Preventive maintenance for HML Chillers

This combined synopsis/solicitation (RFQ No. 1305M226Q0181) is issued by the Department of Commerce/NOAA to secure semiannual and annual preventive maintenance services for five chiller systems at the Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) in Charleston, South Carolina. This acquisition is a 100% total small business set-aside under NAICS code 238220 (Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors), which carries a $19 million size standard. The government intends to award a single, firm-fixed-price purchase order on an all-or-none basis for a one-year period of performance spanning September 16, 2026, to September 15, 2027. Evaluation will be conducted using a low-priced, technically acceptable (LPTA) process based on three pass/fail criteria: Technical Acceptability/Capability, Past Performance, and Price. Quoters are highly encouraged to participate in site visits scheduled between July 6 and July 15, 2026, with coordination through designated facility points of contact. Questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist, Randall Chatfield, at Randall.Chatfield@noaa.gov by July 16, 2026, at 12:00 PM EST. Final quotes must be submitted via email to the same address no later than July 21, 2026, at 12:00 PM EST and must remain valid for a minimum of 60 days. Contractors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and the FedConnect web portal to be eligible for award and subsequent contract administration.

This Statement of Work (SOW) outlines the requirements for a contractor to provide comprehensive, full-service preventive maintenance, predictive diagnostics, and emergency response services for five chiller and HVAC systems at the Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) in Charleston, South Carolina. Managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this contract supports critical laboratory environments where uninterrupted climate control is vital to protect sensitive research and biological specimens. The contractor is responsible for performing one semiannual inspection and one annual shutdown maintenance service on all covered equipment, which includes York chillers, cooling towers, pumps, and refrigerant monitors. Key tasks involve vibration analysis, tube cleaning, oil analysis, and sensor calibration. Additionally, the contractor must provide 24/7/365 emergency support, responding to calls within 30 minutes and arriving on-site within two hours. The contract establishes a base period of performance from September 16, 2026, to September 15, 2027, with options to renew annually for up to four additional years. A Not-to-Exceed (NTE) allowance of $12,000 per contract year is allocated for major, non-routine corrective repairs, subject to approval by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). Contractors must meet strict licensing, financial stability, and experience criteria, and deliverables such as maintenance logs and performance reports will be evaluated against established Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure operational reliability.

This document is a federal Service Contract Act (SCA) Wage Determination (No. 2015-4427, Revision 33, dated May 13, 2026) issued by the U.S. Department of Labor. It establishes minimum wage rates and fringe benefits for contracted service employees in the South Carolina counties of Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester. The determination lists hourly pay rates across numerous labor categories, including administrative support, automotive services, food preparation, maintenance, health, information technology, and technical occupations. It outlines mandated employer-provided fringe benefits, including standard health and welfare benefits ($5.55 per hour) or modified rates under Executive Order 13706 ($5.09 per hour) for contracts requiring paid sick leave. Additionally, it specifies requirements for paid vacation (starting at 2 weeks after 1 year of service) and a minimum of 11 paid federal holidays. The document details guidelines for Executive Orders 13706 and 13658, provisions for hazardous pay differentials (4% to 8%), and uniform allowance reimbursements. It also provides instructions for the Standard Form 1444 (SF-1444) conformance process, which dictates how contractors must establish wage rates for labor classifications not explicitly listed in this schedule.

This federal solicitation amendment and combined synopsis (RFQ 1305M226Q0181) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) seeks quotes for semiannual and annual preventive maintenance for five chiller systems at the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina. Set aside for small businesses under NAICS code 238220, the resulting contract will be a low-priced, technically acceptable, single firm-fixed-price purchase order. Amendment 001 clarifies the contract's scope and extends the quote submission deadline to August 21, 2026, at 12:00 PM EST. Specifically, the revised Statement of Work establishes that the contractor is responsible only for preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, and reporting deficiencies regarding the chiller systems, controls, and primary pumps. Actual repair or replacement services are excluded from this scope unless authorized in writing. Additionally, the contractor must provide 24/7/365 emergency response within four hours of a request. The period of performance runs from September 16, 2026, through September 15, 2027, and Department of Labor Wage Rates apply. To be eligible for award, offerors must submit technical capability statements, past performance information, and pricing via email to Randall Chatfield. Contractors must also maintain active registrations in the System for Award Management (SAM) and FedConnect.

This document addresses vendor questions and answers regarding solicitation 1305M226Q0181 for HML Chiller Maintenance. It clarifies the distinction between base preventive maintenance (PM) and corrective repairs. The base contract price covers only scheduled PM inspections, operational testing, minor routine adjustments, and deficiency reporting. It does not include major or minor corrective repairs or parts replacement. Equipment repairs or replacements require a separate quote and written authorization from the Contracting Officer. To support corrective repairs, the government will fund a separate, annual Not-To-Exceed (NTE) allowance of $12,000 under a dedicated CLIN; this allowance is not guaranteed revenue and must not be included in the base PM CLIN price. If this ceiling is exhausted, additional repairs require a formal contract modification. The Q&A also clarifies specific operational requirements: * **Equipment Status:** Four non-operational units (including two H-Wing chillers, the NMR chiller, and an AAON rooftop unit) are currently being replaced under a separate contract; PM services for these new units will commence only after their installation and government acceptance. * **Maintenance Schedule:** The contract requires two annual visits (one shutdown inspection and one operational inspection). * **Emergency Response:** The contractor must acknowledge emergency calls within 30 minutes and have a technician on-site within four hours. * **Technical Specs:** The York YMC2 chillers are confirmed as oil-free, exempting them from routine oil analysis or filter replacements, and cooling tower chemical water treatment remains excluded from this contract.