36C24621Q0337 0001.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) 04-19-2021 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

36C24621Q0337 04-19-2021

X X

This solicitation is hereby amended to identify adjustment to the Performance Work Statement(PWS) and Technical Evaluation Factor No VI located in the Instruction to Offeror. The language to provide 1 PhD Microbiologist is hereby changed to Provide 1 Doctoral Microbiologist.

See inclusion adjustment language on page nine (9) of the PWS and page fourteen (14) for Technical evaluation factor VI.

All other terms and conditions for this solicitation remain in full force and effect.

Paul O. Waite Contracting Officer

A.1 PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

VISN 6 Water Management Contract

VISN 6 will solicit an annual service contract with four one-year option periods to provide services to test for legionella in facility/building potable water systems as identified in the attached VISN 6 Directive 1061 Water Sampling Requirements. The Offeror shall possess an understanding of the Government’s requirements and an understanding of the nature of the work to be performed under the prospective contract guidelines. The Offeror shall provide a technical team of qualified staff, partners, consultants, and sub-Offeror to perform the work.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The base year will be awarded in May 2021. Total period of performance shall be the base year plus four option years. The base year shall be 15 May 2021 to September 30, 2021. The options years shall run October 1 – September 30, the last ending September 30, 2025.

SCOPE OF WORK

1. Provide all the necessary services to provide guidance and monitoring for the seven VISN 6 facilities Water Management Programs (WMP). Contractor shall provide a minimum of 2 face-to-face meetings per year for each facility and be available for monthly teleconferences for each facility. The purpose of these meetings is to improve the safety and efficiency of all potable and utility water systems and ensure each facility’s WMP meets the current requirements of VA Directive 1061 Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Legionella Disease and Scald Injury from Potable Water Distribution Systems. After contract award, and within 90 days of the VHA’s issuance of the new Directive 1061, contractor shall review each facility’s WMP and provide guidance to ensure each WMP meets the new directive’s requirements. This initial review shall be documented in a report to the COR with a copy to the technical manager at each facility within 90 days after award.

2. Provide Legionella testing and the other data as identified in the attached VISN 6 Directive 1061 Water Sampling Requirements and the sample data spreadsheets. Testing shall be accomplished quarterly in the following months each year: May, August, November, and February. Facilities shall receive one-week notice prior to taking any samples, POC identified in below table. Facilities shall receive all water testing results directly from the laboratory performing analysis and within 24 hours of release of laboratory reports. Each facility shall receive a full summary report within 17 days of the sample date in excel spreadsheet format. Each spreadsheet shall have 3 tabs, a summary tab, a positive detection tab and a negative detection tab. See attached for how the data shall be reported. No deviations in format to the negative detection tab shall be allowed, since the facility will use this tab to upload the results into the VA’s national water management safety tool.

3. Any positive detections shall result in required resampling with 5 working days of notification by the facility technical manager.

The following information shall be provided as indicated on the attached sample spreadsheets and shall include: Building, Floor, Asset Type, Sample ID, Date Sampled, Date Reported, Barcode, Location, Legionella Test #, Legionella Total (CFU/mL), LP SG1 (CFU/mL), LP SG2-14 (CFM/mL), Legionella Other (CFU/mL), Fluorescent Legionella, Sample Temperature (degrees F), Free Chlorine (mg/L), Total Chlorine (mg/L), pH, and a column for notes. Cooling towers shall be identified by building served and cell number. Each cooling tower cell shall have 2 samples drawn from diagonal opposite ends of each cell.

VISN 6 Directive 1061 Water Sampling Requirements Base Year Apr-Sept 2021

ST

2,049

Notes:

VISN 6 Directive 1061 Water Sampling Requirements (Option Years)

ST

3,674

Notes:

Qualifications of Offeror

The company selected to perform this work must be an independent provider of water management services engaged in the development and on ongoing management of facility and corporate water management programs.

The Offering Organization must have the following in-house capabilities/qualifications:

· Lab for Legionella testing that is certified by the CDC Environmental Legionella Isolation Techniques Evaluation (ELITE) Program and has experience in culturing Legionella from environmental water samples and be accredited in environmental microbiological testing and provide certification of accreditation. The lab must provide culture methods for identification of Legionella and must be capable of detecting, at a minimum, 1 colony forming units per milliliter (CFU/ml).

· The testing Lab shall use a traditional culture method that will detect all species of Legionella, not just a subset of Legionella species. The method used on the VISN 6 water samples shall be the same traditional culture method the laboratory used to receive ELITE certification.

· Contractor shall provide a copy of the lab’s certification annually, and ensure it maintains the certification during the contract performance period, including the option years. If the lab does not maintain the certification, or loses its certification for any reason the contractor shall find another lab with the required certification at no additional cost to the Government.

· At Least 1 Doctoral Degree Microbiologist on staff as full-time employee for evaluation of test results and to review HACCP documentation

· Provide documentation of test results and HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) program validation and verification data from at least 20 current customers to demonstrate features and company capabilities

· Project Managers possess a bachelor’s degree or higher in science or engineering and are certified HACCP Managers. These qualifications and certifications demonstrate expertise in developing legally defensible water safety programs

· Demonstrated expertise and experience in developing Water Management Programs that address both cost and safety issues in potable and utility water

TESTING

Offerors shall provide individual laboratory analytical reports for each test conducted and summary laboratory analytical reports for each round of testing.

Offerors must be able to provide CDC-ELITE certified Legionella tests from a culture-based method that does not require the shipment of a water sample (NWSSL – no water sample shipped Legionella). The microbiological characteristics of water begin to change as soon as a water sample enters a sample bottle, which could possibly result in erroneous test results. The possibility of having to remediate based upon false positive results or the alternative possibility of not remediating when action is required cannot be allowed.

Offerors must provide CDC-ELITE certified Legionella tests from a culture-based method that requires the shipment of a water sample (ISO 11731 Spread Plate Method). Currently, VHA adheres to the CDC recommendation of a 1-liter water sample per test; therefore, the laboratory must be able to test for Legionella using this sample size. Regular quarterly samples test volumes can be 250 mL, however, all retests shall be 1 liter.

Legionella Test Bundle – (NWSSL, THAB, ISO & PCR) L. pneumophila serogroup 1 @ t =0 L. pneumophila serogroups 2-14 @ t = 0 Legionella species @ t = 0 Total Heterotrophic Aerobic Bacteria (THAB) @ t = 0 ISO 11731 Spread Plate Method Legionella Molecular Marker Negative Screen (PCR)

PRICING- See CLINS

1Sample testing price shall include the reporting requirements.

E.1 INSTRUCTIONS FOR QUOTE SUBMISSION:

Quoters shall submit their quote via email to Paul O. Waite at paul.waite@va.gov by 12:30 PM EDT April 28, 2021.

FAR SUBPART 13.5 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

Note that FAR part 13.5 Simplified Acquisitions Procedures for Certain Commercial items procedures will be used. A contractor may be eliminated from consideration without further exchanges if technical and/or pricing quotes are not among those Offerors considered most advantageous to the Government based on a best value determination.

1. Submission of Quotes:

0. Offers shall be based on requirements contained in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Quotes shall include:

1. Offer Form (Standard Form 1449) – Original Signature and Date, Contract Administration Data; DUNS Number; Acknowledgement of Solicitation Amendments

1. A completed price/cost schedule and attachments addressing all Contract Line Items Numbers (CLINSs).

2) System for Award Management (SAM): Federal Acquisition Regulations require that federal contractors register in the SAM database at http://www.sam.gov and enter all mandatory information into the system. Award cannot be made until the contractor has registered. Offerors are encouraged to ensure that they are registered in SAM prior to submitting their quotation.

1. All Offerors shall be a verified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) vendor at time of quote submission and prior to receiving award. To be considered a SDVOSB, the company must be listed as verified in the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database https://www.vip.vetbiz.va.gov/.

a. Amendments: Amendments to this solicitation will be posted on https://beta.sam.gov/ Contract Opportunities. Paper copies of the amendments will NOT be individually mailed. By registering to receive notifications on https://beta.sam.gov/ Contract Opportunities, offerors will be notified by email of any new amendments that have been issued. No other notification of amendments will be provided. Potential Offerors are advised that they are responsible for obtaining and acknowledging any amendments to the solicitation. FAILURE to acknowledge an amendment may result in your offer being considered unacceptable.

QUOTE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Quote Preparation Costs: The Contracting Officer is the only individual legally authorized to commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with this procurement. The solicitation does not commit the Government to pay any costs for the preparation and submission of a quote in response to this solicitation.

1. Quote Format: The submission shall be clearly indexed and logically assembled. Each section shall be clearly identified and shall begin at the top of a page. All pages of each section shall be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date, and solicitation number in the header and/or footer. Refer to Table 1 below.

1. Price Submission: Submit Original Quote

0. Price submission shall be submitted and labeled in accordance with Section E. 1, Paragraph (a) (1). Alternate price schedules will not be considered.

0. Total Price will be evaluated including all options.

1. Technical Quote: Offerors shall submit a quote that addresses all aspects of the PWS. The technical quote should be submitted in a format which clearly addresses the evaluation factors. Offeror shall identify any subcontractors proposed under this solicitation. All technical elements applicable to the utilization of subcontractors must be addressed in the technical quote and detail provided. The technical quote should be as detailed as necessary to fully explain the proposed methods and rationale; it should reflect a clear understanding of the nature of the work being undertaken. The Technical Volume shall not exceed twenty-five (25) pages in length (minimum 12-point font and no less than ½ inch margins). Page limitation includes any drawings, charts, images, etc., and excludes section dividers, table of contents, glossary of terms, cross-referencing indices, and resumes. If more than 25 pages (not counting excluded pages) are submitted, only the first 25 pages will be considered.

1. Past Performance Information: Only references for same or similar type contracts are desired.

4. Quality and Satisfaction Ratings for ongoing and completed Contracts in the Past Three Years:

0. Provide any information currently available (letters, metrics, customer surveys, independent surveys, etc.) which demonstrates customer satisfaction with overall job performance and quality of completed product for the same or similar type of contract. In addition, explain corrective actions taken in the past, if any, for substandard performance and any current performance problems.

4. Performance Surveys:

1. The government will evaluate the quality and extent of offeror’s performance deemed relevant to the requirements of this solicitation. Identify all federal, state, and local government contracts as well as any private/commercial contracts of similar scope, size, complexity that are ongoing or have been completed within the last three (3) years. List the following information for each contract:

0. Company Name and Address

0. Description of Services Performed

0. Name, Telephone Number and Email Address of Responsible individuals who have first-hand knowledge of performance relative to similar type of services

0. Contract Number

0. Dates of Contract Performance

0. Contract Type (e.g. fixed price, cost reimbursable) and total contract value

0. Provide all past performance information requested in the Past Performance award factor (See award Basis).

All offerors shall submit the following:

Table 1

Section Number

Evaluation Factor

File Name

Page Limitation (if any)

*Note page limitations: A Cover Page, Table of Contents, resumes and/or a glossary of abbreviations or acronyms will not be included in the page count of the Technical Section. However, be advised that all information contained within any Table of Contents and/or glossary of abbreviations or acronyms submitted with an Offeror’s Quote will not be evaluated by the Government.

AWARD BASIS AND EVALUATION METHOD:

Award shall be made to the responsible offeror whose quote, conforming to the requirements in this request for quote, will be most advantageous to the Government. This is a competitive selection and Technical and Past Performance when combined is significantly more important than Price. By submission of its quote, the offeror accedes to all solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors. Failure to meet a requirement may result in a quote being ineligible for award. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale.

Evaluation Factors - The following factors apply to this procurement:

SECTION I - TECHNICAL:

a. Technical/Management Approach I: Provide/ submit a detailed technical and management approach for completing all requirements of the PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS). This comprises of management and operation (safety procedures, staff training plans etc.) to include start up time needed between notice of award and start of service.

II: Capability to Perform - Offeror must demonstrate that it currently possesses or have the ability to obtain the personnel, equipment, standards, work processes, and general resources to accomplish the requirements of the Performance Work Statement. Contractor shall provide a list of personnel the firm will utilized to achieve Water management and testing for Legionella contract services.

III: Report documentation- Demonstrated expertise and experience in developing Water Management Programs that address both cost and safety issues in potable and utility water. Contractor shall provide a sample water safety management plan.

IV: Provide documentation of test results and HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) program validation and verification data from at least 20 current customers to demonstrate features and company capabilities. Provide two sample reports of testing results similar to the scope of the work described in the PWS.

V: Licenses/Permits/Certifications - Project Managers possess a bachelor’s degree or higher in science or engineering and are certified HACCP Managers. These qualifications and certifications demonstrate expertise in developing legally defensible water safety programs. Contractor shall provide Bachelor or higher academic Degree Diploma in science or engineering with HACCP Manager’s certification.

VI: At Least 1 Doctoral Degree Microbiologist on staff as full-time employee is required for evaluation of test results and to review HACCP documentation. Contractor shall provide Doctoral academic Degree Diploma for staff Microbiologist.

VII: Lab for Legionella testing that is certified by the CDC Environmental Legionella Isolation Techniques Evaluation (ELITE) Program and has experience in culturing Legionella from environmental water samples and be accredited in environmental microbiological testing and provide certification of accreditation. The lab must provide culture methods for identification of Legionella and must be capable of detecting, at a minimum, 1 colony forming units per milliliter (CFU/ml). Identify what lab you will be utilizing for Environmental Legionella Isolation Techniques Evaluation verification.

The Technical/ Management Approach rating shall be conducted using the adjectival Ratings scheme below in accordance with Table 2 Table 2-Technical Ratings

SECTION II - PAST PERFORMANCE:

1. Using the Past Performance Questionnaires, the CO shall seek relevant past performance information on each offeror based on: (1) the references provided by the offeror and (2) data independently obtained from other government and commercial sources. Relevant past performance includes performance of efforts involving Water Management Plan Monitoring/ Legionella Testing Services that are similar or greater in scope, magnitude and complexity to the effort described in this solicitation. The government reserves the right to seek information on higher priced offerors if none of the lower priced offerors receive a “Substantial Confidence” performance assessment rating. The purpose of the past performance evaluation is to allow the government to assess the offeror’s ability to perform the effort described in the solicitation, based on the offeror’s demonstrated present and past performance. 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 below. 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. 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. Offeror’s who are considering “Teaming Agreements,” both companies shall be verified SDVOSBs.

1. The offeror shall provide evidence demonstrating a minimum of 3 years of experience performing Water Management Plan Monitoring/ Legionella Testing Services that are similar or greater in scope, magnitude and complexity to the effort described in this solicitation.

1. In evaluating past performance, the government reserves the right to give greater consideration to information on those contracts deemed most relevant to the effort described in this solicitation.

1. Offerors are cautioned to submit sufficient information and, in the format, specified in the technical quote preparation instructions to permit a meaningful assessment of past performance. Offerors may be asked to clarify certain aspects of their technical quote or respond to adverse past performance information to which the offeror has not previously had an opportunity to respond. Adverse past performance is defined as past performance information that supports a less than satisfactory rating on any evaluation element or any unfavorable comments received from sources without a formal rating system. The Following will be used to rate the past performance of each offeror:

Table 3-Past Performance

SECTION III - PRICE:

0. Offerors prices shall be submitted in accordance with the Price/Cost Schedule comprised within Section B of the solicitation document. Total price will be evaluated by the Government. In evaluating the offeror’s proposed price for this service, the government concern includes determining price reasonableness.

0. Options – Options – The Government will evaluate quotes for evaluation purposes by adding total price for all options to the base year of the performance period. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

0. The government will evaluate prices for the option under FAR 52.217-8 by using the last year’s option prices to calculate the price for six months of effort and adding that amount to the base and other option years to arrive at the total.

TECHNICAL QUESTIONS

Offerors shall submit all technical questions regarding this solicitation to the Contracting Officer in writing, via email, to Paul O. Waite at paul.waite@va.gov on or before 02:00 PM EDT April 20, 2021.

Address Subject Line: Water Management Plan Monitoring/ Legionella Services, 36C24621Q0337.

Telephonic (verbal) questions Will Not be addressed.

All responses to questions, which may affect quotes, will be incorporated into a written amendment to the solicitation. Amendments to this solicitation will be posted on https://beta.sam.gov/ Contracting Opportunities. Paper copies of the amendments will NOT be individually mailed. By registering to receive notifications on https://beta.sam.gov/ Contracting Opportunities, offerors will be notified by email of any new amendments that have been issued. No other notification of amendments will be provided. Potential Offerors are advised that they are responsible for obtaining and acknowledging any amendments to the solicitation. Failure to acknowledge an amendment may result in your quote being considered unacceptable.

DUE DATES

All quotes shall be submitted by 12:30PM EDT April 28, 2021 via email to Paul Waite at paul.waite@va.gov Address Subject Line: Water Management Plan Monitoring/ Legionella Services, 36C24621Q0337.

Facsimile are not authorized under this announcement.