SS 24-24-Q-0090.pdf

This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. Pursuant to 48 CFR Part 326, Subpart 326.603-3 and IHM 5.5-6, Indian Health Service must use the negotiation authority of the Buy Indian Act, 25 U.S.C. 47, to give preference to Indian Economic Enterprises (IEE) whenever the use of that authority is authorized and practicable.

The Government is seeking to identify Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (ISBEEs) capable of performing the below Indian Health Services (IHS) requirement. Any vendor responding to this notice should submit their capability statement as well as the Buy Indian Act Indian Economic Enterprise Representation Form (attached). Instructions for submission are outlined below.

Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (ISBEEs) and other small business are highly encouraged to respond to this notice. However, firms should understand that generic capability statements are not sufficient for effective evaluation of their capacity and capability to perform the work required.

Responses must directly demonstrate the company’s capability, experience, and ability to provide Haskell Indian Health Clinic Eyeglasses and Lenses.

The Government requests interested parties submit a written response to this notice, which includes:

a. Company Name.

b. Company Socioeconomic Status.

c. Company System for Award Management (SAM) Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number.

d. Company point of contact, mailing address, and telephone number(s), and website address

e. Name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a company point of contact who has the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with government representatives.

f. DUNS Number:

g. Cage Code:

h. Tax ID

i. Date submitted.

j. Applicable company GSA Schedule number or other available procurement vehicle.

k. Company’s System for Award Management (SAM) registration status. All respondents must register on the SAM located at http://www.sam.gov/.

l. Submit Indian Health Service Buy Indian Act Indian Economic Enterprise Representation Form

(attached)

Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award contract. Any information provided by industry to the Government as a result of this sources sought synopsis is strictly voluntary. Responses will not be returned. No entitlements to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges to the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission of responses, or the Government's use of such information or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published on a government GPE. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

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).

How to respond: Please include the notice IHS 246-24-Q-0090 Haskell IHS Eyeglasses and Lenses in the subject line. Responses must be submitted via email to the Contract Specialist, Mary Ann Yocham, maryann.yocham@ihs.gov no later than 2:00 PM CST on April 5, 2024.

Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. The maximum number of pages for this submission is five (5) pages.

Department of Health and Human Services Indian Health Service

Specifications Eyeglasses and Lenses

1. PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The Oklahoma City Area Office (OCA), Indian Health Services (IHS) has a requirement for Optical lens, Frames, and other items at the Haskell Indian Health Center.

2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

The contractor shall provide Optical lens, Frames, and other items for the Haskell Indian Health Center Optometry Department.

3. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

5 Year BPA beginning from the date of the award. Reviewed annually.

4. LEVEL OF EFFORT

The Contractor shall provide new items.

Frames:

Contractor shall supply a minimum of 150 frames for display in the eye clinic. Selection of such frames shall be at the discretion of the optometry department upon review of contractor’s allowable frames. Frames for display shall include a variety of entry to mid-range cost frames ($10-$30) suitable for men, women, children, sports recreational specs, OSHA safety, and unisex. The contractor should also be able to provide Extra-Large frames (very important).

All frames and lens shall include a one (1) year warranty based on industry standards.

If any products are discontinued and/or unavailable, then submit equivalent item.

Lenses:

Lenses shall include plastic, polycarbonate, high-index and glass materials in traditional and digital manufacturing, if necessary.

Tinted lens options shall include both solid and gradient options in addition to plastic photochromic. Blue light lenses, AR coats should be available as well.

Lenses shall include scratch resistant coatings with a one (1) year warranty.

School aged children shall be upgraded to polycarbonate lens material at no cost.

Patients with sphere or cylinder more than (+/-) 4Diopters shall be upgraded to Hi-index with AR at no cost.

This is expected to be minimal.

No high sphere, cylinder, prism, or oversize blank charges.

If any products are discontinued and/or unavailable, then submit equivalent item.

Orders:

Contractor shall provide a secure online ordering website/portal for placement of orders.

Contractor shall be able to maintain separate accounts for various funding sources should the need arise.

Payment of frames and/or lenses shall also include 3rd-party payments by credit/debit card and/or tribal funds as it may make up a portion or the entirety of the order. Reasons for this could be a second pair of glasses through the patient’s tribe or a patient desiring features not covered by the Haskell Indian Health Center Glasses Program.

Completed spectacles shall be sent to Haskell Indian Health Clinic (2415 Mass. St., Lawrence, KS 66046) within 7-10 business days of the order date.

The contactor shall include an inexpensive case with each pair of eyeglasses ordered.

Product Quality:

Type of Lens: single vision, bifocal, trifocal, progressive and aspheric lenses on corrected curve, white or tinted lenses, glass impact resistant or plastic, mounted in approved type frames.

Unless otherwise specified, lenses, material, powers and workmanship shall be in accordance with the American National Standards Institute, ANSI Z80.3-2009. All glass ophthalmic lenses, with the exception of glass safety lenses will be chemically strengthened to comply with FDA regulation 21 CFR, Parts 3 and 4, for impact resistance, unless specified otherwise by the prescriber. Except for physical characteristics of the material used, plastic lenses furnished will conform to the performance specifications for corrected curve lenses made of class and the ANSI Z80.3-2009 standard. Such plastic lenses shall be made from hard resin plastic. Safety eyewear will comply with ANSI Z87.1-2010 standards. Safety lenses will be edged with safety approved bevel, etched with lab identifier code on upper outside corner, heat hardened and drop ball tested when applicable.

Eyeglass frames shall be in accordance with the American National Standards Institute, ANSI/ISO 7998/8624/12870-Optics.

Contractor shall be a certified laboratory with the ability to complete the requirements set forth within this scope.

Redo’s and Refund’s At minimum, Contractor shall agree to the following standards:

Lab errors will be done over at no charge within 90 days of the ship-date.

Rx changes within 90 days of original ship-date are no charge (one-time).

Upgrades on lenses within 60 days of original order can be done with a 50% discount.

Non-Adapt redo for progressive lenses will be made at no charge within 90 days of ship-date.

Downgrades (transitional to clear lenses) or same-price changes can be done with 90 days of original ship-date.

The contractor shall be responsible for all labor, materials, shipping costs, and associated expenses necessary to fulfill contract agreements to and from the Haskell Indian Health Center.

Personnel Qualifications: Key personnel assigned to the contract should have 3 years of experience (minimum) in the fabrication of eyeglasses.

5. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

5.1. In accordance with HHSAR 304.1300(b) non-routine contractor employees shall comply with OPDIV

DHHS/SE Region – Human Resources, Security Clearance Guidance – Visitors (3/29/12) policy for contract performance period. Contractor employees will be required to obtain a visitor’s pass upon arrival for services from Facilities Management.

5.2. The US PHS Haskell Indian Health Center is a tobacco/smoke free environment (buildings and grounds). No tobacco/smoking use will be tolerated during service.

5.3. Security Requirements: Contractor personnel will be required to contact the government designated point of contact upon arrival when reporting for service calls or delivery supplies. The contractor shall be responsible for the security of all organizational information. Current rules and regulations applicable to the premises, where the work shall be performed shall apply to the contractor and its employees while working on the premises. These regulations include but are not limited to, escort by Haskell Indian Health official, presenting valid identification, smoking restriction and any safety procedures.

5.4. The contractor shall not disclose or cause to disseminate any information concerning operations of Haskell Indian Health Center. Such action(s) could result in violation of the contract and possible legal actions.

5.5. All inquiries, comments, or complaints arising from any matter observed, experienced or learned of as a result of or in connection with the performance of the contract, the resolution of which may require the dissemination of official information, shall be directed to the government’s designated representative.

6. DELIVERABLES AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

6.1. Delivery: The contractor will coordinate the delivery, installation and training date with the designated government employee. The government will provide the contractor with dock access and building access for this sole purpose. The designated government employee will work with the pertinent government agency(ies) to secure the needed dock access. No deliveries can be made after 4:15pm.

Driver needs a valid ID.

6.2. Contractor Point of Contact: The contractor shall furnish one designated point of contact (POC) to the government’s designated representative for coordination of supplies, delivery, and/or maintenance. The POC will be empowered to make daily decisions to ensure that the contract implementation and day-to-day maintenance meets the terms and conditions of this contract.

6.3. Contractor’s Phone Numbers: The contractor shall provide a toll-free telephone number for service calls, which must be answered during at least eight working hours, between 8:00 am and 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday.

7. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, FACILITIES AND SERVICES

The Government shall supply the facility to house the consignment frames.

8. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED PROPERTY, FACILITIES AND SERVICES

The contractor will coordinate startup and training date with the designated government employee. Training could be in person or on-line. Training should consist of:

Basic lab/industry terminology Different lens materials and coatings that can be provided by the lab Patient frame selections and measurements The preferred process for handling warranty and redo jobs How to prevent warranty and redo’s at the time of ordering Different lens designs and when to order which types How to navigate and utilize the web-portal for entering glasses.

The manufacturing process Hard/Electronic Copy of the training material including contractor point-of- contact information

The contractor shall furnish all personnel, materials, supplies and equipment required to perform work under the contract.

Frame Display: Two (2) wall panels shall be provided by contractor. One (1) wall panel 40” width or smaller and one (1) 48” width or smaller, both with lengths long enough to accommodate 150 frames. Space for optical will be small.

9. CHANGES TO THE SPECIFICATIONS

Any changes to these specifications shall be authorized and approved only through written correspondence from the Contracting Officer. Costs incurred by the contractor through the actions of parties other than the Contracting Officer shall be borne by the contractor.

10. DELIVERABLES/PERFORMANCE MATRIX

The contractor will be evaluated over the contract with the quality of their products by the amount of returns with the contractor’s error in lenses, the quality of their products with amount of returns do to product breakage.

Performance Matrix Performance Standard AQL The length of time to receive the product once it is ordered

Delivered with-in ten (10) calendar days 95%

Product defects and needs to be returned

Product with no defects 95%

Contractor error of the order and needs to be returned

Complete order with no errors (based on

ANSI)

99%

Unable to reach POC Unable to reach and address issue within a business-day

99%

Department Supervisor Signature: ________________________

Administrative Officer Signature: _________________________

Matthew Geiger -S

Digitally signed by Matthew Geiger -S Date: 2024.03.12 11:20:29 -05'00'

Shannon Lowe -S Digitally signed by Shannon Lowe -S Date: 2024.03.17 16:34:51 -05'00'

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Office of Management Services Division of Acquisition Policy (DAP)

5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20857

INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE

BUY INDIAN ACT

INDIAN ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE

REPRESENTATION FORM

SOLICITATION/SOURCES SOUGHT/RFI #: _________________________________________________

PROJECT TITLE: ________________________________________________________

DATE: ___________________________________________________________________

In accordance with 25 U.S.C. 47 the Buy Indian Act, the signature below constitutes self-certification that the Offeror meets the definition of an “Indian Economic Enterprise” (HHSAR 326.601) in response to this Sources Sought Notice, Request for Information (RFI) or Solicitation and resultant contract.

The enterprise must meet the definition of “Indian Economic Enterprise” throughout the following time periods:

(1) At the time an offer is made in response to this solicitation;

(2) At the time of contract award; and

(3) During the full term of the contract performance period. At any point during these periods, if the Contractor no longer meets the eligibility requirements, the contractor must provide immediate written notification to the Contracting Officer.

Individual Contracting Officers may require documentation of eligibility before awarding a set-aside or sole source contracts under the Buy Indian Act and awards may be subject to protest if the eligibility of the successful Offeror is in question. In addition to the self-certification requirements, successful Offerors must also be registered with the System of Award Management (SAM).

Any false or misleading information submitted by an enterprise when submitting an offer in consideration of an award set-aside under the authority of the Buy Indian Act is a violation of the law and punishable under 18 U.S.C. 1001.

False claims submitted as part of contract performance are subject to the penalties enumerated in 31 U.S.C. 3729 to 3731 and 18 U.S.C. 287.

REPRESENTATION

The Offeror represents as part of its offer that it does _____, does not _____ meet the definition of an “Indian Economic Enterprise” with “Indian Ownership” under the authority of the Buy Indian Act.

Name of the 51% owner of IEE Firm

Certifying Signature

Print Name

Name of Federally Recognized Tribal Entity

Business Name

UEI Number