600 World Trade Center Norfolk, VA 23510 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) # 2018-17-VIT This is NOT a Bid Solicitation Virginia International Terminals (VIT) is seeking information to assist it in developing a Snow Management Strategy for six key locations. VIT s high level goal is to maintain a list of service providers in the event of inclement weather primarily snow and ice. PROJECT TITLE: VIT Snow Management Strategy ISSUE DATE: December 13, 2017 PROCUREMENT OFFICER: Al Collado PHONE: (757) 201-9134 RESPONSES DUE: No later than Friday, December 22, 2017 at 5:00pm ET to: Al Collado (acollado@portofvirginia.com) Sr. Director of Procurement Name and Address of Firm: Name Address Date By Signature in Ink Print Name and Title Phone E-Mail FAX Page 1 of 8
I. PROJECT OVERVIEW Virginia International Terminals (VIT) is seeking information, qualifications and capabilities associated with snow removal at all our operational sites in Virginia. VIT will eventually identify providers for each terminal based on qualifications and availability. The six operational locations to be considered are: Norfolk International Terminals 7737 Hampton Blvd. Norfolk, VA 23505 Additional waypoint Intersection of Hampton and International Terminal Blvd. Phone (for facility directions and hours only): 757-296-3505 Newport News Marine Terminal 25th St. and Warwick Blvd., Newport News, VA 23607 Additional waypoint Exit 6 off I-664 Phone (for facility directions and hours only): 757-296-3505 Portsmouth Marine Terminal Intersection of Cleveland St. and Lee Ave. 2000 Seaboard Ave Portsmouth, VA 23707 Additional waypoint Sits astride the Midtown Tunnel on the Portsmouth side Phone (for facility directions and hours only): 757-296-3505 Virginia International Gateway 1000 Virginia International Gateway Blvd Portsmouth, VA 23703 Additional waypoint Two miles west of the West Norfolk Bridge/Pinners Point Connector off State Route 164/Western Freeway Phone (for facility directions and hours only): 757-335-4354 Richmond Marine Terminal 5000 Deepwater Terminal Road Richmond, VA 23234 Additional waypoint Exit 69, Bells Rd., off I-95 Phone: 804-726-3092 The Virginia Inland Port 7685 Winchester Road Front Royal, VA, 22630 Additional waypoint Less than three miles north of I-66, exit 6. Phone: 1-800-883-7678 Page 2 of 8
II. PROJECT SCOPE 1. Virginia International Terminals Snow Removal Program follows a phased approach to managing snow accumulation and removal while mitigating risk to personnel, equipment, and operations. Each phase is assigned according to time from projected snowfall commencement to completion of terminal snow removal. 2. Phase 1 of the Snow Removal Program shall commence approximately 24-48 hours prior to anticipated/projected snowfall. During this phase it is expected that the Contractor will station equipment at terminals assigned for use, fueled and operationally checked for preparedness. In addition, Contractor will give an accurate list of available personnel (numbers and equipment currency/certifications) to work on the snow removal program, to include maintenance support for their equipment. 3. Phase II will commence 24 hours prior to winter weather. Contractor will be prepared to support the Port by providing available personnel to assist with pre-treating the terminals with salt and or brine solution (if required). 4. Phase III will commence from beginning of snow fall until snow removal is complete. During this phase the Contractor is to be prepared to support the Port by removing snow and ice from all Port areas, as listed below. Contractor will be expected to be under Port control for the duration of the snow removal program, working continuously until the terminals are clear. Areas to be cleared include, but are not limited to: a. Berth and pier areas b. Thoroughfares and rail areas (including switches/crossings) c. Container stacks d. Transfer zones e. Interchanges, approaches and roadways f. Straddle Carrier and Shuttle Truck parking areas g. Parking lots and sidewalks. 5. Contractor will plow all snow to ensure all areas, on schedule specified by the Port, are free from snow and ice to allow safe passage for all vehicles and pedestrians. Removal/plowing to commence upon request of the Port, according to their timeline for execution/completion. Contractor will also be expected to, when required, relocate personnel and equipment from terminal to terminal to support the clearing effort. This will include but is not limited to transiting through tunnels and on streets and thoroughfares during a declared snow emergency. 6. Contractor is expected to perform ice watch duty when the possibility of ice formation exists and to respond in order to eliminate all hazardous conditions. During periods when ice is present, Contractor is to respond promptly to ensure that all lots, walkways, ramps and stairs have been treated and are safe and passable for traffic and pedestrians. Page 3 of 8
7. Contractor to ensure snow is moved to Port specified areas that will not block or inhibit sight lines at driveways, walkways, parking spaces, fire lanes, and handicapped parking spaces. Cars occupying parking spaces are not to be plowed or blocked in. 8. Contractor to ensure that snow is moved to areas that will allow for proper drainage as the snow melts, so as to minimize the formation of ice on surfaces used by pedestrians, equipment or vehicles. 9. Contractor to notify Port representatives of any hazardous conditions that may exist. 10. All products to be used on terminal areas are to be such as to not cause damage to the underlying material. 11. Contractor to utilize chemical on sidewalks to treat ice/snow conditions that will not damage pavers, brick, concrete or other material. 12. The Port reserves the right to have a party other than Contractor perform snow removal services in the event Contractor fails to perform in accordance with these specifications. 13. Contractor is to provide a detailed hourly report of equipment and manpower used, if applicable, when submitting each invoice. 14. Travel time to and from the property is not billable. Only time spent removing snow/ice is billable. Travel to and from the terminals during the conduct of the snow removal program may include transiting during hazardous conditions. 15. The amount of snow or ice during a given storm shall be the average of the snowfall reported by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) cooperative observer or reporting station in the area where the property is located and a local newspaper of daily general circulation in the area where the property is located. If there is no local daily newspaper published, then only the NOAA cooperative observer or reporting station shall be used. Contractor to attach information to each invoice. Invoices without this information will be held until such information is received. 16. Prior to transporting snow or ice from the terminals, Contractor is to obtain the permission of the Port. III. PURPOSE OF RFI The purpose of this RFI is to inform potential Virginia private sector respondents of this opportunity and interest in the delivery of the services identified in the Project Scope. Specifically, the RFI seeks to: Provide general background information and scope related to the service. Communicate to potential providers of the objectives for the service Provide an opportunity for potential respondents to articulate their interest in participating Page 4 of 8
in one or several of the operational terminal opportunities Evaluate capabilities of potential vendors This RFI is intended to assist VIT in gathering information on available options related to snow removal. This RFI will be used to obtain information on vendor credentials, experience and relevant services in order to complete a desk based evaluation to determine which terminal match the capabilities. Based on the information gathered from this RFI, VIT may develop a procurement strategy and initiate a formal procurement for services and related services that may be combined as part of the final scope. IV. ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW The Virginia Port Authority s operations are provided by Virginia International Terminals, LLC (VIT), a single-member limited liability company wholly owned by the Virginia Port Authority (VPA). In addition, Hampton Roads Chassis Pool, LLC (HRCP II), on behalf of and wholly owned by VIT, operates and manages the intermodal chassis and empty container yards. Together, they are The Port of Virginia (POV). Nearly 30 international shipping lines offer direct, dedicated service to and from Virginia, with connections to 200+ countries around the world. POV is comprised of six terminals and had a 2.7 million TEU annual throughput in 2017. The terminals are across the region from Portsmouth to Winchester, including Virginia International Gateway (VIG) and Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) in Portsmouth, Norfolk International Terminal (NIT) in Norfolk, Newport News Marine Terminal (NNMT) in Newport News, Richmond Marine Terminal (RMT) in Richmond, and Virginia Inland Port (VIP) in Winchester. Cargo moving through our world-class facilities is transported from and to markets around the globe, carrying the goods and supplies that manufacturers, corporations, and individual consumers use in their everyday lives. This cargo is moved by way of: 28 Ship to shore cranes 30 miles of on-dock rail by two Class 1 railroads 19,885 linear feet of berth 50 feet channel and berth 1,864 acres V. VENDOR RESPONSE VIT is requesting information and suggestions from vendors to assist in the developing a formal snow management strategy. When responding to this RFI, please provide a response to each question below. If you elect not to answer a question, please indicate No response provided. As part of your response to this RFI, please feel free to include any additional comments or Page 5 of 8
suggestions that you feel would be helpful to VIT. Keep in mind that VIT seeks to maximize response and approach to managing these events while at the same time obtaining the best value. Responses to the questions below will serve as a Statement of Qualifications / Capabilities. VI. QUESTIONS 1. Availability of operators and manpower? 2. Availability of equipment? 3. Responsiveness to assemble? 4. Ability for 24 hour shift work / multi-day continuous? 5. TWIC card percentage? 6. Type of equipment available and quantity? 7. Availability of internal mechanic? 8. Mobilization or personnel and equipment prior to event? 9. Ability to support workers (material)? 10. Safety record? 11. Willingness to be under POV supervision for duration of event? 12. Flexibility in Port/Terminal location work? 13. Transportation for personnel to and from location/s? Please provide references available to contact on any experience described in the questions above. VII. CLARIFICATION AND CONTACT VIT will entertain clarification questions to this RFI through December 15, 2017 at 5:00pm ET. VPA will review all questions submitted prior to this deadline, and will respond to questions on December 18, 2017 by email. Those interested in submitting questions must submit the following information via email to acollado@portofvirginia.com by December 15, 2017 at 5:00pm ET: Name Organization Email address Telephone number Detailed question for discussion Please note that responses to this RFI are due no later than Friday, December 22, 2017 at 5:00 pm ET. Page 6 of 8
All contact should be directed through: Al Collado (acollado@portofvirginia.com) Sr. Director of Procurement. Once the RFI period opens contact with other VIT colleagues will result in disqualification. VIII. PROPOSED PROJECT SCHEDULE The following represents VIT s current estimated schedule for the project (subject to change): Activity / Key Milestone Date / Timeline RFI Distributed December 13, 2017 RFI Responses Due December 22, 2017 @ 5:00pm ET Identify qualified candidates by location TBD VIT reserves the right to alter the project schedule as conditions warrant without prior notice. IX. SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS Respondents to this RFI should adhere to the following instructions: Responses to this RFI should be submitted electronically in MS Word or PDF format to the address shown on the front of this RFI. Respondents to this RFI are encouraged to submit answers to the questions posed in Section VI, as well as any other information that VIT should consider when preparing the RFP package. RFI responses are limited to 10 single-sided (or 5 double-sided), typed 8½ x 11 pages (larger pages are allowed for figures or tables, but they must be folded into the overall response and used sparingly). No font size smaller than 12 point is allowed. The above documentation may be provided by electronic means or bound and contained in a single volume where practical. If submitting a hard copy, return the response to: Virginia International Terminals 600 World Trade Center Norfolk, VA 23510 Attention: Al Collado All documentation provided to VIT in response to this RFI shall become the property of the VIT Page 7 of 8
X. DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. Information which you desire to make available to VIT but which you believe constitutes a trade secret, proprietary information, or other confidential information exempted from disclosure, should clearly by identified and designated as such, stating in writing why protection of that information is needed. The Respondent should make a written request to VITs contact listed in Section VII of this RFI. The written request shall: 1. Invoke such exemption upon the submission of the materials for which protection is sought; 2. Identify specifically and conspicuously the data or other materials for which the protection is sought; 3. State the reasons why protection is necessary; and 4. Indicate that a similar process with the appropriate officials of the affected local jurisdictions has or will be conducted. Failure to take such precautions prior to submission of a proposal may subject confidential information to disclosure under the VFOIA. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. XI. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS Virginia International Terminals General Terms and Conditions are hereby incorporated into this RFI by reference. A copy of these General Terms and Conditions may be obtained by contacting the Procurement Officer whose name appears on the front of this RFI. Page 8 of 8