time shall be 15 days. If the time allowed for response is reduced below 15 days the contracting officer shall document in the contract file the full justification for the reduction.

§ 12-4.1004 Selection.

§ 12-4.1004-1

Establishment of ArchitectEngineer Evaluation Boards.

(a) Each agency head (or his authorized representative) shall establish an ad hoc Architect-Engineer Evaluation Board for each procurement of Architect-Engineer services. The Board shall perform the functions set forth in § 12-4.1004-2 unless procedures for countracts estimated to be $10,000 and under are used as provided for in § 124.1004-5. The A-E Evaluation Board shall be composed of the following numbers, one of whom shall be appointed as Chairman and one of whom may be appointed recording secretary:

(1) One member with experience in procurement of A-E services. This member will normally be the cognizant contracting officer or the contract negotiator for the project.

(2) Two members with technical experience in the fields of architecture, engineering or construction. These members will normally be from the organization responsible for the work.

(3) One member with technical knowledge of the functional (user) requirements of the project.

(4) For A-E procurements estimated at $60,000 or more, a member appointed by the Director, Installations and Logistics, OST (TAD-60), unless he declines to appoint a member.

(5) Other special members as are deemed necessary.

(6) A-E Board members may be appointed from among highly qualified professional employees of other Government agencies or the private sector, engaged in the practice of architecture, engineering, construction or related professions. When a proposed Architect-Engineer Evaluation Board includes a member from the private sector, the Office of Installations and Logistics, OST (TAD-60) shall be notified before the Board is established. No firm or organization shall be eligible for consideration for a contract with a procuring activity during the

period in which any of its principals or associates are participating as members of an A-E Evaluation Board on behalf of that procuring activity.

(7) Operating elements and secretarial offices that do not have personnel experienced in Architect-Engineer selection procedures or personnel with the necessary technical disciplines to evaluate Architect-Engineer firms for a particular project may request the assistance of the Office of Installations and Logistics, OST (TAD-60) in establishing the A-E Evaluation Board.

§ 12-4.1004-2 Functions of the Evaluation Board.

(a)(1) Because of the Department policy to establish ad hoc evaluation boards instead of permanent boards to select Architect-Engineers, the cognizant procurement office or facilities design and construction activity shall be responsible for collecting the Standard Forms 254 and maintaining the qualification data on file. Although A-E firms should submit a new Form 254 each year, forms up to three years old shall be considered current. Forms more than three years old may be discarded.

(2) Organizations may choose not to maintain A-E qualification data files and arrange to use existing data files of other DOT organizations including the files available in the Office of Installations and Logistics, OST (TAD60). If an organization chooses this option it should forward all A-E qualification data it receives from interested firms to the organization maintaining the data file.

(b) The following outlines the functions of the Architect-Engineer Evaluation Board in more detail and the sequence in which the functions are to be performed:

(1) Analyze the nature and scope of the project work requirements.

(2) Develop the criteria and evaluation systems to be used in screening firms for the Pre-selection List and in the final selection.

(3) Prepare the public announcement for the project (§ 12-4.1003) and provide it to the procurement office for publication.

(4) Screen the Standard Form 254s and Standard Form 255s and any other qualification data received in response to the public announcement of the project and prepare a Pre-selection List of the best qualified firms for further consideration. The Pre-selection List must consist of at least three firms.

(5) Obtain additional, detailed qualification and past performance information for each of the firms on the Pre-selection List. This information shall include the following:

(i) Past record of performance. How well firms have performed on previous projects including quality of work, ability to meet schedules, accuracy of cost estimates and any other pertinent factors. This information should be obtained by contacting former clients in Government and private industry.

(ii) Project proposal. The A-E firm shall submit a project proposal to the A-E Evaluation Board, in writing, prior to the interviews required by § 12-4.1004-2(b)(6). The project proposal should normally include the type of information outlined below. However, the proposal may vary in content and level of detail depending on the scope, complexity and nature of the particular project under consideration. The firm shall be provided with a description of the nature and scope of work to be accomplished to assist the firm in preparing the proposal. In addition, firms selected to submit proposals shall be advised of the evaluation criteria that will be used to select the firm for negotiations.

(A) Technical approach. A brief discussion of: the tasks or steps that the firm will undertake to accomplish the work described in the scope of work, overall planning and design approach/ philosophy, possible conceptual approaches (narrative) and unusual aspects or potential problems the firm envisions that may be encountered during project execution, and which may require special consideration (including environmental considerations and provisions for the handicapped).

(B) Energy conservation approach. Brief narrative of the technical approach that the A-E firm would use to maximize energy conservation for the

project under consideration. The approach should discuss those systems that could have significant impact on energy conservation, and the criteria and engineering considerations that would be used to design these systems for maximum energy conservation. The A-E should also give examples of energy conservation design techniques and measures that the firm has used in previous design projects including the results obtained. If possible the results should be expressed quantitatively in terms of operating costs, resource consumption or BTU's per square foot.

(C) Proposed project schedule and man-loading plan (manpower in each technical discipline over contract period).

(D) Visual examples of previous work such as photographs of completed construction projects designed by the firm and copies of completed plans and specifications. (These may be provided at the interviews required by § 12-4.1004—2(b)(6).)

(E) Management approach. A brief discussion of the project team organization, project management procedures, methods to be used in controlling construction cost estimates, quality control procedures, and the anticipated A-E/client relationship.

(F) Firm's current workload. For example, a list of on-going projects including their construction value (or AE fee if construction value is not applicable) and percentage of completion.

(G) Percentage and number of minority and women employees in all job classifications and pay scales. Minorities are specified as being American Indian, Negro, Spanish surnamed Americans, Orientals, Aleuts and Eski

mos.

The project proposal should also include any changes to the information provided in the Standard Forms 254 and 255 that the firms may wish to make, particularly on proposed key personnel and consultants and relevant past work. The A-E firm should be advised not to submit price proposals at this time, or design sketches, drawings, and design data in connection with the proposed project. If an Administration or element of OST desires conceptual designs from A-E

firms written approval shall be obtained from the Assistant Secretary for Administration prior to soliciting such proposals.

(6) Conduct interviews with the firms on the Pre-selection List. As part of the interview the Architect-Engineer firms shall be given an opportunity to make an oral presentation of their qualification and experience data, proposed project approach and any other relevant data. The project manager and other key project personnel and consultants proposed by a firm should participate in the interview.

(7) Whenever it is practical and advantageous, the A-E Evaluation Board should visit the offices of the A-E firms on the Pre-selection List to inspect their facilities and work environment, to meet members of the proposed project team, to see work in progress and additional examples of completed projects. These visits should be made in conjunction with the interviews referred to in § 124.1004-2(b)(6).

(8) Review the Standard Forms 254 and 255, the project proposals, and other experience and qualification data for each firm on the Pre-selection List and perform a systematic numerical evaluation rating and ranking of the firms using the applicable evaluation criteria in § 12-4.1004-3.

(9) Develop in rank order, a listing of not less than three firms considered most highly qualified to perform the required services, based on the evaluation rating and ranking of the firms on the Pre-selection List, and prepare a report to the agency head (or his authorized representative), recommending these firms for negotiations. The report shall include in sufficient detail the extent of the evaluation and the considerations upon which the recommendations were based, and any other data and material developed by the AE Evaluation Board which might be useful in the negotiations.

§ 12-4.1004-3 Evaluation criteria.

The following expands the evaluation criteria provided in the FPR. Each criteria factor should be weighted according to its order of importance with respect to the project under consideration.

(a) Specialized experience. Relevant recent experience of the firm (including joint venture or association) in projects comparable to the proposed project.

(b) Capacity/capability. (1) Relevant experience and capability of key project personnel, and key individual and outside consultants.

(2) Diversity of skills the firm proposes to apply to the project in order to perform all aspects of the work, such as planning, architectural design and civil, mechanical and electrical engineering.

(3) Total number of personnel the A-E firm employs in the technical disciplines required for the proposed project.

(4) Firm's current workload.

(c) Technical ability and understanding of requirements. (1) Technical approach.

(2) Understanding and experience in energy conservation design. (3) Project schedule. (4) Man-loading plan.

(5) Quality of examples of previous work.

(d) Project organization and management. (1) Project team organization.

(2) Project management procedures. (3) Methods to be used in controlling construction cost estimates.

(4) Quality control procedures. (5) Anticipated A-E/client relationship.

(e) Past record of performance. Past record of performance on contracts with DOT and other former clients in Government and private industry with respect to such factors as quality of work, ability to meet schedules, accuracy of cost estimates compared to actual bids and quotes, number and dollar amount of construction change orders, and A-E/client relationship. The following evaluation criteria factors do not necessarily relate to the ability of an A-E firm to do the required work. However, they do reflect Department policy and therefore they should be used in the A-E evaluation process. They may be used separately from the other criteria in terms of bonus or penalty points to the basic numerical evaluation rating.

(f) Volume of department-wide work previously awarded to the firm during the past 3 years. The object of this factor is to promote the distribution of Department Architect-Engineering

contracts to the maximum extent possible among all qualified Architect-Engineer firms. A list of A-E firms that have been awarded DOT contracts during the most recent past three year period will be distributed to all procurement offices by the Office of Installations and Logistics, OST, TAD60.

(g) Familiarity with and proximity to the site location of the project.

(h) Minority/women employment. Percentage of minority employees in all job classifications and pay scales, noting the percentage of minorities in the immediate locality and general surrounding area. Minorities are specified as being American Indian, Negro, Spanish surnamed Americans, Orientals, Aleuts and Eskimos. In addition, the percentage of women in all job classifications and pay scales shall also be considered.

§ 12-4.1004-4 Action by the agency head or his authorized representative.

(a) The agency head (or his authorized representative) shall review the recommendations of the Architect-Engineer Evaluation Board. The recommendations of the Architect-Engineer Evaluation Board will normally be accepted, unless the report does not adequately support the recommendations. If the recommendations are not accepted the Architect-Engineer Evaluation Board shall be required to reconvene until an acceptable set of recommendations is agreed upon.

(b) The accepted report shall serve as authorization for the contracting officer to commence negotiations with the A-E firm ranked number one by the A-E Evaluation Board.

§ 12-4.1004-5 Procedures for procurements estimated not to exceed $10,000. When authorized by the agency head (or his authorized representative) the following procedure may be used in lieu of the procedures prescribed in §§ 12-4.1004-1, 12-4.1004-2, and 12-4.1004-4.

(a) The selection shall be accomplished by an informal evaluation board consisting of at least two members from the organization responsible for the work who are knowledgeable in the technical fields most significantly related to the proposed project. The Board shall follow the procedures prescribed in § 12-4.1002(b). However, the Board shall use its judgment in determining the extent of detailed qualification and past performance data needed to fully evaluate the A-E firms. The Board should at least obtain the Standard Form 254, the firms' past record of performance and visual examples of previous projects.

(b) The Board's report, recommending at least three firms, in rank order, considered best qualified to perform the required services, shall be submitted to the contracting officer for review. If the report is acceptable it shall serve as authorization for the contracting officer to begin negotiations with the firm ranked number

one.

§ 12-4.1005 Negotiation procedures. § 12-4.1005-1 General.

The limitation on Architect-Engineer fees of 6 percent of the estimated construction cost applies to all services that are an integral part of the production and delivery of plans, designs, drawings and specifications of a construction project. The limitation, however, does not apply to the cost of investigative and other services including but not limited to the following:

Development of program requirements (scope of work).

Determination of project feasibility. Preparation of drawings of an existing facility, where current drawings are not available.

Subsurface investigations (soil borings). Structural, electrical, and mechanical investigations of an existing building, where current information is not available.

Surveys: Topographic, boundary, utility. Preparation of models, color renderings, photographs, or other presentation materi

als.

Travel and per diem for special presentations.

Supervision and inspection of construc

tion.