SOLICITATION NOTICE
F -- Utah - Drill Seeding
- Notice Date
- 8/25/2006
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- BLM-UT UTAH STATE OFFICE* 440 WEST 200 SOUTH, SUITE 500 PO BOX 45155 SALT LAKE CITY UT 84101
- ZIP Code
- 84101
- Solicitation Number
- JSQ064170
- Response Due
- 9/8/2006
- Archive Date
- 8/25/2007
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- The Bureau of Land Management, Salt Lake City, Utah has a requirement drill seeding approximately 1,552 acres located on 2 project areas in the Moab Field Office area. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The Solicitation Number for this notice is RFQ JSQ064170. STATEMENT OF WORK: 1) DRILL SEEDING (IN STRIPS) - STATEMENT OF WORK Contractor to furnish labor, equipment (tractors), supplies, and materials, except for specified Government-furnished property, to plant seed with rangeland drills. Materials shall comply with or conform to the specifications and the Contractor shall satisfy himself as to the kind and amount of work that may be necessary in furnishing the materials. 2) LOCATION: Work under this Contract is located on two project areas within the Moab Field Office of the BLM. The 1,128 acre Westwater II project is located approximately 6 miles south of Interstate 70 and 5 miles west of the Colorado/Utah border. The 424 acre Bryson Wash project is located approximately 3 miles north of Interstate 70 and 5 miles west of the Colorado/Utah border. The work sites are located in Grand County, as shown on the location map. There are 2 treatment areas. 1) Westwater II project is approximately 1,128 acres (T20S, R25E, Sec. 29,30). 2) Bryson Wash project is approximately 424 acres (T19S, R25E, Sec's. 22, 23, 26, 27). Total Acres: Drill seeding on approximately 1,552 acres. The distance between Westwater II and Bryson Wash is approximately 15 miles. Movement between the treatment areas is on paved and dirt roads. 3) PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE/SCHEDULE OF WORK: The Performance Time will commence on the day specified in the Notice to Proceed and will be calculated according to the following formula: 11ft x 7 hr/day x 3 mi/hr x 5,280ft/mi x acre/43,560 sq ft = 28 acre/day The formula assumes: 1 drill with 11 ft swath 7 hours per day of actual drill operation Operation at speed of 3 mph Seeding to occur throughout 100% of the ground within the treatment unit boundaries. Due to topography and limited areas for turning, seeding will normally require single drill usage. Therefore, time was figured on average of 1 drill width - approximately 11 feet. Due to staubs, litter, slow speed, some tire problems and routine adjustment of drills seed rate, the average rate per tractor/drill combination(s) is 28 acres per day. The 28 acre per day figure is the typical production expected from a single tractor and operator. Additional tractors specified by and working on the same project should produce an additional 28 acres per day each. Due to the time-sensitive nature of the work the Contractor may be required to operate seven days per week in order to complete the project in the allotted Performance Time. For these projects, 2 drills are available: 1,552 acres/56 acres per day (28 acres x 2 available drills) = 28 days. Additional time allowed due to contingency and movement = 10 days. This project is to be complete 28 work days after award no later than December 15, 2006. 4) PROJECT/ SITE CONDITIONS a) Access to the Work Site: i. Public or private access roads damaged by the Contractor shall be restored, at the Contractor's expense, to the same condition they were in at the commencement of work. ii. Fire restrictions will be adhered to at all times. All motorized vehicles and equipment shall be equipped with fire extinguishers and a shovel for throwing dirt/scraping an area clear. All equipment shall be equipped with an operation spark arrester. iii. All equipment must be cleaned and free from dirt and seed prior to moving to the project area. When working in areas with noxious weeds, all equipment and vehicles will be inspected and cleaned prior to moving to the next site (pressure washing is preferred). b) Flagging: i. The Contractor is required to avoid flagged section corners, bench marks, cultural sites, and other markers and stakes from damage or removal. In case of destruction or removal by the Contractor, they will be replaced by the Government and the actual cost for replacement or mitigation will be deducted from payments due the Contractor. c) Terrain: i. Slope: Typical seeding areas generally will consist of slopes less than 30%. There may be areas when slopes will be greater than 30%. ii. Rock: Some rock may be present. d) Work Camps: i. The location of any work camp established by the Contractor must be approved in advance by the Contracting Officer. The Contractor shall maintain the camp in a sanitary, orderly manner and, upon vacating the camp, remove refuse and any other signs of occupancy. In the equipment maintenance area, special precautions shall be taken to contain spilled fuel, lubricants, and wash water. e) Storage and Handling of Government Furnished Equipment and Material i. The contractor shall provide necessary protection to maintain government-furnished materials and equipment free from damage whether in transport, in storage, or in place. ii. The Contractor shall provide security for materials and equipment stored. The Contractor will be responsible for the loss of or damage to, Government-furnished property due to theft or other hazard. iii. Operations of the Contractor (including storage of materials, project office, camping area and equipment parking) upon Government premises shall be confined to areas approved by the Contracting Officer. The surrounding landscape shall not be disturbed. In the event that it is disturbed, the Contractor shall restore the area at the Contractor's expense. Government premises adjacent to the work site shall be made available for use by the Contractor without cost whenever such use will not interfere with other Government activities. f) CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS: i. Because cultural resources may be present in the area, project activities and any other action which causes disturbance of the earth's surface shall be limited to those areas approved by the BLM. Deviations from routes flagged or shown on the drawings are not allowable without prior written approval of the Contracting Officer. The Contractor shall insure that he, his employees, or his representatives do not collect or disturb historic or prehistoric artifacts in accordance with the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (43 CFR 7). Should the condition of the cultural resources in the area be altered during construction due to unauthorized activity by the Contractor or his employees, the Contractor shall be responsible for all costs of mitigating the cultural resources involved. If deterioration of the archeological sites is found to be occurring during the construction phase, work on the project shall be terminated until a data recovery plan is prepared and completed in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act (36 CFR 800). The Contractor shall immediately bring to the attention of the Contracting Officer any and all cultural resources including, but not limited to, historic and prehistoric sites or artifacts, buried artifacts, and buried features such as fire pits, burials, and house floors discovered as a result of drilling operations. The Contractor shall immediately suspend all activities in the immediate vicinity that might harm the object(s), notify the Contracting Officer, and shall leave such discoveries intact until instructed to proceed by the Contracting Officer. 5) EQUIPMENT - Contractor and Government-furnished - See number 6&7 below. 6) GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY (EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS): i. Rangeland Drills a. Equipment to be furnished: 1. Rangeland Drills - 2 drills 2. Specialized spare parts for drills (including spare tires). 3. Seed in bags weighing approximately 50 pounds. BLM will transport seed and provide a trailer for storage to project area (to be determine at Notice to Proceed by BLM). Transporting seed between treatment areas will be at contractor's expense. b. Location: Rangeland drills will be provided by the Bureau of Land Management, Moab Field Office. Contact: Brian Keating; 82 Dogwood; Moab, UT 84532 Telephone: (435)259-2194. c. Time: 1. PICK-UP Property will be available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm except on holidays. An appointment is required to assure that a warehouseman is available. Appointments are made by calling Brian Keating at (435)259-2194. A minimum of 24 hours prior to the intended pickup time. 2. RETURN: All Government-furnished property will returned within 10 calendar days after completion and acceptance of work or termination of the contract; Monday through Friday, from 7:00 am to 12:00 pm , 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm except on holidays. An appointment is required to assure that a warehouseman is available. Appointments are made by calling the phone number listed above. A minimum of 24 hours notice prior to the intended return time is required. All drills will be returned to the ware yard cleaned of seed. d. Loading, Offloading, and Transporting: The Contractor shall be responsible for providing the necessary material-handling equipment to load and offload materials at the work site. The Contractor shall transport materials to work sites and return them to the Moab Field Office. A Government forklift and operator will be available at the BLM wareyard. ii. Seed a. All mixed seed required for the completion of the work specified shall be furnished by the Government. Seed will be packaged in sacks weighing approximately 50 pounds each. b. Any unused material will be returned to the Moab Field Office wareyard. 7) CONTRACTOR-FURNISHED EQUIPMENT i. The Contractor shall furnish required fuel, oil, lubricants, repair tools and repair parts for Contractor-furnished equipment. Contractor's equipment shall be serviced and repaired as necessary to complete the work. ii. Tractors: The Contractor shall furnish a sufficient number of rubber tired tractors to accomplish the seeding requirement within the time limits specified by the Government. Tractors shall be rated at a minimum of 130hp and be equipped with either 4-wheel drive or 2-wheel drive and duals if needed. All tractors shall be operated by experienced and qualified personnel. iii. Motor Vehicles: The Contractor shall furnish motor vehicles for hauling equipment, personnel, and seed to the worksites. The Contractor-furnished vehicles shall include at least one transport vehicle capable of safely and legally hauling a minimum of two rangeland drills per load. The Contractor shall not load tractors or drills on public highways unless authorized by the Contracting Officer. iv. Rollover protective structures are required on equipment as defined in 29 CFR 1920-1000-1002 regardless of age. 8) MOBILIZATION a. Mobilization Costs: include loading and offloading drills and all necessary startup supplies and equipment to initial site and 2 times between treatment sites and return items as needed to Moab Field Office wareyard. Cost for mobilization shall be considered as one lump sum and should be included in the project bid. 9) MEETINGS: i. Pre-Work Conference: a. A pre-work conference will be held prior to the issuance of the Notice to Proceed. The Contractor will be notified in advance of meeting time, date, and place. The purpose will be to review required work, specifications, and payments, and administrative provisions of the Contract. b. The Contractor, subcontractors and the persons responsible for coordination of the work shall be present at the meeting. c. The Contractor shall be prepared to summarize and explain procedures planned for the project. ii. Progress Meetings: a. Meetings shall be held at the project site, or as determined by the Contracting Officer. b. Meetings may be called by either the Contracting Officer or the Contractor. Request shall state who should attend and include an agenda. iii. Final Inspection: a. Meetings shall be held at the project site, or as determined by the Contracting Officer. b. The Contractor shall require his or her superintendent (if designated) to be present during this inspection. c. The Contractor shall correct any deficiencies noted and the project will be reinspected by the Contracting Officer. 10) OPERATION GUIDELINES AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR-RANGELAND DRILLS i. Description of full-size Rangeland Drill: a. One rangeland drill is a 1950's John Deere Model B 10 x 6 grain boxes, feeds, drives and related components. One rangeland drill is a 1960's John Deere Model PD 10 x 6 grain boxes, feeds, drives and related components. b. The main grain boxes are closely joined at the center of Model PD and spaced about 5 inches apart on the Model B. c. The Model PD has a clutch and clutch throwout lever at each outer drive chain case. The Model B has a gear engagement and disengagement arrangement at each outer drive in place of a clutch. d. The drill has a high-center frame for clearing obstacles and is mounted on two large wheels with pneumatic tires or steel wheels. The main frame is a heavily constructed, all-welded assembly. Older models have a fixed tongue or drawbar. Later models have a drawbar designed to fold back over the top of the feed box and lock to the rear frame member. The purpose of this feature is to facilitate transportation. e. Two large seed boxes, or hoppers, are mounted on top of the main frame and have adjustable flute feeds with seed agitators. The hoppers, including the feed systems, clutches, and most of the drive mechanisms, are modified for adaptation to the rangeland drill. f. Two groups of five disc opener arms are arranged to cast soil toward the drill center and equalize disc thrust. The disc arms are spaced 12 inches apart and attach to the front, mainframe, cross-member with hinge pins to allow for movement over obstructions such as rocks. Guards on the underside and in front of the disc minimize brush clogging. When required, such as in sandy type soils, an 18-inch depth ring controls seed planting depth. Spindles are also provided for adding weights to increase disc penetration when depth rings are not used. Seed row spacing is 12 inches for a total effective seeding width of 10 feet. Chains hold the disc opener arms in raised position for roading and prevent swinging forward in lowered position. They are not intended to control depth of planting. ii. Unit Weights (approximate) Standard Unit with grain boxes and pneumatic tire wheels????..3650 lbs. Add for optional attachment and accessories: Fertilizer attachment??????????..380 lbs. Grass seed attachment??????????.90 lbs. Brush guard attachment?????????.135 lbs. Note: Steel wheels and pneumatic tire wheels are about equivalent in weight. iii. Dimensions (approximate) Overall width???????????????????13' - 8" Overall length, rear of disc arms to tip of tongue?????.. 9' - 9" Overall length, rear of disc arms to top of ball hitch?? 11' - 0" Overall length, tongue folded back???????????.5' - 2" Overall height, tongue in operating position??????? 5' - 9" iv. Lubrication and Servicing Equipment: a. Contractor shall lubricate and service drills and their component parts at mid-day and the end of each shift. Contractor shall furnish necessary lubricating equipment and proper lubricants. Contractor shall check bolts and nuts on the machines periodically and no less than twice daily to insure tightness and shall tighten them as necessary for proper maintenance. Contractor shall also frequently inspect and readjust as necessary seed dispensing mechanisms to insure calibration rates remain constant during the seed drilling operation. v. Repairs to Equipment: a. Contractor shall be equipped to make necessary field repairs to drills. The Contractor shall maintain and repair the drill(s) at the worksite. The Government will furnish repair parts necessitated by normal wear and tire repair not due to fault or negligence of the Contractor. Contractor shall install repair parts furnished by Government for which no separate payment will be made. Cost of such work will be included in the unit price per acre in the Schedule. The cost of repairs resulting from fault or negligence of the Contractor shall be borne by Contractor and will be deducted from payments due under the Contract. With the exception of those repairs resulting from fault or negligence of the Contractor, major repairs not repairable in the field will be made by the Government. No alterations or modifications of rangeland drills shall be made without approval of the Contracting Officer; however, occasional adjustments in component parts of drills may be made by the Contractor as necessary to maintain proper operation. Worn or broken parts (as furnished by the Government), replaced by the Contractor, shall be kept for inspection by the Contracting Officer. vi. Operating Hints a. Before Field Use: 1. Contractor must be familiar with the rangeland drill by studying the San Dimas Equipment Center's Instruction Manual to become familiar with intended use and all phases of lubrication, service and maintenance requirements. 2. Adjust hitches so that drills remain level when towed. 3. Thoroughly check drill to see that all pins, bolts and adjustments are secure, and that it is completely lubricated with the proper lubricants. 4. Determine intended direction of turn. This may vary with different hitches or drill carts. Improper turning may cause severe damage due to ride-up or drills hitting each other. 5. Be sure the seeding mechanism including agitator assembly, seed feeds and seed tubes are clean and operating freely before filling hoppers. This is particularly important to prevent breakage when the drill has been in storage or in wet freezing weather. Proper operation can be determined by: a. Jacking up and turning the wheels with drill in gear. If climbing under the drill, contractor must insure the stability of the drill/ b. Using a wrench to rotate the square feed shaft located under the seed hoppers in either direction with the drill out of gear. b. Field Operations: 1. Check seed feed openings and seed tubes frequently. Be sure these are clean, open and free of trash or other foreign objects. 2. Lubricate with proper lubricant at regular intervals. A good practice is to lubricate at noon and upon quitting when everything is warm, rather than prior to starting work in the morning. During longer days (12 to 14 hours), three lubes may be necessary. c. Common Problem Areas Resulting in High Repair Costs, Excessive Down Time and/or Poor Seeding Operations: 1. Speed: Pull drills 2 to 4 miles per hour. Decrease speed in rough going or when obstructions are encountered. Pulling the drills at double the recommended speed generally results in at least three times the maintenance and repair costs; and where obstructions exist such as rocks, brush, etc., "skips" will occur resulting in a poor seeding. During cold weather, considerations should be given to reducing drill speed to two miles per hour. Higher speed or frozen ground increases the rate of breakage to equipment. 2. Use of Disc-Arm Assembly Chains: These chains have two functions: a. Raising and holding the disc arms during transportation in the field. b. Preventing the disc arm from dropping and allowing the flexible seed tube to be pulled out of the metal seed tube. When the drill is in operation, the chain should be fully extended and firmly attached to the disc arm and to the drill frame. 3. Moving Drills to the Field: The disc arms must be securely chained up, the feed mechanism taken out of gear, weights must be removed and drags must be removed or wired up. Excessive speed or hard bumps may break the chains and let the arms fall. 4. Backing Drills: Drills must not be backed up while attached to a drill cart as it is impossible to control them. Breakage or bending of drills and carts could occur. If limited backing is necessary such as in loading or when stuck, the drills must be backed separately. The arms must be raised to prevent plugging seed tubes, drags laid across arms to prevent breakage or loss, and the feed mechanism disengaged to prevent breakage. If backing up is absolutely necessary, never back any drill or vehicle until absolutely sure there is no object, other vehicle, or person behind. Always have spotter to direct backing operations. 5. Crossing Deep Draws: When crossing draws, speed must be reduced. The operator must watch for: a. The change of angle caused by the cart coming out of the draw with the drill still in it causes a prying action between the cart and the tongue. This often causes breakage or bending damage to the hitch. b. If the disc arm drops rapidly into the draw without hitting the bottom, the arm chain will frequently break and let the seed tube pull out. 6. Wearing of Disc and Disc-Opener Shaft: If the bearing is loose or worn, the shaft will wear. If the disc is loose, the shaft and the hole in the disc will wear. When depth bands are not used, use a spacer washer to permit tightening the nut that holds the disc on the shaft. Make sure this nut stays high and the snap ring stays in place. Rocks catching between the arms can dislodge either. 7. All nuts and bolts must be kept tight. Any looseness will cause holes to wear oblong, bolts to shear, nuts to come off, causing serious breakage or damage. 8. Lost Drag Chains: If the operator watches, most drag chains that are lost can be picked up on the next round. 9. Cleaning Seed Boxes: Upon completion of drilling operations, clean the seed boxes and seed feeds thoroughly. Scoop out and resack seed left in boxes; then set the feed adjustment wide open and pull the drills until empty of seed. vii. Field Repairs: a. DO NOT weld the snap ring on the disc opener shaft. Any subsequent repair generally requires replacing the shaft, one of the major expenses in drill repair. The snap rings, if properly installed and checked regularly, will adequately keep the shaft in place. The ring has to be properly installed so as not to distort its tension. It can be installed easily and quickly by driving it over the end of the shaft with a home made tool such as a short piece of pipe with an inside diameter that will just fit over the outside of the shaft. Use the correct snap ring. Original shafts had round snap ring grooves, later ones have square-sided grooves. The snap rings do their job well when the right ones are properly installed in the respective grooves. b. DO NOT weld seed tubes to the disc arm assemblies. In making the repairs to bring the drill back to standard, it is necessary to replace the seed tube. Cutting and welding on the arm assembly weakens it and often misalignment occurs. This causes further damage to other parts. c. DO NOT weld the arm pins to the anchor blocks on the drill frame. These are specially constructed pins, locked in place by a 3/8" x 3-1/2" bolt. When these have to be cut out with a torch, it is sometimes necessary to replace the anchor block on the frame. This is a time consuming and expensive operation. d. DO NOT use under-size pins in place of the original arm pins. The slack causes wear on the anchor blocks. These will then have to be replaced. e. DO NOT weld drive gears and clutch together. This makes it impossible to throw the drive mechanism out of gear or let the ratchet work properly when the drill is backed. f. In the event of any breakage in the frame, assure correct alignment before repair
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