SOURCES SOUGHT
U -- Simulated Learning Enhancement and Advanced Research Network Media Request
- Notice Date
- 3/25/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of Veteran Affairs;Employee Education System (EES);Attn: Contracting Office BLDG 50;#1 Jefferson Barracks Dr;Saint Louis MO 63125
- ZIP Code
- 63125
- Solicitation Number
- VA-777-10-RI-0117
- Response Due
- 4/8/2010
- Archive Date
- 6/7/2010
- Point of Contact
- Derrick Harris318-894-6483
- E-Mail Address
-
Contract Specialist
(derrick.harris@va.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Request for InformationOffice of Information & Technology in support of the Employee Education System SimLEARN Center 1.PURPOSE THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. It is a part of the VA's OI&T (Office of Information & Technology) market research for information technology solutions to support a new SimLEARN (Simulated Learning Enhancement and Advanced Research Network) national center. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal, a Solicitation, a Request for Quote, or an indication that the Government will award a contract for the items contained in this RFI. It should be not to be construed as a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract, nor does the Government intend to pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. The Government does not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with submission of the information being requested, or reimburse expenses incurred for responses to this RFI. Companies are encouraged to respond if they have the capability to provide any/all of the requested information. Based on the responses to this RFI, the government may issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) at an undetermined time in the future. Information submitted in response to this RFI will be used confidentially by the Government for the SimLEARN Center project. 2.BACKGROUND The Employee Education System (EES) is an administration-wide, comprehensive, virtual, education-focused organization supporting Veterans Health Administration (VHA) continuing learning objectives through all-employee training, education, performance support, development and consultation. SimLEARN is a new national simulation training, education and research program which is organizationally aligned under EES and will be responsible for developing the strategic vision and system-wide plan for simulation process modeling, training, education and research for VHA. The program includes the creation of a national SimLEARN Center in 2010 in Orlando, Florida. The planned physical layout of the national SimLEARN Center will potentially include: 1)Virtual Environment Space 2)Process Modeling Space 3)Mannequin Simulation Rooms with a control center. The rooms will be configured to simulate a variety of hospital locations (ICU, Floor, ER, etc.) and levels of patient care. 4)A Reception Area 5)A Task Trainers/Debriefing Room 6)A New Technology Lab 7)An Operating Room/Web Lab 8)A Library and Computer Training Room 9)Standardized Patient Rooms with a control center. The rooms will be configured to simulate a variety of hospital locations (ICU, Floor, ER, etc.) and levels of patient care. 10)A Conference Room 11)Staff Offices The planned facility IT infrastructure of the national SimLEARN Center will include: 1)One or more gig-E LAN(s) or better to support real-time simulators 2)10GE uplinks 3)Switches 4)Routers 5)Application Servers 6)Virtual Reality Support Servers 7)File and Print Servers 3.INFORMATION REQUESTED The information requested below is for technology solutions in the four following areas to support the VA's new SimLEARN national center: "Simulation recording, debriefing, and assessment "Simulation session control and data integration "Video storage and playback "Course creation and learner management Partial responses are encouraged if some of the sections do not apply to your company or institution. Any comments which are relevant to this RFI are also encouraged even if they are not specifically addressed. I.Simulation Recording, Debriefing, and Assessment What is the best "turn-key" system for recording, assessing, and debriefing the SimLEARN Center's simulation sessions? Please provide a detailed description of the features and functionality of your proposed solution and whether your proposed solution includes: 1)The capability to record simulation sessions in high fidelity audio/video from either a Standardized Patient, Task Trainer, or a Mannequin Room 2)Integration of multiple audio and video feeds from separate cameras into a single simulation session 3)A central console which can be used to monitor, control the recording of, and playback simulation encounters. 4)The capability to integration with most major surgical or full-body mannequin simulators (Laerdal, METI, Gaumard, etc.) for both sending and receiving data 5)The capability to integrate and synchronize data from simulation screens and medical device monitors (physiological data logs, event logs, pharmacology data logs, annotations, etc.) into the video 6)A web-based interface which: a.allows learners and observers to monitor simulations in real-time either locally or from remote locations b.allows authorized observers (subject matter experts, instructors, etc.) to assess a simulation while it is occurring and submit feedback which will be visible upon playback c.runs on both Mac and Windows workstations 7)Assessment functionality to allow a simulation session to be evaluated, graded, and reported. 8)Classroom debriefing functionality which will allow video from a simulation session to be viewed in real-time, played back in a controlled manner to sync with specific simulation events, or replayed to show key events even during a live simulation. 9)The capability to integrate with the VA's existing user authentication system. 10)Installation services, software updates/maintenance, and technical support 11)Training services which include: a.training materials b.best practices and guidelines c.video tutorials d.an option to purchase advanced training e.an option to purchase consulting services Please provide a Rough Order of Magnitude cost estimate for your proposed system including software licensing. Also provide a list of all support services, hardware, software, and network infrastructure required to host the system. II. Simulation Session Control and Data Integration What is the best "turn-key" solution to control simulation sessions and perform data integration for the SimLEARN Center's simulation sessions? Please provide a detailed description of the features and functionality of your proposed solution and whether your proposed solution includes: 1)Seamless integration with multiple installations of the system proposed in Section I (above) for recording, assessing, and debriefing simulation sessions from the SimLEARN Center's Standardized Patient and Mannequin Simulation rooms. 2)Direct connectivity to all the SimLEARN Center's simulation systems from a central location or console 3)The capability to integration data from the SimLEARN Center's disparate simulation systems which may include: a.simulator mannequins b.virtual reality simulators c.audio/video recording systems d.stand alone simulator devices (task trainers) e.medical devices 4)A web-based learner/observer interface which: a.allows authorized learners to participate in simulation scenarios b.allows authorized observers (subject matter experts, instructors, etc.) to assess a simulation while it is occurring and submit feedback which will be visible upon playback c.is Section 508 compliant d.runs on both Mac and Windows workstations 5)A web-based administrator interface which will allow authorized administrators to: a.manage users, scenarios, video recordings, and simulator data b.generate reports on usage and simulation sessions c.search, filter, and sort performance records 6)Calendar functionality to support the scheduling of learner participation, simulation sessions, rooms, and simulation equipment 7)Data centralization to allow central data logging and a single point to archive and access the center's medical simulation videos which may have been generated at distributed locations. 8)Data synchronization to incorporate video and data from a compatible system operating offline into a simulation scenario. 9)The capability to transfer recordings and data between simulations rooms to follow the patient as treatment moves from one training scenario or level of care to the next (Clinical environment, Operating Room, Post Op, ICU, etc.) 10)The capability to simultaneously manage multiple patient simulations at a single level of care to replicate environments such as a busy intensive care unit or a mass casualty incident. 11)Scalability to allow incorporation of additional simulators and medical devices as they are added to the SimLEARN Center. 12)The capability to export data in HTML, PDF, and Excel formats to be used in a third-party statistics program. 13)The capability to create and export raw data templates of simulation sessions 14)The capability to import templates as the starting point for new simulation sessions 15)The capability to integrate bookmarks, post-event comments, and other educational features into a simulation. 16)Features to ensure system reliability such as data merging functionality that handles network outages, RAID storage, and the option to save date to an external drive. 17)The capability to integrate with the VA's existing user authentication system. 18)Installation services, software updates/maintenance, and technical support 19)Training services which include: a.training materials b.best practices and guidelines c.video tutorials d.an option to purchase advanced training e.an option to purchase consulting services 20)Full system documentation Please provide a Rough Order of Magnitude cost estimate for your proposed system including software licensing. Also provide a list of all support services, hardware, software, and network infrastructure required to host the system. III. Video Storage and Playback What is the best approach for long term storage and payback of medical simulation scenario data (video, device output, etc.) generated by the SimLEARN Center systems? Please provide a detailed description of the features and functionality of your proposed solution and whether your proposed solution includes: 1)Seamless integration with the systems proposed in Section I and II (above) 2)The capability to interface with the SimLEARN Center's medical audio/video simulation recording systems to retrieve videos. 3)The capability to interface with the SimLEARN Center's medical audio/video simulation recording systems to capture videos during real-time simulations. 4)A central video archive system with a minimum of 30 to 40 TB of initial disk space with the ability to add drives to significantly expand storage space if needed to meet future requirements. 5)A web-based learner interface (player) to search for and playback video stored on the system which: a.is intuitive and easy to use without prior training b.is full featured c.runs on both Mac and Windows workstations 6)Section 508 compliant for the learner interface (player) which entails: a.interface information readable by a text reader b.data displayed and readable without style sheets c.media has substitutes that are text-based and machine readable d.all graphic elements have alternative text descriptors e.navigation is possible without mouse input, just using a screen reader and assistive device 7)The capability to place bookmarks and annotations on videos timelines during playback 8)The capability to import videos in common formats (AVI, WMV, MPEG, etc.) from external sources. 9)The capability to integrate with the VA's existing user authentication system (MS NT/AD based). 10)Installation services, software updates/maintenance, and technical support 11)Training services which include: a.training materials b.best practices and guidelines c.video tutorials d.an option to purchase advanced training e.an option to purchase consulting services 12)Full system documentation Please provide a Rough Order of Magnitude cost estimate for your proposed system including software licensing. Also provide a list of all support services, hardware, software, and network infrastructure required to host the system. IV. Course Creation and Learner Management What is the best information technology solution for utilizing training materials collected from the SimLEARN Center's simulation systems to create courses, support a structured learning curriculum, and allow learner management? Please provide a detailed description of the features and functionality of your proposed solution and whether your proposed solution includes: 1)Seamless integration with the systems proposed in Section I, II, and III (above) 2)The capability to integrate training materials collected from the SimLEARN simulator systems and external sources to create course materials. 3)The capability to integrate training materials collected and courses created into a structured learning curriculum 4)A searchable central database for storing courses created. 5)A web-based learner interface (player) for delivering training materials which: a.is intuitive and easy to use without prior training b.runs on both Mac and Windows workstations c.does not require a software client to be installed 6)Section 508 compliant for the learner interface (player) which entails: a.interface information readable by a text reader b.data displayed and readable without style sheets c.media has substitutes that are text-based and machine readable d.all graphic elements have alternative text descriptors e.navigation without mouse input, just using a screen reader and assistive device 7)A separate web-based administrator interface which runs on both Mac and Windows workstations and will allow authorized administrators to: a.create and manage user accounts for learners and learner groups b.restrict access to courses to individual learns or learner groups c.customize the overall look and feel of the play such as adding branding d.manage grade, skill settings, and score setting e.generate reports of learner completions f.generate reports of learner performance g.distribute reports to learners via e-mail 8)Tools to assist learners utilizing the training materials such as video playback 9)The capability to interface with the VA's existing LMS (Learning Management System) either: a.Directly via a web services structure to pass completion data upon the purchase of custom integration services b.Indirectly by allowing materials to be exported in formats that can be hosted on the VA's LMS infrastructure. c.Indirectly by supporting unique hyperlinks to courses so they can be launched within the VA LMS and learners can self-certify completions. 10)Tools to assist learners utilizing the training materials such as video playback. 11)Course scheduling capability for administrators and learners which supports functions such as: a.administrator enrollment b.learner self enrollment c.e-mail notifications d.multi-section events e.resources/supplies needed for learning activity 12)The capability to integrate with the VA's existing user authentication system. 13)Installation services, software updates/maintenance, and technical support 14)Training services for administrators and learners which include: a.training materials b.best practices and guidelines c.video tutorials d.an option to purchase advanced training e.an option to purchase consulting services 15)Full system documentation Please provide a Rough Order of Magnitude cost estimate for your proposed system including software licensing. Also provide a list of all support services, hardware, software, and network infrastructure required to host the system. 4.HOW TO SUBMIT A RESPONSE Responses should be submitted within 30 days to the EES Contracting Officer who published this RFI. Respondents should identify their company name, address, email, telephone number, and a name and telephone number of a point of contact having the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with government representatives. Please limit your responses to 30 pages or less. The preferred formats are MS Word or pdf. 5.INQUIRIES Inquiries concerning this RFI may be directed to: St. Louis Employee Education Resource Center VA Medical Center, 1 Jefferson Barracks Drive Bldg 50, Attn: Acquisitions/Contracting St. Louis, MO 63125 (314) 894-6460 eeeprocurements@va.gov
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- Record
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