Procurement

Professional Services
Question and Answer
For Current Technical Proposals

Technical Proposal

Question 1: The E-3 Environmental Services – Level A requirement by the Prime Consultant for this project eliminates many medium sized firms that are well equipped in experience and staff levels to perform these bridge replacement projects. We have in the past provided this discipline via an environmental subconsultant who has the specialized experience and staff levels to perform the work within the schedule and the budget. Is it possible to remove this from the Prime Consultant’s experience requirement, and permit us to include a subconsultant for this task?

Answer 1: The E-3 Level A requirement has been removed. A revised solicitation and eligible firms list has been posted.

Question 2: The CDR indicates there are no existing ITS facilities within the project limits and the PE Scope Statement does not seem to call for the addition of ITS. Why then is an ITS Team Leader needed?

Answer 2: In the past, on few of my projects, the ITS unit had requested ITS facilities during PE and FD phase when the PE Scope Statement did not call for ITS facilities.

Answer 3: Yes. No BSCE is Bachelors in Civil Engineering.

Question 4: Will you provide a copy of the most recent bridge inspection report?

Answer 4: Yes, for each bridge once the selection is complete.

Question 5: Is Microsoft Project acceptable to complete the schedule?

Answer 5: Yes.

Question 6: Can the same person function as the Team Leader for both Utility Engineering and Community Outreach?

Answer 6: Yes, provided that the applicant can meet the requirements of each specific area. By degree, license, time, and experience.

Question 7: Can the Organization Chart, Project Schedule and the two(2) extra pages of graphics be formatted as 11"x 17"?

Answer 7: Yes.

Question 8: A very wide range of experience is required for the Geotechnical Engineer but the solicitation only allows 2 similar projects to be included on the resume. This wide range of experience is more applicable to larger projects which are not similar to the 6 projects described in the solicitation. We ask the NJDOT to expand the number of projects allowed on the Geotechnical Engineer resume to 3 or 4 similar projects.

Answer 8: Yes, up to 3 similar projects can be submitted.

Question 9: For the ITS Team Leader, would the Department consider removing the “Design of Traffic Management Center” requirement?

For the Geotechnical Engineering Team Leader, would the Department consider removing the requirement for the design of Noise Walls?

Answer 9: No.

Question 10: In Section 9 of the Evaluation Criteria form, for Traffic Engineering, you list Transit 7F as a qualification. Since this program, Transit 7F, has become an obsolete program to use in the industry, will this still be a requirement of our traffic engineer to demonstrate experience in?

Answer 10: No.

Question 11: In Section 10, for the ITS staff member, you are requesting at least a minimum of one project to demonstrate the six “type of experiences” listed on the form. Are you looking for just one project that shows every “type of experience?” Or can we provide up to 3 projects that can demonstrate experience in all of the areas. We are asking this question because most ITS projects would not include every type of experience listed but could be shown in more than one project.

Answer 11: You can provide up to 3 projects.

Question 12: With regard to the number of project to be on the resumes of the Task Leaders – the Instructions on the Evaluation Criteria forms (pages 7-11) indicate that 3 projects, yet the Number of Projects shown below the Primary Task name/above TYPE OF EXPERIENCE varies across the disciplines. Please confirm the number of projects.

Answer 12: Up to 3 projects.

Question 13: If we are to include the number of projects as shown below the Primary Task Name, would NJDOT consider raising the number of projects for the Pavement Task Lead to at least two (2) projects in which to highlight all the experience elements desired?

Answer 13: Can have up to 3 projects.

Question 14: Some team leader positions require two or three projects be included in the resume to demonstrate relevant experience. Must a team leader meet all listed experience requirements for all projects in order to receive full points in the evaluation or will full points be earned if all required experience is shown in only one project? Please confirm that the intent of having “up to 3 projects” and “requested experience can be shown with lesser # of projects and will be entitled to full credit” for the team leader experience means that their experience to obtain full points is a compilation of the experience in the resumes provided and that the type of experience requested is not required in each project.

Answer 14: Yes the Team Leader must have all the listed experience in order to receive full points. Team leaders can meet the experience requirements with lesser number of projects if all the experience is shown.

Question 15: Please advise if 11” x 17” is acceptable for graphics in lieu of 8.5” x 11” sheet as noted in Part 5?

Answer 15: Yes.

Question 16: Please advise if 11” x 17” is acceptable for organizational chart.

Answer 16: Yes.

Question 17: Please advise if 11” x 17” is acceptable for schedule as requested in Part 5, Section 11?

Answer 17: Yes.

Question 18: On previous proposals, the qualifications for Environmental Team Leader included a “Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Environmental Science, Ecology, Geology, Biology, Chemical, or Natural Resources”. The current RFP only allows for a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science. Would you consider revising the qualifications to allow the additional degrees in Ecology, Geology, Biology, Chemical, and Natural Resources?

Answer 18: The following degrees will be allowed: BACHELORS OR MASTERS DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, ECOLOGY, GEOLOGY, ENGINEERING, BIOLOGY,CHEMICAL OR NATURALRESOURCES.

Question 19: Can one team leader be proposed for two tasks?

Answer 19: Yes, provided that the applicant can meet the requirements of each specific area. By degree, license, time, and experience.

Question 20: Can someone with a degree in geological engineering (BS, MS, PhD) and NJ Professional Engineer (civil), practicing geotechnical/pavement/rock engineering/tunneling disciplines for more than 30 years meets all the requirements of the qualifications for the Geotechnical engineering and/or pavement task leaders?

Answer 20: It is a business decision of your firm to propose the individual who best fits the qualifications for the Project Manager and/or Key Staff team leader. Specific education and experience substitution questions for Project Manager and Key Staff positions cannot be addressed during the solicitation process, because each project is different, the solicitation provides the stated requirements, and if an answer were supplied it could inadvertently be considered as receiving a "pre-score" for the position before the closing date of the technical proposal submission.

Question 21: Can a Bachelor of Technology in Transportation with a NJ PE License fulfill the BS in Engineering requirement for Utility Team Leader?

Answer 21: It is a business decision of your firm to propose the individual who best fits the qualifications for the Project Manager and/or Key Staff team leader. Specific education and experience substitution questions for Project Manager and Key Staff positions cannot be addressed during the solicitation process, because each project is different, the solicitation provides the stated requirements, and if an answer were supplied it could inadvertently be considered as receiving a "pre-score" for the position before the closing date of the technical proposal submission.

Question 22: Would the department give full points for the H&H Task Leader if he/she had a BS in Mechanical Engineering rather than a BS in Civil Engineering?

Answer 22: It is a business decision of your firm to propose the individual who best fits the qualifications for the Project Manager and/or Key Staff team leader. Specific education and experience substitution questions for Project Manager and Key Staff positions cannot be addressed during the solicitation process, because each project is different, the solicitation provides the stated requirements, and if an answer were supplied it could inadvertently be considered as receiving a "pre-score" for the position before the closing date of the technical proposal submission.

Question 23: In order to fully to address Key Issues, we would like to ask if there is a possibility to increase the limit of the Project Approach Narrative to 5 pages.

Answer 23: No, the limit cannot be increased to 5 pages.

Question 24: In Section 9 of the Evaluation Criteria form, you list PASR2 as one of the requirements for Traffic Engineering Team Leader. However, this program has become obsolete in the industry. Please clarify if the Traffic Engineer is still required to show experience in PASR2.

Answer 24: No need to show PASR2 experience.