Site Visit Questions and Answers.docx

** AMENDMENT A00002 – Inpatient Pharmacy Maintenance – Newington VAMC

– Contractor Site Visit Questions and Government Responses ** Please confirm receipt of this amendment in your solicitation response

1. Please provide a SOW or specifics to the humidifier water analysis.

a. SOW is on solicitation posting.

2. What is the incumbent contract #?

a. There is no incumbent.

3. How many past performances are required? And will past performance references from subcontractors/subcontracting teams be considered?

a. Maximum of 3. References from subcontractors will not be considered.

4. What are the required personnel certifications?

a. There are no personnel certifications required. We just ask for someone with experience.

5. What are the required company licensures or certifications?

a. No specific licenses or certifications required. We just ask that you are OSHA trained and have knowledge of the VA’s lockout tagout policy when working on equipment. You can coordinate with the COR as needed for LOTO.

6. Page 3 “For every service call on each AHU, the contractor shall: Provide all transportation, material, labor, safety equipment, LOTO procedures, and disposal necessary to provide services.” Can the government please confirm that when referring “materials” this is only talking about the maintenance materials required to provide preventative maintenance and not parts for repairs?

a. Yes, the contractor is responsible for providing and parts needed to complete the maintenance and servicing of the equipment.

7. Page 4 “For every service call for the Reverse Osmosis water treatment system, the contractor shall: Provide all material, labor, safety equipment, LOTO procedures, and disposal necessary to provide services.” Can the government please confirm that when referring “materials” this is only talking about the maintenance materials required to provide preventative maintenance and not parts for repairs?

a. Yes, the contractor is responsible for providing and parts needed to complete the maintenance and servicing of the equipment.

8. Page 9 “For every service call for the Exhaust Fans (are these the biological cabinet exhaust fans?), the contractor shall: Provide all travel, material, labor, safety equipment, LOTO procedures, and disposal necessary to provide services.” Can the government please confirm that when referring “materials” this is only talking about the maintenance materials required to provide preventative maintenance and not parts for repairs?

a. Yes, the contractor is responsible for providing and parts needed to complete the maintenance and servicing of the equipment.

9. Page 9 “Does the customer want to allow for emergency services if something happens? If so, we can add language and get emergency service hours pre-priced as well as get material mark ups.” Does the government require emergency services upon equipment failure? If so, can the government please provide an emergency service hours column to the bid schedule?

a. Yes, emergency services are required upon equipment failure. A line item will be included in the pricing schedule for emergency services. Please provide hourly rate and material mark ups for the line item.

10. If emergency services are to be included in the price, will the government allow for a deficiency period to identify pre-existing conditions?

a. Yes

11. Should repairs be quoted broken out with parts and labor and submitted to the COR?

a. Please identify any items needing repair to the COR. The contracting office will request a quote if needed.

12. Does the government have a maximum allowable after-hours labor rate?

a. No

13. Does the government have a predetermined material markup?

a. No

14. Page 9 “All work shall be performed and completed on a schedule approved by the VA POC in advance. Dates and times of services shall be coordinated between the contractor and Government to minimize impact to pharmacy operations. All work shall take place during normal business hours 7:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST, Monday thru Friday, excluding federal holidays.”

Interference to Normal Functions:

When the contractor’s work interferes with hospital functions, such as when work produces excessive noise, odors, dust, utility service interruptions, or other interferences with normal hospital operations that cannot be contained within the area of work, the contractor must schedule said work at other than normal hours and as directed by the VA designee at no additional charge to the Government.

Can the government please advise if the submitting contractor should account for afterhours labor during planned maintenance or emergency service calls?

a. Please do not account for afterhours maintenance in the reoccurring maintenance line items. You can provide afterhours labor under the emergency services line item. After hours work will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

15. What is the RO water system feeding? What are point of use water/flow/quality requirements.

a. The water supply and pretreatment equipment should be sufficient to provide a minimum of 45 psi at the maximum feed flow

16. Confirm PM services are to be done monthly

a. Yes. Some items are to be checked per schedule in PWS.

17. What is the quantity of pre-filters that need to be changed monthly?

a. There are 28 for both units that vary in size.

18. Confirm quantity and size of the RO membranes- Are there two (2) 4”x 40” membranes?

a. There are 6 according to the O&M Manual. See part numbers and membrane quantity information below:

19. Service sheet called for the RO membranes to be cleaned monthly. Please confirm. Does end user have cleaning skid? What is the current process of membrane cleanings?

a. Yes, Monthly cleaning on the RO Membranes. Consult with the manufacturer’s recommendations for membrane cleaning. The contractor shall provide a cleaning skid if necessary.

20. Service interval called for the RO membranes to be replaced every 2-3 years. How long is the contract to be quoted?

a. Contract will be one base year with four option years for a total of 5 years.

21. What are the model numbers of the softeners, MMF, and EDI unit?

a. Please refer to the manufacture for this information. Contact information is in the O&M Manual.

22. Service interval calls for probe and monitor calibration, but then indicates probe and calibration involves checking the following: resistivity, conductivity, chlorine, hardness, pH, and orp. Are we to verify readings monthly or do we need to supply calibration certificates?

a. Yes, very the readings monthly to ensure they are within the manufacturer’s standards.

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