Risk Assessement Procurement.docx

Massachusetts Health Connector Solicitation Under FAC115: Physical Safety and Security Assessment and Training

The Massachusetts Health Connector (the “Health Connector”) is seeking a vendor approved to provide services under Massachusetts State Blanket Contract FAC115, Category 1, to perform a safety and risk assessment of our workplace and provide training to staff. The risk assessment should identify and evaluate potential hazards and risks and identify remediations to ensure our employees a safe environment.

The selected vendor must possess a strong understanding of hazard identification, risk assessment, control measures, documentation and review procedures and communication plans, and the ability to provide safety trainings to staff, and will have the ability to demonstrate its experience in performing these services.

A. Workplace Safey and Risk Assessment

May 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026

The chosen vendor will conduct a workplace safety and risk assessment and present its written findings to the Health Connector in a report. The scope of the safety and risk assessment will include the Health Connector’s administrative offices, which sit on two (2) leased floors of a Class B office building in downtown Boston, MA.

The chosen vendor will consult with the Executive Director and other Health Connector leaders, as necessary, to create a comprehensive evaluation of the current Health Connector safety and security systems. The plan will include identifying specific risks to Health Connector [physical] infrastructure, employees, visitors, and systems contained within the facility. The plan will also include an in-depth evaluation of the existing security protection systems currently in place, the laws that govern them, and the policies, procedures, and operational guidelines directing and governing their use.

The assessment shall include but not be limited to:

· identifying and assessing facility risks;

· evaluating current entry access control for employees, contractors, and members of the public;

· examining facility security equipment including surveillance cameras;

· reviewing existing security plans, policies, and protocols currently in place;

· evaluating security staffing levels, staffing plans, techniques, training standards, and equipment needed;

· assessing current workplace violence prevention measures; and

· reviewing compliance with the Massachusetts Fire Prevention Regulations (527 CMR 1.00) and Boston Fire Prevention Code, which dictate requirements for fire detection and suppression systems, emergency exits, and safe storage practices.

Upon completion of the assessment, the selected vendor will prepare a report and present it to the Health Connector senior leadership team. The report will include but not be limited to:

· a comprehensive description of the analysis methodology used to assess the vulnerability of the physical protections systems for the facility;

· an in-depth description of the building, site boundaries, floor plans, and access points including all physical protection features of the building;

· a description of each identified type of threat including the type of adversary, tactics, and capabilities;

· a categorization of threats and the likelihood of attack;

· an analysis of the effectiveness of the existing protections systems as they relate to detection, delay, and response;

· a comprehensive list of upgrades to address the identified risks and their impact on the systems involved; and

· a recommendation for staff training on safety protocols, including emergency procedures, use of safety equipment, and reporting incidents or hazards.

B. Employee Training

July 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026

The chosen vendor will deliver the following drills and trainings to staff, based on the recommendations identified through the Workplace Safety and Risk Assessment:

· emergency preparedness drills for employees, based on recommended emergency action plan including:

· evacuation procedures;

· communication protocols;

· shelter-in-place procedures;

· fire safety;

· first aid and medical emergencies;

· workplace hazards;

· situational awareness;

· workplace violence prevention training for employees and managers based on recommended workplace violence prevention best practices; and

Timeframe for contract

The Health Connector is seeking a contract with a vendor for approximately four (4) months beginning on May 1, 2026, through August 31, 2026.

Bid Submission Instructions

Deadline to Submit: Interested vendors should provide their proposal, indicating a financial cost breakdown per section (A. and B.) no later than 12:00 PM on March 27, 2026, to Connector.Responses@Mass.gov. The bid must be signed by a person authorized to represent and legally bind the bidder contractually and must include the name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the bidder’s contact person and prospective Contract Manager, if awarded an agreement.

Cost Response: The cost response of the bid must be submitted in a separate file from the programmatic response, and the programmatic response of the bid must not include any financial cost information.

Qualification Requirements: Bidder must attest that it is an approved vendor under State Blanket contract FAC115: Security Services, Private Investigative Services, and Fence Rental, that it is approved to provide Category 1, Security Services, under that contract, and that it is in full compliance with all of the requirements of that contract.

Bidder’s Team: Bidder must provide the names, titles, and reporting relationships, along with any subsidiary relationships and subcontractors, as part of its bid.

Use of Subcontractors: Bidder must indicate whether it proposes to use any subcontractors to perform services under a contract and, if so, provide for each such subcontractor its corporate or other legal entity name, address, telephone number. If bidder proposes to use subcontractors, the bid must describe the respective responsibilities and functions that each subcontracting entity would perform if the Bidder were awarded the Agreement.

References: Bidder must provide or state its willingness to provide references from customers for which the Bidder has provided similar services.

General Information

Procurement Calendar

Issuing Officer: Patricia Grant, Deputy Executive Director and COO, Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, 100 City Hall Plaza, 6th Floor Boston, MA 02108. Interested parties may submit questions in accordance with the guidelines below. Bidders are prohibited from communicating directly with any employee of the Health Connector regarding this RFQ, except as specified in this RFQ from the date of release of this RFQ until an agreement is executed, unless otherwise directed by the Issuing Officer. No other individual Health Connector employee or representative is authorized to provide any information or respond to any question or inquiry concerning this RFQ, except as specified in this RFQ.

Electronic Communication/Update of Bidder’s/Contractor’s Contact Information: It is the responsibility of the prospective bidder and awarded contractor to provide the name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the bidder’s contact person and prospective Contract Manager, if awarded an agreement, and to monitor that e-mail inbox for communications from the Health Connector, including requests for technical corrections, clarifications or best and final offers. The Health Connector and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective bidder’s/awarded contractor’s designated e-mail address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s computer, network, or internet service provider (ISP) cause e-mail communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/awarded Contractor and the Health Connector to be lost or rejected by any means including e-mail or spam filtering.

Reasonable Accommodation: Bidders with disabilities or hardships that seek reasonable accommodation, which may include the receipt of RFQ information in an alternative format, must communicate such requests in writing to the RFQ Issuing Officer. Requests for accommodation will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. A bidder requesting an accommodation must submit a written statement which describes the bidder’s disability and the requested accommodation to the Issuing Officer for the RFQ. The Health Connector reserves the right to reject unreasonable requests.

RFQ Questions: Bidders may make written inquiries concerning this RFQ until no later than 5:00 pm on February 25, 2026. Written inquiries must be submitted via email to Connector.Responses@mass.gov. The Health Connector will review inquiries received by the deadline and, at its discretion, prepare written responses to questions which the Health Connector determines to be of general interest and/or may help to clarify the RFQ. Any written response will be posted on COMMBUYS.

Errors: In the event this RFQ contains errors, the Health Connector may correct such errors at any time prior to contract execution. Corrections to this RFQ will be posted on COMMBUYS.

Amendment or Withdrawal of RFQ: The Health Connector reserves the right to amend the RFQ at any time prior to execution of an agreement and to terminate this procurement in whole or in part at any time before execution of an agreement. If the Health Connector decides to amend or clarify any part of this RFQ, any written amendment will be posted on COMMBUYS.

Costs: Costs which are not specifically identified in the bidder’s response and accepted by the Health Connector as part of an agreement will not be compensated under any agreement awarded pursuant to this RFQ. The Health Connector will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by bidders responding to this RFQ.

Acceptance of Response Content: The entire contents of the bidder’s response shall be binding on the bidder. The specifications and contents of a successful bidder’s response may be incorporated into the agreement.

Alterations: Respondents may not alter (manually or electronically) the RFQ language or any procurement component files, except as directed in the RFQ. Modifications to the body of the RFQ, specifications, terms and conditions, or any other alterations which change the intent of this solicitation are prohibited and may disqualify a response.

Response Duration: The bidder’s response shall remain in effect until any agreement with a bidder is executed.

Agreement Expansion: If additional funds become available during the agreement term, the Health Connector reserves the right to increase the maximum obligation to the agreement executed as a result of this RFQ, subject to available funding, satisfactory contract performance and need.

Electronic Funds Transfer: All Bidders responding to this RFQ must agree to participate in the Health Connector Electronic Payment via Automated Clearing House (ACH) program for receiving payments, unless the bidder can provide compelling proof that it would be unduly burdensome. Because the ACH Sign-Up Form contains banking information, this form, and all information contained on this form, shall not be considered a public record and shall not be subject to public disclosure through a public records request. The requirement to use ACH may be waived, at the discretion of the Health Connector, if participation in the program would be unduly burdensome on the bidder. If a bidder is claiming that this requirement is a hardship or unduly burdensome, the specific reason must be documented in its response. The Health Connector will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis and communicate its findings to the bidder.

Health Connector Rights: The Health Connector reserves the right to reject any and all responses, and to waive any minor irregularities in a response. Issuance of this RFQ is not a guarantee that a contract will be awarded. The Health Connector reserves the right to amend or withdraw this RFQ, including any or all Exhibits and Attachments, at any time prior to the award of the agreement. Changes to the agreement after its execution by the parties shall be made only by written amendment. The Health Connector reserves the right to amend any agreement resulting from this RFQ to implement new initiatives or modify initiatives related to changes in state and Federal law, regulation or policy, and changes in Health Connector policy. The Health Connector reserves the right to cancel without penalty any component of any agreement entered hereunder should the Health Connector determine that the winning bidder cannot meet the Health Connector’s needs.

Negotiations of Response: Nothing in this RFQ or in the Health Connector’s acceptance of any response in whole or in part, shall obligate the Health Connector to complete negotiations with the related bidder.

Best Value Selection and Negotiation: The Health Connector intends to select the response that demonstrates the best value overall, including proposed alternatives, and achieves the procurement goals of the Health Connector. The Health Connector and the selected bidder may negotiate a change in any element of performance or cost identified in the original RFQ or the selected bidder’s response which results in better value than that presented in the selected bidder’s original response.

Public Records: All responses and related documents submitted or presented to the Health Connector as part of this RFQ shall become the property of the Health Connector. They may be subject to disclosure upon request under M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, and c. 4, §.7, cl. 26. The Health Connector is under no obligation to withhold from production under the Public Records Law any responses or materials submitted by a bidder, regardless of whether such documents are labelled to indicate that they are bidder “trade secrets” or redacted versions or otherwise confidential information.

Ownership and Retention of Data: All data received, created, produced, or stored by the winning bidder under an agreement resulting from this RFQ is the exclusive property of the Health Connector, including without limitation data provided by the Health Connector, external parties, or the Health Connector’s vendors or customers; data generated by the vendor’s systems in connection with services provided by the vendor; and data related to training. All such data must be retained in accordance with the record retention schedules under Massachusetts General Law c 30 s. 42.

Reimbursement: The Health Connector will not reimburse bidders for any costs associated with the preparation or submission of any response or for any travel or per diem expenses incurred in any presentations of such responses, even if the RFQ is cancelled or withdrawn.

Restriction on the Use of the Health Connector Logo: Bidders and Contractors are not allowed to display the Health Connector logo in their bid package or subsequent marketing materials if they are awarded a contract.

Technical Corrections, Clarifications and Best and Final Offer: The Health Connector reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to request, at any time following submission of responses and prior to the final selection of Bidders for contract negotiation and execution, that all or some Bidders submit a technical correction, clarification, or best and final offer (BAFO).

image1.png