Les Terrasses de la Chaudière Building Envelope Replacement Project

Introduction

Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting Inc. (RCGT) was engaged on March 26, 2020 as a Fairness Monitor (FM) to observe the management support services for Les Terrasses de la Chaudière Building Envelope Replacement Project procurement process, issued by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), as a result of bid solicitation EN448-203118/A and EN448-203118/B. RCGT is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

RCGT reviewed all the information provided and observed all relevant activities, as identified in sections Fairness monitoring engagement and methodology and Activities and observations of this report.

We hereby submit the FM final report, covering the activities of the FM, from March 26, 2020, continuing through the conclusion of the evaluation phase on June 25, 2021.

This report includes:

• our attestation of assurance
• a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment
• relevant observations from the activities undertaken

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the procurement process of Les Terrasses de la Chaudière Envelope Replacement Project.

It is our professional opinion that the procurement process that we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

Original signed by:

Project requirement

The purpose of Les Terrasses de la Chaudière Envelope Rehabilitation Project is to address the health and safety risks associated with the deteriorating brick cladding through the provision of a new building envelope and to assist in developing a more functional and sustainable site in accordance with PWGSC’s vision for a contemporary workplace.

Fairness monitoring engagement and methodology

RCGT was engaged as an FM to observe the procurement process for the project, and to attest to the fairness, openness and transparency of this monitored activity.

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we:

• reviewed documents provided by the contracting authority
• monitored communications with proponents provided by the contracting authority
• attended meetings that the contracting authority, technical authority (TA) or project authority requested our presence at
• identified fairness-related matters to the contracting authority and TA
• ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate

This report is based on information made available to us by the contracting authority during the procurement process from March 26, 2020 to June 25, 2021. RCGT reserves the right, but will be under no obligation, to review or revise the report if further information that may impact our observations becomes known to us after the date of this report.

Activities and observations

In this section

• Request for proposal: Initial version—EN448-203118/A
• Request for proposal: Revised version
• Evaluation phase: Phase 1—EN448-203118/A
• Request for proposal: Phase 2—EN448-203118/C
• Evaluation phase: Phase 2

Request for proposal: Initial version—EN448-203118/A

The following activities were performed during this phase:

• from June 4, 2020 to June 26, 2020, a review of the request for proposal (RFP) was performed and questions, comments and identified issues were discussed
• RCGT received the first draft of the RFP on June 4, 2020
• the RFP was posted on buyandsell.gc.ca on June 29, 2020
• 13 amendments to the RFP were issued, from June 29, 2020 to September 8, 2020, respectively
• from July 7, 2020 to September 8, 2020, a review of all questions and answers responses and the corresponding RFP amendments was conducted

The initial RFP closed on September 16, 2020 at 2 pm Eastern daylight time.

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents, observed the activities above, identifying fairness-related matters to the contracting authority, and ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate. Although we reviewed some of the questions submitted by potential bidders and answers provided by the contracting authority after they were posted on buyandsell.gc.ca, we are satisfied that the questions and answers, along with the amendments, did not raise any fairness, openness or transparent concerns.

Prior to the phase 1 evaluation, the FM was informed on September 21, 2020 of a translation issue between the English and the French versions of the evaluation criteria. The FM held discussions and videoconference calls with the contracting authority and PWGSC representatives on September 24, 2020, September 30, 2020, and October 22, 2020 on the proposed approach to resolve the discrepancy. PWGSC elected to issue a revised solicitation document to the 8 bidders who submitted a bid, to enable them to review the revised RFP and to provide them an opportunity to submit a revised response.

The FM was actively involved in the PWGSC decision process above and concludes that this decision was taken in an open, fair, and transparent manner. There are no unresolved matters related to this phase.

Request for proposal: Revised version

The following activities were performed during this phase:

• from October 1, 2020 to November 4, 2020, a review of the revised RFP was performed and questions, comments and identified issues were discussed
• RCGT received the draft of the RFP on October 1, 2020
• the RFP was provided on November 4, 2020 by e-mail to the 8 bidders
• no amendments to the revised RFP were issued

The revised RFP closed on November 16, 2020, at the end of day (no specific time was stated by the contracting authority in the communication to the bidders).

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we:

• familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents
• observed the activities above
• ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate

No specific comments were provided by the FM to the contracting authority for this phase, and there are no unresolved matters related to this phase.

Evaluation phase: Phase 1—EN448-203118/A

The following activities were performed:

• reviewed the following documents
  • evaluation criteria
  • technical evaluation plan
  • technical evaluation grids
  • bidders’ responses
• attended the technical evaluation consensus meeting on December 14, 2020 and observed the following:
  • the application of the evaluation process including observing the consensus meetings of evaluation teams related to the mandatory and rated requirements
  • the review of the roll-up of evaluation results

Six revised bids were received, for which an evaluation was performed. The evaluators performed individual evaluations first and then conducted a meeting to come to a consensus score for the phase 1 evaluation. The meeting was mediated by the TA.

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we:

• familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents
• observed the activities above
• ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate

In accordance with the information disclosed in the RFP, the 6 bidders were retained to continue to phase 2 of the bid evaluation process. The FM reviewed on December 17, 2020 the proposed communications to these bidders.

The FM provided minor comments to the communication documents to the contracting authority, which were appropriately taken into account by the contracting authority. There are no unresolved matters related to this phase.

Request for proposal: Phase 2—EN448-203118/C

The following activities were performed during this phase:

• on December 17, 2020, a review of the proposed communications to the retained bidders was performed and questions, comments and identified issues were discussed
• e-mails were sent by the contracting authority on December 17, 2020
• 7 amendments to the RFP were issued, from December 24, 2020 to January 24, 2021, respectively
• from December 24, 2020 to January 20, 2021, a review of all questions and answers responses and the corresponding amendments was conducted

The RFP phase 2 closed on February 3, 2021 at 2 pm Eastern standard time.

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we:

• familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents
• observed the activities above, identifying fairness-related matters to the contracting authority
• ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate

The FM provided to the contracting authority minor comments to the proposed amendment documents, which were appropriately taken into consideration by the contracting authority. There are no unresolved matters related to this phase.

Evaluation phase: Phase 2

The following activities were performed:

• reviewed the following documents
  • evaluation Criteria
  • technical evaluation plan
  • technical evaluation grids
  • bidder responses
  • financial evaluation worksheets
  • price certification
  • final evaluation/selection document
• attended the evaluation kick-off meeting on February 8, 2021 and observed the following
  • orientation and instructions provided to evaluators
  • evaluation grids provided to evaluators
• attended the technical evaluation consensus meetings on March 1, 2021 and observed the following:
  • the application of the evaluation process including observing the consensus meetings of evaluation teams related to the mandatory and rated requirements
  • the review of the roll-up of evaluation results
• reviewed documentation related to the financial evaluation (including the price certification) and administrative requirements on June 25, 2021 and observed the following:
  • process to complete financial evaluation forms
  • signed evaluation documents
  • calculation of final scores
  • price certification assessment
  • final evaluation/selection document

Two bids were received for phase 2. The evaluators performed individual evaluations first and then conducted meetings to come to a consensus score for the mandatory and technical criteria. The meeting was mediated by the TA with support from the contracting authority. Both bids met the mandatory and rated requirements.

The consensus meetings concluded, and the evaluators reviewed and signed off on the consensus evaluations. The highest responsive bid underwent a financial capability assessment; PWGSC concluded that the proposed bidder was financially capable of performing the proposed services. RCGT obtained the PWGSC certification from the contracting authority.

The FM did not provide any comments on this phase. There are no unresolved matters related to this phase.

Reference documents

The documents related to solicitation number EN448-203118/A and EN448-203118/C are available on buyandsell.gc.ca or through the project office.

The roles and responsibilities for the Fairness Monitoring Team Leader, FM Specialist and Fairness Monitoring Contractor’s Representative have been defined in our contract with PWGSC. For more information on these roles and responsibilities, please contact PWGSC.

Addendum to final report

October 7, 2021

Addendum to the FM final report dated June 28, 2021 with respect to the Les Terrasses de la Chaudière Envelope Replacement Project, issued by PWGSC, as a result of bid solicitation EN448-203118/A and EN448-203118/B.

This Addendum to the final report covers the period following the evaluation phase.

Contract award, communications, debrief

The following activities took place:

• contracting authority issued award and regret letters on July 9, 2021
• debrief meetings conducted with some bidders on August 10, 11 and 12, 2021 and October 6, 2021

All bidders received an email stating the winning bidder. 5 bidders, including the bidder whose proposal was accepted, requested a debrief meeting.

The FM reviewed the communications referred to above and attended the debrief meetings. There were no fairness issues identified during these activities.

Based on the activities performed and described in this addendum, the FM hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the procurement process for the Les Terrasses de la Chaudière Envelope Replacement Project.

It is our professional opinion that the procurement process that we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

Original signed by: