36C24921Q0009 0002.docx

Contract Opportunity Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

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* = Required Field Contract Opportunity Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation R614

SHREDDING SERVICES

37129 36C24921Q0009 01-11-2021

08:00 AM

CENTRAL TIME, CHICAGO, USA

N

SDVOSBC

561990 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 9 (90C)

NCO 9

1639 Medical Center Parkway, Suite 400 Murfreesboro TN 37129 Contracting Officer Crystal Baird crystal.baird@va.gov 615-225-5427 James H. Quillen VA Medical Center Corner of Lamont and Veterans Way Dogwood Avenue, Building 205 Mountain Home

TN

37684 The purpose of this amendment is to extend the closing date of the solicitation from 1/11/2021 at 8am CT to 01/19/2021 at 8am CT. Proposals will now be accepted until the new closing date of 01/19/2021.

The following is a list of questions that were submitted in response to the solicitation along with the answers submitted by the facility.

· There are three different standards for shredding listed in the solicitation. P. 4, h. references NIST 800-88 shredding guidelines, which has specific post-destruction measurements for material that are appropriate for NSA classified documents, which a medical facility rarely if ever generates. Same page part “j” states “all shredding shall be performed in accordance with Department of Veteran’s Affairs Directive 6371”.

· Directive 6371 was specifically created by the VA for its shredding requirements and states that material shall be shredded to the standard of “unrecognizable” and “unreconstructable”. It does not mention specific dimensions. Shredding to the particle size required by NIST 800-88 is onerous to the point of being cost prohibitive and cannot be accomplished effectively by a mobile shredding truck. Also, this process renders paper to dust, which must be landfilled rather than recycled, contrary to VA policy. Shredding to the point of dust also conflicts with what on page 8 appears to a solicitation requirement to recycle the shredded material. Can you please confirm that VA Directive 6371 will be the guiding document for shredding performance for this solicitation, and remove any references to NIST 800-88 and specific particle sizes?

· P. 7, 2. States “shred on-site to NAID® AAA standards” which again gives a specific measurement rather than the description used in VA Directive 6371. Though NAID standards are complementary to Directive 6371, can you please confirm that VA Directive 6371 is the guiding document for this solicitation?

Yes 6371 is our guidance, certificate of destruction stating “that all material covered by this service statement have been pulped to include total poundage per the terms of VA Directive 6371 (Per Privacy Compliance Assurance self-assessment guidance)

· P. 6, 9.a. Please clarify this requirement. We are a business registered in Kentucky as a domestic LLC (you can only register a business in one “home state”). Does this mean that our company must be registered as a foreign LLC in Virginia and Tennessee? If so, does this have to be accomplished prior to the solicitation closing? That will involve expenditure that cannot be recouped if the offeror is not awarded the contract, and it will take more time to finalize than is allowed by the bid close date. This is also not a typical requirement for a VA contract, can you please elaborate on why this requirement is included for this shredding solicitation when no other VA shredding contract requires it?

Contractor shall be a legally registered business.

· P. 7, 10., a. Historically have there been many changes in locations, bin quantities or servicing frequencies? No

· P. 7, 3. Please confirm that all locations listed need bi-monthly service as stated in this section.

We have different pick up per VAMC, outpatient Clinic two pickups per week 104 JB, one picks up every four weeks 13 JB, one pickup every week 52 JB.

· P. 8, 5. Regarding the section, the verbiage is lifted directly from the NAID® “Agreement for Responsible Disposal” (see attached) so any NAID AAA Certified vendor already has to enter into this type of agreement.

· Is NAID AAA Certification required for this solicitation? It appears so in section p. 9, section 8, but the wording “Participate in the NAID AAA Certification that requires…” is vague, and there is not a definitive statement in that section that states offerors must be NAID AAA Certified.

Privacy Compliance Assurance requires that the facility follows 6371 guidelines, with specification to FINAL destruction is conducted by an NAID certified contractor.

· P. 9, 8. Can you please clarify this section? Are you requiring NAID AAA Certification? Though VA Directive 6371 does not require this certification, it is frequently a specific requirement in shredding solicitations to assure quality performance through adherence to NAID’s strict standards – which cannot be audited by any organization except NAID. If you aren’t requiring this certification, who will be performing the required audits, how often and what standards must be met for the audits? YES, See answer above

· P. 10, Price Schedule. For this firm fixed price contract how should pricing be calculated? For example, it is typical to calculate pricing based on the size and number of bins to be serviced and frequency of service. It is also very important to know how many of each size bin is at each location. Please clarify these points and how we should price.

Current container sizes and Unit prices are on A.3 Price/Cost Schedule of the contract. (Container sizes APPROXIMATELY 146, 32 GALLONS AND 8 95-GALLON CONTAINERS)

· Will any media be presented for destruction? If so, will it be separated from the paper, and what are the types, quantities, and frequencies of services?

Small volumes also include placement of arm bands and IV bag labels, CD in facility shred bins

Accessibility

· For the main campus, how far apart are the buildings where service is needed? Less than a mile

· For all locations, will any bins be located above/below the ground floor? If so, are freight elevators available to move bins to/from ground level? Ground floor and elevators

· Please confirm if there is a loading dock, and is there a ramp to the ground? Yes

· Is there sufficient parking for our truck at each location/building for the time it will take to retrieve containers, shred the contents and return the containers? Yes

Incumbent

· Is there a current contract for the work being solicited? Yes

· If so, please provide that awarded contract number or task order number (NOT the incumbent GSA contractor number). 36C24920P0324

· Please provide the name of the incumbent contractor and when the contract is ending. Shred-It USA LLC, March 2021

· Please provide the annual contract amount. $86,788.00

· Is the level of effort being performed under the current contract fundamentally the same as what will be required to fulfill # 36C24921Q0009_1? Yes If not, please explain how the work will be different under this solicitation.

How long does it take for the incumbent to perform the bi-monthly service at the larger locations? Approximately 5-6 hours

I would like to know if the government can provide a breakdown of the types and quantities of bin at each of the locations so that we may provide accurate pricing for the project. The statement of work lists the quantities of bins but not how they are to be allocated to each location.

Per Statement of Work

4. PLACES OF PERFORMANCE:

1. JHQVAMC, Mountain Home (Johnson City), TN 37684

1. Morristown VA Outpatient Clinic, 925 East Morris Blvd, Morristown, TN 37813

1. Rogersville VA Outpatient Clinic, 401 Scenic Drive, Rogersville, TN37857

1. William C. Talent VA Outpatient Clinic (WCTOPC), 8033 Ray Mears Blvd, Knoxville, TN 37888

1. WCTOPC Annex I - 1557 Downtown West Blvd, Suite 20-21, Knoxville, TN 37919

1. WCTOPC Annex II – 1521 Downtown West Blvd, Knoxville, TN 37919

1. Dannie A. Carr VA Outpatient Clinic, 1124 Blanton Dr., Sevierville, TN 37862

1. Campbell County VA Outpatient Clinic, 130 Independence Lane, LaFollette, TN 37757

1. Bristol VA Outpatient Clinic, 2525 Lee Highway, Bristol, VA 24202

1. Norton VA Outpatient Clinic, VA/KY Regional Center, 654 Highway 58 East, Norton, VA 24273

1. Mountain City VA Outpatient Clinic, 1141 Cold Springs Road, Mountain City, TN 37683

1. Veterans Recovery Leaning Center, 500 Washington Ave. Johnson City, TN 37684

Is state registration required before proposal submission or before performance? Yes

Request a breakout of the consoles by location? Same as “places of performances” above. Specific consoles may move within facility, vendor is kept apprise. APPROXIMATELY 146, 32 GALLONS AND 8 95-GALLON CONTAINERS)

As well as annual poundage per location? The facility does not have access to this information.