R425--National Biomedical Contractor Support Services (VA-21-00021777)

National Biomedical Contractor Support Services (VA-21-00021777)

National Biomedical Contractor Support Services (VA-21-00021777)

See attached for revised attachments

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO.

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE

CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the

offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR

ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY

is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office.

is not,

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES

SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter

or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to

the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30

PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print)

(Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

1

5

0001

06-24-2021

36C10X

Strategic Acquisition Center - Frederick

Department of Veterans Affairs

5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103

Frederick MD 21703

36C10X

Strategic Acquisition Center - Frederick

Department of Veterans Affairs

5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103

Frederick MD 21703

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C10X21R0036

06-11-2021

X

X

X

1

The purpose of this amendment is to respond to vendor questions and

revise the RFP and Attachment F.

Page 6 of 6

Questions on 36C10X21R0036 VA Biomedical Support Services

PWS REFERENCE

(Paragraph/Page Number)

ISSUE or CLARIFICATION

Requested

PWS para 9.5, page 19 Test Equipment

Issue: Test equipment. There are times that specialized test equipment and tools are required when performing corrective action/service that is specific to a certain model or manufacturer.

Clarification: Can contractors use VA in-house test equipment if available?

Can the VA provide a list of the general test equipment required?

How will the VA handle the acquisition of specialty test equipment if required?

Will equipment costs be provided as part of the reimbursement as repair parts?

REPONSE: Please see revised section 9.5. The contractor will be required to provide their own general test equipment listed in section 9.5. Any specialized test equipment owned by the VA can be used by the contractor with approval from the L-COR. The Contractor shall notify the L-COR if any specialty test equipment is needed that is not available in-house, and if deemed necessary by the L-COR, the VA will procure the test equipment (same general process as repair parts).

PWS para 14.2.e (project manager), page 23 Project Manager

Issue: Minimum of 3 years of hospital or healthcare experience planning, managing, and controlling projects. .

Clarification: Will the VA consider equivalent experience in lieu of healthcare. PMs with experience in logistical, IT, and other similar fields could be equally effective in managing the scope of work in as described in the PWS?

REPONSE: The VA still requires hospital or healthcare experience for the project manager role, but we are willing to consider two years of experience in this setting instead of three. Please see revised section 14.2.e.

PWS Section E, para 8, page 72 Page Limitations

Issue: Page limitations for Volume I-III

Clarification: Will the VA allow cover pages and table of content not be counted against the page count?

Will the VA allow the executive summary for Volume I not be counted against page count?

REPONSE: Cover pages will not be considered part of the page count, however, an executive summary will be.

Kickoff meeting/ Award Date

Will the contract kickoff meeting be held in Frederick, Maryland or in another location? If in another location, where will it be held? What is the anticipated award date of this contract?

REPONSE: This will be held virtually. The anticipated award date is September 20, 2021

PWS Section E, para 8.b, page 73 Subcontractor Past Performance

Issue: Major subcontractors and limitation of 3 past performance

Clarification: Is there a limit of past performance for major subcontractors (>20% of total contract effort)?

Does the prime require to have majority?

Can major subcontractors provide 2 of the 3 past performance requirements?

REPONSE: There is no limit or percentage. However past performance of the prime will be considered first and hold more weight.

VOLUME II FACTOR 2: PAST PERFORMANCE

"The offeror shall complete Attachment C: Past Performance References in its entirety, listing a total of three contracts/orders for work performed in the past three years...," whereas on prior page 72, the solicitation asks for a "maximum of three [past performance] examples to be submitted." Is the proposal requirement up to 3 past performance examples, or is the proposal requirement 3 past performance examples? Please clarify.

REPONSE: VA is looking for 3 references for recent, relevant work.

Incumbency

Is this a new contract or a follow-on to an existing contract?

REPONSE: Similar work has been done at the regional level but not at the National level per this requirement.

Page 8, IDIQ

h. On-Ramping/Off-Ramping The IDIQ states Contractors are required to submit proposals for at least 50% of TOPRS for which they are eligible on an annual basis. Contractors not meeting these requirements may be off-ramped via termination for convenience at no cost to the Government. If a TOPR requests multiple on-site personnel at multiple sites and a Contractor can only respond to addressing the onsite need at a subset of the requested sites to partially meet the need, would that count towards the tally of 50% of the TOPRs for which the Contractor is eligible on an annual basis?

REPONSE: Not necessarily, each TOPR will require a bid intention and response and we will take each response case by case.

Page 18, section 9.4

What is the estimated work share between onsite work and remote work for the Biomedical engineering support?

Remote Biomedical Engineering support is a valuable, feasible and timely alternative to onsite work in order to fulfill healthcare technology management needs.

REPONSE: The share of work between onsite and remote work will vary by individual task order based on the needs. The type of work that is expected to be done onsite (cannot be done remotely) is described in section 9.4.

Page 20, section 14

Will there be a minimum duration for contractor personnel assignments at VA facilities (e.g. 6 months, 1 year)?

REPONSE: No, the duration for contractor personnel assignments at VA facilities will be based on the need of that facility.

Page 72, IDIQ

Evaluation Factors Are sample resumes requested for the roles identified in 14.2 Role Specific Qualifications? If so, what are the parameters for each resume (page limit) and what volume should they be attached to?

REPONSE: Yes, all resumes should be a maximum of 1 page and included with Volume I, see revised Section E for details.

Page 72, IDIQ

Evaluation Factors Volume III Can the Government confirm that the expectation is that the response will include 4 files for Pricing? (2 Excel files and 2 word/pdf files)

REPONSE: Pricing shall be submitted in one excel with a pdf to include backup, assumptions, clarifications.

Page 73, IDIQ

Volume I Factor 1: Technical Capability the solicitation states The offeror shall submit a Technical Capability volume which shall address in detail how the offeror proposes to accomplish each of the Performance Work Statement (PWS) tasks. Can the Government clarify what it is identifying as the PWS tasks at the IDIQ level? Are the tasks the core functions that appear on Page 11 in Table 2: Core Biomedical Engineering Functions or is it the Services identified in 9.1-9.6 or both?

REPONSE: All tasks within PWS (everything in the services section (section 9) should be responded to in technical capability.

IDIQ

Is it expected that entities that team together on this contract and enter Prime/Subcontractor relationships would be exclusive in responding to this IDIQ throughout the life of the contract as long as the Prime holds the IDIQ schedule?

REPONSE: The prime is the only vendor with privy to the Government and should be listed as the prime on the proposal.

IDIQ

If a contractor is awarded an IDIQ contract as a Prime, is that contractor allowed to team with another Prime in responding to an individual Task Order?

REPONSE: There will no be teaming with more than one prime at the task order level.

Pricing Spreadsheet

For the IDIQ Rates Can additional Labor Categories and rates be added to the IDIQ contract post-award or must all potential roles/rates be submitted at the time of the proposal submission?

RESPONSE: Yes, additional labor categories can be added to the proposal submission and reviewed as part of the price evaluation.

Page 11, Sample Task Order

Evaluation Factors Are sample resumes requested for the roles identified in 13.2 Role Specific Qualifications? If so, what are the parameters for each resume (page limit) and what volume should they be attached to?

REPONSE: Yes, all resumes should be a maximum of 1 page and included with Volume I, see revised Section E for details.

Sample Task Order

Is the Sample Task Order OEHRM expected to be awarded or is it for evaluation purposes only?

REPONSE: It is VA s intention to award the sample order at the time of IDIQ award.

Pricing Spreadsheet, Sample Task Order tab

For the Sample Task Order Is the expectation that only the Proposed Rate and IDIQ Rate need to be entered into the spreadsheet and the pre-populated hours and roles should not be modified?

RESPONSE: Yes

See attached document: 36C10X21R0036 FINAL with track changes 0001.

See attached document: Attachment F Sample ORDER PWS FINAL with track changes 0001.

36C10X21R0036

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The purpose of this contract is to provide technical and professional support to Biomedical Engineering departments at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers, outpatient clinics, VISN offices, and the HTM Program Office to accomplish corrective and planned maintenance, professional Biomedical Engineering services, and project management work. Contract resources may be required to accomplish routine operational tasks (e.g. maintenance, patient safety recall investigation), as well as unexpected or time-limited tasks (e.g. COVID-19 pandemic support, operational readiness services for OEHRM/Cerner deployment). There are many competing priorities for Biomedical Engineering staff in today s environment, and the support services shall provide interim Biomedical Engineering services either onsite or remotely while full-time positions are recruited and hired to fill permanent roles in Biomedical Engineering departments, as needed. When Contractor support services are required by a VA medical facility, a local VISN or facility VA Contracting Officer Representative (L-COR) will be designated to monitor and provide oversight to the contractors at that facility.

Successful offeror(s) may have to execute a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).

These services are non-personal. Contractor personnel shall serve in a support role; final decisions regarding VA business will always be made by Government personnel. Contractor personnel are not subject to the supervision and control of a Government officer or employee in accordance with (IAW) FAR 37.104(a) (1) (ii). Rather, contractor personnel shall perform their duties IAW specific tasks outlined in the PWS. Supervisory functions such as hiring, directing, counseling, and firing of contractor personnel are not performed by the Government. Contractor personnel shall at no time allow an employer-employee relationship to develop with VA organizations or their staff. VA organizations will refrain from any activities that create the appearance of such a relationship. Contractor personnel who furnish services under this contract are subject to Government technical oversight of the services provided. The Government retains the right to reject nonconforming services.

Contractors shall not perform inherently governmental functions including: decision-making, supervision of Government employees, supervision of other contractors on other contracts, and activities that create the appearance of performing such functions.