Questions and Answers_Amendment 0004.pdf

Questions and Answers

(Questions and answers numbers 1-6 can be found in Amendment 0001 and questions and answers numbers 7-37 can be found in Amendment 0003)

Q38. Solicitation Page 15 of 88, Paragraph 2.b references certifying the new system. Please clarify the required certification.

A38. The Contractor shall provide copies of system manufacturer certification for all technicians.

Q39. Solicitation Page 15 of 88, “All proprietary licensed software and parts supplied shall be of current manufacturer and have full compatibility with existing equipment." Please clearly identify all existing equipment intended for reuse in the new system so that offerors can ensure that the new equipment and software is fully compatible.

A39. No current equipment will be re-used

Q40. Paragraph 2f. Please clarify what is meant by "all devices to be configured as three state devices"?

A40. Third Party Interface: The PACS shall be capable of passing alarm information to any third party system using a published SDK When the PACS receives an alarm from any monitoring point on the PACS, a minimum of three (3) control commands relating to that alarm point may be sent to a third party system per alarm input or card access alarm. The 3 commands are sent based upon the following conditions:

Upon arrival of the alarm at the PACS Upon “selecting” or reviewing of the alarm Upon alarm acknowledgment or clearing the alarm

Q41. PWS 2.0r and 8.0 item g appear to specify a project acceptance date of 180 days after award. CLINs specify a POP Begin date of 6/15/23 and POP End date of 5/14/24. Please clarify the apparently conflicting completion requirements.

A41. LIN revisions made via amendment 0003.

Q42. Will the new PACS be connected to the existing VA security network? If yes, please clarify all relevant details for the existing network to aid offerors in accurately estimating the required level of effort.

A42. Yes, the new system should/will have an approved ERA that will allow it have access to the VA network.

Q43. Will the new PACS reside on a standalone security network?

A43. No.

Q44. If the PACS will reside on a standalone security network, is the network existing? If yes, please clarify all relevant details for the existing network to aid offerors in accurately estimating the required level of effort.

A44. Not Applicable.

Q45. Does the existing PACS have an active ATO? If yes, will this ATO be leveraged/updated to accommodate the new PACS?

A45. No.

Q46. Are there existing functional and available communication lines (e.g., fiber optic media) between buildings on the same campus?

A46. Yes

Q47. If there are not existing functional and available communication lines between buildings on the same campus, are there functional and available conveyances with available space to support installing new media?

A47. Not applicable

Q48. Please confirm that the Government is providing, supporting, and configuring all WAN connection functionality necessary to enable communications between sites.

A48. Yes.

Q49. Do all gates (vehicle and pedestrian) have existing access control devices and wiring?

A49. Yes

Q50. Solicitation page 16 and 17: 2j, 2u. Please confirm that the system owner will timely provide a clean, accurate, and current employee/contractor listing with allowed time zones along with current accurate ESS and infrastructure as-built drawings for all locations/facilities/buildings to aid the Contractor in assessing the database health and to facilitate database import and system configuration.

A50. Yes.

Q51. Solicitation page 16: 2v. How many employees and contractors need to be enrolled in the new PACS for each facility?

A51. Approximately 5800 employees total.

Q52. PWS 4q. Please clarify the specific performance specification to meet the "warm standby redundancy" requirement.

A52. N/A, servers will be virtual servers that is backup by VA OIT

Q53. Solicitation page 16: 2d. Please confirm that contractor will only be responsible for replacing the devices specified in the CLINs.

A53. LIN revisions made via amendment 0003.

Q54. Solicitation page 16: 2.e. Paragraph states, "In addition to equipment replacement, contractor is to standardize wiring, color coding, and device configurations as equipment is replaced including CAT6 cabling." CLINs do not include an entry for new CAT6. Is the intent for offerors to assume replacing all existing Category (5, 5e, 6, etc.) cabling supporting the ESS? If not, please clarify.

A54. Yes

Q55. Solicitation page 16: 2.h. All buildings will have at minimum, first floor perimeter security (exterior doors monitored by the system) and one door per building is to be controlled by a card reader from the system. Additional perimeter door readers will be selected by the design team using the number of staff occupants, type of security required for function, size of building, and distance between entrance doors.

100 employees or more shall require additional reader doors. An employee only controlled areas such as Pharmacy shall require additional reader doors. A distance of 150 feet or more between entrances shall require additional reader doors." Please provide a table clearly identifying the number of employees per building for every building on every campus to enable offerors to accurately estimate system requirements.

A55. Approximately 5800 employees total.

Q56. Solicitation page 16: 2.h. All buildings will have at minimum, first floor perimeter security (exterior doors monitored by the system) and one door per building is to be controlled by a card reader from the system. Additional perimeter door readers will be selected by the design team using the number of staff occupants, type of security required for function, size of building, and distance between entrance doors.

100 employees or more shall require additional reader doors. An employee only controlled areas such as Pharmacy shall require additional reader doors. A distance of 150 feet or more between entrances shall require additional reader doors." Please confirm all roles/members constituting the design team and who is responsible for determinations regarding additional doors.

A56. Vendor with the assistance from VA Police.

Q57. Solicitation page 16: 2.h. If additional doors require card readers, please confirm that offerors will be allowed to submit change orders to cover the added cost.

A57. This is a firm-fixed price contract, quotes should include all costs.

Q58. Solicitation page 17: 2.0s2. Please clarify how offerors are to provide travel costs for Government employees if training is conducted at a manufacturer training facility.

A58. Include all travel costs and apply them to the provided line items.

Q59. Please provide current as-built drawings that include locations for all existing ESS equipment (head-end, workstations, video wall, UPS, PACS control panels, readers, network equipment, etc.) and infrastructure (conveyances, wire routing, comm room locations housing ESS network equipment, etc.)

to aid offerors in developing accurate pricing.

A59. Not Available.

Q60. Drawing sheets are not labeled with the associated building name/location. Please provide floor plans that clearly identify the building name/location.

A60. Provided drawings are the only available drawings.

Q61. The drawings provided in the RFQ do not provide any details on the existing systems to include number of PACS panels in each building.

A61. Provided drawings are the only available drawings. The approximate number of PACS panels in total is 40.

Q62. Solicitation page 16: Para. 2.0 item o states, "Existing pathways are to be cleared of any abandoned conductors, prior to using the pathway." Please confirm who is responsible for identifying abandoned conductors.

A62. Contractor

Q63. Solicitation page 16: Para. 2.0 item o states, "Existing pathways are to be cleared of any abandoned conductors, prior to using the pathway." Please confirm that this requirement only applies to existing ESS cabling and not any other cabling.

A63. Yes.

Q64. Solicitation page 16: Para. 2.0 item o states, "Existing pathways are to be cleared of any abandoned conductors, prior to using the pathway." Please confirm that all existing ESS cabling is clearly labeled at both ends to aid identifying the correct cables for removal.

A64. Yes.

Q65. Please provide ICRA (Infection Control Risk Management) class (I-V) for before/during/after work activity for each building and all project areas within each building so that offerors can accurately estimate the level of effort required.

A65. The ICRA will be provided by our Infection Control department after the contract is awarded.

Q66. During the site visit it was indicated that the Government does not have current accurate plans showing existing cable lengths, panel locations, etc. Offerors cannot provide a firm fixed price bid without knowing cable lengths between field devices and panels and head-end. Please indicate the basis that offerors should use for pricing cable lengths for each building.

A66. Based on the overall size of each site.

Q67. During the site visit it was indicated that the Government is requesting replacement of motion sensors (REX?) and door position sensors. This requirement does not appear to be stated in the SOW.

Please clarify requirements and where (which CLIN) should contain offeror's pricing for the additional work.

A67. Motion sensors are connected to CCure 9000, refer to SOW 2.f.

Q68. Paragraph 16. Can the Government provide the list of all site visit attendees?

A68. Names of site visit attendees will not be provided.

Q69. Solicitation page 21: Paragraph 16 states in part, "A site visit is required for the location of all the STX PACS systems for this requirement," During attendance at the site visit we expected to be able to examine and locate all STX PACS, but we were only shown one panel location in one building. Please clarify how offerors are to account for the unknown conditions associated with all other panels and locations.

A69. All offerors will have to account for conditions. All other sites are of similar condition.

Q70. During the site visit, the tour guide indicated that a previous contractor had procured equipment and commenced installation.1) Does the Government possess the procured parts? 2) If yes, will this equipment be available for use on this contract potentially saving the Government a considerable amount of money? 3) If equipment will be made available for contractor use on this project, please provide detailed inventory of the available equipment to include manufacturer, manufacturer ordering/part number, brief description, quantity.

A70. No existing equipment will be used, only new.

Q71. Solicitation page 18: Para. 4.0 item s states in part that all database servers need to be virtual.

Please clarify the requirement in detail to include information such as but not limited to who is responsible for providing the virtual machine hardware and /virtual machine operating system software.

A71. VA OIT will provide the virtual space. The vendor will provide the specification for software and hardware requirements.

Q72. Para. 4.0 item s states in part that all database servers need to be virtual. Please clarify the requirement in detail to include information such as but not limited to who is responsible for configuring virtual machine(s) hardware and operating system software for the initial installation and providing ongoing virtual machine hardware/operating system software administration.

A72. VA OIT will provide the virtual space. The vendor will provide the specification for software and hardware requirements. Vendor is responsible for installing software.

Q73. Para. 4.0 item s states in part that all database servers need to be virtual. If the Government is providing the virtual machine hardware/operating system software please confirm that the Government will provide hardware/software that meets the minimum enterprise PACS server hardware/software requirements.

A73. The government will provide the data space for the system, the offeror will be responsible for the software.

Q74. Is the Government requesting new PACS workstations? If yes, please indicate the desired quantity and include number of required monitors/size per workstation.

A74. No.

Q75. Is the Government requesting new PACS workstations? If no, please confirm 1) that the Government intends to use existing PACS workstation, 2) indicate existing workstation manufacturer, model, configuration (CPU model, RAM, storage drive type/size, operating system/version/build, etc.), and 3) that the Government will update and ensure that the GFE workstations have the latest patched operating system version so that offerors can confirm compatibility.

A75. Present PACS systems are using government computers and the new system will use government computers. Government will update workstations however, vendor is responsible for updating software that vendor provides.

Q76. Please indicate the locations (room number) on floor plans for all PACS workstations in every building so that offerors can accurately estimate cable distances.

A76. Not applicable.

Q77. Please confirm that offerors are to assume that all existing power supplies are fully functional and sufficient to power the new project equipment.

A77. No existing equipment will be used, only new.

Q78. Solicitation page 17: 2.0 item u. Specifies that a complete assessment of the C-CURE 9000 system must be completed must be completed before installation to verify current operating status, data corruption and correct client / staff count." Please clarify how deficiencies in operational status discovered during the assessment will be addressed and who is responsible for correction.

A78. Vendor with the assistance from VA Police.

Q79. Solicitation page 17: 2.0 item u. Specifies that a complete assessment of the C-CURE 9000 system must be completed before installation to verify current operating status, data corruption and correct client / staff count." Please clarify how the contractor be able to "verify...correct client / staff count" since this is only known by the customer.

A79. Vendor will verify with assistance from VA Police.

Q80. Solicitation page 17 and 18: 2.0 item u. Specifies that a complete assessment of the C-CURE 9000 system must be completed must be completed before installation to verify current operating status, data corruption and correct client / staff count." 3.0 item a specifies that vendor "Must be a certified installer / integrator of ALL the following PAC systems currently installed and owned by VA: i. C-CURE 9000, ii. Hirsch, iii. Genetec." Please clarify whether the awarded contractor will be responsible for performing verify current operating status, data corruption and correct client / staff count for the existing Genetec and Hirsch systems.

A80. Vendor will be responsible with the assistance from VA Police.

Q81. Proposal volume table indicates volumes but the instructions do not identify what content goes in which volume. Please clarify in detail.

A81. The solicitation on page 62, (7) states to refer to Section E for Instructions and Evaluation on what shall be included in each volume and how quotes will be evaluated. Past performance information shall be submitted in the past performance volume, price information shall be submitted in the price volume and all other required items shall be submitted in the technical volume.

Q82. Is there a total inventory count (reader make and model, panel model, camera make/model, NVR) of currently deployed equipment that is anticipated to be removed? Or will that be identified as part of the door assessment work upon award?

A82. No, it will need to be identified.

Q83. What is the total PIV population at the South Texas VAMC (and associated CBOC's)?

A83. Approximately 5800 employees.

Q84. Is it the VA's intent to have the PACS system installed on the VA network?

A84. Yes, a virtual server is requested in the SOW.

Q85. Is it the government's intent through this solicitation to make sure that proper remediation efforts are performed to make sure the PACS system is compliant with the v8.1 PIV credential? How many (out of the total population for the site) have received the v8.1 PIV?

A85. Not part of the SOW.

Q86. Per the SOW- “In addition to equipment replacement, contractor is to standardize wiring, color coding, and device configurations as equipment is replaced including CAT6 cabling.” Will detailed up to date CAD files of each location be provided for compromising the larger print set to include line diagrams?

A86. No.

Q87. Per the SOW- “All peripheral equipment shall be secured in the security network communication closets, with the exception of end of line field devices.” There are several panels in levels not in existing MDF/IDF closets. Will the VA provide new locations for access control head end equipment and support the necessary power and wall space requirements?

A87. This requirement will be removed from the SOW. Section 2.0 paragraph g. will be removed.

Q88. Per the SOW- “All buildings will have at minimum, first floor perimeter security (exterior doors monitored by the system) and one door per building is to be controlled by a card reader from the system. Additional perimeter door readers will be selected by the design team using the number of staff occupants, type of security required for function, size of building, and distance between entrance doors.

100 employees or more shall require additional reader doors. An employee only controlled areas such as Pharmacy shall require additional reader doors. A distance of 150 feet or more between entrances shall require additional reader doors.” Are these entrances included in the overall 611 Reader Count? (CLINs 0016-0019) and is the necessary Locking Hardware accounted for in the CLINS (0001-0038)?

A88. LIN revisions made via amendment 0003

Q89. Per the SOW- “The system will also be used to control the road/gate entrances to the Medical Center by using hydraulic bollards or electrical wedge gates. The expansion shall allow full electrical/electronic control of all first floor building entrances and station entrance gates, to include securing or unlocking and monitoring from the system work stations” Are there existing pathways to the existing controlled gates, hydraulic bollards, or electrical wedges?

A89. Yes.

Q89. Asbestos

(d) The successful bidder must present to the Contracting Officer, prior to award, evidence of general liability insurance without any exclusionary clauses for asbestos that would void the general liability coverage.

Question: Does the qualified bidder assume the risk/expense of the asbestos mitigation if found during the construction of the security upgrades?

A89. Yes.