36C25725Q0754 - Sources Sought - Med Gases Cylinders.pdf

This is a source(s) sought notice for information purposes only and it is not a solicitation announcement or an obligation or commitment by the Government. This notice is intended strictly for market research. The purpose of this sources sought notice is to gain knowledge of qualified potential contractors and their socio-economic size classification in accordance with NAICS code 325120: Industrial Gas Manufacturing with small business size standards of 1,200 Employees. 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) 17, is seeking medical cylinder gases for the South Texas VA Health Care System (STVHCS) and clinics in accordance with the draft Statement of Work as shown below.

Potential candidates having the capabilities necessary to provide the stated at a fair and reasonable price are invited to respond to this Sources Sought Notice via email to Contract Specialist Dayna Cantu at dayna.cantu@va.gov, no later than July 22nd, 2025, 12PM CDT. No telephone inquiries will be accepted.

Responses should include the following information:

1. Company name, address, SAM UEI number, point of contact name, phone number and email address

2. Business size and representation(s) of the company (i.e., Service-Disabled Veteran Owned

Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Hubzone, Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Large Business, etc.) Is the business registered under NAICS Code 325120 in SAM.gov?

3. If SDVOSB or VOSB, can business fulfill the requirement while complying with VAAR Clause 852.219-76 VA NOTICE OF LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING—

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE FOR SUPPLIES AND PRODUCTS

4. Capability statement as it relates to the Statement of Work and any other information that can aide in determining capability.

5. Does the company have a current federal contract (i.e., GSA, NAC, SAC, NASA SEWP etc.)? If so, provide the contract type, number, and expiration date.

6. If the company has a current federal contract, are these supplies offered and available on the contract?

Disclaimer and Important Notes: This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. This Sources Sought Notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. The Government will treat any information received as proprietary and will not share such information with other companies. Any organization responding to this mailto:dayna.cantu@va.gov

Sources Sought Notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. The Government may or may not issue a solicitation as a result of this announcement. There is no solicitation available at this time.

DRAFT Statement of Work (SOW)

1. SCOPE OF WORK:

The purpose of this Statement of Work is to provide medical cylinders and gases for the South Texas VA Health Care System (STVHCS) and clinics (See Section 5, below). This requirement is for a single award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), Base plus 4-year period of performance contract. The contract items will be ordered by Ordering Officers. The quantities shown below are estimates of the ordering facilities annual requirements. There is no express or implied guarantee that these quantities will be purchased.

1.1 This Contract will be utilized at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, to include current and potential future Outpatient Clinics throughout Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 17 – Station 671. The gases to be purchased include, but are not limited to compressed Medical Air USP, Oxygen USP, Carbon Dioxide USP, Nitrogen NF, Nitrous Oxide USP, Helium USP, Liquid Nitrogen, Acetylene, and specialty medical gas mixtures.

On-Site and Outpatient Clinic Medical Gas management solutions shall be customizable to fit the STVHCS’ varying patient demographics.

1.2 The contract items will be ordered by and delivered to the individual activities listed in the schedule. The quantities shown in the schedule are estimates of each activity’s annual requirements. There is no express or implied guarantee that these quantities will be purchased. The schedule also indicates whether the contractor will fill government owned

(G) cylinders, will provide contractor owned (C) cylinders, or will be servicing the facility with a combination of both (C/G).

1.2.1 The Contractor shall maintain one-hundred percent accountability of all Medical Gas cylinders while transporting, receiving, delivering, stocking, handling, servicing, maintaining, and picking up empty cylinders for all facilities located within STVHCS. All Equipment and Materials (e.g. Department of Transportation (DOT) certified delivery and transport vehicle, certified medical gas technician(s), hydrostatic tested approved cylinders) required to perform on the contract, shall be provided by the Contractor.

LINE

ITEM

DESCRIPTION SIZE ESTIMATED

QTY

UNIT

0001 AIR USP MD CGA 950 D 50 cylinder

0002 AIR USP E CGA 950 E 50 cylinder

0003 AIR USP EA CGA 950 E 50 cylinder

0004 AIR USP EA CGA 950C/O E 50 cylinder

0005 AIR USP E CGA 950C/O E 50 cylinder

0006 ARGON UHP 20 M4 5 cylinder

0007 ARGON UHP 35 CGA 580 D 20 cylinder

0008 ARGON UHP SZ 6K HP H 10 cylinder

0009 CARBON DIOXIDE USP 20

POUND CGA 320

M4 10 cylinder

0010 CARBON DIOXIDE USP 50

POUND CGA 320

H 75 cylinder

0011 CARBON DIOXIDE USP E

CGA 940

E 30 cylinder

0012 CARBON DIOXIDE USP EA

CGA 940

E 30 liter

0013 CARBON DIOXIDE USP E

CGA 940 C/O

E 30 cylinder

0014 HELIUM UHP SIZE 6K H 20 cylinder

0015 HELIUM USP SZ M4 M4 30 cylinder

0016 NITROGEN MEDICAL NF

200 CGA 580

H 30 cylinder

0017 NITROGEN NF LIQ 230LT

22PSI

230LT 50 cylinder

0018 NITROGEN MEDICAL NF E

CGA 960

E 30 cylinder

0019 NITROGEN UHP 200 CGA

H 30 cylinder

0020 NITROUS OXIDE USP 20

LBS

M4 75 cylinder

0021 NITROUS OXIDE USP SIZE

56LBS

H 30 cylinder

0022 NITROUS OXIDE USP E

CGA 910

E 30 cylinder

0023 NITROUS OXIDE USP EA

CGA 910

E 30 liter

0024 OXYGEN USP MEDICAL

PURE 200 CGA 540

H 40 cylinder

0025 OXYGEN USP MEDICAL

PURE E CGA 870

E 300 cylinder

0026 OXYGEN USP MEDICAL

PURE EA CGA 870

E 1200 cylinder

0027 OXYGEN USP EA CGA 870

C/O

E 1200 cylinder

0028 OXYGEN USP MEDICAL

EA CGA 870 MRI

E 1200 cylinder

0029 OXYGEN USP MEDICAL

PURE EA CGA WOB

E 1200 cylinder

0030 OXYGEN USP EA WOB+

DISS

E 300 cylinder

0031 OXYGEN USP EA WOB+

DISS W/SWIVEL

E 300 cylinder

0032 CB 4% CD/16% OX/NI E

CUSTOM

E 20 cylinder

0033 AN 5% CD/10% HY/NI 200 H 15 cylinder

0034 LD 0.3 % ME/0.3 % CM/21 %

OX/NI 200

H 15 cylinder

0035 NITROGEN LIQUID

DEWARS 25 LITERS (FILL)

25L 120 cylinder

0036 ARGON UHP 200 H 10 cylinder

0037 RENT CYL MED W-O2-B

MRI COMPATIBLE

E 500 cylinder

0038 RENT CYL MEDICAL

WALK ABOUT

E 1,200 cylinder

0039 RENT CYL MED XS

HELIUM

M4 75 cylinder

0040 RENT CYL MEDICAL

EXTRA SMALL

M4 75 cylinder

0041 RENT CYL SPEC SMALL

OTHER

M4 50 cylinder

0042 RENT CYL VERY HIGH

PRESSURE

TBD 50 cylinder

0043 RENT CYLINDER TBD 500 cylinder

0044 RENT LIQUID TBD 75 cylinder

0045 Hydrostatic Testing of GFE N/A 4 each

0046 Emergency Delivery Fee N/A 12 each

1.3 The contract Period of Performance (POP):

October 1st, 2025 – September 30th, 2026 (Base Year) October 1st, 2026 – September 30th, 2027 (Option Year 1) October 1st, 2027 – September 30th, 2028 (Option Year 2) October 1st, 2028 – September 30th, 2029 (Option Year 3) October 1st, 2029 – September 30th, 2030 (Option Year 4)

2. PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS:

2.1 All medical gases shall conform to specifications prescribed in the United States

Pharmacopeia and the National Formulary. All medical gas manufacturers/fillers of medical gases shall be registered with the FDA and all medical gases shall be manufactured, processed, packed, transported, and stored according to the FDA’s Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations and Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 210, 211 and 201 for labeling.

2.2 In addition, the following specifications are incorporated into the solicitation:

a. Federal Specification BB-C-101D, Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Technical and USP, dated

3/17/2011.

b. Compressed Gas Association (CGA) Publications G-7 – Compressed Air for Human

Respiration, dated May 2008, and ANSI/CGA G-7.1 – Commodity Specification for Air, dated October 2011.

2.3 All products, equipment, and services provided under this solicitation and contract award shall be in compliance with all applicable Federal, state, and local regulations.

4. DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS:

4.1 All transportation charges for cylinders shall be included in the price of the gas. Additional charges such as delivery fees, hazardous materials fees, fuel surcharges shall NOT be billed to or collected from the facilities for orders received under this contract unless otherwise specified in this contract (i.e. emergency deliveries).

4.2 Material Safety Data Sheets shall be provided to the facility POC upon request at no additional charge.

4.3 Facility Locations based on the addresses are listed in Section 5. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to ensure each VA Facility receives their orders on the specified delivery dates NLT 10am.

4.4 Delivery Schedule: Representatives shall be available during the hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00am – 4:00pm. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to ensure each VA facility shall receive their orders on the specified delivery dates NLT 10:00am

5. DELIVERY ADDRESSES

6. a. Audie L. Murphy Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC): 7400 Merton Minter, San Antonio, TX. 78229

b. Datapoint VA Clinic: 8410 Datapoint Drive, San Antonio, TX. 78229

c. Aurora VA Clinic: 9102 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX. 78240

d. Victoria VA Clinic: 311 Spring Green Blvd., Victoria, TX. 77904

e. Northwest VA Healthcare Center: 9939 State Highway 151, San Antonio, TX. 78251

f. Balcones Heights Outpatient Clinic: 4522 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, TX. 78201

g. North Bexar VA Outpatient Clinic: 16019 Nacogdoches Road, San Antonio, TX. 78247

h. South Bexar VA Outpatient Clinic: 4610 East Southcross Blvd. , San Antonio, TX.

78222

i. Northwest Vet Center: 9910 West Loop 1604 North, San Antonio, TX. 78254

7. j. North Central VA Clinic: 17440 Henderson Pass, , San Antonio, TX. 78232

k. Shavano Park VA Outpatient Clinic: 4350 Lockhill Selma Road, Suite 200, San Antonio, TX. 78249

l. Polytrauma Transition and Rehabilitation Program (PTRP) Clinic: 4949 Gus Eckert Road, San Antonio, TX. 78249

m. Northeast Vet Center: 9504 Interstate 35 Frontage Road, San Antonio, TX. 78233

n. Northeast Bexar VA Outpatient Clinic: 2391 Northeast Loop 410, Suite 309, San Antonio, TX. 78217

o. Walzem VA Outpatient Clinic: 6938 Walzem Road, San Antonio, TX. 78239

p. San Antonio VA Outpatient Clinic: 7909 Fredericksburg Road, Suite 100, San Antonio, TX. 78229

q. New Braunfels VA Outpatient Clinic: 790 Generations Drive, Suite 700, New Braunfels, TX. 78130

r. San Antonio Pecan Valley VA Clinic: 3418 East Southcross Blvd., San Antonio, TX.

78223

s. Southwest VA Clinic: 2310 Southwest Military Drive, Suite 304, San Antonio, TX. 78224

t. Kerrville VA Medical Center: 3600 Memorial Blvd, Kerrville, TX. 78028

6. ORDERING:

Orders shall only be placed by the appointed Ordering Officers.

7. DELIVERY AND BILLING

7.1 Contractor should make deliveries within three (3) Business days (72hrs) of receipt of order (excluding Federal Holidays). Facility will contact contractor for emergency deliveries no more than 3 times per month.

7.2 If Contractor is unable to complete delivery within 72 hours of receipt of order, Contractor must reach out to requestor via phone and/or email providing reason for delay as well as expected delivery date and time, or provide alternate source of supplies at no additional cost to STHVCS.

7.3 Contractor will provide emergency contact information for after hours and weekends, calls will be acknowledged within one hour with deliveries being made within 8 hours.

7.4 STVHCS requires at least two (2) Medical Gas Transportation and Materiel Handling Certified/Accredited Technicians.

7.5 Contractor shall provide technician with DOT approved vehicle to transport compressed Medical Gas Cylinders and Liquid Nitrogen for transport between facilities when needed.

7.6 The technicians shall deliver clean dust-free medical gas cylinders to designated Medical Gases Storage location(s) according to the suggested PAR levels.

7.7 The technician is required to provide the POC with a legibly signed and dated electronic delivery ticket after each delivery. Upon delivery, the technician will verify the cylinder count of all full cylinders being delivered and all empty cylinders being picked up. Both cylinder counts will be noted on the delivery ticket. The technician shall sign the delivery slip.

7.8 Technician shall deliver the medical gas cylinders to the Medical Gases Storage location(s) to replenish medical gas cylinder PAR level inventory as needed. The Contractor is required to provide the facility order form and delivery ticket to the POC. The following information applies to all deliveries, regardless of the time or day of execution.

7.9 The delivery slip/ticket for GFE must include:

a. The number of cylinders at the Contractor’s facility prior to delivery

b. The number of cylinders being delivered

c. The number of cylinders being picked up

d. If one-for-one matching is not accurate, missing cylinder quantities will be identified and documented on the delivery slip of government-owned cylinders.

7.10 The delivery slip/ticket for contractor-provided cylinders must include:

a. Contract Number, Facility PO Number or Delivery Order number

b. Account number for the specific delivery location

c. Date of Order

d. Date of Delivery

e. Item number(s) (LIN) and/or product identification number(s)

f. Quantity of each gas and cylinder ordered

g. Items ordered and not delivered

h. The number and type of cylinders being delivered

i. The number and type of cylinders being picked up

7.11 Contractor shall provide access to the scanned copy of the delivery slip to the POC through electronic means (e-mail or otherwise).

8 HOURS OF COVERAGE:

8.1 Vendor shall provide telephone support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

8.2 Vendor shall provide unscheduled maintenance (called upon to repair/fix any faulty equipment being rented despite the vendor having any schedule for their equipment maintenance if they have one) Mondays - Fridays, 8:00 AM-4:00 PM local site time, Mondays – Fridays excluding Federal Holidays.

8.3 Vendor shall provide planned maintenance scheduled at a mutually agreeable time Mondays

- Fridays, 7:30 AM-4:30 PM local site time excluding Federal Holidays.

8.4 POC or designated alternate shall provide reasonable access to the equipment, reasonable working space, and a reasonable safe, hazard-free operating environment for contractor’s employees and representatives providing services hereunder during hours of coverage.

8.5 Federal Holidays observed by the STVHCS, and any other day declared a holiday by the President of the United States:

Federal Holidays Date of Observation New Year’s Day January 1 Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Third Monday in January

Washington's Birthday Third Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Juneteenth June 19 Independence Day July 4 Labor Day First Monday in September Columbus Day Second Monday in October Veterans Day November 11 Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday in November Christmas Day December 25

8.6 When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be observed as a legal holiday.

When a holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday is observed by US Government agencies.

9 CYLINDERS AND OTHER CONTAINERS

9.1 Laws and Regulations:

Cylinders and other containers for gaseous and liquid forms of gases shall comply with the Department of Transportation specifications and shall be maintained, filled, marked, labeled, and shipped to comply with current DOT regulations (Title 49-Transportation, Code of Federal Regulations.) Filling, packaging, labeling, etc., for medical gases shall also comply with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

9.2 Marking:

In addition to marking required by the aforementioned laws and regulations, marking shall comply with CGA Publication C-7 – Guide to Preparation of Precautionary Labeling and Marking of Compressed Gas Containers, dated 10/21/2011.

9.3 Color Coding:

Cylinders shall be color coded in accordance with CGA Publication C-9 -- Standard Color Marking of Compressed Gas Containers Intended for Medical Use, dated September 2013.

9.4 Valves:

Valves shall comply with CGA Safety Bulletin SB-26 dated August 2014 and CGA Publication V-1 -- Compressed Gas Association Standard for Compressed Gas Cylinder Valve Outlet and Inlet Connections, dated May 2013. Valve protection caps for cylinders designed to receive such caps shall be securely attached to the cylinders in a manner to protect the valves from injury during transit and delivery to the purchaser's receiving area.

For liquid containers, all fittings must be permanently brazed to prevent their removal. In addition, each container should contain a 360-degree cryo-band applied at the top of the container with the drug product name repeated around the entire container.

9.5 Retest Date:

If applicable DOT regulations would require retesting of cylinder within three (3) months after scheduled date of shipment to Continental U.S. destination, or within six (6) months after scheduled date of shipment to overseas destination, cylinder shall be retested.

Contractor will be required to retest any Government-Owned cylinder when requested by ordering activity, regardless of scheduled retest data.

9.6 Method:

Government-owned cylinders which are eligible for extended hydrostatic retest period, testing by modified hydrostatic method, or visual inspection in lieu of hydrostatic testing, shall be serviced by the most economical means which will comply with Department of Transportation regulations (49 CFR 173.34) unless otherwise specified by the ordering activity. When modified or reduced DOT test requirements are contingent upon past usage of the cylinders, a written statement from the ordering activity indicating that the cylinders have been used exclusively for a specific gas may be considered acceptable evidence of the cylinders' eligibility for modified testing or inspection.

9.7 Hydrostatic Testing shall be performed in accordance with CGA’s Publication -- C- 1, Methods for Hydrostatic Testing of Compressed Gas Cylinders, dated January 2016.

9.8 Retest Date: If applicable DOT regulations would require retesting of cylinder within three

(3) months after scheduled date of shipment to Continental U.S. destination, or within six (6) months after scheduled date of shipment to overseas destination, cylinder shall be retested.

Contractor will be required to retest any Government-Owned cylinder when requested by ordering activity, regardless of scheduled retest data.

9.9 Method: Government-owned cylinders which are eligible for extended hydrostatic retest period, testing by modified hydrostatic method, or visual inspection in lieu of hydrostatic testing, shall be serviced by the most economical means which will comply with Department of Transportation regulations (49 CFR 173.34) unless otherwise specified by the ordering activity. When modified or reduced DOT test requirements are contingent upon past usage of the cylinders, a written statement from the ordering activity indicating that the cylinders have been used exclusively for a specific gas may be considered acceptable evidence of the cylinders' eligibility for modified testing or inspection.

9.10 Visual inspection shall be performed in accordance with the applicable CGA Publications C-6 --Standards for Visual Inspection of Steel Compressed Gas Cylinders, dated May 2013 or C-6.1 -- Standards for Visual Inspection of High-Pressure Aluminum Compressed Gas Cylinders, dated May 2013.

9.11 The Contractor shall be responsible for all testing of Contractor-owned cylinders at no additional cost to the Government. The government shall pay for the hydrostatic testing of government-owned cylinders at the prices listed in attachment D.1.

9.12 Cylinder Sizes:

Cylinder sizes shown in the item description indicate product capacity of the cylinder currently being used. All capacities are approximate, and the Government shall be billed only for the actual amount of gas delivered. In accordance with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the actual contents of the container must appear on the label.

9.13 Individual Agency Ownership of Cylinders:

Government-Owned cylinders shall remain the property of the individual ordering (owning) agency and shall not be exchanged for other cylinders, either government- owned or Contractor-owned, without authorization of the ordering agency.

9.14 Lost or Damaged Contractor-Owned Cylinders:

For each Contractor-owned cylinder lost or damaged beyond repair while in the Government’s possession, the Government shall pay to the Contractor the replacement value.

These cylinders shall become Government property. The Government will not pay cylinder rental fees from the date of audit.

9.15 Method of Shipment:

Empty Government-owned cylinders that are picked up from an ordering facility for re-fill or servicing shall be transported according to the Department of Transportation Regulations, using normal commercial practice to prevent damage to cylinders.

9.16 Transportation of Cylinders:

All transportation charges for empty government-owned and Contractor-owned cylinders from the ordering facility to the Contractor’s facility shall be included in contract pricing..

10 PRICE OF SERVICES FOR GOVERNMENT-OWNED AND CONTRACTOR-

OWNED CYLINDERS

The contractor’s price for the gas shall include the furnishing, of all services which are required at each and every filling of a cylinder to comply with applicable regulations, specifications, and normal good practices. Such services shall include, but not be limited to:

tags indicating cylinder is "Full," In Use," or "Empty"; inspection, testing, evaluation, and cleaning services required at each and every filling; pin-indexing, when required, and attachment of Government-furnished warning tags, when required. In addition to services listed in this paragraph, the Contractor is responsible for all maintenance and testing of Contractor owned cylinders.

11 MEASUREMENT AND CONVERSION COMPUTATION, ATMOSPHERIC GASES

AND HYDROGEN:

Density data and volume measurement equivalents printed in CGA Publication P-6 -- Standard Density Data, Atmospheric Gases and Hydrogen, dated October 2012 shall be used when necessary to convert measurement of these gases from one form to another: for example, from cubic feet to gallons.

12 LICENSING, AUTHORIZATION, AND SELLING PERMISSIONS

12.1 If the Contractor is the manufacturer of the medical gas being supplied under this contract, it shall annually provide verification that it holds current licensing, permits, certifications or registrations required by the FDA and the states in which this contract is performed.

12.2 If the Contractor is not the manufacturer of the medical gas being supplied under this contract, the Contractor shall annually provide verification that the manufacturer from which it obtains the medical gas provided to VA under this contract holds current licensing, permits, certifications or registrations required by the FDA and the states in which this contract is performed. In addition, the Contractor shall provide annual updates to any agreements it has with the medical gas manufacturer affirmatively demonstrating that the Contractor has authorization by the manufacturer to resell the medical gas the Contractor is providing under this contract. In the event of a change in manufacturer, the Contractor shall provide advance notice to the VA prior to the change taking place and shall provide copies of the new medical gas manufacturer’s current licenses, permits, certifications or registrations required by the FDA and the states in which this contract is performed. The Contractor shall also provide a copy of its agreement with the new manufacturer demonstrating that the Contractor has authorization by the manufacturer to resell the medical gas the Contractor intends to provide under this contract.