Questions and Answers to 36C25921Q0085.doc

Q&A

Solicitation # 36C25921Q0085

Q. Is there a current incumbent? Can you please provide the company name and contract number?

A. No there is not a current incumbent. However, a similar past contract was contract#: 36C25918F1636 performed by Calloway & Associates Inc.

Q. What is the wage determination reference used for this service solicitation?

A. Standard Wage Determination # 2015-5489 Revision 11 Q. What is the budget or funding amount?

A. As a standard policy for solicitations, we do not disclose the budget/funding amount. We ask for offerors to provide their best offer that meets all the SOW requirements.

Q. Can companies from Outside USA can apply for this? (like, from India or Canada)

A. Yes, there are no restrictions to companies that submit offers unless the prohibited country is listed in FAR 52.225-13 Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases. However, the solicitation is a 100% total set aside for Service Disable Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) see: SF 1449 block 10. Also, in order to be an eligible SDVOSB the vendor must be registered and certified in the VIP.vetbiz.va.gov.

Q. Other than the Contractor Admin Clerks, does the staffing contractor representative, ie: Account Manager, need to come onsite for meetings?

A. Yes Q. Can we perform the tasks (related to RFP) outside USA? (like, from India or Canada) A. No, in section B.2 Statement of Work (SOW), the place of performance is address: George E. Wahlen, Salt Lake City, UT, VA Medical Center – 500 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84148. In addition, the SOW requires staffers to complete finger printing and badging which are requirements that can only be performed at the VA site.

Q. Can we submit the proposals via email?

A. Yes, Quotes/offers/proposals are required to be submitted via email. See: Section E.1 52.212-1(f) and SF1449 block 20 of the solicitation.

Q. Are resumes requested with our proposal?

A. No, resumes are not required with your proposal.

Q. What SCA WD Labor Category is associates with the Appointment Clerks? Please confirm the SCA title for the 10 positions is General Administrative Clerk. – The U.S. DoL Wage determination that applies to this area is 2015-5489. Please direct any questions regarding specific classification of employees to the Dept of Labor or SBA for further information. The Website for Dept of Labor Wage and Hour Division Contact is: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact Q. Would 6 months of customer service experience in the retail or hospitality industry be acceptable for the business setting?

A. Yes

Q. Will we be able to upgrade the occupation code for a level I to level II or level II to III if the 6-month extension is awarded?

A. If a 6-month extension is awarded, the terms and pricing must be agreed upon by the VA and the contractor regardless of what the contractor classifies their staffing employees.

Q. Are there any additional details you can provide regarding a time clock system to track agency hours, payroll, and schedules? Will a phone app suffice?

A. The Cheyenne VAMC does not have a time clock system for temporary/contract workers so a phone app will work

Q. How will training be handled if a trained contractor needs to be replaced with a new contractor?

A. Training will be held at the Cheyenne VAMC SLC facility, they will do scheduling training the week that any new contractor would start. For the first 3 weeks, Admin Clerks are not allowed to take any leave during the training.

Q. Sunday (not Saturday) is listed in the Special Compensation section. However, in the pricing section it mentions Saturday (not Sunday). Please clarify if Saturday and/or Sunday will be eligible for shift differential.

A. Anything after 6 pm would get night differential on both Saturday and Sunday (10% rate)

Q. Will all 10 contractors be required to start on 12/8/2020?

A. Yes, all 10 contractor General Admin Clerks will be required to start on 12/8/2020.

Q. Can you please confirm that contract 36C25918F1636 ended on 1/7/2020 and these services have not been in place since then?

A. From what the Contract Specialist knows, contract ended on 1/7/2019 and there was no extension to contract 36C25918F1636 after 1/7/2019.

Q. Was there a change in requirement or were the 6-month contract periods also for 9600 total hours?

A. Solicitation 36C25921Q0085 has an estimated 9,600 total hours for 6 months for 10 General Administrative Clerks. Solicitation 36C25921Q0085 is a new requirement unrelated to contract #: 36C25918F1636.

Q. Other than the price quote, kindly confirm what information needs to be submitted in response to the subject RFQ?

A. Along with Section B.4 Price/Cost Schedule Item Information filled out, please review the entire RFQ, please update and sign contractor information on page 1 of the Standard Form 1449. In addition, please fill out your company and POC information on Section B1. 1.a, and review and sign all amendment(s) to the solicitation. Plus, please follow/answer requirements in section E.1 52.212-1 and E.5 52.212-3 on the RFQ.

Q. Are offeror’s representations and certifications from System for Award Management (SAM) required to be submitted as part of the RFQ?

A. Please ensure your company’s records are up to date in SAM, VIP.vetbiz.va.gov, and please review the RFQ and any supporting attachments.

Q. Is this a personal or non-personal service contract?

A. This is a non-personal service contract.

Q. Will the Clerks have opportunity to work in the emergency department?

A. No, they will be working in a call center environment.

Q. For the Business Associate Agreement, under Obligations of Business Associate, (D)(2) states “Notification shall be sent to ____ at ____ and to the VHA Health Information Access Office, Business Associate Program Manager by email at VHABAAIssues@va.gov.” For refence, this is on page 41. Can you confirm the name and email of the VHA’s Privacy Officer?

A. Relevant POC information will be provided to the awarded vendor to the contract.

Q. For the Business Associate Agreement, will the Government require a signature block on pg. 44 of the RFQ for the Subcontractor assisting the Prime?

A. Yes, the Business Associate Agreement must be signed by the awarded prime contractor and the subcontractor partnered with the prime contractor when the contract is ready for award.

Q. Will the Government require a copy of the Prime-Subcontractor teaming agreement?

A. No.

Q. For Section E.1 52.212-1 (b)(4) Description of technical items, is there a page limit?

A. No, but please ensure the information is relevant, please use good business judgement.

Q. For section E.1 52.212-1 (b)(10) Past Performance information, how many past performances are required?

A. If an offeror chooses to submit Past Performance information, please provide information related to the solicitation requirement, ie: staffing services. There is no minimum or limit as to how many past performances are required, please use good business judgement.

Q. For the offeror’s submission to the RFQ, is there a page limit?

A. There is no page limit for an offeror’s submission to the RFQ, but please use good business judgement.