36C10G20R0018 0001_1.docx

AMENDMENT 0001

SUBJECT: QUESTIONS/ANSWERS

RFP No: 36C10G20R0018 Laboratory Accreditation Services Page 22 of 22

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE

CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office.

is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243 (Type or print) (Type or print) (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (If other than Item 6) (Specify type of modification and authority) (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer) None 36C10G U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs OPAL | Strategic Acquisition Center 10300 Spotsylvania Ave | STE 400 Fredericksburg VA 22408-2697 36C10G U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs OPAL | Strategic Acquisition Center 10300 Spotsylvania Ave | STE 400 Fredericksburg VA 22408-2697 To all Offerors/Bidders

36C10G20R0018

X X X

X The Purpose of this Amendment is to answer questions provided by the deadline for questions on the RFQ.

See the Continuation Pages for the questions and answers.

2. The other purpose is to correct the Contract administration Data section Page 29 of 83, para 3 “INVOICES” from “ Invoices shall be submitted monthly ” to “ Invoices shall be submitted quarterly

See Continuation Pages

MAURICIO VAZQUEZ

Chief, Acquisition Services Division 4A Warrant # SAC 13L3-4576 Page 1 of

RFQ;

SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

PLACE OF PAST PERFORMANCE

This includes the phrase “and at the Contractor facilities”. Is the reference to contractor facilities referring to activities such as continuous monitoring and post inspection review? If not, please elaborate on the meaning of the reference.

Yes, since work will be needed in addition to the on-site inspections these activities are expected to take place at the contractor facilities.

section 2.12

SUB-CONTRACTOR

SEE NEXT PAGE FOR CONTINUATION OF QUESTIONS/ANSWERS

section 2.12

SUB-CONTRACTOR

section 2.12

SUB-CONTRACTOR

We understand this to mean the Contractor will recognize the other entities accreditation but will not be responsible for their performance. Please inform us if the VHA concurs with our understanding?

Yes, there is no expectation that the contractor has responsibility for other entity accreditations.

4.1 PERFORMANCE / QUALITY CONTROL PLAN

Volume III Performance / Quality Control Plan (outline/portions)

See also page 62

VOLUME III – PERFORMANCE / QUALITY CONTROL PLAN

Section 1 – Quality

The Offeror, at a minimum, shall provide detailed information on their Performance / Quality Control Plan and provide an outline and limited portions of their plan… item 3.

INVOICES

Invoices shall be submitted monthly. Does the request for monthly invoicing apply to all activities on a monthly basis, or just the inspection activities that occur in that month?

This is an error. Invoices will be submitted quarterly after 90 days of rendered services. change is hereby incorporated into the solicitation.

item 3.

INVOICES

If the monthly invoicing includes continuous monitoring how will this be calculated, based on an annual basis, or a 3-month, 6- month or 9-month basis?

Invoices will be submitted quarterly after 90 days of rendered services.

item 3.

INVOICES

item 3.

INVOICES

item 3.

INVOICES

RFP;

52.216-18 ORDERING

The statement “Any supplies and services to be furnished under this contract shall be ordered by issuance of delivery orders or task orders by the individuals or activities designated in the Schedule. Such orders may be issued from through.” It appears the underlined section of this sentence is missing content?

“through the SAC only.” Orders will be issued centrally by the SAC. No other individuals or activities shall be authorized to order on this contract.

VAAR 852.219-74 LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE

(h) MULTIPLE AWARDS

If the VHA decides to issue multiple awards, may this decision be based on a separation of activities?

No, it would be based on Laboratory complexities.

(h) MULTIPLE AWARDS

Or perhaps this is an inadvertent editing error, given the VHA’s intention to award one contract, please clarify.

The Government Reserves the right to award multiple awards

(h) MULTIPLE AWARDS

Would the VHA potentially request the contractor only supply Inspection and not include Continuous Monitoring in the contract?

No

(h) MULTIPLE AWARDS

If so, would the VHA provide a method of ongoing communication with the contractor to provide input into the accreditation process, such as in a case that PT monitoring identifies an issue with results that would be applicable to the laboratories next inspection?

Not Applicable; see answer to question 17.

(h) MULTIPLE AWARDS

How does the VHA envision these communications to occur during the monitoring process?

Not Applicable; see answer to question 17.

52.212-2 EVALUATION

It appears there may be a conflict in descriptions of the government’s evaluation priorities: On page 1, “The Government will award a single vendor lowest price technically acceptable indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) fixed price contract” On page 63, “Specifically, the Government may first evaluate the total proposed price of all Offerors. Thereafter, the Government will evaluate the technical capability of the proposal of the lowest priced Offeror only. If the lowest priced Offeror’s technical capability is determined to be rated as Acceptable, the Government may make award to that Offeror without further evaluation of the remaining Offerors’ technical

The award will be made to the offeror who’s technical is acceptable and who’s price is lowest. Per FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation of Commercial Items, the Government is required to provide the how technical and other factors are in relation to the price factor for all offerors to understand the importance of the factors in relation to price. You must be found technically acceptable and have the lowest price to be awarded the contract.

20 Continued

52.212-2 EVALUATION

capabilities. If the lowest priced Offeror’s technical capability is determined to be rated as Unacceptable, then the Government may evaluate the next lowest priced technical proposal, and so forth and so on, until the Government reaches the lowest priced technical proposal that is determined to be rated as Acceptable.”

However, on page 57, the VHA indicates that “Technical and past performance, when combined, are Approximately equal to cost or price.” This appears to imply that a higher technical review result combined with past performance could outweigh price as the primary driver for selection. Please explain the apparent contradiction in evaluation criteria. In addition, please clarify whether the proposals must include a section on past performance and if so, what is the VHA seeking in this regard?

INTRODUCTION

“Contractors are encouraged to review and ensure that sufficient bandwidth is available on their end of the transmission. Finally, due to VA email file size restrictions, contractors may need to logically separate their Offer into separate emails. If this is necessary, contractors should attempt to contain a complete volume within single email transmissions (and not split volumes).” What are your system restrictions that will prevent your receipt of our submission, or prevent your ability to open our submission documents? Certain document types, specific file size limitation?

It is recommended that file sizes not exceed 20 megabits. It is recommended that zip files not be used or limited due to version limitations. If zip files are used there should be a list of documents identified in the email on what documents are contained in the zip file in order to verify all documents have been received.

RFP ;

Volume V.

“a. Contract Administration Data–Acknowledgement of Amendments, if any.” What is this intended to cover?

Any amendments that are issued during the open timeframe of the combined synopsis solicitation. Further instructions shall be provided upon issuance of any amendment.

RFP

4. PRICE EVALUATION APPROACH

64-65 Is the purpose of having multiple Continuous Monitoring periods (3, 6, and 9 months) to enable the addition and or deletion of laboratories and to charge applicable fees? If not, please elaborate on the need for the multiple Continuous Monitoring periods identified.

Yes

RFP

Need for a non-routine inspection or re-inspection due

CONTRACTOR ACCREDITATION TERMS

CONTRACTOR ACCREDITATION TERMS. The Contractor Terms of Accreditation require the laboratory director to sign off to indicate a clear understanding and acknowledgement of associated requirements of the accreditation program. As long as the Contractor Terms of Accreditation requiring laboratory director signature adhere to the VHA applicable requirements outlined in the PWS, we believe it would be best for the VHA allow the contractor the ability to have the lab director sign off and acknowledge the Contractor Terms of Accreditation to insure understanding and compliance to associated requirements.

Any documentation provided to laboratories that the contractor wants signed must be reviewed by the Contracting Officer and COR before distributing to laboratories to ensure that the wording coincides/is in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.

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The Purpose of this Amendment is to answer questions provided by the deadline for questions on the RFQ.

Contract Opportunity Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

PRODUCT SERVICE CODE

SUBJECT

CONTRACTING OFFICE'S

ZIP-CODE

SOLICITATION NUMBER

BASE NOTICE TYPE

RESPONSE DATE/TIME/ZONE

ARCHIVE

DAYS AFTER THE RESPONSE DATE

RECOVERY ACT FUNDS

SET-ASIDE

NAICS CODE

CONTRACTING OFFICE

ADDRESS

POINT OF CONTACT

(POC Information Automatically Filled from User Profile Unless Entered)

DESCRIPTION

See Attachment

AGENCY'S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT'S EMAIL

ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

ADDRESS

POSTAL CODE

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

GENERAL INFORMATION

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

* = Required Field Contract Opportunity Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation R420 Laboratory Accreditation Services (VA-20-00048095) 22408-2697 36C10G20R0018 07-16-2020 14:00

EASTERN TIME, NEW YORK, USA

N 813920 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs OPAL | Strategic Acquisition Center 10300 Spotsylvania Ave | STE 400 Fredericksburg VA 22408-2697 Contract Specialist Matthew Cron Matthew.Cron@va.gov (240)215-0588 https://www.va.gov/Opal VA | Strategic Acquisition Center