36C24619Q0599-0001000.docx

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) 11-27-2019 None Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 6 100 Emancipation Drive Hampton

VA

23667 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 6 100 Emancipation Drive Hampton

VA

23667 To all Offerors/Bidders

36C24619Q0599 11-18-2019

X X X

X Solicitation 36C24619Q1091 is hereby amended as follows:

(1) To post all questions and answers.

(2) To redact provision 52.207-6 Solicitation of Offers from Small Business Concerns and Small Business Teaming Arrangements or Joint Ventures (Multiple-Award Contracts). This provision is not applicable to this requirement.

Leah Trossen Contracting Officer

QUESTIONS AND ANWERS

36C24619Q0599 On-Site Switchboard Operators

1. Is this a new requirement? If not, who is the incumbent and what was the total award amount? Who is currently performing the contract?

Answer: No, this is not a new requirement. The incumbent/current vendor performing the contract is ‘Blind and Vision Impaired, Virginia Department for the Virginia Industries for the Blind’ – total award amount $1,240,380.00

2. If a company does not have switchboard operator experience but staffing and management experience can that be utilized, or will a company just get a natural rating?

Answer: For award basis and evaluation, section II – Past Performance: “Relevant past performance includes performance of efforts involving On-Site Switchboard Operator Services that are similar or greater in scope, magnitude and complexity to the effort described in this solicitation.” “Offerors with no relevant past or present performance history or the offeror’s performance record is so limited that no confidence assessment rating can be reasonably assigned shall receive the rating “Unknown Confidence”, meaning the rating is treated neither favorably nor unfavorably.” Ratings will be based on those elements provided in Table 3 for Past Performance.

3. When is the anticipated date of award?

Answer: Award date is anticipated to be Friday, December 6, 2019.

4. Per federally established Set-Aside regulations, it is standard to require only that 51% of the contract (labor and revenue) be executed by the small business Prime. Is this NOT the case in this instance? And does this truly mean both companies MUST be small businesses?

Answer: Provision 52.207-6: Solicitation of Offers from Small Business Concerns and Small Business Teaming Arrangements or Joint Ventures has been redacted from the solicitation and is no longer applicable for the requirement.

5. As a follow up, if we are planning on teaming with a Commonwealth of Virginia socio-economic entity under the AbilityOne Program, would the Government consider them a Small Business for the purpose of this solicitation?

Answer: Provision 52.207-6: Solicitation of Offers from Small Business Concerns and Small Business Teaming Arrangements or Joint Ventures has been redacted from the solicitation and is no longer applicable for the requirement. Also, there are no exceptions made to the economic size status of a business.

6. Finally, should we be unable to partner with the VIB due to solicitation subcontractor restrictions, yet propose to employ incumbent personnel currently executing these duties for the Salem VAMC, may we use their recent and relevant experience to substantiate our company’s past performance?

Answer: “Past performance evaluated will be the past performance of the prime contractor (Company submitting the quote). The assessment process will result in an overall performance confidence assessment rating of Substantial Confidence, Satisfactory Confidence, Limited Confidence, No Confidence, or Unknown Confidence as defined in Table 3. Past performance regarding predecessor companies, key personnel who have relevant experience, or sub-contractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement will not be considered as highly as past performance information for the principal offeror.”

7. Does the CO require the signed amendments to also be provided in Section III, Price Volume, along with the SF1449 and Acknowledgement of Amendments Table? If not, where should they be provided?

Answer: Where signature is to be applied on each document that the prospective vendor understands or concurs with all requirements, there should be a signature sent back with those required documents for acknowledgement of all contractual matters.

8. Can the government provide historical data on the call volume for weekends and holidays? This will directly affect staffing strategies and is necessary to provide the most accurate quote.

Answer: Call volume for weekends sample to reflect 2,000 to 3,000 collectively. Call volumes for holidays vary but sample to reflect 1,500 to 2,500 depending on length of the holiday, if it runs from Friday to Sunday or if it runs Saturday through Monday or if the holiday is mid-week.

9. PWS 1.m (p. 7) – can the government define the what is required to perform code blue testing? Is this just testing of the system by paging the required number? Or, is further system verification required?

Answer: Sampling occurrence of code blue testing at start of each shift is completed in the same manner as steps which can be found on page 9 under section Cardiac Arrest (CODE BLUE).

10. PWs 2 (p. 7) – Does the government have office space for the Project Manager/Alternate to be located onsite at the government facility?

Answer: No, there is only available space for the 4 required switchboard operators on site.

11. PWS 4.b. (p. 8) and PWS 6 – reference call volumes and peak call periods. The Solicitation requires 100% of all incoming calls to be answered by the contractor. Each type of call requires a different length of time to complete transfer to another extension or provide information in response to caller. Proposal instructions/evaluation methods (p. 44, Section I – Technical) requires contractors to provide a staffing approach. In order for an Offeror to determine how many staff are required over each 16 hour operational day across 365 days a year and adequately price the service on a firm fixed price monthly per unit/fee basis, can the government provide:

a. The number of calls by day of the week, to include by hour and type of call for a total length of one year time period?

Answer: There was a sampling provided for a week interval on page 12 of the PWS. Due to variations of volume in holidays, weekends and general dynamics which are unable to be determined, a full year of call volume is not obtainable. Please submit best approach based on the sampling volume provided in the performance work statement from page 12 for call volume.

b. Can the Government provide actual and accurate reports indicated in PWS 6 Call volume for the last two years, so we can better understand the operational tempo to assist with forming our staffing solution? If the examples provided in the RFP are not accurate, there could be an unfair advantage to the incumbent as they would have the correct information to price accordingly.

Answer: Sample volume provided on page 12 reflect the most current calls received for the site. Call Volume sampling numbers are current to 2 weeks before posting of this solicitation.

c. PWS 6: “The quantity of work may vary, particularly the number of coded calls or emergencies that are handled by the switchboard operations.” The government is unable to predict call volumes as there are numerous variables that drive call volume. Will the government consider making this a labor hour contract since call volumes may vary and that affects the staffing required and pricing?

Answer: No.

12. PWs 2 defines a required Project Manager and Alternate. QASP D.2.c Contractor Representatives requires a Program Manager. Are these positions considered the same (Project Manager and Program Manager)? If not, will the government define what is expected of the Program Manager position?

Answer: Project Manager supports the on-site day to day operations of the services required by the employed personnel. The Program Manager supports the overall mission necessary to ensure qualifications and metrics are met as the vendor providing services.

13. Evaluation Method Section I – Technical c.b (p. 45) states that each switchboard operation shall provide the following documentation – resume reflective of qualifications and minimum of 1 year experience in switchboard operation and admin support services.

a. Does the government intend with this statement to require an offeror to submit resumes on all proposal personnel in their staffing approach?

Answer: Yes.

b. As this is a SCLS/WD contract, it seems that requiring an offeror to submit resumes for all proposed personnel favors the incumbent firm. Will the government consider allowing Offerors to submit either key personnel resumes only (e.g., Project Manager and Alternate) and/or an representative resume of a switchboard operator?

Answer: Key Personnel resumes are welcome. However, no, resumes are required to show that the to-be-employed personnel have experience dealing with specialized or stressful environments or circumstances. Considerations are being factored due to the type of people that may call in requesting services, i.e. those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or suicidal thoughts. There can be no risk associated with employees who may have lack of experience regarding Veteran care.

14. I have reviewed the call volume but can you please tell us how many operators are currently working on each shift?

Answer: There are 4 switchboard operators currently servicing the Salem, Virginia VAMC