6515--Assistive Listening Devices Recompete (VA-23-00038299)

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Amendment 0002 to 36C79123R0005

Revised the Past Performance Instructions to clarify proposal submission requirement (p.70).

Revised From: (old) p. 70

iii. Subfactor C: Past Performance:
An offeror s past performance is important in determining its ability to successfully
perform the statement of work (SOW) requirements. The government is especially
interested in recent and relevant past performance that relates very closely to the
requirements set forth in the SOW and the degree of responsiveness to customer
requirements to include compliance with Federal, State and Local laws and regulations.
Provide a written comprehensive narrative describing: three (3) to five (5) examples of
experience (Prime and Subcontractors, or teaming arrangements) on current or previous
contract(s) over the past five (5) years which is relevant to this solicitation in terms of
complexity, size, type and scope of the SOW. Past Performance information should
include the extent to which business performance objectives/requirements were met for
the recent and relevant experience.
The narrative shall address the following:
a. Complexity: Describe the engagement, expertise, multiple concurrent
contracts or customer service calls.
b. Size: Identifies the dollar value of the contract, the duration of the
contract, the number of personnel engaged in effort, the number of
locations covered. If a federal contract, then contract number and title of
work performed.
c. Product Type: Describes the product/s delivered.
d. Schedule: Describe any delays in delivery, the cause and what you did
to rectify the situation.
Furnish a list of three (3) to five (5) references of Federal, State, local government, or
commercial projects relevant to the scope, complexity, and volume of the work required
under the solicitation with verifiable telephone numbers of the Contracting Officer to
support your past performance.
Offeror shall furnish Attachment D- Past Performance Questionnaire to their references
to be submitted to VA by the due date as annotated on the SF 1449. The past
performance questionnaire is for the offerors to send to their current and or previous
references with instructions to return the completed questionnaire to the Government.
Submission Instructions are found in Attachment D.
Offerors shall indicate if they have no record of relevant or recent past performance.

Revised To: (new) p. 70
iii. Subfactor C: Past Performance:
An offeror s past performance is important in determining its ability to successfully
perform the statement of work (SOW) requirements. The government is especially
interested in recent and relevant past performance that relates very closely to the
requirements set forth in the SOW and the degree of responsiveness to customer
requirements to include compliance with Federal, State and Local laws and regulations.
Provide a written comprehensive narrative describing: three (3) to five (5) examples of
experience (Prime and Subcontractors, or teaming arrangements) on current or previous
contract(s) over the past five (5) years which is relevant to this solicitation in terms of
complexity, size, type and scope of the SOW. Past Performance information should
include the extent to which business performance objectives/requirements were met for
the recent and relevant experience.
The narrative shall address the following:
a. Complexity: Describe the engagement, expertise, multiple concurrent
contracts or customer service calls.
b. Size: Identifies the dollar value of the contract, the duration of the
contract, the number of personnel engaged in effort, the number of
locations covered. If a federal contract, then contract number and title of
work performed.
c. Product Type: Describes the product/s delivered.
d. Schedule: Describe any delays in delivery, the cause and what you did
to rectify the situation.
Furnish a list of three (3) to five (5) references of Federal, State, local government, or
commercial projects relevant to the scope, complexity, and volume of the work required
under the solicitation with verifiable telephone numbers of the Contracting Officer to
support your past performance.

Offeror shall furnish Attachment 8- Past Performance Questionnaire to their references
to be completed and submitted to CO by the due date as annotated on block 8 of the SF 1449. The past performance questionnaire is for the offerors to send to their current and or previous
references with instructions to return the completed questionnaire to the Government in accordance to the submission instructions found on Attachment 8 Past Performance Questionnaire.

Offerors shall indicate if they have no record of relevant or recent past performance.

Revised the Representations and Certifications (p.68)
Revised From: (old)
j. Completed provision 52.212-3, Representations and Certifications, if not completed in
System for Award Management (SAM). All offerors shall be certified in SAM
(www.sam.gov) under NAICS code 33911
Revised To: (new)
j. Completed provision 52.212-3, Representations and Certifications, if not completed in
System for Award Management (SAM). All offerors shall be certified in SAM
(www.sam.gov) under NAICS code 334510

Added additional information to E.1, Factor 1 price
Revised from: (old)
FACTOR 1 PRICE:

The offeror shall submit a proposal for base year and all option year periods for each CLIN/SLIN being proposed. The offeror shall complete the unit price and total CLIN price on Attachment 1 -

ALD Price Schedule.
Revised to: (new)
FACTOR 1 PRICE:
The offeror shall submit a proposal for base year and all option year periods for each CLIN/SLIN being proposed. The offeror shall complete the unit price and total CLIN price on Attachment 1 -
ALD Price Schedule. (Note: Summary Tab does not need to be completed by offeror. The Summary Tab will be utilized by the Government After Contract Award.)Â

Questions and Answers
Q20
I am reaching out as I have a clarification request regarding his answer on the ALD Question regarding RFP #36C79123R0005 Category 7 Q&A. I am honestly uncertain of the answer and apologize for my confusion. Please excuse the directness of the following question: Would the speakers in the Sound Pillow be considered at ear level or not?

A20
In accordance to the solicitation under Minimum Technical Requirements Category 7: Tinnitus Devises, the product must meet all the minimum technical requirements/features. For purposes of the evaluation Ear Level means something that is worn in the ear.

Q21
When will the drop box for contract submission be live?
A21
Drop box is currently active. If you have issues please contact Drop Box support and let the Contracting Officer know.
Q22
Page 1 SF 1449 Block 17 a- Please clarify what you are looking for in reference to the EFT?
A22
Please complete block 17a with your company name, address, phone, and UEI number. EFT information is added post award.
Q23
Page 63-64 E.1.1.1 Volume Two- Volume Two lists Past performance History (see Attachment 8) to be included. However, Attachment 8 states the Past Performance Questionnaire needs to be emailed directly to Bradley Geghan. Can you clarify if the Past Performance Questionnaire needs to be included in Volume Two or only emailed to Bradley Geghan?
A23
See amendment 0002 for clarification and revised language.
Q24
Page 69 Subfactor C- This section states to provide 3 to 5 references, we only have one relevant and recent reference which is our current contract (36C79118D0009). Should we include this single reference, or should we indicate that we do not have a record of relevant and recent performance?
A24
All offerors should propose in accordance with the instructions provided in E.1 52.212-1 addendum, factor 2 technical acceptability subfactor C -past performance. The government will evaluate in accordance to E.2 52.212-2 addendum factor 2 technical acceptability subfactor C past performance.
Q25
Page 69 Subfactor B #2- We are planning to utilize our user manual to address the descriptive literature which shows that our product meets minimum technical requirements do we need to describe what is asked in #2 (including design, materials, components, methods of manufacturing and assembly)?
A25
As stated in Section E.1 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors Addendum, Factor 2 - Technical Acceptability, Subfactor B: Product Technical Literature and Warranty Information, descriptive literature should meet or exceed the minimum technical requirements as stated in B.2.1.6 Minimum Technical requirements. As stated in the solicitation the government will evaluate in accordance to Section E.2 52.212-2 Evaluations, Factor 2 - Technical Acceptability, Subfactor B _ product Technical Literature and Warranty Information, a. Descriptive Literature: "For the purpose of determining technical acceptability, descriptive literature must identify the appropriate make, model, type and components of items to clearly demonstrate the items meet the minimum technical requirements"
Q26
Page 93 E.11 (b)- Our products are COTS, do we need to complete the table? If so, which columns need to be completed?
A26
Complete in accordance with FAR clause 52.225-2 instructions. As stated in the clause table only needs to be completed if offering foreign end product that does not meet COTS.
Q27
For CLINs 0008 and 0009 (Corded Amplified Phones), we want to bring to your attention that there are no corded amplified phones commercially available right now that meet all the specs and which are Energy Star certified. Not very many phones are Energy Star certified anymore, especially in our niche industry of amplified landline phones. In light of this, would the VA consider dropping the Energy Star requirement from CLINs 0008 and 0009, since keeping this requirement would result in no products being bid into this category that meet the required specs?

A27
VA requires CLINS 0008 and 0009; these devices qualify under the Energy Star requirements set forth in FAR 52.223-15, therefore will not be removed from solicitation.
Q28
On p. 75 it states, The government will review for valid current year registration for FDA Medical Device Listing certification. Since Assistive Listening Devices and Alerting products are not typically classified as Medical Devices by the FDA, most likely none of the products offerors bid as part of this solicitation will be certified as medical devices. We just want to bring this to your attention in the event you wish to remove this language from the RFP, or clarify when this does or doesn t apply.
A28
VA will consider this recommendation however, this requirement will not be removed from the solicitation.
Q29
On p. 68 under section 4j it mentions that all offerors should be certified in SAM under NAICS code 33911. It is our understanding that all NAICS codes have 6 digits. Is this a typo? Also it doesn t match the NAICs code listed at the very beginning of the solicitation on Form 1449. Can the VA please clarify what SAM codes are necessary to be certified under in order to be considered for award?
A29
See amendment 0002 for clarification and revised language. The main NAICS code is 334510 however, additional NAICS codes have been identified for this procurement. The offeror proposing shall identify all NAICS codes they are proposing to in their SAM representation and certifications. Example: Offeror A is proposing on the main NAICS of 334510 and NAICS 334210 telephones. Any contract line item that an offeror is proposing on should match the NAICS in their representation and certifications.
Q30
Are offerors required to also send 2 product samples for every accessory? Or does this requirement only apply to the primary/main item?
A30
Refer back to instructions to offeror
Q31
This is a follow up question to Q8/A8 of Amendment 0001. We are still not clear on how the VA wants offerors to complete the Summary tab of Attachment 1, nor are we clear how the VA would use this tab to compare offers. CLIN Total currently has a formula in it to multiply Quantity by Unit Price. But Quantity = 1 for every item on the Summary tab, so CLIN Total will always be equal to Unit Price. Is that what the VA wants or do you want offerors to replace the Quantity & CLIN Total columns within the summary tab with the estimated quantities & CLIN Totals calculated in the individual CLIN tabs for the given base/option year? Also, will the Total row at the very bottom of the Summary table be used to compare offers in any way? If one bidder only bids 1 item for each CLIN, and another bidder bids 2 items for each CLIN, the 2nd bidder s totals will be roughly double the totals of the first bidder and thus make their offer appear inferior from a pricing standpoint even if that s not the case. Also, since each CLIN is awarded individually, the total pricing of all CLINs combined shouldn t be relevant. Since the individual CLIN tabs already have the necessary information to accurately compare offers, and the summary tab doesn t, we re hoping the summary tab can just be removed from Attachment 1 or updated to be more intuitive and clearer.
A31
In accordance to Section E.2 under Phase 1- Factor 1 Price Proposals received in response to this solicitation, will have an initial screening process in which each offeror will be ranked from lowest to highest total evaluated price by each CLIN from the grand total in the Attachment 1 ALD Pricing Schedule. So therefore the Summary Tab does not need to be completed by Offeror. The summary tab will be utilized by the government post award.Â
Q32
This is a follow up question to Q15/A15 of Amendment 0001. We understand the BAA/TAA requirements and how they are applied for base/parent items. What we are still unclear on is how or even whether BAA/TAA compliance is applied to accessory items. If a base item is BAA/TAA compliant, but none of its accessories are, will those accessories still be included in the award if the base item is awarded? If a base item is BAA/TAA compliant, and some of its accessories are BAA/TAA compliant but others are not, will only the BAA/TAA compliant accessories be awarded? Lastly, if a base item is not BAA/TAA compliant, does it matter if its accessories are or not? Most accessories are made in China, so we re concerned that if BAA/TAA compliance applies to accessories, there would be almost no accessories for the items awarded on contract.
A32
If proposing with accessories the requirement still needs to be completed. (Refer to answer 15)


__________________
Bradley Geghan
Contracting Officer

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