36C25726Q0755 0001 - Vendor Questions - Responses.docx

36C25726Q0755 0001 Vendor Questions

1. Please provide the current site drawings and utility information for Temple and Austin, including electrical service, grounding, data/network connections, sewer/water requirements, pad dimensions, clearances, access route, turning radius, axle or weight restrictions, and any required ramps or platforms.

Look for drawing from current MRI trailer. Austin was included for future planning in case a PET CT trailer could be situated there. The main focus for the procurement is Temple.

1. Will one mobile unit relocate between Temple and Austin? If so, please provide the anticipated frequency, duration, advance notice, operating schedule, and responsibility for permits, escorts, setup, testing, and recommissioning at each location.

No, this is going to be stationed in Temple. Austin was included for potential future projects. Please focus on Temple specifically.

1. Please confirm whether VA personnel will furnish all PET/CT technologists, nursing staff, radiopharmaceutical handling, patient care, scheduling, and interpretation, while the contractor furnishes the mobile unit, equipment, training, maintenance, and technical support.

VA employees will be staffing this mobile PET/CT.

1. Please identify the required ACR accreditation status at quotation, award, delivery, and commencement of clinical operations, including whether accreditation may transfer with the proposed unit.

Not required. Currently not ACR accredited. JC requirements: 1. Initial Medical Physicist survey once onsite, 2. Shielding analysis of building and 2 mR line around building, 3. Shielding verification- diagram showing shielding and 2 mR line.

1. Please confirm the required Texas radiation registration, reciprocal-recognition, shielding-physics, and mobile-equipment documentation and the stage at which each item must be submitted.

Vendor usually completes, RSO reviews and vendor submits to state. See #4 for JC requirements

1. Please provide historical examination volume, typical operating hours, anticipated scans per day, known downtime history, and current unit make/model if available.

The current volume average is 5-6 PET/CT scans/patients per day. 0630-1600 Monday through Friday. Downtime is unknown as this is a new mobile service. The current PET/CT camera is a GE Discovery.

1. The SOW requires a stationary “no-wheel” modular-like build with a ground-level, flush-to-surface entry. Would the VA accept a ground-lowering PET/CT unit if the wheels and axles remain attached during performance, provided the unit requires no stairs or wheelchair lift and provides equivalent stability and patient access? Additionally, would a short ABA-compliant transition ramp be acceptable, or must the entrance be completely level with the finished walking surface?

No - Regular wheeled trailers have operational hazards including tire blowouts, axle wear, and instability when stationary for long periods, posing additional maintenance and safety risks. Our required unit avoids these vulnerabilities entirely.

1. The SOW identifies Temple as the base location and states that Austin and other VA sites may also be used. How many relocations should offerors include in their proposed price, and will Government-directed relocation costs, including transportation, setup, recommissioning, physics testing, and network reconnection, be separately compensated?

This will be solely located at Temple. Austin was included for planning purposes and will be addressed at a later time.

1. The requirement references a mobile PET/CT trailer but also describes a stationary or relocatable solution without wheels. Please confirm whether a conventional wheeled mobile PET/CT trailer is excluded, or whether an equivalent compliant mobile/relocatable solution may be proposed.

Traditional/conventional wheeled trailers are Not acceptable for this solicitation. Mobile unit must be Ground-Level, Flush-to-Surface Entry: Eliminates the need for wheelchair lifts or stairs, reducing fall risk, preventing lift malfunctions, and improving stretcher access. Must be a Stationary “No-Wheel” Modular-Like Build: Regular wheeled trailers have operational hazards including tire blowouts, axle wear, and instability when stationary for long periods, posing additional maintenance and safety risks. Our required unit avoids these vulnerabilities entirely.

1. Please provide any available site plan, utility information, parking footprint, clearance requirements, shielding information, or interface drawings needed for vendors to evaluate placement and connection of the proposed unit.

Site/utility plan will be provided.

1. Please confirm whether the selected mobile PET/CT provider must itself hold the Texas/NRC reciprocal radioactive-material authorization, or whether that requirement may be satisfied through another licensed member of the proposed team.

It will be added to the CTVHCS RAM permit

1. Please confirm whether the Government will accept a stationary ground-level modular PET/CT unit that is transported to the site and then de-wheeled or otherwise immobilized, provided it satisfies the stated no-wheel, flush-entry, size, shielding, and accessibility requirements.

See response on question 7.

1. May you please confirm if water and plumbing are ready at the site? If not ready, then when they will be ready.

We had a meeting with the Engineering Department on May 15th and they said that the water and sewage lines would be made available for the mobile PET/CT - This was stated from the Chief of Engineering. No specific dates were given at the time but they assured us that it would be completed.

1. [Vendor] currently has zero completed federal prime contracts. Will an offeror without relevant corporate past performance receive neutral treatment?

Yes, an offeror without a record of relevant past performance will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance.

1. May clearly attributed recent and relevant experience of a committed first-tier similarly situated SDVOSB subcontractor, mobile-imaging provider, or named key personnel satisfy the technical and past-performance evaluation requirements without being represented as [Vendor] corporate performance?

No, the “similarly situated SDVOSB” should be the prime vendor in this scenario.

1. Please explain how the limitation on subcontracting will be calculated for the trailer lease, PET/CT equipment, transportation, maintenance, OEM support, training, and other services.

If the vendor is leasing the equipment, then payment to the vendor is considered. IAW VAAR 852.219-75, the contractor will not pay more than 50% to firms that are not SDVOSBs for all other services.

1. The solicitation states that a 30-day phase-in period begins after contract signature, while the price schedule identifies September 3, 2026, as the period-of-performance start date. Please confirm the date by which the unit must be fully operational.

The operational start date is yet to be determined. The contractor should not commit the trailer/equipment until confirming that the government site conditions are ready for the start of services.

1. VAAR 852.219-75 identifies this acquisition as a service contract for limitations-on-subcontracting purposes. For purposes of calculating compliance, should the cost of the leased PET/CT scanner and modular unit be included in the amount paid to non-SDVOSB firms, or may any portion of the equipment lease cost be excluded as an other direct cost?

The government considers the equipment lease excluded from other direct costs.

1. May the Government evaluate recent and relevant past performance of a proposed major subcontractor or similarly situated SDVOSB subcontractor when [vendor] remains the prime offeror?

The government will evaluate the past performance of the SDVOSB offeror. This requirement does not have a provision for the vendor to describe any subcontractors to the government. This solicitation includes FAR clause 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government. Subcontracting by the vendor should be conducted in accordance with VAAR 852.219-75.

1. May the mobile enclosure, PET/CT scanner, and related maintenance support be owned and furnished by [vendor’s] first-tier subcontractor, provided [vendor] remains responsible for contract management and complies with all applicable limitations on subcontracting?

Subcontracting by the vendor should be conducted in accordance with VAAR 852.219-75. A vendor providing only performing contract management services for this requirement would be considered as excessive pass-through with no or negligible value to the contract.

1. VAAR 852.219-75 is marked for services and limits payments to firms that are not certified SDVOSBs/VOSBs to 50 percent. Please clarify how the VA expects that calculation to apply to the vendor-owned mobile PET/CT unit, transportation, OEM maintenance, shielding/physics documentation, and related lease costs. Specifically, may qualifying equipment-lease or other direct costs be excluded under the clause, or must the mobile PET/CT provider be a similarly situated certified SDVOSB/VOSB for [vendor] to comply?

See response, question # 13.

1. For Factor 2, may [vendor] submit recent and relevant past performance of its proposed principal mobile PET/CT subcontractor or teaming partner, clearly attributed to that entity, or must both required references be contracts performed by [vendor] itself?

The past performance must be performed by the offeror, but references may also be for recent and relevant past performance in which the offeror was the subcontractor performed services.