SOURCES SOUGHT
23 -- Fleet Vechicle Leasing
- Notice Date
- 7/6/2006
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 485999
— All Other Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington Office, Post Office Box 96090, Room RP-E Acquisition Management, Washington, DC, 20090-6090
- ZIP Code
- 20090-6090
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-RFI-MSD-06-2006
- Response Due
- 8/8/2006
- Description
- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service is seeking information related to its fleet vehicle ownership. This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) nor does it imply one will be issued. The Forest Service intends to assess the capabilities of the market place to provide a portion of the agency?s fleet. If the Government decides to issue a RFP, the solicitation would likely be issued in FY 2007. In addition, the Government would anticipate utilizing a 5-year contract (one 1-year Base Period with four 1-year Option Periods). Any comments or concerns regarding the use of an extended contract period should be addressed in the vendor?s response to this RFI. Please ensure that sensitive or protected information is marked as such. The Government will not pay for, nor reimburse, any expenses incurred in responding to this RFI. The purpose of this Request for Information is to determine the interest and capability of offerers to lease sedans, station wagons, trucks, busses and heavy equipment to the Forest Service The Forest Service is also interested in determining possible scenarios for disposition of the current Forest Service owned fleet. BACKGROUND The Fleet The Forest Service fleet includes a large variety of equipment: The following is a partial listing of Forest Service fleet components: INCLUDED IN THIS RFI 1. Sedans, station wagons, light trucks such as: pickup, van, SUV, utility, stake, dump, and others (4X2 & 4X4; 4,000 to 19,999 lbs. GVWR), etc. Ten to fifteen percent of these vehicles are only used (and needed) for summer/seasonal use. This is the largest component of the Forest Service fleet. 2. Medium and heavy trucks such as: stock, stakes, dumps, vans, truck tractors, etc. 3. Busses 4. Heavy equipment such as: tractors/dozers, loaders, backhoes, compactors, excavators, feller bunchers, masticators, motor graders, soil stabilizers, agriculture tractors, etc. NOT INCLUDED IN THIS RFI 5. Lawn mowers, motor cycles, ATVs, boats, motors, etc. 6. Trailers such as: light duty utility trailers, horse trailers, platform trailers (level deck, drop deck, and tilt deck), dry van trailers, house/office trailers, and specialized trailers (lab, command center, communication), etc. 7. Shop/warehouse equipment such as: forklifts, hoists, transport dollies, generators, etc. Some of the sedans, station wagons and trucks are specialized vehicles such as law enforcement vehicles, fire trucks, crew carriers, helicopter tenders, boom trucks, tree shakers, mobile labs, etc. The current Forest Service fleet includes equipment/vehicles owned by the Forest Service (93%), leased from the General Services Administration (GSA) (7%), and leased from commercial sources (less than 0.1%) Location The fleet equipment is located at more than a 1,000 locations throughout the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Many locations are remote with limited local sources. Some remote locations, especially in Alaska, are only accessible by air or water craft. The fleet must be supported at incident camps which are established as close to the incident (like a wild land fire) as possible. This support must be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the incident. Operating Conditions The Forest Service frequently operates its fleet equipment off paved roads, on native soil roads that are not maintained for public or passenger car use, and in off-road, primitive conditions. All vehicles and equipment, especially the specialized vehicles, may be operated off roads during fire and other emergency response under adverse operating conditions exceeding the manufactures extreme duty maintenance definitions. Fleet equipment will, at times, be operated in all weather conditions including severe conditions such as floods, hurricanes, ice storms and extreme heat. Normal wear and tear may include some minor damage to exterior surfaces and damage caused by rodents and other animals. Added Equipment Most fleet vehicles will require the installation of added equipment such as: radios, antennas, emergency lights, sirens, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, fire tool brackets, tool boxes, racks, cargo screens, etc. These installations require drilling holes or other minor damage to the vehicle. Special painting and marking are required on Forest Service fleet vehicles. In addition, some modifications must be after delivery such as adding of hydraulic cranes, snowplows, or winches which may include modifying the chassis to accommodate installation, additional weight, etc. Seasonal Use Seasonal work varies greatly from year to year. The Forest Service is able to holdover replaced vehicles for two or more additional seasons before the replaced vehicles are sold. This allows the Forest Service to increase or decrease the fleet by about 2,000 vehicles in any one year as needed. Because these ?holdovers? are fully depreciated, the units that use them pay reduced rates. These are vehicles available as needed for our summer/seasonal crews. Fleet Credit Cards All fleet motor vehicles have a fleet credit card assigned to the vehicle for the procurement of fuel and minor maintenance and repairs. The cards have: nationwide acceptance at fuel and maintenance locations, the ability to bill net of exempted taxes, pin number security, and provide level 3 product information. Inventory and Data Reporting Detailed inventories of fleet equipment are kept as required by the Property Management Regulations and as needed to satisfy other applicable external (outside USDA) reporting requirements such as OMB circular A11, the Energy Policy Act, and Executive Orders. In addition to information about the physical equipment, the following types of information are required: miles or hours of use, quantity and type of fuel used, the FS administrative unit and subunit the vehicle is assigned, the location (city, state, & zip code), and codes showing if equipment is primarily used for law enforcement, fire, emergency response, or emergency response support. Maintenance and Repair All vehicles are included in a preventative maintenance program that includes pre-use, monthly, and annual mechanical safety inspections with follow-up maintenance and repair as needed to assure the equipment is safe and operational. All applicable State and local safety and environmental inspection requirements must be met. DELIVERABLES AND OBJECTIVES Among the specific deliverables of interest for this request are the following: Vehicles and equipment: (All vehicles must comply with the Federal Vehicle Standard 122 for Automobiles, Sedans, and Station Wagons; and Federal Vehicle Standard 307 for Light Trucks, 4X2 & 4X4; 4,000 to 19,999 gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). (Published by GSA and available at gsa.gov) 1. Provide approximately 12,000 sedans, station wagons, and light trucks (4X2 & 4X4; 4,000 to 19,999 GVWR) for year-round use.. 2. Provide from 1,000 to 4,000 vehicles for summer/seasonal use, depending on need. 3. Provide approximately 8,000 medium and heavy trucks, including specialized vehicles (fire trucks, crew carriers, lab trucks, etc.) 4. Provide approximately 60 busses. 5. Provide approximately 1,000 pieces of heavy equipment: tractors/dozers, loaders, backhoes, compactors, excavators, forest machines, motor graders, soil stabilizers, etc Services 1. Install and maintain ?Added Equipment?. 2. Provide and manage ?Fleet Credit Cards?. 3. Provide and manage ?Inventory and Data Reporting?. 4. Provide and manage ?Maintenance and Repair? where a 95% fleet up time is the expectation. INSTRUCTIONS TO PROSPECTIVE OFFERORS Responses to this RFI must be no more than 20 in graphics, tables, and figures can be smaller than 12 point. The cover page, cover total single-sided pages with print no smaller than 12 point; however, text included letter, and table of contents are not included in the 20 page count. Any material submitted in excess of 20-page limit and the page limitation exclusions will not be considered. The submission must be in sufficient detail and clarity to provide the Forest Service with the information it needs to assess your company?s capabilities. Electronic portion of response must be submitted in Microsoft Word 2000 or later. Offerors? responses to this RFI must be submitted to USDA Forest Service by 3:00 p.m. on August 8, 2006. Your company should only contact the contracting officer issuing this letter if there are questions about any aspect of this RFI. Interested parties may not contact USDA Forest Service technical personnel about this RFI. One hard copy and a CD of all response files must be submitted to ether of the following addresses: US Postal Address Overnight/Hand-Delivery Address USDA Forest Service USDA Forest Service AQM, 7th FI RPE Attn: WO-AQM, Mr. Scott Donley STOP CODE 1138 1621 N. Kent Street 1400 Independence Ave., SW Room No. 707 Washington, DC 20036 Arlington, VA 22209 Mr. Donley may be contacted by e-mail at michaeldonley@fs.fed.us or by phone at 703-605-4511. RFI responses must conform to the format as described below and provide the following information: Cover Letter The cover letter must include the following information: Company name Company point of contact and telephone number Date submitted Section 1 ? Corporate Capability and Anticipated Subcontractors Offerors must describe their corporate capability to provide sedans, station wagons, trucks, busses and heavy equipment. Offerors must describe their interest and corporate capability to provide the services of, ?installation and maintenance of Added Equipment,? and ?providing low cost used vehicles for Seasonal Use.? Offerors may also describe their interest and corporate capability to provide the services of providing and managing Fleet Credit Cards, Inventory and Data Reporting, and Maintenance and Repair. Offerors must describe their corporate capability to provide the equipment and services to all Forest Service locations throughout the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, including the remote locations. Offerors must describe their anticipated subcontractors, including their primary roles and responsibilities. Offerors should address the following in their response to this RFI: Interest in purchasing the current Forest Service sedan, station wagon, and light truck fleet vehicles Fleet credit card system management Vehicle lease billing/payment schedule (annual, semi-annual, monthly, bimonthly) Accident damage to vehicles would be, or not be, the responsibility of the government Cost of reconditioning the vehicles upon turn-in/replacement would be, or not be the responsibility of the government Delivery of the vehicles would be at (Dealership, Leasing Agent, Forest Service location, or other) Availability (24-hour, dealer hours, agent hours, or other) Emergency maintenance service coordination Normal wear and tear such as tires, window wipers, etc. would be, or not be, included Routine maintenance such as oil changes, lube, filters, etc. would be, or not be, included Would the lease include fuel? Discount rates for seasonal use vehicles Miscellaneous comments. Section 2 ? Past Performance Offerors must provide no more than five past performance descriptions that have been completed or are ongoing. Each past performance description must be no more two pages. Each reference must contain the following information: Client name Client address Contract value Subcontractor company names and roles Contracting office (name, title, and phone number) Technical contact (name, title, and phone number) Project description Number and type of equipment/vehicles provided at each location Detailed description of services provided Dates of contract agreements Section 3 ? Suggestions and Comments to Government Offerers are invited to provide any suggestions and advice they feel would be useful for the USDA Forest Service to consider in regard to various combinations or mixing of vehicle ownership, leasing, maintenance and management. CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT METHOD The government will use the information in your response to this RFI, as well as other information available to the government, to assess your company?s capability. Should the Government decide to issue a RFP, the companies identified as having acceptable capabilities to provide equipment/vehicles and related services would be invited to continue participating in an acquisition process.
- Place of Performance
- Address: USA
- Record
- SN01083373-W 20060708/060706220245 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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