Revised SOW 12.30.2021.docx

B.3 SCOPE OF WORK (SOW)

This requirement is for Subscription satellite/cable television subscription services at the Buffalo VA Medical Center 3495 Bailey Avenue Buffalo, NY 14215 and Batavia VA Medical Center 222 Richmond Avenue Batavia, NY 14020. The period of performance shall be from July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023 with the provision of four (4) option years.

II. GENERAL:

1. The Contractor shall provide all parts, new equipment, materials, labor, supervision, test equipment, maintenance service, technical manuals, and transportation necessary to install equipment and provide and maintain satellite television programming subscription services.

2. The satellite/cable TV signal shall be continuous, non-interrupted, with High Definition (HD) viewing quality.

3. Monthly service costs shall be based on a minimum of 315 cable drops for the Buffalo VA Medical Center and approximately 125 cable drops for the Batavia VA Medical Center.

4. The number of cable-drops in corresponding systems are subject to change at any time for the duration of the contract. Additional cable drops above the initial quantities shall be added through a modification to the contract and shall have the same cost per drop as the existing cable drops noted within the contract. The VA may relocate existing drops no longer in use.

5. No government equipment shall be provided under this contract except the connection point to the TV distribution system and electricity service/connection.

6. It is the desire of the Government for the vendor to maintain ownership and maintenance all equipment that is installed to provide TV service under this contract.

7. Tasks applicable to both facilities include the following:

a. If Satellite Television is the chosen media, the newest model of satellite dish being utilized industry-wide shall be installed.

b. Regardless of the chosen media (Satellite or Cable) and upon commissioning of the new system, the existing Television satellite dishes shall be removed and handed to VAMC Electrical staff, to ensure ownership with current contractor is retained.

c. Contractor shall install new feed cables from the service entrance origin (Satellite Dish or Street) to the Television Distribution Room (TVDR) in continuous pulls; no splitters or splices shall be used in this process.

d. Any penetrations made to exterior walls will be discrete and pre-approved by the facility.

e. Transmission cables: shall be shielded and adequate for transporting High Definition (HD) television services.

f. From entry into the building, until inside the TVDR, all feed cables must be run inside conduit supplied and installed by VAMC staff.

g. Equipment racks with ample room for future upgrades shall be supplied by the contractor and utilized wherever possible.

h. All equipment and corresponding cables shall be labeled and installed in a neat, organized manner with ease of maintenance and repairs taken into consideration.

i. Contractor shall provide HD signal over the current COAX tv cable drops through the utilization of VECOAX Blade, NXG Platform, or similar device that does not require replacement of the existing cable drop infrastructure.

j. All receivers shall be plugged into individually switched power supplies using a Tripp Lite model number TLP76MSG or similar device.

k. In areas of the system where conduit is not utilized, all cables shall be installed in a neat, organized manner to ensure ease of maintenance and repairs, and shall be properly secured.

l. All cable installed by the contractor for this service will forever become Government owed property.

m. All cables must be clearly labeled with individual markings at all termination points.

n. All equipment installed shall be bonded to building steel, these bonds shall be visible and clearly marked.

o. Upon completion of system installation, contractor shall supply wiring diagrams of the HD TV distribution system with tested measurement levels needed to maintain.

p. Should any contractor owned system component fail, the contractor shall be responsible to supply all necessary replacement parts within 72 hours of notification at no cost to the government except for damage caused by negligence or abuse.

q. All replacement parts supplied or installed shall be new or certified reconditioned by the manufacturer.

r. For each type of power supply utilized on the system, the contractor shall at all times have one (1) spare on site.

s. If adjustable frequency modulators are utilized, the contractor shall at all times have four (4) spare modulators on site.

t. If fixed frequency modulators are utilized, the contractor shall at all times have one (1) spare modulator for each frequency used in the system on site.

III. SCHEDULE:

1. Installation shall be fully operational NLT July 1, 2022.

2. All work shall be performed during normal business hours Monday – Friday from 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM, excluding federal holidays, except for unscheduled service calls. Any adjustments to this schedule must be coordinated in advance with the COR.

3. No work should be planned on federal holidays. Current federal holidays shall be defined as: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

4. All work activities are not to interfere with patient and/or staff. The Medical Center must maintain its operation 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Therefore, any interruption in service must be scheduled and coordinated with the COR to ensure that no lapses in operation occur.

IV. CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS:

1. The Contractor shall maintain any mandatory NYS licenses to provide satellite and/or cable television services and create and maintain television distribution systems in the state of New York.

2. Contractor’s staff shall include a "fully qualified" Field Service Representative assigned to the local area and a "fully qualified" Field Service Representative who shall serve as the backup.

3. “Fully qualified" is based upon training and on experience in the field. For training, the Field Service Representatives must have successfully completed (in-house, or external) training by vendor as field service engineer. For field experience, the Field Service Engineers must have a minimum of one (1) year of experience providing preventive maintenance and emergency repair services on the same make and model of equipment covered under this contract.

V. SITE-SPECIFIC TASKS:

1. Satellite/Cable Service Installation Buffalo VAMC

a. The VAMC Buffalo has a new location where all Television distribution equipment shall be installed.

b. Contractor shall provide and install all necessary parts and equipment including, but not limited to; satellite dishes, connection cables, receivers, modulators, main splitters, and power supplies required to supply HD television service to all 315 cable drops covered by this contract, and in accordance with the industry standard.

c. The VAMC Buffalo Electrical Shop will connect the main splitters installed by the contractor to the facility’s cable drop hub with patch cord, as the existing homeruns will be replaced by VAMC staff as time permits.

2. Satellite/Cable Service Installation Batavia VAMC

a. At this time, the VAMC Batavia is unsure if the facility’s TV distribution equipment will be relocated. This information will be provided during the initial site visit with potential contractors.

b. Contractor shall provide and install all necessary parts & equipment including, but not limited to; satellite dishes, connection cables, receivers, modulators, main splitters, and power supplies required to supply HD television service to all 125 cable drops covered by this contract, and in accordance with the Conformance Standards.

c. Contractor shall make all connections from the newly installed main splitters to the facility’s cable drop hub with contractor supplied cable.

3. Television Channels provided to Buffalo VAMC:

a. Contractor shall create an onscreen channel guide specific to the Buffalo VAMC television channels and integrate it into the network.

b. The Contractor shall integrate six (6) existing Buffalo VAMC in-house channels for patient information into the network.

c. The in-house channels are required to remain in their current channel positions.

d. Contractor shall provide a channel package that at a minimum contains the following Television Stations to the Buffalo VAMC.

Buffalo VAMC Television Stations

4. Television Channels provided to Batavia VAMC:

a. The Contractor shall integrate nine (9) existing Batavia VAMC in-house channels for patient information into the network.

b. The in-house channels are required to remain in their current channel positions.

c. Contractor shall provide a channel package that at a minimum contains the following Television Stations to the Batavia VAMC.

Batavia VAMC Television Stations

VI. SAFETY:

1. General Requirements:

a. In the performance of this contract, the contractor shall take such safety precautions as the Contracting Officer may determine to be reasonably necessary to protect the lives and health of occupants of the building.

b. The Contracting Officer or designee shall notify the Contractor of any safety issues and the action necessary to correct the issues. Such Notice, when served to the Contractor or their representative at the work site shall be deemed sufficient for the corrective actions to be taken.

c. If the Contractor fails or refuses to comply promptly with notified safety deficiencies, the Contracting Officer may issue an order stopping all or part of the work and hold the Contractor in default.

d. No tools or equipment shall be left unattended.

e. All work areas must be clean at the close of the day and shall be left in the same condition as before work started.

2. VHA SUPPLEMENTAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS FOR ENSURING ADEQUATE COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR FEDERAL CONTRACTORS:

A. Contractor employees who work in or travel to VHA locations must comply with the following:

1. Documentation requirements:

0. If fully vaccinated, shall show proof of vaccination

0. NOTE: Acceptable proof of vaccination includes a signed record of immunization from a health care provider or pharmacy, a copy of the COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card (CDC Form MLS-319813_r, published on September 3, 2020), or a copy of medical records documenting the vaccination

0. If unvaccinated and granted a medical or religious exception, shall show negative COVID-19 test results dated within three calendar days prior to desired entry date. Test must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use or full approval. This includes tests available by a doctor’s order or an FDA approved over-the-counter test.

0. Documentation cited in this section shall be digitally or physically maintained on each contractor employee while in a VA facility and is subject to inspection prior to entry to VA facilities and after entry for spot inspections by Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs) or other hospital personnel.

0. Documentation will not be collected by the VA; contractors shall, at all times, adhere to and ensure compliance with federal laws designed to protect contractor employee health information and personally identifiable information.

B. Contractor employees are subject to daily screening for COVID-19 and may be denied entry to VA facilities if they fail to pass screening protocols. As part of the screening process contractors may be asked screening questions found on the following website:

a. COVID-19 Screening Tool*. Regularly check the website for updates.

b. Contractor employees who work away from VA locations, but who will have direct patient contact with VA patients shall self-screen utilizing the COVID-19 Screening Tool *, in advance each day that they will have direct patient contact and in accordance with their person or persons who coordinate COVID-19 workplace safety efforts at covered contractor workplaces. Contractors shall, at all times, adhere to and ensure compliance with federal laws designed to protect contractor employee health information and personally identifiable information.

*COVID-19 Screening tool can be found at:

https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.va.gov%2Fcovid19screen%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7C180e5dd7385a45f5f9d008d98dcf9308%7Ce95f1b23abaf45ee821db7ab251ab3bf%7C0%7C0%7C637696745071149070%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=%2FbW28TlpVPgfBCmIs3K40g53HTGV0AKJmyKUDrl%2BMcg%3D&reserved=0

C. Contractor must immediately notify their COR or Contracting Officer if contract performance is jeopardized due to contractor employees being denied entry into VA Facilities.”

VIII. POST AWARD:

1. The contractor shall coordinate with current television service vendor as to the turnover schedule. Note: Current vendor shall be disclosed at time of award and not anytime sooner, even if questioned during solicitation.

2. Contractor will be responsible to transition the service without disruption by working with the current vendor.

3. Contractor shall provide detailed plans for this transaction during the solicitation as part of their quote package.

4. New service is required to be fully operational no later than (NLT) July 1st, 2022.

IX. RISK CONTROL:

The Contractor shall obtain all necessary licenses and/or permits to perform this work. Contractor shall take all precautions necessary to protect persons and property from injury or damage during performance of this contract. Contractor shall be responsible for any injury to any contractor representative, or others, as well as for any damage to personal or public property that occurs during the performance of this contract that is caused by the contractor’s fault or negligence.

X. CONFORMANCE STANDARDS:

All services provided under the contract shall be performed in conformance with National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10-Hour for on-site technicians and 30-hour for supervisors. Original Equipment Manufacturer standards and specifications and the Federal Communications Commission regulations pertaining to television broadcast and receiving requirements.

1. At all times, work shall be performed in compliance with industry standards and the manufacturer's commercial practices.

2. The telecommunications act of 1996 shall be adhered to during the performance of this purchase order.

XI. VA INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA:

COR or designee will verify that the equipment is working within manufacturer’s specifications after completion of service or repair.

XII. QUALITY ASSURANCE:

The Government may inspect each task as completed. The contractor shall be notified within 3 duty days of unacceptable service. The contractor shall re-perform service within 15 duty days of notification of unacceptable service

XIII. SECURITY:

All contractor employees are subject to the same level of investigation as VA employees who have access to VA facilities. Security and badging process to be determined by COR.