PRF75 Contract User Guide 6.29.2021.docx

PRF75: Foreign Language Interpretation and Translation Services UPDATED: June 28, 2021

*The asterisk is required when referencing the contract in the Massachusetts Management Accounting Reporting System (MMARS).

Table of Contents:

Contract User Guide for PRF75

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Operational Services Division | One Ashburton Place, Suite 1017 | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-720-3300 | www.mass.gov/osd

NOTE: Contract User Guides are updated regularly. Print copies should be compared against the current version posted on mass.gov/osd Updated: 6/28/2021 Page 18 of 18

Operational Services Division | One Ashburton Place, Suite 1017 | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-720-3300 | www.mass.gov/osd

· Contract Summary

· Contract Categories

· Benefits and Cost Savings

· Find Bid/Contract Documents

· Who Can Use This Contract

· Subcontractors

· Pricing, Quotes and Purchase Options

· Instructions for MMARS Users

· Emergency Services

· Additional Information/FAQ's

· Performance and Payment Time Frames Which Exceed Contract Duration

· Strategic Sourcing Team Members

· VENDOR LIST AND INFORMATION

· Appendix A: SDP and PPD Information

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Contract Summary This is a Statewide Contract for Foreign Language In-person Interpretation, Translation, Telephonic Interpretation and Video Remote Interpretation Services. [American Sign Languages (ASL) is not covered under this contract but is available through Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing (MCD) under their contract PO-19-1067-MCD01-MCD01-14812.

Translation and Interpretation:

Interpreting:

Interpreting is the process of fully understanding, analyzing, and processing a spoken message and then faithfully rendering it into another spoken language. Interpreters must be able to accurately convey the meaning from one language to another in a culturally appropriate manner, mindful of the setting in which they are rendering their services.* Interpretation Services include:

· Oral face to face interpretation (in-person)

· Telephonic Interpretation Services/Video Remote Interpretation (VRI. Services may take place in a variety of settings such as office buildings, medical facilities, hearing offices, schools, construction sites, individual and family homes, or other locations as deemed necessary.

Fee Structure for Interpretation Services are to be billed at an hourly rate with a minimum time agreed upon by the purchasing entity and the vendor, which shall be either one or two hours. Time beyond this minimum will be billed in 15-minute increments. Please review RFR Section: 7 Compensation Structure for details on pricing and billing.

Interpreters:

Unless a Purchasing Entity has specified a longer period, Contractors are required to arrive at least fifteen (15) minutes prior to the scheduled time of on-site scheduled appointment in order to receive any instructions from the Purchasing Entity. The Contractor is responsible for taking all necessary actions to obtain adequate transportation, accurate times, locations, directions, telephone numbers, contact person(s) and any other information or actions to ensure that that they are present at the proper location at the time specified.

Contractors may be penalized for being late. Purchasing Entities may dock payment for the period Contractor was late from the total period of performance time. Contractors who are continually late may be terminated from the Statewide Contract for poor performance. Performance time shall consist of the total time the Contractor is on-site performing services under the Statewide Contract. This includes the time in advance of scheduled assignment (usually 15 minutes unless a longer period is specified), any time preceding actual performance that the Contractor is waiting to begin performance due to delays not caused by the Contractor; such as time required by the Purchasing Entity to answer questions, or to receive any additional instructions from the Purchasing Entity. The Contractor must keep an accurate record of all performance time. The Purchasing Entity will certify this record on the completion of performance.

Upon request, Contractors may be asked to provide documentation about vaccination history.

The minimum billable time will either be one (1) or two (2) hours. Defaults (interpreter(s) who do not arrive for scheduled assignments will also be billed at this minimum.

Telephonic/Video Remote Interpretation (VRI) Services:

Contractors shall comply with all Federal and State wiretapping and recording statutes, including MGL Chapter 272, Section 99 by not directly or indirectly monitoring, taping, intercepting, or recording conversations without explicit consent.

The Contractor shall provide both scheduled and unscheduled telephonic interpretation services for non-English speaking individuals 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

Contractors shall provide, at no extra cost to the Purchasing Entity, a dedicated, toll-free, number to access interpretation services. All costs for this toll-free access will be borne by the Contractor.

Contractors shall not require the Purchasing Entity to purchase or obtain a specific type of equipment to access telephonic interpretation services.

The Contractor must respond to incoming calls/requests for services within an average of 15 seconds (for a live agent) or 5 seconds (for an automated voice response system).

The Contractor shall maintain an average monthly successful connection (to interpreter) time, for all languages provided, of 30 seconds or less.

All Interpreters provided by the Contractor shall be pre-qualified, tested and trained for industry standard terminology and agree to adhere to the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard interpretation guide.

The Contractor shall provide 24-hour, toll free, Customer Support line attended to by live representatives.

Contractors must prioritize emergency, time critical, and non-time critical calls; (i.e. hotline and emergency room, case worker in the field). For conference call or Video Remote Interpretation (VRI) billing purposes, the contractor may bill only for the actual time an interpreter participates on a call. The time required to set-up the conference call prior to the interpreter joining the call and any continuation of the conference call once the interpreter has dropped off, will not be chargeable time. The contractor may not terminate the conference call at any time before all parties to the call have dropped off, regardless of whether the services of the interpreter are no longer needed. (i.e. the Contractor must maintain the conference call connection as long as at least 2 parties are still connected.) There will be an announcement at end of call or VRI, so all parties can disconnect.

The Contractor shall provide an Account Team that is dedicated to support the activities provided under this initiative.

Translators:

“Translators work with the written word, converting text from a source language into a target language. This is far more than replacing one word with another. The translation must also convey the style, tone and intent of the text, while taking into account differences of culture and dialect. The finished document should read as if it had originally been written in the target language for the target audience.”* Translation Services:

· The Contractor shall be capable of receiving Source Language documents by facsimile, e-mail or other electronic means (i.e. Microsoft Word, PDF or flat files, standard word processing languages, etc.), U.S. postal service or courier delivery. The typical delivery is expected to be by facsimile, e-mail or other electronic means.

· From the Source Language to the Target Language, the written text of the Target Language will be determined by the Statement of Work (SOW) of the Purchasing Entity.

· The Contractor shall provide all language translation services for languages or dialects at the per word rates of the Source Language as provided within the Cost Table/Price Sheet.

· Translation documents must be delivered in both “Word” and “PDF” unless instructed differently by the Purchasing Entity.

· In expedited situations the Purchasing Entity will determine how the written document translation shall be completed in terms of word count or number of pages of the Target Language translation.

*T&I Descriptions, NAJIT, March 5, 2016

UPDATES: New Contract User Guide.

Contract Categories This contract includes 4 categories of service as listed below.

Category 1: In-Person Interpretation Services Category 2: Translation Services Category 3: Telephonic Interpretation Category 4: Video Remote Interpretation

Benefits and Cost Savings Statewide contracts are an easy way to obtain benefits for your organization by leveraging the Commonwealth’s buying power, solicitation process, contracting expertise, vendor management and oversight, and the availability of environmentally preferable products.

· Potential user savings through the new rate cap on contract. See price table.

· Forty (40) active vendors with over 340 languages represented on contract

· Solution-based contract through sub-agreements (“Statement(s) of Work”)

· Departments can negotiate a maximum rate lower than listed rates

· Volume discount rates available from select vendors

· Expedited services at no additional charge from select vendors

· Minimum engagement commitment of 1 hour or 2 hours depending on agency’s and vendors’ agreement

· Hiring entities will not pay additional invoices related to project-based engagements.

Find Bid/Contract Documents To find all contract-specific documents, including the Contract User Guide, RFR, Price Sheet, specifications, and other attachments, visit COMMBUYS.com and search for PRF75 to find related Master Blanket Purchase Order (MBPO’s) information. All common contract documents are located in the “Conversion Vendor” Master Blanket Purchase Order (MBPO) for PRF75 and can be accessed directly by visiting PO-21-1080-OSD03-SRC3-22502

Who Can Use This Contract Applicable Procurement Law Executive Branch Goods and Services: MGL c. 7, § 22; c. 30, § 51, § 52; 801 CMR 21.00;

Eligible Entities Please see the standard list of Eligible Entities on our Who Can Use Statewide Contracts webpage.

Subcontractors The awarded vendor’s use of subcontractors is subject to the provisions of the Commonwealth’s Terms and Conditions and Standard Contract Form, as well as other applicable terms of this Statewide Contract.

Pricing, Quote and Purchase Options Purchase Options The purchase options identified below are the only acceptable options that may be used on this contract:

· Purchases made through this contract will be direct, outright purchases

· This is a fee for service contract Quotation Requirements:

Multiple quotes must be obtained for all engagements except in case of an emergency.

Compensation Structure/Pricing & Expenses:

· Execute a sub-agreement (“Statement of Work”) before any hiring engagement begins;

· The “Price Table” is on the Attachments Tab in COMMBUYS

· Rates include delivery of a final product: i.e. development, editing and finalization;

· Rates also include: travel, communications, overhead, overtime;

· Invoices are required to be submitted within 30 days; and

· Some expedited service rates are equal to routine service rates or a small additional percentage (see pricing).

· Most engagements will not be bid at the cap rate. Eligible Entities and awarded PRF75 vendors may negotiate lower rates as part of the bid process. This includes all negotiations related to the one-hour or two hour minimum for services. Eligible Entities may choose to increase the one-hour minimum, on a case-by- case basis to facilitate services related to languages of limited diffusion.

· Negotiated rates may be published by the Eligible Entities as part of the bid records in COMMBUYS.

· Purchases under PRF75 must be recorded in COMMBUYS. Refer to section below for instructions on how to purchase services through PRF75 COMMBUYS MBPOs.

· Per Hour/ Per Word/ Per Minute Rates: Please see PRF75 Price Table for a detailed review of rates under the contract and the full list of available languages by vendor.

Invoicing:

All bills/invoices must minimally include:

· Assignment name.

· Hours billed/invoiced and Statewide Contract hourly rate or portion of project billed:

· Hourly rate: Identify account manager or other vendor agent and applicable hourly rate.

· Project based: Identify portion of project billed and balance remaining, but not an average rate.

· Supporting documents must accompany billing/invoicing received by an engaging entity.

· Totals should be reviewed for correctness by engaging entity prior to approval.

· Total billed/invoiced must meet the Commonwealth’s requirements if audited.

Pricing Options Ceiling/Not-to-Exceed: Contract discounts and other pricing published under the contract represents “ceiling” or “not-to-exceed” pricing, and may be further negotiated.

Product/Service Pricing and Finding Vendor Price Files Product pricing may be found by viewing the Conversion Master Blanket Purchase Order MBPO PO-21-1080-OSD03-SRC3-22502 Setting Up a COMMBUYS Account COMMBUYS is the Commonwealth’s electronic Market Center supporting online commerce between government purchasers and businesses. If you do not have one already, contact the OSD Help Desk to set up a COMMBUYS buyer account for your organization: (888)-627-8283 or OSDhelpdesk@mass.gov.

When contacting a vendor on statewide contract, always reference PRF75 to receive contract pricing.

Quick Search in COMMBUYS Log into COMMBUYS, and use the Search box on the COMMBUYS header bar to locate the MBPOs for PRF75. Select Blanket or Catalog from the drop-down menu.

How To Purchase From The Contract

· Solicit quotes and select and purchase quoted item in COMMBUYS This COMMBUYS functionality provides a mechanism to easily obtain quotes, as specified by the Contract. The buyer would create a Release Requisition, and then convert it to a Bid. After approval by the buyer approving officer, the bid is then sent to selected vendors to request quotes. Buyers must include “PRF75RFQ” when entering information in the Description field.

For a description of how to complete this purchase in COMMBUYS, visit the Job Aids for Buyers Using COMMBUYS | Mass.gov webpage, and select:

· The COMMBUYS Purchase Orders section, and choose the How to Create a Solicitation Enabled Bid Using a Release Requisition job aid or one of the quick reference guides.

Obtaining Quotes Contract users should always reference PRF75 when contacting vendors to ensure they are receiving contract pricing. Quotes, not including construction services, should be awarded based on best value.

For a full description of how to complete a quote in COMMBUYS visit the Job Aids for Buyers Using COMMBUYS | Mass.gov webpage, and select:

· The COMMBUYS Purchase Orders section, and choose the How to Create a Solicitation Enabled Bid Using a Release Requisition job aid.

Instructions for MMARS Users MMARS users must reference the MA number in the proper field in MMARS when placing orders with any contractor.

Additional Information/FAQs Geographical Service Area Counties

· Berkshire

· Hampshire

· Franklin

· Worcester

· Hampden

· Middlesex

· Essex

· Suffolk

· Norfolk

· Plymouth

· Bristol

· Barnstable

· Dukes

· Nantucket

Other Discounts

· Prompt Pay Discounts: A discount given to the buyer if paid within a certain time period. These discounts may be found in the Vendor List and Information section below. All discounts offered will be taken in cases where the payment issue date is within the specified number of days listed by vendor and in accordance with the Commonwealth’s Bill Paying Policy. Payment days will be measured from the date goods are received and accepted / performance was completed OR the date an invoice is received by the Commonwealth, whichever is later to the date the payment is issued as an EFT (preferred method) or mailed by the State Treasurer. The date of payment “issue” is the date a payment is considered “paid” not the date a payment is “received” by a Contractor.

Performance and Payment Time Frames Which Exceed Contract Duration All agreements for services entered into during the duration of this Contract and whose performance and payment time frames extend beyond the duration of this Contract shall remain in effect for performance and payment purposes for six (6) calendar months. No written agreement shall extend more than 6 months beyond the current contract term of this Statewide Contract as stated on the first page of this contract user guide. No new leases, rentals, maintenance or other agreements for services may be executed after the Contract has expired.

Strategic Sourcing Team Members

Vendor List and Information*

(PPD)

Ad Astra, Inc.

American Translation Partners

Ascentria Community Services Language Bank

AVAZA Language Services Corp.

Cal Interpreting & Translations, Inc. (CIT)

Catholic Charitable Bureau of the Archdiocese of Boston

Central Massachusetts Area Health Education Center, Inc.

Certified Languages International (“CLI”)

CETRA, Inc.

Richard Ochabp

Corporate Translation Services, Inc.

Cyracom International, Inc

Daniel Shamebo Sabore.

Fox Medical Case Management

Global Link Language Services, Inc.

International Translation Company

Interpreters and Translators, Inc

Language Bridge, LLC

Language Connections, Inc.

Language Line Services, Inc

Language Services Associates, Inc. (LSA)

Lilt, Inc

LinguaLinx Language Solutions, Inc

Lionbridge Technologies, Inc

MAPA Translations, Inc

Multicultural Community Services of the Pioneer Valley, Inc

Northwest Interpreters, Inc.,

PATRICIO ENDARA TRANSLATIONS

Powerling Inc.

Propio LS, LLC

Rapport International, LLC

RJ Dealy Translation Services, LLC

Telelanguage, Inc

The ESL & TOEFL Associates, LLC

Transfluenci, Inc

TransPerfect Translations International, Inc.

United Language Group Inc

*Note that COMMBUYS is the official system of record for vendor contact information.

** MBPO PO-17-1080-OSD03-SRC3-00000007999 is the master contract record for all common contract files.

Appendix A

Ad Astra, Inc.

American Translation Partners

Ascentria Community Services Language Bank

AVAZA Language Services Corp.

5%

Cal Interpreting & Translations, Inc. (CIT)

Catholic Charitable Bureau of the Archdiocese of Boston

Central Massachusetts Area Health Education Center, Inc.

Certified Languages International (“CLI”)

CETRA, Inc.

Corporate Translation Services, Inc.

Cyracom International, Inc

3%

0.50%

Daniel Shamebo Sabore.

Fox Medical Case Management

Global Link Language Services, Inc.

International Translation Company

Interpreters and Translators, Inc

Language Bridge, LLC

Language Connections, Inc.

Language Line Services, Inc

Language Services Associates, Inc. (LSA)

Lilt, Inc

LinguaLinx Language Solutions, Inc

Lionbridge Technologies, Inc

MAPA Translations, Inc

Multicultural Community Services of the Pioneer Valley, Inc

1%

2.00%

Northwest Interpreters, Inc.,

PATRICIO ENDARA TRANSLATIONS

Powerling Inc.

Propio LS, LLC

Rapport International, LLC

RJ Dealy Translation Services, LLC

Telelanguage, Inc

The ESL & TOEFL Associates, LLC

Transfluenci, Inc

TransPerfect Translations International, Inc.

United Language Group Inc

Contract Categories and Description:

Direct Link to each PRF75 MBPO is below:

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