36C24821Q0019 0002.docx

Contract Opportunity Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

PRODUCT SERVICE CODE

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CONTRACTING OFFICE'S

ZIP-CODE

SOLICITATION NUMBER

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RESPONSE DATE/TIME/ZONE

ARCHIVE

DAYS AFTER THE RESPONSE DATE

RECOVERY ACT FUNDS

SET-ASIDE

NAICS CODE

CONTRACTING OFFICE

ADDRESS

POINT OF CONTACT

(POC Information Automatically Filled from User Profile Unless Entered)

DESCRIPTION

See Attachment

AGENCY'S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT'S EMAIL

ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

ADDRESS

POSTAL CODE

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

GENERAL INFORMATION

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

* = Required Field Contract Opportunity Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation R614 FY21: On-Site Document Shredding 33744 36C24821Q0019 10-20-2020 3pm

EASTERN TIME, NEW YORK, USA

N

SDVOSBC

561990 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 8 (

NCO 8)

Room 315, Bldg. 2 10,000 Bay Pines Blvd Bay Pines FL 33744 Annette Whitfield-Johnson 727-399-3333 annette.whitfield@va.gov Annette.Whitfield@va.gov Department of Veterans Affairs 10000 Bay Pines Blvd Bay Pines FL 33744

USA

https://va.gov Department of Veterans Affairs Website Annette.Whitfield@va.gov Annette Whitfield-Johnson FY21: On-Site Shredding Vendor Questions Clarification Vendor Questions/Answers Amendment 0002

The purpose of this amendment is to confirm that this solicitation is a 100% SDVOSB set-aside and clarify the following questions:

10. Do you want the rolling containers to have a slot in the lid through which to insert documents to be destructed?

Answer: Any containers provided with wheels must be in a secured area of the locations to prevent their content from being read by individuals with no official business need or right to access the data contained in them.

· The answer doesn’t address whether or not the rolling containers need to have a slot in the lid or be “slot-less”. Can you please confirm this as it affects the cost of the containers, increasing the price by about 50% if slot-less lids are required.

· Clarified Answer: All containers must be locked and have the ability to allow VA personnel to deposit sensitive documents for shredding.

12. How is the license in B different from NAID AA Certification? Please describe what license you are requesting.

Answer: A NAID certification is not required. However, non-NAID certified contractor(s) must be able to satisfy the standards outlined in Attachment C, VA Directive 6371 of the solicitation.

· P. 5, 5.C. states that “The Contractor shall be National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) certified…” which is a common requirement for VA shredding contracts. Is this sentence being removed from the solicitation? My question was about 5.B., not 5.C. Is 5.C. still part of the solicitation?

· Clarified Answer: Yes, although NAID certification is not required per VA Directive 6371, the contractor is still required to be bonded and insured.

18. Payments. If this is a firm-fixed price contract, and traditionally VA shredding contracts of this size pay for all containers to be serviced on a specific frequency, and such service includes inspecting each container on site, why will there need to be discussion on whether or not a container needs servicing? Will a VA employee be present at each stop when the driver arrives, and accompany him to each container and inspect it with the driver without slowing down the process? Who makes the final decision on servicing a container – is there an existing guideline to follow to determine the need? Please elaborate on this condition, and also clarify if the agency is saying that rental fees can be incorporated into the pricing. If the latter, where should those be listed?

Answer: Servicing means the bins should be replaced if damaged such as not having the ability to be locked. Once the contract is awarded, there will be a walk-through of where the bins at each location are to be places. All pricing should be incorporated in Attachment A, Revised Price Cost Schedule.

· Perhaps I did not write it well, but the question is about invoicing and payment. With a VA shredding contract it is typical to invoice what was bid since it is a firm fixed price contract. Section 12, Payments appears to be stating that the government will decide whether or not a bin should be emptied, which is highly unusual and means this is more of an IDIQ contract. This needs clarification as everyone making an offer will almost certainly assume that they will be paid what they bid.

· Clarified Answer: The government will not decide whether a bin should be emptied. All bins at each location, containing documents for shredding are to be emptied by the contractor.

Finally, awarded VA contracts including pricing are public knowledge via usaspending.gov as long as you know the company name and contract number. Information about the incumbent such as what I asked is always answered by the CO/CS during the Q&A and is sometimes even included within the solicitation since the CS knows it is going to be asked. Why does the Agency respond for this particular solicitation that getting basic information about the incumbent requires a FOIA? This makes absolutely no sense, can you kindly explain why this information is being restricted?

Clarified Answer: It’s BPVAHCS standard operating procedure that all requests for previous contracts information is handled through a FOIA request.

****There will be no further responses as the period for asking questions has expired****