SOLICITATION NOTICE
68 -- GAS CYLINDER
- Notice Date
- 12/4/2024 7:53:05 AM
- Notice Type
- Solicitation
- NAICS
- 325120
— Industrial Gas Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- 246-NETWORK CONTRACTING OFFICE 6 (36C246) HAMPTON VA 23667 USA
- ZIP Code
- 23667
- Solicitation Number
- 36C24625Q0150
- Response Due
- 12/9/2024 8:00:00 AM
- Archive Date
- 01/08/2025
- Point of Contact
- Ruth A Morris, Contract Specialist
- E-Mail Address
-
Ruth.Morris@va.gov
(Ruth.Morris@va.gov)
- Awardee
- null
- Description
- RFQ 36C24625Q0150 VAMC Salem Medical Gas Cylinders Vendor Questions (Black) / Response (Red) As the NAICS for this RFQ is 325210 Industrial Gas Manufacturing, please confirm whether this is a Service Contract or a Supply Contract. Response: Supply Contract. Medical gasses are a commodity/expendable supply What is the current contract number, and who is the current provider? Response: 36C24620N0329/Airgas CLINS / CYLINDERS: CLIN 0009: Please confirm if the GOV still wants Offerors to price this CLIN given AMEND 0001 stated there was no requirement for Propane yet the revised CLIN list still included Propane with a QTY of (0). Response: No Propane is needed, CLIN removed. CLIN 0016: The costs for required audits are included under CLIN 0016, but there is an annual quantity of (4) listed for each contract year. PG 28 of 84 (Section 7.6) of the RFQ does state that The contractor must submit a list quarterly of lost or damaged cylinders to include replacement costs for any and all individual cylinders lost or damaged while in the government facility s custody, but the same section goes on to state that only Annual audits are required for inventory counts. Additionally, the requirement for only an annual audit is referenced throughout the RFQ. However, a list/report of lost cylinders cannot be generated quarterly without a joint audit between the VA and the Prime Contractor; therefore, the Contractor would be able to provide an annual list of lost cylinders with included replacement costs but not a quarterly list. Because of the preparations and coordinations required for the VA and Contractor to conduct a facility s audit, we request that the annual audit requirement be honored and for CLIN 0016 to be priced by offerors as (1) audit per year in lieu of the currently listed (4) audits per year. Please confirm that offerors should price (1) audit per contract year and that Contractors should provide an annual list of lost or damaged cylinders with quoted replacement costs based on the results of the annual audit. Response: Annual Audit is sufficient. CLINs 0014-0015: Delivery Fees and Hazmat Fees are included in CLINs 0014 and 0015, respectively. However, PG 35 of 84 (Section 13.15) in the RFQ states that All transportation charges for cylinders shall be included in the price of the medical gas. Additional charges such as delivery fees, hazardous materials fees, fuel surcharges, shall NOT be billed to, or collected from, the facility for orders received under this contract. Please confirm if offerors need to price individual Delivery Fees and Hazmat Fees per Section 13.15. Additionally, what does the unit of FE represent on these (2) line items? Response: A. Delivery Fees and Hazmat Fees NOT needed to be listed separately. B. FE unit is FEE. CLIN 0017: The costs for lost cylinders are included under CLIN 0017, but Loss of Use costs cannot be determined without a joint audit between the VA and the Prime Contractor. As a result, we request that Offerors be able to price this as $0.00 and the GOV fund this CLIN at the time of the required annual audit (and based on the audit s results and subsequent LOU amounts) so that the cost of the lost cylinders represent the best market value. Response: CONCUR - Offerors will be able to price this as $0.00 and the GOV fund this CLIN at the time of the required annual audit (and based on the audit s results and subsequent LOU amounts) so that the cost of the lost cylinders represent the best market value. RENTAL CLINs: There are no rental CLINs for contractor-owned cylinders provided in the RFQ. PG 23 of 84 (Section 1.5) states that Pricing for medical gas tanks shall include all applicable charges, to include any tank rental fee and applicable fees for filling the tank(s). However, monthly rental charges and rental periods are addressed in depth on PGs 29-30 of the RFQ, which allows for a reasonable assumption that offerors need to price monthly rental rates for contractor-owned cylinders, which is also the industry standard for medical cylinder contracts of this nature. Please confirm that the VA will provide rental CLINs for each contractor-owned cylinder in addition to the fill CLINs. RAS Recommends the following Monthly Cylinder Rental Groupings Categorized By Size, Type, and Functionality: XXXX RENTALS: Gas Cylinders - Sizes A,B,C,D, & E; (monthly) XXXX RENTALS: Gas Cylinders - Sizes Other than A,B,C,D, & E; (monthly) XXXX RENTALS: Liquid Containers (Portable) less than 160 Liter Capacity; (monthly) XXXX RENTALS:� Liquid Containers (Portable) greater than or equal to 160 Liter Capacity; (monthly) XXXX RENTALS: E size Cylinder with Integrated Regulator USPEAWB; (monthly) XXXX RENTALS: E size Cylinder with Integrated Regulator USPEAWB - MRI Compatible; (monthly) XXXX RENTALS: High Pressure Cylinders (6K); (monthly Response: CLIN 22 to 26 added to the Base and 4 Option Years MEDICAL AIR: Medical Air is listed as a required gas in the first paragraph on PG 23 of 84 in the RFQ, but there are no CLINs provided for Medical Air cylinders. Please confirm whether the VA requires Medical Air cylinders and provide the appropriate CLINs (fill and rental) for offerors to price, if so. Response: Medical Air Cylinders - 1 Cylinder added INTEGRATED VALVE CYLINDERS: There are no integrated valve oxygen cylinders listed in the RFQ (commonly referred to as Walk-O2-Bout or Grab n Go cylinders). Please confirm if the facility requires any integrated valve oxygen cylinder and provide the appropriate CLINs (fill and rental) for offerors to price the requirement as well as the facility s estimated annual usage for that cylinder. Response: The facility does NOT required integrated valve cylinders GFE/CONTRACTOR-OWNED CYLINDER REQUIREMENTS: Please clarify which of the (18) CLINs provided on PGs 5-8 (Base Year) are GFE cylinders and which are contractor-owned cylinders (rented). Please also confirm how many of each GFE cylinder type the GOV has on its property books by CLIN as well as the estimated/average on-hand balances at any given time. Response: The VA owns two 30 litre liquid Nitrogen dewars that will be filled on a regular bases. The only GFE cylinders are E size O2 tanks. Approximately 40 GFE on hand at any given time. GFE CYLINDER REPLACEMENT RATES: PG 28 of 84 (Section 6.2) states that A regular review of VA s tracking of the cylinders shall be used to determine if the Contractor lost any government-owned medical gas cylinders and appurtenances and that The Contractor will be responsible to pay for lost or damaged government-owned medical gas cylinders and appurtenances at agreed upon rates identified in the contract. Please detail the VA s tracking system for cylinders that shall be used to determine if the Contractor lost any government-owned medical gas cylinders and please identify the applicable replacement rates for all anticipated GFE cylinders so that offerors may review. Response: Will be a part of the monthly audit. RENTALS: RENTAL PERIOD: PG 29 of 84 (Section 9.5.2) states that Contractor shall take note of the ending balance at the end of each rental period and assess the monthly charges for that rental period based on that ending balance but follows that sentence with Rental pricing shall be assessed using the CLIN prices for daily rental of cylinders. Contradicting information is included between the (2) statements with the VA instructing Contractors to assess monthly and daily rental charges. Monthly rentals are again addressed on PG 36 of 84 (Section 21.1) under Invoices, which states that The Contractor shall submit one invoice monthly, for incurred charges related to medical gas refill and cylinder tank rental fees. Please confirm that rental charges will be assessed on a monthly basis and please provide CLINs for which to account for Monthly Rental. � Response: Rental charges for all cylinders are assessed monthly. RENTAL SUMMARY: PG 29 of 84 (Section 9.5.3) states that The Contractor shall provide, within five (5) business days after the end of the rental period, a monthly summary for each delivery location (sub-accounts) to the individual facility POC We request that this language/requirement be revised to allow for the submission of rental summaries within the first (10) business days of the following month. There are required processing times for consolidating rental summaries following a month s end, and Contractors must ensure all Proofs of Delivery (PODs) for the previous month have become available (oftentimes this takes several days to post) before they can complete that processing as the PODs are required to summarize all deliveries and returns before rental charges can be calculated. As a result, the requirement to provide a monthly summary for each location within (5) days is impractical due to the availability of the data and processing times required. Response: The summary is for Salem VA Medical Center; the monthly summary is required the submission of rental summaries within the first (10) business days of the following month. ANNUAL AUDIT REQUIREMENTS: PG 36 of 84, para 18.1 states The annual cylinder inventory audits must occur for each main VA facility, within 45 calendar days of the end of an ordering period. Please confirm if this means within (45) days before, after, or either in relation to the end of an ordering period (e.g., either 45 days prior or after the end of an ordering period totaling to a 90 day window). Response: Within 45 days before an ordering period. REMARK:� Para 18.2 refers to those facilities denoted with an X I the column titled Annual Cylinder Audit Required yet there is no such table provided and the only facility referenced in the RFQ is the VAMC. Response: This order is for Salem VA Medical Center. Para 18.2 removed. This is not required DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS: PG 35 of 84 in the RFQ (Section 15.1) states that Each delivery shall include a delivery ticket covering the following: contract number, purchase order number, delivery order number, date of order, date delivered, item number and/or product identification number, the number of cylinders at the facility prior to delivery, the number of cylinders being delivered, the number of cylinders being picked-up, and the number of cylinders at the facility after the delivery has been made. Please note the following: The number of cylinders at the facility prior to delivery and the number of cylinders at the facility after the delivery has been made are not included on medical gas delivery tickets; this is not an industry practice. Tracking the cylinders at a facility is the responsibility of the Prime Contractor and not the Prime s subcontractor (who will be supplying the delivery ticket at the time of delivery). Additionally, cylinder balances are not adjusted in real-time during a delivery and then reproduced on the delivery ticket being provided for that order. It s not reasonable to request that a real-time balance adjustment be made while delivering and picking up cylinders. A delivery ticket will certainly be provided and include the delivery order number, date of order, date delivered, item number and/or product identification number, the number of cylinders being delivered, and the number of cylinders being picked-up. Please note, however, that the Prime Contractor will provide a monthly rental summary to accompany invoices that will reflect all deliveries during the month (pick-ups and returns) and provide a detailed depiction of the facility s cylinder balances and the accompanying adjustments for every order. Please confirm that the monthly rental summary reflecting cylinder balances will suffice in lieu of the request for the information to appear on each delivery ticket. Response: The monthly rental summary reflecting cylinder balances will suffice - confirmed The same section also requires that the delivery tickets include the Contract Number and the Facility PO Number. As this RFQ is an SDVOSB set-aside with the resulting Prime Contractor being an SDVOSB business working with a supplier/subcontractor to deliver contractor-provided cylinders, this is a nonstandard requirement. The Subcontractor working for the Prime Contractor will not be privy to any information specific to the contract between the VA and the Prime Contractor, including having the Contract Number and the Facility PO Number on the supplier-derived delivery tickets. This language reads as if the VA s expectation is for a direct supplier/large business to be in day-to-day control of the contract s operations with access to the VA contract information, which is not the case for an SDVOSB awardee under an SDVOSB set-aside contract. Request to remove the requirement for this information to appear on the delivery tickets as it is nonstandard in SDVOSB Prime Contracts for medical gas. Response: The Purchase Order Number is needed on the delivery ticket for tracking for proper processing for payment CBOCs: Please confirm that no CBOCs/VA Clinics under the Salem VA HCS require delivery service under the contract resulting from this solicitation as the only facility included in the RFQ is the VAMC Salem. Response: This solicitation is for Salem VA Medical Center only. CBOC s will be supplied by the main VAMC. TRANSITION: PG 31 of 84 in the RFQ (Section 11.3) states that The outgoing contractor shall coordinate transition of equipment/services with the incoming contractor as soon as possible, but not to exceed ninety (90) days from date of contract expiration. What is the GOV s rationale for this statement considering this is a GOV responsibility (i.e., transition timeline approvals), and the incoming vendor has no relationship with the outgoing vendor? Transition timelines are briefed in the incoming vendor s Transition Plan that s approved and monitored by the COR. We request revision of this paragraph. All vendors are fully aware that veteran care is at the forefront in transitioning from one vendor to another, yet the responsibility is at the COR s/Facility s direction so that all coordinations are finalized/approved by the GOV and an audit trail exists for a coordinated transition. Response: The COR will be responsible for scheduling set-up time and date with the incoming and outgoing contractor to replace cylinders if applicable. ELECTRONIC DATA EXCHANGE (EDI): EDI and its operational requirements are referenced throughout Section 12 under Ordering Processes in the RFQ (PGs 31-33). However, it s also mentioned that orders may be placed without the use of EDI ordering processes in the same section. It s nonstandard and highly unusual for a facility to mix and match EDI ordering processes with non-EDI ordering processes. Please confirm if the facility will be ordering through EDI on the contract resulting from this Solicitation as this is requires a great deal of set up between Contractor/Facility prior to operation. Response: The VA does not require EDI ordering. BULK OXYGEN LANGUAGE: PG 26 of 84 in the RFQ (Section 4.3) includes language/requirements specific to a Bulk Liquid Oxygen contract. Please confirm Section 4.3 was included in error as the Solicitation is for Medical Gas Cylinders. Response: This was included in error. This is for Medical Gas Cylinder. The Bulk Oxygen language removed. COMPLIANCE:� Please confirm that the offeror must comply with all federal, state, and local regulations required of the offeror in order to meet the requirements of the statement of work as stated in FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2023), which is incorporated by reference on PG 38 of 84 the RFQ. More specifically: FAR 52.212-4, para. (q):� Other compliances. The Contractor shall comply with all applicable Federal, State and local laws, executive orders, rules and regulations applicable to its performance under this contract. Please also confirm who the GOV entity is that enforces and ensures compliance with these RFQ terms. Response: The VA will provide audits if needed INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS:� How is the GOV going to validate that offerors are properly insured for NAICS 325120/221210 the actual requirement for this work to comply with the RFQ and not just the dollar value threshold� listed on PG� 25 of 84 in the RFQ? How do offerors confirm to the GOV that they have the correct type of Liability Insurance,� and does this need to be affirmed at the time of bid submission (if not, an awarded firm could be turned down or not be able to afford this coverage in the amounts the GOV requires, respective to NAICS 325120)?� This is important because there are very few underwriters that will insure small businesses for the distribution of compressed gases and why confirmation of the applicable NAICS is being requested, in accordance with paragraph (a) of� FAR 52.228-5 Insurance Work on a Government Installation � which is incorporated by reference on PG 38 of 84 in the RFQ. Response: FAR 52.228-5 removed LOSS OF USE FOR CONTRACTOR-OWNED CYLINDERS:� There is language for how the VA will account for Loss of Use on PG 30 of 84 (Section 9.5.5) in the RFQ. The included language has been suggested to the VA in previous RFQs in VISN 6; however, the suggested language has been altered on PG 30 (please see highlighted lines in the image below to review information removed from this RFQ for the VAMC Salem). The importance of the removed/altered language cannot be overstated because the rental charges can t be removed before the GOV issues a PO (which provides intent to pay ). There is no incentive for the GOV to pay their LOU invoice based solely on counts that are agreed upon. Please confirm that the GOV s interpretation of agreed upon involves issuing a Purchase Order for Payment as typically Cylinder Balances are not removed until a Purchase Order is issued. To protect Contractors who must front these charges with their suppliers in order to continue delivering medical gases, to ensure compliance with the Prompt Payment Act, and to establish accountability procedures for the VA, we request that the VA add the relevant language back that the rental charges will be removed once an LOU PO has been issued to the Contractor as a commitment to pay the charges (NOTE: Just-in-Time is not included in this RFQ for the VAMC Salem; the below image is an example of the LOU language previously recommended to the VA). Response: Salem VAMC concur with the updated language of this request. 14. request clarification on the� customer owned cylinder line items, assets, and scope of work? Additionally, for contractor provided cylinders, we need to please ask the VA for rental line items.� Response: See response to the Rental Information. 15. Section 9.5 of the RFQ does address rental rates applying to contractor-owned cylinders; However, the VA didn't include rental line items in the pricing schedule. We believe the VA may have inadvertently omitted� the line items, but we request the VA's confirmation.� � � � Response: See Line Items 17 to 25 16. Additionally, it's essential� to know whether the VA will have government-owned cylinders� and if so, we request the� VA identify which gases will require� VA-owned and contractor-owned cylinders so that� we may develop our proposal accordingly.� � Response: The only VA owned cylinders are E size O2 tanks. We do have two liquid Nitrogen dewars that are VA owned as well. All others are vendor owned tanks. 17. The due date is currently 12/4/24.� We request an extension� of that date to 12/11/24 to allow for time to develop pricing.� � Response: Due Date 12/11/2024 at 11:00 a.m.
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/3110956a25dc46a6b2fce26f931f91a5/view)
- Record
- SN07281649-F 20241206/241204230113 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's SAM Daily Index Page |