AUDIO/VIDEO and VIDEO-TELECONFERENCING (AV/VTC) EQUIPMENT PROGRAMMING AND INTEGRATION SERVICES

                                                                                     DEPARTMENT OF STATE

                                                                     OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (OEM)

                                                                                   STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

                                                       AUDIO/VIDEO and VIDEO-TELECONFERENCING (AV/VTC) EQUIPMENT

                                                                PROGRAMMING SERVICES, and INTEGRATION SERVICES

                                                                                                   08/01/2025      

This is a Sources Sought Notice Only. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. This Sources Sought Notice is issued for information and planning purposes only as part of U.S. Department of State (DOS) market research and does not constitute a solicitation. This requirement is covered under NAICS code: 541519 Other Computer Related Services.

The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified Small Business GSA Federal Supply Schedule Holders to provide the below services that meets the DOS requirements (small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran owned small businesses; woman owned small businesses; and small disadvantaged businesses).

BACKGROUND: The Bureau of Administration, Domestic Operations and Emergency Services, Office of Emergency Management, Continuity Communications Division (A/DOES/OEM/CCD) at the Department of State (DOS) will occupy a new Conference and Training Center (CTC) located in Bluemont, VA, by the end of 2026. The new facility will have AV/VTC requirements which will include one (1) large conference room and four (4) small conference rooms. All conference rooms will require multi-level video teleconferencing capabilities. In addition to those spaces, there are AV requirements in other ancillary spaces that will require programming and integration, to include office spaces, kitchen spaces, and lab spaces. To achieve operational readiness in each of the spaces, contract assistance will be needed for audio-visual programming services and integration support.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this requirement is to ensure the operational readiness of the Department’s new Conference and Training Center with fully functional, integrated, and interoperable multi-level Audio Visual, VTC and SVTC systems capabilities.

SCOPE:

The contractor shall perform the following functions to provide DOS with programming services and integration support of AV/VTC technologies for the new CTC facility that adhere to the requirements listed below:

1. Task Requirements:

• The Contractor shall provide programming services and integration support as needed for Audio Visual systems in the new CTC facility.
• The Contractor shall provide programmers and integrators with current certifications and experience to ensure that all software and applications are maintained in good working order, updated in accordance with industry standards, and enhanced as needed for optimal performance and security. Minimum requirements for certifications and experience are included in an attachment.
• The Contractor guarantees that the work carried out under the provisions of this Agreement will be devoid of defects. Should any defects arise in the work, the Contractor is obligated to promptly identify and rectify the issues. 
• Travel, lodging, flights, equipment/tools logistics, car rental and per-diem are the Contractor’s responsibility. COR Requests clarity on whether or not labor rates for work are required to be fully loaded and include all of the above.

1. Programming Services Requirements:

• The Contractor shall provide programmers who have experience with and possess manufacturer certifications for all the operational equipment in the A/V systems. See attachment for required minimum certifications and experience for programmers.
• The Contractor will provide 1600 total hours of programming support; 956 hours will be attributed to the base year, and 322 hours will be allotted to each of the optional 6-month extension periods.
• The Contractor programmer must be experienced with how to load, extract and/or modify code to programmed systems.
• The Contractor must backup all current production programming for all systems prior to enacting programming changes.
• The programming support will include a programming pre-implementation plan, onsite programming support and troubleshooting.
• The control system touch panel UIs shall be presented in an initial presentation to the customer in preview mode, simulating page turns, flips, button pushes, other features, graphics, panel flow drawings, and a draft of the user manual.
• The Contractor programmer shall perform any available software upgrades of AV components when available. Any media or software entering or leaving the site must be approved by the Government.
• Any final programming changes must be fully tested and accepted by the Government/Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

1. Integration Services Requirements:

• The Contractor shall provide integrators who have experience with and possess manufacturer certifications for all the operational equipment in the A/V systems. See attachment for minimum requirements for certification and experience.
• The Contractor will provide 356 total hours of integration services support; 156 hours will be attributed to the base year, and 100 hours will be allotted to each of the optional 6-month extension periods.
• 80 hours of the 356 total hours will be used if onsite integration support is required, with 40 hours attributed to the base year, and 20 hours attributed to each of the 6-month optional extension periods.  The Contractor will facilitate service calls with A/V component manufacturers.

Performance Requirements and System Description

Control System User-Interface: Design control system user-interface  pages for this project exclusively. The following are the minimum requirements:

               1. All panels shall have a title indicating the piece of equipment and/or

                    functionality being controlled.

               2. User interface design shall maintain continuity throughout the

                    compound to the greatest extent practicable, considering variations

                    in system functionality from room to room.

               3. Whenever the same button appears on more than one page, it shall

                     be in the same position of each page.

               4. Functions used during the general presentation shall be accessible

                    with a minimal number of button presses or page flips.

               5. Implement multi-level access to controls.

               6. The UI and control code shall be provided as deliverable in an

                    unlocked/editable format.

V.   Deliverables:

• Upon completion of testing and modification of existing programming code, the Contractor shall provide new schematics and new media for backup to the COR within 7 business days of completion of testing and/or modifications.
• Upon completion of testing and modification of existing operational functionalities, the Contractor shall provide copies of new paper and digital operational documentation manuals to the COR within 7 business days of completion of testing and/or modifications.
• Any AV managed components that require user login and/or passwords will be fully documented and all logins and passwords will be provided to the Government/Contracting Officer Representative (COR) at the time the logins and passwords are created. 
• All programs and configurations will be provided in an unlocked, editable manner to the COR within 7 business days of the completion of the work.
• All compiled and uncompiled control system code, GUI layouts, designs, and graphics shall become the property of the government. The government shall have full access to the control system base code and all GUI elements. The programmer will provide a minimum of 2 backup copies on GFE external media as well as all accompanying documentation. The backups shall be provided within 7 business days of project completion.
• Any AV-managed components requiring IP network assignments will be fully documented by the Contractor and provided to the Government/COR.
• Upon completion of testing and modification of existing operational functionalities, the Contractor shall provide full operational training to customers within 7 business days of completion of testing and modification.

1. Security Requirements:

           This contract will require all Contractor technicians and/or other staff to hold and maintain a Top-Secret clearance.

        2. Warranty statement

            This requirement will require a statement of warranty of any programming. All work completed on this project shall be under 

             warranty for a minimum of one (1) year from the date of commissioning by the Government. Work completed by the

             Contractor under the scope of this contract will not void manufacturers’ equipment warranties.

 Operation and Maintenance Manuals: 

Manuals shall apply to all programming and software modules.

         A. Vendor shall provide Operation and Maintenance Manuals shall be formatted as follows:

           1) Bind each manual in a hard-back, loose-leaf binder.

           2) Identify each manual’s contents on the cover.

           3) Provide a table of contents and tabulated sheets for each manual. Place

               tab sheets at the beginning of each chapter or section and, if applicable,  at the beginning of each appendix.

           4)  Any hardware manual demonstrating more than one model number of devices on any one page shall be clearly marked

                to delineate which model has been implemented in the Work.

           5) Operation and Maintenance Manuals shall include, at a minimum, the following:

               - Detailed programming descriptions for each subsystem

               - Operation and Maintenance Manuals shall include a separate section for each software program incorporated into the

                  Project. The software section shall consist of, to a minimum, the following information:

          1) Definitions of all software-related terms and functions

          2) Description of required sequences

          3) Directory of all programming and configuration files

          4) Description of all communications protocols, including data formats,

              command characters, and a sample of each type of data transfer

         5) Instructions for manufacturer-supplied report generation

         6) Instructions for custom report generation

         7) Database format and data entry requirements

CUSTOMER ACCEPTANCE TESTING

1. System Acceptance Tests will be supervised by a customer representative identified by Project Director/COR, and shall consist of the following:

           a. Operation of system equipment demonstrated by factory-certified technicians or manufacturer-certified training staff.

           b. Both subjective and objective tests are required to determine compliance with Contract Specifications. The contractor is

               responsible for supplying test  equipment for these tests.

     d. O&M Manuals, testing result spreadsheets, processor programs, touch panel programs, and other required documents shall

          be on hand prior to scheduling acceptance tests, with one complete set delivered to the USG representative prior to

          scheduling of tests and one set to the Project Director/COR.

      e. During Acceptance Testing, if further adjustment is required to conform to specified performance requirements or defective                equipment requires repair or replacement, Acceptance Tests may be suspended or continued at the discretion of the               

          Customer, Project Director, or COR.

      f. Any charge for additional time incurred by the customer representative required to oversee System Acceptance Tests due to

         improper system programming or previously failed systems is the responsibility of, and charged directly to, the Contractor.

CLEANING AND PROTECTION

A. Clean up and repair all areas affected by this work. Protect exposed surfaces with materials that are easily removed without       marring finishes.

B. Contractor is responsible for the protection of work from damage or loss due to either man-made or natural causes.

C. The site shall be cleaned at the end of each day, and all trash or other debris shall be removed in the appropriate manner and deposited in the proper containers.

D. The final cleaning shall ensure fingerprints, marks, or other debris are removed  from all devices and the site, it shall be delivered in a ready-to-operate state.

E. Any damages to furniture, equipment, building structure, etc.… will be the contractor's responsibility to remedy as deemed by project director/COR.

GENERAL NOTES AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTS and PROGRAMMING

A. Shall be capable of operating continuously during the typical work week.

B. The products and services will have a TAA, JITC, ADA or other approvals.

C. All programming code and configuration files for the AV devices are to be delivered to the customer in an unlocked, uncompressed, or open format without any locks or limitations on the files.

D. Through the system control programming, maintain fiber isolation to each VTC audio, video, and control input/output. Each VTC will be isolated based on classification. Fiber isolation includes all signals connecting to the codec device. The GFE network connection is the only active copper connection. When a particular VTC unit needs to be operational, the fiber modules associated with the codec will be turned on, and the others will be turned off. The power shall remain on for all Codec units. The optical equipment will be controlled via power devices to remove power from the equipment not in use for that classification.

SOURCES SOUGHT INSTRUCTIONS

1. Small business GSA Federal Supply Schedule Holders with the capability to provide the described services shall articulate their capabilities and experience in a document that does not exceed (10) pages. The document shall be concise and focused.

       2.  Provide short summaries (limited to two (2) summaries) of work performed on Federal Government AV/VTC Programmin

            and Integration Support Services  and include reference point of contact information (i.e., name of reference, email of

            reference, telephone number of reference, and Federal Agency).

        3.  Cost or price information is not solicited and will not be reviewed.

        Interested GSA small businesses shall submit an electronic copy of their submission via email to Crystal Brooks,

        brookscc@state.gov. The due date and time for submission of responses is 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

        (EST) [August 8, 2025].  No phone calls related to this Sources Sought will be accepted. All correspondence shall be via

        email.  Companies responding to this Sources Sought shall be registered in the System for Award Management.

        Provide available General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule Contract Numbers, if applicable.

 All responses must include the following information:

1. Company name;
2. Company address;
3. Company small business socioeconomic category;
4. Unique Entity Identifier;
5. Point-of-contact name, telephone number, and email address.
6. NAICS Code