36C25526Q0654 0001_Amendment 1_Q and A_Final.pdf

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO. 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODECODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office.is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

1 9

36C255

Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office (NCO) 15 3450 S 4th Street Trafficway

Leavenworth KS 66048

36C255

Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office (NCO) 15 3450 S 4th Street Trafficway

Leavenworth KS 66048

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C25526Q0654

09-10-2026

X

X X

X ONE

The purpose of this amendment is to attach Questions and Answers.

No other changes are made. All other terms and conditions remain the same and in full force and effect.

Aubrey Visocsky Contracting Officer

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS – Telephone Operator Svcs KC

We would like to know if this is a brand new contract OR if there is (was) an incumbent performing these services. If not brand new, could you please provide the current / previous contract number?

KCVA had previously contracted this service, but has been internally supporting this since

June 2025. Previous contract number 36C10X23D0021.

Please provide historical call-volume and call-handling data for the Kansas City VAMC telephone operator operation, preferably for the most recent 12 months. If available, please include:

o Inbound calls offered by 15- or 30-minute interval, or the most granular interval available Avg 23,334/mo, 98.34% Handled

Month Calls Presented Calls Handled Percent Handled Sep-25 24742 24208 97.84 Oct-25 24663 24321 98.61 Nov-25 20413 20092 98.43 Dec-25 24156 23811 98.57 Jan-26 23788 23457 98.61 Feb-26 21809 21506 98.61 Mar-26 24601 24183 98.3 Apr-26 23516 23131 98.36

May-26 22228 21886 98.46 Jun-26 23788 23364 98.22 Jul-26 23801 23363 98.16

Aug-26 22503 22046 97.97 Grand Total 280008 275368 98.34 o Average Handle Time (AHT) Avg 27 Seconds

Month Avg Handle Time Max Handle Time Sep-25 0:00:33 0:18:27 Oct-25 0:00:29 0:17:52 Nov-25 0:00:27 0:21:47 Dec-25 0:00:26 0:13:30 Jan-26 0:00:27 0:22:26 Feb-26 0:00:27 0:41:52 Mar-26 0:00:29 0:38:06 Apr-26 0:00:27 0:28:59

May-26 0:00:26 0:21:42 Jun-26 0:00:25 0:32:39 Jul-26 0:00:26 0:15:52

Aug-26 0:00:25 0:12:52 o Average talk time and after-call work, if tracked See “Handle Time” data above.

o Historical Average Speed of Answer (ASA) Avg 9 Seconds

Month Avg Speed of Answer Sep-25 0:00:09 Oct-25 0:00:08 Nov-25 0:00:08 Dec-25 0:00:08 Jan-26 0:00:08 Feb-26 0:00:08 Mar-26 0:00:09 Apr-26 0:00:09

May-26 0:00:08 Jun-26 0:00:10 Jul-26 0:00:09

Aug-26 0:00:11 o Historical abandonment rate Avg 1.54%

Month Calls Abandoned Percent Abandoned Sep-25 468 1.89 Oct-25 324 1.31 Nov-25 305 1.49 Dec-25 329 1.36 Jan-26 315 1.32 Feb-26 288 1.32 Mar-26 390 1.59 Apr-26 364 1.55

May-26 310 1.39 Jun-26 409 1.72 Jul-26 369 1.55

Aug-26 433 1.92 o Peak-hour and peak-day call volumes Sep 2025-Aug 2026

Day of Week Sum of Handled Percent of Handled Sunday 6288 2.28% Monday 61340 22.28% Tuesday 55320 20.09% Wednesday 52521 19.07% Thursday 47535 17.26% Friday 44836 16.28% Saturday 7528 2.73% Grand Total 275368

Hour of Day Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Grand Total

12:00:00 AM 30 39 40 54 42 43 61 309

12:30:00 AM 38 36 37 38 36 31 44 260

1:00:00 AM 21 20 31 48 30 50 37 237

1:30:00 AM 27 29 35 25 23 41 29 209

2:00:00 AM 20 16 24 23 30 33 24 170

2:30:00 AM 14 21 21 37 19 31 22 165

3:00:00 AM 16 22 20 20 36 19 18 151

3:30:00 AM 18 23 29 14 15 28 30 157

4:00:00 AM 14 37 33 26 33 28 25 196

4:30:00 AM 19 47 41 35 23 45 37 247

5:00:00 AM 25 50 49 48 51 49 36 308

5:30:00 AM 22 81 48 95 60 76 36 418

6:00:00 AM 54 129 112 138 95 116 74 718

6:30:00 AM 52 218 178 187 202 173 76 1086

7:00:00 AM 90 579 467 465 438 381 128 2548

7:30:00 AM 112 1113 956 881 766 709 151 4688

8:00:00 AM 159 3535 2753 2493 2295 2076 237 13548

8:30:00 AM 133 3589 2906 2716 2592 2223 299 14458

9:00:00 AM 224 4029 3402 3147 2897 2705 324 16728

9:30:00 AM 272 3917 3504 3350 2989 2856 361 17249

10:00:00 AM 241 3954 3515 3385 2966 2793 317 17171

10:30:00 AM 238 3873 3411 3301 3001 2796 335 16955

11:00:00 AM 252 3742 3312 3201 2809 2715 348 16379

11:30:00 AM 234 3333 3219 2898 2683 2518 335 15220

12:00:00 PM 233 3016 2707 2545 2456 2404 309 13670

12:30:00 PM 210 2945 2797 2591 2333 2314 274 13464

1:00:00 PM 250 3194 2829 2719 2542 2493 276 14303

1:30:00 PM 243 3121 2952 2798 2482 2496 285 14377

2:00:00 PM 213 2968 2821 2939 2524 2408 230 14103

2:30:00 PM 240 2948 2919 2657 2472 2363 249 13848

3:00:00 PM 231 2830 2681 2589 2314 2229 230 13104

3:30:00 PM 175 2527 2278 2242 2134 1831 249 11436

4:00:00 PM 196 1703 1619 1498 1308 1230 277 7831

4:30:00 PM 257 1043 982 916 740 628 280 4846

5:00:00 PM 263 555 525 431 335 323 208 2640

5:30:00 PM 195 330 354 302 251 257 140 1829

6:00:00 PM 201 270 267 285 214 208 156 1601

6:30:00 PM 155 230 231 206 208 196 146 1372

7:00:00 PM 130 211 210 179 189 139 137 1195

7:30:00 PM 139 184 190 182 165 154 139 1153

8:00:00 PM 121 174 160 171 129 113 105 973

8:30:00 PM 135 138 126 139 136 102 86 862

9:00:00 PM 86 100 136 119 118 92 79 730

9:30:00 PM 86 120 108 92 94 79 84 663

10:00:00 PM 54 103 106 92 83 86 68 592

10:30:00 PM 50 83 76 74 63 59 33 438

11:00:00 PM 56 53 45 67 60 51 53 385

11:30:00 PM 44 62 58 63 54 46 51 378

Grand Total 6288 61340 55320 52521 47535 44836 7528 275368 o Any material day-of-week or seasonal variations Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday see the higher call volumes of the week.

Please clarify whether the staffing levels identified in PWS Sections 7.3 and 7.4 are minimum staffing floors or the Government’s expected total staffing levels for each tour.

The staffing level identified in sections 7.3 and 7.4 are the Government’s expected total staffing levels for each tour.

PWS Section 7.6.2 identifies four operator workstations and one supervisor workstation. If actual workload requires more than four simultaneous operators to achieve the PWS service levels, please clarify whether additional Government-furnished workstations, remote capability, or other concurrent operator capacity will be available.

Historical call volume indicates that no more than four operators and one Supervisor should be required to achieve the PWS service levels.

If available, please provide any recent staffing, workload, or performance reports that show the relationship between call volume, staffing levels, ASA, abandonment rate, and peak-period performance.

Based on historic call volumes, the “Standard” staffing levels below were maintained, with intermittent “Minimum” staffing levels to support employee’s use of Annual/Sick leave.

Shift Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

12 AM – 8 AM Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

7:30 AM – 4 PM Min: 2 Std: 2

Min: 3 Std: 4

Min: 3 Std: 4

Min: 3 Std: 4

Min: 3 Std: 4

Min: 3 Std: 4

Min: 2 Std: 2

4 PM – 12 AM Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

One additional clarification regarding the operational environment:

5. Ticketing / Incident Management System:

PWS Section 8.6 requires operators to maintain logs of equipment malfunctions and service complaints, verify reported malfunctions when requested, and report issues to OI&T. Please identify whether KCVAMC currently uses an electronic ticketing, incident-management, or IT service-management system for these activities.

o If so, please identify the system and clarify:

Contractor personnel will be able to submit help desk tickets utilizing the VHA’s “YourIT” electronic, IT managed, ticketing system and/or directly calling the “Enterprise Service Desk” to speak to an agent that will assist in submitting the YourIT ticket.

o Whether contractor personnel will be provided Government access;

Yes, contractor personnel will be provided access to submit tickets via YourIT.

o Whether system-specific training will be provided by the Government;

Please see page 68 of the RFQ, Paragraph 4(b) Training Plan.

o Whether operators are expected to create, update, track, and close tickets;

Operators would be expected to create the ticket and provide information to Supervisor for tracking to ensure issue resolution.

o Whether ticketing/documentation time is included in historical Average Handle Time or other workload measurements; and

Ticketing/documentation time is not a metric we monitored.

o Whether the contractor is expected to provide any separate ticketing or tracking system.

Contractor is not expected to provide a separate ticketing or tracking system. All tickets will be submitted via the VHA’s “YourIT” ticketing system.

Break and Lunch Coverage

PWS Section 7.2 identifies scheduled lunch and break periods, while Sections 7.3 and 7.4 establish minimum staffing levels by tour. Please clarify whether the minimum staffing levels must remain continuously available and at the operator workstations during employee lunch and break periods, or whether temporary reductions during scheduled breaks are permissible.

The Operator space includes a restroom (including sink), microwave and mini fridge. During periods when only one team member is on shift, the team member must stay in the operator space to address calls. When multiple staff members are on shift, temporary reductions to accommodate scheduled breaks/lunch periods are permissible.

Credentialing, PIV, and Day-One Access Please clarify the expected process and typical lead time for Tier 1/Low Risk background processing, PIV/identification issuance, system-access provisioning, and required VA/KCVAMC training for newly assigned personnel. For qualified incumbent personnel who may transition to the successor contractor, please advise whether existing favorable determinations, PIV credentials, system accounts, or completed training may remain valid or be transferred/revalidated for continued performance.

There is not a current Operator contract in place. Kansas City VA employees are performing these duties. There is no successor-employee for transition.

Personnel Security Requirement The PWS references maintaining the required VHA “security clearance,” while VAAR 852.204-72 identifies the Operator and Supervisor/PM positions as Tier 1/Low Risk and lists Tier 3 and Tier 5 as not applicable. Please confirm whether the personnel requirement is a favorable Tier 1 fitness/background determination rather than a national-security clearance.

In using the Position Designation Tool on Page 46 of the RFQ this position came back as Non- Sensitive, Low Risk, Tier 11, and Low Tier.

SLA Measurement Methodology Please clarify how the call-handling standards will be calculated and evaluated. Specifically:

o What measurement interval will be used for Average Speed of Answer (e.g., 15-minute, 30-minute, hourly, daily, or monthly)?

Reports are currently available via the “Cisco Unified Intelligence Center” reporting system and allow for reporting in 30-minute, hourly, daily, and monthly intervals.

o How will the requirement that no individual call ring longer than 30 seconds be measured against the QASP AQL?

Cisco Unified Intelligence Center reporting system provides reports that include Ring Time.

Monthly reports would be used to ensure 95% of calls have a ring time of less than 30 seconds.

o How is abandonment rate calculated, and are short abandons excluded from the calculation?

Cisco Unified Intelligence Center reporting system has a report that includes data for “With

Abandoned Calls Counted Positively” (short abandoned calls) and “With Abandoned Calls Counted Negatively”; allowing for short abandoned calls to be excluded from the calculations.

o Are transferred, internal, emergency, or other call types excluded from any of the performance calculations?

All incoming call types are included in the performance calculations.

Call Reporting, Supervisor, and Quality-Control Access

Please clarify what system access will be provided to the Contractor Project Manager/Supervisor for Cisco Finesse, Cisco Jabber, and associated reporting tools. Please indicate whether the Contractor will have access to:

Program Access Contracted Staff Contracted Supervisor WebEx (replaced Cisco Jabber) Y Y Cisco Finesse Y Y Cisco Unified Intelligence Center N Y Cisco Unified CCX Supervision N Y o Real-time queue and staffing dashboards;

Yes, via Cisco Finesse.

o Historical call-detail and performance reports;

Yes, via Cisco Unified Intelligence Center.

o ASA, abandonment, and call-volume reporting;

Yes, via Cisco Unified Intelligence Center.

o Supervisor monitoring functionality; and Yes, vis Cisco Finesse, Cisco Unified Intelligence Center, and Cisco Unified CCX Supervision.

o Call recordings, if recordings are maintained, for internal quality-control purposes.

No, current programs do not include this functionality.

Incumbent Workforce and Transition Information To support continuity of operations and a timely transition, please advise whether the Government can identify the current incumbent contractor and provide any permissible information concerning the incumbent workforce, such as current staffing levels, vacancies, tenure, or other transition-relevant staffing information. Please also clarify whether any successor-employee, nondisplacement, or right-of-first-refusal requirements apply to this acquisition.

There is not a current Operator contract in place. Kansas City VA employees are performing these duties. There is no successor-employee, nondisplacement, or right-of-first-refusal in place.

Performance Meeting Frequency The solicitation references both bi-monthly performance evaluation meetings and at least quarterly performance meetings. Please clarify the required performance-review meeting frequency.

Expectation for contractor to provide monthly performance reports and participate in quarterly performance meetings.

Staffing AQL Clarification The QASP requires 100% of required hours to be covered with no uncovered shifts, while another provision identifies an AQL of 98% of tours meeting minimum staffing requirements. Please clarify the intended performance standard and how these two provisions should be interpreted together.

Continuous Coverage Requirement (100%):

The Operator space must be staffed 24/7 with no gaps in coverage. At no time should the space be left unmanned. This means a minimum of one operator must always be present, without exception.

Minimum Staffing Requirement (98% AQL):

Separately, the QASP identifies a minimum staffing level for each shift (e.g., standard staffing of 4 during weekday day shifts, with a defined minimum of 3). The AQL allows for occasional, short-duration deviations.

For example, during weekday day shifts, staffing may temporarily fall to 3 employees—as long as this occurs no more than 2% of the total tours and never results in the space being unstaffed.

Pre-Performance Onsite Access Will the successful contractor be provided pre-performance onsite access to the Kansas City VA Medical Center for transition activities? If so, please identify the anticipated number of transition days available and any limitations on contractor personnel who may participate.

Yes, onsite access will be provided. A 2-week (14-day) transition period will be provided, with a training space limitation that will accommodate up to 4 staff per shift.

Permitted Transition Activities

Prior to October 1, will the successful contractor be permitted to coordinate with appropriate Government personnel regarding activities such as:

o Facility and switchboard walkthroughs

Yes.

o Coordination with the COR and service representatives

Yes.

o OI&T / telecommunications systems familiarization

Yes.

o PIV, badging, personnel-security, and system-access initiation

Yes.

o VA/KCVAMC orientation and required training

Yes.

o Review of local operating procedures, emergency procedures, and escalation protocols

Yes.

o Staffing and schedule validation

Yes.

o Coordination with current switchboard personnel or the incumbent contractor, if authorized by the Government Yes.

Government Availability During Transition

Shift Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

12 AM – 8 AM Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 1

7:30 AM – 4 PM Min: 2 Std: 2

Min: 3 Std: 4

Min: 3 Std: 4

Min: 3 Std: 4

Min: 3 Std: 4

Min: 3 Std: 4

Min: 2 Std: 2

4 PM – 12 AM Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

Min: 1 Std: 2

If pre-performance transition activities are authorized, will representatives from OI&T/telecommunications, PIV/security, training, the requiring activity, and current switchboard operations be available to support transition coordination?

Yes, representatives are available during normal business hours (M-F 8a-3p).

Anticipated Award / Transition Window Does the Government have an anticipated award date for this solicitation? Given the October 1, 2026 start of performance, this information would assist offerors in developing a realistic transition and mobilization schedule.

The anticipated award date for this solicitation is still October 1, 2026 unless the station decides it would be beneficial to delay it for transition. The dates listed in the solicitation are tentative upon evaluations in regards to technically acceptable quotes and fair & reasonable pricing.

Incumbent-to-Successor Operational Handoff Does the Government anticipate any formal overlap, turnover, knowledge-transfer, or operational handoff period between the incumbent contractor and the successful contractor? If so, please describe the anticipated duration and activities.

Yes, a 2-week transition period will be provided with current staff performing telephone operator duties, including shadowing and side-by-side training.

Credentialing and System Access Prior to October 1

May the successful contractor initiate Tier 1/Low Risk personnel vetting, fingerprinting, PIV/badging, network-account requests, and required system-access actions immediately following award and prior to October 1? For qualified incumbent personnel who already possess current VA credentials or system access, can existing credentials or access be retained, transferred, or otherwise recognized where permitted?

Yes. There are no current incumbent personnel to be retained, transferred, or otherwise recognized as there is NOT a contract in place at this time.

Treatment of Pre-Performance Transition Costs

Should costs associated with authorized pre-performance transition activities, including personnel labor, travel, credentialing, orientation, training, and mobilization, be included in the Base Year firm-fixed-price CLIN, or does the Government anticipate another method of handling authorized transition costs?

Coordination may take place after award, with majority of onboarding items completed after

10/1/2026, during the 2-week transition period.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS – Telephone Operator Svcs KC