The Minneapolis VA Healthcare System requires support and software maintenance for remote diagnostic and corrective procedures using a VPN account to connect to the Biopoint System at the Minneapolis VA HCS in accordance with the draft Statement of Work (SOW) below. This is a sources sought/proof of capability solicitation looking for vendors to perform the services per the SOW for market research purposes. No awards of a contract will be made from this announcement. If you are a vendor that can complete the work described in the SOW with competitive pricing, please send your contact and organization information with a descriptive proof of capability to: [email protected] on or before July 7th, 2024. Only emailed responses will be considered. Additionally, please provide answers as appropriate to the following questions in the table below with your response to this source sought. Failure to respond to the following questions may affect the acquisition strategy. 1. Identify your organization's socio-economic category. 2. State whether any of the requested services may be ordered against a government contract awarded to your organization (e.g Federal Supply Schedule (FSS), General Services Administration (GSA), etc.). 3. State if subcontracting is contemplated for this requirement and what percentage of the work will be subcontracted and for what tasks.   *If applicable, VAAR 852.219-75 VA Notice of Limitations on Subcontracting Certificate of Compliance for Services and Construction, will apply to the potential solicitation if set-aside for Veteran Owned Small-Businesses or Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small-Businesses.* *If applicable, FAR 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting, will apply to the potential solicitation if set-aside for Small-Businesses.* Statement of Work (SOW) Annual Support Contract for Biopoint Patient ID Wristband Software Service INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE OF WORK: This contract covers telephone support and software maintenance for the period of the contract. It does not cover on-site visits of the contractor for emergency repairs. The contractor will make remote diagnostic and corrective procedures using VPN account to connect to the Biopoint System at the Minneapolis VA HCS (MVAHCS) campus. The telephone support and software maintenance cover all critical & non-critical incidents including virus problems. This telephone support may include remedial instruction on basic system usage, assistance with the performance of routine system procedures as described in the user documentation; assistance with the application of software patches, maintenance releases and upgrades; consultation of proposed workflow and system configuration changes, system and application performance tuning, system and application configuration, and changes to group configuration files. REQUIREMENTS: SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE (ROUTINE SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE): The Contractor is responsible for managing the following in accordance with manufacturer s specifications: a.1. Application Environment: To include but not limited to application version upgrades including new features and enhanced functionality. a.2. System Management Utilities. a.3. Uploading Software Updates. a.4. Telephone Support. a.5. Upgrade of Installation Documentation OPERATIONAL UPTIME REQUIREMENTS: With the exclusion of internal network, server, or computer outages, the Biopoint Software system shall be operable and available for use 95% of the normal operating hours of the equipment as detailed in paragraph d., Hours of Coverage. Downtime will be computed from notification of problem during normal work hours. Scheduled maintenance will be excluded from downtime (Normal work hours for this contract are defined as follows: 08:00 to 20:00 Eastern Standard Time (EST), Monday through Friday, excluding national holidays.). Operational Uptime will be computed during a month-long time period. Repeated failure to meet this requirement can subject the contractor to DEFAULT action. Downtime due to failure of VA to meet its responsibilities in system maintenance will not be counted. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: c.1. Base Year: October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 c.2. Ordering Period 1: October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 c.3. Ordering Period 2: October 1, 2027 to September 30, 2028 c.4. Ordering Period 3: October 1, 2028 to September 30, 2029 c.5. Ordering Period 4: October 1, 2029 to September 30, 2030 HOURS OF COVERAGE: d.1. Normal hours of coverage for this contract will be 08:00 to 20:00 EST. d.2. Federal Holidays observed by the MVAHCS are: New Year s Day; Martin Luther King Day; Presidents Day; Memorial Day; Juneteenth; Independence Day; Labor Day; Columbus Day; Veterans Day; Thanksgiving Day; and Christmas Day. UNSCHEDULED MAINTENANCE (EMERGENCY REPAIR SERVICE): Response Time: Contractor must respond with a phone call to the point of contact (POC) designee within four (4) hours after receipt of telephoned notification. This unscheduled maintenance may include both telephone support and software support. This includes applications support; making modifications of the system configuration; downloading patient image files; running remote diagnostics of the system hardware and network; and providing applications support with simultaneous telephone conversations. PARTS: Not Applicable REPORTING REQUIRED SERVICES BEYOND THE CONTRACT SCOPE: The Contractor shall immediately, but no later than 48 (forty-eight) consecutive hours after discovery, notify the CO (Contracting Officer), Contracting Officer Representative (COR), and designee (in writing) of the existence or the development of any defects in, or repairs required, to the scheduled equipment which the Contractor considers he/she is not responsible for under the terms of the contract. The Contractor shall furnish the CO and COR with a written estimate of the cost to make necessary repairs. SOFTWARE SUPPORT: The contractor shall provide the Minneapolis VA Healthcare System with software upgrades and updates as released by the manufacturer. Updates shall include all modifications, corrections, and enhancements to software applications that the manufacturer makes available to its customers. Updates shall include mandatory updates that are mandated by the manufacturer or to comply with changes in federal or state laws and regulations. PERSONNEL: i.1: COMPETENCY OF PERSONNEL SERVICING EQUIPMENT: The contractor shall provide personnel who conduct maintenance and service of all Biopoint Patient ID software programs and applications at a fully qualified status. Personnel should ensure software and application operates as designed and downtime is kept to a minimum in support of the MVAHCS. Fully Qualified is based upon training and on experience in the field. For training, the contractor will ensure all personnel responding has successfully completed a formalized training program on the Biopoint programs and applications. The responding personnel shall be authorized by the Contractor to perform the maintenance services. All work shall be performed by Fully Qualified competent personnel. The Contractor shall provide written assurance of the competency of their personnel and a list of credentials of approved personnel for each make and model the Contractor services at the MVAHCS. The CO may authenticate the training requirements, request training certificates or credentials from the Contractor at any time for any personnel who are serving or installing any MVAHCS equipment. The CO and/or COR specifically reserves the right to reject any of the Contractor s personnel and refuse them permission to work on the MVAHCS equipment. If subcontractor(s) are used, they must be approved by the CO. The Contractor shall submit any proposed change in subcontractor(s) to the CO for approval/disapproval. TEST EQUIPMENT: Not Applicable SERVICE MANUALS: The MVAHCS shall not provide service manuals or service diagnostic software to the contractor. The contractor shall obtain, have on file, and make available to all FSE s all operational and technical documentation (i.e., operational and service manuals, schematics, and parts list) which are necessary to meet the performance requirements of this contract. The location and listing of the service data manuals, by name and/or the manuals themselves shall be provided to the CO upon request. SOFTWARE SUPPORT: The Contractor shall provide MVAHCS with software upgrades and updates as released by the manufacturer. Updates shall include all modifications, corrections, and enhancements to software applications that the manufacturer makes available to its customers. Updates shall include mandatory updates (mandated by the manufacturer or to comply with changes in federal or state laws and regulations.) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MVAHCS: MVAHCS will maintain the environmental conditions in accordance with manufacturer s specifications. The Biopoint System shall be maintained within parameters specified by the manufacturer. The Biopoint system shall be accessible via the hospital computer system, and the vendor is required to have a VPN account to access the equipment. MVAHCS will ensure that all data files are adequately duplicated and documented (The Contractor is not responsible for duplicating and documenting data files. If any files are lost during Contractor maintenance, the cost of reconstructing this data will not be covered by this contract.) MVAHCS will have a system administrator or someone with equivalent skill. This MVAHCS employee shall be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the Biopoint. CRITICAL INCIDENTS: Problems affective a single critical production function of the system, causing the system to operate in a degraded state, or having an adverse financial impact to the MVAHCS. OTHER CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS NOT IDENTIFIED IN THE WORK REQUIREMENT. Contractor shall provide reporting of all Biopoint Patient ID software services and updates when requested by the COR. GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY AND SERVICES: p.1: FAR Clause 52.245-4 Government-Furnished Property (Short Form) contains the basic requirements for the operation, maintenance, and protection of government property. Below are some key government properties relevant to this contract. p.2: VA will maintain the environmental conditions in accordance with manufacturer's specifications. The Biopoint System shall be maintained within parameters specified by the manufacturer. The Biopoint system shall be accessible via the hospital computer system, and the vendor is required to have a VPN account to access the equipment. VA Hospital will ensure that all data files are adequately duplicated and documented. (The Contractor is not responsible for duplicating and documenting data files. If any files are lost during Contractor maintenance, the cost of reconstructing this data will not be covered by this contract.) VA will have a system administrator or someone with equivalent skillset. SECURITY q.1: The contractor shall ensure adequate LAN/Internet, data, information, and system security in accordance with VA standard operating procedures and standard contract language, conditions, laws, and regulations. q.2: The contractor s firewall and web server that will be utilized for this contract shall meet or exceed the government minimum requirements for security. All government data shall be protected behind an approved firewall. q.3: Antiviral software shall be installed by the contractor and kept current. q.4: Equipment should be housed and protected in such a way that reduces the risks from environmental threats and hazards, and the opportunities for unauthorized access, use, or removal. q.5: VA Directive 6500 shall be adhered to, and all requirements met. q.6: In the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor processes or maintains under this contract, the contractor shall be liable to VA for liquidated damages for a specified amount per affected individual to cover the cost of Upon termination or completion of the contract, computer equipment used in performance of contractual obligations will be sanitized according to VA standards and guidelines. When non-VA equipment is transferred or disposed, the equipment will be sanitized according to VA standards and guidelines. Sanitization of equipment shall include the requirement for the contractor to surrender the hard drives of the equipment to VA for destruction. Additional sanitization of electronic media can be found in VA Handbook 6500.1 Electronic Media Sanitization. q.7: The contractor shall follow all applicable VA policies and procedures governing information security, especially those that pertain to certification and accreditation. q.8 Any security violations or attempted violations shall be reported to the Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer Representative and VA Information Security Officer (ISO) within one hour of the incident. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS r.1: Contractor employees providing services under this contract shall not have any criminal record. r.2: Contractor staff shall be adjudicated by VA prior to working on this contract. r.3: Adjudication processes includes but not limited to: Background investigation completed by MVACHS through WMC, paperwork to be filled out by each employee. WMC HROO Contract Security Services Request form OF-306- Declaration for Federal employment Self-Certification of continuous service form. If contractor employee is a Foreign national, then additional paperwork and copy of Foreign passport, Visa, or green card shall be required. Contractor shall instruct their personnel to make an appointment with the COR or alternate COR to get paperwork completed correctly. Forms shall be typed, handwritten is unacceptable and will be rejected. Once forms are accepted, Contractor employee will receive e-APP from security specialist. e-APP is a portion of background investigation that will be emailed by the security specialist, to the email listed on Adjudication paperwork. Failure to complete e-APP will cause employee to be found unacceptable to hire and rejection of contractor employee. Once paperwork is filled out and accepted by the COR, Contractor Personnel shall be fingerprinted by MVAHCS or Local VA PIV office. An appointment prior is necessary and should be scheduled through the COR. It is required the personnel bring two forms of ID for this step. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES s.1: Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security. s.2: A requirement for annual security/privacy awareness training: "Before being granted access to VA information or information systems, all contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring such access shall complete on an annual basis either: (i) the VA security/privacy awareness training (contains VA's security/privacy requirements) within 1 week of the initiation of the contract, or (ii) security awareness training provided or arranged by the contractor that conforms to VA's security/privacy requirements as delineated in the hard copy of the VA security awareness training provided to the contractor. If the contractor provides their own training that conforms to VA's requirements, they will provide the COR or CO, a yearly report (due annually on the date of the contract initiation) stating that all applicable employees involved in VA's contract have received their annual security/privacy training that meets VA's requirements, and the total number of employees trained. See VA Handbook 6500.6, Appendix C, paragraph 9. s.3: A requirement to sign VA's Rules of Behavior: "Before being granted access to VA information or information systems, all contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring such access shall sign on an annual basis an acknowledgment that they have read, understand, and agree to abide by VA's Contractor Rules of Behavior which is attached to this contract." See VA Handbook 6500.6, Appendix C, paragraph 9, Appendix D. Note: If a medical device vendor anticipates that the services under the contract will be performed by 10 or more individuals, the Contractor Rules of Behavior may be signed by the vendor's designated representative. The contract must reflect by signing the Rules of Behavior on behalf of the vendor that the designated representative agrees to ensure that all such individuals review and understand the Contractor Rules of Behavior when accessing VA's information and information systems.