Synopsis - Medical Gas Program.pdf

Page | 1

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

TROOP SUPPORT

700 ROBBINS AVENUE

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19111-5092

MEDICAL GAS PROGRAM SYNOPSIS

SUBJECT: Synopsis of Medical Gas Electronic Catalog (ECAT) Program – Solicitation

SPE2DH-23-R-0002

A. PARTICULARS

(1.) The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Troop Support Medical Supply Chain plans on issuing solicitation SPE2DH-23-R-0003 for a first generation national program for medical gases that will establish an alternative to local procurement actions and re-engineer the business process with an automated e-commerce business solution.

(2.) The Government’s intent is to award resultant contracts via a single-award Indefinite

Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) fixed price contracts utilizing a regional structure, where a single-award IDIQ contract is awarded to each of the established twelve (12) regions, to both a Primary Vendor and a Back-Up Vendor. As a result, two (2) single-award IDIQs would be awarded to support each region, one (1) as the Primary Vendor and one (1) as the Back-Up Vendor. The maximum contract period is seven (7) years (one (1) five (5) year base period, and one (1) two (2) year option period). The estimated program maximum is $450,000,000.

(3.) The solicitation is estimated to be released on July 10, 2024, and close on August 28, 2024, at 3:00 P.M. EST. A copy of the solicitation will be available via DLA Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS) at https://www.dibbs.bsm.dla.mil/RFP and via the Internet at https://www.sam.gov.

(4.) The information provided in this synopsis is intended to provide vendors in the medical gas industry with relevant information pertaining to the first generation medical gas program, however, the information provided in this document is not final and may change. As it relates to the issuance of the medical gas program solicitation, the Government reserves the right to deviate from the information, terms, and conditions provided in this document.

(5.) The minimum technical requirements that a vendor must meet are contained in the attachment to this synopsis titled “Medical Gas Program - Minimum Technical and Support Req.”.

Reference both the “Basic Requirements & Certs” tab and the Sustainment & Support” tab of this spreadsheet.

(6.) The DHA Procedures Manuals for Medical Gases are contained the attachment to this synopsis titled, “DHA Procedures for Medical Gases”.

https://www.sam.gov/

Page | 2

(7.) Orders may be issued under this program in support of requirements from the Department of

Defense (DoD) and other Federal Agencies/Organizations. During the term of the resultant contract(s), the Government reserves the right to add other DoD CONUS and OCONUS customer groups not specifically identified in the solicitation minimum requirements to be supported by the resultant IDIQ contract(s), if the contracted vendor has the additional support capabilities.

(8.) This acquisition is a PARTIAL SET ASIDE, which entails the Primary Vendor role of all twelve (12) regions being solicited as UNRESTRICTED and the Back-Up Vendor role of all twelve (12) regions solicited as a SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDE.

A waiver to the Non-manufacturer Rule (NMR) applies to this acquisition, specifically in relation to the Back-Up Vendor role. The waiver covers the following class of products:

• Medical Liquid Oxygen (USP), Medical Gaseous Oxygen (USP), Medical Liquid Nitrogen (NF), Medical Compressed Nitrogen (NF), Medical Carbon Dioxide (USP), Medical Nitrous Oxide (USP), Medical Gaseous Helium (USP), Medical Liquid Helium (USP), Medical Grade Air (USP) for use in cylinder-compressed and/or bulk tank applications.

• Any additional medical gases in compressed, cryogenic liquid, or solid forms, for use in cylinder-compressed and/or bulk tank applications that are used to support healthcare operations, including but not limited to, Argon, Hydrogen, Compressed Air and Specialty Gas Mixtures.

• Any accessories, consumables, spare/repair parts, installation, maintenance, and incidental services relating to medical gas cylinders and bulk medical gas tanks.

B. PROGRAM SCOPE

This solicitation provides for the supply of various medical gases, for use in both cylinder-compressed and bulk tank applications. Compressed medical gases include gaseous and liquid (cryogenic) forms stored in pressurized cylinders. For the purposes of this solicitation, medical gases are defined as gases in compressed, cryogenic liquid, or solid forms, used to support healthcare operations and consist of patient medical gases and non-metabolic medical and support gases. Patient medical gases are chemically/metabolically active and classified by the FDA as drugs subject to all United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) standards and must be prescribed and used under the supervision of licensed medical professionals. Non-metabolic medical and support gases exert their effects via physical properties (i.e., pressure, heat transfer) and are used in operation of various medical devices, in medical procedures, laboratory and cryogenic applications. Further details on gas classifications that are within scope of this program are provided below:

• Patient Medical Gases – These types of gases are used in the application of human/animal respiration and the calibration of medical devices used in human respiration. These are the FDA specified medical gases that are regulated as drugs.

Page | 3

• Medical Support Gases – These types of gases are used for any medical support purpose, such as removing excess moisture from medical instruments before processing or to operate surgical tools (i.e., nitrogen and instrument air).

• Non-metabolic Medical Gases – These types of gases (e.g., carbon dioxide, helium, nitrogen) are used in various medical procedures (i.e., cryotherapy, laparoscopic insufflation) or various cryogenic applications (i.e., rapid freezing/storage of biologic samples, cooling of certain medical devices).

• Non-medical Gases – These types of gases (e.g., compressed air, etc.) are used for purposes such as running sterilizers, lab equipment, laundry systems, and HVAC systems.

This solicitation also supports all accessories, consumables, spare/repair parts, installation (cylinder only), maintenance, and incidental services/corresponding charges or fees relating to medical gas cylinders and bulk tanks.

The Government reserves the right to request additional medical gases throughout the life of any resultant contract(s), whether for use in cylinder, bulk tank, or other device, not specifically identified in the solicitation minimum requirements. Furthermore, this shall include additional elements/compounds in their various chemical (i.e., specialty gas mixtures) and/or physical states (i.e., solid, liquid, gas) and/or additional corresponding purities. This shall also include any additional cylinder and tank features (i.e., size, pressure, material, accessories, etc.).

Many of the Government facilities have bulk medical gas tanks currently in use at the facility, however, bulk tank replacements are NOT in the scope of this program. The existing bulk tanks will remain in use at the facility until it is determined that the tanks require replacement (e.g. have reached their end of life, no longer pass inspection, etc.). The replacement of those tanks shall be procured outside of this program.

C. PROGRAM REGIONAL STRUCTURE

A total of twelve (12) regions are established under this Medical Gas Program. Vendors can either participate as a Primary Vendor, Back-Up Vendor, or both. Furthermore, vendors can either submit pricing (within its Attachment B submission) to compete (as Primary Vendor, Back-Up Vendor, or both) on a single region or multiple/all regions. However, the Primary Vendor and/or Back-Up Vendor offer shall consist of support to all of the individual locations that make up an entire region (as specified below). Submitting a proposal either to support a region partially and/or any locations other than the geographical regions outlined below will result in the vendors offer being removed from further consideration.

A single supplier may be awarded multiple regions, either as a Primary Vendor and/or Back-Up Vendor. However, no single supplier will be awarded as both the Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor for the same region.

All vendors are highly encouraged to submit a proposal to support as many regions as they are capable, as this provides greater opportunity for vendors to compete rather than vendors limiting opportunity by submitting a proposal only to support regions that they may have preference for supporting. Additionally, since this acquisition is a partial set aside where the Back-Up Vendor role is set aside for small businesses, any small business submitting a proposal to compete for the

Page | 4

Primary Vendor role is highly encouraged to also submit to compete for the Back-Up Vendor role under any regions they can support. Award selection for the Primary Vendor role of each region will be determined prior to award selection for the Back-Up Vendor role. Therefore, any vendor submitting a proposal to compete for both the Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor of a particular region(s), but not selected for the Primary Vendor role, would then still be eligible for award selection under the Back-Up Vendor role.

In accordance with FAR 6.202, the Government reserves the right to award the role of Back-Up Vendor of a region(s) to an offeror other than the proposal determined to be most advantageous to the Government, if necessary, in order to establish or maintain an alternate source of supply. This applies to situations where a vendor submitted a proposal to compete for both the Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor roles of a particular region and was selected for award as the Primary Vendor of that particular region. In this situation, the vendor selected for award as the Primary Vendor would be removed from consideration for award as the Back-Up Vendor for that particular region under the authority of FAR 6.202. For each region, award selection for the Primary Vendor role will be determined prior to the Back-Up Vendor role. Therefore, in situations where the use of this authority is necessary, the proposal determined to be next most advantageous to the Government will be considered for award as the Back-Up Vendor of that particular region, if that vendor also qualifies as a small business. The program regional structure is as follows:

Pacific Region: California, Oregon, Washington

Mountain Region: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming

West North Central Region: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

East North Central Region: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin

Mid-Atlantic Region: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania

New England Region: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island

West South Central Region: Arkansas, Louisana, Oklahoma, Texas

East South Central Region: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee

South Atlantic Region: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia

Alaskan Region: Alaska

Hawaiian Region: Hawaii

Puerto Rico Region: Puerto Rico

Page | 5

D. CONTRACT BASE AND OPTION PERIODS

The term of the contracts awarded (both Primary Vendor and Back-Up) as a result of this solicitation will be a five (5) year base period and a single option to extend contracts for an additional two (2) year term.

E. PRIMARY VENDOR AND BACK-UP VENDOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILTIES

The Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor must immediately notify the Contracting Officer of any major and/or projected long term issues/potential issues that could negatively impact day-to-day support to its awarded region(s). “Major” issues are defined as performance related issues that are anticipated to negatively impact support to a particular location/region beyond 30 calendar days.

Additionally, there may be isolated incidents where a change in supplier, particularly for medical gas cylinder support, is allowable. Given how there are additional factors to consider with this type of change, such as those relating to pricing, maintaining medical gas support, etc., there must be adequate rationale provided to justify the change in supplier. As such, the Primary Vendor or Back-Up Vendor must immediately (at least 90 days in advance) notify the Contracting Officer of any anticipated change in supplier that the vendor is currently utilizing to source its medical gas cylinders. Any vendor that fails to notify the Contracting Officer in a timely manner, that being with enough notice in advance to avoid a lapse in support and/or negative outcomes from occurring at the ordering facility, may result in adverse contract action.

(1.) PRIMARY VENDOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILTIES

The Primary Vendor shall act as the primary and single source of supply during normal situations, “normal situations” being defined as an uninterrupted peacetime purchasing environment.

Additionally, the Primary Vendor is required to support emergency orders, whether it be for emergency situations that do not impact the Primary Vendors ability to perform as the single source of supply or for emergency situations that do impact the Primary Vendors ability to perform as the single source of supply where the Primary Vendor would need to work in conjunction with the Back-Up Vendor (only when authorized by Contracting Officer). The Primary Vendor established for each region(s) is required to support the routine day-to-day ordering for all requirements that fall under that particular region(s) its contract was awarded under. Reference paragraph (2.) of this section below, for information in relation to situations where Back-Up Vendor support may be required, in addition to what those situations will entail.

(2.) BACK-UP VENDOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILTIES

The Back-Up Vendor acts as an alternate and/or additional source of supply in situations where the Primary Vendor is unable to perform, whether partially or entirely, on requirements under the shared region(s). Such situations may include, but are not limited to, performance related issues, supply/manufacturing issues, and/or additional aid during emergency/war situations (i.e., Force Majeure). During normal situations, the Back-Up Vendor remains on support standby. The Back- Up Vendor established for each region(s) is only required to perform on the routine day-to-day ordering when authorized, in writing, by the Contracting Officer.

Page | 6

(I.) Medical Gas Cylinder Back-Up Support

In situations where back-up support has been authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer, the Back-Up Vendor is required to provide support, either as an additional source or as the primary source of supply, via use of its own medical gas cylinders. Within the written authorization, the Contracting Officer will specify which type of support will be required of the Back-Up Vendor, whether it be full support where the Back-Up Vendor will take over as the primary single source of supply or partial support where the Back-Up Vendor would provide support in conjunction with the Primary Vendor under that shared region. Regardless of the type of support required, the Back-Up Vendor is required to provide that support until otherwise directed, in writing, by the Contracting Officer.

In situations specifically where joint support is determined necessary, the Primary Vendor and the Back-Up Vendor would each be assigned a particular facility, or multiple facilities, to provide support to under the shared region until the Primary Vendor can restore full support of that region. Additionally, during these joint support situations, the Contracting Officer will coordinate with the Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor and ultimately assign the specific facility, or multiple facilities, for each vendor to support.

Additionally, in very rare situations and only if requested in writing by the Contracting Officer, the Back-Up Vendor may be required to provide support by utilizing (refilling) the Primary Vendor cylinders, including performing required maintenance of those cylinders. Prior to the Back-Up Vendor utilizing the Primary Vendors medical gas cylinders, written consent and agreement must be obtained from the Primary Vendor authorizing use and any maintenance of their medical gas cylinders. As stated above, this type of support is likely not to occur often, if at all, throughout the life of resultant contracts. However, in very rare situations the Contracting Officer may determine this type of support to be a more efficient approach in maintaining medical gas support at the facilities. The Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor are not required to provide this consent and agreeance for these very rare situations, unless that consent and agreeance is provided within a vendor’s proposal and incorporated into the resultant contract.

(II.) Bulk Medical Gas Back-Up Support

As outlined in the scope of this solicitation, bulk tank replacements are NOT in the scope of this program. Many of the minimum required Government facilities (Reference Appendix B – Government Facility Regional Locations) have bulk medical gas tanks currently in use at the facility, however, not all of them are Government owned. Therefore, there may be situations where some regional locations are renting a bulk tank that is not owned by the facility or the Primary Vendor. For liability reasons, only the vendor that owns the bulk tank can refill that bulk tank. As such, in situations where the Primary Vendor is not able to refill the facilities bulk medical gas tank, bulk medical gas support for that facility will default to the Back-Up Vendor. If the Back-Up Vendor is also not able to source the bulk gas from the supplier that owns the bulk tank, that particular facility will continue to procure the bulk gas from its current supplier until the facility replaces the existing tank, which would be procured outside of this program.

Additionally, in situations where the Primary Vendor owns the bulk tank at a particular facility, the Back-Up Vendor may be requested to provide support by refilling the Primary Vendor bulk tank. In these very rare situations, the same procedures provided above for medical gas cylinders would be followed for bulk tank related back-up support. As stated above, this type of support is

Page | 7 not likely to occur often, if at all, throughout the life of resultant contracts and would only go in effect if requested in writing by the Contracting Officer, in addition to obtaining written consent and agreement from the Primary Vendor. The Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor are not required to provide this consent and agreeance for these very rare situations, unless that consent and agreeance is provided within a vendor’s proposal and incorporated into the resultant contract.

F. DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS

(1.) BASIC DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS

Site access may vary based on location, mission, security level etc. However, each base/site has a visitor control center, who manage access for vendors to perform inspections, deliveries, etc.

Once an order is placed, it is the responsibility of the vendor to contact the ordering facility and make the arrangements necessary to obtain site access and ultimately begin inspection, delivery, etc.

Delivery personnel shall be U.S. citizens. Additionally, delivery personnel must possess a state or federally issued photo ID that displays the driver’s full name and date of birth. Deliveries may require delivery personnel to provide social security number and be subjected to background checks. The driver may also be required to provide proof of insurance and vehicle registration.

Some locations may require delivery personnel be escorted while making deliveries. All delivery vehicles are subject to search by security personnel prior to accessing delivery location and while on each facility.

FOB destination applies; therefore, the contracted vendor shall retain liability of the goods until they reach their buyer destination. Initial quality inspection shall be performed by the contracted vendor at origin. Quantity determination and final inspection and acceptance shall be performed by the ordering facility at destination.

All medical gases shall be packaged, labeled, and transported in accordance with the best recognized commercial practice and all federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

(I.) On-Site Delivery Requirements

On-site inspections, delivery, etc., shall be scheduled to occur Monday through Friday, during normal Government work hours (8:00AM - 5:00PM), excluding weekends and federal holidays.

Phase-In and Phase-Out requirements will be coordinated and monitored with the ordering activity directly. Replacement of equipment already in-use at the ordering activity shall be exchanged in a manner that will not interrupt gas supply nor ordering activity operations.

The vendor must be certified to perform and complete all state and federal, including Food and Drug Administration (FDA), required inspections for bulk and cylinder medical gases and each tank/cylinder must be tested according to FDA standards and requirements.

The vendor is only permitted to fill bulk tanks owned by their own company or owned by the Government. Therefore, the vendor shall not fill bulk tanks that are being leased to the Government and owned by another company, unless a force majeure is in place.

Page | 8

The following actions are to be performed during medical gas cylinder delivery:

All medical gas cylinders shall come with vendor supplied cylinder valve protection caps, regulators (digital or non-digital) and valves. Valve-protection caps shall be installed on cylinders at all times when not in use. Reference Attachment D – DHA Procedures Manual for Medical Gases for vendor adherence regulations in relation to valves, caps, and regulators.

(a.) The vendor is responsible for performing all tasks associated with the delivery of medical gas cylinders, including but not limited to, unloading, tagging, loading of empty cylinders, counting, etc. Additionally, the vendor shall ensure all oxygen cylinders contain “Do Not Oil” tags and all cylinders contain “Full/In-Use/Empty” tags. Appropriate dollies or hand trucks must be used to move cylinders weighing more than 50 pounds. The cylinder must be secured to the hand-truck prior to and during movement. Movement by spinning, sliding, rolling, etc., is prohibited for safety reasons. Cylinders less than 50 pounds may be moved without using a dolly or hand-truck. Electromagnets or slings must not be used to move cylinders. Cylinders cannot be moved unless the regulator is removed, and the protective cap is in place and securely fastened to the cylinder. Cylinders secured to a hand truck are exempt from this requirement if regulators and hoses are connected to the cylinders.

(b.) The vendor is responsible for securing all cylinders, ensuring the cylinders are anchored securely and not left unattended.

(c.) The vendor is required to maintain all documentation certifying the purity of the compressed medical gas being supplied to each ordering facility.

(d.) Vendors shall adhere to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, including but not limited to, labeling, inspection, and quality of all compressed air tanks.

Furthermore, the placarding of transport vehicles, licensure of drivers and vehicles, and their operation is subject to the regulation of the Division of Motor Vehicles for each state/territory.

The following actions are to be performed during bulk medical gas delivery:

(a.) Inspections of bulk tanks shall be conducted by the vendor prior to the first fill and routinely after. Government-owned bulk tanks and appurtenances that do not comply with applicable Federal, state, and local regulations or are not acceptable use for healthcare environments shall not be filled. If the contractor determines that any Government-owned bulk tanks or appurtenances it has been instructed to fill do not comply with applicable regulations or are not acceptable for use for healthcare environments, it shall immediately provide the ordering (owning) activity written documentation with adequate justification to support the contractor’s finding(s) and removal from service.

(b.) The vendor is required to provide a Certificate of Purity, to the ordering facility, documenting the concentration with each delivery of bulk medical gas.

(c.) The contractor shall fill the tank(s) to the maximum (safe) functional capacity during each refilling procedure, unless otherwise specified in the facility requirement.

Page | 9

(d.) The facility will test the bulk gas each time a bulk delivery is made. This will consist of testing the medical gas in the vendor delivery trucks reservoir, not the facilities’ bulk gas system reservoir. This prevents any possibility of impure gas entering the facilities main medical gas system. In situations where the medical gas concentration is less than what is required (in terms of purity) for that particular gas, the vendor shall not be allowed to connect to the bulk tank until approved by the MTF/DTF clinical staff.

(e.) Occasionally, the vendor may be required to perform a “Hot Fill” in order to cool-down and refill any Government-owned tank that has gone empty and is warm.

(2.) DELIVERY METHODS

Both of the below delivery methods require the vendor to deliver on-site, however, there are multiple delivery methods used, dependent on what is being purchased. Any supplies/accessories/repair parts not able to be delivered by vendor on-site shall be packaged for shipment to the delivery point cited on the order and shipped by traceable means.

(I.) Just-In-Time (JIT)

JIT shall be the delivery method primarily used for bulk gas delivery. Under this method, customers will execute a “not-to-exceed” delivery order in their material management systems to obligate funds and transmit the order to ECAT. Prior to executing the “not-to-exceed” the customer shall communicate with the vendor regarding the fill/cylinder requirement(s). After the fill/cylinder delivery is completed, all products and quantities used for that action will be identified and put into ECAT under the open delivery order. A delivery order will be sent to ECAT and forwarded to the contractor. The contractor will receive an email notification that a new order has been received. After the contractor has reviewed the individual line items on the order, the contractor shall submit a “Order Acknowledgement” back to ECAT within 24 hours following the transmission of the order from the ordering facility. The contractor will then transmit an electronic invoice for payment against the order.

NOTE: Only items that are on the vendors established ECAT contract catalog may be ordered by the customer and fulfilled by the vendor. Items that are not part of the established ECAT contract catalog are not authorized for purchase.

(II.) Direct Vendor Delivery (DVD):

Delivery orders for medical gas cylinders, supplies, accessories, repair parts, maintenance, or any incidental services, other than those which are part of routine cylinder/bulk gas delivery, are primarily delivered “Direct Vendor Delivery, purchased through “Direct Ordering”. Under this method, the customer will transmit an order to ECAT, which will be forwarded to the contractor.

The delivery order will detail the exact products to be ordered. Contractors using Web Supplier Interface will receive an email notification that an order has been received. After the contractor has reviewed the individual line items on the order, the contractor must submit a “Order Acknowledgement” back to ECAT within 24 hours following the transmission of the order from the ordering facility. Fast Payment Procedure (May 2006) applies to all delivery orders, which are for deliveries that are sent directly from the vendor to the customer, valued at $35,000.00 or less. Prompt Payment procedures apply to all orders issued against this indefinite-delivery contract to which Fast Payment procedures do not apply. The Government will make payment in

Page | 10 accordance with the Prompt Payment Act (31 U.S.C. 3903) and prompt payment regulations at 5 CFR Part 1315. The contractor will then transmit an electronic invoice for payment against the order.

If an order for a line item cannot be filled by the contractor, the contractor can partially fill the line, however, the remaining quantity must be cancelled, as items will not be placed on backorder.

When a contractor cannot fill at least 50% of the line quantity ordered, recommend rejecting (cancelling) the entire line.

NOTE: The vendor is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of every order prior to acknowledgement. This includes any applicable fees (i.e., delivery, fuel surcharge, hazardous, etc.) that correspond to the supplies (i.e., medical gas cylinders, bulk gas) being purchased. In these specific types of situations, the vendor shall reject the inaccurate/incomplete order.

(3.) PRIORITY OF ORDERS

(I.) Regular Orders

Regular Orders are orders for supplies, equipment, and incidental services, etc., ordered by the MTF/DTFs via the “Direct Vendor Delivery” and “Just-in-Time” method of ordering that do not require expedited delivery.

(II.) Emergency Orders

When the Government notifies the Contractor of an emergency requirement, the Contractor shall provide qualified/certified personnel to arrive on-site for inspection, delivery, etc. as soon as possible from the time of receiving this notification from the Government. The customer and the vendor shall coordinate to develop a plan, including timeframe, requirements, etc.

Emergency order procedures will involve the customer utilizing the ECAT application to initially generate an order number. The customer will coordinate and confirm stock availability, delivery, and fees with the contractor telephonically. The customer will finalize the ECAT submission to ensure accuracy of invoice payment. There will be no exchange of 850/855 transactions sets on emergency orders.

(4.) PROPERTY OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSAL

(I.) Contractor Owned Property

All contractor-owned equipment, products and materials shall be installed, inspected, maintained, and repaired by the contractor in accordance with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations and shall be kept in good operating condition, clean, and rust free.

In accordance with FAR 52.247-66, for each cylinder lost or damaged beyond repair while in the Government’s possession, the Government shall pay to the vendor the replacement value (i.e., the established loss of use value), less the allocable rental paid for that cylinder. These cylinders shall become Government property. The replacement value/loss of use for each medical gas cylinder the vendor offers will be priced within its Attachment B – Medical Gas

Page | 11

Program Vendor Submission Form submission.

Returnable cylinders shall remain the Contractor’s property and shall be loaned/rented to the Government for the period established at the delivery order level (hereafter referred to as the rental period). There may be situations where rented cylinders are in use at the facility past the original designated due date (i.e., monthly, quarterly, etc.). It is the responsibility of the vendor to notify the facility being loaned the cylinder(s) as to when the cylinder(s) are approaching their rental due date in order for the Government to purchase an extension on the rentals, if determined necessary. Any rental period extension shall be at the same rental charge rate of the initial delivery order unless the vendor opts to waive the rental extension charge. If the vendor experiences a situation where a cylinder(s) has passed its previous rental period due date, and the customer has not made the necessary action to purchase an extension for the cylinder(s), the vendor is responsible for notifying its DLA contract P.O.C. within 30 days following the rental period end date. If the vendor does not provide notification to the DLA P.O.C. within a reasonable amount of time (<90 Days) following the rental period end date, any outstanding rental charges accumulated over an extended period of time may not be eligible for payment. In order to avoid situations where the facility is using a cylinder past its rental period due date, particularly for an extended period of time, it is recommended that the vendor track the assets/cylinders in use at each facility (if they do not do so already) and create a listing of any/all facilities that currently using a cylinder(s) past its rental period due date and provide the listing to the DLA P.O.C. on a monthly/quarterly basis in order for DLA to attempt to resolve the situation and prevent future similar situations from occurring.

(II.) Government Owned Property

Although it is expected that the vast majority of medical gas cylinder refills will be to vendor provided medical gas cylinders via rental of those cylinders, there may be situations where the vendor is required to refill a Government-owned medical gas cylinder. In situations where Government owned property is required to be refilled by the vendor, the Government (i.e., facility being loaned/rented the cylinder(s)) shall be of the understanding that by doing so they are informally giving up the right to that exact piece of equipment, as the accurate tracking of specific Government owned cylinder(s) is impractical. In these situations, and for record keeping purposes (on both Government side and vendor side), the Government still owns that cylinder(s), however, it may not be the same exact cylinder as originally provided to the vendor for refill. As such, vendors must also ensure that any Government owned cylinder(s) undergo the same inspection/maintenance as the vendors own cylinders are required to.

Reimbursement for lost or damaged Government-owned cylinders, while in the possession of the contractor, shall be settled in accordance with FAR 52.245-1.

(III.) Disposal

The vendor is responsible for picking up the cylinder(s), and coordination will be managed by the ordering facility. All cylinders shall have a unique barcode label affixed to the cylinder that allows for scanning capabilities and vendors name shall be painted or affixed to the cylinder for identification. Damaged cylinders shall be tagged out of service by the facility and returned to the vendor.

For contractor-supplied tracking systems that utilize barcodes or mechanism that requires scanning cylinders, the contractor is responsible for ensuring all cylinders have required

Page | 12 barcodes, labels, etc. affixed and scannable.

For cylinders that do not have a barcode label affixed to the cylinder by the contractor, the Government reserves the right to adhere a barcode label to the cylinder.

G. CONTRACT LIMITATIONS

(1.) MAXIMUM CONTRACT LIMITATION

Recent historical sales data for covered products has been approximately $10 Million per year.

The total program estimate for the next seven (7) years is approximately $450 Million based on historical sales, estimates for sales growth, and contingencies.

Prior to contract award, a contract maximum shall be established by the Government for each regional Primary Vendor and Back-Up Vendor contract through analysis of available information, which may include analysis of historical sales, commercial sales, estimates for sales growth, contingencies, or other methods. The established regional contract maximum shall apply for life of the contract, including the base year and all option years, if exercised. No single regional contract maximum shall exceed $100 Million.

(2.) REGIONAL MAXIMUM ORDERING QUANTITY

Throughout the life of any resultant contract, including the base and option periods, the Government has the option to purchase covered supplies/services in accordance with the following regional quantity estimates of each region:

Region Name

Primary Vendor Regional Quantity

Estimate

Back-Up Vendor Regional Quantity

Estimate Pacific Region $40,000,000.00 $20,000,000.00

Mountain Region $38,000,000.00 $19,000,000.00 West North Central $22,000,000.00 $11,000,000.00 East North Central $9,000,000.00 $4,500,000.00

Mid-Atlantic $8,000,000.00 $4,000,000.00 New England $8,000,000.00 $4,000,000.00

West South central $40,000,000.00 $20,000,000.00 East South Central $20,000,000.00 $10,000,000.00

South Atlantic $94,000,000.00 $47,000,000.00 Alaskan $9,000,000.00 $4,500,000.00

Hawaiian $9,000,000.00 $4,500,000.00 Puerto Rico $3,000,000.00 $1,500,000.00

NOTE: The estimated quantities listed above are only estimates based on data available at time of solicitation issuance. The Government is in no way obligated to purchase beyond the minimum guaranteed quantity (identified below). With the submission of its proposal, vendors shall consider any business risk associated with these estimates.

Page | 13

(3.) GUARANTEED MINIMUM

Throughout the life of any resultant contract, including the base and option periods, the Government guarantees that it will order a minimum quantity among each region as outlined below. The Government may fulfill the guarantee by a single delivery order or by any number of delivery orders. The Government will be considered to have fulfilled its obligation to order the guaranteed minimum amount when the guaranteed minimum dollar value has been met.

Region Name Primary Vendor

Guaranteed Minimum Back-Up Vendor

Guaranteed Minimum Pacific Region $40,000.00 $10,000.00

Mountain Region $38,000.00 $9,500.00 West North

Central $22,000.00 $5,500.00

East North Central $9,000.00 $2,250.00 Mid-Atlantic $8,000.00 $2,000.00 New England $8,000.00 $2,000.00

West South central $40,000.00 $10,000.00 East South Central $20,000.00 $5,000.00

South Atlantic $94,000.00 $23,500.00 Alaskan $9,000.00 $2,250.00

Hawaiian $9,000.00 $2,250.00 Puerto Rico $3,000.00 $750.00

H. TRADE AGREEMENT ACT (TAA) COMPLIANCE

Trade Agreements Act (TAA) Compliance will apply to this acquisition.

The Berry Amendment will apply to this acquisition.

I. POINT OF CONTACT

Mario Buonanoce – Mario.Buonanoce@dla.mil