Draft PWS Pyxis Maintenance.docx

Performance Work Statement (PWS) – BD Carousel

1. Introduction / Purpose The Veterans Health Administration, Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center requires continued preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, software support, and lifecycle management services for the BD Pharmacy Carousel automated dispensing and storage system(s). These services are essential to ensuring uninterrupted, safe, and efficient pharmacy operations by maintaining all hardware, firmware, and software components in optimal working condition.

2. Background The Robert J. Dole VAMC Pharmacy Service utilizes BD Carousel automated storage and retrieval systems to manage medication inventory and support dispensing workflows. The systems are critical to daily operations, and any downtime directly affects medication safety, patient care, and overall workflow efficiency. To maintain full operational capability, the Government requires a qualified contractor—either the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or an authorized service provider—to support and sustain Carousel equipment and associated components.

3. Scope of Work The Contractor shall provide all labor, supervision, tools, test equipment, replacement parts, software updates/licensing, and management necessary to perform comprehensive preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, software support, and hardware upgrades for the BD Carousel system(s). All services shall be performed in accordance with OEM specifications and applicable industry standards. All services must be performed by authorized OEM technicians.

The scope includes:

· Hardware maintenance (mechanical, electrical, electronic components)

· Software maintenance, patches, updates, version upgrades

· Technical/help desk support

· Emergency and unscheduled repair services

· Preventive maintenance inspections

· Interface support with VA pharmacy information systems

· Replacement of label printers and barcode scanners

· Procurement, installation, and configuration of two additional BD Carousel workstations

4. Equipment Covered A detailed list of covered equipment from BD Carousel hardware, software, scanners, printers, and workstation components is maintained by the Pharmacy Service and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The Contractor shall service and support all equipment listed in Section 4.1.

4.1 Equipment Covered

5. Equipment Upgrade Requirements

5.1 Printer and Scanner Replacement

The Contractor shall furnish, install, configure, and integrate OEM-approved replacement label printers and barcode scanners. Replacement equipment shall:

· Be fully compatible with existing BD Carousel versions

· Meet or exceed print resolution, scan accuracy, and connectivity performance requirements

· Include necessary cabling, mounting hardware, and drivers

· Include OEM warranty coverage for the duration of the base year

· Follow VA-compliant disposal or return procedures for legacy equipment

5.2 Additional Workstations

The Contractor shall furnish, install, and configure two additional BD Carousel workstations with all required peripherals and licensing. Tasks include:

· Workstation hardware (any Carousel-specific peripherals) meeting the minimum specifications required by the current BD Carousel software version.

· All required BD Carousel client/application software licenses for the two (2) new workstations and peripherals handsets, printers and cradles.

· Network/interface configuration to connect the new workstations to the existing Carousel server/system and applicable pharmacy information system interfaces.

· Testing and validation to confirm the new workstations are fully operational and integrated with the existing Carousel environment prior to acceptance.

· Coordination with VA OIT for any required IP address assignment, domain join, antivirus/endpoint protection installation, and security scanning prior to going live, in accordance with VA Handbook 6500.

· As-built documentation identifying the location, configuration, and asset/equipment inventory tag information (coordinated with COR/Biomedical Engineering or IT Operations, as applicable) for all newly installed equipment.

5.3 Equipment Acceptance

All upgraded/replaced equipment (printers, scanners, and workstations) shall be subject to Government inspection and acceptance testing prior to final payment for that equipment. The Contractor shall coordinate a mutually agreeable date for installation and acceptance testing with the COR, with minimal disruption to ongoing pharmacy operations.

6. Specific Tasks

6.1 Preventive Maintenance

· The Contractor shall perform scheduled Preventive Maintenance (PM) inspections quarterly (four times per 12-month period of performance), in accordance with OEM-recommended maintenance schedules, unless a more frequent interval is specified by OEM documentation for a given component.PM shall include, at minimum: mechanical inspection and lubrication, calibration checks, sensor/scale verification, belt/motor inspection, software/firmware version verification, and system diagnostics.

PM visits shall be scheduled with the COR at least five (5) business days in advance and performed Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–4:30 PM local time, excluding federal holidays, unless an alternate time is approved in writing by the COR to minimize disruption to pharmacy operations. A PM Service Report/Checklist (see Section 7, Deliverables) shall be submitted to the COR within three (3) business days following each PM visit.6.2 Corrective Maintenance

· The Contractor shall provide remote and on-site corrective maintenance in response to equipment malfunction or failure.

6.2.1 Non-Critical Issues (system remains operational; dispensing not halted)

· Remote/Phone Response: Contractor shall acknowledge and begin remote troubleshooting within two (2) hours of a service call placed during Hours of Operation (Section 13).

· On-Site Response: If the issue cannot be resolved remotely, Contractor shall arrive on-site within twenty-four (24) calendar hours of the initial call.

· 6.2.2 Critical/System-Down Issues (medication dispensing halted or patient safety impacted)

· Remote Response: Contractor shall respond within one (1) hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of the Hours of Operation stated in Section 13.

· On-Site Response: If unresolved remotely within two (2) hours of initial contact, Contractor shall arrive on-site within eight (8) calendar hours.

· Critical issues take precedence over all non-critical and scheduled PM work.

· 6.2.3 All response-time clocks begin at the timestamp the COR or designated pharmacy staff places the service call or logs the ticket, whichever occurs first.

· 6.2.4 The Contractor shall furnish all replacement parts under this section at no additional cost to the Government, unless the part is explicitly identified as a Time & Materials (T&M) line item in the contract's pricing schedule.

6.3 Software Maintenance and Updates

· The Contractor shall maintain current licensing for all BD Carousel software components.

· The Contractor shall provide all manufacturer-released patches, security updates, and version upgrades during the period of performance at no additional cost, unless a major version upgrade is separately negotiated.

· All software updates affecting interfaces with VA systems (e.g., pharmacy information systems) shall be coordinated in advance with VA Office of Information and Technology (OIT) and tested in a non-production environment where available, prior to production deployment.

· The Contractor shall ensure all software changes comply with VA information security requirements (see Section 8.0).

6.4 Technical Support

· The Contractor shall provide telephone and/or remote diagnostic technical support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (24x7x365) for Critical/System-Down issues as defined in Section 6.2.2, and during standard Hours of Operation (Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–4:30 PM local time, excluding federal holidays) for all non-critical inquiries.

· The Contractor shall maintain a documented escalation path with named tiers (e.g., Tier 1 Help Desk, Tier 2 Field Engineer, Tier 3 OEM Engineering) and shall provide this escalation matrix to the COR within 30 calendar days of contract award and upon any revision.

· All support requests shall be logged with a unique ticket/case number, and a ticket log/summary shall be provided to the COR monthly or upon request.

· Support requests shall be logged with a ticket/case number and provided to the COR upon request.

6.5 Training

· The Contractor shall provide refresher training for pharmacy staff and super-users upon request and required training following any major software upgrade.

7. Deliverables Deliverables include:

All deliverables shall be submitted to the COR or designated stakeholders.

8. Period of Performance The period of performance includes the base year (12 months) with two optional one-year extension periods.

9. Security & Compliance Requirements The Contractor shall comply with all VA Handbook 6500 requirements, privacy guidelines, and security training mandates. Requirements include:

· All Contractor personnel requiring access to VA information systems or facilities shall complete required background investigations (e.g., position of trust determination) and VA privacy/security/PII training (e.g., VA Privacy and HIPAA Training, Information Security Awareness Training) prior to performance, in accordance with VA policy.

· The Contractor shall not remove any VA sensitive data, including PHI/PII, from VA premises without written authorization.

· Any remote access to VA systems shall be through VA-approved, encrypted connections (e.g., VA-approved VPN) in accordance with VA OIT requirements.

· The Contractor shall report any suspected or actual data breach or security incident to the COR and the VA Network Security Operations Center (NSOC) within one (1) hour of discovery, per VA incident reporting requirements.

10. Government-Furnished Property/Information The Government shall provide:

· Physical and escorted access to relevant pharmacy areas

· Network connectivity for diagnostics (as approved by OIT)

· COR coordination for scheduling and communication

11. Place of Performance Robert J. Dole VAMC Pharmacy 5500 E. Kellogg Dr.

Wichita, KS 67218

12. Contractor Personnel Qualifications Contractor technicians shall be OEM-trained or certified to perform maintenance on BD Carousel equipment and must provide proof of certification upon request.

13. Hours of Operation Standard (non-critical) maintenance, including scheduled PM visits, shall be performed Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM local time (Central Time, Wichita, KS), excluding the federal holidays listed below, unless an alternate schedule is coordinated in advance and approved in writing by the COR to minimize disruption to pharmacy operations.

This Hours of Operation restriction does not apply to Critical/System-Down response under Section 6.2.2, which shall be available 24x7x365 as specified therein.

Federal Holidays observed: New Year's Day, MLK Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day.

14. Performance Standards / Service Level Agreement (SLA) Performance metrics include:

Failure to meet standards may result in Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) impacts or invoice deductions.

15. Invoicing Invoices shall be submitted monthly through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) and must reference the associated contract/order number, service period, and detailed service descriptions.

16. Points of Contact Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR): Ronnette Graves, Administrative Officer – COR II Pharmacy Service POC: Jill Winslow, Pharmacy Tech Supervisor Contracting Officer (CO): Maria Espinosa, Contract Specialist

17. Applicable Standards

· VA Handbook 6500 – Information Security Program

· Joint Commission Medication Management Standards

· BD Manufacturer Technical Manuals

· Relevant FAR/VAAR clauses