Active

Contract Opportunity

Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) are an official government contracting resource for small businesses. Find your local PTAC (opens in new window) for free government expertise related to contract opportunities.

This is a request for information and will be used for market research purposes only. The sources sought notice is used to identify potential vendors that have the resources and capabilities to provide the services that will ensure the D.C Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC (DCVAMC) is safe, accountable, and effective with their Portable Fire Extinguishers (FEs) servicing, maintenance, and replacement needs:

Description of Work

To ensure compliance of NFPA 10 requirements and VHA policies for fire extinguishers in a healthcare facility. Portable fire extinguishers shall be provided for employee use and selected and distributed based on the classes of anticipated workplace fires and on the size and degree of hazard which would affect their use OSHA 1910.157(d)(1). The DC VA Medical Center (DCVAMC) has approximately 500 fire extinguishers that are required to be evaluated monthly, approved, signed, and always tagged. Safety s vision is to provide all employees with a 100 percent accountability system that is reliable, and consistently provides a secondary means of comfort to protect them with applicable FEs in case of a fire. Below, are the relevant factors that will ensure the DCVAMC is safe, accountable, and effective with their FE servicing, maintenance, and replacement needs:
The contractor shall provide the following requirements:
Visually inspect campus and provide an updated/current FE inventory list and ensure it is consistent with NFPA 10 standards.
Remove and dispose of all FE not compliant with the facilities safety regulations and remove additional FE determined by the Safety Project Manager/COR (COR) that no longer meet the standardization of size and/or type of the facility (i.e. anything bigger than 5lbs).
Conduct an annual inspection assessment of each FE to determine all FEs are compliant with NFPA 10 Standards. If a FE needs servicing, that FE will be immediately replaced with a back-up serialized FE in its place.
Provide all highly qualified employees, equipment, tools, and the appropriate services necessary for FEs to be consistent within NFPA 10.
Maintain and implement all necessary requirements, per NFPA 10, that all portable extinguishers shall be located with the proper fire class ratings and distances. The verifications shall be completed monthly, and physically verified by a qualified person(s) with their respective dates and initials on FE.
Every year, the Contractor shall provide a running inventory of twenty-five (25) additional 5 lbs. ABC Dry Chem FE s, and an additional five (5) 6-liter water FE replacements to serve as backups & replacements as needed.
Contractor must have current certifications, training, and experience of 3 years to conduct FE inspections.
The Qualified Person(s) performing annual & monthly maintenance and recharging of extinguishers shall be trained and shall have available the appropriate manufacturer s servicing manual(s), the correct tools, recharge materials, lubricants, and manufacturer's replacement parts or parts specifically listed for use of the FEs. The contractor will complete all tasks in accordance with the most recent version of NFPA 10.
The contractor shall provide completed monthly and annual inspection reports within 7 days of completion, to allow for correction of deficiencies and to prevent double reporting of the same deficiency with inadequate correction time.
Monthly inspections shall be performed at the beginning of each month; within the first week.
Inspection reports are due no later than 7 days following site inspection.
A detailed report in writing must be submitted immediately (same day) upon the identification and location of any deficiency to Safety Project Manager/COR (COR). The Contractor shall ensure that if a FE is removed from service/location, another operational FE will be in place and it will be suitable for the type of hazard being protected and at least the same size.
A master list of FEs will be completed every month and given to Safety Project Manager/COR on an Excel Spreadsheet that has all the FEs on the spreadsheet that lists the following items: Dates/Times, Locations, Serviced Quantity & Percentage, Passed Quantity & Percentage, Failed Quantity & Percentage, and Notes/Recommendations for each FE for the monthly & annual verified inspection.
At least two (2) qualified technicians shall become familiarized with the DCVAMC campus and all respective locations of all the FEs to ensure no interruptions or delays in service.
Updates of tasks accomplished must be provided to the Safety Project Manager/COR.
Contractor shall complete VHA badging paperwork required to access the federal facility. Badging paperwork will be provided in the solicitation.
Complete monthly requirements on all FEs, per NFPA 10. Responsibilities are as follows:

Visual inspection of all FEs within each calendar month.
Date Month, Day, Year (MM-DD-YY) with Signature/Initials of each FE within the calendar month.
Completion of the Annual & Monthly Inspection documentation that lists the total FEs, discrepancies, and other pertinent information, per NFPA 10.
Inform the Safety Project Manager/COR of any discrepancies as they are identified in writing. Contractor will attempt to correct minor issues on the spot if possible.
Technical Requirements

Inspection shall be conducted by someone with at a minimum of 3 years of experience. Maintenance needs to be performed by a certified person. Certification requires that a person take a test acceptable to the AHJ. A certified person needs to, at the very least, be familiar with the requirements in NFPA 10. Hydrostatic testing will be conducted by a trained, certified individual with proper equipment and facility to perform the testing.
Interested & Capable Responses

NCO 5 is seeking responses from businesses that are interested in this procurement and consider themselves to have the resources and capabilities necessary to provide these services. Please respond with your:

Business name, business type, socio-economic status (e.g., Veteran-Owned, Woman-Owned, Disadvantaged Small Business, 8(a), etc.), and person of contact (including telephone number & email address).

GSA contract number; if you have one.

Capability statement and summary of relevant experience conducting Portable Fire Extinguishers (FEs). servicing, tagging, maintenance, and replacement services for VHA and other healthcare entities.

Ballpark cost estimate and suggested price schedule of what VHA could expect to pay your company to perform the work described above.

Responses to the information requested above must be submitted via email to ethan.mauzy@va.gov, or Robert.okeefejr@va.gov by May 18th, 2023 NLT 15:00hrs EST.

This request for information/sources sought notice is for planning purposes ONLY. The results of this market research will assist in the development of (1) the requirement, and (2) the acquisition strategy (e.g., small business set-aside, full and open competition, etc.). VA assumes no responsibility for any costs incurred associated with the preparation of responses submitted as a result of this notice.

Attachments/Links