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FBO DAILY ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 28, 2008 FBO #2498
SOURCES SOUGHT

65 -- Triservice Regional Business Office Northwest Region announcement for the evaluation and standardization of Crutches and Canes

Notice Date

9/26/2008
 

Notice Type

Sources Sought
 

Contracting Office

Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Command, Western Regional Contracting Office, Western Regional Contracting Office, ATTN: MCAA W BLDG 9902, 9902 Lincoln Street, Tacoma, WA 98431-1110
 

ZIP Code

98431-1110
 

Solicitation Number

W91YU0R11-08-10-001CRUTCHESCANES
 

Response Due

10/31/2008
 

Archive Date

12/30/2008
 

Point of Contact

Wesley E. Burnett, 253-968-1869<br />
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

A. General Information Northwest Region seeks to initiate the standardization process for Crutches and Canes for its 7 Army, Navy, and Air Force Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs) in the states of Alaska & Washington. This will be a replacement/re-evaluation of RIA R11-03-01-001 which expired December 2006. The product line consists primarily of crutches (wood and aluminum) and canes (standard and offset) as detailed below. Vendors MUST provide a complete list of items supplied (catalog, etc.) and product literature in response to this Request for Quotes (RFQ). Vendors are required to supply all items listed in all sizes and styles listed. Vendors who do not have a complete product line, as detailed below in usage items, will be disqualified in Phase I. The primary objective of this program is to standardize the quality of care across this region based on a best value determination that represents the clinically preferred product or source(s) at the best possible price. It is also intended that standardized product be obtained through the DoD Prime Vendor (PV) Program. The major facilities in the Region include but are not limited to Bassett Army Community Hospital, Fort Wainwright, AK; Bremerton Naval Hospital, Bremerton, WA; Fairchild AFB Clinic, Fairchild AFB, WA; 354th Medical Group, Eielson Air Force Base, AK; 3rd Medical Group, Elmendorf AFB, AK; Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA; Oak Harbor Naval Hospital, Oak Harbor, WA This standardization action is part of the Medical/Surgical PV program executed by the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), Directorate of Medical Materiel. To participate, your company must have a Distribution and Pricing Agreement (DAPA) and a separate commercial agreement with the PVs for the program. This is pursuant to the DAPA clause by which DAPA holders agree to the Standardization process and to allow PVs to distribute their items. This RFQ will result in Regional Incentive Agreements (RIAs) that supplement the PV Program. The RFQ will not result in a contract award. For additional information regarding DSCPs PV program, please access their web site at https://dmmonline.dscp.dla.mil. The resulting RIA will be for a base period of two (2) years (24 months) from date of selection with three (3) 12-month option periods for a maximum of 5 years. Anticipated selection date is 3/09. The evaluation will be based on clinical, technical, and pricing factors. The Technical/Company and Clinical/Performance evaluation factors, when combined, are considered significantly more important than cost or price. As the technical and clinical evaluation results become more equal, price will become more important. The selection will be determined utilizing best value/ trade off criteria. The selection of a single vendor is anticipated. However, if no single vendor can meet the total requirement of the region, the Government reserves the right to make two or more selections for RIAs. In this event, selection would be based on a combination of MTF preference and product availability. The Point of Contact is Patricia Cordier, phone: 253-968-0898, and e-mail patricia.cordier@amedd.army.mil B. Products and Performance Required The Region is seeking Crutches and Canes which at a minimum include the product lines below. Within this region, this product line has an estimated annual demand of $86,786.70. This forecast is based on historical PV sales during a recent 12-month period. The top high volume usage lines for this project include: CRUTCH ALUM PUSH BTN ADULT LF CRUTCH ALUM PUSH BUTTON TALL LF CRUTCH ALUM PUSH BTN YOUTH LF CRUTCH ALUM TALL 5'10 - 6'6 CANE WOODEN ONE SIZE CANE, WALNUT WOOD 1X36 6/BX CRUTCH ALUM ADULT 5'2 - 5'10 CANE STD MENS 1IN WOOD WALNUT CLOSED STYLE HANDGRIPS CANE, OFFSET ADJ. W/WRIST STRAP At the request of the Regional MTFs, vendors will provide on-site support and in-servicing during implementation, educational resources and tools for clinical use of the product, conversion information, PV order numbers, MSDS information, and itemization of the brands, types and packaging information of the products supplied by the vendor C. Instructions to Vendors DAPA holders interested in participating in this standardization initiative should email their (1) Company name and address, (2) POC (Name and Phone Number, Fax Number, and E-mail address) to patricia.cordier@amedd.army.mil. All e-mail communication between vendors and the region must be digitally signed. All communications of significant acquisition milestones (such as invitations to participate, or notices of disqualification) must be digitally signed as well. Submissions must be received by 4:00 PM PST on the specified closing date of this RFQ. Vendors that fail to meet this submittal deadline will be disqualified from participating. This process will include vendor requirements for providing electronic responses to technical criteria, no charge literature and samples for clinical evaluation, and submission of electronic best price quotes. Due to the potential for e-mail to be lost in transmission from network security, etc., vendors are strongly encouraged to confirm with the Regional POC stated above their initial submission, best price submissions, and literature or other requested information have actually arrived at the Northwest Regional Tri-Service Business Office (TRBO) via e-mail. Each submitting vendor is advised to confirm receipt, allowing adequate time for resubmission before the due date/time, should a problem occur with the first submission. D. Evaluation Criteria The Tri-Service Product Review Board (TPRB) is the governing board of the standardization process. This board includes clinicians and logisticians from the MTFs within the Region. They are the deciding officials for this initiative. The TPRB intends to evaluate price quotes and select a vendor or vendors without discussions. Vendor quotes should contain the vendors best product matches for the products or product lines requested in this announcement. Vendor quotes should contain the vendors best responses to all technical and/or company questions listed in this announcement. Vendor quotes should contain the vendors best tiered-pricing discounts off of the vendors DAPA pricing (based on committed volume of 80% of the total requirements of the MTFs in the Region). Additionally, the TPRB reserves the right to conduct discussions and request revised quotes, if it is determined to be necessary. If a down selection is made during the evaluation process, the Region may limit the number of quotes to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among vendors. Phase I - Technical/Company Evaluation Process. Interested vendors are to respond to this FBO announcement by emailing their intent to participate to the above POC by the required response date. The vendors initial responses will include information requested in the technical/company criteria listed in the FBO RFQ. Vendors are required to meet/provide responses to the technical/ company criteria stated below. All technical/company criteria are weighted equally. The responses will be reviewed under the purview of the TPRB and the Clinical Product Team (CPT) to determine acceptability of each vendor. After review of the technical/company criteria, those vendors who meet these criteria will be qualified/invited to participate in the clinical/performance evaluation. 1. In general, acceptability for purposes of evaluation of technical/company criteria is defined as follows: a. Based on the vendors responses, the evaluators have reasonable confidence that the line or products and/or services submitted meet the medical standards of care of the community applicable to such products or services. b. The vendors information provided is factually correct. Any misrepresentation of information will disqualify the vendor from further consideration. 2. Each technical/company criteria below requires additional, more specific definition of technical acceptability. This specific standard for technical acceptability will be set forth with the individual criterion. The following equally weighted Technical/Company Evaluation Criteria have been established for the standardization initiative: 1. Vendors must provide a complete line of crutches and canes. A complete line of product is defined as the MTFs requirements for usage items in the product line. Usage items are defined in the Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor contract statement of work, as DAPA items ordered at least once per month, and at least one unit per order. At a minimum, a complete product line includes: adjustable aluminum crutches in adult, child and youth sizes, and canes, (both wood and aluminum) with standard and/or off-set handles. NOTE: Vendors are to provide a complete list of items supplied (catalog, etc.) and product literature in response to this RFQ. 2. Vendors must have a DAPA, or be in the process of applying for a DAPA, for the Cruches & Canes Product Line. Provide the DAPA number or proof of the application process with the initial submittal. (Note that vendors that fail to have a DAPA or show a lack of progress in obtaining a DAPA will be disqualified.) 3. Vendors must have a separate agreement with the Regions Prime Vendor (currently, Cardinal Health is the PV for distribution in Region 11.) Please provide documentation of agreement with Prime Vendor. (Note that vendors whose products are not available through the Regional PV will be disqualified.) 4. Vendors must submit discounts off DAPA for all products included in this standardization initiative. a. Vendors that fail to submit a discount from DAPA will be disqualified. b. Where lower FSS prices are available, DAPA holders are required by previous agreement to provide the FSS price as the DAPA price. Vendors shall not quote FSS prices as the discounted price for purposes of this standardization initiative. c. Vendors are to provide a quote on discounts, in response to this RFQ. 5. Vendors must have a local vendor representative in the Northwest Region. Provide contact information, i.e. name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. 6. Vendors must provide any history of back orders and/or recalls that occurred during the most recent 12-month period for items in their crutches and canes product line, including dates, duration, cause, and resolution. a. Vendors will not have an opportunity to provide additional information on back orders and recalls during any subsequent stage in this evaluation. b. Vendors are encouraged to submit all information deemed relevant (i.e., positive resolutions, etc.) in response to this RFQ. c. Vendors should not provide point of contact information in response to this question. Additionally, the Government will not contact any points of contact that are provided in response to this question. 7. Products have safety features (example of a feature is non-skid tips) that assist in patient stability during ambulation and thus help prevent patient falls. Please describe the safety features of your products. Phase II - Clinical/Performance Evaluation Process. The CPT developed a list of items from the product group to evaluate. The determination of the sample set was based on advances in technology, patient safety, and on historical usage for the product line. The CPT also determined that the clinical/performance evaluation will be performed in a non-clinical setting. 1. The following procedures will apply. a. The TRBO office will request a no charge clinical evaluation sample set from each of the vendors with a required delivery date 30 days from date of request. b. Each vendor will send the samples directly to the participating MTFs at the addresses listed at the end of this announcement. c. All email communications between vendors and the region concerning sample set shipment will be digitally signed. d. Vendors who do not meet the deadline for sample arrival will be disqualified from the standardization process. e. Due to the potential for samples to become lost or delayed in shipping, all vendors must send the TRBO verification regarding the date of shipment from the vendor, and anticipated delivery date. 2. The samples to be provided are as follows: Adjustable push button aluminum crutches and replacement tips and handgrips: Adult, 2; Youth, 1; Child 1. Wood Canes: Standard Handle, 1 Aluminum Canes: Adjustable with Standard Handle, 1 3. The CPT will evaluate each product against the clinical/performance criteria. All criteria will carry equal weight. The evaluation will take place in a non-clinical setting. 4. The evaluation responses will represent a clinical value judgment placed in a Likert-like scale with a 1 to 5 scoring format (1 = Strongly Disagree; 2 = Disagree or no; 3 = Undecided; 4 = Agree or yes; 5 = Strongly Agree). Comments will be invited and recorded on the evaluations.. 5. The CPT has set a clinical acceptability threshold target at 3.1. The CPT will determine the actual acceptability threshold for this standardization initiative at or near 3.1 depending on the location of any break (or gap) in vendors average scores. In addition, the CPT may consider how closely scores are clustered near the acceptability target threshold of 3.1, in determining the actual acceptability threshold. Vendors scoring below the actual acceptability threshold will be determined to be clinically unacceptable, and be disqualified from further consideration for this standardization initiative. 6. Rules of Engagement: a. Standardization Evaluations will be conducted in areas designated by the TRBO. b. Clinicians will use the clinical/performance evaluation process described above. Evaluations will be collected by the TRBO. c. CPT members can have no invested personal interest in the outcome in a standardization effort. d. CPT members will be familiar with the specific guidelines for accepting gifts and incentive type items from vendors. Any violations of the guidelines will be reported to the appropriate officials. e. The TRBO will perform statistical analysis of data obtained from the evaluations. f. Vendors will deliver products to designated location and specified time as agreed upon by the vendors and the TRBO. g. Vendors presence will not be required during this evaluation. h. When participating in a standardization effort, vendors must contact the TRBO prior to contacting any clinical personnel in reference to the product being considered for standardization. i. Additional education or training on the selected products will be at the vendors expense. j. All evaluation methods will have a start and stop date set by the CPT that will be strictly enforced. k. The government is not responsible for cost of sample items, shipping of these items, or any costs associated with the clinical evaluations. l. Only products selected by the CPT will be reviewed during an evaluation. All other products presented during the evaluation will be rejected. m. Unless specifically requested by the TRBO, NO COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE SHOULD SPEAK TO ANY HOSPITAL STAFF MEMBER OR TPRB MEMBER REGARDING PRICE OR PRICE-RELATED FACTORS. Failure to comply with any of the rules of engagement described above may result in disqualification of your company from further consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact our Nurse Analyst at 253-968-0898 for questions. Clinical/Performance Criteria: During the pre-source selection procedures, the CPT validated/ approved the following equally weighted clinical/performance criteria: Setting and number of trials: Criteria will be evaluated in a non-patient care setting by clinicians simulating the process of ambulating with crutches. Clinicians will evaluate each criterion at least 2 times. Crutches: 1. Height mechanism adjusts quickly with only simple, intuitive steps required to make adjustment. a. Rationale: Clinicians require this feature because patients sometimes must adjust their crutches and since patients can have limited ability to follow complicated instructions, steps must be quick and intuitive. b. Evaluation method: The evaluator will adjust the crutches and note whether the adjustment can be performed easily and quickly. 2. Underarm pads minimize underarm discomfort during crutch use. a. Rationale: Clinicians require this feature because crutch pads without certain ergonomic features (smooth, curved surface with non-bulky padding) increase underarm friction causing underarm irritation and soreness. b. Evaluation method: Evaluator will ambulate with crutches in a non-weight bearing manner, and note any underarm discomfort related to underarm pad design. 3. Hand grips minimize undue strain on the hand/wrist during crutch use. a. Rationale: Clinicians require this feature because an ergonomically designed and padded hand grip supports the palmar arch and wrist without causing undue rotation of the hand. A proper handgrip also reduces pressure on veins, arteries and nerves in the hand resulting in less muscle fatigue. b. Evaluation method: Evaluator will ambulate, non-weight bearing, with crutches and note any wrist/hand discomfort related to hand grips. 4. Tips of crutches stay securely seated on the crutch during ambulation and promote stability during ambulation.. a. Rationale: Clinicians require this feature because tips that are easily dislodged from the crutch or tend to slip during ambulation, increase the possibility of a patient falling during crutch ambulation, potentially causing patient injury. b. Evaluation method: Evaluator will ambulate, in a non-weight bearing manner, with crutches and note whether the tips stay securely seated during ambulation. 5. Replacement parts (tips, hand grips and underarm pads) are the same quality as those on the product sample. a. Rationale: Clinicians require this feature as patients require the same quality and functionality for crutch parts regardless of whether the patient is using the original part or replacement parts. b. Evaluation method: Evaluator will compare the replacement part with the part that is on the crutch to determine if the quality of the part is equivalent. Canes: Setting and number of trials: Criteria will be evaluated in a non-patient care setting by clinicians simulating the process of ambulating with canes. Clinicians will evaluate each criterion at least 2 times. 1. Canes are lightweight. a. Rationale: Clinicians require this feature because patients who require assistive devices to ambulate tire easily. A heavy cane would increase fatigue related to ambulation. b. Evaluation method: Evaluator will ambulate with the cane and note whether the cane feels heavy or lightweight. 2. Cane handle is comfortable. a. Rationale: Clinicians require this feature because a properly designed and padded hand grip supports the palmar arch and wrist without causing undue rotation of the hand during cane use minimizing muscle fatigue b. Evaluation method: Evaluator will ambulate with the cane in a partial weight bearing method, and note any wrist/hand discomfort related to the cane handle. 3. Height mechanism adjusts quickly with only simple, intuitive steps required. a. Rationale: Clinicians require this feature because patients often must adjust their own crutches. Since many patients do not have healthcare knowledge, steps must be quick and intuitive. b. Method: The evaluator will adjust the crutches and note whether the process can be performed easily and quickly. Note: The region uses both adjustable canes and wooden canes that are not adjustable. Criterion will only apply to the adjustable canes. 4. Safety features assist in patient stability during ambulation. a. Rationale: Clinicians require this feature because patients who require assistive devices to ambulate are at higher risk for falls. Any feature that minimizes the falls risk is desirable to prevent patient injury. b. Method: The evaluator will ambulate with the cane in a partial weight bearing manner and note stability of the cane when bearing weight on the device. Phase III - Pricing Analysis Process. After the clinical/performance evaluations are completed and analyzed, all vendors in the clinical evaluation group who met the actual acceptability threshold (at or near 3.1 depending on the break in the average scores and how closely scores are clustered near the acceptability target threshold) will be contacted to submit their lowest pricing quotes as well as product cross-reference data based on a committed volume of 80% of the total regional requirement. Vendors will be given fourteen (14) calendar days to submit their price quotes in the prescribed format as above via email. Price quotes must be received by 4:00 PM PST on the 14th calendar day. Failure to respond within this timeframe or failure to submit incentive discounts from their DAPA prices will result in the vendor being disqualified from further participation in this RIA initiative. The Region intends to evaluate quotes and select a vendor or vendors, without discussions as noted above. However, the Region reserves the right to conduct discussions and request revised pricing, if determined to be necessary. Clinical/performance and technical/company factors will be weighted more heavily than price. As the technical and clinical evaluation results become more equal, price will become more important. Pricing will be evaluated based on best value to the Government and will be based on a committed volume for a two year period with three (3) one-year option periods. The following elements will be considered in the pricing analysis: (1) The impact of RIA prices on the Region (Post-Standardization Costs) is considered more important than the other pricing elements. (2) Impact of Unmatched Lines. (3) Consideration of stock keeping units (SKUs) by each vendor. The Region intends to reduce the number of SKUs that must be handled per period. Vendors that can supply the complete range of clinically required product, without unnecessary numbers of SKUs for minimally differentiated products, will be more likely to provide the best value solution for the Government in this standardization initiative.
 

Web Link

FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=64d8456e3aa63eb72d18c9bc0d2d7e48&tab=core&_cview=1)
 

Place of Performance

Address: Western Regional Contracting Office ATTN: MCAA W BLDG 9902, 9902 Lincoln Street Tacoma WA<br />

Zip Code: 98431-1110<br />
 

Record

SN01682628-W 20080928/080926215726-64d8456e3aa63eb72d18c9bc0d2d7e48 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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