36C24624Q0149 Amendment.pdf

Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

*= Required Field Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

SUBJECT* Bulk O2 Services

GENERAL INFORMATION

CONTRACTING OFFICE’S ZIP CODE* 23667

SOLICITATION NUMBER* 36C24624Q0149

RESPONSE DATE/TIME/ZONE 02-29-2024 12PM EASTERN TIME, NEW YORK,

USA

ARCHIVE 60 DAYS AFTER THE RESPONSE DATE

RECOVERY ACT FUNDS N

SET-ASIDE

PRODUCT SERVICE CODE* 6835

NAICS CODE* 325120

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

ADDRESS Salem VAMC

1970 Roanoke Blvd

Salem VAMC

POSTAL CODE 24153

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS francine.valverde@va.gov

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

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