Monday, August 17, 2015 RFP Release Date Thursday, August 27, 2015 Questions and Answers Conference Call September 2, 2015 RFP Closing Date 9

11 September 8, 2015 Proposer Follow-Up/Reference Checks September 15, 2015 Contract Negotiations October 6, 2015 or October 20, 2015 Award of Contract Upon execution of Contract Commencement Date NOTE: The City reserves the right to negotiate all terms and conditions of any agreement. Any proposed contract must be approved by ordinance of the City council. 10

12 TERMINOLOGY A. Emergency Any condition constituting a clear and present danger to life, health or property, or a customer service outage. B. Excavation Any operation in which earth, rock or other material on or below the surface of the ground is moved or otherwise displaced by any means (except the tilling of soil for agricultural purposes, or railroad, or road and ditch maintenance that does not change the existing railroad grade, road grade and/or ditch flow line, or operations related to exploration and production of crude oil or natural gas, or both. C. Excavation Site The area where an Excavator intends to perform or actually performs Excavation. D. Excavator Any Person who engages directly in Excavation and/or the design of Excavation and who requests the location of Owner s Underground Facilities. E. Excavator Notification Notification given to the Excavator that Underground Facilities are not present at the Excavation Site. F. Facility Owner The owner of a specific Underground Facility. For purposes of this Agreement, the Facility Owner is the Owner. G. Identified, But Un-locatable An Underground Facility, the presence of which is known, but cannot be field-marked with Reasonable Accuracy. H. Locatable Underground Facility Facilities for which the Tolerance Zone can be determined by the locator using generally accepted practices such as as-built construction drawings, system maps, probes, locator devices or any other type of proven technology for location. I. Locate or Locating The process of detecting Underground Facilities through the use of inductive or conductive equipment and marking the surface of the ground to identify the existence and location of Underground Facilities. J. Locate Request Normal Locate Request A request to locate received at least forty-eight (48) hours, but no more than 15 business days, prior to the commencement of excavation, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and state and federal holidays. Emergency Locate Request A request to locate which demands immediate action to prevent significant environmental damage or loss of life, health, property or essential public services, including the re-erecting of critically needed traffic control signs or devices. 11

13 K. Marking Application of paint, flags or stakes to clearly identify on a horizontal plane the location of City of Alexandria s Underground Facilities within the tolerances set forth under the current State Laws of Louisiana governing Underground Facility Protection. L. One-Call Center The statewide communication system operated by an organization which has as one of its purposes to receive and record notification of planned excavation in the state from excavators and to disseminate such notification of planned excavation to operators who are members and participants. M. Person Any individual, partnership, franchise holder, association, corporation, state, city or county, or any subdivision or instrumentality of a state and its employees, agents or legal representatives. N. Reasonable Accuracy Markings within the Tolerance Zone on either side of the Underground Facility as specified by the current State Laws governing Underground Facility Protection. O. Tolerance Zone The area within 24 inches of the outside dimensions in all horizontal directions of an underground facility. P. Underground Facility Any item buried or placed below the surface of the ground for use in connection with the storage or conveyance of water, sewage, electronic communications, cablevision, electric energy, petroleum products, gas, gaseous vapors, hazardous liquids or other substances, including, but not limited to, pipes, sewers, conduits, cables, valves, lines, wires, manholes, attachments and those parts of poles or anchors below ground. Q Site Surveillance To watch over and protect Owner s plant during unusual or extensive excavation projects (i.e.: road-widening projects, sewer projects, etc.) and providing such continuous on-site locate services as may be dictated by the nature and scope of the excavation or as may be required by the Excavator, also known as standby protection. R Project or Extended Locate A single ticket or project requiring the locating and marking of multiple non-adjacent addresses or dig areas in an urban environment or the locating and marking of more than one mile in a rural environment. Notification will be provided to the Owner when Project or Extended Locate activity is initiated. Locates of this nature typically exceed ½ hour or more to complete. 12

14 Project Pricing Proposal Alternative A: Contractor proposes to provide all labor, equipment, supplies, consumables, and other reasonable necessities required. Contractor shall assume an average of three (3) utilities will be located at each ticket site. Locates taking more than one (1) hour to complete shall be compensated at the quoted hourly rate, in quarter hour increments, for hours in excess of one (1). Item Quantity Unit Price Extended Price Locate, per Locate Request 5,750 $ $ After-Hours Locate, per Locate Request 250 $ $ Locator, per hour 800 $ $ Total, Alternative A: Alternative B: Contractor proposes to provide all labor, equipment, supplies, consumables, and other reasonable necessities required. Contractor will be compensated on an hourly basis for all locates completed. Contractor shall assume a regular forty (40) hour work week for this proposal. Item Quantity Unit Price Extended Price Locator, per hour 4,160 $ $ Total, Alternative B: The City reserves the right to select Alternative A or B, whichever is in the best interest of the City. 13