Questions and Answers 75D30124Q77950 revised 10-03-2024.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 20 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- 75D30124Q77950
About this file
This document is a set of Questions and Answers related to a federal contract opportunity for a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for Dry Ice and CO2 delivery services for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The key details are:
- The CDC intends to award up to 5 separate BPAs for dry ice and CO2 delivery services to the lowest priced, technically acceptable offeror(s).
- The RFQ solicitation number is 75D30124Q77950, and proposals are due by July 31, 2024.
- The contract requires dry ice deliveries of up to 2,000 lbs/week to the Lawrenceville campus and 10,000 lbs/twice weekly to the Roybal campus. It also requires medical or food grade CO2 in bulk tanks and cylinders.
- Current incumbent contracts are BPA# 75D30119A04379 awarded to NEXAIR, LLC for CO2, and BPA# 75D30119A04050 awarded to Green Lantern, LLC for dry ice.
- The government will accept separate delivery fees for dry ice and CO2, and expects bidders to propose annual price increase percentages.
View the file
Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| SF30 75D301-24-Q-77950.pdf | ||
| Pricing Schedule Breakdown 75D301-24-Q-77950.docx | DOCX document | |
| Revised Questions and Answers 75D30124Q77950.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| RFQ 75D30124Q77950.pdf | ||
| Current Questions and Answers 75D30124Q77950.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| RFQ 75D30124Q77950.pdf |
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Text version
Sheet1
| RFQ 75D301-24-Q-77950 | ||||
| Vendor: | ||||
| Question | ||||
| Number | RFQ or Attachment Page Reference | |||
| (if applicable) | Question | CDC Response | ||
| 1 | Please provide the current quantities of dry ice and liquid CO2 being delivered or give us an estimate of what you think the quantities would be each week or monthly to the CDC Lawrenceville and Roybal campuses. | Current quantity for dry ice weekly for Lawrenceville is 2000 lbs. It occasionally rises to 2500 lbs. if there is an outbreak, however it is usually not an emergency request, but rather an additional bin added to the weekly order for a time. Current quantities for dry ice for Roybal are 10,000 lbs. divided into a Tuesday and Thursday deliveries so that the bins can be replenished for weekend work and so that the shipping department has fresh dry ice for international deliveries that go out on Fridays. Again, if there is a known increased need it is added to one of the biweekly deliveries and does not require a separate trip. We keep a supply to cover most increases and will be replacing our stock. | ||
| 2 | Is there the potential that emergency deliveries may be required? | There is a possibility of emergency fills for bulk CO2 if a valve freezes open or is a solenoid blows meaning there is a large release of gas that needs replacing. OSSAM has the maintenance contract for the bulk tanks, we are looking to supply the product only. | ||
| 3 | Are there specific purity or grade requirements for the dry ice and liquid CO2? What are the packaging and storage requirements for dry ice deliveries? | For bulk CO2 we are requesting medical grade 99.5% purity or food grade 99.9% as available. The requested grade for dry ice is food grade or 99.9% purity. For dry ice we are requesting standard ½ “ to ¾ “ pellet dry ice delivered in lined, insulated HDPE dry ice bins w/ hinged lid & working caster wheels. Bins should be made from BPA Free, FDA compliant resin with gaskets in good working condition. We request not to receive in paper or plastic bundles, as it creates additional waste. | ||
| 4 | Are you currently using a contractor for these services? If their service has been subpar, what are some things you'd like to see from the new contractor to improve the customer experience? | The previous BPA expired and the services wasn’t renewed until now. The best customer experience comes from open information exchanged when there is an issue in supply, as well as immediate response to errors in delivery or condition of the product. | ||
| 5 | What size is the bulk Carbon Dioxide tank at Roybal? How often does it need to be filled? Does the bulk tank have telemetry installed or would the awarded supplier need to supply one? | The main CO2 tank is 3000 gallons, each backup tank is 1500 gallon. Telemetry is installed. | ||
| 6 | Leased cannisters (portable cylinders) of Carbon Dioxide: What size cylinder do you require? And will you need cylinders with a dip tube/Syphon | Cylinders are UPS75, USP (United States Pharmacopeia) Medical Grade Carbon Dioxide, Size 300 High Pressure Steel Cylinder, CGA 320 Washer. Unknown on the dip tube/syphon. | ||
| 7 | Type of Dry Ice: Could you please specify the type of dry ice required (e.g., pellets, blocks, or slices)? | Currently we only need standard ½ or ¾ inch pellets – industry standard size, Food grade. | ||
| 8 | Pallets: Do you need pallets for the dry ice? If so, what size pallets are required? | We have never needed pallets, as we are requesting delivery of standard ½ “ to ¾ “ pellet dry ice delivered in lined, insulated HDPE dry ice bins w/ hinged lid & working caster wheels. Bins should be made from BPA Free, FDA compliant resin with gaskets in good working condition. We request not to receive in paper or plastic bundles, as it creates additional waste. | ||
| 9 | What size and style canisters do you own? | Please be specific as to what s a "cannister". | ||
| 10 | How many canisters do you need refiled a week and or month? | See answer above. Need clarification of "cannister" | ||
| 11 | Where are you located? | Roybal campus is at 1600 Clifton Road, N. E. Atlanta, GA 30329; Lawrenceville campus is at 602 Webb Gin House Road, Lawrenceville Ga 30045. | ||
| 12 | Please confirm the physical address locations and sizes of the tanks? We believe there is a 3,000-gallon tank and a 1,500-gallon backup tank, but we are unsure of the exact number and sizes of tanks at each location. | Bulk CO2 is only located ay the Roybal campus, 1600 Clifton Road, N. E. Atlanta, GA There is a 3000 gallon tank and TWO (2) 1500 gallon tanks. No bulk CO2 is provided to any other campus under this request. | ||
| 13 | Please confirm whether the tanks are government-owned or if they need to be provided by the contractor? If they are to be provided by the contractor, can you provide line items for tank rental fees? | Bulk CO2 tanks are government owned. | ||
| 14 | Confirm whether the tank telemetry is government-owned or contractor-owned? If the telemetry is to be provided by the contractor, please provide a line item for telemetry rental fees. | Telemetry (GOE) is onsite at Roybal. | ||
| 15 | Clarify whether the CDC will accept separate delivery fees for dry ice and CO2 deliveries? Incorporating the costs of a delivery fee into the price of CO2 and dry ice requires bidders to estimate the number of deliveries, which may result in higher pricing for the government. Separate delivery fees would allow the government to see the actual price of dry ice and CO2 products more transparently. | Separate delivery fees are expected. Dry ice is scheduled with specific delivery dates, Bulk CO2 is more flexible depending on laboratory use. | ||
| 16 | What day does Lawrenceville get one delivery of two thousand (2000) pounds of dry ice per week? | Lawrenceville requires delivery on Mondays, preferably before 10 am. This allows for the planning of that week's activities. | ||
| 17 | Does Lawrenceville get more than one delivery per week? | Standardly, no. Usage may increase the weekly delivery number, however we have not requested additional deliveries over a week. | ||
| 18 | Is it possible that the volume delivered could fall below 50% of the annual projected amount during any six-month period? | it is unlikely. Even in times of COVID, CDC required the same CO2 deliveries as the labs did not shut down, simply spaced out activities over the day. | ||
| 19 | Does the CDC have a history of ever keeping dry ice bins longer than ten days? | occasionally. Our staff rotate out the bins regularly, however if an area is using less for that week, it may not be returned for refill past the 10 days. | ||
| 20 | What is the annual and weekly quantity of co2 cylinders used at Roybal? | Currently 12 are held on Roybal, and replaced monthly. | ||
| 21 | How often does the bulk 3000 pound tank at Roybal need to be filled? | historically roughly every three weeks | ||
| 22 | How many back-up tanks are at Roybal? | 2 @ 1500 gallons each if we are referring to bulk CO2 | ||
| 23 | How often are the back-up tanks at Roybal filled? | the fills are for all tanks, there is not a separate fill for the backup tanks versus the main. | ||
| 24 | Will the far rule 52.232-40 "Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors" be applied to this solicitation? | Yes | ||
| 26 | Is picture I.D. required for the delivery drivers? | The delivery driver should present their company I.D. at the guard entry gate. Physical security will have a list of approved drivers by company and will be verifying. | ||
| 27 | Referencing page 5, section B.11, will the contractor be allowed to request a price modification after the first year if the price of commodities have increased? If Yes, what percentage of increase is the threshold? | The contractor is responsible for proposing annual increases and percentages as part of their initial quote submittal. | ||
| 28 | Specify the grade for the CO2, i.e. medical or industrial? | For bulk CO2 we are requesting medical grade 99.5% purity or food grade 99.9% as available. The requested grade for dry ice is food grade or 99.9% purity. For dry ice we are requesting standard ½ “ to ¾ “ pellet dry ice delivered in lined, insulated HDPE dry ice bins w/ hinged lid & working caster wheels. Bins should be made from BPA Free, FDA compliant resin with gaskets in good working condition. We request not to receive in paper or plastic bundles, as it creates additional waste. | ||
| 29 | Who is the incumbent? Contract award total? And contract number? | (1) BPA# 75D30119A04379 was awarded to NEXAIR, LLC on a five-year basis for a not-to-exceed amount of $236,184.00 for CO2. |
(2) BPA# 75D30119A04050 was awarded to Green Lantern, LLC on a five-year basis for a not-to-exceed amount of $543,829.00 for Dry Ice.
| 30 | Considering this opportunity was reopened and extended via AMEND 0004, does the GOV expect offerors who have already submitted their quotes to resubmit all documents – including technical, licenses, admin files, etc. – in addition to the signed SF30 Form for AMEND 0004 and our revised pricing file? Or are we only expected to submit the signed amendment and our revised pricing document? | To ensure everything is received, it is best to resubmit all required documents. |
| 31 | EMERGENCY DELIVERIES: Per Question 2 in the original Q&A responses posted, the GOV states that there is a possibility for emergency deliveries of Liquid CO2 fills, but a CLIN is not provided in order for offerors to price emergency deliveries (that are not the fault of the Contractor). Additionally, the GOV’s response to Question 1 in the original Q&A states that emergency deliveries are not expected for Dry Ice because an additional bin has historically been added to the weekly order in the event of an increased need rather than a separate delivery during the week. However, due to the possibility that emergency deliveries may become necessary at any point during the (5) one-year ordering periods of the BPA, will the GOV authorize emergency delivery CLINs for Liquid CO2 fills and Dry Ice deliveries? While the CLINs may not need to be utilized, it will streamline billing procedures if an emergency delivery is required at any point throughout the life of the contract. | Yes. FAR 52.204-22, Alternative Line Item Proposal, which is incorporated in the RFQ allows Offerors to propose alternative line items. |
| 32 | CO2 CYLINDERS: The revised Pricing Schedule Breakdown (Section B.2) includes a need for an estimated (12) CO2 cylinders per year (approximately 2-3 per quarter), but there are no CLINs provided for the CO2 cylinder fills or for the cylinder rental fees. In order to price the need for supplemental CO2 cylinders in addition to the Bulk Liquid CO2, will the GOV authorize CLINs for both the cylinder gas fills and the monthly rental charges? Please note that the costs for cylinder fills and rentals cannot be incorporated into the per-pound cost of the Bulk Liquid CO2 | See response above. |
| 33 | OXYGEN CYLINDERS: The GOV’s response to Questions 9-10 in the original Q&A includes references to required Oxygen cylinders – where (6) cylinders are needed at the Lawrenceville Campus and (12) are needed at the Roybal Campus – but there are no other references to a requirement for Oxygen cylinders within the RFQ or the revised Pricing Schedule Breakdown | The reference to medical grade oxygen was an error. |
| 34 | CO2 CYLINDER QUANTITIES: Per the revised Pricing Schedule Breakdown, there are an estimated (12) CO2 cylinders required per year at the Roybal Campus, but will the GOV confirm how many CO2 cylinders are kept on hand on average? Are the 2-3 cylinders delivered per quarter swapped out with empty cylinders in a one-for-one exchange on an as-needed basis, which would leave the Roybal Campus with (12) cylinders on hand at any given time? | The 2-3 cylinders are all that are needed to be on the campus at any time. The exchange would be one for one. |
| 35 | GOVERNMENT PURCHASE CARD: PG 6 of 26 (Section B.6) of the revised RFQ provided in AMEND 0004 states that “Orders will be placed through the issuance of individually placed CDC GPC purchases.” What is the GOV’s rationale for issuing all orders across (5) ordering periods via GPC, which will result in a purchase card processing fee per order, rather than through the more standard issuance of an annual Purchase Order? | The government need isn't fixed, but fluctuates throughout the performance period and the use of the government purchase card will allow the end users to make individual purchases at different intervals as the need arises. |
| 36 | DRY ICE BINS: Per the response to Question 1 in the original Q&A, the GOV details the estimated amount of dry ice required per week at both the Roybal and Lawrenceville campuses while the response to Question 3 specifies that deliveries of dry ice should be made in “lined, insulated HDPE dry ice bins.” On average, how many and at what size/weight are the bins that are delivered to the Roybal Campus and the Lawrenceville Campus per week (e.g., (4) bins at 500 LBS each are required at the Lawrenceville Campus per week)? Are the empty bins typically swapped out for full ones in a one-for-one exchange when deliveries are made? | Roybal requires 10 bins with a minimum of 500 LBS each to be delivered twice a week. Lawrenceville requires 4 bins with a minimum of 500 LBS each to be delivered once a week, Mondays required. Empties are placed close to the delivery area and can be removed during deliveries. If a large number of empties accumulate the vendor will be notified and removal requested as the dock area is shared by the entire Roybal campus an must be kept cleared and safe. |
| 37 | BPA REPORTING: PG 8 of 26 (Section B.13) of the revised RFQ provided in AMEND 0004 states that “The Contractor shall provide to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) weekly delivery reports for dry ice within 48 hours of delivery. A comprehensive listing of bins of dry ice or cylinders of CO2 shall be made available weekly.” Will the GOV please confirm if the Proofs of Delivery provided to the GOV at the time of delivery will suffice as weekly reports of dry ice deliveries? | IF the Proof of Delivery is detailed enough for CDC to be able to track any bins determined to be on campus over the allowed holding time the yes. If bins are not numbered or identified in a way to account for them in the listing then there should not a case where CDC is charged for having a bin over a specified timeframe or not returned to the vendor (lost?). |
| 38 | Will the GOV provide photos of the 3,000-gallon main tank and the (2) 1500-gallon reserve tanks, including photos of the data plates and gauges? | The Government will share photos by email if requested. |
| 39 | What are the current tank set points for the main and reserve tanks (in inches) for FULL TRYCOCK, REORDER POINT, REFILL POINT, & LOW-LEVEL ALARM? | This information will not be shared at this time. |
| 40 | What is the daily usage (in inches) of CO2 for the Roybal Campus? | This varies on the activities on the campus and is not a constant. |
| 41 | Has there been any history of vaporizers icing up due to high volume? | No |
| 42 | When was the most recent annual inspection of the (3) CO2 tanks, and will the GOV provide a copy of this? | This information will not be shared at this time. |
| 43 | Can you provide clarity on the "Not-to-Exceed-Summary"? Are you referring to the bidder's capacity in pounds annually with regard to each line item (for example, dry ice or liquid CO2)? | The Not-to-Exceed-Summary is the total estimated monetary ceiling amount for all five years. |
| 44 | Can this solicitation be considered for sole source? | No, market research has indicated there are multiple SDVOSBs that can provide for this requirement. |
| 45 | Regarding the revision for the solicitation, I was wondering about how the selection process would play out if ....SCENARIO: three different businesses submit a quote. Company A for dry ice, company B for CO2 and company C bids on both CO2 and dry ice. Companies A and B have submitted the lowest price individually for the product they offer. Company C submits quotes for both items with the lowest price on dry ice, but the CO2 price is not the lowest, yet when both items are added together, company C's total is lower than A and B combined even though Company C co2 price is not the lowest. Furthermore, if a company D also bids on both items, would this create two groups of bidders? Algebraic equations might be needed to bid on this solicitation. |
| Question: Would CDC accept company C's quote? Or would CDC just accept the quotes from A and B? | The Government will award to the offeror(s) that propose the lowest price technically acceptable. If an offeror's proposal for dry ice and CO2 creates a lower overall total potential price than awarding to two separate offerors for just dry ice and just CO2, and that offeror's proposal is for delivery of both dry ice and CO2 only, then award will be made to the combined proposal. | ||
| 46 | Per the verbiage of Amendment 02, what metric is used to determine a "manufacturer"? | To clarify, if the offeror is not the direct manufacturer of the dry ice/liquid CO2 then they shall state who their manufacturer(s) are, or if not purchasing dry ice/CO2 directly from a manufacturer, who their supplier(s) are and provide proof of their authorization /agreements from the manufacturer(s)/supplier(s) to resell the dry ice and/or liquid CO2 to the Government. |
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .