36C77626Q0240_1.docx

Presolicitation Notice Presolicitation Notice

GENERAL INFORMATION

POSTAL CODE

COUNTRY

CONTACT INFORMATION

Program Contracting Activity Central

6100 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 490 Independence OH 44131

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contractor Charles R Taylor (Contractor) charles.taylor22@va.gov 216-447-8300

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

INTRODUCTION:

This pre-solicitation notice is prepared in accordance with FAR Part 5 and is for informational purposes only, no response is required at this time, and this notice shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) intends to issue 36C77626Q0240 to potential sources for a VA Wide Blanket Purchase Agreement for Third-Party Fire and Life Safety Services The anticipated agreement period is six (6) calendar years following award.

The solicitation is estimated to be available 15 Aug 2026 to SAM.gov. Interested parties are responsible for monitoring the posting solicitation and any subsequent amendments

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Agency anticipates awarding multiple BPAs to provide Fire Protection Life Safety (FPLS) services for VA Healthcare Systems across the United States and its territories (nationwide). The current Performance Work Statement is attached for reference to this notice.

PROCUREMENT INFORMATION:

Task orders will be competed amongst the BPA awardees. Each task order will be firm-fixed price (FFP) and have its own period of performance established. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541330 (size standard $25.5 million).

INTENDED EVALUATION METHODOLOGY:

The following information especially is intended to prepare interested parties for the solicitation, and as detailed throughout this notice does not constitute the final terms and conditions set forth for evaluation/award selection. Interested Parties must refer to the forthcoming solicitation, specifically clauses FAR 52.212-1 & 2 for solicitation preparation and submission instructions:

Evaluation factors. The Government intends to award multiple Blanket Purchase Agreements resulting from this solicitation to the responsive Offeror(s) whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors will be used to evaluate offers:

Factor 1 – Technical Approach (Staffing Plan, FPE & FPLS Firm Qualifications, Quality Control, Subcontracting Plan) Factor 2 – Past Performance Confidence Ratings: Substantial / Satisfactory / Limited / No / Unknown) (Recency & Relevancy Assessment) Factor 3 – Price Price List Template with instructions to be provided: Complete, Fair & Reasonable Contractor Requirements Interested vendors must:

· Maintain an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM).

· Possess a valid Unique Entity ID (UEI).

· Meet all eligibility requirements identified in the solicitation and be considered responsive to be eligible for award selection

SUBMISSION INFORMATION:

No proposals, quotations, capability statements, or offers are requested in response to this pre-solicitation notice.

Primary Point of Contact Name: Charles Taylor, Contract Specialist Email: Charles.taylor22@va.gov Phone: 865-765-5248 Secondary Point of Contact Name: Terry Hester, Contracting Officer Email: terry.hester@va.gov

ASSOCIATED ACTION(S):

Previous RFI 3677626Q0082 (archived) posted to https://sam.gov/

FINAL DISCLAIMER:

This notice is for planning and informational purposes only in accordance with FAR Part 5. This notice does not constitute a solicitation, request for proposal, request for quotation, or request for offers. The Government is not obligated to issue a solicitation or award a contract based on this notice. This notice does not commit the Government to contract for any such services, pay any costs incurred in preparing a response, or require award of such contract.

Blanket Purchase Agreement Fire Protection and Life Safety (FPLS) Design Review and Statement of Conditions Services PWS Professional Services Scope of Work

1. GENERAL INTENT: The Veterans Health Administration Healthcare Environment and Facilities Programs of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) (herein referred to as “the Government”) intends to procure professional and technical services to provide third-party fire and life safety professional services for VA Healthcare Systems across the United States and its territories. As its own Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), the Veterans Health administration is responsible for ensuring its adopted fire and life safety codes and standards are adhered to in the design, construction and operation of its facilities. Task orders issued under this BPA will either be for services to perform fire protection and life safety reviews for design and construction projects, or to develop and update healthcare facility Statement of Conditions (SOC) drawings, in accordance with the requirements of the individual task order’s scope of work (SOW). The task orders may span multiple Federal fiscal years depending on the type of work required. All work performed under this BPA shall be compliant with all Federal laws, executive orders, and regulations and VA adopted codes and standards related to the planning, design, leasing, construction, operation and disposal of VA facilities and infrastructure.

2. DEFINITIONS: The following definitions are fundamental to the understanding of the requirements of this BPA SOW and all task orders issued under it.

a. Architect/Engineer (A/E) – The qualified design professional who oversees and leads the study for, design of and construction period services efforts for a project. When used in a group context, it refers to the design team that is working together to prepare, deliver and oversee the construction of a project’s design.

U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Acquisition University (DAU), ACON 002, Architect-Engineering Contracting, https://www.dau.edu/acquipedia-article/architect-engineering-contracting

b. Commissioning / Commissioning Process (Cx) – A quality-focused process for enhancing the delivery of a project. The process focuses on verifying and documenting that all of the commissioned systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner’s project requirements.

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers / National Institutes of Building Sciences (ASHRAE/NIBS), Guideline 0-2019 The Commissioning Process dated Jan 2019, https://www.ashrae.org/news/esociety/updated-commissioning-guideline

c. Commissioning Agent (CxA) – The qualified commissioning professional who administers the commissioning process by managing the commissioning team. Where CxA is used it means the Commissioning Agent, members of the staff or appointed members of the commissioning team. Note that U.S. Green Building Council in its Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design (LEED) program uses the term Commissioning Authority in lieu of Commissioning Agent.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Whole Building Commissioning Process Manual dated Nov 1, 2013, https://vatilms.va.gov/vatilms/reports/PG-18-10

d. Life Safety Agent (LS Agent) – A term used in some VA design and commissioning services scopes of work to refer to the third-party fire protection engineer (FPE) performing the independent fire protection and life safety design review for projects. Third-party FPE or LsA may be used interchangeably. May also be used to describe an engineer or firm working on a Statement of Conditions drawing set update.

e. Third-Party Reviewer – A qualified fire protection engineer(s) who is not associated with (i.e., having a financial or contractual relationship) the design team.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VHA Directive 7712, Fire Protection Code Reviews of Delegated Construction Projects, dated May 19, 2022, https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=9797

f. Veterans Affairs Clinic (VAC) – Formerly Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), a VA Clinic is a VA-operated, VA-funded, or VA-reimbursed site of care operating under the administrative control of a VA Healthcare System and is located separate from a VA Medical Center. This is the most numerous type of outpatient site of care in VHA. A VAC can provide primary, specialty, subspecialty, mental health, or any combination of healthcare delivery services that can be appropriately provided in an outpatient setting. There are two recognized outpatient VAC classifications in VHA: Multi-Specialty VACs and Primary Care VACs.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VHA Directive 1229(1), Planning and Operating Outpatient Sites of Care, amended Oct 14, 2019, https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=5439

g. Veterans Affairs Healthcare Center (VAHCC) – A VA-owned, VA-leased, contract, or shared clinic operated at least five days per week that provides primary care, mental health care, on site specialty services, and performs ambulatory surgery and/or invasive procedures, which may require moderate sedation or general anesthesia. A VAHCC may be designated as an ambulatory surgery clinic (ASC) if it meets the requirements of the assigned surgical complexity level and provides all associated support infrastructure, such as pharmacy, laboratory, and x-ray, to perform these healthcare services safely and effectively. A VAHCC may be the parent facility of a VA Healthcare System.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VHA Directive 1229(1), Planning and Operating Outpatient Sites of Care, amended Oct 14, 2019, https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=5439

h. Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (VAHCS) – An integrated healthcare delivery system under the direction of one administrative parent facility and comprised of multiple healthcare facilities, offering an array of healthcare services to Veterans in a defined geographic area. A VAHCS is the collection of VAMCs, VAHCCs, VACs, other sites of care and administrative sites it operates to deliver services.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VHA Handbook 1006.02, VHA Site Classifications and Definitions, dated Dec 30, 2013, https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=2970

i. Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) – A VA point of service that provides at least two categories of care (inpatient, outpatient, residential, or institutional extended care). Typically, a VAMC is the parent facility of a VA Healthcare System.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VHA Handbook 1006.02, VHA Site Classifications and Definitions, dated Dec 30, 2013, https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=2970

3. STATEMENT OF WORK: The LsA shall serve as an objective, independent third-party advocate for the Government on the project with internal and external stakeholders, and with other Government consultants and contractors.Work performed under this BPA will be done to enhance the performance and safety of VA buildings and infrastructure designed in compliance with VA’s adopted codes, standards and manuals, as well as constructed with elements from the following specification divisions (as defined by the VA Technical Information Library [TIL] and the Construction Specifications Institute [CSI] MasterFormat 2004 as updated):

Additional work elements include supporting VAHCSs with Joint Commission (https://www.jointcommission.org/en-us) accreditation inspection readiness tasks as VHA voluntarily submits itself for healthcare facility accreditation.

Task orders under this BPA shall be one of two types:

a. Fire Protection and Life Safety (FPLS) Design Reviews – FPLS task orders are issued to support new VA capital and non-capital projects, as well as leases. The LsA will review the following items (at a minimum) from the project’s design documents:

i. Classification of Occupancy

ii. Minimum Construction Requirements (and separation)

iii. Means of Egress

iv. Protection Measures

v. Building Services

vi. Design Specifications (if provided)

vii. Design Narrative (if provided)

viii. Design Specifications

ix. Confirmation that an A/E’s FPE has performed fire alarm, fire suppression, and life safety design for the project (for projects not designed by VA staff) Typical VA capital projects require two FPLS reviews at the Schematic Design (SD)/35% submittal and at the Construction Documents (CD)/95% submittal. Other project types may only require one review. Individual reviews are not complete until all identified review comments are resolved to the LsA’s and VA’s satisfaction and are certified by the LsA and VA project manager.

Follow-up technical support shall be provided by the LsA as needed to respond to A/E, CxA or VA questions regarding the FPLS review comments.

Review comments shall be provided to VA by the LsA in the format specified in the attachment to this SOW (example comment provided for formatting guidance; use of either the Microsoft Word or Excel version of the report template is at the LsA’s discretion). Once the report is certified, it becomes part of the project’s records.

b. Statement of Conditions (SOC) Drawings Preparation and Updates – SOC task orders are issued to support VA Joint Commission (JC) accreditation requirements for drawing sets of covered buildings that comply with the Physical Environment Essentials for Health Care Standards for Hospital Accreditation, the Environment of Care Standards for Ambulatory Health Care Accreditation, and other applicable JC standards for other accreditation programs the VAHCS may participate in. SOC drawings additionally serve as record drawings for facility operations and maintenance, as well as an existing conditions reference document for development of capital and non-capital construction project scopes, budgets and design documents. Accreditation inspections occur approximately every three years for each VAHCS. Drawings and associated documents include:

i. Areas of building fully sprinklered (if building only partially sprinklered)

ii. Locations of all hazardous storage areas

iii. Locations of all fire-rated barriers

iv. Locations of all smoke-rated barriers

v. Sleeping and non-sleeping suite boundaries, including size of identified suites

vi. Locations of designated smoke compartments

vii. Locations of chutes and shafts

viii. Any approved equivalencies or waivers Drawings shall be provided to VA by the LsA in the format specified by VA’s Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Computer Aided Design (CAD) standards found in VA Program Guide PG-18-13 Topic Specific Standards and Criteria (https://vatilms.va.gov/vatilms/reports/PG-18-13). Specific file formats will be provided in the task order SOW.

The above paragraphs constitute the basic outline of the work to be accomplished and in no way comprises all the details for task orders issued under this BPA. The LsA shall be solely responsible for the management, including all associated labor, equipment, materials, mailing costs, and inspections, to meet the requirements of the individual project. The LsA shall further provide meeting minutes for all meetings held under each task order.

4. TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE CRITERIA: The primary criteria for LsAs on task orders issued under this BPA shall be the most current versions of:

a. VHA Directive 7712 Fire Protection Code Reviews of Delegated Construction Projects (https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=9797)

b. VA Qualifications and Scope of Services, Project Fire Protection Engineer (https://vatilms.va.gov/vatilms/reports/Miscellaneous%20Scopes%20of%20Servi ce%20and%20Checklists)

c. VA Fire Protection Design Manual (https://vatilms.va.gov/vatilms/reports/PG-18-10%20Design%20Manuals)

d. International Building Codes (IBC) as noted below (https://www.iccsafe.org/products-and-services/i-codes/the-i-codes/)

e. NFPA 101 Life Safety Code as noted below (https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-101-standard-development/101)

f. NFPA National Fire Codes, with the exception of NFPA 5000 and NFPA 900 (https://www.nfpa.org/for-professionals/codes-and-standards)

g. The VHA-Joint Commission Clarification Document (https://vaww.hefp.va.gov/fire-protection) Note: this is an internal VA website that is not available to the public; the most current document will be provided to the LsA upon contract award and when it is updated

h. Joint Commission Accreditation Standards (https://www.jointcommission.org/en-us/standards) NFPA 101 primarily addresses life safety and fire protection features while the IBC addresses a wide range of considerations, including, but not limited to, structural strength, seismic stability, sanitation, adequate light and ventilation, and energy conservation. VA buildings must meet the requirements of NFPA 101 and documents referenced by NFPA 101 in order to comply with the accreditation requirements of Joint Commission. Therefore, designs shall comply with the requirements of the latest edition of NFPA 101 and documents referenced therein. Design features not addressed by NFPA 101 or documents referenced therein shall comply with the requirements of the latest edition of the IBC or as otherwise addressed in other VA adopted criteria. For design features that are addressed by both the IBC as well as NFPA 101 or a document referenced by NFPA 101, the requirements of NFPA 101 or the document referenced by NFPA 101 shall be used exclusively (this applies even if the IBC requirements are different).

Secondary criteria is hosted on the VA Technical Information Library (TIL) available at http://www.cfm.va.gov/til/index.asp. The TIL is managed by the VA Office of Construction and Facility Management and is the master repository for all VA numbered standards for construction to include design and construction specifications, procedures, standard details, BIM/CAD standards, equipment guides, space planning and design guides. The documents of the TIL shall be the minimum design criteria for all VA projects performed in the construction of new facilities and the modernization, alteration, addition, or improvement of its real property to include commissioning, recommissioning and retro-commissioning projects. All SOC drawings as well as design and commissioning documents which are reviewed by the LsA shall be developed in accordance with the VA TIL, including (but not limited to) the following listed VA references (most recent version/edition):

Where conflicts exist between VA adopted codes and standards and the documents on the TIL, the LsA shall bring this to the attention of the Government. The resolution of the conflict shall be made by the authority having jurisdiction for VA to ensure consistency department wide.

5. POLICY CRITERIA: Federal laws and executive orders, as well as VA and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) policies in the form of plans, directives, handbooks, operational memos, notices and manuals mandate requirements for the design, construction, operations, energy efficiency and sustainability of Government capital assets that are owned and leased.

Federal laws and executive orders impacting Government capital assets are numerous and subject to periodic change. If a new or changed Federal policy imposes new requirements or changes existing policies (Federal, VA or VHA), they will be referenced in the task order SOW as a mandatory criteria to follow.

VA and VHA policies are available at https://www.my.sites.va.gov/policy, https://www.va.gov/vapubs/ and https://vaww.va.gov/vhapublications/ (Note: the last link is an internal VA websites that is not available to the public). The most current revision of a document shall be used and may be annotated by a “(#)” added to the document number. Additional changes to policies may be in a separate publication with the same document number annotated by “/#”. As applicable to FPLS reviews, these include, but are not limited to:

a. VA Directive 0055 VA Energy and Water Management Program

b. VA Handbook 0730/4 Security and Law Enforcemen

c. VHA Directive 7515 Medical Gas and Vacuum Systems

d. VHA Directive 1028 Facility Electrical Power Systems

e. VHA Directive 1810 Boiler and Boiler Plant Operations

f. VHA Directive 1811 VHA Healthcare Engineering Program Requirements Where conflicts exist between VA/VHA policy or other Federal requirements, the LsA shall bring this to the attention of the VA. The resolution of the conflict shall be made by the authority having jurisdiction for VA to ensure consistency department wide.

6. COLLABORATION REQUIREMENTS: The LsA during work on task orders, in addition to the members of VAHCS integrated project team, shall collaborate as needed with VHA Office of Healthcare Environment and Facilities Programs (HEFP) staff, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) Capital Assets Management staff, the CxA for the project and any VA or VHA program office that by policy has review and oversight responsibilities for certain types of capital projects (i.e., sterile processing spaces, operating rooms, radiology departments, sterile compounding pharmacies, etc.). Design review comments from these entities that impact the fire and life safety elements of the design, shall be incorporated into the review comments. For all LsA task orders, any LsA deliverables shall be coordinated with the project’s design submittals to ensure compliance with all project FPLS requirements are met.

7. FIRE PROTECTION AND LIFE SAFETY FIRM QUALIFICATIONS: Offering firms for this BPA shall have at least five years of experience performing fire protection and life safety design services for healthcare facilities. If, for any reason, the firm is subjected to disciplinary action by a licensing authority during this period, the LsA shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer. Any firm that has been the subject of disciplinary action by their licensing authority within the five years preceding the solicitation of this BPA contract is not eligible for an award.

8. FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEER QUALIFICATIONS: Offering firms for this BPA shall assemble a LsA team with the following minimum disciplines (as W-2 employees):

The project manager shall not be the same person as one of the FPEs. Discipline specific qualifications by position are:

a. Project Manager – A minimum of two years of experience in healthcare facilities project management. No other specific qualifications, but rates charged for project management work shall not be the same as a firm Principal (or equivalent title) as the work managing task orders is not equivalent to business development and firm management work.

b. Fire Protection Engineer – Shall meet the requirements below:

i. A licensed professional engineer (P.E.) who:

(1). Has obtained an ABET-accredited bachelor’s degree in fire protection engineering or a master’s degree or other advanced degree in fire protection engineering (“fire safety” or similar degrees are not acceptable), (2). Has passed the principles and practices examination in fire protection engineering, and (3). Maintains a current professional engineer license in fire protection engineering from a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory. It is understood that some jurisdictions do not issue dedicated P.E. licenses in fire protection engineering; in such cases, an individual’s licensure must be predicated upon passing the principles and practices examination in fire protection engineering.

ii. Five years of experience developing life safety drawings (i.e., Statement of Conditions drawings) for complex healthcare occupancies (occupancies containing NFPA 101 suites, high-rise buildings, horizontal exits, separated and mixed occupancies, etc.) to be used for healthcare facility accreditation compliance purposes.

iii. Five years of experience in application and interpretation of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Codes and Standards and the model building codes.

iv. Five years of experience in the design/review of automatic sprinkler and fire alarm systems, including:

(1). Automatic sprinkler and fire alarm system shop drawings (2). Automatic sprinkler system hydraulic calculations (3). Fire alarm system voltage drop and battery calculations

v. Five years of experience in the application and interpretation of NFPA codes and standards, including, but not limited to, NFPA 1, 3, 4, 10, 13, 14, 17A, 20, 24, 25, 30, 45, 72, 75, 80, 82, 90A, 96, 99, 101, 110, 220, 241 and 2001.

vi. Five years of experience in the design of healthcare facilities

vii. Five years of experience in acceptance testing of fire protection systems

c. Drafter and/or BIM/CAD Technician – A minimum of two years of experience in healthcare facilities BIM and CAD drawing work. Must be knowledgeable in Autodesk Revit 3D modeling and Autodesk AutoCAD 2D/3D modeling as VHA facilities are in various states of adopting BIM models as their standard for facility record drawings and project design drawings. No other specific qualifications.

The selected firm shall ensure that LsA team staff presented for this BPA remain available for task orders for the duration of the contract (to include all option years). If an originally proposed staff member becomes unavailable for work under the BPA for a continuous period exceeding 20 working days or are expected to devote substantially less effort to the work than indicated in the proposal, the firm shall propose a substitution of such staff for review and acceptance by the Contracting Officer. All proposed substitutions shall be submitted, in writing, to the Contracting Officer at least 15 days prior to the proposed substitution. All proposed substitutes shall have qualifications equal to or higher than the qualifications of the person being replaced.

9. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS: All security requirements will be specified per order in accordance with each VAHCS’s policies to include but not limited to ID badging, check-in/check-out processes, photography rules, escort needs and training requirements.

10. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS: Travel and Per Diem are not “reimbursable” expenses under firm fixed price contracts. Compliant General Services Administration (GSA) rates and guidance available online at https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates. Additional administrative requirements may be defined per task order.

11. CONTRACT OVERSIGHT: All orders under this BPA will be awarded in support of VA requirements by any office within the VA; only a warranted VA Contracting Officer shall have authority to change the terms and conditions of the BPA or individual order. These changes may involve the award amount, period of performance, issuance of stop work orders and changes to the statement of work.

The awarding office shall designate a Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) per order to monitor and manage contractor performance under the order. The COR shall be a representative of the servicing VAHCS and have the technical knowledge required to monitor and oversee the project.

(End of PWS)

End of Document

Presolicitation Notice