Switchboard Operators (VA-17-130027)
Added: Jul 28, 2017 9:47 am Page 9 of 10 COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR SWITCHBOARD SERVICE AT THE SYRACUSE VA MEDICAL CENTER (i) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6 and FAR 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items , as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. (ii) This solicitation is issued as a request for quote (RFQ). Request for Quote will be submitted tough fedbizopps.gov on RFQ reference number VA242-17-Q-0905. (iii) This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect tough Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-88-1. (iv) This procurement is being issued as a total small service disabled veteran owned small business set aside. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is561421, Telephone Answering Services, with a small business size standard of $15.0 Million. (v) The Contractor shall provide pricing to provide Switchboard Services. See table below: PRICING FOR Switchboard Services Line Item DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE TOTAL PRICE 001 Base year: all necessary personnel and supervision as required to provide switchboard services (telephone communications) for the operations of all switchboard activities 10/1/17 09/30/18 12 MONTH 002 Option year 1: all necessary personnel and supervision as required to provide switchboard services (telephone communications) for the operations of all switchboard activities 10/1/18 09/30/19 12 MONTH 003 Option year 2: all necessary personnel and supervision as required to provide switchboard services (telephone communications) for the operations of all switchboard activities 10/1/19 09/30/20 12 MONTH 004 Option year 3 all necessary personnel and supervision as required to provide switchboard services (telephone communications) for the operations of all switchboard activities 10/1/20 09/30/21 12 MONTH 005 Option year4: all necessary personnel and supervision as required to provide switchboard services (telephone communications) for the operations of all switchboard activities 10/1/21 09/30/22 12 MONTH TOTAL PRICE (vi) Description of requirement Statement of Work The Department of Veterans Affairs in Syracuse NY requires Switchboard services (telephone communications). The Contractor is to provide all necessary personnel and supervision as required by this Contract, to provide switchboard services (telephone communications) for the operations of all switchboard activities at the Department of Veterans. The work includes, but is not limited to, the following tasks. Switchboard Service Coverage Receiving Incoming Calls Placing Outgoing Calls Transferring Calls Information Services Emergency Calls and Alarm Systems Paging Systems Reporting Equipment Failures Directories, Rosters and Logs Traffic Control Study It is the responsibility of the Contractor to provide all required administration, management, and training to their operators. A. Switchboard Service Coverage: Coverage shall be provided 24 hours per day, seven (7) days per week, including all City, State, and Federal holidays. The Switchboard is expected to have the following coverage: 6 employees: 1 supervisor. 3 day shift employees for business hours. 1 evening employee for night shift. 1 overnight employee. The following days are federally recognized holidays. New Year's Day Martin Luther King's Birthday Washington's Birthday Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Cistmas Day Coverage shall be provided during any period of emergency or crisis, including bomb teats, blizzards, tornadoes, etc. Day shift Monday tough Friday may require additional operators from 8:00am-4:30pm due to the quantity of incoming calls. The Contractor is responsible for providing the appropriate coverage for the day s workload. The Contractor is also responsible for providing backup coverage for unexpected staff absence(s). B. Receiving Incoming Calls; Incoming calls will be answered within five (5) rings and routed appropriately. All calls shall be answered with the pase: This is the Syracuse VA. How may I direct your call? The Contractor is required to use telephone courtesy and tact in dealing with a diversity of callers, sometimes under very complex and stressful circumstances. Operators will process all calls in a most courteous and professional manner, assuring compliance with Federal and VAMC policy on Release of Information and Privacy Policy, and safeguarding any and all patient information in compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974. The Contractor will handle all incoming calls referring them to the appropriate extension and/or party. This will include internal directed calls back to the consoles, transferring of calls, placing calls off-station, conference calls, and paging Medical Center staff as requested. In the performance of official duties, the switchboard must be protected under the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, and as amended and other applicable law and regulations. The Contractor is responsible for protecting information from unauthorized release or from loss, alteration, or unauthorized deletion. The Contractor shall follow applicable regulations and instructions regarding access to computerized files, release of access codes, etc. as set out in the computer access agreement. Operators will screen calls for general information and, only to the extent necessary, ensure caller satisfaction. Collect calls shall not be accepted for any reason. The Contractor shall ensure that Operators are not misrepresenting themselves as VA employees. C. Placing Outgoing Calls: The operators shall assist in placing various types of outgoing calls and in coordinating/patching tough one or more stations when necessary. The operator shall provide assistance to the facility staff and patients when necessary, in placing calls. The Contractor handles emergency calls of all kinds and directs the caller to the appropriate employee(s) or Service(s). The operator also completes individual and conference long distance calls. Calls are received from the public requesting information, irate beneficiaries, and calls involving Physicians on rotation. Calls are, at times, received at such rapid speed that the tempo of pressure can create unusual demands on the operator. The range of calls varies from two (2) to ten (10) per minute on Monday tough Friday. The operators shall assist in placing various types of outgoing toll or overseas calls. These calls must be authorized by the COR and must be for official medical center business only. All toll or overseas calls must be entered in the electronic log and submitted to the COR the first week of the next month. Entries must include the name of the employee, time, number called, and employee s service designation. Operators are not authorized to place personal calls for Employees, visitors, or patients. Operators shall assist ward patients, if assistance is requested, in how to use calling cards, make collect calls, and third party billing. Operators shall politely, efficiently, and in a friendly manner explain to calls why calls cannot be completed as requested, if and when this type of situation arises. Operator shall be responsible for ensuring that no unauthorized long distance calls are made tough the switchboard. D. Emergency Calls and Alarm Systems: Operators may also be required to receive and transmit over two-way radios. Written procedures for response to these emergency situations will be provided by the COR to the Contractor. Operators shall make announcements on the public address system. A scripted procedure will be provided for emergency paging and guidelines for announcements on the public address system will be provided for inhospital functions such as EEO or special meetings for employees. All announcements must be made in a clear, efficient and polite manner, and as quickly as possible. The range of calls is from zero (0) to tee (3) per minute. Operator shall monitor the following alarm systems: Overhead Codes: If paging system fails, use the alert of medical emergency so medical personnel may get the cardiac arrest team to proper location. Note: These items are often called into switchboard operator on emergency phone lines, using extension 6300. Monitor hospital emergency generator alarms: Advise Engineering in case of failure. Monitor restroom distress call alarms: Dispatch Police when necessary. Maintain and regularly update various logs of "on call" doctors and other persons, and maintain lists of key employees of various departments and their home phone numbers in case of emergency. Monitor RRT calls and calls made to extension 6300 (all codes) received at switchboard to include receiver connected to parking lots or other ground locations with a phone for emergency use by patients or employees. E. Paging Systems: Operators shall utilize overhead paging and radio paging systems as follows: The Contractor must operate a Motorola Paging System as well as other various paging systems such as Digital pagers, Radio Paging, etc. Must also operate the police radio system, the TDD telecommunication device for the deaf) telephone for the hearing and speech impaired (if available), elevator phone, 911 emergency phone, and must be aware of the various alarms located toughout the medical center complex, i.e. emergency wall alarm panels and be able to report each alarm to the proper authority with calmness, accuracy and speed when an emergency occurs. Operators shall operate both audio and pocket paging systems. F. Reporting Equipment Failures: The Overhead paging system is routinely used for emergent and non-emergent notification. The radio paging system will be used primarily to contact Engineering and Police. Operators shall perform and log all paging signal crosses, maintain the master page designation list, and hold/distribute spare pagers as needed. Telephone and overhead paging equipment failures are to be reported promptly following procedures provided by the Government and documented in the telephone operator s log. Equipment problems, which may occur at the switchboard or which are reported to the operator on duty from within the medical center, are to be reported to the Telecommunications Equipment Operator. G.Directories, Rosters, and Logs: The Contractor shall record and report any and all telephone and paging problems to proper authorities for repair. The Contractor shall have access to the telephone index files to assist the repairman in the location of the telephone and other equipment. The operator shall perform clerical duties such as maintaining locator files on key medical center personnel and logging unusual happenings. Logs shall also be maintained of the various, on-call personnel. The Telephone Operator s Log is an electronic log that will be used to record daily, all occurrences of alarms, codes, equipment malfunctions, incident reports, etc. The Employee Directory is an electronic listing of employees, their extensions, pager numbers, and service designations. This list shall be updated as required. Each Service Department will provide via electronic mail, a copy of their on-call schedules, which will be used by the operators to contact personnel after-hours. H. Traffic Control Study: The Contractor is required to complete a Traffic Control Study when requested by the Contracting Officer or COR. The Contractor will be informed of the study at least seven (5) days in advance. The content of the study will include, at a minimum, the number of calls answered by the operators for a specific period of time, broken down by each tour of duty. This study shall be conducted within the first two quarters of the contract year. The COR shall provide the method of tracking and all required forms or templates. Two (2) copies of the study shall be provided to the COR within five (5) business days of the completion of the study. The study will be utilized as a measure of completion for work performance. Performance of Contractor Personnel will be periodically evaluated by the COR for adherence to the terms of the contract. A supervisor/manager shall be appointed by the Contractor as a point of contact for complaints and or issues presented by the customer. The COR is responsible for verifying performance for invoicing purposes. Period of Performance: The base period for this requirement is October 1, 2017 tough September 30, 2018 with provision of 4 option years. Contracting Office Address: VISN 2 Network Contracting Office - Albany 20 Madison Ave Extension Albany, New York 12203 Place of Performance: Syracuse VA Medical Center 800 Irving Ave Syracuse, NY 13210 (vii) Awardee shall coordinate with the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) prior to performance. (viii) The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (MARCH 2016), applies to this acquisition. All offers must reference: solicitation number for this requirement as VA242-17-Q-0905. Name, address and telephone number of offeror Technical description of services to be performed in accordance with the Statement of Work Price Acknowledgement of any solicitation amendments Past performance information A statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Offers that fail to furnish required representation or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration. The following provisions are included as addenda to FAR 52.212-1: 52.204-16 Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (July 2016) 52.204-17 Ownership or Control of Offeror (July 2016) 52.204-20 Predecessor of Offeror (July 2016) 52.204-22 Alternate Line Item Proposal (Jan 2017) 52.216-1 Type of Contract (April 1984) 52.233-2 Service of Protest (SEPT 2006) 852.209-70 Organizational Conflicts of Interest (JAN 2008) 852.233-70 Protest Content (JAN 2008) 852.233-71 Alternate Protest (JAN 1998) 852.252-70 Solicitation Provisions or Clauses Incorporated by Reference (JAN 2008) 852.270-1 Representatives of Contracting Officers (JAN 2008) (ix) The provision at FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation Commercial Items (OCTOBER 2014), applied to this acquisition. Award shall be made to the contractor whose quotation offers the best value to the government, considering technical capability, past performance, and price. The government shall evaluate information based on the following evaluation criteria: (1) technical capability to meet all of the requirements of the SOW, please provide a maximum 5 page capability statement; (2) Past performance, please provide tee references for contract of similar scope and magnitude to be evaluated, The contractors Past Performance shall also be reviewed in CPARs; (3) Price, the government will evaluate offers for award purposes based on the pricing for the total requirement. Offers for partial requirement will not be evaluated and will be deemed non-responsive upon receipt. 1. Technical Capability: Technical capability is defined as an offeror s ability to satisfy the solicitation s requirements, providing the highest quality service to the specified facilities. Technical Capability will be determined on the basis of the qualifications of the offeror s proposal, and demonstration of the following sub-factors. Resources and Scheduling The Contractor shall provide a full staffing plan and schedule for coverage, including the number of employees, shifts, specific duties, responsibilities, etc. to provide switchboard services (telephone communications) for the operations of all switchboard activities to include two way radio transmission for emergency calls as well as the paging system at the Department of Veterans Syracuse VA Medical Center in accordance with the Statement of Work. Experience: State the number of years (experience) the firm has performed Telephone Answering and Switchboard Services Demonstrate prior prime contractor experience listing only service contracts awarded within the last tee years similar in size, scope and complexity to the solicitation service. Include the following information for each service contract listed: Location, award date, original completion date, actual completion date, original contract award amount, final contract amount. Include names, addresses and phone numbers of subcontractors used. 2. Past Performance: Offerors will be evaluated on their ability to perform the services successfully. Past performance evaluation will consider reliability of past performance information, source of information, and the relevance of information. Relevant past performance information shall include key personnel who have relevant experience, predecessor companies, and subcontractors who will perform major or critical elements of this solicitation. Additionally, the Government may obtain past performance information from the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS). Please note that the information submitted in PPIRS is based on previous government contracts. Offerors without relevant past performance or for whom past performance information is not available, will receive a neutral rating. Identify at least tee references, preferably federal agency contracts, including contract number, dates of performance, points of contact, and telephone numbers, whereby you have provided the same or similar services, of the magnitude described in this solicitation. References will be considered in the evaluation process. 3. Price -Provide Unit Cost, Total Cost, and Yearly Totals by completing the Price Schedule. This requirement includes options executed under FAR 52.217-8. The government will evaluate prices for the option under FAR 52.217-8 by using the last year s option prices to calculate the price for six months of efforts, and adding that amount to the base and other option years to arrive at the total. (x) The provisions at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. * All firms or individuals submitting a quote shall include a completed copy of this provision, OR have current Representations and Certifications in the System for Award Management (SAM - https://www.sam.gov). Representations, Certifications, and SAM must be current at award. IF NOT CURRENT AND/OR YOU DO NOT SUBMIT A COMPLETED COPY OF THIS PROVISION, YOUR QUOTE WILL BE CONSIDERED NON-RESPONSIVE. (xi) The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The following clauses are included as addenda to FAR 52.212-4: 52.203-16 Preventing Personal Conflicts of Interest (DEC 2011) 52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights and Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights (APR 2014) 52.204-4 Printed or Copied Double-Sided on Postconsumer Fiber Content Paper (MAY 2011) 52.204-9 Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel (JAN 2011) 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (NOV 1999) 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (MAR 2000) 52.228-5 Insurance-Work on a Government Installation (JAN 1997) CL-120 Supplemental Insurance Requirements 52.232-18 Availability of Funds (APR 1984) 52.232-40 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (DEC 2013) 52.237-7 Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance (Jan 1997) 852.203-70 Commercial Advertising (JAN 2008) 852.232-72 Electronic Submission Of Payment Requests (NOV 2012) 852.237-70 Contractor Responsibilities (APR 1984) 001AL-11-15- A Limitations on Subcontracting Monitoring and Compliance (JUNE 2011) 001AL-11-15- B Subcontracting Commitments - Monitoring and Compliance (JUNE 2011) (xii) The clause at FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Order- Commercial items, applies to this acquisition. 852.219-10, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (JUL 2016) 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Representation (Jul 2013) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (June 2003) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (APR 2015) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (APR 2015) 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (MAR 2015) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (AUG 2011) 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (JUN 2008) 52.232-34, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer Other than System for Award Management (Jul 2013) 52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards (MAY 2014) 52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires (MAY 2014) 52.222-55, Minimum Wages Under Executive Order 13658 (DEC 2015). (xiii) The Service Contract Act of 1965 does apply to this procurement; the applicable wage determination is attached to this combined synopsis/solicitation (xiv) N/A (xv) This is an open-market total service disabled veteran owned small business set-aside combined synopsis/solicitation for Switchboard Services at the Syracuse VA Medical Center as defined herein.  The government intends to award a contract as a result of this combined synopsis/solicitation that will include the terms and conditions set forth herein. To facilitate the award process, all quotes must include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition." OR "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:" The Quoter shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s). Submission shall be received not later than 4:00 PM EST, Thursday August 17, 2017. The government shall only accept electronic submissions via email, please send all quotations to Anthony.Murray2@va.gov. Late submissions shall be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1(f). RFI s will not be accepted after Tuesday August 14, 2017 @ 12:00pm EST. (xvi) Any questions or concerns regarding this solicitation should be forwarded in writing via e-mail to Anthony Murray, Contracting Officer, 518-626-6138; Anthony.Murray2@va.gov. VA24217Q0905 Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Veterans Integrated Service Network 2
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