Questions Solicitation 36C24423Q0698_FINAL (002).docx

Questions Solicitation 36C24423Q0698 Question #1: What quantity of retests has the VA had at Building 1 and Building 17 on a quarterly or annual basis for Legionella testing?

A: FY 22, 8 individual samples for retest FY 23 to date, 0 individual samples for retest Question #2: What quantity of retests has the VA had at Building 1 on a quarterly or annual basis for Dental HPC testing?

A: FY 22, 125 individual samples for retest FY 23 to date, 87 individual samples for retest Q. Statement of Work 4.1.6 “For emergency testing, the contractor shall be available for sampling and analysis within 24 hours from the initial notification. Testing results shall be available to facility COR within 24-48 hours.” Can the government clarify testing results shall be available to facility COR within 24-48 hours as required Legionella and Dental Lines testing is culture method?

A: See Section SOW Section 4.1.6, “within 24-28 hours” of the contractor receiving the sampling results from the testing lab.

Q. Statement of Work 6.3 Can the government clarify if this section applies to this contract and remove it from the SOW if it does not apply?

A: See Section SOW 6.3. This was removed.

Q. Statement of Work 12.1.1 State “sample an estimated (24) locations” Sections 12.1.1.1 – 12.1.1.6 total 23. Can the government clarify?

A: See SOW Section 12.1.1. Corrected to be “estimated 23”.

Q. Statement of Work 13.3.1 Can the government clarify the technician information being asked for as there are no requirements in the SOW or any regulations for training, certification of a sampling technician?

A: See SOW Section 13.3.1. 13.3.1.1 through 13.3.1.7 in itself states the requirements for a technician performing the sampling. Persons conducting these sampling procedures must be trained to do so.

Q. Statement of Work 15.0.1 Historically, how long is the cooling tower in operation?

A: See SOW Section 15.0.1, The Cooling Tower is in continuous operation, 12 months per year.

Q. Statement of Work 15.0.1 “15.0.1 At least every 90 days (while in operation), the contractor shall collect two water samples for the Cooling Towers (chillers) indicated below for a tot.” This appears to be an incomplete sentence. Can the government clarify the last part of the sentence “for a tot.?”

A: See SOW Section 15.0.1, “total of one sample per quarter and four samples per year.”

Q. Statement of Work 17.0 Can the government clarify the technician information being asked for as there are no requirements in the SOW or any regulations for training, certification of a sampling technician?

A: See SOW Section 17.0. 17.1.1 through 17.1.7 in itself states the requirements for a technician performing the sampling. Persons conducting these sampling procedures must be trained to do so.

Q. Does the following clause apply to this contract “ 52.222-43, Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor Standards—Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option Contracts) (AUG 2018) (29 U.S.C. 206 and 41 U.S.C. chapter 67).”? If so, can the government check the clause box on page 32 and issue an amendment?

A: Clause 52.222-43 is not applicable to this requirement.

Q. Does the following clause apply to this contract “ 52.222-51, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment—Requirements (MAY 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67).”? If so, can the government check the clause box on page 32 and issue an amendment?

A: Clause 52.222-43 is not applicable to this requirement.

Q. Quote Submission Instructions B. Section II states “Exclusion to the page count are noted below.” What parts of 1 a-f are excluded from page count as it is not stated?

A: Sections D and E are excluded from page count.

Q. Quote Submission Instructions B. Section II 1) d) Sample testing report. Is the sample testing report excluded from the 5 page limit for Section II Technical response?

A: Sample Testing Report not included in the page count and shall be included as a separate document labeled “Section II Sample Testing Report” Q. Quote Submission Instructions B. Section II 1) e) Sample Chain of Custody. Is the Sample Chain of Custody excluded from the 5 page limit for Section II Technical response?

A: Sample Chain of Custody Document (not included in the page count and shall be included as a separate document labeled “Section II Chain of Custody Sample”) Q. Quote Submission Instructions B. Section II 1) c) “Certificates shall be included as shown in Section 2.0.” Are copies of certificates excluded from the 5 page limit for Section II Technical response?

A: Certificates are not included in page count Q. Quote Submission Instructions B. Section II 1) b) Vendors shall provide a narrative of at least three projects completed in the last 3 years…..” Are the narratives of projects excluded from the 5 page limit for Section II Technical response?

A: Narrative of at least three projects completed in the last 3 years not included in page count.

Will the government extend the due date to allow time for questions and answers?

A: Reference solicitation amendment posted to SAM for answers and date extension.

Q. Section 11.9.1.7.15.1 “If applicable, Legionella pneumophila serogroup: Is indication of serogroup 1 or serogroups 2-14 sufficient for the reporting?

A: See SOW Section 11.9.1.7.15.1. Yes, non-pneumophila must be reported as well.

Q. In Section 11.9.1.7, it is stated, “At the time of sampling, the contractor shall test and document the following for each sample” further in that same section the following appears:

It is not possible to use VHA 1061 approved methods to determine colony forming units of Legionella at the time of collection. Will the government remove section 11.9.1.7.15 from section 11.9.1.7?

A: See SOW Section 11.9.1.7.15.1.1. This pertains to the actual act of taking the sample and ensuring that the test methods used meet the standards of VHA 1061. The government concedes that it is not possible to determine the actual colony forming units at the time of sample collection.

Q. Can the government clarify what is expected in the “final report” as called out in section 13.3.1? Our final reports are the reports submitted to the POCs. Is there a separate final report required with the information called out in sections 13.3.1.1. to 13.3.1.8? Same question for section 17.1 and 18.10.2.

A: See SOW Sections 13.3.1, 17.1, and 18.10.2. There is no “separate final report”. This information is to be included with the final report. The VA has a requirement to enter this information along with the sampling results into a data base and this information will enable our facility to perform this internal function.

Q. Section 15.0.1 Indicates cooling towers will be collected every 90 days (while in operation): Are these collections historically completed during routine collection of samples from Bldg 1 and Bldg 17?

A: See SOW Section 15.0.1. Yes, these collections will be completed during the quarterly collection of Samples from Buildings 1 and 17.

Q. Section 15.0.1 - Samples must be collected 7 days from startup of a Cooling Tower. Will the cooling towers be started up prior to scheduled quarterly collection such that they can be collected at the same time or just as needed?

A: See SOW Section 15.0.1. Samples will be collected from the Cooling Tower at the same time of the quarterly collection of Samples from Buildings 1 and 17. If the Cooling Tower goes down for any reason, it must be sampled 7 days from startup.

Q. Section 16.1 Indicates potable water tank will be collected every 90 days (while in operation): Are these collections historically completed during routine collection of samples from Bldg 1 and Bldg 17?

A: See SOW Section 16.1. Yes, these collections are historically completed during routine collection of samples from Bldg 1 and Bldg 17.

Q. Section 16.1 “Samples must be collected 7 days from startup of a cooling tower”. Is this a copy and paste error or does potable water tank sampling need to coincide with cooling tower operation?

A: See SOW Section 16.1. This was a copy and paste error. It was removed.

Q. Sample 16.1 “the contractor shall collect two water samples for each of the three internal Potable Water Storage Tanks indicated below for a total of six (6) samples per quarter.” Can the government confirm each potable water storage tank requires TWO tests for Legionella?

A: See SOW Section 16.1. This is confirmed. The government confirms that each potable water storage tank requires TWO tests for Legionella. These tests are expected to be completed at the same time each quarter.

Q. Section 15.0.1 indicates two water samples will be collected but in 15.0.2.3 says only one sample is required. Is the first sample to be tested for Legionella and then the second sample to be tested for pH, biocide, and temperature?

A: See SOW Section 15.0.1. It is one sample for the cooling tower which will include pH, Biocide, and temperature. The SOW was corrected to reflect this.

Q. Section 18.9 Can the government confirm that during collection, the collector will be told which pieces are reprocessed for SPS as well as which of the air syringes will not be changed between patients?

A: See SOW Section 18.9. During sample collection, the collector will be told which pieces are reprocessed for SPS as well as which of the air syringes will not be changed between patients?

Q. Section 18.10.2 requires level of colony forming units to be reported at “time of sampling” This is not possible with VHA approved testing methods for heterotrophic plate count, will the government consider removing this section?

A: See SOW Section 18.10.2. “The contractor shall provide the following “FROM” the time of sampling, not “at” the time of sampling.

Q. Are the quantities of resampling in the line items spreadsheet indicative of the historical number of Legionella positives detected in Bldg 1 and Bldg 17, the cooling towers, as well as HPC values over 500 cfu/mL in the dental chairs?

A: Yes.

Q. Given the start date of this contract, can it be expected that the contractor will need to collect routine quarterly samples for FY23 Q3?

A: Yes.

image1.png