36C24924Q0250.docx

****THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. This is not a solicitation for bids, proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. The responses received from interested contractors will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method.*****

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Network Contracting Office (NCO) 9, is conducting market research to identify potential sources which can provide the following supplies in support of the Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center - Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1030 Jefferson Ave., Memphis, TN 38104.

DISCLAIMER

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

Description/Specifications/Work Statement—VARIAN; ARIA/Eclipse/DoseLab/Velocity SSA (Software Support Agreement)

SECTION B:

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

FOR LIMITED HARDWARE CRITICAL COMPONENT SERVICE CONTRACT

1.1 EQUIPMENT IDENTIFICATION

A . Contractor shall furnish all necessary travel, labor, materials, tools, documentation, and parts including glassware and digital detectors (where applicable) required for the shared support of the systems listed in the Schedule of Equipment, located at the Lt. Col. Luke J. Weathers, JR VA Medical Center, 1030 Jefferson Ave., Memphis, TN 38104. Support shall be provided via VPN or on-site visits. This contract shall cover the period of October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025, during the designated hours of coverage, in accordance with all terms, conditions, provisions, schedules, and specifications of this solicitation. Contractor must have proven knowledge of all of the database software and hardware components and must demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the VAMC, that he/she is able to meet the requirement as outlined below.

Site configuration TPS Eclipse Hardware Refreshes SSA Aria – Aria for RadOnc – HIT5221 SSA Eclipse – Eclipse – HIT5221 SSA Velocity – Velocity GRIP – HVG2356 SSA DoseLab – DoseLap – HDL2004

1.2 DEFINITIONS/ACRONYMS

A. Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center - Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1030 Jefferson Ave., Memphis, TN 38104.

B. Biomedical Engineering- Chief, Biomedical Engineer or designated staff (138), telephone number: (901) 523-8990 x5246, VAMC room AEG19

C. CO - VAMC Contracting Officer, staff of Acquisition and Materiel Management Service.

D. COR - Contracting Officer's Representative, designated as a Biomedical Engineering Staff Member.

E. PM - Preventive Maintenance. Services which are periodic in nature and are required to maintain the equipment in such condition that it may be operated in accordance with its intended design and functional capacity with minimal incidence or inoperative conditions.

F. FSE - Field Service Engineer. A fully qualified individual who is authorized by the contractor to perform maintenance (corrective and preventive) services on the VAMC premises as defined in the terms of this contract.

G. ESR - Vendor Engineering Service Report (Service Tickets). Documentation of the services rendered for each incidence of work performance under the terms and conditions of the contract.

H. Acceptance Signature - Signature by VAMC employee indicating acceptance of FSE work completion or pending status as stated on ESR.

A. Contract service shall ensure that the equipment functions in conformance with the specifications used when the equipment was procured by the VAMC, and any updates, as well as following LATEST published standards/ specifications/regulations:

C. Contractor must provide the COR with the means to request and receive prompt emergency telephone support from an FSE, within _______1________ hours of the COR’s request. This emergency telephone call back service shall be provided / twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week at no extra charge to the Government. When VA personnel cannot resolve the problem with guidance from the call center, contractor has 4 normal work hours to arrive on-site.

1.5 EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE

A. MAINTENANCE

The scope maintenance includes and provides for Government performed shared maintenance with the following provisions:

5. Contractor provides all diagnostic troubleshooting dongles/keys for in house technicians to have full access to diagnostic menus.

For all work performed by the contractor, the contractor shall provide complete and original documentation indicating work performed, referencing the procedures followed, actual values obtained to the COR at the completion of the service.

1.6 PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE

A. The Contractor shall perform PM Service to ensure that equipment listed in the schedules performs in accordance with Section 4.3, Conformance Standards.

B. The date of PM service must be scheduled by the FSE with the COR at least a week in advance according to the schedule below. All exceptions to the preventive maintenance schedule and procedure shall be addressed and approved in advance with the COR. The time and frequency of preventive maintenance shall be based on the latest manufacturer’s specifications, and all Conformance Standards listed in Section 4.3, according to hours of use or months in service, and past PM dates.

C. Contractor shall provide the COR with a copy of the preventive maintenance procedures that the Contractor shall follow, including the manufacturer specifications and any additional procedures followed by the Contractor. PM services provided by the Contractor must include but are not limited to the following:

D. The Contractor shall provide complete and original documentation indicating PM work performed, referencing the procedures followed, actual values obtained to the COR at the completion of the PM service.

B. Contractor must provide prompt emergency telephone support to request service as defined in the section Hours of Coverage. Service calls to the Contractor requesting service are only authorized when they are received from the COR, CO, or designated equipment users. Outside of the equipment's hours of coverage, emergency on-site services require authorization by the COR under a separate purchase order. Service responses on calls from unauthorized personnel can result in nonpayment.

C. Response Time: Contractor's FSE must respond with a phone call to the COR _____1_______ hours after receipt of telephoned notification. If the problem can not be corrected by phone or VPN, the FSE shall commence work (on-site physical response) within _______4_______ normal hours of coverage after receipt of notification and shall proceed progressively to completion without undue delay. (For example, if hours of coverage are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Mon. through Fri., a two hour response means, if a call is placed at 4:15 p.m., Monday August 10th, the FSE must start on-site service before 9:45 a.m., Tuesday, August 11th, except when service outside hours of coverage is authorized by appropriate personnel.)

1.8 MAINTENANCE MATERIALS

A. The Contractor shall have ready access to all materials needed to maintain equipment to meet the Conformance Standards and shall make them available to its FSEs at no extra cost to the Government. This includes all: manufacturer operator and technical documentation (service manuals, operator manuals, parts list, schematics, etc.), test equipment, tools, diagnostic software, equipment software versions, all replacement parts, and all other materials needed to perform the necessary unscheduled and scheduled maintenance to the equipment.

B. PARTS: The Contractor shall have ready access to all equipment parts, including unique and high mortality replacement parts, in order to minimize downtime and meet equipment uptime requirements. Only new standard parts (manufactured by the maker of the equipment or equal thereto) or factory rebuilt parts shall be furnished by the Contractor used parts, or those removed from the same model of equipment shall not be installed without specific approval by the COR. All parts supplied by the Contractor shall be of current manufacture and have complete versatility with the presently installed equipment. All parts shall perform identically to the original equipment specifications. Contractor shall maintain quantity of parts, in such a manner as to be available for shipment within 24 hours of request.

C. SERVICE MANUALS: The VAMC shall not provide service manuals or service diagnostic software to the Contractor. The Contractor shall obtain, have on file, and make available to its FSEs all operational and technical documentation (such as: operational and service manuals, schematics, and parts list) which are necessary to meet the performance requirements of this contract.

D. TEST EQUIPMENT: the Contractor shall provide the VAMC with a copy of the current calibration certification of all test equipment which are to be used by the Contractor on VAMC's equipment. This certification shall also be provided on a periodic basis when requested by the VAMC. Test equipment calibration shall be traceable to a national standard.

1.9 EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS

All modifications, upgrades, updates, enhancements, etc., must be scheduled in advance with the COR. CO and COR must receive notice at least one week in advance before any equipment updates, upgrades, enhancements, and modifications are begun along with justification (if Vendor-suggested modification), estimated costs (if applicable), probable effect on equipment operation, and needs for new or additional inservice training.

1.10 REMOVAL OF EQUIPMENT

Approval of the COR and a VAMC equipment pass must be obtained before removing equipment to Contractor's plant. Removal of the equipment shall be done with no additional costs to the government. The Contractor will be responsible for loss or damage of equipment. No electronic or hard copy patient information will be removed from the VA Medical Center of Memphis.

1.11 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

A. Documentation in the form of ESRs must be furnished to the COR for all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance performed by the Contractor. Payment will not be certified by Biomedical Engineering if proper documentation is not provided.

C. Any additional charges claimed by the FSE/Contractor must be approved by the COR before the service is completed. A purchase order number must then be provided to the FSE/Contractor by the COR.

D. At times when work is authorized to be done outside normal working hours and Biomedical Engineering is not staffed, FSEs shall be required to log in and out with Security/Police Service at the VAMC entrance and receive proper identification badges. ESRs for these services, both completed and left in progress, will need an acceptance signature and left with the equipment user.

1.12 DOCUMENTATION/REPORTS

A. Documentation in the form of ESRs must be furnished to the COR for all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance performed by the Contractor. Payment will not be certified by Biomedical Engineering if proper documentation is not provided.

C. Any additional charges claimed by the FSE/Contractor must be approved by the COR before the service is completed. A purchase order number must then be provided to the FSE/Contractor by the COR.

1.13 PAYMENTS AND ADDITIONAL CHARGES

A. PAYMENTS: Invoices will be paid IN ARREARS on a __Monthly________ basis. The Contractor shall mail the invoices to the attention of Fiscal Service, Accounting Section. Invoices, MUST INCLUDE, at a minimum, the following information: Contractor name, purchase order number, period of service the billing covers, list of equipment items covered during the stated period of service.

B. REPORTING REQUIRED FOR SERVICES BEYOND THE CONTRACT SCOPE: The Contractor shall immediately, but not later than twenty-four (24) hours after discovery, notify the CO and the COR, IN WRITING of the existence or the development of any defects in, or repairs required to the schedule of equipment which the Contractor considers not to be responsible for under the terms of the contract. The Contractor shall furnish the CO and COR with a written estimate of the cost to make necessary repairs.

4.1 Contractor shall guarantee an uptime of 80% of contract hours per each month. Additionally if scheduled equipment is down for more than 4 consecutive days, Contractor can be fined 10% of contract cost per each occurrence. If equipment is not repaired within 1 week, Medical Center can pass on expenses such as sending patients to other facilities for treatment.

B. Equipment placed under maintenance contract for the first time shall be subject to inspection by the Contractor. Within a thirty (30) day period after award of the contract, the Contractor shall reject any equipment deemed to be in poor operating condition. Failure to reject such equipment shall constitute acceptance. Upon rejection, the CO and COR shall be notified in writing as to the specific item(s) of equipment deemed to be in poor operating condition. Failure to inspect the equipment prior to contract award will not relieve the Contractor from performance of the requirements of this contract.

C. The Contractor and Government shall perform scheduled preventive maintenance on contracted equipment manufacturer's specifications. Within a thirty-day period after award of the contract, the Contractor shall submit to the COR, at no cost, a copy of these preventive maintenance procedures that the Contractor and Government will follow. These procedures include a copy of the manufacturer's procedures, which must be followed at a minimum, and any additional preventive maintenance procedures the Contractor will provide.

D. The Contractor shall have fully qualified FSE performing all service on the equipment under contract. Within a thirty day period after the award of the contract, the Contractor shall submit a list of the fully qualified FSEs who shall perform the contracted service at this VAMC for each make and model of equipment on the equipment schedule. The list for each FSE performing work at this VAMC will include: their name, geographic location, length and type of experience maintaining medical equipment (specific to make and model of equipment), and their formal training (specific to the make and model of equipment).

1.16 COMPETENCY OF PERSONNEL SERVICING EQUIPMENT:

A. Each respondent must have an established business, with an office and full time staff. Generally, the Contractor shall have two years of successful experience in fully maintaining the full schedule of equipment for this contract. This staff includes two "fully qualified" FSEs who shall serve as the primary technician and backup for the servicing of the items listed on the schedule of equipment at this VAMC.

B. "Fully Qualified" is based upon training and on experience in the field. For training, the FSE(s) has successfully completed a formalized training program, for the equipment identified in the schedule of equipment. For field experience, the FSE(s) has a minimum of two years of experience (except for equipment newly on the market) performing preventive maintenance and equipment repairs on the equipment.

C. The FSEs shall be authorized by the Contractor to perform the maintenance services. All work shall be performed by "fully qualified" competent FSEs. The Contractor shall provide written assurance of the competency of their personnel and a list of credentials of approved FSEs for each make and model the Contractor services at the VAMC. The CO may authenticate the training requirements, request training certificates or credentials from the Contractor at any time for any personnel who are servicing or installing any VAMC equipment. The CO and COR specifically reserves the right to reject any of the Contractor's personnel and refuse them permission to work on the VAMC equipment.

D. If subcontractor(s) are used, they must be approved by the CO and COR; the Contractor shall submit any proposed change in subcontractor(s) to the CO for approval or disapproval.

1.17 IDENTIFICATION, PARKING, SMOKING, AND VA REGULATIONS:

The Contractor's FSE shall abide by all VAMC station policies and requires. The Contractor's FSEs shall wear visible photo identification at all times while on the premises of the VAMC. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to park in the appropriate designated parking areas. Information on parking is available from the VAMC Police/Security Service. The VAMC will not invalidate or make reimbursement for parking violations of the Contractor under any conditions. Smoking is prohibited at the VAMC at any location. Possession of weapons is prohibited. Enclosed containers, including tool kits, shall be subject to search. Violations of VA regulations may result in citation answerable in the United States (Federal) District Court, not a local district, state, or municipal court.

1.18 SPECIAL CONDITIONS

A. The Contractor shall support all system and third party software of the equipment, providing on site or remote (via VPN) support and repairs during normal hours of coverage. Telephone support will be provided by the Contractor during normal hours of coverage. The Contractor will provide provision revisions of all software that corrects functional flaws.

already purchased functionality of the covered software D. Maintenance releases that provide bug fixes, patches and other error corrections to covered software

Environment and identifies any hardware that is not current with requirements G. Help desk support that provides telephone support for both clinical applications as well as technical (service) issues H. SmartConnect™, a secure, easy-to-use tool that provides remote software support

online help, documentation updates, up-to-date news about Varian products, service bulletins FAQs and user tips

Options" M. 30% Discount from standard list price on Varian classroom education and on purchase of additional on-site training and N. 30% Discount from standard list price for any billable labor for work not covered by this agreement

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE