Answers to Solicitation Questions Amendment 0004.docx

Solicitation Questions and Answers Amendment 0004

1. Can you please clarify if the VAAR 852.219-75 / VA Notice of Limitation of Subcontracting still applies to this solicitation?

Answer: No, because the Solicitation is Open Market unrestricted.

2. Why is the Solicitation an open market procurement rather than an SDVOSB set-aside?

Answer: Based on reviewing responses to the sources sought it is evident the that the “primary and vital work” of the requirement would be performed by subcontractor(s) that are not a SDVOSB or a VOSB. Based on the ostensible subcontractor rule, Limitations on Subcontracting, and the overall market research, the VA has determined that the VA rule of Two was not met and neither 2 or more Small Businesses were found to intend to perform “primary and vital work” for the requirement either; therefore, the VA determined that the requirement shall be competed through an open market unrestricted solicitation.

3. Is the solicitation is going to be a Service disabled veteran set aside?

Answer: No, because the Solicitation is Open Market unrestricted.

4. What is the current inspection schedule?

Answer: Please review the solicitation’s Statement of Work (SOW) requirements. Paragraph 3.1.3 Inspection and Testing Schedule. The paragraph has the link to The Joint Commission (TJC) Inspection and Testing Schedule and the subparagraphs below has the general summary and schedule of each standard for the requirement.

5. Are there any projects that might prevent the contractor from performing the regular inspection schedule?

Answer: No. However, per the SOW, the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the Contractor would schedule inspections.

6. When was the last Smoke Damper testing performed and can you provide a list of them?

Answer: The VA Salt Lake City Health Care System’s Fire and Smoke Damper inspection and testing were performed on 3/23/2022 – 3/29/2022 for Building 14, on 4/8/2022 for Building 1, and on 6/21/2022 for Building 3.

7. What is the current inspection cycle for Smoke and fire dampers?

Answer: Please review the SOW, paragraph 3.1.3.1.11., it states “EC 02.03.05 EP 18 = Smoke and fire dampers tested to verify full Closure (1 year after install, at least every 6 years thereafter)”

8. Are there any current Tenant Improvements (Tis) with Siemens that the contractor will have to navigate?

Answer: Not at this time

9. Can the VA verify how many kitchen hoods will be included in the scheduled inspections?

Answer: 1Commercial Kitchen Exhaust System in Building 5, 1 Grill Hood System and 1 Steam/Oven Hood System in Building 8. These need to be cleaned and inspected twice a year.

10. How many of the buildings on the campus have active fire suppression systems?

Answer: 18

11. Can the VA verify the date of the last 5 year internal inspections on the fire suppression systems?

Answer: September 2025

12. Will there be any Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) requirements while doing the inspections?

Answer: No, not during inspections. Potentially yes, if doing repair work, especially if it happens to be emergency repairs.

13. Does the Prime Contractor have to have a employee with the subcontractors at all times while the inspections are being done?

Answer: No, the Prime Contractor does not have to have their employee with their subcontract at all times while inspections for the requirement is being performed, but the subcontractor must be qualified in accordance to the SOW requirements.

14. On the annual inspections can they be done during normal business hours or do we need to plan for after hours and weekends?

Answer: General rule of thumb is we prefer M-F 0700 – 1600 for all scheduled work to include annual inspections. Getting into the Operating Rooms can be a challenge and we have historically found it easier to do those on the weekends. The OR schedule and operations are pretty much inviolable. If we plan accordingly (like three months out) we might be able to get normal business hour access to the OR (or a Federal holiday that the public doesn’t get). After hours work will be for hood cleanings and inspections (building 8 after 1500 and building 5 after 1800) or emergency work.

15. Is this a new requirement, or is there an incumbent contract? If there is an incumbent, could the Government please provide the current contract number?

Answer: The Fire Alarm and Fire Suppression Maintenance and Support Services requirement that has the Statement of Work (SOW) overhauled based on the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System (SLCHCS) is a follow-on new requirement, so the previous contract number and incumbent information is not relevant for this solicitation.

16. The Solicitation outlines a Base Year period of 05/01/2026 – 04/30/2027. Will this start date be adjusted based on the actual date of the contract award?

Answer: Yes, The base year start date of the contract will begin on 11/01/2026.

17. The Solicitation is issued as open market unrestricted. However, the instructions for Volume IV require the completion of VAAR 852.219-75 (Notice of Limitations on Subcontracting). Since limitations on subcontracting typically do not apply to unrestricted solicitations, could the Government confirm if this procurement will remain unrestricted, or if it will be revised to a Small Business or SDVOSB set-aside? If it remains unrestricted, will the Government remove the VAAR 852.219-75 requirement from the instructions?

Answer: This Solicitation does not incorporate VAAR 852.219-75, and the Limitations on Subcontracting is not required for this Open Market unrestricted solicitation.

18. Are responses to service calls paid for under CLINs X005 and X006 for emergency unscheduled maintenance?

Answer: Yes, CLINs X005 and X006 for emergency unscheduled maintenance would be the annual allowance for onsite unscheduled (non-PM) maintenance service calls.

19. Is there a specific Government-mandated database or software system the Contractor must use to record and manage MITMR results by UID?

Answer: No specific government database, per the SOW the Contractor must provide the reports of the MITMR to the COR. (Note: Sure if that is your intention)

20. Because the facility utilizes a Siemens Cerberus Modular Alarm System, are there any ongoing construction projects or tenant improvements where the local Siemens branch is currently contracted to install new devices or perform system upgrades? If so, will the awardee be required to integrate or coordinate with these ongoing projects?

Answer: Currently, there are no known ongoing projects that are impacting the requirement; however, if that changes, then the COR would update the contractor.

21. In what month are the facility’s annual inspections currently being performed?

Answer: Annual inspections are due in January of each year.

22. The SOW outlines requirements for 6-year damper testing and 5-year standpipe flow tests. In which year were these previous tests completed? Without dedicated line items in the Price/Cost Schedule detailing when these multi-year services fall, could the Government specify which option year(s) these particular inspections will be required, or consider adding separate CLINs for them during the specific years they are due?

Answer: Reference attachment VA SLCHCS Fire and Smoke Damper List Amendment 0004 for damper inspections dates. 5-year standpipe test was September 2025.

23. The SOW requires final as-built drawings to be approved by a licensed Fire Protection Engineer and provided to the VA in accessible CAD files at the Contractor's expense. Requiring the prime contractor to survey the entire facility to verify and engineer accuracy for an MITMR contract presents a significant, unpredictable cost. Will the Government consider removing this requirement, or alternatively, providing a separate line item for this task so Offerors can price the standard inspection, testing, and maintenance independently of the as-built drawing requirements? We believe this was a requirement when the system upgrade was previously contemplated. Since the upgrade has been removed from the scope of work, we do not believe this requirement should apply and that it should be removed. Please confirm

Answer: The As-built drawing requirements are required after the major system upgrades are completed per the SOW and please review spreadsheet from question and answers below.

24. The SOW requires the Contractor to provide their supplier's quote to the COR for unscheduled and emergency repair parts to determine price reasonableness. The Prime Contractor's total cost includes overhead, G&A, procurement management time, and profit margins, which are proprietary and could lead to misinterpretations of fair pricing if only the raw supplier invoice is reviewed. For the purpose of determining price reasonableness, will the Government accept a detailed line-item breakdown of the Prime Contractor's final cost to the Government, rather than direct supplier invoices?

Answer: No, the Government is not asking for proprietary information, we are requiring the prime contractor to provide their supplier’s quote for parts as a reference point to the prime contractor’s itemized unscheduled maintenance quote that includes labor hours and parts, so the COR can ensure the repair services and parts quote is price fair and reasonable. If there is a mark up on the parts, then at least the COR can determine if the mark up is reasonable, not extreme like a 100% markup.

25. Facility map layouts / as-built drawings (all 30+ buildings)

Answer: The zip file has the facility map layout, as-built drawings are not relevant for this solicitation because there was a site visit and the Joint Commission (TJC) equipment list is attached.

26. Past inspection & testing reports (last 12–24 months, including Deficiency Notices

Answer: The past inspection and testing reports are not necessary for this solicitation because the primary quotes required for this solicitation are for routine scheduled support and scheduled preventive maintenance (PMs) services. The requirement is not an all-inclusive maintenance contract, so any deficiencies or required upgrades that require maintenance parts and labor services that are non-PMs, IAW the SOW shall require the contractor to provide quotes to the COR to review, and if approved by the COR the unscheduled maintenance repairs would be paid by the VANSWER: However, the VA SLCHCS may provide the Past inspection & testing reports to the awarded contractor to review after the contract is awarded.

27. List of obsolete/antiquated fire panels and devices (per SOW)

Answer: Note: Any replacement upgrades, are not part of the PMs, and per the answer in question 6, shall require the contractor to provide quotes IAW the SOW to the COR for review.

28. What is the Current Siemens software version and Password of the Day (POD) protocols?

Answer: The current Siemens software Protocol version is 14.5. The POD is controlled by VA SLC.

29. Regarding the 24/7 monitoring requirement, how many individual accounts currently require monitoring for the campus Fire Alarm System(s)?

Answer: The VA SLCHCS requires seventeen (17) individual accounts for monitoring the VA SLC campus Fire Alarm Systems.

30. The SOW states the vendor shall provide a UID for every device in the system, while also noting UIDs should be maintained "cradle to grave" and never change over the device's lifetime. Can the Government confirm whether all devices currently have existing UIDs tied to a master inventory, or if the awardee will be responsible for establishing and tagging new UIDs for all devices?

Answer: All current devices have existing UIDs. Yes, the contractor who is awarded the contract shall be responsible for establishing and tagging new UIDs for new devices added to the Fire Alarm & Fire Suppression Network.

31. The SOW requires 100% inspection and testing of various devices (e.g., smoke detectors, water flow devices, manual pull stations, standpipes, dampers, etc.) per Joint Commission standards. To ensure all offerors can develop accurate, "apples-to-apples" pricing, could the Government provide the previous inspection reports or a comprehensive device list detailing the exact quantities of each device type?

Answer: Please review the TJC Equipment Summary List spreadsheet attachment for the quantities of each device type.

32. The testing schedule requires annual inspections for all horizontal and vertical roller and slider doors per EC 02.03.05 EP 20. Please confirm whether standard swinging fire doors are excluded from this requirement. If swinging doors are included, how many of each door type are present in the facility?

Answer: Standard swinging fire doors are excluded from this requirement. We do not have any “slider” doors. Please review the TJC Equipment Summary List spreadsheet attachment for the quantities of each device type.

NOTE: Attachment, TJC Equipment Summary List Amendment 0004, provides quantities per section from the SOW paragraph 3.1.3.1. Each bottom tab corresponds to each TJC standard.

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VAMC Equipment List Total Parts List

Solicitation 36C25925Q0740 (4-27-26)

As of February 26, 2026 at 12:01:18

Quantity Model Description

12 ABHW-4S ABHW-4(S)leeping

4 AD2-XHR AD2-XHR

7 CAB-1 Enclosure, 1-Row

4 CAB-2 Enclosure, 2-Row

4 CAB-3 Enclosure, 3-Row

2 CC-2 Card Cage, 2-Slot

26 CC-5 Card Cage, 5-Slot

2 Custom Enclosure Custom Enclosure

5 DAC-NET Digital Audio Card

1 DLC Detector Loop Card Type 1

51 HTRI-D Addressable Interface Module, Dual

8 HTRI-M Addressable Interface Module, Mini

86 HTRI-R Addressable Interface Module w/ Relay

10 HTRI-S Addressable Interface Module, Single

5 LPB Live Page Board

4 LVM Live Voice Module

1 MDACT Digital Dialer Card

8 MLC MXL Line Card

1 MOM-2 CardCage, MOM-2

9 FDBZ-492 FDBZ-492

61 FDBZ-492HR FDBZ-492HR

66 FDCIO Sinteso FDCIO

55 XTRI-D Addressable Interface Module, Dual

65 XTRI-R Addressable Interface Module w/ Relay

1 XTRI-S Addressable Interface Module, Single

8 ZAC-40 Zone Amplifier Card, 40-Watt

6 ZAM-180 Zone Amplifier Module, 180-Watt

28 ZIC-4A Zone Indicating Card, 4-Circuit

4 ZIC-8B Zone Indicating Card, 8-Circuit

383 DB-11 Detector Base

128 FP-11 Smoke/Heat Detector, Addressable

2 FPT-11 Heat Detector, Addressable

23 HFP-11 FirePrint Detector Type 11

15 HFPT-11 FirePrint Thermal-Only Detector Type 11

15 HI921 Sinteso Cerberus Pro Heat detector

159 HMS-S/D/M/SA Manual Pull Station

75 MSI-1 MLC Manual Station

6 Message Player Digital Message Player

7 NIC-C(HNet) Network Interface Card

15 NRC Network Ring Card

350 OOH941 Sinteso Cerberus Pro Dual Optic / Heat detector

7 OOHC941 Sinteso Cerberus Pro Dual Optic / Heat / CO detector

59 OP921 Sinteso Cerberus Pro Optic detector

2 PAD5 Main Card PAD-5 Main Card

15 PMI-C Control Panel - CerberusPro

18 PSC-12 Power Supply Card, 12-Amp

3 PSX-12 Power Supply Extender, 12-Amp

11 SCM-8 Switch Control Module, 8-Switch

5 SSD System Status Display

19 TRI-60 Addressable 1 Switch Input

74 TRI-60D Addressable 2 Switch Input

51 TRI-60R Addressable 1 Switch Input + Relay

10 TSM-1X TSM-1X

21 XDLC Detector Loop Card Type X

3 XDMC XLS Digital Message Card

1 XMI XLS-MXL Interface

10 XMS-S/D/M/DA Manual Pull Station

* All Fire Alarm Control Panels' (FACP) should be brought up to Desigo CC Modular standards. See B.2 Statement of Work (SOW) B.2.1, B2.2.2.1 and facilitated during site walk 4-16-2026

** All FACP will require work to replace obsolete equipment in the panel.