36C26225Q0393 0001.docx

RAS ENTERPRISES VENDOR QUESTIONS – RFQ 36C26225Q0393

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE

CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office.

is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243 (Type or print) (Type or print) (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (If other than Item 6) (Specify type of modification and authority) (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

02-20-2025

600-25-3-080-3222

36C262

NCO 22

Department of Veterans Affairs NCO 22 - Gilbert Network Contracting 335 East Germann Road Gilbert AZ 85297

36C262

NCO 22

Department of Veterans Affairs NCO 22 - Gilbert Network Contracting 335 East Germann Road Gilbert AZ 85297 To all Offerors/Bidders

36C26225Q0393

X

** HOUR & DATE for Receipt of Offers is EXTENDED to: 02-27-2025 12:00 PST See CONTINUATION Page 600-3650160-080-820100-2631 010044143

This amendment is to extend:

1.Extend the Proposal Submission date

2. Answer Contractor questions.

3. VA intends to procure these medical gases under the SBA’s NMR Class Waiver for Industrial Gases Manufacturing under

NAICS 325120.

There are no other changes to the terms and conditions of this Solicitation.

Anthony Dela Cruz Contracting Officer

VA-VHA-RPOW-2024-0101

CONTINUATION PAGE

Vendor Questions from RAS Enterprises regarding RFQ 36C26225Q0393 (Long Beach VA HCS Medical Gas Cylinders):

1. DELIVERY TIMEFRAME: PG 7 of 68 in the RFQ (Section 3) states that “The Contractor shall arrive at the VA Long Beach from 7AM to 11AM on Tuesday and Thursday” and that the “Delivery window is 4 hours from time of confirmation.” Is the current provider delivering within the restricted 7AM-11AM timeframe and does this apply to all facilities or just the VAMC? Please clarify what “4 hours from time of confirmation” means regarding the delivery window as it is unclear. Industry standard procedures are to allow deliveries during the full operating hours of the facilities receiving department (e.g., 8 am – 4 pm local time) as requiring a limited 4-hour delivery window will result in exponentially higher pricing as distribution is the highest cost in the medical gas supply.

Answer: The government will allow flexibility dependent on the governments needs. Delivery times will be established at time of order.

2. EMERGENCY DELIVERIES: There are contradictions for the emergency delivery requirements in the RFQ: Will the GOV please clarify the expectations for emergency delivery timeframes and amend this requirement to fit industry standard, which is that the offeror must RESPOND within (2) hours and DELIVER within (24) hours as it is unreasonable to expect delivery within (2) or (4) hours in a major metropolitan area, especially since there are certain gas items that physically can’t be delivered same day due to fill process, validation, and certification (e.g., liquid nitrogen dewar fills)? Additionally, the driver may have to go back to the branch/fill plant to meet the emergency order as there’s no guarantee the driver will have the required gas or QTYs already on the truck, which is especially relevant if a CBOC requires an emergency delivery, and it is placed towards the end of the workday. Another factor that comes in to play is available driver hours for that particular day.

0. PG 5 of 68 states that “The contractor must be able to deliver gases in emergent situations in a two-hour delivery timeframe as needed by the VA Long Beach and Community Based Outpatient Clinics.”

0. PG 8 states that “The emergency timeframe is for when the vendor must respond to the emergency order – delivery must occur by the next day.”

0. PG 16 states that “An emergency request for gases will be responded to within 2 hours” and that “ Deliveries made on an emergent basis will be within 4 hours from time of Contractor response.”

Answer: In regard to the Long Beach area Prime Vendor Airgas gas three locations within 5 miles. This would be reasonable expectation IF an emergency would occur. For CBOC’s government can adjust to RESPOND within (2) hours and DELIVER within (24) hours METHOD OF DELIVERIES: PG 5 of 68 in the RFQ (Section 1) states that when making deliveries, the contractor is responsible for “securing tanks with chains and ensuring the collection areas are locked or secured when they leave.” Per NFPA regulations, this is the responsibility of the facility personnel, not the delivery driver. The delivery driver should not be attending storage areas without a VA POC for deliveries/pick-ups or securing storage areas when they leave. We recommend removing this language or revised as it is incorrect and against NFPA requirements. PG 5 does state that the “contractor shall sign in and out of the facility with VA Long Beach warehouse staff” and “provide a bill of lading,” so please confirm that VA staff are present during the delivery of cylinders in order to sign the Proof of Delivery (required) AND secure the VA’s tank storage areas.

Answer: Driver and COR or government Representative will validate area is secured.

3. EVALUATION: There is a contradiction for the evaluation method within the RFQ. The SF1449 states that the contract will be awarded to the “lowest-priced, technically acceptable offeror,” and PGs 8-9 of 68 (Section 3) require specific, technical requirements of the offeror. However, the evaluation provision on PGs 50-51 states that the evaluation factor will be “Price Only.” Please clarify the evaluation method. If it is “Price Only,” what is the rationale for this being the only factor considering the highly technical statement of work to supply a critical hospital function such as medical-grade oxygen for human consumption (defined by the FDA as a prescription drug)? How is the GOV going to verify that the offeror is technically capable and compliant to meet the requirement if the GOV is awarding solely by which SDVOSB offeror provides the lowest price? A “Price only’ evaluation metric would contradict the detailed technical info/contract management plan required on PG 6 of 68.

Answer: Price Only is the governments discretion. Technical aspects are an industry standard that must be met. A technically acceptable offeror is one whose proposal meets the technical requirements but may not be selected based on other factors such as performance.

4. INVOICING PROCEDURES: PG 5 of 68 in the RFQ (Section 2) states that “The contractor will also provide a monthly consolidated invoice clearly showing each line item delivered for that month no later than the Monday of the first working week of the following month.” We request that this language/requirement be revised to allow for the submission of monthly invoices within the first (10) business days of the following month. There are required processing times for consolidating monthly invoices following a month’s end, and Contractors must ensure all Proofs of Delivery (PODs) for the previous month have become available (oftentimes this takes several days to post) before they can complete that processing as the PODs are required to summarize all deliveries and returns before rental charges can be calculated. As a result, the requirement to provide a monthly invoice for each location within (5) days is impractical due to the availability of the data and processing times required.

Answer: Monthly invoices will be within the first (10) business days of the following month.

5. MONTHLY/QUARTERLY INVOICING: PG 16 of 68 in the RFQ (Section 11) states that “Invoices will be submitted quarterly in arrears,” but PG 5 of 68 (Section 2) requests a monthly consolidated invoice. Please confirm that the requirement is for Contractors to submit a monthly invoice.

Answer: Will be monthly.

6. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS: How is the GOV going to validate that offerors are properly insured for NAICS 325120/221210 – the actual requirement for this work to comply with the RFQ and not just the dollar values threshold listed on PG 14 of 68 in the RFQ? How do offerors confirm to the GOV that they have the correct type of Liability Insurance, and does this need to be affirmed at the time of bid submission (if not, an awarded firm could be turned down or not be able to afford this coverage in the amounts the GOV requires, respective to NAICS 325120)? This is important because there are very few underwriters that will insure small businesses for the distribution of compressed gases and why confirmation of the applicable NAICS is being requested, in accordance with paragraph (a) of FAR 52.228-5 – Insurance Work on a Government Installation.

Answer: Contractor signature is acknowledgement of compliance and at the governments request contractor must provide proof.

7. ITEMs 0018 & 0039: Please clarify what the GOV’s requirements are for an integrated valve oxygen size E cylinder. CLIN 0018 lists the “GRAB’N’GO OPTI,” but CLIN 0039 lists a Contractor Owned “OXYTOTE” with a Customer Owned part #. Both CLIN 0018 & 0039 represent the same type of product from different suppliers. What is the rationale for including (2) line items to be priced for an integrated valve oxygen cylinder, especially when the quantity is listed as (1) for CLIN 0039?

Answer: The facility has a need for both requirements.

8. LIQUID NITROGEN REQUIREMENTS FOR VAMC/CBOCs: Is 25 Liters (Item 21 on PG 9 of 68) the only Liquid Nitrogen Open Mouth Dewar Size utilized on this contract between all facilities? If not, what are the sizes required by facility/department? There are multiple references to Liquid Nitrogen Dewar needs across facilities/departments, but the Dewar sizes are not specified.

· PG 8 of 68 notates (2) Dewars for Dermatology & (1) Dewar for Primary Care second Floor. PG 13 of 68 notates “CBOC Refill and provide service for 1 Dewar Liquid Nitrogen Cylinder” under the CBOCs but it does not specify if this applies to all CBOCs or only a particular CBOC. This same language is notated at the bottom of PG 12 of 68 with no specifics as to size and location of the requirement.

Answer:

CBOC Refill and provide service for 1 Dewar Liquid Nitrogen cylinder.

9. RENTAL CLIN GROUPINGS: The provided rental CLINs on PGs 11-12 of 68 in the RFQ are specific to (1) gas supplier (Linde Gas & Equipment) as detailed by the item numbers and/or brand-specific tank names (e.g., GRAB’N’GO). Is the GOV amenable to offerors pricing monthly cylinder rentals in an alternate structure/category than what’s currently in the table on PGs 11-12? See example below of Alternate Cylinder Rental Groupings by SIZE/TYPE/FUNCTION.

· ALTERNATE RENTAL GROUPING STRUCTURE:

Answer: What is the contractor reasoning for requesting this change? Supplier used must be able to meet requirements and provide equal to requested.

10. LOU CLINS: The LOU CLINs provided on PG 12 of 68 in the RFQ do not account for the replacement costs of specific cylinder types within each grouping. For example, CLIN 0035 is for “E-TANK REPLACEMENT COSTS,” but the replacement costs vary for E cylinders and are dependent on the type of E cylinder being replaced. The standard for pricing LOU costs is to include an individual line item for each required cylinder type in order to appropriately price the requirement, rather than grouping cylinders together by size only. If offerors are required to price by size groupings, the price will reflect the highest cost cylinder within that grouping. It is more cost effective for the GOV to provide individual LOU CLINs for each cylinder type for offerors to price. Will the GOV amend the structure of the LOU CLINs to allow offerors to price LOU by each individual gas item in order provide the most competitive price with their offers?

· LOU CLINs PROVIDED IN RFQ:

0. CLIN 0035: E-TANK REPLACEMENT COST (LOSS OF USE)

0. CLIN 0036: H OR K-TANK REPLACEMENT COST (LOSS OF USE)

0. CLIN 0037: 6K-TANK REPLACEMENT COST (LOSS OF USE)

0. CLIN 0038: GRAB’N’GO TANK REPLACEMENT COST (LOSS OF USE)

Answer: The best price available at time of submission will be adequate since it is what is available.

11. GFE CLARIFICATION: PG 7 of 68 states that “None of the Cylinders are owned by the VA,” but there are several GFE-notated Gases included on PG 11 for offerors to price, whether notated as “customer owned” or a part # that notates it’s customer owned. Please clarify if the VA requires offerors to price GFE cylinder fills for the gases listed below. If yes, please confirm how many of each cylinder type the VA has on its property books. If not, please correct this to reflect the appropriate requirement.

· GFE-Notated Gases:

· ITEM 0022: NI HP200C - NITROGEN HIGH PURITY, SIZE H, NI HP200C, VA OWNED CYLINDER; MANUFACTURER PART NUMBER (MPN): NI HP200C LOCAL STOCK NUMBER: NI HP200C

· ITEM 0023: NSUSPEC – NITROUS OXIDE CYLINDER, SIZE E, VA OWNED CYLINDER

· ITEM 0025: NS M-20N – CONTRACTOR OWNED REFILL, NITROUS OXIDE, MEDICAL, 20#

· NOTE: ITEM 0025 says “contractor-owned refill” in the description, but the “N” in the NS M-20N part number indicates a GFE cylinder.

· ITEM 0026: NS M-50N – NITROUS OXIDE, MEDICAL, 50#LBS

· NOTE: The “N” in the NS M-50N part number for ITEM 0026 indicates a GFE cylinder.

· ITEM 0039: OX M-AEOXYTOTEN - REFILL CONTRACTOR OWNED CYLINDER WITH BUILT-IN REGULATOR (OXYTOTE) LOCAL STOCK NUMBER: OX M-AEOXYTOTEN

· NOTE: CLIN 0039 says “contractor-owned refill” in the description, but the “N” in OX M-AEOXYTOTEN indicates a GFE cylinder

· ITEM 0033: HYDRO TEST OF VA OWNED TANKS

· What is the purpose/utility of this item if there are no VA Owned Cylinders?

Answer: Cylinders identified as GFE are correct.

12. DUPLICATE CLIN: Is there any difference in ITEMS 0010 & 0024? If not, these are considered duplicates and one of them should be deleted to eliminate redundancy and unnecessary potential funding.

· ITEM 0010: NITROUS OXIDE, MEDICAL GRADE, ALUMINUM, E-TANKS LOCAL STOCK NUMBER: NS M-AE

· ITEM 0024: CONTRACTOR OWNED REFILL, NITROUS OXIDE, MEDICAL, ALUMINUM, E-TANKS LOCAL STOCK NUMBER: NS M-AE Answer: It is not duplicate requirement is requested and currently used.

13. ANNUAL AUDIT CLIN: Will the GOV please add a CLIN for Annual Audit for the VAMC (CBOCs typically self-audit unless on-hand balances are higher than average) as there are real-world costs associated with having the SDVOSB Prime Contractor send a POC to the VAMC each contract year to perform this (travel, lodging, etc.)? It is common in the industry in VA multi-year contracts that Contractors are able to charge/account for these annual audit costs via a provided CLIN.

Answer: CLIN will be added and all travel must follow FAR part 31.205-46 Travel costs. Travel must not exceed reasonable amount of time required to complete audit.

14. INCOMING AUDIT REQUIREMENT: PG 14 OF 68 in the RFQ (Section 3.2) states that “The VA and the Contractor shall perform an annual, on-site inventory of all contractor-provided cylinders to verify the amounts of cylinders in use. This task is to be completed at the beginning of the contract and annually thereafter.” We request the removal/modification of the language notated in YELLOW as this is highly nonstandard. The incoming contractor would not audit the outgoing contractor’s cylinders, especially if the incoming contractor is hiring a new gas supplier. Additionally, it is the outgoing contractor’s and the VA’s responsibility to perform the closeout audit which identifies any potential Loss of Use. Even if the incoming contractor is hiring the current gas supplier, the incoming contractor does not participate in the closeout audit and only accepts the cylinder balances agreed upon by the VA and the supplier in writing.

Answer: Language to be removed. This task is to be completed at the beginning of the contract

15. BULK LANGUAGE: PGs 5-6 of 68 (Section 2.1) includes Bulk Oxygen language/requirements, but the RFQ is only soliciting Medical Gas Cylinders. Will the GOV please remove any language specific to bulk oxygen as it is not applicable to this contract?

Answer: Bulk language to be removed.

16. LICENSING REQUIREMENT: Please confirm that the SDVOSB offeror must comply with the FDA/Code of Federal Regulations at the time of bid submission in order to meet the requirements of the Statement of Work in this RFQ (wholesale distribution of medical-grade oxygen/compressed gases where medical-grade oxygen is defined by the FDA as a prescription drug) as the bid states multiple times that the offeror must be compliant with federal, state, and local regulations to include licensing.

· PG 6 of 68 (Section 2.1.3) under Scope:

· “All products, equipment and services provided under the contract awarded under this solicitation shall be in compliance with all applicable Federal, state, and local regulations, unless otherwise stated”

· PG 13 of 68 (Section 7) under Licensing and Certification:

0. “Contractor will adhere to all local, state, and federal regulations involving compressed gases.”

· PG 23 of 68 under FAR 52.212-4:

0. “(q) Other compliances. The Contractor shall comply with all applicable Federal, State and local laws, executive orders, rules and regulations applicable to its performance under this contract.”

0. INFO ONLY - REFERENCE INFORMATION REGARDING FEDERAL WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTION LICENSING REGULATIONS BY THE FDA & IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA:

· CFR Code of Regulations, Title 21, Chapter 1, Subchapter C, Part 205 – GUIDELINES FOR STATE LICENSING OF WHOLESALE PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISTRIBUTOR:

· LINK: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-205

· Per the Food and Drug Administration, Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 – Definition of a Wholesale Distributor: Based on the SOW and requirement of the offeror to sign VAR 852.219-76 (Certificate of Compliance affirming that the offeror takes ownership/possession of the product in accordance with industry standards), the SDVOSB offeror qualifies as being a Wholesale Distributor (restated, medical-grade/US Pharmacopoeia Oxygen is defined as a prescription drug).

· LINK: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=203.3

· Per Section 201(g) of the FD&C Act (21 USC 321(g)) provides that the term "drug" means:

0. Per the California Board of Pharmacy Licensing Requirements for Wholesale Distributors & Nonresident Wholesale Distributors (in accordance with CFR 21 Title 21, Chapter 1, Subchapter C, Part 205 as there is no “federal” license):

· LINK: https://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/applicants/wls.shtml

0. Per PG 222 of 879 of the 2025 State of CA Lawbook, Article 11. Wholesalers, Third-Party Logistics Providers and Manufacturers:

· LINK: https://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/laws_regs/lawbook.pdf Answer: Contractor will adhere to all local, state, and federal regulations involving compressed gases.

image3.png image4.png image5.png image6.png image7.png image1.png image2.png