The 105th Airlift Wing has an inoperable 50-ton chiller sitting on a pad next to the Building 202 mechanical room at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh. It wants a 100-ton machine in its place, and it wants the work done in 30 days.
Solicitation W50S8D26Q1CHE closes September 11 at 11:00 a.m. It is a total small business set-aside under NAICS 238220, and for a federal job it is unusually easy to get at: no bonds are required and there is no mandatory site visit. The contracting office said so directly in its answers to bidder questions -- for a project of this magnitude it will not dictate insurance limits, but it expects standard commercial coverage, workers' compensation and general liability, commensurate with the work.
That is the good news. Here is the part that decides whether your number is right.
## Two modules, not one machine
The new unit has to total 100 tons and be made up of a minimum of two 50-ton modules. That is not a preference buried in a paragraph. The government issued a formal clarification saying the performance work statement would be revised to carry it, and the performance requirements summary scores it as an objective with zero deviation accepted.
It also has to physically fit the existing pad -- 20 feet 5 inches by 8 feet 1-1/2 inches. The government pulls the fencing before notice to proceed. Everything else is yours: crane and rigging, transportation, permits, electrical modifications, and removal and disposal of the old unit. Refrigerant comes out under EPA guidelines.
Quotes must include a cut sheet of the proposed replacement unit for the contracting officer's review and approval.
## The controls are the spec
Asked whether Trane equipment was mandatory, the government said equivalent units are permissible -- provided they are compatible with Trane controls.
Read the rest of the statement of work and you see what that means in practice. The contractor is responsible for partnering with Trane Technologies to schedule and incorporate Trane controls and system upgrades for every component in scope. Trane system graphics and Trane unit status have to be wired to the Building 202 building management system. Point-to-point and functional testing reports go to the contracting officer. And commissioning has to be done by a Trane certified technician.
So you can bring another manufacturer's chiller. You cannot bring another manufacturer's controls integrator. If your number does not have a Trane line in it, your number is short.
## What is not in the package
There is no electrical schedule. A bidder asked for voltage, MCA and MOCP, chilled-water flow, connection sizes and available capacity. The answer pointed to picture 1 in the solicitation -- a photograph of the electrical nameplate -- said the inside connection piping is 3-3/4 inches, and offered to address anything further through a requested site visit.
There are 15 site photographs in the package: the existing unit from several angles, the electrical nameplate, the pump nameplate, the module nameplate, and the pad. On a 30-day job where zero leaks are tolerated and every new and existing exposed pipe gets Venture Clad insulation, a photograph is thin. If you are serious about this one, ask for the visit before Friday.
## Getting on base is part of the schedule
This is a military installation, and the access requirements are a real cost against a 30-day clock. A written request on company letterhead has to go to the contracting officer naming the contract, the work site, start and stop dates, and every employee and subcontractor employee who needs access. Antiterrorism Awareness Level I training is due within 15 calendar days of contract start with certificates to the contracting officer's representative. Operations security training within 30 days. Personnel who need facility access without a common access card get run through the National Crime Information Center index and the Terrorist Screening Database.
And this line is worth reading twice: unscheduled gate closures may happen at any time, and contractors are not compensated for the resulting delays. Build float into a 30-day period of performance that has none.
## One more thing about money
The notice states that funds are not presently available and that no award will be made until they are. That is standard federal language, not a red flag, but it means the 30 days starts when the government is ready -- not when you are.
## What to do next
Price the Trane controls integration and commissioning as its own line before you price the machine. Confirm your modular unit fits 20 feet 5 inches by 8 feet 1-1/2 inches on the existing pad. Get the electrical requirements verified -- request the site visit rather than working from a nameplate photograph. Make sure your SAM registration is active, because you cannot quote without it. And have your cut sheet ready to go with the quote, not after.
This is a prevailing wage project, and the applicable Davis-Bacon determination is attached to the solicitation.