36C24626Q0648 - Janitorial - Questions Received.pdf

QuestionQuestion Received Government Response

Please clarify whether the CHESP Contract Manager position is included within the minimum staffing requirement identified in the Performance Work Statement or if the CHESP position is required in addition to the minimum staffing requirement.

No the CHESP is not included whithin the minimum staffing.

Please confirm whether the Government will provide the incumbent staffing roster, including position classifications and upon contract award to facilitate transition planning and compliance with any applicable right-of-first-refusal requirements.

The Government will not provide an incumbent staffing roster.

Executive Order 14148 rescinded Executive Order 14055 on

January 20, 2025, and the Department of Labor subsequently removed its implementing regulations at 29 CFR Part 9.

Because these nondisplacement requirements are no longer in effect, there is no obligation for the Government to furnish incumbent staffing information.

While not required, we strongly encourage successor contractors to consider hiring qualified incumbent personnel when feasible, as this supports continuity of operations, preserves institutional knowledge, and may reduce transition time due to existing security credentialing

For planning and proposal development purposes, please provide the current or most recent contract number, period of performance, total contract value, and incumbent contractor supporting this Environmental Management Services requirement.

36C24626N0543, 4/01/2026-6/30/2026, $310,235.61, Accord Federal Services LLC

Please confirm which Environmental Management Services equipment will be Government-Furnished and which equipment will be Contractor-Furnished. If Government-Furnished Equipment is available, please provide an equipment inventory list identifying major floor care, cleaning, and housekeeping equipment available for contractor use.

The government will provide the ultra violet (UV) disinfection machine. All other equiptment needed will be Contractor-

Furnished.

I am seeking clarity on the certification requirements from the solicitation document, page 5 of 6, 1.5. Work Schedule: This section refers to an On-Site Supervisor CHEST requirement. Later, on Page 16 of 17, 25 of 26, and 30 of 31 it speaks of a CEH (now referred to as a CESE and RESE) performing the Supervisor functions. Can you please confirm which certification is required for the Supervisor position?

The certification needed is CHEST. The reference to "CEH" will be removed from those areas and replaced with CHEST.

See revised PWS.

The site visit was June 16, 2026; questions are due June 18, 2026, and quotations are currently due the morning of June 22, 2026. Would the Government consider a brief extension to provide offerors with sufficient time to evaluate site-visit information, receive and incorporate Government responses to questions, and prepare complete and competitive quotations?

The due date for quotes is being extended through this amendment.

Section E.2, Evaluation of Commercial Products and Commercial Services, references both a "Quality Control Plan Outline" and states that the Quality Control Program (QCP) shall be submitted with the quote. Additionally, Section 5.6 of the PWS states that the Contractor shall provide a copy of its Quality Control Program to the COR within 15 days after contract award. Please clarify whether offerors are required to submit a full Quality Control Plan as part of their quotation, or if the Government intends for offerors to provide only a Quality Control Plan outline/approach at the time of proposal submission, with the full Quality Control Program to be submitted after award in accordance with PWS Section 5.6.

The quality control plan outline/ approach at time of proposal submission, with the full quality control program to be submitted after award.

The PWS states that the Contractor shall maintain a Certified Healthcare Service Technician (CHEST) supervisor "on site" for 2nd and 3rd shifts who can be contacted by phone and respond within one hour for emergent situations. Please clarify whether the Government requires the CHEST supervisor to be physically present on-site throughout the entirety of the 2nd and 3rd shifts, or if the Government intends for the CHEST supervisor to be available by phone and able to respond on-site within one hour when required.

The CHEST supervisor must be physically present on site throughout the entire 2nd and 3rd shifts.

The Performance Work Statement references maintaining a Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Professional (CHESP). Please clarify which position(s) are required to hold the CHESP certification (e.g., Program Manager, Supervisor, or other designated personnel) and whether equivalent healthcare environmental services certifications will

The CHESP will be on 1st shift to maintain training. Their title is up to contract team ( Program Manager, Supervisor , or General Foreman) No other healthcare environmental service certificates will be considered.

The Performance Work Statement requires a Certified Healthcare Service Technician (CHEST) Supervisor on 2nd and 3rd shifts. Please confirm whether the CHEST certification is a requirement or whether equivalent healthcare environmental services certifications will be considered acceptable.

All supervisors must be CHEST Certified

If CHESP and/or CHEST certifications are required for proposed management or supervisory personnel, will the Government permit otherwise qualified personnel to be proposed provided the required certification is obtained within a specified period after contract award (e.g., six months)? If so, please identify any allowable certification attainment period.

The CHESP and CHEST certifications have to be obtained within the first 30 days

Is the staffing identified in Section 1.5 of the Performance Work Statement considered a mandatory minimum staffing requirement or an estimated staffing model?

Mandatory minimum

Can the Government provide historical staffing levels utilized by the incumbent contractor for this requirement?

Information for historcical staffing will not be accurate for this requirement as the scope has increased.

14 What is the current contractor’s average staffing level by shift

The current contract staffing levels will not be accurate as this requirement has increased in scope.

Are any incumbent employees expected to be covered under successor contractor requirements pursuant to the Service Contract Labor Standards? Is the current staff fulfilling the contract satisfactorily and are they looking to remain employed?

See question 2.

Has the scope of work changed from the current contract? If so, please identify any significant additions or reductions.

Yes. The floor crew has been added.

Can the Government provide floor plans, area maps, or detailed cleaning schedules for all buildings included in the requirement?

All square footage has been listed for the areas in the contract.

Cleaning frequency has been attached. Site visit has already been held.

Are consumable supplies such as restroom paper products, hand soap, trash liners, and sanitizer contractor-furnished or Government-furnished?

Government furnished

19 Will secure storage space be provided for contractor equipment, supplies, and chemicals? Yes

Will the contractor have access to utilities for charging equipment and performing routine equipment maintenance?

Yes. Charging and maintance to be accomplished in space provided.

Can the Government provide the required frequencies for floor stripping, refinishing, burnishing, carpet extraction, and other floor maintenance services?

It is in the Schedule of Cleaning - Procedure - Tasks/Frequency Table

Are there approved floor-care products or manufacturer specifications that contractors must utilize?

Government to provide the products.

23 Is historical floor maintenance workload data available for review? No

Must the required CHESP and CHEST-certified personnel be employees of the prime contractor, or may they be employed by a subcontractor?

Yes, they must be employeed by Prime contractor.

Must CHESP and CHEST certifications be in place at the time of quote submission, or only prior to contract performance?

Within 30 days after contract awarded.

26 Will a transition period be provided between the incumbent contractor and the successful awardee? The successful awardee will start performance on 09/01/2026.

27 Will any incumbent equipment or inventories be available for transfer or purchase? Government does not have that control to answer

28 What level of background investigation, credentialing, or badging will be required for contractor personnel? This will have to go through our PIV service

29 What is the anticipated onboarding timeline for contractor personnel after award?

Depending on PIV availability and length for suitablity.

Roughly 1-4 weeks

Can the Government clarify if the QCP must be submitted with the quote? Section 5.6 point 1 says 15 days after contract award but under Section E2:

Evaluation on page 48 it states with quote.

The quality control plan outline/ approach at time of quote submission, with the full quality control program to be submitted after award.

Can the CHESP certification be submitted for the Certified Environmental Services Executive (CESE) which was changed from Certified Housekeeping Executive (CEH) which has been the requirement on most VA contracts.

The certifications needed is CHESP & CHEST. The reference to "CEH" will be removed from those areas and replaced with

CHEST. See revised PWS.

The PWS states the contractor will provide additional manpower support to backfill 1st and 2nd shift EMS housekeepers for patient care cleaning upon request.

Please clarify whether this EMS backfill support is included in the fixed monthly CLIN price or whether backfill support will be separately authorized, tracked, and compensated through a modification or separate request.

The PWS has been updated to remove this requirement.

The PWS identifies approximately 414,000 square feet of administrative/non-clinical space and approximately 230,000 square feet of patient care/clinical space, for a combined total of approximately 644,000 square feet. Please confirm that 644,000 square feet is the correct total cleanable

The square footage is correct in the PWS.

The PWS includes Buildings 12 and 14W as administrative areas. Please clarify whether these areas have any special access restrictions, escort requirements, cleaning windows, or reduced cleaning frequencies that differ from the PWS cleaning frequency table.

These are restricted and police officer will be present when cleaning and will be held to the cleaning frequency table.

Please confirm whether Building 14E is included in the current solicitation scope. If included, please provide the applicable square footage, area type, cleaning frequency, and whether it should be priced as part of the administrative cleaning requirement.

14E is not part of the solicitation scope

The general tasks list includes “Interior and Exterior of windows and doors on first floor level,” while the Window Cleaning Interior paragraph states the contractor shall wash all windows on interior surfaces and is not responsible for the highest interior windows.

Please clarify the contractor’s exterior window cleaning responsibility, including height limitations and frequency.

The contractor will only be resposible for the interior windows except for doors.

The PWS references State “General Industry Safety Orders” and language that appears to discuss California state safety requirements, although the place of performance is Salisbury, North Carolina.

Please clarify whether this language applies to this requirement or whether Federal OSHA and applicable North Carolina requirements control.

The PWS has been updated.

Amendment 0003 previously confirmed that Section D Technical/Management Approach was limited to 25 pages and that resumes were included in the 25-page limitation. Please confirm whether the current solicitation maintains that same page limitation and whether resumes, certifications, licenses, and letters of commitment are included in the page count.

There has not been an amendment 0003 . Quotes must be submitted in accordance with the Instructions to Offerors.

Please confirm that offerors shall price labor using the applicable DOL Wage Determination occupational rates and required health and welfare/fringe benefits, even where those rates are higher than any applicable Executive Order minimum wage. If a different wage basis applies, please identify the controlling wage determination revision and labor rates offerors should

The Wage Determination (WD) included in the solicitation must be followed. However, because this is a firm fixed price contract, labor does not need to be listed as a separate line item.

Please clarify the square footage or boundaries where the building floor care under contract starts/ends in relation to the tunnel areas?

All G floors listed are the tunnel areas and all the tunnels that attach the buildings are the square footage of tunnels.

Some water stations had paper/plastic cup dispensers in very limited locations, will these need to be restocked ?

No

Are there any other budgets or decision makers that may make service-related requests within the scope of this contract? Outside the scope?

No

44 Has there been any change in the scope of work requirements since the last solicitation? Floor crew

45 How many employees are on each shift? Listed in the SOW 46 What is the total number of on-site contractor staff? Listed in the SOW

47 Should the 3rd Shift be 11:00PM-7:30AM? 1.4 HOURS OF OPERATION PAGE 5&6 No they will mirror the hours that the VA are scheduled

This section references CHEST/CHESP certification.

If a CHEST is required- will the contractor have the opportunity to hire the incumbent’s CHEST Supervisor (assuming they have a CHEST Supervisor)? 1.5 Work Schedule

See question 2.

49 Is the work scheudule from Monday to Friday or Monday-Sunday? 1.5 Work Schedule Monday thru Friday

This section states that the contractor will provide additional manpower support to backfill 2nd and 3rd Shift EMS housekeepers for patient care cleaning upon EMS Supervisor/On-site POC requests, Monday- Friday- what are the limitations to this request as it is open ended? 1.5 Work Schedule

See question 33.

This section states that the contractor will provide additional manpower support to backfill 2nd and 3rd Shift EMS housekeepers for patient care cleaning upon EMS Supervisor/On-site POC requests, Monday- Friday- this sounds like that if EMS has a call out on those shifts and the request comes to the contractor, the contractor is resposible to filling the EMS position for that day- what is the lead time for EMS to notify the contractor? 1.5 Work Schedule

See question 33.

This section states that the contractor will provide additional manpower support to backfill 2nd and 3rd Shift EMS housekeepers for patient care cleaning upon EMS Supervisor/On-site POC requests, Monday- Friday- historically, how many FTEs, on average, did the contrctor provide to backfill EMS? 1.5 Work Schedule

See question 33.

We are seeing that this section shows CEH and CHEST being used interchangeably, does this mean the contractor can have either a CEH (Now known as CESE/RESE) OR and CHEST? 5.2 Contractor Personnel

The certifications needed is CHESP & CHEST. The reference to "CEH" will be removed from those areas and replaced with

CHEST. See revised PWS.

54 We wanted to confirm that the proposal is due on 6/23/2026 at 0800 EDT, is that correct? SF1449

This amendment also extends the due date for quote submissions.

Included in the clause section is the addition of Executive Order 14026. Are we to pay $16.31 hourly according to the WDR in Attachment A, or does the inclusions of Executive Order 14026 mean that contractor's need to factor in $17.75 hourly for custodians?

See question 40.

This section states that the contractor will provide additional manpower support to backfill 2nd and 3rd Shift EMS housekeepers for patient care cleaning upon EMS Supervisor/On-site POC requests, Monday- Friday- the Pricing Schedule doesn't provide a CLIN for the contractor to provide pricing for the backfill request, how did contracting want the contractor to provide this pricing? 1.5 Work Schedule

This has been removed from the PWS.

In the RFQ section, the government is requesting the offer's quote to be assembled in 5 distinct sections. Is the government asking for 5 separate volume files or will one volume file with 5 distinct sections meet the requirements?

The section required in the Instructions to Offerors should be submitted as separate documents.

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