Statement of Work Shred FY 25doc.doc

Statement of Work

Shredding for VBA Honolulu Regional Office

1. BACKGROUND

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Department of Veteran Affairs Honolulu Regional Office located on the campus of Tripler Army Medical Center at 459 Patterson Road, E-wing, Honolulu, Hawaii provides services to Veterans. Subsequently, creating sensitive documentation which must be properly disposed. The VBA will be requiring shredding services to ensure PII documents are properly disposed.

2. SCOPE

The Contractor shall provide all labor, supplies, transportation and equipment required to properly shred materials (which may contain but not limited to folders and, other non-paper materials. Folders and, other non-paper materials are described as - 44 U.S.C. 3301: "Regardless of physical form or characteristics" means that the medium may be paper, film, disk, or another physical type or form. It also means that the method of recording may be manual, mechanical, photographic, electronic, or any combination of these or other technologies.) And shall also be responsible for disposing of all shredded materials. All shredding shall take place in accordance with regulations and directives referenced in Section 6.0 and 9.0. The Contractor shall provide one (1) 64-gallon secure container (bin), with wheels, to collect and store materials to be shredded until such time that shredding of the materials occurs.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has one location that will be requiring shredding services once a week located at:

Department of Veteran Affairs Honolulu Regional Office

459 Patterson Road, E-wing

Honolulu, HI 96819

3. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

The base year period of performance shall begin in January 2025 with 4 option years.

Shredding will take place every other week on agreed upon days between the hours of 8am to 11am.

Work at the government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends unless directed by the Contracting Officer (CO).

4. PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES – OBJECTIVES

· The Contractor shall arrive with equipment capable of picking up, loading, and on-Site destruction shredding bins. Contractor’s owned and operated equipment shall produce crosscut shred particles not larger than 1 mm x 5 mm or pulverize/disintegrate paper materials using disintegrator devices equipped with 3/32 inch security screen.

· At the conclusion of each shredding service visit, the Contractor will provide validation to the witnessing Government representative either by electronic signature or by providing a “Certificate of Destruction.”

· At the end of each calendar month, the Contractor shall provide the RMO with an invoice detailing the number of bins that were collected, weight, date(s) the shredding services was performed, and total value.

· The RMO will always escort the Contractor throughout the building. At no point will the Contractor be by his or herself.

5. CONSTRAINTS

· Shredding must be completed on-site and witnessed by the Records Management Officer or VA Official.

· Contractor shall be bonded or be covered for Error and Omissions Insurance in the amount of at least $500,000.

· Contractor shall allow only individuals aged 18 or over, who have appropriate Contractor identification to assist with the shredding/removal.

· Contractor personnel involved in the actual handling and shredding of documents shall wear a Contractor-provided, clearly readable identification badge that, at a minimum, states the name of the employee and the company. Contractor personnel’s clothes are to be clean and maintained in good repair.

· Contractor owned and operated equipment shall be capable of cross cutting shred articles to the minimal specifications of 1 mm x 5 mm or pulverize/disintegrate paper materials using disintegrator devices equipped with 3/32 inch security screen.

· Subject to criminal prosecution, Contractor personnel shall comply with all manner of confidentiality when engaging in the destruction of any and all VBA temporary records. As per attachment, VA Directive 6371, Destruction of Temporary Paper Records.

· Any Contractor personnel found to be reading any VBA material shall be promptly removed from the premises where the job is being performed, and the person(s) involved shall not be allowed to have access to any future service requests at VBA locations.

· The Contractor shall adhere to the VBA policies applicable to all record destruction as outlined in VA Handbook 6300, Records and Information Management, VA Directive 6371, Destruction of Temporary Paper Records, and VBA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management. These guidelines are designed to protect sensitive and private information from being disclosed to unauthorized parties and adhere to the Privacy Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Privacy rules and regulations. Examples of sensitive information include but not limited to: personal identifiable information (PII), personal health information (PHI), benefits, VBA sensitive information, personnel and or personal information; financial, budgetary, research, quality assurance, confidential commercial, critical infrastructure, investigatory, and law enforcement information.

· The Contractor shall provide a contingency plan for instances where equipment malfunction occurs during the shredding process within twenty-four work hours.

· Contractor shall maintain a current listing of employees. The list shall include the employee’s name, address, phone number, level of security, and position held. The list shall be validated and signed by the company Facility Security Officer and provided to the RMO. An updated listing shall be provided when an employee’s status or information changes. The Contractor has twenty-four hours to inform the RMO, in writing that the employee does not work for them. Due to termination, transfer, suspension, or extended absence from the employer’s duty position. If the employee is reinstated a written notification must be provided to the RMO.

· Contractor and Staff shall comply with Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12), NIST 800-53, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance M-05-24, as amended, and Federal Information Processing standards Publication (FIPS PUB) Number 201, as amended.

· Contractor personnel shall immediately report to the RMO and provide any information or circumstances of which they are aware may pose a threat to the security of Department of Veterans Affairs’ personnel, Contractor personnel, resources, classified, and unclassified information.

· Contractor employees are prohibited from possessing weapons, firearms, or ammunition, on themselves or their Contractor-owned or privately-owned vehicle while on VBA premises and locations.

· If the RMO finds it in the best interest of the Government he/she may at any time during the performance of this contract may order the Contractor to remove any of his/her personnel from further performance under this contract for reasons of their moral character, unethical conduct, security reasons and violation of on-site building rules. In the event that it becomes necessary to replace any Contractor personnel for any of the above reasons, the Contractor shall bear all costs associated with such removal, including the costs for the replacement of any personnel so removed. These charges will not be chargeable to the Government.

· In the event of an accident on the Department of Veterans Affairs premises or locations involving Government personnel or property, the Contractor shall submit a report immediately to the RMO in a company letterhead that shall include the following: (1) the time and date of occurrence; (2) the place of occurrence; (3) a list of personnel directly involves; and (4) a narrative or description of the accident to include chronological order of the accident and circumstances.

· The Contractor shall not hold any discussions or release any information related to the contract to anyone not having a direct interest in performance of this contract, without written consent of the RMO. This restriction applies to all news releases of information to the public, industry, or Government agencies.

· The Contractor shall not advertise information about projects performed for this contract without Government review and approval. Advertisement is considered but not limited to promotional brochures, posters, tradeshow handouts, world-wide-webpages, magazines, newspapers, and similar promotions.

6. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE / HOURS OF OPERATION

· The VBA facility listed in paragraph Section 2 is a Federal Government Facility and require proper identification for all personnel entering the grounds/facilities. Services shall be performed at the following locations, dates and times:

· Department of Veteran Affairs Honolulu Regional Office, 459 Patterson Road, E-wing, Honolulu, HI 96819 If a Federal Holiday falls on a day scheduled for shredding, the shredding will resume the next official workday between the scheduled hours. All additional service requests shall be accomplished within forty-eight hours after the Contractor has been notified by VBA.

Unless directed by the Contracting Officer work at the site shall not take place on Federal Holidays or weekends.

Contractor is required to perform shredding bi-monthly, on day agreeable to both VA Regional Office and the Contractor. Any changes to the schedule shall be approved in advance of the Contractor visiting the facility. The Contractor shall schedule the pickup of shred between the hours of 8am to 11am, Monday through Friday except Federal Holidays.

Driver shall contact the RMO or designated representative at least one hour prior to arrival at the shred material pick up locations by calling his/her direct extension (Office: 808-433-0355 or email joseph.lew@va.gov.

7. Changes to the Statement of Work (SOW)

Any changes to this SOW 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.

8. Reserved

9. Holidays

Work at the government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends. There are eleven (11) Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103). Under current definitions, four are set by date:

· New Year's Day

January 1

· Juneteenth Day

June 19

· Independence Day

July 4

· Veterans Day

November 11

· Christmas Day

December 25

If any of the above falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday. The other six are set by a day of the week and month:

· Martin Luther King's Birthday

Third Monday in January

· Washington's Birthday

Third Monday in February

· Memorial Day

Last Monday in May

· Labor Day

First Monday in September

· Columbus Day

Second Monday in October

· Thanksgiving

Fourth Thursday in November

Note there may be other day designated holiday(s) as by Federal Statute, Executive Order, and/or Presidential Proclamation. Additionally, administrative leave such as acts of God (i.e. hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, etc) Presidential funerals or any other unexpected government closures may affect the operating schedule of the Honolulu Regional Office. Every effort will be made to provide as much notice as possible to the Contractor.

10. RESERVED

11. SECURITY

General

All Contractors and Contractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal security and privacy laws, regulations, standards and VA policies as VA, including the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. §552a, and VA personnel, regarding information and information system security. Contractors must follow policies and procedures outlined in VA Directive 6500, Information Security Program; and VA Handbook 6500.6, Contract Security which are available at: http://www1.va.gov/vapubs and its handbooks to ensure appropriate security controls are in place.

Access to VA Information and VA Information Systems

VA will supply the Contractor with the minimum logical (technical) and/or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for employees, sub-contractors: (1) to perform the services specified in the contract, (2) to perform necessary maintenance functions for electronic storage or transmission media necessary for performance of the contract, and (3) for individuals who first satisfy the same conditions, requirements, and restrictions that comparable VA employees must meet to have access to the same type of VA information.

All Contractors and subcontractors working with VA Sensitive Information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of regular VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level of background security investigation will be in accordance with VA Directive 0710, Handbook 0710, which are available at: http://www1.va.gov/vapubs, and VHA Directive 0710 and Implementation Handbook 0710.01, which are available at: http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/index.cfm. Contractors are responsible for screening their employees. The following are VA's approved policy exceptions for meeting VA background screenings/investigative requirements for certain types of Contractor personnel:

· Contractor personnel not accessing VA information resources, such as personnel hired to maintain the medical facility grounds, construction contracts, utility system contractors, etc.

· Contractor personnel with limited and intermittent access to equipment connected to networks on which no VA sensitive information resides

· Contractor personnel with limited and intermittent access to equipment connected to networks on which limited VA sensitive information resides and with limited and intermittent access to facilities at which they are escorted.

Training

All Contractor and subcontractor personnel requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and networks:

· Sign and acknowledge understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the National Rules of Behavior related to access to VA information and information systems.

· Successfully complete VA Information Security Awareness training and annual refresher training as required.

· Successfully complete VA Privacy Awareness training and annual refresher training as required.

· Successfully complete any additional Information Security or Privacy training as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system access.

The Contractor shall provide to the RMO a copy of the training certificates for each applicable employee within one (1) week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required. These online courses are located at www.tms.va.gov. Staff at the Honolulu RO will assist the Contractor in obtaining access to the Talent Management System (TMS) which is used to administer and record training. Technical issues with TMS should be directed to Ph: 1-855-673-4357. Failure to complete this mandatory training within the timeframe required will be grounds for suspension or termination of all physical and/or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training is completed.

Contractor Personnel Security

All contract employees who require access to the VA site(s) and/or access to VA local area network (LAN) systems shall be the subject of a background investigation and must receive a favorable adjudication from the VA Security and Investigations Center (SIC). These requirements are applicable to all subcontractor personnel requiring the same level of Background Investigation. The level of background security investigation will be in accordance with VA Directive 0710 dated September 10, 2004 and is available at http://www1.va.gov/vapubs/viewPublication.asp?Pub_ID=487&FType=2 Contractor Responsibilities

1. Immediately after contract or task order award, the RMO or ONSITE GOVERNMENT POC will provide the Contractor with the following background investigation documents to be completed by the Contractor and returned to the RMO or ONSITE GOVERNMENT POC to begin the background investigation process for all contract employees working on the contract who will have access to VA facilities, VA systems, or privacy data:

a. Background Investigation Request Worksheet

b. Optional Form 306 – Declaration of Federal Employment

c. Fingerprint Request Form

2. Upon receipt of the above-stated documents from the RMO or ONSITE GOVERNMENT POC, the RMO or ONSITE GOVERNMENT POC will perform preliminary onboarding review and process the request through the SIC. Upon notification of favorable fingerprint results by Human Resources, the Contractor may begin work while the background investigation is ongoing. Thereafter, the Contractor will receive an email notification from the SIC identifying the website link that includes detailed instructions regarding completion of the background clearance application process in the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) system. E-QIP is an online, Internet accessible system where the Contractor employee shall complete the security questionnaire required for OPM to process the background investigation.

3. Contractors who have a current favorable background investigation previously conducted by OPM or Defense Security Service (DSS) may be accepted through reciprocation. When a previous clearance is currently held, it does not preclude the vendor from submitting a complete Background Investigation Package as stated above to the RMO immediately after contract or task order award for all contract employees who will be working on the contract.

4. The Contractor shall prescreen all personnel who require access to VA site(s) and/or access to VA LAN systems to ensure they maintain a U.S. citizenship or Alien Registration that authorizes them to work in the U.S. and are able to read, write, speak and understand the English language.

5. Contract performance shall not commence before:

• HRM has confirmed favorable fingerprint results, or

• SIC confirms that it has received the Contractor’s investigative documents, the documents are complete, and that the investigation information has been released to OPM for scheduling of the background investigation, or

• HRM or the SIC has confirmed that the verified investigation will be reciprocated.

6. The RMO will notify and forward the Contractor a copy of the Certificate of Eligibility (Form 4236) if the investigation has been reciprocated. The Contractor, if notified of an unfavorable adjudication by the Government, shall withdraw the employee from consideration from working under the contract. Failure to comply with the Contractor personnel security requirements may result in termination of the contract for default.

7. The Contractor will be responsible for the actions of those contract and subcontract employees they provide to perform work for VA. In the event damage arises from work performed by Contractor personnel, under the auspices of the contract, the Contractor will be responsible for resources necessary to remedy the incident.

8. Should the Contractor use a vendor other than OPM or DSS to conduct investigations, the investigative company must be certified by OPM/DSS to conduct Contractor investigations. The Vendor Cage Code number must be provided to the VA SIC, which will verify the information and conclude whether access to the Government’s site(s) and/or VA LAN systems can be granted.

9. The investigative history for Contractor personnel working under this contract must be maintained in the databases of either OPM or the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Organization (DISCO).

10. Contractor will ensure personally-identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive temporary records are handled in a secure manner. At a minimum, this contract shall require documentation that any contractor who will handle the records until final destruction is completed, is bonded, insured, National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) certified for paper/printed media destruction and can provide reasonable physical safeguards for the data throughout the destruction process.

Government Responsibilities

1. After the SIC has adjudicated the background investigation package from the Contractor, the SIC will send an e-mail notification to the Contractor and their POC identifying the e-QIP website link that includes detailed instructions regarding completion of the background clearance application process and the level of background that was requested.

2. Upon receipt of required investigative documents, SIC will review the investigative documents for completion and initiate the background investigation by forwarding the investigative documents to OPM to conduct the background investigation. If the investigative documents are not complete, the SIC will notify the vendor of deficiencies and include corrective instructions.

3. VA will pay for investigations and reciprocals processed through the VA SIC and conducted by OPM in advance, however, the Contractor shall reimburse the full cost of background investigations/reciprocals to VA within 30 days of Bill of Collections from VA. VA shall send up to three plus one final delinquent notice to the Contractor. If the Contractor does not adhere to the Bill of Collections, future invoices may be subject to be offset by VA to recoup background investigation costs and may be considered grounds for default.

4. The RMO will notify and forward the Contractor a copy of the Certificate of Eligibility (Form 4236) if the investigation has been reciprocated. The RMO will also notify the Contractor of an unfavorable adjudication by the Government.

Security Incident Investigation:

The term “security incident” means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action the breaches VA security procedures. The Contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the RMO and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the Contractor/subcontractor has access.

11. TECHNICAL ATTACHMENTS

VA Directive 0710, Personnel Suitability, and Security Program

VA Directive 6371, Destruction of Temporary Paper Records VA Handbook 6300.1, Records Management Procedures

VA Directive 6300, Records, and Information Management