6835--GAS CYLINDER

luded 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