SP-21-0064 Laundry Services IFB~1.pdf

STATE OF ARKANSAS

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSFORMATION AND SHARED SERVICES

OFFICE OF STATE PROCUREMENT

501 Woodlane St., Ste. 220 Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1023

INVITATION FOR BID

BID SOLICITATION DOCUMENT

SOLICITATION INFORMATION

Solicitation Number: SP-21-0064 Solicitation Issued: April 15, 2021

Description: Laundry Services

Department:

Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs – Arkansas State Veterans Home, Fayetteville

SUBMISSION DEADLINE AND DELIVERY OF RESPONSE DOCUMENTS

Bid Opening Date: May 5, 2021 Bid Opening Time: 1:30 p.m., Central Time

Bid responses for this Invitation for Bid must be submitted through ARBuy, the State’s eProcurement system.

It can be accessed at https://arbuy.arkansas.gov. Bids received after the submission deadline may be rejected as untimely. See section 1.2 for information regarding Live Bid Openings.

TSS OFFICE OF STATE PROCUREMENT CONTACT INFORMATION

TSS OSP Buyer: Julia Shackelford Buyer’s Direct Phone Number: 501-371-6079

Email Address: Julia.shackelford@arkansas.gov TSS OSP’s Main Number: 501-324-9316

TSS OSP

Website:

https://www.transform.ar.gov/procurement/ https://arbuy.arkansas.gov/ mailto:Julia.shackelford@arkansas.gov https://www.transform.ar.gov/procurement/

Bid Solicitation Document Bid No. SP-21-0064

SECTION 1 – REQUIREMENTS

• Do not provide responses to items in this section unless specifically and expressly required.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This Invitation for Bid (IFB) is issued by the TSS Office of State Procurement (TSS OSP) on behalf of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs - State Veterans’ Home located in Fayetteville, AR (ASVH-F) to obtain pricing and a contract for Linen and Residential Laundry Services.

Direct all questions, comments, or concerns you may have regarding this solicitation to the TSS Office of State Procurement, not the ASVH-F.

ASVH-F operates a 90-bed skilled nursing care and rehabilitation facility. ASVH-F provides a comfortable and supportive atmosphere for Veterans. ASVH-F operates under the direction of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs and has been approved and recognized by the Federal Veterans Administration as a qualified State Veterans Home.

The Contractor awarded a contract as a result of this IFB shall provide laundry services for ASVH-F veteran residents totaling approximately 60,000 pounds per year of personal laundry items.

In addition, the Contractor shall provide laundry services for ASVH-F owned linens totaling approximately 60,000 pounds per year. ASVH-F currently maintains a four (4) day supply of linen items to have enough turnaround time for processing the linen at facility.

1.2 LIVE BID OPENING

See instructions below to view the bid opening online.

Zoom Meeting Link:

https://arkansas-gov.zoom.us/j/83931819371?pwd=TGdnV28wMXJqYUpuVVB0WERGTlZLUT09

Meeting ID: 839 3181 9371 Meeting Passcode: 999999 Dial-In Information: 877 853 5257 US Toll-free 888 475 4499 US Toll-free

1.3 CLARIFICATION OF BID SOLICITATION

A. Submit any questions requesting clarification of information contained in this Solicitation via the solicitation posting in ARBuy by midnight, Central Time on or before April 27, 2021.

1. For each question submitted, Prospective Contractor should reference the specific solicitation item number to which the question refers.

2. Prospective Contractors’ written questions will be consolidated and answered by the State as deemed appropriate. The State’s consolidated written response is anticipated to be posted to the solicitation posting in ARBuy by the close of business on April 30, 2021. If Prospective Contractor questions are unclear or non-substantive in nature, the State may request clarification of a question(s) or decline to answer.

B. The Prospective Contractor should notify the TSS OSP buyer of any term, condition, etc., that precludes the Prospective Contractor from submitting a compliant, Responsive Bid. Prospective Contractors should note that it is the responsibility of the Prospective Contractor to seek resolution of all such issues, including those relating to the terms and conditions of the contract, prior to the submission of a bid.

https://arkansas-gov.zoom.us/j/83931819371?pwd=TGdnV28wMXJqYUpuVVB0WERGTlZLUT09

C. Prospective Contractors may contact the TSS OSP buyer with non-substantive questions at any time prior to the bid opening.

D. An oral statement by TSS OSP will not be part of any contract resulting from this solicitation and may not reasonably be relied on by any Prospective Contractor as an aid to interpretation unless it is reduced to writing and expressly adopted by TSS OSP.

1.4 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms defined in Arkansas Procurement Law and used herein have the same definitions herein as specified therein.

A. “Bid Submission Requirement” means a task a Prospective Contractor must complete when submitting a bid response. These Requirements will be distinguished by using the term “shall” or “must” in the requirement.

B. “Business Days” means Monday through Friday of each week.

C. “Prospective Contractor” means a responsible bidder who submits a responsive bid in response to this solicitation.

D. “Requirement” means a specification that a Contractor’s commodity must and/or service shall meet or exceed in the performance of its contractual duties under any contract awarded as a result of this IFB. These specifications will be distinguished by using the terms “shall” or “must” in the requirement.

E. “Responsive bid” means a bid submitted in response to this solicitation that conforms in all material respects to this IFB.

F. “State” means the State of Arkansas. When the term “State” is used herein to reference any obligation of the State under a contract that results from this solicitation, that obligation is limited to the State Department using such a contract.

G. The terms “Invitation For Bid”, “IFB,” “Bid Solicitation,” and “Solicitation” are used synonymously in this document.

1.5 LAUNDRY SERVICES FOR ASVH-F OWNED LINENS

A. The Contractor shall collect ASVH-F owned dirty linens from ASVH-F’s on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week.

1. ASVH-F will gather and bag all dirty linens and place the bagged linens in a designated area for collection by the Contractor. ASVH-F will separate heavily soiled linens requiring special treatment.

B. Applicable to each daily collection, the Contractor shall sort and weigh the dirty linens collected at the

ASVH-F location.

1. Contractor shall provide documentation to ASVH-F every Friday which must show the total weight, in pounds, of the linens the Contractor collected each day during the previous seven (7) day period and a cumulative weight, in pounds, of the linens collected and laundered for the previous seven (7) day period.

C. The Contractor shall apply special treatments to all heavily soiled and stained linens set aside by ASVH-F as needing special treatment.

D. The Contractor shall launder and dry the linens using the appropriate heat setting for the fabric.

E. After laundering and drying, the Contractor shall inspect the linens and place all worn, threadbare, torn, and remaining stained linens in a clear trash bag. The Contractor shall mark the bag according to its contents.

F. The Contractor shall fold the following linens:

1. Bath Towels

2. Washcloths

3. Blankets

4. Fitted Sheets

5. Receiving Pads

6. Bibs

G. The Contractor shall fold and iron the following linens:

1. Flats Sheets

2. Pillowcases

3. Bedspreads

4. Tablecloths

H. The Contractor shall place rags in a clear bag by themselves.

I. The Contractor shall launder, dry, and keep wet/dry mops separate from all other laundry.

J. The Contractor shall return all laundered linens to the ASVH-F facility on utility carts.

K. The Contractor shall return laundered linens to the ASVH-F facility’s loading dock on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week.

1.6 LAUNDRY SERVICES FOR ASVH-F RESIDENTS

A. The Contractor shall collect ASVH-F residents’ personal laundry from each individual resident’s room on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week.

B. Applicable to each collection, the Contractor shall sort and weigh the laundry collected from ASVH-F resident rooms.

1. Contactor shall provide documentation to ASVH-F every Friday which must indicate the following information and may be aggregated for the week unless otherwise requested by ASVH-F:

a. ASVH-F resident’s room number

b. Date sorted and weighed

c. Weight, in pounds

C. The Contractor shall supply ASVH-F with enough laundry bags to accommodate a minimum of 90-residents.

D. The Contractor shall examine each pocket on each article of clothing and remove all items that should not be laundered. The Contractor shall bag all items found and return to the specific ASVH-F resident upon returning the resident’s laundered items.

E. The Contractor shall tag each bag to match the room number with the appropriate ASVH-F resident.

F. The Contractor shall treat stains and heavily soiled items, wash, dry, and fold all items collected.

G. The Contractor shall deliver freshly laundered items and matching laundry bag directly back to the correct ASVH-F resident room on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week.

H. If requested by ASVH-F, the Contractor shall comply with specified delivery times for returning fresh laundry back to ASVH-F residents.

1.7 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

A. When requested by TSS OSP, the Contractor shall provide an approved Certificate of Insurance and must maintain the following insurance Requirements throughout the contract period and any available renewal period.

1. Each Certificate of Insurance should include SP-21-0064 and name Arkansas Department Veterans Affairs as the certificate holder with the intent to notify same of any intention to cancel the insurance within ten (10) Business Days.

B. Contractors shall have the following liability limits:

1. Commercial General Liability

a. Each occurrence: $1,000,000.00

b. General aggregate: $2,000,000.00

2. Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability

a. Employer’s liability each accident: $100,000.00

b. Employer’s liability disease each employee: $100,000.00

3. Umbrella Liability

a. Each occurrence: $2,000,000.00

b. General Aggregate: $2,000,000.00

4. Automobile Liability

a. Combined single limit: $1,000,000.00

1.8 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

A. State law requires that contracts for services include Performance Standards for measuring the overall quality of services that a Contractor shall provide.

B. The State may be open to negotiations of Performance Standards prior to contract award, prior to the commencement of services, or at times throughout the contract duration. Table A: Performance Standards identifies expected deliverables, performance measures, or outcomes; and defines the acceptable standards.

C. Performance Standards shall not be amended unless they are agreed to in writing and signed by the parties.

D. Failure to meet the minimum Performance Standards as specified will result in the assessment of damages.

E. In the event a Performance Standard is not met, the Contractor will have the opportunity to defend or respond to the insufficiency. The State has the right to waive damages if it determines there were extenuating factors beyond the control of the Contractor that hindered the performance of services.

In these instances, the State has final determination of the performance acceptability.

F. Should any compensation be owed to the Department due to the assessment of damages, Contractor shall follow the direction of the Department regarding the required compensation process.

Table A: Performance Standards

Criteria Standard Damages

Provide commercial linen laundry services as specified within this IFB.

100% Compliance.

1st Offense – Corrective action plan will be requested.

2nd Offense – Payment may be reduced by 25%.

3rd Offense – Contract may be terminated and a sub-standard Vendor Performance Report (VPR) may be submitted with the Arkansas Office of State Procurement (TSS OSP).

Provide laundry services to the residents as specified within this IFB.

100% Compliance.

1st Offense – Corrective action plan will be requested.

2nd Offense – Payment may be reduced by 25%.

3rd Offense – Contract may be terminated and a sub-standard VPR may be submitted to TSS OSP

SECTION 2 – GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION

• Do not provide responses to items in this section unless specifically and expressly required.

2.1 TYPE OF CONTRACT

A. As a result of this IFB, TSS OSP intends to award a contract to a single Contractor.

B. The anticipated starting date for any resulting contract is July 1, 2021, except that the actual contract start date may be adjusted unilaterally by the State for up to three calendar months. By submitting a signed bid in response to the IFB, the Prospective Contractor represents and warrants that it will honor its bid as being held open as irrevocable for this period.

C. The initial term of a resulting contract will be for one (1) year. Upon mutual agreement by the

Contractor and agency, the contract may be renewed by TSS OSP for up to six (6) additional one-year terms or portions thereof, not to exceed a total aggregate contract term of seven (7) consecutive years.

2.2 CONTRACTOR SELECTION

A. Award will be made to the lowest-bidding, responsible Prospective Contractor on an all or none basis. Prospective Contractor shall provide pricing for both service types as shown on the Official Solicitation Price Sheet.

2.3 RESPONSE DOCUMENTS

A. All bid responses must be submitted through ARBuy, the State’s eProcurement system. The system can be accessed at https://arbuy.arkansas.gov.

B. Bid Response Packet

1. The following are bid submission requirements and must be submitted as part of a Prospective

Contractor’s bid response.

a. Signed Bid Signature Page. Signature may be ink or digital. (See Bid Response Packet.)

b. Completed Bid Response Packet, which must be in the English language.

c. Completed Pricing Response on the Official Solicitation Price Sheet attached to solicitation posting in ARBuy. Pricing must be proposed in U.S. dollars and cents.

d. Proposed Subcontractors Form. The utilization of any proposed subcontractor is subject to approval by the Department.

e. Exceptions Form.

2. The following items, which must be submitted prior to a contract award to the Prospective

Contractor, may also be included with the Prospective Contractor’s bid response:

a. EO 98-04 Contract & Grant Disclosure Form.

b. Copy of Prospective Contractor’s Equal Opportunity Policy.

c. Certificate of Insurance https://arbuy.arkansas.gov/

3. DO NOT include any other documents or ancillary information, such as a cover letter or promotional/marketing information.

2.4 PRICING

A. Prospective Contractor shall include all pricing on the Official Solicitation Price Sheet only. If any cost is not identified by the Prospective Contractor but is subsequently incurred in order to achieve successful operation, the Contractor shall bear this additional cost. The Official Solicitation Price Sheet is provided as a separate electronic file posted with this Bid Solicitation.

B. To allow time to review bids, prices must be valid for 90-days following the bid opening.

C. The Official Solicitation Price Sheet is provided as a separate electronic file posted with this Bid

Solicitation.

D. In the blue shaded pricing cells, the Prospective Contractor shall provide a price per pound rate and pricing must include all costs associated with fulfilling the Requirements of this IFB.

E. The calculated amount will auto-populate into the Total Estimated Cost for the Initial Term cell and will be used to determine lowest cost

F. DO NOT submit any ancillary information not related to actual pricing on or with the Official Solicitation Price Sheet.

2.5 PRICE ESCALATION

A. Price changes may be negotiated at the time of contract renewal at the discretion of the State. Any request for a price increase must include supporting documentation demonstrating that the increase in contract price is based on an increased cost to the Contractor and that the proposed pricing is still competitive in the marketplace. The Department of Transformation and Shared Services, Office of State Procurement, has the right to approve or deny any request for a price adjustment.

B. In the event of a general price decrease, the State shall be guaranteed full benefit of the price reduction for all undelivered purchase orders on the effective date of the decrease and thereafter.

2.6 INVOICE AND PAYMENT

A. Invoices must be sent electronically to advafiscal@arkansas.gov

Or may be mailed to:

ADVA Fiscal 501 Woodlane Drive, Suite 401 N Little Rock, AR 72202

B. The Contractor shall invoice the agency by an itemized list. The Agency’s Purchase Order Number and/or the Contract Number must be referenced on each invoice.

mailto:advafiscal@arkansas.gov

2.7 ACCEPTANCE OF REQUIREMENTS

A. Unless a Prospective Contractor expressly and conspicuously identifies any exception or exceptions to any of the Requirements in the Specifications Section of this IFB by listing them on the Exceptions Form (See Bid Response Packet), Prospective Contractor understands its submission of a bid to represent that its bid meets all such Requirements.

B. A Prospective Contractor’s bid may be rejected if the Prospective Contractor takes exception to any Requirements in the Specifications Section of this IFB.

2.8 ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A. This IFB incorporates all of the Solicitation Terms and Conditions located on the TSS OSP website here (Agencies – Forms and Reporting – Solicitation Templates):

https://www.transform.ar.gov/procurement/agencies/forms-and-reporting/.

B. Any special terms and conditions included in this solicitation shall override the Solicitation Terms and Conditions.

C. Unless a Prospective Contractor expressly and conspicuously identifies any exception or exceptions to any of the terms in the Services Contract (SRV-1) Fillable Form by listing them on the Exceptions Form (See Bid Response Packet), Prospective Contractor agrees and shall adhere to all terms if selected as the successful Contractor. Items identified as non-negotiable may only be modified if the legal requirement is satisfied and approved by the State. The Services Contract (SRV-1) Fillable Form can be viewed on the TSS OSP website here (Agencies – Services – Forms):

https://www.transform.ar.gov/procurement/agencies/services/.

D. A Prospective Contractor’s bid may be rejected if a Prospective Contractor takes exception to any terms or conditions in the documents listed in 2.8.A and 2.8.C.

https://www.transform.ar.gov/procurement/agencies/forms-and-reporting/ https://www.transform.ar.gov/procurement/agencies/services/