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Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Sources Sought Notice Obtain a qualified vendor to provide VISN 1 pipe-steam fitting. This is a Sources Sought notice and not a requ... Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Sources Sought Notice Obtain a qualified vendor to provide VISN 1 pipe-steam fitting. This is a Sources Sought notice and not a request for quotes. This request is solely for the purpose of conducting market research to enhance VHA s understanding of your company s offered services and capabilities. The Government will not pay any costs for responses submitted in response to this Source Sought Notice. This Sources Sought notice provides an opportunity for respondents to submit their capability and availability to provide the service requirement described below. Vendors are being invited to submit information relative to their potential to fulfill this requirement, in the form of a capability response that addresses the specific requirement identified in this Sources Sought, please ensure that you indicate your DUNS number on your response. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is seeking to obtain a qualified vendor to provide VISN 1 pipe-steam fitting per the general requirements below. The services shall be provided at the all locations below. The standard of services shall be of quality; meeting or exceeding those outlined in the general performance work statement as described below. Refer to the General Requirements section below for the requested service description. This Sources Sought is to facilitate the Contracting Officer s review of the market base, for acquisition planning, size determination, and procurement strategy. General Requirements General This is a solicitation for a Basic Purchasing Agreement (BPA) for Plumbing and Pipefitting inspection and repair services that could be used to issue individual Task Orders (TO s) for service to each VA Medical Center (VAMC) listed below under stations. The purpose of this solicitation is to invite interested vendors to provide quotes that could lead to a single-award VISN-Wide BPA or a multiple-award VISN-Wide BPA, in order to allow eligible VAMCs to meet future plumbing and pipefitting work requirements. The duration of the BPA will be 5 years from date of award. The PWS details the basic requirements of the resulting BPA. There is no guarantee of work orders to be placed off the BPA. Work may be ordered off the BPA on a Task Order (TO) basis, generally of either a job or annual basis with defined work requirements. The contractor will be required to provide 24/7 response to pipefitting, water system, fire sprinkler system, steam system, medical and natural gas system piping issues. Successful vendors will provide all labor, transportation, materials, apparatus, tools, equipment, along with applicable state license and permits necessary for these services. Additional, related work may be ordered by the CO, at his discretion. No work outside of that detailed in this work description performed will be paid by the VA without the express, prior written authorization of the Contracting Officer. No other government employee has authority to change the resulting contract s terms or conditions or to commit funding. No funding is guaranteed by the award of a BPA. The CO may appoint a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) to coordinate and supervise the work on behalf of the VAMC. Tasks While each TO s specified work may vary, the tasks that may be ordered using the resulting BPA are: General plumbing work General pipefitting work Work incidental to the performance of requested plumbing or pipefitting work Inspections of plumbing and piping systems Install and repair high, medium and low-pressure steam systems. Install, repair, and test fire sprinkler systems. Install and repair hot/cold water systems. Install and repair hot water boilers and the associated hot water distribution systems. Install and repair sanitary and storm water sewer systems. Install and repair sinks, toilets, faucets and the related domestic water system piping & valves. Install and repair medical and natural gas systems. Repair pipe and valve insulation that is damaged during the course of a project not ordered off this BPA. Provide miscellaneous metal fabrication and repair projects. Emergency response services. Preventative maintenance services. Other services related to the above tasks. Work Report Requirements The contractor shall provide reports detailing the status of the serviced items, any deficiencies, and actions taken to correct identified deficiencies to the COR. The COR may also require the contractor to complete additional reports to meet facility standards, at no additional cost to the VAMC. VAMC Work Conditions The technician s service visit shall be scheduled in advance with the permission of the COR. Technicians who show up without prior permission may be turned away at the fault of the vendor. When the technician arrives at the VAMC to perform the work, the technician shall check in with the COR and follow their directions in performing the work in accordance with VAMC standards. The government retains the right to refuse entry to the VAMC to any personnel for any or no reason. Work Hours Routine working hours are from 7:00 AM EST to 4:30 PM EST weekdays. This may vary by VAMC, and if so, will be specified in individual TOs. National holidays are excluded from routine working hours. Scheduling must be coordinated in advance with the COR of the ordering VAMC. The vendor should expect to provide (at the longest) a 5-day response time to have a qualified technician at the requesting site and ready to work for routine hour work requests. Emergency response capability must be available by the vendor. A 2-hour response time from when a COR initiates the call for service to having a qualified technician at the requesting site and ready to work for emergency requests. Stations CT HCS West Haven VAMC 950 Campbell Ave West Haven, CT 06516-2770 Newington VAMC 555 Willard Ave Newington, CT 06111-2631 Maine HCS 1 VA Center Augusta, ME 04330-6796 Bedford VAMC 200 Springs Rd Bedford, MA 01730-1114 Central Western MA VAMC 421 North Main St Leeds, MA 01053-9764 Jamaica Plain VAMC 150 South Huntington Ave Boston, MA 02130-4817 Brockton VAMC 940 Belmont St Brockton, MA 02301-5596 West Roxbury VAMC 1400 VFW Parkway West Roxbury, MA 02132-4927 Infection Control Contractor shall conform to the infection control measures as specified in individual TOs. Reasonable pricing adjustments that result from elevated infection control measure costs will be considered on the TO quote evaluations. Security Requirements The contractor shall comply with all security regulations imposed by the ordering VAMC, as articulated by the COR and VA Police. Any necessary security clearances shall be obtained prior to commencement of work. Transportation, Handling, and Storage The contractor shall coordinate with suppliers and shippers to ensure that incoming materials are properly identified with the contractor s information. The contractor shall designate an authorized individual to be available to receive shipment. The VAMC warehouse facilities are not the shipping point and are not available for Contractor s use, without the CO s prior, written approval. On-site storage will have to be coordinated with the VAMC s COR. The CO will not authorize payment for any issues or damages arising from the receipt of materials not properly handled in accordance with these terms. Cleanup and Disposal of Debris and Fill Materials At the end of each workday, the contractor shall clean up the work and storage areas and stack all materials in a manner approved by the COR. Upon completion of a project, the contractor shall ensure that all dirt, trash, and debris resulting from the construction operations are removed from the work area. Unless directed otherwise in the TO, disposal of debris shall be made at the contractor s expense and shall be delivered to a state-approved disposal site located off the VAMC grounds. Debris shall not be left in such a manner that wind or other weather conditions can cause the debris to be scattered outside the work area or inside the facilities via local foot traffic. Quality Assurance The COR shall monitor contractor performance quality, and the COR s feedback will inform the performance evaluations created by the CO. Key items the COR will watch for include, but are not limited to: response timeliness, technician preparation and readiness to perform the work, the quality of the work performed, professionalism of the technicians, and compliance with contract and facility requirements. The COR shall inform the CO of any performance deficiencies. If the CO finds the complaint to be valid, he shall give the contractor an opportunity to correct the deficiency (at no additional cost to the VA). If correction is not made by the contractor; the CO may authorize payment of less than the invoiced amount for services rendered, and retains the right to exercise all other legal remedies. The contract shall provide at least a 1-year manufacturer s warranty on all parts and labor. The VAMC will not pay for travel and shipping costs associated with any warranty repairs. Those costs shall be borne by the contractor. Parts may be purchased and provided for use by the VA. Parts purchased by the VA and used by the contractor but is found to have latent deficiencies will be exempt from this warranty requirement. Contractor Qualifications The contractor shall provide high quality technicians with adequate training to resolve all the inspection or repair issues encountered. All technicians used by the contractor in contract performance must be licensed plumbers & pipefitters (as appropriate for the work) for the state(s) in which the work is to be performed. The contractor must be licensed to install and repair fire sprinkler systems in the state(s) in which the work is to be performed. The contractor must be qualified using the pro-press tool with ½ to 4 capabilities. The contractor must be an A.S.M.E. certified welder. The contractor must have a minimum of 5 years experience working in the hospital environment. The contractor must have a proven ability to secure parts needed for these service tasks. The contractor must have the ability to inspect the state of the water pipes at ordering VAMCs. Ordering Individual TOs will be issued on an as-needed basis during the life of the BPA. Contractor shall have the ability to accept credit card orders. The services to be furnished under this contract will be ordered by issuance of TOs by the CO for eligible VAMCs. Any properly warranted federal Contracting Officer in NCO1 is authorized to issue orders from the BPA for service within VISN 1. All TOs incorporate the terms and conditions of the BPA. The Government reserves the right to incorporate additional clauses and terms as appropriate into individual TO solicitations and awards. Quote Requirements In order for quotes submitted for this solicitation to be considered responsive, they must address these elements: Pricing Information Required As the BPA does not have set task details on which vendors can provide quotes, the resulting Task Orders will. In order to establish which quote presents the best value to the government, the price elements that will be used to produce Firm-Fixed Price Task Orders using the BPA shall be provided by quoting vendors. The price elements identified by the CO required are: The contractor will provide a routine service hourly rate. This represents the normal business hour timeframes outlined above. The contractor will provide an emergency service hourly rate. This represents both 24/7 emergency calls and outside normal business hours timeframe. The contractor will provide the minimum number of hours charged for a service call. The contractor will provide a mobilization fee for travel to and from VAMC for a service call not covered by warranty. The base cost shall be included in the Price/Cost Schedule. If the mobilization fee changes from VAMC to VAMC, please indicate the changes in Section D next to each eligible VAMC. The contractor will provide their material cost mark-up % of materials that may be ordered to meet service needs over the cost of the material to the contractor. The quoting contractor is free to provide additional pricing information or structures over and above the elements listed above and in the Price/Cost Schedule. The elements identified by the CO are required to be provided, and quotes with incomplete responses will be considered non-responsive. Contractor Information Required The vendor s statement of which VAMC(s) they can service. Please indicate on the list in Section D at which VAMCs the vendor proposes to provide service. In all quotes submitted, the quoting vendor shall identify if they will self-perform the contract requirements or if they will subcontract any part of it. If subcontracting, the quoting vendor shall identify the percentage (%) of proposed contract value the prime and the subcontractor(s) will account for, as well as what key tasks will be performed by which party. This will be closely monitored for compliance by the government, and the act of submitting a quote constitutes the granting of permission to the government to audit such activity. The CO retains the right to refuse the use of any subcontractor for any or no reason. The vendor shall provide copies of licenses and certifications required as described in Contractor Qualifications above. Quote Evaluation Considerations The evaluation of quotes received will be done using the Trade-Off method, using Technical Ability, Past Performance, Pricing, and VAMCs to be Serviced as the factors. Non-price factors are more important than Price. Price remains important, as only the quote representing the best value to the government will be used. As Technical Ability is one of the Evaluation Factors being used in this Solicitation, the quoting vendor shall provide all details the vendor wishes to be considered in bolstering their claim to Technical Ability. A portion of the Technical Ability factor is how much of the contract value will be represented by the prime vs subcontractor s contributions to performance. As Past Performance is one of the Evaluation Factors being used in this Solicitation, the quoting vendor shall provide past performance references of related work to demonstrate their ability to successfully perform this service. Broad discretion is provided to the quoter to present the best evidence of their qualities regarding these evaluation factors, and all evidence submitted will be fairly considered by the selecting authority. No level of qualifications will be assumed of any quoter by the selecting authority. In addition to submitting pricing information, past work references, customer satisfaction ratings, detailed plans for performance of work, evidence of industry certification and training, and other relevant information will strengthen the quote. Should no quotes received represent the best value to the government, a new solicitation will be issued for broader competition. Quoting vendors should provide their best pricing in the initial quote package submitted.