Sources Sought Notice – G– FY18 Follow on Decedent Affairs (VA-17-135847)
Notice Type: Sources Sought Notice
Posted Date:
Office Address:
Subject: G-- FY18 Follow on Decedent Affairs (
Classification Code: G - Social services
Contact:
Setaside: N/AN/A
Place of Performance (address):
Place of Performance (zipcode): 85723
Place of Performance Country: US
Description:
Page 8 of 8This 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 (SDVOSB) and Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) 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) DUNS number (f) Cage Code (g) Tax ID Number (h) Type of small business, e.g. SDVOSB, VOSB, and (i) must provide a capability statement that addresses the organization s qualifications and ability to perform as a contractor for the work described below. SDVOSB respondents must address how they will meet the limitation on subcontracting requirement found at VAAR 852.219-10 if awarded this procurement that requires at least 50 percent of the cost of personnel for contract performance be spent for employees of the concern or employees of other eligible service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns. VOSB respondents must address how they will meet the limitation on subcontracting requirement found at VAAR 852.219-11 if awarded this procurement that requires at least 50 percent of the cost of personnel for contract performance be spent for employees of the concern or employees of other eligible veteran-owned small business concerns. 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
WORK DESCRIPTION
DECEDENT SERVICES FOR THE
GENERAL INFORMATION
1. GENERAL: This is a non-personal services contract to provide decedent services in the form of transport of remains and preparation of remains for burial services. The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn is responsible to the Government.
1.1 Description of Services/Introduction: The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform decedent services as defined in this Performance Work Statement except for those items specified as government furnished property and services. The contractor shall perform to the standards in this contract.
1.2 Background:
1.3 Objectives:
1.3.1 Pickup and deliver remains in the
1.3.2 Prepare remains for burial and transport to
Scope: The Contractor shall provide facilities, equipment, supplies and services to take possession of unclaimed remains at the place where the death occurs or where remains are located. In some instances, the contractor shall then transport remains to the contractor s facility, prepare remains for burial, and transport prepared remains to the
Services include the pickup of remains from the
Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be for one (1) Base Period and four (4) 12-month option periods. The Period of Performance reads as follows:
Base Period Date of Award (anticipated start of
Option Year I
Option Year II
Option Year III
Option Year IV
1.6 General Information
1.6.1 Quality Control (QC): The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control program to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor s quality control program is the means by which he assures himself that his work complies with the requirement of the contract. A proposed Quality Control Plan shall be submitted with the offeror s proposal. After acceptance of the quality control plan the contractor shall receive the contracting officer s acceptance in writing of any proposed change to his QC system. A burial preparation checklist shall be developed by the contractor as a part of the Quality Control Plan. This checklist will be used to ensure that all requirements are completed prior to delivering remains to the
1.6.2 Quality Assurance: The government shall evaluate the contractor s performance under this contract in accordance with the performance requirements identified in Technical Exhibit 1. The performance requirements are designed to ensure the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance requirements and identify the means by which the Government will monitor the contractor s performance. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s). The contractor shall make remains available at the contractor s facility for inspection by the Government prior to final delivery to the
1.6.2.1 re-dress the remains,
1.6.2.2 place remains in a new casket.
The Government may also require that remains be removed from the casket to reapply/touch up cosmetics, wash and/or trim hair, or any other procedures deemed necessary to ensure a natural appearance of the remains.
1.6.3 Recognized Holidays:
The contractor shall provide transport services (under CLIN 0001) seven days per week, 24 hours per day. Pickup and transport of remains for burial preparation and delivery to the
The Federal Government recognizes the following holidays:
Independence
1.6.4 Hours of Operation: The contractor is responsible for conducting business (under CLINs 0002 and 0003),
1.6.5 Place of Performance: The work to be performed under this contract will be performed at the contractor s facility, i.e., burial preparation, and at the Government s facility when pickup and delivery of remains are needed at SAVAHCS. The contractor shall also perform services at the
1.6.6 Type of Contract: The government will award and Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity with fixed pricing for Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) identified in the contract.
1.6.7 Security Requirements: Contractor personnel shall have a general background check and be appropriately licensed for the jobs they perform. Persons involved in the burial preparation process shall be licensed by the
1.6.7.1 Physical Security: The contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government equipment, information and property provided for contractor use. At the close of each work period, government facilities, equipment, and materials shall be secured. If the contractor identifies a potential security risk or concern while at the SAVAHCS facility, the risk/concern shall be conveyed immediately to the
1.6.7.2 The C&A requirements do not apply, a Security Accreditation Package is not required. Contractor to comply with Section D.1 Contract Security.
1.6.7.3. Background Investigations and Special Agreement Checks
All contractor employees are subject to the same level of investigation as
1.6.8 Special Qualifications:
The contractor shall be licensed by the
Employees and subcontracted personnel shall have a general background check and be appropriately licensed for the jobs they perform. Persons involved in the burial preparation process shall be licensed by the
The contractor shall maintain the following types of insurance during the life of the contract: Motor Vehicle, General Liability and Workers Compensation. Unless otherwise specifically provided in this contract, the quality of all services rendered hereunder shall conform to the highest standards in the relevant profession, trade or field of endeavor. All services shall be rendered by or supervised directly by individuals fully qualified in the relevant profession, trade or field, and holding any licenses required by law.
1.6.9 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings: The Contractor agrees to attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The contracting officer, Contracting Officers Representative (COR), and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings the contracting officer will apprise the contractor of how the government views the contractor's performance and the contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government.
GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, AND SERVICES
3. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES:
3.1 Materials: The Government will provide clothing (except shoes) when the contractor is providing burial preparation services for unclaimed remains. The clothing and a United States Flag will be provided to the contractor at the time the body is picked up for transport to the contractor s facility. The remains will be enclosed in a Government provided body bag.
3.2 Services: The Government will provide the open burial site at the
CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES
4. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
4.1 General: The Contractor shall furnish all supplies, equipment, facilities and services required to perform work under this contract that are not listed under Section 3 of this PWS.
4.2. Materials: The Contractor shall provide all materials required to prepare remains for burial, including a casket. Any exceptions, e.g., clothing, are detailed in Section 3.1 of the PWS.
4.3. Equipment: The Contractor shall provide appropriate vehicles, including stretchers/gurneys and motor vehicles, for transport of remains under this contract. The contractor shall also provide all facilities required for the preparation of remains for burial.
4.4. Facility and Personnel: The Contractor shall employ protective and precautionary hygienic measures and techniques.
SPECIFIC TASKS
5. Specific Tasks:
5.1. Basic Services. The contractor shall provide for transport of remains between the SAVAHCS facility and the SAVAHCS morgue, between SAVAHCS and the
5.1.1. Pickup and delivery of remains from and to the SAVAHCS facility.
The contractor shall pick up remains from the SAVAHCS facility and deliver the remains to the SAVAHCS morgue. Authorized SAVAHCS personnel will contact the contractor via telephone to identify the need for this task. The contractor shall respond to the request by picking up the remains within 3 hours of the request. Arrival sooner than 3 hours is preferred. When arriving at SAVAHCS, the contractor shall provide identification so that employment with the contractor may be validated by SAVAHCS staff. The contractor shall pick up two forms (Human Remains Release Form and Standard Form 523A, Disposition of Body) and transport those forms with the remains to the SAVAHCS morgue. The forms will be provided to the SAVAHCS personnel in the morgue. On occasion, remains must be picked up from contracted nursing homes in the
5.1.2 Pickup of remains from SAVAHCS and delivery to the
5.1.3 Pickup of remains from SAVAHCS or UMC and Burial Preparation and Transport to the
One original copy of the death certificate shall be provided to the Decedent Affairs Clerk or his/her designee (
Performance Requirements Summary
The contractor service requirements are summarized into performance objectives that relate directly to mission essential items. The performance threshold briefly describes the minimum acceptable levels of service required for each requirement. These thresholds are critical to mission success.
Performance Objective
Standard
Performance Threshold
Method of Surveillance
PRS # 1.
The contractor shall provide timely pickup and delivery of remains from the SAVAHCS facility.
The contractor shall pickup remains from the SAVAHCS facility within 3 hours of a request for services from the Government.
Timely pickup and delivery of remains shall occur 98% of the time.
COR surveillance Pickup and Delivery Report
PRS # 2
The contractor shall provide timely preparation of remains for burial.
The contractor shall prepare remains, e.g., dress, groom, position in casket within 24 hours of picking up the remains.
Timely preparation of remains for inspection shall occur 98% of the time.
COR surveillance Remains Preparation Report
PRS #3
The contractor shall provide timely transport and delivery of prepared remains to the
The contractor shall transport and deliver remains to the
Timely transport and delivery of remains to the
COR surveillance Remains Preparation Report
PRS # 4
The contractor shall provide proper burial preparation and provision of suitable casket in accordance with the SAVAHCS Decedent Affairs Standard Operating Procedure.
The contractor shall provide burial preparation to meet state licensing standards and shall prepare the remains for viewing in accordance with professional standards.
Proper burial preparation and provision of an appropriate casket shall occur 98% of the time.
COR surveillance 100% inspection
DELIVERABLES SCHEDULE
Deliverable
Frequency
# of Copies
Medium/Format
Submit To
Pickup and Delivery Report
Monthly by 10th calendar day following the month being reported.
1 copy
Via facsimile in a typed format
1 copy to Contracting Officer s Representative (COR)
Remains Preparation Report
Monthly by 10th calendar day following the month being reported
1 copy
Via facsimile in a typed format
1 copy to COR
Contractor Staff List
Upon award of the contract; annually (when each option year is exercised); and when changes occur
1 copy
1 electronic copy
1 copy to COR
Invoices
Monthly by 15th calendar day following the month being reported
2 copies
1 electronic copy to COR; 1 electronic copy to VA-FSC Austin
1 copy to COR; 1 copy to VA-FSC Austin
ESTIMATED WORKLOAD DATA
This technical exhibit lists the historical workload data, i.e., the number of remains transported within the facility (from hospital to morgue) and the number of remains transported from SAVAHCS to
ITEM
DESCRIPTION
ESTIMATED QUANTITY*
1
Pickup of remains from
95
2
Pickup of remains from
14
3
Pickup of remains from SAVAHCS/UMC for transport to the contractor s facility for burial preparation and subsequent transport to the
6
*This data is being updated and will cover the most recently available annual information.
NOTHING FURTHER ON THIS PAGE
Link/URL: https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/TuVAMC/VASAHCS/VA25817R0256/listing.html



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