6835--MEDICAL GAS CONTRACT BASE

Combined Synopsis-Solicitation for Commercial Products and Commercial Services Effective Date: 04/18/2025 Revision: 02 THE PURPOSE OF THIS AMENDMENT IS TO: 1. Respond to questions received . See attachment 2. Extend the Response Due Date to Monday, 08 June 2026 at 5:00 PM EST 3. Incorporate clause 852.219-76 VA Notice of Limitations on Subcontracting - Certificate of Compliance for Supplies and Products 4. Update Pricing Schedule Description This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products and commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued. This solicitation is issued as an RFQ. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2025-04. This solicitation is set-aside for SDVOSB The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 325120, (Industrial Gas Manufacturing) with a size standard 1200 Employees. The FSC/PSC is 6835. The VA Maine Healthcare System is seeking a qualified vendor capable of providing Medical-Grade Gas Cylinder Deliveries for the VA Maine Healthcare System and all the VA Maine CBOCs per the Performance Work Statement below. All interested companies shall provide quotations for the following: Supplies/Services ITEM NUMBER DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT PRICE SCHEDULE ATTACHED STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW) Medical Gas Delivery Department of Veterans Affairs VA Maine Healthcare System Place of Performance: Contractor should have the means to provide services throughout Maine for these locations weekly and/or on a need bases. VA MAINE HCS: Togus - 1 VA Center Augusta, Maine 04330 Bangor CBOC - 35 State Hospital St. Bangor, ME 04401 Calais CBOC - 50 Union St Calais, ME 04619 Lewiston CBOC - 15 Challenger Dr. Lewiston, ME 04240 Lincoln CBOC - 99 Rover Rd Lincoln, ME 04457 Portland CBOC - 141 West Commercial St. Portland, ME Rumford CBOC - 10 Railroad St. Rumford, ME 04276 Presque Isle CBOC - 732 Main St Presque Isle ME 04769 Period of Performance: Base year, with up to four (4) option years that will be exercised and the Governments discretion GENERAL The purpose of this requirement is to establish a committed source of supply of medical-grade gas cylinder deliveries for the VA Maine Healthcare System. The contractor shall also provide deliveries to all the VA Maine CBOCs. BACKGROUND In fulfilling the core values of the VA, our clinic strives to maintain excellence by providing the highest quality care while looking for continuous improvement. This technology will help us provide the highest quality care and allow for better management of various services throughout VA Maine campuses. The timely and accurate deployment of medical grade gasses is vital to maintain quality healthcare and ensures that the facilities and clinics can provide daily operational care and critical care when needed without delay. Days and hours of operation Monday- Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm excluding federal holidays. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS The Contractor must be able to supply the facilities listed above with the compressed gases listed in Section A. Deliveries need to be made weekly any time after 9:00 am but before 3:00 pm without fail excluding holidays at which point a needs assessment will be completed, and the company will push delivery date to the previous or next business day. Orders will be placed by authorized individuals to be determined after contract award. Only these authorized individuals will be permitted to place orders against this contract. Deliveries of full cylinders, clean and ready for immediate patient use. The Contractor shall respond to all emergency service calls within 2 hours. The Contractor shall respond to non-emergency service calls within 24 hours or the next business day. The Contractor shall make all repairs as expeditiously as possible so as not to compromise patient care. If repairs are required, the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) will be notified immediately. If requested, the contractor shall provide new Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) factory approved parts, or replacements as needed. If requested, the contractor shall provide training and or guidance on new technology. The contractor shall repair all minor cylinder leaks detected and provide a full report of the leak tests and any leaks repaired to the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR). Patient and occupation safety require that all tanks meet all regulatory guidelines and that tanks and regulators allow continues oxygen flow between regulator settings. Safety features include Oxygen air flow that does not stop if the regulator is placed between two numbers Integrated valve and regulator that is built into tank and doesn t need to be installed by staff Single valve tank. No tanks with two valves, this is a human factors safety risk. National Center for Patient Safety discourages any two valve tanks Rupture disk relief valve 50 psi DISS outlet that delivers up to 200 lpm if needed for ventilator Delivery Delivery of requested items shall be delivered by the vendor and specific delivery time per negotiated solicitation/contract within these defined time periods or by special request) after receipt of request. Cylinders delivered must be clean, in good working condition, and available for immediate patient use. Contractor shall call requesting service when dropping off new cylinders and removing empty cylinders. An employee will accompany the contractor to the oxygen storage area. The employee will verify the replacement of new and removal of empty cylinders INVOICES a. Invoicing is required to be submitted monthly via Tungsten (IPPS). Payment will be made upon receipt of a properly prepared detailed invoice, prepared by the Contractor, validated by the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR), and submitted b. A properly prepared invoice will contain: 1. Invoice Number and Date 2. Contractor s Name and Address 3. Contract Number 4. Accurate Purchase Order Number 5. Itemized Supply or Service provided including # of Cylinders and type MEDICAL GASES AND SUPPLIES TO BE PROVIDED SEE ATTACHED PRICE SCHEDULE Supplies: Tags indicating Full/In-Use/Empty Caps for larger tanks for transportation Carts for transportation Training The Contractor shall provide onsite general overview technical training for Clinical and Logistics staff as requested. Training shall include a technical overview of the mechanics, and general operations of leased cylinders. Training shall cover detailed instruction regarding the preventative maintenance, troubleshooting, and general maintenance of the equipment. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE The Contractor shall conduct a joint inspection with an employee from the requesting service upon delivery of cylinders. WARRANTY The warranty shall include all travel and shipping costs associated with any warranty repair. TASK FREQUENCY AND INSTRUCTIONS Cylinders will be filled as needed. Empty cylinder quantity being returned to the contractor should equal the number of cylinders being delivered by the contractor. Cylinders delivered will be filled to the maximum functional capacity. SPECIAL WORK REQUIREMENTS The Contractor shall comply with any and all Infection Control Risk Assessment requirements deemed appropriate by the Providence VA Medical Center during all portions of the work set forth in the Scope of Work. The Contractor must comply with security, privacy, and safety issues in accordance with VA standards, policies, and directives set forth at all times while providing the work outlined in the Scope of Work. PROPERTY DAMAGE The contractor shall take all necessary precautions to prevent damage to any government property. The contractor shall report any damages immediately and shall be assessed current replacement costs for property damaged by the contractor unless corrective action is taken. Any damaged material (e.g. trees, shrubs, lawn/turf, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, etc.) will be replaced in a timely manner or corrected by the contractor with like materials, at no extra cost to the government, upon approval of the Contracting Officer. IDENTIFICATION, PARKING, SMOKING, CELLULAR PHONE USE AND VA REGULATIONS The contractor's employees shall wear visible identification at all times while on the premises of the VA property. It is the responsibility of the contractor to park in the appropriate desig nated park ing areas. Information on parking is available from the VA Police-Security Service. The VA will not invalidate or make reimbursement for parking viola tions of the con tractor under any con ditions. Smoking is prohibited inside any buildings at the VA. Cellular phones and two-way radios are not to be used within six feet of any medical equipment. Posses sion of weapons is prohibited. Enclosed containers, including tool kits, shall be sub ject to search. Violations of VA regulations may result in a citation answer able in the United States (Federal) Dis trict Court, not a local district state, or municipal court. The VA utilizes VISTA to issue a purchase order and liquidate invoices. Failure to register in VISTA may result in exclusion from the issuance of a VA contract. This determination will be at the discretion of the Contracting Officer. Interested parties with no prior VA contracts can apply here: https://www.cep.fsc.va.gov/ The full text of FAR provisions or clauses may be accessed electronically at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far. The following solicitation provisions apply to this acquisition: FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial Products and Commercial Services [Attention CO: www.sam.gov registration is required to be complete at time of submission of response.] Offerors must complete annual representations and certifications electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) website located at https://sam.gov/ in accordance with FAR 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications Commercial Products and Commercial Services. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required. FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial Services [In accordance with FAR 12.301(c) when the use of evaluation factors is appropriate, the contracting officer may (1) Insert the provision at 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, in solicitations for commercial products or commercial services (see 12.602); or (2) Include a similar provision containing all evaluation factors required by 13.106, subpart  14.2 or subpart  15.3, as an addendum (see 12.302(d)).] The following contract clauses apply to this acquisition: FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2023) 852.219-73 - VA Notice of Total Set-Aside for Verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. 852.219-76 VA Notice of Limitations on Subcontracting - Certificate of Compliance for Supplies and Products 852.204-70 Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel The following clauses are applicable: 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation & First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Jun 2020) (Pub. L. 109-282) ( 31 U.S.C. 6101 note), 52.204-27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application (Jun 2023) (Section 102 of Division R of Pub. L. 117-328), 52.209-6, Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, Proposed for Debarment, or Voluntarily Excluded. (Jan 2025) ( 31 U.S.C. 6101 note), 52.219-28, 52.219-33, Nonmanufacturer Rule (SEP 2021), 52.222-3, Convict Labor (JUN 2003), 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (SEP 2016), 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (JUN 2020), 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (JUN 2020), 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (FEB 2021), 52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards (AUG 2018), All quoters shall submit the following: (1) A Firm Fixed Price Quote which shall be received on or before the date and time specified in Section (xv) of this solicitation. (2) A completely filled and signed Limitation of Subcontracting in accordance with VAAR 852.219-76 (3) A proposal outlining technical capabilities in accordance with the Statement of Work (4) Quote Format: The submission should be clearly indexed and logically assembled in order of the evaluation criteria below. All pages of the quote shall be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date and solicitation number in the header and/or footer. (5) A completed price schedule -attached Questions: Questions shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer in writing via e-mail. Oral questions are not acceptable due to the possibility of misunderstanding or misinterpretation. The cut-off date and time for receipt of questions is Friday, 29 May 2026 at 5:00 PM EST. Questions received after this date and time will not be answered. Questions shall be answered in a formal amendment to the solicitation so all interested parties can see the answers. All quotes shall be sent to [email protected] Award will be based upon a comparative evaluation of quotes in accordance with the Simplified Acquisition Procedures of the FAR. Comparative evaluation is the side by side pairwise comparison of quotes based on factors resulting in a Contracting Officer decision for the quote most favorable to the Government. To facilitate the award process, all quotes must include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition." OR "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:" Quoters shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s), if any. Submission of your response shall be received not later than Monday, 08 June 2026 by 5:00 PM EST. Late submissions shall be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1(f). Any questions or concerns regarding this solicitation should be forwarded in writing via e-mail to the Point of Contact listed below. Point of Contact [email protected] The following are the decision factors: ADDENDUM to 52.212-2 EVALUATION COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES Basis for Award. The Government will issue a purchase order to the responsible quoter whose quotation conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotations: Technical Past Performance Price Evaluation Approach. The Government will evaluate quotations using the comparative evaluation process outlined in FAR 13.106-2 (b) (3), where quotations will be compared to one another to determine which provides the best benefit to the Government. The Government reserves the right to consider a quotation other than the lowest price that provides additional benefit(s). Quotations may exceed minimum requirements of the solicitation. The Government reserves the right to select a quotation that provides benefit to the Government that exceeds the minimum requirements of the solicitation, but is not required to do so. Each response must meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation. The Government is not requesting or accepting alternate quotations. The evaluation will consider the following: Technical: The quotation will be evaluated to the extent to which it can meet and/or exceed the Government s requirements as outlined in the solicitation and based on the information requested in the instructions to quoters section of the solicitation. Past Performance: The past performance evaluation will assess the relative risks associated with a quoter s likelihood of success in fulfilling the solicitation s requirements as indicated by the quoter s record of past performance. The past performance evaluation may be based on the contracting officer s knowledge of and previous experience with the supply or service being acquired; Customer surveys, and past performance questionnaire replies; Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) at http://www.cpars.gov/; or any other reasonable basis. Price: The Government will evaluate the price by adding the total of all line-item prices (End of Provision) Award will be made to the responsible vendor whose quotation is determined to be technically acceptable and offers the lowest evaluated price to the Government ADDENDUM to FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (SEP 2023) Provisions that are incorporated by reference (by Citation Number, Title, and Date), have the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The version of FAR 52.212-1 in the addendum is tailored for Simplified Acquisition Procedures and supersedes the current version of FAR 52.212-1 contained in the FAR. The following provision is incorporated into 52.212-1 as an addendum to this solicitation: 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors Commercial Products and Commercial Services (SEP 2023) (a) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and small business size standard. The NAICS code(s) and small business size standard(s) for this acquisition appear elsewhere in the Request for Quote (RFQ). However, the small business size standard for a concern that submits an quote, other than on a construction or service acquisition, but proposes to furnish an end item that it did not itself manufacture, process, or produce is 500 employees, or 150 employees for information technology value-added resellers under NAICS code 541519, if the acquisition (1) Is set aside for small business and has a value above the simplified acquisition threshold; (2) Uses the HUBZone price evaluation preference regardless of dollar value, unless the offeror waives the price evaluation preference; or (3) Is an 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, economically disadvantaged women-owned, or women-owned small business set-aside or sole-source award regardless of dollar value. (b) Submission of Quotes. Submit signed and dated quotes to the office specified in this Request for Quote (RFQ) at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Quotes may be submitted on letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the solicitation. As a minimum, quotes must show (1) The solicitation number. (2) The time specified in the solicitation for receipt of quotations; (3) The name, address, and telephone number of the quoter; (4) A technical description of the items being quoted in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements in the solicitation. This may include product literature, or other documents, if necessary; (5) Terms of any express warranty; (6) Price and any discount terms; (7) "Remit to" address, if different than mailing address; (8) A completed copy of the representations and certifications at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.212-3 (see FAR 52.212-3(b) for those representations and certifications that the offeror shall complete electronically); (9) Acknowledgment of Quotation Amendments; (10) Past performance information will not be considered in simplified acquisition procurements. (11) Quotes should include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Quotes that fail to furnish required representations, or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration. (c) Period for acceptance of Quotes. The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 30 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of quotes, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation. (d) Product samples. When required by the solicitation, product samples shall be submitted at or prior to the time specified for receipt of quotes. Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, these samples shall be submitted at no expense to the Government, and returned at the sender s request and expense, unless they are destroyed during preaward testing. (e) Multiple Quotes. Quoters are encouraged to submit multiple quotes presenting alternative terms and conditions, including alternative line items (provided that the alternative line items are consistent with FAR subpart  4.10), or alternative commercial products or commercial services for satisfying the requirements of this solicitation. Each quote submitted will be evaluated separately. (f) Late submissions, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of quotes. (1) Quoters are responsible for submitting quotes, and any modifications, revisions, or withdrawals, so as to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 4:30 p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that quotes or revisions are due. (2) Any quote received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of quotes is "late" and may not be considered unless it is received before purchase order issuance and the Contracting Officer determines that accepting the late quote would not unduly delay the acquisition. (3) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that quotes cannot be received at the Government office designated for receipt of quotes by the exact time specified in the Request for Quote, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation or other notice of an extension of the closing date, the time specified for receipt of quotes will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume. (g) Issuance of Purchase Order. The Government may issue a purchase order to one or more quoters as identified in the Request for Quote (RFQ). Therefore, the quoter s initial quote should contain the best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government may reject any or all quotes if such action is in the public s best interest. In addition, the Contracting Officer (CO) may issue a purchase order to other than the quoter with the lowest quoted price. (h) Multiple awards. The Government may accept issue a purchase order for any item or group of items of a quotation, unless the quoter qualifies the quotation by specific limitations. Unless otherwise provided in the quotation, offers may not be submitted for quantities less than those specified in the RFQ. The Government reserves the right to issue a purchase order for a quantity less than the quantity quoted, at the unit prices quoted, unless the quoter specifies otherwise in the quote. (i) Availability of requirements documents cited in the solicitation. (1) (i) The GSA Index of Federal Specifications, Standards and Commercial Item Descriptions, FPMR Part 101 29, and copies of Federal specifications, standards, and product descriptions can be downloaded from the ASSIST website at https://assist.dla.mil. (ii) If the General Services Administration, Department of Agriculture, or Department of Veterans Affairs issued this solicitation, a copy of specifications, standards, and commercial item descriptions cited in this solicitation may be obtained from the address in paragraph (i)(1)(i) of this provision. (2) Most unclassified Defense specifications and standards may be downloaded from the ASSIST website at https://assist.dla.mil. (3) Defense documents not available from the ASSIST website may be requested from the Defense Standardization Program Office by (i) Using the ASSIST feedback module ( https://assist.dla.mil/ feedback); or (ii) Contacting the Defense Standardization Program Office by telephone at 571 767 6688 or email at [email protected]. (4) Nongovernment (voluntary) standards must be obtained from the organization responsible for their preparation, publication, or maintenance. (j) Unique entity identifier.(Applies to all quotes that exceed the micro-purchase threshold, and quotes at or below the micro-purchase threshold if the Request for Quote (RFQ) requires the Contractor to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).) The quoter shall enter, in the block with its name and address on the cover page of its offer, the annotation "Unique Entity Identifier" followed by the unique entity identifier that identifies the Quoter's name and address. The Quoter also shall enter its Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) indicator, if applicable. The EFT indicator is a four-character suffix to the unique entity identifier. The suffix is assigned at the discretion of the Quoter to establish additional SAM records for identifying alternative EFT accounts (see FAR subpart  32.11) for the same entity. If the Quoter does not have a unique entity identifier, it should contact the entity designated at www.sam.gov for unique entity identifier establishment directly to obtain one. The Quoter should indicate that it is an planning to submit a quote for a Government Request for Quote (RFQ) when contacting the entity designated at www.sam.gov for establishing the unique entity identifier. (k) [Reserved] (l) Notification. The CO will not notify unsuccessful quoters that responded to this Request for Quotation (RFQ). (End of provision)