Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF JULY 29, 2012 FBO #3900
DOCUMENT

B -- SOR 78 Safety Perception Re-Survey - Attachment

Notice Date

7/27/2012
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

541611 — Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
 

Contracting Office

Acquisition Service- Frederick;Department of Veterans Affairs;8490 Progress Drive, Suite 100;Frederick MD 21701
 

ZIP Code

21701
 

Archive Date

9/22/2012
 

Point of Contact

Lee Oliver
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Award Number

GS-02F-0063R
 

Award Date

7/24/2012
 

Description

Limited Source Justification and Approval For Employee Safety Perception Survey 1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity. a.Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Human Resources Management Office of Administration b.Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Service - Frederick (AS-F) 8490 Progress Drive, Suite 100 Frederick, MD 21701 POC: Teresa Lamb Contracting Officer, (240) 439-6441 2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved. This justification and approval sets forth the facts and requests approval for the issuance of a sole source contract with National Safety Council (NSC), (GSA Contract #GS-02F-0083R), 1121 Spring Lake Drive, Itasca, IL. In FY 2010, the VA contracted with the National Safety Council (NSC) to conduct an all-employee Safety Perception Survey as part of VA's Human Capital Investment Plan (HCIP) initiative. The purpose of the survey was to obtain a comprehensive and sensitive set of reliable lead metrics that would guide VA's Occupational Safety and Health program for years to come. The survey established a baseline of program elements and a starting point from which safety training needs can be identified and a baseline of program elements for future evaluation was established. NSC will compare the results of VA's surveys to the same proprietary database used in the 2010 survey which represents approximately 500 other government and civilian organizations as well as to VA's baseline scores from the 2010 survey. 3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs (including the estimated value) The contractor will conduct Safety Perception Surveys for approximately 314,802 Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) employees. The contractor will collect (either online at a secure third-party website or hard-copy survey with no individual identifiers) employee responses anonymously, statistically analyze the responses and provide an overall report for all of VA with overall scores and comparison of results by line organization within VA (National Cemetery Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Affairs Central Office, Veterans Canteen Service, and Office of Information Technology). The contractor will compare 2010 baseline survey scores with 2012 survey scores and will use the results of the safety perception survey to assess VA's current state in regards to employee safety, identify any areas for improvement, and develop action plans and leverage survey measurements to motivate improvements. The contractor will also use the results of the survey to identify and prioritize problem areas, increase employee involvement, awareness, and responsibility regarding the safety program, raise morale, establish an early warning system, expedite problem solution and program improvement, and validate management decisions. The estimated dollar value for the base and three (3) one-year options is as follows: The total cost of contract is estimated to be $2,072,220.00: Base Period: $585,030.00 Option Period 1: $451,080.00 Option Period 2: $585,030.00 Option Period 3: $451,080.00 Survey implementation will occur in the base year and the 2nd year option. Training on how to effectively improve workplace safety program components as identified by the survey results will be provided during the 1 and 3rd option years. 4. The authority and supporting rational (see 8.405-6(a)(1)(l) and (b)(1)) and, if applicable, a demonstration of the proposed contractor's unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service. In accordance with 41 U.S.C. 251 as implemented by FAR 8.405-8(a)(1)(i)(B), "only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized." In order to assess improvement from the 2010 baseline survey, it is critical to utilize the same standardized survey instrument and database used during the initial survey so that the benefits of data comparison to benchmarked percentile baseline scores and results can be maximized. Using the same contractor who produced the first survey would ensure access to the same database and would ensure that survey results are consistent and compared with the same data as the 2010 survey. National Safety Council (NSC) is already familiar with Government processes, reducing any learning curve that may be present. NSC's Database for generating percentile scores is strictly proprietary. It represents over 20 years of survey activity, with nearly 500 independent company establishments, and millions of employee responses. NSC has indicated that they have never sold rights to use or access this Database and never would, as it is one of the most valuable collections of data they own and provides the basis of their value proposition to users. The value of using NSC compared to other vendors was given considerable attention in 2010 when the first employee safety survey ever conducted in VA was undertaken. For VA, the value will increase significantly with the ability to generate current scores that will be comparable to 2010. VA can show a commitment to cost consciousness by leveraging dollars already spent in 2010, using existing scores as a baseline for comparison during this survey. The change scores will form the basis for conclusions regarding safety program improvement within VA. 5.A determination by the ordering activity contracting officer that the order represents the best value consistent with 8.404(d). It is not in the best interest of the Government to compete this requirement because, in order to assess improvement from the first survey, conducted in 2010, it is critical to utilize the same database used during the initial survey. If a different database is used, comparison of the new survey results to the 2010 survey results would not be an accurate representation of improvement or declination. Only one vendor is capable of responding as a result of the unique nature of the database required. According to FAR 8-404(d), GSA has already determined the prices of supplies and fixed-price services, and rates for services offered at hourly rates, under schedule contracts to be fair and reasonable Consistent with FAR 8.405-2, when evaluating pricing, the ordering activity will consider the level of effort and the mix of labor proposed to perform tasks being ordered in the RFQ, and will use this to determine that the total price is reasonable. An award will not be made unless pricing can be determined fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR 8.405-2. 6.A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. An RFI was conducted and posted to the Federal Business Opportunity website, fbo.gov, on January 17, 2012 utilizing a Sources Sought Announcement to insure there was no market change in competition since the initial market research accomplished for the 2010 employee safety perception survey. One response was received however that company did not meet any of the specialized requirements stated in the RFI. Specialized requirements include: 20 years experience in conducting employee perception surveys of workplace safety programs; federally-chartered by an Act of Congress to promote safety and provide safety products and programs; normative database of survey data from at least 450 companies in order to compare dient scores and generate percentile scores; experience with employee perception surveys of large federal organizations with over 100,000 responses; and survey data from any other federal hospital workers in order to make comparisons with VA. The National Safety Council (NSC) is considered the gold standard for ensuring that their survey data provide both an internal assessment of safety/health programs, and enables large federal organizations to benchmark responses of their personnel with those of other large federal organizations. 7.Any other facts supporting the justification. None. 8.A statement of the actions, if any the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made. As noted in paragraph 6, market research was conducted in early 2012 to verify if the market had changed. There was no change to the current market place. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the Government to continue with limited source procurement at this time to NSC. Further, it is expected, at the completion of this contract (base and options years considered), optimal improvement will be achieved and further surveys will not be necessary. If, however, further surveys are required, the Government will make every effort to continually survey the market place and make all feasible attempts to remove any and all subsequent barriers to competition for these services. CERTIFICATION 9. By signing below, the technical or requirements personnel certify that any supporting data that is their responsibility and which forms a basis for the lustification is complete and accurate. TECHNICAL COGNIZANCE required by FAR 8.405-6(d)(2) Ruth Grubb Program Manager Contracting Officers I Representative Office of Occupational Safety and Health (00S1) 10. By signing below. the Contracting Officer certifies that this lustification is accurate and complete to the best of their knowledge and belief. It is determined that the circumstance at FAR 8.405-64)(1)(1)(B) applies. CONTRACTING OFFICER'S CERTIFICATION required by FAR 8.405-6(d)(1) Teresa LambDate Contracting Officer ACTIVITY COMPETITION ADVOCATE I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Iris B. CooperDate Deputy Senior Procurement Executive Head of Contracting Activity Executive Director, Office of Acquisition Operations
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/5ea9e6ee23457ae40a596c227764293d)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: GS-02F-0063R VA798-12-F-0190 GS-02F-0063R VA798-12-F-0190_1.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=417131&FileName=GS-02F-0063R-003.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=417131&FileName=GS-02F-0063R-003.docx

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN02818342-W 20120729/120728000238-5ea9e6ee23457ae40a596c227764293d (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

---

| FSG Index  |  This Issue's Index  |  Today's FBO Daily Index Page |