36C24624Q0149 Amendment 0001.docx

SUBJECT*

Bulk O2 Services

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS

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

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contract Specialist Francine Valverde Francine.Valverde@va.gov 757-728-3104

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

1970 Roanoke Blvd

Salem VAMC

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

DESCRIPTION

Page 1 of

Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

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)

Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 6 100 Emancipation Drive

Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 6 100 Emancipation Drive

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C24624Q0149 02-28-2024 x

The purpose of this amendment is update the due date and time of all offers and to provide answers to the to the questions from all offerors/bidders.

Amendment

Due date of RFQ 36C24624Q0149 has been updated to reflect 2/29/2024 at 12PM.

The following responses are vendor questions submitted 2/23/2023 for RFQ 36C24624Q0149.

1. Question: Does the tanks need to be installed or just filled?

Answer: If the vendor is different from our current vendor, yes, the tanks will need to be changed. The bulk O2 tanks are vendor owned.

2. Question: What size tank does the client require to store the medical grade liquid oxygen. The simple math says a 5k gal tank will allow monthly refills but usage would dictate whether having a larger tank would be a better fit for the requirement.

Answer: Currently there is a 3k gal tank with a separate 500 gal reserve tank. O2 tank levels are currently monitored remotely and the current vendor schedules delivery of O2 prior to the tank reaching alarm level. Normally, depending on usage, deliveries occur twice monthly. There have been occasions where there have bene three deliveries within a month.

3. Question: Will the GOV add a CLIN for telemetry monitoring?

Answer: My assumption is this is meaning monitoring levels remotely. If this is the case, yes, we are interested

4. Question: Will the GOV allow offerors to schedule a site visit to observe active conditions of the Bulk Tank site prior to the quote submission deadline?

Answer: Yes

5. Question: Is the facility interested in upgrading tank sizes from the current systems?

Answer: No

6. Question: Has there been any history of vaporizers icing up due to high volume?

Answer: Some ice build up from time to time

7. Question: Are there any planned construction projects on site that may hinder delivery access?

Answer: None that we know of

8. Questions: EMERGENCY DELIVERIES: PG 10 of 66 states that “Emergency deliveries and/or repairs shall be provided within two (2) hours after receipt of Government notification.” This is a highly irregular request and isn’t practical in the Bulk Oxygen distribution industry. No vendor can provide emergency deliveries in (2) hours as delivery timeframes depend on the location of the ASU supporting the facility as well as the availability and assignment of delivery drivers. Standard language for emergency deliveries is to deliver within (24) hours. Will the GOV please amend this language to deliver “within (24) hours” and to respond “within (2) hours”?

o See recent example of 2023 BULK RFQ/AWARD in VISN 6:

RFQ 36C24624Q0006 – for the VAMC Salisbury, NC, (Contract Award # 36C24624D0003) – listed the following language in the SOW (PG 18 of 64 in the RFQ) regarding Emergency Deliveries: “Emergency delivery and/or repairs shall be provided by the contractor or subcontractor must be able to respond in 2 hours and delivered within 24 hours.”

RFQ Link for VAMC Salisbury Bulk: https://sam.gov/opp/3ae9439ed44041dd87049d293e01c439/view

9. FACILITY-MAINTAINED ALARM SYSTEM: On PG 9 of 66 in the RFQ, Section 3.1 requires the contractor to “perform the hook-up of contractor owned equipment to the facility-maintained alarm system.” Will the GOV please specify that responsibility of this hook-up is only within the confines of the bulk system pad and not inside the facility, as that is the VA electrician’s responsibility? Will the VA also amend this section to read, “The Contractor shall assist VA electricians with hooking up the facility-maintained alarm system, consistent with NFPA 55 & 99 code requirements, which require an uninterrupted electrical connection between the alarm panel(s) inside the facility and the gauges on the tanks” as was the language utilized in the 2022 VISN 4 Bulk Liquid Oxygen RFQ (36C24422Q0510)?

· See screenshot from VISN 4’s AMEND 0001 Q&A where vendors challenged this same concept language:

Answer: Yes the contract SOW will be updated to amend this section.

10. Question: There is no mention of offerors being required to have any General Liability Insurance, a common requirement for 325120 contracts. How is the GOV going to discern that the offeror is properly insured for NAICS 325120 to supply Medical Grade Bulk Oxygen? This is important because there are very few underwriters that will insure small businesses for compressed gases and why confirmation of whether the Insurance Certificate lists the applicable NAICS is requested, in addition to confirming if the offeror is insured for this work IAW FAR 52.288-5 Insurance Work on a Government Installation.

Answer: The solicitation will be updated to reflect General Liability Insurance.

11. Question: What is the GOV’s rationale for utilizing the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable evaluation process for an award that provides a critical hospital function such as Medical Grade Oxygen supply (a prescription drug) for a Veterans Hospital? PG 43 of 66 in the RFQ details the evaluation steps and states that “the lowest priced offer shall be evaluated for technical acceptability.” However, the RFQ does not list any Technical Submission requirements to be included with an offeror’s quote. How will the GOV deem an offeror is technically acceptable to perform the critical level of work required under this contract with no technical or past performance submission requirements?

Answer: The solicitation will be updated to reflect technical submission requirements

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