Inactive

This is a SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY. It is neither a solicitation announcement nor a request for proposals or quotes and does not obligate the Government to award a contract. Requests for a sol... This is a SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY. It is neither a solicitation announcement nor a request for proposals or quotes and does not obligate the Government to award a contract. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. Responses to this sources sought must be in writing. The purpose of this sources sought announcement is for market research to make appropriate acquisition decisions and to gain knowledge of potential qualified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Veteran Owned Small Businesses, 8(a), HubZone and other Small Businesses interested and capable of providing the services described below. Documentation of technical expertise must be presented in sufficient detail for the Government to determine that your company possesses the necessary functional area expertise and experience to compete for this acquisition. Responses to this notice shall include the following: (a) company name (b) address (c) point of contact (d) phone, fax, and email (e) Unique Entity ID (f) Cage Code (g) Tax ID Number (h) Type of small business, e.g. Services Disabled Veteran Owned small Business, Veteran-owned small business, 8(a), HUBZone, Women Owned Small Business, Small disadvantaged business, or Small Business HUBZone business and (i) must provide a capability statement that addresses the organizations qualifications and ability to perform as a contractor for the work described below. The VA Loma Linda Healthcare System (VALLHCS) located at 11201 Benton St, Loma Linda, CA 92357 is seeking a potential qualified contractor that can provide an Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) system Important information: The Government is not obligated to nor will it pay for or reimburse any costs associated with responding to this sources sought synopsis request. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. The Government will in no way be bound to this information if any solicitation is issued. The VA is mandated by Public Law 109-461 to consider a total set-aside for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business set aside. However, if response by Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business firms proves inadequate, an alternate set-aside or full and open competition may be determined. No sub-contracting opportunity is anticipated. The North American Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 513210 ($47 Million Dollars). Notice to potential offerors: All offerors who provide goods or services to the United States Federal Government must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov. Additionally, all Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses or Veteran Owned Businesses who respond to a solicitation on this project must be registered with the SBA Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) Registry located at https://veterans.certify.sba.gov. All interested Offerors should submit information by e-mail to Koby.Thiel@va.gov. All information submissions to be marked Attn: Koby Thiel, Contract Specialist and should be received no later than 8:00 AM PST on October 20, 2023. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network NETWORK CONTRACT OFFICE 22 4811 Airport Plaza Drive; Suite 600; Long Beach CA 90815 BACKGROUND The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), manages the largest medical system in the United States, providing care to over 8.9 million Veterans, employing 180,000 medical personnel and operating 171 hospitals in 18 regions throughout the continental United States., Alaska, Caribbean and Hawaii. The goals of VA Loma Linda Healthcare System is to provide the capability of managing operations for all business units including: Sanitation; Linen/Laundry; Grounds keeping; Waste Management; Pest Control; Inspections; Asset Management; and Cost/Budget Management. The VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) system is projected to have approximately 20 users of the service in some form of administrative capacity. This RFQ solicitation is looking for a single comprehensive, Environmental Management Services (EMS) Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) system that meets the stipulated requirements as set out below. SCOPE OF WORK Contractor shall provide all labor, materials, tools and equipment, training, maintenance, technical support, travel, project management and supervision required to provide access and support to a ingle comprehensive, Environmental Management Services (EMS) Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) system. PERFORMANCE PERIOD The Period of Performance (POP) shall be a Base Year Period of (1) year with the Governments option to extend the contract for four (4) 12-month option periods. Base Year Coverage shall not begin until the Go Live date commences. Government may exercise the option for additional licenses for additional modules. Any work at the Government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends unless directed by the Contracting Officer (CO). PLACE OF PERFORMANCE Tasks shall be performed at Contractor facilities while training shall be conducted at Government facilities or remotely online. NATIONAL HOLIDAYS OBSERVED BY THE GOVERNMENT New Year s Day January 1 Martin Luther King s Birthday 3rd Monday in January Presidents Day 3rd Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Independence Day July 4 Labor Day 1st Monday in September Columbus Day 2nd Monday in October Veterans Day November 11 Thanksgiving Day 4th Thursday in November Christmas Day December 25th The President of the United States of America may declare additional days as a Federal holiday, and if so, this holiday will automatically be added to the list above. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be observed as a Federal holiday. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be observed as a Federal Holiday. PERFORMANCE GOALS Contractor shall provide necessary resource for record integration to help the government load up to two (2) years of EMS records from each of the various units. Data to be provided by the government and will come in various formats including, spreadsheets, electronic forms, paper hard copies and others. Vendor is not responsible for missing data but will work with the Point of Contact (POC) for data fallouts. Contractor shall report and provide the Point of Contact (POC) with Deliverable Reports in electronic form in Microsoft Word formats. The report shall include detailed instructions/explanations for each milestone accomplished through and up to project completion. These reports shall reflect information as of the last day of the preceding period. Progress Reports shall cover all work completed during the reporting period and work planned for the subsequent reporting period. The report shall also identify any problems that arose and a description of how the problems were resolved. If problems have not been completely resolved, Contractor shall provide an explanation including their plan and timeframe for resolving the issue. Contractor shall monitor performance against deliverables and report any deviations and keep in communication with VA accordingly so that issues that arise are transparent to both parties to prevent escalation of outstanding issues. SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION Contractor shall provide maintenance and support services as further defined herein. Upon completion of the installation, training, final acceptance testing, Contractor shall provide all maintenance and support services to ensure that the VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform continues to function 99.0% of the time 24 hours per day 365 days per year. "System Availability" shall not include any minutes of downtime resulting from: Scheduled maintenance pre-approved by the VA, Events of force majeure, Malicious attacks on the system, Issues associated with VA s computing devices, local area networks or internet service provider connections, or Contractor s inability to deliver services because of VA s acts or omissions. All new software versions shall be covered in the maintenance services, including all subsequent versions designed to replace the version installed under this contract. Maintenance and systems support (Tier II Help Desk) shall be provided during the entire contract period as well as during any contract authorized option extension periods. Contractor shall distribute maintenance notification updates or releases by using an appropriate electronic or printed media to the POC. Sixty (60) day prior to the expiration of each contract period Contractor shall validate that the system s user information for inspectors and users is accurate as of that date. Contractor shall: Compile a list of valid users and delete users that no longer have a valid email addresses; Coordinate the list with the POC; Update the coordinated list and that number is used to true-up the number of users utilized for computation of any license for the upcoming option year of the contract. SYSTEM AND ACCEPTANCE PLAN A system testing and acceptance plan shall be submitted to POC for review and approval at a minimum of 10 days prior to system go-live in a real-world environment. The plan must test the functionality of the software, connectivity and operational readiness of users. Government will provide test cases designed to stress the system capabilities. Any problems must be identified and be corrected by Contractor before the system can be re-tested. The system must pass the testing and be accepted prior to commencement of services and invoicing. As a minimum, Contractor shall include and execute the following in the acceptance test plan: Phase One testing shall demonstrate each facility s interface/access and verify conductivity and that there is no degradation to the system response. Phase Two testing shall demonstrate the analytical data input, extraction and reporting capability of the VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform. Phase Three testing shall demonstrate end-to-end functionality of the VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform. DELIVERABLE: System Testing and Acceptance Plan EMERGENCY OPERATIONS Contractor shall possess and keep current and test disaster recovery and failover capabilities to mitigate the occurrence of hardware and software failure, power outages, and disruptions that may be caused by natural occurrence (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc.). Contractor shall provide remote location system roll over function of the system and backup of all software and data. HELP DESK SUPPORT Government will provide Tier I (Basic) user support affiliated with basic system functions (administrator assignments/accounts, system/site/location hierarchy maintenance, etc.). Contractor shall provide Tier II (Advanced) Help Desk support to government users, of all aspects of the service purchased under this contract. Contractor shall provide Tier 2 Help Desk support via phone, email and/or chat accessible for government users from Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 AM Eastern Time and 8:00 PM Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays. Help Desk support shall be available 24/7 during times of National Crisis either man-made or natural to support the Nation Response Framework Plan. LICENSES Contractor shall provide Licenses to 10 initial users to access the VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform. This solution shall offer management functionality to streamline, standardize, as well as an innovative approach that helps the EMS team. SOFTWARE MAPPING Government will accept only a Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) SaaS Environmental Management Services (EMS) Software system. The system shall be complete and fully operational. Systems requiring development, customization or modifications to make the software operational is not desired and will not be accepted. Contractor s system must support mapping of the software to a government provided, complex organizational structure that includes varying user access and permissions. The software must be delivered and fully operational at contract award. Contractor shall include unlimited, non-exclusive software and interface site licenses for all products/services to include license and training for individual facilities defined by the Government. UPGRADES AND ENHANCEMENTS TO SOFTWARE Contractor shall update all software and supporting electronic literature and software updates as implemented, limiting the days and times the system is not available for use by scheduling updates during non-working days and hours as feasible. Within 30 days after release, Contractor shall provide the latest upgrades/version changes/updates, enhancements and corrections to the VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform. Upgrades/version changes are defined as software improvements to the already existing software. Contractor shall provide updates that are: a. Initiated by the software publisher to improve functionality of the VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform. b. To maintain the VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform compliant with new regulatory requirements. INITIAL USER TRAINING Prior to the go-live date, Contractor shall provide on-site and web-based technical, end-user training on the use and operations of the software in accordance with (IAW) Contractor s Integrated Master Schedule. Final dates and times for all training at each location shall be agreed upon between Contractor and the POC. Contractor shall provide the POC an electronic list of persons who attended each training event. a. Initial training. i. Classroom based training. Contractor shall provide a minimum of one (1) instructor to provide training to users, on-site at each facility. Classes shall each be approximately one (1) day in length or a portion thereof. Breaks shall be scheduled every two (2) hours and a lunch break must be incorporated into the schedule. Total number of users to be trained is determined by how many license is acquired. Government will provide the final number of personnel to be trained to Contractor at time of kick of meeting. ii. Objectives for user training. The following are minimum topics to be covered during training. Contractor shall provide training sufficient for users to utilize the system in the performance of their jobs. As a minimum, after training users shall be able to demonstrate proficiency in: a. Assigning access to facility staff. b. Completion of relevant unit level forms. c. Entering inspection findings. d. Generating different reports. e. Managing unit level spending and budget controls. f. Initiate project management. iii. Contractor shall evaluate the proficiency of students by requiring each student to demonstrate standard practical system functions. Students identified as requiring remedial instruction shall be provided one-on-one instruction in areas where a weakness was demonstrated. At Contractor s option the instruction may be face-to-face, via the web or other method to address the weakness. iv. Each location will provide a training room with computers capable of accessing the web. To not delay training Contractor shall coordinate with POC to test each training center s computer s access to the VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform before class begins. TRAVEL COST The Government anticipates travel under this effort to perform the tasks associated with the effort, as well as to conduct training throughout the PoP. Include all estimated travel costs in your firm-fixed price line items. These costs will not be directly reimbursed by the Government. SOFTWARE LICENSE, MAINTENANCE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT: (1) Definitions. (a) Licensee. The term licensee shall mean the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ( VA ) and is synonymous with Government. (b) Licensor. The term licensor shall mean Contractor having the necessary license or ownership rights to deliver license, software maintenance and support of the computer software being acquired. If Contractor is a reseller and not the Licensor, Contractor remains responsible for performance under this order. (c) Software. The term software shall mean the licensed computer software product(s) cited in the Schedule of Supplies/Services. (d) Maintenance. The term maintenance is the process of enhancing and optimizing software, as well as remedying defects. It shall include all new fixes, patches, releases, updates, versions and upgrades, as further defined below. (e) Technical Support. The term technical support refers to the range of services providing assistance for the software via the telephone, email, a website or otherwise. (f) Release or Update. The term release or update are terms that refer to a revision of software that contains defect corrections, minor enhancements or improvements of the software s functionality. This is usually designated by a change in the number to the right of the decimal point. (g) Version or Upgrade. The term version or upgrade are terms that refer to a revision of software that contains new or improved functionality. This is usually designated by a change in the number to the left of the decimal point. (2) Software License (a) Unless otherwise stated in the Schedule of Supplies/Services, the Statement of Work or Product Description, the software license provided to the Government is a perpetual, nonexclusive license to use the software (b) All limitations of software usage are expressly stated in the Schedule of Supplies/Services and the Performance Work Statement/Product Description. (3) Software Maintenance and Technical Support (a) If the Government desires to continue software maintenance and support beyond the period of performance identified in this contract or order, the Government will issue a separate contract or order for maintenance and support. Conversely, if a contract or order for continuing software maintenance and technical support is not received Contractor is neither authorized nor permitted to renew any of the previously furnished services. (b) Contractor shall provide software support services, which includes periodic updates, enhancements and corrections to the software, and reasonable technical support, all of which are customarily provided by Contractor to its commercial customers so as to cause the software to perform according to its specifications, documentation or demonstrated claims. (c) Any telephone support provided by Contractor shall be at no additional cost. (d) Contractor shall provide all maintenance services in a timely manner in accordance with Contractor s customary practice or as defined in the Performance Work Statement/Product Description. However, prolonged delay (exceeding 2 business days) in resolving software problems will be noted in the Government s various past performance records on Contractor (e.g., www.ppirs.gov). (e) If the Government allows the maintenance and support to lapse and subsequently wishes to reinstate it, any reinstatement fee charged shall not exceed the amounts that would have been charged if the Government had not allowed the subscription to lapse. (4) Disabling Software Code. The Government requires delivery of computer software that does not contain any code that will, upon the occurrence or the nonoccurrence of any event, disable the software. Such code includes but is not limited to a computer virus, restrictive key, node lock, time-out or other function, whether implemented by electronic, mechanical, or other means, which limits or hinders the use or access to any computer software based on residency on a specific hardware configuration, frequency of duration of use, or other limiting criteria. If any such disabling code is present, Contractor agrees to indemnify the Government for all damages suffered as a result of a disabling caused by such code, and Contractor agrees to remove such code upon the Government s request at no extra cost to the Government. Inability of Contractor to remove the disabling software code will be considered an inexcusable delay and a material breach of contract and the Government may exercise its right to terminate for cause. In addition, the Government is permitted to remove the code as it deems appropriate and charge Contractor for consideration for the time and effort expended in removing the code. (5) Manuals and Publications. Upon Government request, Contractor shall furnish the most current version of the user manual and publications for all products/services provided under this contract or order at no cost. SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES Contractor shall perform the following: REPORTING REQUIREMENTS Contractor shall provide the POC with Deliverable Reports in electronic form in Microsoft Word formats. The report shall include detailed instructions/explanations for each milestone accomplished through and up to project completion. These reports shall reflect information as of the last day of the preceding period. The Progress Reports shall cover all work completed during the reporting period and work planned for the subsequent reporting period. The report shall also identify any problems that arose and a description of how the problems were resolved. If problems have not been completely resolved, Contractor shall provide an explanation including their plan and timeframe for resolving the issue. Contractor shall monitor performance against deliverables and report any deviations. Contractor shall keep in communication with VA accordingly so that issues that arise are transparent to both parties to prevent escalation of outstanding issues. Deliverable: A. Periodic Progress Report FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS The VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform shall: Control EMS operational data. Allow for documenting operations at the business units level. Track Loads, tonnage, usage, deficiencies, labor, types and costs. Track projects, tasks, milestones, schedules, Track employees, staff, contractors, hours, work performed, efficiency, work schedule, time and activity. Track assets, locations, part number, model number, manufacturers, types and asset numbers, Track costs for labor, utilities, contractors and other expenses Track budgets and spending Have the ability to include photos and attachments strategically. Reports (Local, Regional, National) Capability to configure standard audit reports generated from operational data. Generate user defined ad-hoc reports from operations. Capability to generate Dashboard for Performance Measure. Provide EMS Administration Functions. Provide multiple levels of access to support all organizational levels (administrator, national, regional, local, Chiefs, etc.) Maintain historical data. Auto-generate analytics and trending to provide continuous operational overview. Store electronic forms and unit data from operations. Access EMS operational data Local (VA Medical Center or equivalent) Notify appropriate users via on-screen alerts when action needed. Allow facility level (local) to use for internal inspections without higher level (regional or national) approval. Regional (Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) or equivalent) Ability to give users access to appropriate personnel at the regional level. Allow for report generation and viewing. Allow for a standardized data aggregation and flow of data National Ability to give users access to appropriate personnel at the national level. Allow for report generation and viewing. Allow for a standardized data aggregation and flow of data Host and Maintain EMS records, forms, documents in electronic format for all units. Be directly tied to supervisory administrative inspections. Update and validate operational processes and inputs. Incorporate government defined reports. Provide configurability Government defined focus areas inspection criteria and data management. Create custom data forms and inspection checklists or guides Track multiple types of data management forms and inspections/audits simultaneously. TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS The VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform shall: Meet NIST 800-53 Rev.3 requirements for Certification and Accreditation. Hosted using secure Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program approved infrastructure Be a web based application that shall be fully accessible via standard web browsers with no third party software requirements thus maintaining no administrative client setup. Utilize a data security interconnection infrastructure that shall address storage, generating, transmitting, and exchanging data. Interfacing with common leading software platforms and operating systems. Have the ability to run on virtual server hosted on government network TECHNICAL KICKOFF MEETING Contractor shall hold a technical kickoff meeting within 10 days after contract award. Contractor shall present, for review and approval by the Government, the fully deployed VA Unified Environmental Management Services (EMS) Platform. Contractor shall specify dates, locations (can be virtual), agenda (shall be provided to all attendees at least five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting), and meeting minutes (shall be provided to all attendees within three (3) calendar days after the meeting). Contractor shall invite the Contracting Officer (CO), Contract Specialist (CS), Point of Contact (POC), and the VA PM. PARKING AND SPEED LIMIT Park only in areas designated by the facility guideline or otherwise directed by Police and Security Service personnel. Contractor shall conform to the speed limit set at each Government facility. Should Contractor personnel receive a citation for parking, speeding or other infraction from VA Security, the offenses will be handled in Federal Court as they are Federal offenses.