36C25626Q0757 Sources Sought Instrument Marking.docx

Intent to Sole Source/ Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Notice

DESCRIPTION

Sources Sought Notice

1. Title: Instrument Marking for Little Rock at North Little Rock, AR SPS. Brand Name or Equal.

2. Purpose:

a) The Network Contracting Office (NCO) 16 located at 5075 Westheimer Road, Galleria Financial Center, Suite 750, Houston, Texas, hereby issues the following Sources Sought/ Request for Information (RFI) with the intent of determining the contractor interest, capabilities, qualifications of potential businesses, nonmanufacturer rule compliance, Buy American Act compliance, Trade Agreement compliance and estimated industry pricing information for market research and estimated budgetary purpose for Contractor to assist with Instrument Marking for Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS), AR, 72114.

b) Notice of Intent to Sole Source. If there are no responses to this notice, a determination by the Government not to compete based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government to sole source the requirement. No response is a response.

c) Government request that interested offerors complete all questions below, provide required documentation, descriptive literature and authorization letter as described below. The Government is in no way obligated to do business with or to enter into any form of contract with any person, firm or other entity that receives or responds to this announcement.

3. Objective: To find qualified and certified contractors with the capability to provide the following:

a) The Contractor will conduct the instrument marking at 4300 West 7th Street Little Rock. Instrument marking van will be parked in the loading dock. The Contractor shall also conduct instrument marking at 2200 Ft Roots, North Little Rock Building 170, room GK-125 and GK-126. Instrument marking van will be parked outside Building 170 in the west loading dock.

b) Brand Name or Equal. The brand name reference is CensiTrac and Related Software; however, equal products will be considered if all salient characteristics herein are met or exceeded.

4. Delivery Location:

Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center 2200 Fort Roots Drive, Bldg. 182 North Little Rock, AR, 72114 Building 170 rooms GK-125 and GK-126 and

Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) 4300 West 7th Street Little Rock, AR, 72205 Loading dock

5. Period of Performance:

One (1) Year Days

6. Responses Requested: The CAVHS requires all the following information and questions answered in this RFI/SS: Questions and information that is not provided shall be considered nonresponsive to the Request for Information and contractor shall not be considered as part of the market research.

a) Contractors shall provide their point(s) of contact name, address, telephone number, and email address, and the company's business size, and SAM Unique Entity Identification Number.

b) Is your company a small business, SDBs, HUBZone, or 8A concern? Please provide proof of qualifications.

c) Does your company meet all required four prong factors for the Nonmanufacturer Rule (NMR) per guidance of SBA and 13 C.F.R. § 121.406? Offer must answer all questions below.

1) Does your company exceed the 500-employee alternative size standard for nonmanufacturers?

2) Is your company primarily engaged in the retail or wholesale trade and normally sells the type of products being supplied?

3) Does your company must take ownership or possession of the item(s) with its personnel, equipment, or facilities in a manner consistent with industry practice?

4) Does your company supply the end products of a small business manufacturer or processor made in the United States?

5) Is your company considered small under the NAICS code 513210.

6) Do you (offer) manufacture the product yourself or a distributor of the items being researched above?

7) Are you an authorized distributor/reseller? Provide evidence from original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

8) Do you (offer) supply a product manufactured by another domestic small business, if it is a nonmanufacturer?

9) Do you (offer) supply the product of any sized manufacturer if SBA has granted a waiver to the nonmanufacturer rule?

10) Is your (offer) Buy American Certificate completed in SAM? Please provide evidence with response.

11) Is your (offer) Trade Agreement Certificate completed in SAM? Please provide evidence with response.

12) Information for the name brand or equal product being requested, is it manufactured outside the US-Domestic non-available?

13) Information for the name brand or equal product being requested, is it a foreign manufactured end product under the trade agreement?

14) What is your schedule of delivery after receipt of order for the name brand or equal product?

15) For the name brand or equal product required, Is your company available under any;

Government Wide Agency Contract (GWAC) General Services Administration Schedules (GSA) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)

If so, please list the contract number for name brand or equal product.

16) Provide descriptive literature demonstrating ability to meet all of the requirement/salient characteristics listed if other than brand name product is being offered. Please provide list of contracts for commercial, federal, state, and local governments. Listed contracts shall provide communication on the government requirement illustrating the capability for comparison. to the name brand or equal product meeting the specific requirements per the draft Statement of Work.

17) Contractors may provide an estimated industry pricing for name brand or equal product for market research and budgetary purpose.

7. Opportunity:

a) NCO 16, is seeking information from potential contractors on their ability to provide this requirement. THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE and SOURCES SOUGHT FOR REQUEST INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. Small Business Concerns are encouraged to provide responses to this Sources Sought in order to assist the CAVHS in determining potential levels of competition available in the industry. Contractor shall possess the capability to provide all requirements and objectives.

8. Instructions and Response Guidelines:

a) Sources Sought responses are due by 05/12/2026 at 3:00 PM (CST) via email to t.miller@va.gov. Telephone requests or inquires will not be accepted. Public Information will not be provided and shall be utilized to the full extent possible. This a New Requirement.

b) The subject line shall read: 36C25626Q0757 - Sources Sought – Instrument Marking. NO SOLICITATION EXISTS AT THIS TIME. There is no page limitation on subparagraphs 6(a) - 6(c17).

c) Please provide the information you deem relevant in order to respond to the specific inquiries of the Sources Sought. Information provided will be used solely by CAVHS as "market research" and will not be released outside of the CAVHS Purchasing and Contract Team. This Sources Sought notice does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Invitation for Bid (IFB), or Request for Quotation (RFQ), and it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contract, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response to this request. All information contained in this Sources Sought is preliminary as well as subject to modification and is in no way binding on the Government.

d) In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding contract. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on Contracting Opportunities (https://beta.sam.gov/) website or GSA. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor these sites for additional information pertaining to this Sources Sought, or future RFP/RFQ.

9. Contact Information:

Contracting Specialist, T Miller Email address: t.miller@va.gov

10. THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTES/PROPOSALS; however, any firm that believes it can meet the requirements may provide answers, responses and give written notification prior to the response due date and time. Supporting evidence and responses.

Your responses to this notice are appreciated.

36C25626Q0757 - Sources Sought – Instrument Marking

See Statement of Work (SOW) Below:

Performance Work Statement (PWS) Instrument Marking for Little Rock at North Little Rock, AR SPS Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS)

1. Scope:

A. This SOW establishes the requirements for Censis to use laser marking technology to mark, identify and commission surgical instruments so the instruments can be identified and tracked within the Censitrac system. This SOW shall cover 4300 West 7th street Little Rock, and 2200 Ft Roots, North Little Rock Building 170 room GK-125 and GK-126.

2. General Guidance:

A. Contractor will conduct the instrument marking at 4300 West 7th Street Little Rock. Instrument marking van will be parked in the loading dock. The Contractor shall also conduct instrument marking at 2200 Ft Roots, North Little Rock Building 170, room GK-125 and GK-126. Instrument marking van will be parked outside Building 170 in the west loading dock.

3. Government Responsibilities:

A. The government will provide the contractor with access to 4300 West 7th Street Little Rock. The government will also provide the contractor with access to 2200 Ft Roots, North Little Rock Building 170 room GK-125 and GK-126 for instrument marking process.

4. Period of Performance:

A. One (1) year.

5. Performance Location:

A. 4300 West 7th Street Little Rock, AR, 72205 Loading dock

B. 2200 Ft Roots North Little Rock, AR, 72114 Building 170 rooms GK-125 and GK-126

6. Contractor Requirements:

A. The Contractor shall be responsible for the overall execution of the marking process, to include management of equipment/personnel and communication and reporting to CAVHS Sterile Processing Service.

B. The two primary tasks associated with Instrument Marking are:

· Management of the Marking Operation

· Marking and Commissioning of Instruments

7. The Project Manager Shall:

A. Manage the use of the marking system within agreed upon space. 2200 Ft. Roots Drive building 170 west loading dock.

B. Ensure that all equipment needed to complete the marking is on site and in working order.

C. Document any issues found and communicate these to the Customer.

D. Document status on a periodic basis to SPS for schedule and issues visibility.

E. Manage marking and commissioning resources.

8. The Contractor shall be accountable for:

A. Marking and commissioning instrument quantities as defined in the Purchase Order for each site(s) covered under this SOW. A minimum of 300 markable instruments must be presented for marking daily for each technician on site.

The following procedure will be executed to accomplish instrument marking operations:

1. Instruments will be laser marked and commissioned in compliance with EDA Standard 4.0 descriptions to include entering visible serial numbers.

2. CAVHS SPS is responsible for reprocessing all instruments following the recommended processes and procedures as outlined by the instrument manufacturer.

3. Instruments will be reviewed for legible Vendor Names and catalog numbers. Per EDA Standard 4.0, instruments without a Vendor Name will have NVN entered as the Vendor Name and instruments without a catalog number will have NMN and the mark number entered as the catalog number. The Marking Technician will enter a description of the instrument based on their knowledge and experience.

4. Instruments that have existing marks that are similar to the mark that Censis will apply, the mark will be checked to determine if it will scan properly. If it scans properly, the technician will commission the instrument using that mark and count it toward the production target. If the mark does not scan properly, the technician will place a new mark on the instrument and commission it. Unreadable Censis marks will be removed but manufacturer’s marks will not.

5. Instruments that are of an odd size, shape or configuration that prevent them from being laser marked, as determined by Censis, shall be returned to the sterile processing unit as unable to mark.

6. Implant sets should not be presented for marking because marking them will likely void the warranty. If there are instruments within the set that need to be marked, remove them from the set and present them separately.

7. If the instrument material is not conducive to receiving a laser mark, the instrument shall be returned to the sterile processing unit as unable to mark.

8. Unless otherwise agreed upon, instrument data will be cross referenced to the VA Gold File and uploaded to CLIENT’s production environment as soon as possible after completion of the marking work.

9. Quality Control The following Quality Control (QC) requirements have been developed to ensure that all site implementations are provided an appropriate level of monitoring. These activities should afford the CLIENT team with a reasonable and achievable level of activity intended to assure and/or improve the quality of the marking and commissioning. This approach evaluates both the physical and data characteristics, identifies concerns or shortcomings in the delivery of services, provides the ability to overcome any identified deficiencies, and monitors the effectiveness of any required corrective actions.

· After laser marking, Censis will immediately QC the item to ensure it scans easily into the Censitrac system. Marks that do not read within 3-5 seconds will be assessed for re-application prior to commissioning.

· CLIENT staff will perform QC on the Censis-performed work on the Censis provided workstation, which permits access to the instrument database. This access will allow CLIENT staff to evaluate the quality of the mark and that the instrument scanned is the one displayed in Censitrac. It’s important that the product name corresponds to the instrument being scanned.

· The QC of the instruments by CLIENT should be performed daily on at least 10% of the instruments which have been marked that day. Successful QC results will be considered as acceptance of the work.

· Should CLIENT not perform the QC check it will be considered that the work is accepted.

1. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

5.1 ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS:

a. The contractor will not have access to VA Desktop computers, nor will they have access to online resources belonging to the government while conducting services. If removal of equipment from the VA is required, any memory storage devices, such as hard drives, solid state drives and non-volatile memory units will remain in VA control and will not be removed from VA custody.

b. The contractor will not have access to protected Patient Health Information (PHI) nor will they have the capability of accessing patient information during the services provided to the VA and if removal of equipment from the VA is required, any memory storage devices, such as hard drives, solid state drives and non-volatile memory units will remain in VA control and will not be removed from VA custody. All research data available for Contractor analyses are de-identified.

5.2 VA RECORDS MANAGEMENT OBLIGATIONS:

a. Contractor shall comply with all applicable records management laws and regulations, as well as National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) records policies, including but not limited to the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. chs. 21, 29, 31, 33), NARA regulations at 36 CFR Chapter XII Subchapter B, and those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a). These policies include the preservation of all records, regardless of form or characteristics, mode of transmission, or state of completion.

b. In accordance with 36 CFR 1222.32, all data created for Government use and delivered to, or falling under the legal control of, the Government are Federal records subject to the provisions of 44 U.S.C. chapters 21, 29, 31, and 33, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), as amended, and the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended and must be managed and scheduled for disposition only as permitted by statute or regulation.

c. In accordance with 36 CFR 1222.32, Contractor shall maintain all records created for Government use or created in the course of performing the contract and/or delivered to, or under the legal control of the Government and must be managed in accordance with Federal law. Electronic records and associated metadata must be accompanied by sufficient technical documentation to permit understanding and use of the records and data.

d. [Agency] and its contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Records may not be removed from the legal custody of [Agency] or destroyed except for in accordance with the provisions of the agency records schedules and with the written concurrence of the Head of the Contracting Activity. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701. In the event of any unlawful or accidental removal, defacing, alteration, or destruction of records, Contractor must report to [Agency]. The agency must report promptly to NARA in accordance with 36 CFR 1230.

e. The Contractor shall immediately notify the appropriate Contracting Officer upon discovery of any inadvertent or unauthorized disclosures of information, data, documentary materials, records or equipment. Disclosure of non-public information is limited to authorized personnel with a need-to-know as described in the [contract vehicle]. The Contractor shall ensure that the appropriate personnel, administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are established to ensure the security and confidentiality of this information, data, documentary material, records and/or equipment is properly protected. The Contractor shall not remove material from Government facilities or systems, or facilities or systems operated or maintained on the Government’s behalf, without the express written permission of the Head of the Contracting Activity. When information, data, documentary material, records and/or equipment is no longer required, it shall be returned to [Agency] control or the Contractor must hold it until otherwise directed. Items returned to the Government shall be hand carried, mailed, emailed, or securely electronically transmitted to the Contracting Officer or address prescribed in the [contract vehicle]. Destruction of records is EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED unless in accordance with Paragraph (4).

f. The Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under, or relating to, contracts. The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and [Agency] guidance for protecting sensitive, proprietary information, classified, and controlled unclassified information.

g. The Contractor shall only use Government IT equipment for purposes specifically tied to or authorized by the contract and in accordance with [Agency] policy.

h. The Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any non-public [Agency] information that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract.

i. The Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected from public disclosure by an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act.

j. The [Agency] owns the rights to all data and records produced as part of this contract. All deliverables under the contract are the property of the U.S. Government for which [Agency] shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest. Any Contractor rights in the data or deliverables must be identified as required by FAR 52.227-11 through FAR 52.227-20.

k. Training. All Contractor employees assigned to this contract who create, work with, or otherwise handle records are required to take [Agency]-provided records management training. The Contractor is responsible for confirming training has been completed according to agency policies, including initial training and any annual or refresher training.

l. [Note: To the extent an agency requires contractors to complete records management training, the agency must provide the training to the contractor.] Flowdown of requirements to subcontractors

1) The Contractor shall incorporate the substance of this clause, its terms and requirements including this paragraph, in all subcontracts under this [contract vehicle], and require written subcontractor acknowledgment of same.

2) Violation by a subcontractor of any provision set forth in this clause will be attributed to the Contractor.