Questions and answers for 36C25626Q0430 Post.docx

Questions and answers for 36C25626Q0430

1. Can previous inspection reports be provided? There are some devices listed that don't have a clear description (i.e., 19 alarm devices and 130 special control). With the inspection reports, we'll be able to determine what these are. If inspection reports are not provided, can you please provide a more detailed description of what these devices are so we can determine the amount of effort required to test them?

See added attachments.

1. What is the current inspection and testing schedule for all annual inspections at each building? This could impact mobilization of technicians if annual inspections are not all performed in the same month. Alternatively, previous annual inspection reports will contain this information.

Station prefers the inspection and testing to be done in September.

1. Typically, the VA requires contractors to hold at least NICET Level II certifications to perform this work to ensure competent and qualified technicians are working on these life safety systems. Section II - Qualifications of Contractor, doesn't specifically identify any industry recognized certifications or qualifications, this leaves room for contractors with unqualified technicians with little to no experience working with these systems to perform this work. This introduces a tremendous amount of risk to the VA and their occupants and makes it difficult for qualified and competent contractors who possess these qualifications to compete against these low-cost unqualified contractors. Furthermore, there's no minimum experience requirements identified and typically the VA requires at least 3 to 5 years of verifiable fire alarm, sprinkler, and suppression inspection, testing and maintenance past performance to be considered for award based on the criticality of these life safety systems. Will the VA consider revising the qualification and past performance requirements to ensure proposals received from only competent and qualified contractors will be accepted for evaluation?

See updated SOW.

1. During the site walk it was mentioned that the engineering building was under construction and had a new panel. Assuming this is a new system, will this building need to be included in the scope? If so, can the as-built drawings for all equipment to be included in this scope be provided? Otherwise, please provide device counts for all equipment to be included in this contracts scope of work. If there is an installer’s warranty to be included for inspection and testing of these new devices, please identify which contract year these devices will require inspection and testing under this contract.

Buildings are listed in SOW.

1. It was mentioned during the site walk that there is one system in Building 1 with 17 nodes and standalone fire alarm systems in the Parking Deck, Leroy Pond building, and Engineering. Is this correct? These are not listed in Section III item I identifying the building covered under this contract.

4. Can you please provide a device breakdown for all equipment to be inspected and testing under this contract?

Buildings/equipment listed in SOW.

1. Can you please provide information on the type of cellular communicators that are onsite?

There is one at each panel.

1. Does the VA have a campus map showing which buildings are connected to Building 1 as nodes of the fire alarm system?

The VA maintains a list of nodes and what buildings the nodes are in.

1. What are the standard hours of operation for the work covered under this contract? Section I item E, states work to be conducted at times which present the least amount of disruption to the VHSO. Every VA we've worked in has a different interpretation of what type of work is considered disruptive. For the purposes of offering clear direction, what work is expected to be performed outside of regular business hours? Section VI item C defines regular business hours as 0730 to 1600, therefore we would like to know what work needs to be performed outside of these hours.

Fire alarm testing, emergency repairs, work that could affect or disrupt patient care of staff’s ability to perform their job duties, during normal business hours.

1. Section III Item C states "...in accordance with the most recent edition of NFPA...". Can you please specify the limit of recent? Is recent defined as the date of proposal submission? NFPA standards could change in the next 5 years, potentially requiring additional work that is presently unforeseen. We want to make sure that any new requirements in future editions of NFPA standards which introduce additional time or cost are not expected to be included in our price, or a contract modification will be provided to include the additional services.

Licensed vendors must maintain compliance with NFPA guidelines and standards.

1. Is Building Reports a requirement for this contract or are standard NFPA inspection reports acceptable?

9. If Building Reports is required, will the VA provide the contractor access to the existing database to maintain continuity of inspection results, or will the contractor be required to develop our own database from scratch using the existing barcodes?

9. If Building Reports is required, can you please confirm all devices are presently barcoded and if additional barcodes are needed for new or existing devices that a contract modification will be provided?

Follow methods used in the attached previous report.

1. Would the government consider revising the 2-hour on-site response time for unscheduled services to allow for a tiered response approach based on the severity of the issue? For example, 2-hours for urgent issues resulting in a non-functioning system, 4-hours for non-emergent conditions, and 24-hours for routine maintenance requirements?

See the SOW.

1. Section 3 Item G states receipts and invoices from suppliers for parts may be made available upon request from the COR or CO. We are committed to fair and reasonable pricing. However, requesting direct supplier receipts is excessive, as stated in FAR 15.403-3(a)(3), the Government should limit requests for data to that which is necessary. When replacement parts are needed, we will provide an itemized breakdown/material list of our sell price to the government (inclusive of overhead, profit, and risk which are proprietary to our business operations), which should be sufficient to determine price reasonableness without creating undue administrative burden. Supplier pricing, vendor names, and negotiated terms constitute proprietary confidential business information. Disclosing these receipts would reveal our trade secrets and supplier relationships, jeopardizing our ability to secure competitive pricing in the future. We respectfully request the VA not require invoices from supplier and evaluate our sell price to the VA for price reasonableness based on our itemized invoices. Can you confirm this will be acceptable?

SOW remains unchanged in this aspect.

1. Section III Item I lists buildings covered under this agreement, however, states it is not limited to this list. Can you please provide every building included in this scope of work, or remove "but not limited to"? This language leaves room for additional buildings to be added to the scope without the contractor having the ability to include this in our submitted offer. Or, can you confirm any additional buildings not listed here will be added through a contract modification?

See SOW.

1. Can you please confirm the VA will provide their elevator maintenance personnel to support elevator recall testing?

Yes.

1. Is there information available on the diesel and electric fire pumps such as size (gpm) rating (psi), manufacturer, etc?

See attached Report.

1. For the kitchen hood fire suppression systems, can you provide the following:

15. Manufacturer of each system.

15. Quantity and size of each cylinder.

15. Temperature rating and quantity of each type of fusible link throughout.

LRP has (2) Captive Aire Systems, Model #: 4224 ND-2, with ANSUL R-102 1.5 Gallon liquid agent restaurant fire suppression systems in each hood.

The main patient kitchen fire suppression system is supplied with (2) Kiddie Fire Systems WHDR-600, 6 Gallon tanks.

1. Section III Item P.2 requires annual standpipe flow tests in accordance with NFPA 25. NFPA 25 requires standpipe flow testing to be performed once every 5 years, not annually. Section VII - Exclusions, states 5-year inspection are not covered by this contract. Please confirm if the 5-year standpipe flow test is required to be included in the scope of work, and if so, are we to perform annually as stated, or once every 5 years as required by NFPA 25? If only performing once every 5 years, can you please confirm which contract year this service should be performed?

See SOW.

1. Section III Item Q, NFPA typically only requires diesel fire pumps to have a no flow test performed weekly, while electric fire pumps are performed monthly. Can you please clarify the intent of this requirement, are we to perform weekly on both pumps, or in accordance with NFPA 25 (weekly for diesel and monthly for electric)?

Follow the SOW.

1. Section III Item U.1 states the VHSO will furnish all fire alarm replacement parts, however other sections of the SOW state the contractor is to supply the replacement parts. Can you please clarify who will supply replacement parts?

18. If furnished by the government, please confirm the contractor will not be required to warranty the parts.

Fire Alarm Replacement Parts will be provided by the VA if on hand vendor to request parts prior to order. If provided those parts will not be on the vendors warranty.

1. The device list provided indicates that there are 78 batteries. Considering all batteries will require replacement at some point during the contract, we need to know the quantities of each size of battery. Some batteries are 10 times the price as others, so to provide fair and reasonable pricing, battery sizes need to be provided. Alternatively, previous inspection reports should contain this information.

See attached reports FCMs with 12V 55AH 12V 18AH for our DAAs 12V 55AH for our FCMs

1. There is no indication of the fire alarm system manufacturers for the 10 fire alarm control panels. There's reference to Notifier Onyx in the SOW, however it's not clear if all systems are Notifier or if some of which are other manufacturers. Can you please provide the manufacturer and model number of each fire alarm control panel? Alternatively, the previous inspection reports should contain this information.

See attached reports.

1. There are approximately 65 backflow preventers included in the scope of work. Can you please provide a detailed list of make, model, and size of each as this information will be needed to accurately determine the effort required to inspect these backflow preventers?

See attached reports.

The Price/Cost Schedule does not include a line item for weekly/monthly fire pump testing. Considering this is a different frequency than the other line items provided, can the Price/Cost Schedule be revised to include line items for these tests so we can invoice as performed (weekly and/or monthly)?

See updated bid sheet line items.

1. The Price/Cost Schedule only includes line items for fire alarm inspections. However, the scope of work clearly requires fire sprinkler and suppression system inspections, as well as other equipment, will line items be added to the Price/Cost Schedule for these other systems and their testing frequencies? Or are we to include our pricing in the line item for quarterly, semi-annual, and annual fire alarm inspections even though these inspections are not related to the fire alarm system?

See updated bid sheet line items.

1. CLIN 0003 states 5-year comprehensive fire alarm inspection; however, as stated in Section VII - Exclusions, 5-year inspections are not required. All other line items for x003 state annual fire alarm inspections. Can you please clarify and revise the Price/Cost Schedule accordingly?

See SOW.

1. CLIN x005 for parts and materials, can you confirm how we are to price this? Based on the SOW stating quotes are to be provided for repairs, we would expect that we are to mark this as NSP (Not Separately Priced) and is a place holder for the government to fund post contract award. Is this acceptable?

See updated bid sheet.

26. - Will the government please confirm total number of Wet/Dry/Special Hazard Systems in scope?

Yes, we can.

27. - Will the government please confirm total number of Standpipes in scope?

See attached files.

28. - Statement of Work Section O. Lists (19) backflows connected to fire alarm wet systems, and (45) domestic backflows throughout the facility, while the IV. Scheduled Equipment only lists (19) backflows. Will the government please clarify total number of backflow preventers in scope?

See SOW.

29. Could you please provide a copy of the most recent inspection reports, specifically for the fire pumps, risers, and backflows.

See attached.

30. Please provide the contract number for the incumbent.

This is a new requirement.

31. Please provide the total number of service calls received and/or were responded to during the incumbent's contract term. Of the total number of service calls, please specify how many required a Notifier Onyx Series service technician to address the issue.

This is a new requirement.