RFQ 36C24525Q0332 QUESTIONS_ANSWERS_ AMENDMENTS TO THE RFQ.pdf

RFQ 36C24525Q0332

QUESTIONS / ANSWERS / AMENDMENTS TO THE RFQ

1. QUESTION: We request clarification on some of the CLINs.

Something does not seem to make sense (it may be obvious, but we just want to make sure), and we want to clarify. I.E. Are CLINs 4, 5, 6 for cylinder rentals and the number of cylinders on hand at each site, while CLINs 1, 2 ,3 are the anticipated quantities to be filled each year?

ANSWER: CLINs 1, 2, and 3 indicate THE NUMBER OF FILLED TANKS DELIVERED during period of performance of the contract.

CLIN 1 - Baltimore tank deliveries during period of performance estimate.

CLIN 2 – Perry Point tank deliveries during period of performance estimate.

CLIN 3 – Loch Raven tank deliveries during period of performance estimate.

CLIN 4 – Baltimore monthly rental cylinder tank during POP; beginning audit balance of tanks plus the fills drop off minus the returns (empties) and balance carries over monthly.

CLIN 5 - Perry Point monthly rental cylinder tank during POP; beginning audit balance of tanks + replenishment - the returns (empties) and balance carries over monthly.

CLIN 6 – Loch Raven monthly rental cylinder tank during POP beginning audit balance of tanks + replenishment- the returns (empties) and balance carries over monthly.

2. QUESTION: As the NAICS for this RFQ is 325210 Industrial Gas Manufacturing, please confirm whether this is a Service Contract or a Supply Contract.

ANSWER: This solicitation is for a fixed price contract for the supply of gas and service rental of gas cylinders.

3. QUESTION: LPTA EVALUATION: What is the GOV’s rationale for awarding to the lowest priced offeror that meets the bare minimum technical requirement instead of which offer brings the most value or is most advantageous for such a critical hospital function such as medical-grade oxygen (classified by the FDA as a prescription drug) for Veteran consumption?

ANSWER: The evaluation will remain the lowest price technically acceptable.

4. QUESTION: ON AND OFF VALVES CYLINDER CHARACTERISTICS: Please confirm that the facilities do in fact require an On/Off Valve (notated on PG 6 of

73) as the “Grab N Go” historically utilized at each VAMC (and notated in the CLIN descriptions) does NOT include an On/Off Valve?

ANSWER: Correction: The cylinder does not require an ON/OFF Valve. This has edited on page 6 in Section 3. Salient Characteristics of the RFQ.

5. QUESTION: NFPA REQUIREMENTS REGARDING CYLINDER STORAGE/

SECURITY: Will the GOV please remove the following language on PG 5 of 73 as NFPA regulations require the facility personnel to ensure they are compliant with safe storage regulations? This is not the Driver’s responsibility to ensure tank storage areas are locked/secured.

PG 5 of 73, para 2.3: “Furthermore, securing tanks with chains and ensuring that collection areas are locked or otherwise secured upon departure is essential.”

ANSWER: This has been removed from page 5 of the RFQ.

6. QUESTION: INVOICING PROCEDURES: PG 5 of 73 in the RFQ (Para 2.6) states that “Contractor will provide a monthly consolidated invoice clearly showing each line item and amount of each line item delivered for that month and each line items amount returned cylinder no later than the Monday of the first working week of the following month.” We request that this language/requirement be revised to allow for the submission of monthly invoices within the first (10) business days of the following month. There are required processing times for consolidating monthly invoices following a month’s end, and Contractors must ensure all Proofs of Delivery (PODs) for the previous month have become available (oftentimes this takes several days to post) before they can complete that processing as the PODs are required to summarize all deliveries and returns before rental charges can be calculated. As a result, the requirement to provide a monthly invoice for each location within (5) days is impractical due to the availability of the data and processing times required.

ANSWER: Correction on page 5 of RFQ: SECTION 2.6 Contractor will provide a monthly consolidated invoice clearly showing each line item and amount of each line item delivered for that month and each line items amount returned cylinder within the first (10) business days of the following month.

7. QUESTION: “ONE-FOR-ONE” CYLINDER EXCHANGE: Please confirm that the facility will be proactively placing orders for cylinder resupply and not relying on a delivery driver showing up on specific delivery days and exchanging empties for full cylinders? Industry standard is VA Personnel proactively ordering from the Prime Contractor with the Sub delivering on behalf of the Prime. In a “one-for-one exchange,” the VA is circumventing the SDVOSB Prime which is in stark contrast to the requirement of the offer signing VAAR 852.219-76, Limitations on Subcontracting (Certificate of Compliance).

ANSWER: The VA will place orders with the prime contractor.

8. QUESTION: QUARTERLY INVENTORY TYPO: Please confirm the following notation of a quarterly joint audit is just a typo and should be “annual” joint audit?

a. PG 8 of 73, para 9.3: “After the annual inventory audit (this pertains to the 2nd annual audit approximately at or around Option Year exercising), if more cylinders are found than indicated on the quarterly joint inventory of cylinders, the inventory count shall be increased to that number and shall be the value going forward until next annual joint inventory is taken”

ANSWER: Correction on page 8 of RFQ: SECTION 9.3 After the annual inventory audit (this pertains to the 2nd annual audit approximately at or around Option Year exercising), if more cylinders are found than indicated on the annual joint inventory of cylinders, the inventory count shall be increased to that number and shall be the value going forward until next annual joint inventory is taken.

9. QUESTION: DELIVERY SCHEDULE/NEGOTIATE: Is the GOV amenable to negotiate the delivery schedule for each facility with the awardee (e.g., delivery days and delivery time windows)? A 3-hour delivery window for VAMC Baltimore is highly unreasonable for a Major Metropolitan area such as Baltimore and will cause prices to exponentially rise to meet this requirement. Industry standard is to allow a delivery window respective of a facilities delivery/receiving hours (e.g., 8 AM – 4 PM Local Time). Drivers are on pre-established routes and have other customers on their route they must also service for medical gas needs.

ANSWER: Yes, the VA is amenable to negotiate the delivery schedule for each facility. The VA can allow a delivery window based on the hours of the warehouse tour of duty time which is 8AM – 4PM.

10. QUESTION: EMERGENCY DELIVERY PROCEDURES: Will the GOV please amend this requirement to reflect industry standard which is the offeror must RESPOND within (2) hours and DELIVER within (24) hours as it is unreasonable to expect delivery within (4) hours in a major metropolitan area? Offerors will make every effort to delivery emergencies as soon as possible however this is predicated on factors such as available assets on the truck and driver hours remaining. The driver may have to go back to the branch/fill plant to meet the emergency order as there’s no guarantee the driver will have the required gas QTY already on the truck.

ANSWER: Correction on page 7 OF RFQ: SECTION 8: Yes, the VA will amend the requirement of emergency delivery procedures RESPOND within (2) hours and DELIVER within (24) hours.

11. QUESTION: INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS: There is no mention of an insurance requirement for offerors (standard in RFQs for 325120). How is the GOV going to validate that offerors are properly insured for NAICS 325120/221210 – the actual requirement for this work to comply with the RFQ and not just the dollar values threshold? How do offerors confirm to the GOV that they have the correct type of Liability Insurance, and does this need to be affirmed at the time of bid submission (if not, an awarded firm could be turned down or not be able to afford this coverage in the amounts the GOV requires, respective to NAICS 325120)? This is important because there are very few underwriters that will insure small businesses for the distribution of compressed gases and why confirmation of the applicable NAICS is being requested, in accordance with paragraph (a) of FAR 52.228-5 – Insurance Work on a Government Installation.

ANSWER: Added to RFQ on page 34: SECTION C18. Clause FAR 52.228-5

INSURANCE—WORK ON A GOVERNMENT INSTALLATION

FAR 52.228-5 INSURANCE—WORK ON A GOVERNMENT INSTALLATION

(JAN 1997)

(a) The Contractor shall, at its own expense, provide and maintain during the entire performance of this contract, at least the kinds and minimum amounts of insurance required in the Schedule or elsewhere in the contract.

(b) Before commencing work under this contract, the Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing that the required insurance has been obtained. The policies evidencing required insurance shall contain an endorsement to the effect that any cancellation or any material change adversely affecting the Government's interest shall not be effective—

(1) For such period as the laws of the State in which this contract is to be performed prescribe; or

(2) Until 30 days after the insurer or the Contractor gives written notice to the Contracting Officer, whichever period is longer.

(c) The Contractor shall insert the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (c), in subcontracts under this contract that require work on a Government installation and shall require subcontractors to provide and maintain the insurance required in the Schedule or elsewhere in the contract. The Contractor shall maintain a copy of all subcontractors' proofs of required insurance, and shall make copies available to the Contracting Officer upon request.

Added to RFQ on page 9: SECTION 17:

Liability Insurance Requirement The contractor shall maintain liability insurance in the amount $1 million per occurrence and shall provide an annual Certificate of Liability to the VA. Before commencing work under this contract, the Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing that the required insurance has been obtained. Contractor will adhere to all local, state, and federal regulations involving compressed gases and show evidence before commencing work under this contract.

12. ANNUAL AUDIT CLIN: Will the GOV please add a CLIN for Annual Audit as there are real-world costs associated with having the SDVOSB Prime Contractor send a POC to (3) VAMCs each contract year to perform this (travel, lodging, etc.

over multiple days)? It is common in the industry in VA multi-year contracts that Contractors are able to charge/account for these annual audit costs via a provided CLIN.

ANSWER: Added to RFQ on page 10: A CLIN for “Annual Audit”

ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO THE RFQ:

13. Page: 9 SECTION: B.3 PRICE/COST SCHEDULE: The amounts of the estimates have been amended in B.3 Price/Cost Schedule the following CLIN #’s:

CLIN 1 - Baltimore tank deliveries during period of performance estimate quantity 1,211 CY

CLIN 2 – Perry Point tank deliveries during period of performance estimate quantity 270 CY

CLIN 3 – Loch Raven tank deliveries during period of performance estimate quantity 383 CY

CLIN 4- Baltimore VA Rental tanks cylinders qty 548.

CLIN 5 Perry Point Rental tanks cylinders qty 263

CLIN 6 Loch Raven rental tanks cylinder qty 140

14. Page: 5 SECTION 2.2:

The contractor or subcontractor is responsible for picking up empty cylinders from the designated delivery docks at:

• Baltimore located delivery dock cylinder room BB104.

• Loch Raven located:

• Building 1, room G-14.

• Building 5, Room 1B-138.

• Perry Point located building 23 room GG-109B.