RFI_36C10X26Q0058_VHA HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENTAL and FACILITIES PROGRAMS.docx

36C10X26Q0058

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Healthcare Environmental and Facilities Programs (HEFP) Professional Programmatic Support and Management Services BPA

Request for Information

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY (as defined in FAR 15.101(c)), this is not a solicitation, a solicitation is not available at this time. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted, or respond to any questions or comments that may be submitted in response to this RFI. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United States Government and does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

The purpose of this RFI is for Market Research and to gather input for use in further defining the requirement only, and to identify interested and potentially capable vendors to fulfill requirements to provide comprehensive operational and technical support to ensure the effective execution of all program requirements. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Healthcare Environmental and Facilities Program (HEFP) seeks a contractor to provide nationwide operational and technical support for critical healthcare facility programs. This effort ensures compliance, efficiency, and innovation across four major areas: Occupational Safety and Health, Environmental Programs, Healthcare Engineering, and Capital Asset Management. These programs collectively support the “Environment of Care,” which is essential to patient safety and quality care across VHA facilities.

The contractor will assist in managing complex requirements such as workers’ compensation, medical surveillance, fire protection, sanitation, waste management, facility operations, and construction support. HEFP operates under strict federal regulations, accrediting standards, and performance metrics issued by agencies such as OSHA, EPA, and The Joint Commission. Contractors must leverage existing VHA methodologies while ensuring adherence to evolving mandates and best practices.

VHA faces significant challenges, including rising operational costs, increased regulatory activity, and expansion into non-traditional care sites like Community-Based Outpatient Clinics and Health Coordination Centers. Compliance with mandates such as 29 CFR, 40 CFR, VA policies, and accreditation standards is critical, requiring robust safety, engineering, and environmental programs—all while maintaining fiscal responsibility within constrained budgets.).

1. Background

VHA continues to build new facilities and expand services into non-traditional healthcare locations such as Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC's) Health Coordination Centers (HCC’s) and Medical Foster Homes. In addition, all healthcare facilities face regulatory mandates and clinical accreditation standards that often increase workload requirements of the Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) and Facility staff beyond their current resource levels, thereby making compliance with Federal statutes VA/VHA policy and executive orders more difficult. VHA is facing many difficult OSH, Fire Protection, Clinical Occupational Health/Medicine, Workers’ Compensation, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering and Environmental-related challenges that require immediate attention and action. These include, but are not limited to, increased regulatory activity from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Climate Change Task Force (CCTF)and The Joint Commission (TJC); as well as increasing operational costs for healthcare facilities nationwide. Supply price volatility, potential new environmental regulations and associated penalties for non-compliance, and efforts to build robust Occupational Health and Safety, Fire Protection, Clinical Occupational Health/Medicine, Workers’ Compensation, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering and Environmental Management/Compliance Program capacity will continue to drive costs upward.

VHA is required to comply with Federal, Occupational Health and Safety, Fire Protection, Clinical Occupational Health/Medicine, Workers’ Compensation, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering and Environmental mandates, including changes to regulations contained within 29 CFR 1960, 1910, 1926, 40 CFR (sections 1 to 1899), various Executive Orders, ongoing changes to TJC and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, Center for Medicare Services (CMS) and VA national policy as outlined in VA Handbook 5019 ‘Employee Occupational Health Service’ revised August 3, 2017. VHA must meet these service delivery levels while maintaining a strong focus on fiscal responsibility and staying within challenging operational and capital budgets.

Planned Performance: Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 26.

* The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO THIS RFI

CONFIDENTIALITY: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Response Format/Page Limitations:

The overall total page limit for responses to this RFI is ten (10) pages. Responses should be submitted in Microsoft Word format with 12 pt. Interested parties should limit marketing material to allow sufficient space for adequately, directly, and substantively responding with the information of most interest to the Government. Responses may also optionally include the provision of resumes of qualified personnel that demonstrate expertise in the domains, and resumes will not count towards the page limit.

The page limit will not count against the information contained in the spreadsheet Attachment 1. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

Cover Sheet – 1 page

Please provide the following information:

1. Organization name, address, and web site.

2. Point of contact to include e-mail address and telephone number.

3. Business size (large or small). If small, please provide type of small business.

4. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Suggested NAICS for this is:

· 541690

· 561210FAC

· 541690E

· 541330ENG

5. If applicable, GSA contract number, schedule, and Special Item Number (SIN) category and or Veterans Affairs (VA) Integrated Healthcare Transformation (IHT) Contract Number.

Index – 1 page

Please provide an index to assist the Government in identifying where you have addressed each question below in your Capabilities Statement. Please provide question number corresponding page and section heading and/or paragraph number.

Section 1 shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following at a minimum:

· Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact.

Recommended Contract Type. Provide a recommended contract type and a justification supporting the use of a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) arrangement in lieu of a Labor-Hour (LH) contract. The Government’s preference is for an FFP contract; therefore, respondents are requested to explain how the requirement can be sufficiently defined, scoped, and managed to enable performance under an FFP structure. The response should describe the conditions, assumptions, and risk mitigation approaches that would support successful execution under an FFP contract.

The number of pages in Section 1 shall not be included in the ten (10) page limit. The ten (10) page limit begins after the completion of Section 1.

In all correspondence relevant to this RFI please identify it as a response to the “Healthcare Environmental and Facilities Programs (HEFP) Professional Programmatic Support and Management Services BPA” in the response and Subject Line of the email).

Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Respondents are requested to limit responses to the information, and in the format provided below.

Companies are encouraged to include any relevant information (specifications, cut sheets, brochures, capability statement, previous experience etc.) to confirm the company’s ability to meet the requirements outlined in this request.

2. GENERAL INFORMATION

A1. Organization Name.

A2. Company ownership (public, private, joint venture).

A3. Business size designation in accordance with Small Business Administration (SBA) standards for the recommended NAICS code (541690, Other Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services) Comment by Ruc, Caitlin: Update NAICS and Title of NAICS here Comment by Justiniano, William: Updated

3. CAPABILITY AND EXPERIENCE INFORMATION

Interested firms are requested to provide Capability Statements addressing the following data/information by the closing date.

i. Company name

ii. Company address

iii. Company Point-of-Contact (POC)

iv. Company phone, fax, and email address

v. Company Tax ID Number (TIN)

vi. Company CAGE Code and System for Award Management (SAM) Unique Entity ID

vii. Type/Size of Business relative to NAICS Code 541690 If you suggest a more accurate NAICS, as it relates to the services noted herein, please provide it as well.

viii. Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Number (if applicable), meaning your FSS pertains to Professional Programmatic Support and Management Services.

· Can you support a single‑award IDIQ with nationwide reach and multiple concurrent task orders? What’s your typical mobilization timeline? Comment by Ruc, Caitlin: I updated these to this requirement - once you update the rest of this document can you send to Chris to ensure these are acceptable, or if he wants to add more or modify? Comment by Albright, Chris (HEFP/10NA5E): I’ve added a couple questions and the other NAICS codes

· Describe your process for program reviews of Safety, Engineering, and IH programs. Can you support multiple teams in multiple locations across the United States

· Describe your AI‑enabled policy analysis tool: VA compatibility, security, and ability to perform similarity/conflict checks across VA/VHA directives.

· Outline your approach for data pipelines, predictive analytics, and SharePoint dashboards with permission‑controlled views for national/VISN/facility levels.

· How will you design performance metrics and monitors that leverage existing VHA data and comply with agency guidance?

· Confirm your ability to perform VA design compliance reviews (NFPA, VA TIL) within 10 business days using licensed SMEs.

· Describe your experience in evaluating Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC) and Utility Energy Savings Contracts (UESC)

· Explain your experience with EVM, risk mitigation, and VISN‑level modernization oversight.

· Describe your expertise with GSAFleet.gov, telematics adoption/implementation strategies, and federal fleet reporting requirements.

In addition to providing your company’s capability statement as it pertains to the requirements of this RFI, interested and capable firms are also required to provide answers to the following questions.

a. [ ] Yes [ ] No Does your company exceed the required number of employees/millions based on the appropriate NAICS the VA is requesting?

b. [ ] Yes [ ] No Will at least 50 percent of the cost of performance incurred be expended for employees of your concern or employees of other eligible SDVOSB/VOSB concerns?

4.0 Responses

THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AT THIS TIME.

Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding contract or agreement. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, or ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. The Government will in no way be bound to this information if any solicitation is issued. Submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. Your responses may be shared with all stakeholders, thus, information received will not be considered proprietary.

4.1 Questions: No Questions are being accepted. Depending upon the responses received, VA may request additional information, may conduct future question and answer sessions, or may conduct meetings or an industry day.

52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997)

(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this RFI or to pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in FAR subsection 31.205-18, Independent research and development and bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although “proposal” and “offeror” are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) If you have already submitted a response to this RFI through GSA, please do not submit a duplicate response here. Please respond to only one RFI.

(d) This Request is issued for the purpose of: Information.

(End of provision)

Please see Attachments:

A. DRAFT Performance Work Statement (PWS) image1.emf

VACO HEFP DRAFT PWS.pdf

pg. 1

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN AFFAIRS

VHA HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENTAL and FACILITIES PROGRAMS (HEFP)

HEFP Professional Programmatic and Technical Services

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Title of Project: VHA HEFP Professional Programmatic Support and Management Services

2. Project Overview: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Healthcare Environmental and Facilities Program (HEFP) is seeking a contractor to provide comprehensive operational and technical support to ensure the effective execution of all program requirements. The contractor shall provide broad technical expertise, nationwide capabilities, and an in-depth knowledge of the continuum of business services related to the following programmatic areas within the context of operating in a healthcare environment:

i. Occupational Safety and Health

ii. Environmental Programs

iii. Healthcare Engineering

iv. Capital Asset Management

B. SCOPE OF WORK: HEFP is accountable for healthcare management programs in the “Environment of Care” which has a ubiquitous presence through VHA, enabling and supporting virtually every aspect of patient care provided to Veterans. Critical to the success of the office is an integrated, innovative approach to each programmatic element of HEFP to include:

1. Occupational Safety and Health

i. Workers Compensation

ii. Occupational Medical Surveillance

iii. Employee Occupational Health

iv. Safe Patient Handling and Mobility Program

v. Safety and Industrial Hygiene

vi. Fire Protection

vii. Green Environmental Management Systems (GEMS)

2. Environmental Programs

i. Sanitation Management

ii. Waste Management

iii. Pest Management

iv. Interior Design

v. Textile Management

3. Healthcare Engineering

i. Facilities Operations

ii. Facilities Infrastructure Management

iii. Fleet Management

iv. Building Service Equipment Management

pg. 2

v. Continuity of Operation for Facilities

vi. Facility Operation Readiness and Resilience

vii. Compliance and Standards

4. Capital Asset Management

i. Program Management

ii. Asset and Space Management

iii. Budget Operations

iv. Construction Support and Management

5. The term “Programmatic Elements” shall reference programs listed in items 1-4 of this section.

6. HEFP follows instructions and guidance issued by Congress, manifold Federal Agencies, numerous Accrediting Organizations that develop and publish applicable codes and standards, and other agency instructions and guidance containing specific performance metrics.

7. In all cases, the contractor shall draw upon existing resources and methodologies in use by facilities within VHA and other federal agencies or by private institutions.

C. BACKGROUND

1. The challenge of managing costs associated with both state and Federal regulatory requirements while ensuring worker safety and protecting human health and the environment within modern healthcare facilities is significant. VHA continues to build new facilities and expand services into non-traditional healthcare locations such as Community- Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC's) Health Coordination Centers (HCC’s) and Medical Foster Homes. In addition, all healthcare facilities face regulatory mandates and clinical accreditation standards that often increase workload requirements of the Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) and Facility staff beyond their current resource levels, thereby making compliance with Federal statutes VA/VHA policy and executive orders more difficult. VHA is facing many difficult OSH, Fire Protection, Clinical Occupational Health/Medicine, Workers’ Compensation, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering and Environmental-related challenges that require immediate attention and action. These include, but are not limited to, increased regulatory activity from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Climate Change Task Force (CCTF)and The Joint Commission (TJC); as well as increasing operational costs for healthcare facilities nationwide. Supply price volatility, potential new environmental regulations and associated penalties for non-compliance, and efforts to build robust Occupational Health and Safety, Fire Protection, Clinical Occupational Health/Medicine, Workers’ Compensation, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering and Environmental Management/Compliance Program capacity will continue to drive costs upward.

2. VHA is required to comply with Federal, Occupational Health and Safety, Fire Protection, Clinical Occupational Health/Medicine, Workers’ Compensation, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering and Environmental mandates, including changes to regulations contained within 29 CFR 1960, 1910, 1926, 40 CFR (sections 1 to 1899), various Executive Orders, ongoing changes to TJC and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, Center for Medicare Services (CMS) and VA national policy as outlined in VA Handbook 5019

pg. 3

‘Employee Occupational Health Service’ revised August 3, 2017. VHA must meet these service delivery levels while maintaining a strong focus on fiscal responsibility and staying within challenging operational and capital budgets.

D. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The Period of Performance (i.e., the contract ordering period) will include a one (1) year base period (beginning on the date of award) and four (4) one-year options. Any order placed against the contract within the ordering period will specify its own unique period of performance.

Recognized Holidays: The contractor is not required to provide services on the following Federal Holidays

New Year’s Day Labor Day Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Columbus Day President’s Day Veteran’s Day Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day Independence Day Christmas Day Juneteenth National Independence Day

E. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The primary place of performance will be at the contractor’s facility. Remote work is allowed and does not require any additional approvals from the Government.

There may be occasions when the contractor to be available on site at VHA Headquarters located at 811 Vermont Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20420. In such case, the place of performance will be specific, whenever possible, in the PWS of the task order (TO).

Some work will require performance at a government facility. In such case, the place of performance will be specific, whenever possible, in the PWS of the task order (TO).

Whenever possible, the Contracting Officer’s Representative will provide the contractor with notice 5 business days prior when there is a need to report to VHA Headquarters or VHA site. Some exceptions will be necessary in dealing with emergent needs.

F. TYPE OF CONTRACT

This is anticipated to be a single award IDIQ contract. Firm Fixed price task orders will be generated with a detailed PWS and issued by the Contracting Officer.

G. KEY PERSONNEL

Key personnel are certain skilled experienced professional and/or technical personnel are essential for accomplishing the work to be performed on each order.

Key personnel assigned by the Contractor shall be tasked to oversee performance of contractor personnel. Substitutions shall only be accepted if in compliance with Section I "Substitution of Key Personnel." Specific key personnel shall be identified at the task order level. Examples of the types of key personnel that may be requested:

See Appendix A: Key Personnel

pg. 4

The Contracting Officer or COR may notify the Contractor and request immediate removal of any personnel assigned by the Contractor that are deemed to have a conflict of interest with the government or if the performance of the personnel is deemed to be unsatisfactory. The reason for removal will be documented, and replacement personnel shall be identified by the Contractor within three (3) business days of the notification. Employment and staffing difficulties shall not be justification for failure to meet established schedules.

The Contractor shall be responsible for managing and overseeing the activities of all Contractor personnel, as well as subcontractor personnel used in performance of this effort. The Contractor's management responsibilities shall include all activities necessary to ensure the accomplishment of timely and effective support, performed in accordance with the requirements contained in this performance work statement.

Contractors will be expected to present domain knowledge of all programmatic elements identified in Section B, Scope of Work. Domain knowledge criteria and qualifications for subject matter experts will be identified in each task order.

H. Substitution of Key Personnel

All Contractor requests for approval of substitutions hereunder shall be submitted in writing to the COR and the Contracting Officer at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance of the effective date, whenever possible, and shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitution, a complete resume for the proposed substitute, and any other information requested by the COR necessary to approve or disapprove the proposed substitution. New personnel shall not commence work until all necessary security requirements have been fulfilled, and resumes provided and accepted. The COR will evaluate such requests and promptly notify the Contractor of approval or disapproval in writing.

I. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: The following general requirements apply to all task orders issued under this IDIQ:

1. The contractor shall identify their proposed technical approach in writing for every task order quoted. The contractor’s task order quote shall include their proposed labor categories, rates and number of hours by task, together with associated delivery dates and sub milestone dates (if any), and proposed personnel résumés. The contractor shall include in each quote the résumés for all proposed professional and/or technical personnel who will perform the tasks in the task order. Résumés are not required for clerical personnel.

2. Milestone dates and deliverable shall be identified in PWS of individual task orders

3. The contractor shall provide, via email, minutes of all government-contractor meetings. The contractor shall provide these draft minutes within 2 business days after completion of the meeting. Government shall review draft minutes; make edits as appropriate and return to contractor. Contractor will have 1 business day after receipt to finalize minutes and return to the Government.

4. Except for proprietary information in company quotes identified and marked in accordance with FAR 52.215-1(e), the contractor shall not deliver to the HEFP any proprietary products or information of any type in completing the requirements of each task order PWS. The contractor’s internal development tools (that is, those development tools not developed for HEFP work and not required by HEFP to install, use, or revise the deliverables) are exempted from this requirement. If the contractor believes an exception to this requirement is necessary for the effective or efficient execution of a task order, the contractor shall request

pg. 5 a specific exception, in writing, to the CO, and shall not use the proprietary tools or information in HEFP work until approval is received from the CO.

5. The contractor shall assume that the contractor will have access to all relevant data related to Occupational Safety and Health, Industrial Hygiene, Fire Protection, Clinical Occupational Health/Medicine, Workers’ Compensation, and Environmental programs and other resources, currently collected by the VHA Center for Enterprise Support Services (ESS)and the VISN Service Support Center (VSSC) in multiple data bases and other information resources as deemed appropriate.

6. The contractor shall ensure contract employees maintain open and professional communication with the staff at the VA facilities. Complaints validated by the COR or VA staff will be reported in writing to the CO for action. If the contractor fails to correct validated complaints raised by the COR and CO, it will be considered a failure in performance.

7. The CO may require the contractor to meet with the CO, contract administrator, and other Government personnel at least quarterly, and as often as deemed necessary. The contractor may request a meeting with the CO when deemed necessary.

8. All written deliverables shall be delivered through electronic means, rather than in paper hardcopy, in accordance with Subpart 4.502 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

J. TASKS and ASSOCIATED DELIVERABLES

1. For each BPA call issued, the contractor shall provide the specific deliverables described in the BPA, within the performance period stated. Specific sub-tasks and associated deliverables will be identified in each BPA call. The deliverables described below within Tasks 1 through 9 are typical requirements for each programmatic element identified in Section B, Scope of Work.

(i) Task 1: Operational Services

a. The contractor shall provide program management, tracking and reporting for all task orders. The contractor shall hold regular meetings to ensure strong communication and coordination of activities with relevant stakeholders.

b. The contractor shall provide operational support for the development of strategic and operational plans, as required by task order focused on each programmatic element.

Deliverables:

i. Kick off Meeting

ii. Project Management Plan

iii. Project Management Plan Updates

iv. Monthly Report

v. Strategic Plan (including support to annual strategic planning meetings)

vi. Operational Plan

(i) Task 2: Programmatic Element Requirement Identification and Tasks

pg. 6

a. Work in close coordination with VHA Program Offices, VHA COR and VHA Staff to Identify all relevant VA/VHA Directives, VA Master Specifications, VA Design Manuals, Federal regulations/legislations, Executive Orders, and other state regulations governing the programmatic elements. Examples include, but are not limited to HEFP led VHA Policy Directives/SOPs, EPA, Executive Orders, Public Laws, OSHA (including both administrative and clinical regulations), and

NFPA, and , and The Joint Commission. To facilitate these efforts, the contractor shall provide an AI-enabled Policy Analysis solution proven in the VA operating environment and IT systems to allow for expedited similarity and conflict analysis of HEFP policies against all other VA/VHA policy directives.

(i) Digital Policy Library

(ii) Standardized and Ad Hoc Policy Similarity Analyses

(iii) Standardized and Ad Hoc Policy Conflict Analyses

b. The contractor shall provide support and expertise in the development of action plans to meet existing VA/VHA/ and other Federal mandates that require Federal Agencies to regularly monitor and report as applicable to each programmatic element.

c. The contractor shall provide support and expertise in the development of metrics, data collection protocols, workflows, data pipelines and data warehousing, project schedule platforms(s), and predictive risk analytical methodologies and tools to ensure VHA timely access to robust and meaningful data in each programmatic element.

d. The contractor shall provide analytical support and expertise, including, but not limited to: Creation/management and reporting of project inventory lists, creation/management and reporting integrated project schedules, creation/management and reporting of project risk register, project acquisition and planning/tracking of Capital Program operation plans, workflows for approving and monitoring program compliance requirements, and recommendations for onsite analysis or technical infrastructure to appropriately manage programmatic elements in VHA facilities. The contractor shall develop and deliver training and/or presentation of the result data analysis and trends.

i. Data Management Strategy (including collection, data pipelines and warehouses, workflows, monitoring and reporting

ii. VA Level Gap Analysis Report of Findings

iii. Prepare reports on data and trends, including interpretation of data and recommendations for actions to mitigate issues.

iv. Data Results Briefing and Presentation Prepare and/or deliver presentations and/or training (including Virtual Reality (VR)/Immersive Techniques) on the results of the data analysis and trends to VA or VISN management and facility managers.

pg. 7

(iii) Task 3: Programmatic Element Action Plan.

a. The contractor shall use resultant analysis to develop action plans for each programmatic element to reach compliance and/or established short- and long-term goals Deliverables

i. Gap Analysis Findings and Recommendations

ii. Gap Analysis Action Plan

iii. Milestone report and plan to meet established goals identified in analysis

(iv) Task 4: Development of National Performance Monitors and Assessment Measures.

a. The contractor shall provide support to collect data and provide analysis, to include trending, for each programmatic element at each identified VHA VISN/Facility. The contractor shall develop SharePoint sites/forms or other similar tools to facilitate collection of self-reported data from the VA facilities. SharePoint sites shall be developed with the VA SharePoint environment as sites/tools with existing HEFPs site and subsites.

b. The contractor shall ensure that all performance monitors created comply with agency guidance and serve as a road map for comprehensive agency wide program oversight. Performance monitors shall leverage existing data collection with VHA to the extent feasible. If additional data is required to monitor performance, contractor shall identify and propose appropriate method of data collection, utilizing existing survey and tools where possible.

c. The contractor shall develop permission-controlled dashboards to visualize facility performance. Permission shall be controlled at the national program office level (for full view) and at the VISN and facility levels for limited reviews. Provide controlled access for other VHA program office stakeholders as directed.

Sample Deliverables:

i. Performance Metric Plan

ii. Platform recommendations

iii. Performance Metric Data Collection and Analysis (Mechanism for collecting, trending, and analysis for VHA VISN/Facilities)

(v) Task 5: Onsite Facility Evaluations and Focused Operational Support.

Provide technical support to help develop comprehensive, programmatic element compliance-focused guidance and implementation protocols in key operational areas that have an impact on the VHA's ability to meet agency goals and comply with Federal and other applicable requirements. These areas of support shall include the following as an example:

a. Site assessments and support for compliance with safety, industrial hygiene and environmental regulations, including conformance evaluations with ISO and other consensus standards.

pg. 8

b. Provide onsite support as it relates to the planning, design and construction of complex projects, including supplying a report deliverable of recommendation/course of action

c. Support to local and national level offices for the development and delivery of practical integrated methodologies that can be used by the VHA to ensure incorporation of best practices and cost-effective technologies and procedures into its hospital Occupational Safety and Health, Industrial Hygiene, Fire Protection, Clinical Occupational Health/Medicine, Workers’ Compensation and Environmental Programs, Capital Asset Management and projects.

d. Hospital operations support including development and delivery of facility management and engineering protocols and onsite support for Programmatic Elements ensuring that VHA practices and procedures are up to date and implemented in compliance with VHA Directives and policies and based on best practices from VHA and private healthcare organizations around the country.

e. The contractor shall provide expertise and guidance through several mechanisms, including, but not limited to deliverables and assistance:

i. Provide support and expertise in the development of "Best Practice" manuals and implementing instructions in the areas noted above.

ii. Develop written reports on all activities that a minimum include, but not limited to, a description of the work that was completed, observations made, any assessment or evaluation information, and recommendations or courses of action.

iii. Develop and conduct training courses appropriate to each Programmatic Element. Modalities of training can include, but not limited to.

a. Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning

b. Immersive (Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality) Simulation

c. Video Taping

d. Face to Face

f. Provide support to local facilities in Asset Management, including inventorying and data normalization of Building Service Equipment (BSE), ensuring equipment and location data are validated, catalogued, and normalized to meet VA/VHA national asset data and location standards. This includes the creation, revision, and assignment of Preventive Maintenance (PM) procedures and preparation of data to incorporate into future Computer Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS).

i. Assessment In Briefing and Out Briefing

ii. Site Visit Assessment, including overview of purpose, identification of findings and recommendations for improvement and/or resolution of areas of non-compliance.

iii. Risk Management and Improvement Report

iv. Complete physical survey of BSE and Locations at all VA owned locations, surveying 99% of all BSE

pg. 9

v. Maintain and update PM Library of all critical equipment types and durations

vi. Upload surveyed data into selected CMMS.

(vi) Task 6: Enhancement of VHA Employee Injury Data Gathering, Storage, Reporting Processes and/or other Data Analysis.

a. Provide support and expertise in the development of strategies that achieve the goals of the various federal and other applicable requirements related to injury reporting and tracking without adversely impacting the VHA core mission.

b. Using a prime contractor that is not a seller of Injury Reporting Systems but that has an expert knowledge of the federal reporting requirements and nuances of VHA corporate management practices and data systems is critical in order to obtain an "honest broker" review of how the system or technology can be improved and expanded upon to improve injury reporting and tracking process performance in VHA facilities. To that end, the VHA desires a contractor to perform the following activities including but not limited to:

i. Identify injury reporting and data collection data bases and accuracy of the data being collected.

ii. Evaluate the existing data available and determine gaps between current data and required injury reporting requirements and data to measure compliance with federal goals and objectives.

iii. Perform trend analysis on current data collected to determine causes for increases or decrease in injury rates at VHA facilities.

iv. Assist in the development of a dashboard to provide near real time accident rate as well as other related data that is used to comply with agency metrics or other federal

vii) Task 7: Project Design Reviews

a. Provide technical support to complete design reviews for critical project design in the disciplines of boiler, electrical, Energy Saving Performance Contracts (ESPC)/Utility Energy Savings Contracts (UESC), and others. These reviews shall include but not limited to, the following:

i. Design review documents could include narratives, specifications, drawings, Requests for Information (RFIs), or other documents, which will be provided in electronic format.

ii. Project designs shall be reviewed for compliance with applicable VA design standards (including design guides, design manuals, specifications, and other documents accessible on the VA CFM Technical Information Library [TIL]) (accessible at https://www.cfm.va.gov/til/), VA and VHA Directives, applicable codes (e.g., NFPA, ASME), and industry standards and best practices.

iii. All project review comments shall be provided with a code, standard, or VA/VHA Manual reference or specifically be https://www.cfm.va.gov/til/

pg. 10 identified as advisory. Life Safety Code references shall include an occupancy chapter reference.

iv. The written plan review report deliverable shall be documented using the report form provided by the COR or designee.

v. Reports shall be provided no later than 10 business days after contractor receipt of complete documents, unless otherwise directed by the VHA COR, or CO.

vi. Reviews shall be completed by competent technical subject matter experts for each discipline. Architects and Engineers providing reviews shall be licensed in the appropriate discipline and shall have sufficient experience with VA design requirements.

(viii) : Task 8: Capital Project Portfolio Oversight and Strategic Support of VA Facility Modernization

a. The Contractor shall provide VISN project oversight throughout design and construction activities related to approved capital operating modernization plans, coordinating between local sites and program office to ensure facility infrastructure requirements are met; coordinate with stakeholders to ensure logistics requirements are also met. In addition, the Contractor shall provide local and VISN technical and engineering oversight; project financial performance and earned value management; technical troubleshooting; monitors project budget performance throughout design and construction process to identify variances; monitors project schedule throughout design and construction process to identify variances; identifies risk during design and construction and provides mitigation strategies.

b. Provide VA Facility Management Engineering and Technical Assistance, including the following activities and deliverables:

i. Infrastructure Site Visits

ii. Consultation and Analysis

iii. Project Lifecycle Risk Identification, Mitigation, and Escalation

iv. Project Acquisition support, tracking, and reporting

v. Capital Cycle readiness Assessments, oversight, tracking, and reporting

c. Capital Budget Operations Support

i. Provide Analytical and Technical Support to HEFP Annual Fiscal

Year Capital Operating Plan and Reporting

d. Capital Project Execution Technical and Analytical Support, including the following activities and deliverables:

pg. 11

i. Project Application, Project Tracking Reports, Tracking, Meetings, Documentation and Project Execution Reviews

ii. Project Status Documentation

iii. Design Acquisition Package performance monitoring

iv. Design Procurement, Award, and Phase Support

v. Construction Acquisition Package performance monitoring

vi. Construction Procurement, Award, and Phase Support

vii. Tactical Project Schedules and Milestones Status Report updates

viii. Activations Support, Local Coordination

ix. Requirements Verification

x. Project Performance Mitigation and Response

xi. Knowledge Management Environment Sustainment (e.g., SEP SharePoint Site Collection) for Project Documentation/Records Management

xii. Maintenance of Stakeholder Registers

e. Communication and Reporting Analytical and Risk Management Services, including the following activities and deliverables:

i. Operational Plan validation and tracking

ii. Capital Portfolio/Project Status Schedule Tracking and Reporting

iii. Risk, Lessons Learned Identification, Tracking, Mitigation, and Reporting

iv. Technical Guidance and Engineering Solutions

Note: Vendors who are providing VA EHRM facility infrastructure upgrades (design and/or construction) services are precluded from this Task Area. FAR 9.505-2.

ix) Task 9: Facility Operational Readiness and Resilience:

a. The contractor shall revise evaluation protocol for operational readiness and resilience programs at the VISN and Medical Facility level including scoring matrix of program status.

b. The contractor shall conduct on-site evaluations with established protocols and provide report of findings with recommendations for improvement.

c. Provide training, as necessary, in accordance with Task 5

d. Provide advanced energy and building systems analytics for system optimization and resiliency

e. Provide support to National Advance metering database including but not limited to:

i. Development of national metering strategic plan

ii. Coordination with metering vendor and software licensure for VHA

iii. Development of SharePoint for reporting metering failures and requests for service

pg. 12

f. Provide advance utility and building systems analytical and system optimization, include the application of Machine Learning to provide continuous commissioning of VA Facility critical infrastructure systems. Initial site diagnostics shall be performed to identify high value optimization initiatives that are life cycle cost effective, which will then be incorporated into a VAMC-specific performance improvement roadmap deliverable

g. Maintain and update HEFP Energy SharePoint, as required.

(x) Task 10: Fleet Management

a. The contractor shall develop evaluation protocols for programs at the VISN and

Medical Facility level including scoring matrix of program status.

b. Provide training, as necessary, in accordance with task 5.

c. Support database management including but not limited to GSAFleet.gov to ensure accuracy and completeness

d. Assist with development of fleet policies and standard operating procedures

e. Assist with national call action items including tracking and following up with

VISNs

f. Assist with national reporting, as required, in response to action items from VA

Energy, Environmental, and Fleet Office.

g. Maintain and update HEFP Fleet SharePoint, as required.

(xi) Task 11: Other Administrative Function

a. The contractor shall make provisions to receive project documents that will require the transfer of large files from behind the VA Intranet fire wall to the contractor’s location. The VA email system will not support the large file sizes and the contractor shall establish an acceptable file transfer system.

b. The contractor shall establish specific written instructions for VHA to post on an internal intranet web site to properly direct VHA facilities on the submission of project documents to the contractor. These instructions shall include all necessary information required in deliverable item #3 that needs to be reported on a monthly basis.

c. The contractor shall provide storage space to retain all the files that have been submitted for review for future retrieval. The contractor shall turn over all files as requested by VHA at the end of the contract period.

K. Travel

1. Travel, to include the deployment of multiple teams, simultaneously, within the United States and its territories will be necessary. Travel requests will not be approved when virtual means of communication will suffice. No travel expense shall be incurred by the Contractor unless authorized in writing by the COR and until the relevant travel has been funded in an amount sufficient to cover the expected travel expense. All requests for travel shall include a justification and estimate to be submitted from the Contractor to the COR for all contractor requested travel no less than five (5) days advance notice.

2. Authorized travel shall be conducted in accordance with the BPA PWS, and travel expenses shall be reimbursed in accordance with Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) and FAR 31.205-46,

pg. 13

Travel Costs (see limits authorized by the current General Services Administration’s (GSA) per diem rates published on the GSA website at https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates). Any invoice submission that includes travel expenses shall include copies of all receipts for costs incurred during the approved travel. Local travel, within a 50-mile radius from the place of performance, to be identified at the order level (e.g., VHACO Washington, DC, facility, remote) is considered the cost of doing business and will not be reimbursed.

Travel to and from work is considered the cost of doing business and shall not be reimbursed. General and Administrative (G&A) cost shall not be applied and will not be approved for payment by the Government. Additionally, no travel expenses shall be incurred that exceed the running balance of the not-to-exceed amount under the Travel

CLIN.

L. Government and Contractor Responsibilities.

1. HEFP shall provide the contractor with copies of documents that the VA is required to provide. The contractor shall request other VA documentation deemed pertinent to the work accomplishment directly from the COR. The contractor is expected to use common knowledge and resourcefulness in securing all other reference materials, standard industry publications, and related materials that are pertinent to the work without violating any applicable copyright laws.

2. The contractor shall maintain frequent communications with the Program Office and the COR to conduct work in progress reviews. Progress reports shall be delivered electronically to the COR, with an electronic courtesy copy to the Program Office.

M. Status Reporting.

The Contractor shall meet with HEFP via teleconference monthly to discuss the status and progress of all current work being performed under this contract. The contractor will be responsible for sending out meeting minutes and HEFP reserves the right to request revision to the minutes.

N. Acceptance or Rejection of Services/Deliverables

Reports, documents shall be accepted when all discrepancies, errors or other deficiencies identified in writing by the COR have been corrected. Electronic copies shall be delivered via email attachment or other media by mutual agreement of the parties. The electronic copies shall be compatible with MS Office 07 or other applications as appropriate and mutually agreed to by the parties. The contractor shall use best commercial practice for formatting reports and documents. All of the COR’s comments to draft reports/documents shall either be incorporated in the succeeding version or the contractor shall demonstrate to the COR’s satisfaction why such comments shall not be incorporated. If the COR finds that report/document contains spelling errors, grammatical errors, improper format, or otherwise does not conform to the requirements stated within the task order, the document may be immediately rejected without further review and returned to the contractor for correction and re-submission. The COR will review each document and provide feedback and comments. The contractor shall have five business days to incorporate comments. A final review shall be conducted with the COR and representatives from the VHA Office of Occupational Safety, Health and GEMS Programs (19HEF) Delivery of the post final review document with incorporated comments from the final review meeting shall constitute acceptance by the VA with COR's written approval. Items such

pg. 14 as travel shall be accepted upon receipt of proper documentation and compliance with Federal Travel Regulations, as confirmed by the COR.

O. VA Information and Information System

Federal departments or agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use Electronic and Information Technology (EIT), they shall ensure that the EIT allows Federal employees with disabilities to have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of information and data by other Federal employees. The Section 508 requirement also applies to members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal department or agency.

P. Security/Privacy Requirements

1. GENERAL

a. Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security.

b. The C&A requirements do not apply and a Security Accreditation Package is not required.

2. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

a. A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

b. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program.