Questions and VA Responses.pdf

Questions posed on RFQ 36C24220Q0802_1 are in black text. The VA responses are in red text. Follow-up questions may be submitted to Joseph.Cellino@va.gov; however, a response will only be provided if determined to be appropriate by the VA.

1. Can the Government please provide us number of hours for Annual PMI Vendor Services and Annual PMI MFG PM Procedures given in the Sample Task Order? The Sample Task Order represents actual work currently required. As stated in the RFQ, it may form the basis for an initial task order. This spreadsheet is to be completed by offerors by filling in their proposed number of hours for each task along with the appropriate hourly rate/s from their completed Attachment C. Please review Section E.9 on page 30 & 31 of the RFQ for more details.

2. Will the equipment be readily available for the technicians to service or will the technicians need to locate the equipment in the facility? If the equipment will not be staged prior to the technician arriving at the facility how does VA plan to reimburse for the technician time utilized to locate the equipment? If the VA is bringing the equipment to the technician upon arrival what is the standby time for the technician to wait until the equipment is ready to be serviced? The

VA will ensure that equipment is readily available for technicians to service. We will not expect outside techs to search for the equipment identified needing a PM or CM. All efforts will be made to make equipment available prior to vendor being onsite.

3. Will the VISN provide part kits on the ventilators? Will the VISN ensure parts availability for all services and PMs once a task order is issued for each site? Each VAMC will make all efforts to obtain parts and kits for equipment identified prior to onsite service. Vendors will need to coordinate with local VAMC POCs to determine availability for parts prior to scheduling services onsite.

4. How does the VA want contractors to price out the pricing file considering the rates identified in the pricing schedule only covers the base year. How should contractors price out Option Years I- IV? Please note there are two separate Excel Spreadsheets that must be completed and returned with pricing. Attachment C – Price Worksheet contains cells to enter a fixed hourly rate for all contract periods. Attachment D – Sample Task Order should be completed using the appropriate hourly rate/s from Attachment C as well as the proposed number of hours assigned to each task.

5. Specific equipment such as the Hamilton Ventilators have varied level of services (standard, OEM full rebuild) to be done by OEM trained technician if the services go beyond standard inspection. How does VA want the additional levels of service priced out? Will you consider

Vendor Management of overhauls, rebuilds and OEM required services? Expectation from the

VA is that the vendor’s OEM service manual for a PM is completed for all ventilators or specific equipment. Whatever is stated in the service manual must be performed by the vendor onsite for PMs. This is a Joint Commission requirement and must be adhered too, there should be no deviations from the OEM service manual, and vendor techs should be OEM trained, with proof of training provided to the VA.

mailto:Joseph.Cellino@va.gov

6. Does a contractor need to provide services to all the locations identified in the RFQ? With travel not being included in the price several of these facilities are located in areas that require significant travel time based on distance or traffic to include tolls and parking fees. Will the VISN consider setting up a Travel Clin to cover the cost of travel to and from each site, to cover tolls, travel time and parking? The expectation is all sites will be serviceable by the vendor. Vendor assumes all costs for travel and must budget that into the hourly billing rate for services. Tolls, travel time, and parking will not be reimbursed by the VA. As noted in the SOW, the majority of work is anticipated at the facilities noted to be Medical Centers.

7. Will VA reimburse if a technician shows up to a facility and the equipment is not ready or available as travel is not included in the price build as the price schedule states that only actual work performed will be billed/invoiced? Will we be guaranteed a minimum number of hours when contracted to show up at a facility? The VA will make every effort to ensure equipment is ready prior to the technician arriving and will confirm with the contractor as services are scheduled.

8. For Microscopes, what level of work is to be performed? Is it an inspection or full OEM process for PM, calibrations, etc? If full PM, then it requires specialty trained techs. How do we handle rates if need to bring in OEM for specialty devices? All PMs, inspections, and calibrations need to occur as listed in the OEM service manual. Vendor will identify what they can and cannot do for each identified piece of equipment upon receipt of a task order request for quote. All costs must be built in to the agreed upon contract, the VA will not pay extra to have an OEM come onsite, if the vendor cannot do it, they must inform us so we can make arrangements directly with the OEM.

9. Could the Government please specify as the equipment listed will require a variety of specialized test equipment. Does VA provide all the test equipment or the contractor has to purchase? Test equipment is to be provided by the contractor. If the contractor does not have access to the test equipment, they should inform the VA that they cannot perform a PM or CM upon receipt of a request for task order pricing.

10. If so is the specialized test equipment is billable or not? No, as stated above, the contractor is expected to perform the PM/CM with the given test equipment and qualified service BESS.

11. Could the Government please specify whether the Government provides required parts for preventive maintenance as the equipment’s require certain parts to be replaced (ie: filters, o-rings, etc)? The government will provide identified parts for PM (as long as it is identified in advance and not on the spot/day of service), as the contract is for service only. Unavailability of replacement parts may result in an increase to the task order pricing.