SOURCES SOUGHT
J -- Sources Sought for a Healthcare Specific Waste Management Tracking Database
- Notice Date
- 5/2/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541620
— Environmental Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Veterans Affairs;Program Contracting Activity Central;6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300;Independence OH 44131
- ZIP Code
- 44131
- Solicitation Number
- VA70112I0161
- Response Due
- 5/16/2012
- Archive Date
- 6/15/2012
- Point of Contact
- Richelle N. Lane
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.215-3, "Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes" This Sources Sought Notice is for information and planning purposes only at this time and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Purpose The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Environmental Programs Service (EPS) Industrial Hygiene Program is seeking interested sources (contractors) for a near-future solicitation and procurement of a web-based healthcare specific waste management and recycling tracking system service from a commercial provider. The services shall include storage and security capabilities. The intent is to replace the current VHA data collection system. The solution shall be an integrated tool set through which the VHA monitors performance metrics and manage through roles and process rather than physical control of assets. The government believes that traditional outsourcing and system integration support is insufficiently adaptive and costly and should be replaced by commodity services. This Sources Sought announcement describes the goals that VHA requires with regard to the 1.modernization of its health care-specific data collection system; 2.provision of an effective collaborative working environment; 3.reduction of the government's in-house system maintenance burden by providing related business, technical, and management functions; and 4.application of appropriate security and privacy safeguards. The new data collection and collaboration system will meet STET performance standards, offer the necessary redundancy and contingency features to meet VHA's needs, and provide technology enhancements to improve user experience and minimize service disruption. The solution shall involve no software development work and minimal integration effort past implementation. The cost of operation will also be significantly reduced. Because this is a Sources Sought announcement, no evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. No solicitation exists. Therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. The Government reserves the right to consider a small business, SDVOSB, VOSB or 8(a) set-aside based on responses hereto. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541620 applies to this procurement. Background The 2010 federal budget released by the administration and published on May 11, 2009 calls for improving innovation, efficiency and effectiveness in federal information technology (IT). The White House recommends that agencies adopt innovations and implement projects that increase efficiencies by optimizing common services and solutions across the enterprise and utilizing market innovations such as Cloud Computing services. Executive Order (EO); 13514- Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, and Executive Order (EO); 13423- Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management requirements necessitate that VHA find more innovative ways to implement pollution prevention and waste diversion programs that target hospital specific wastes and toxic chemicals to improve our reduction efforts. EO 13514 sets specific goals for "minimizing the generation of waste and pollutants through source reduction; diverting at least 50 percent of non-hazardous solid waste, excluding construction and demolition debris, by the end of fiscal year 2015; diverting at least 50 percent of construction and demolition materials and debris by the end of fiscal year 2015. The current possibilities and value in sorting, sharing, and networking collective information can be enhanced by commercially available services. The existing data collection and collaboration infrastructures at the VHA are not adequate for the future. They consist of servers utilizing URLs with limited storage capacitates, limited redundancy, high level technical support, and inconsistent archiving capability. In addition, the current data collection infrastructure makes it difficult to manage and retrieve data associated with diversion rates, and budget. In-house upgrading, replacement, and deployment of new servers and infrastructure are both expensive and disruptive to VHA operations. Therefore, in an effort to improve performance, enhance redundancy, facilitate legal compliance, and manage cost, the VHA EPS conducted market research to evaluate the viability and cost of various options, and is now pursuing this acquisition. This approach is expected to realize savings in cost and resources while providing the services needed to make VHA more efficient and effective. The current data collection and collaboration software infrastructure supporting the VHA in multiple domain names is based on: IBM Lotus Notes ® (version 7.0.3) for e-mail support and uses, IBM Lotus Domino ® (version 7.0.4, 8.0.1) for database support, IBM Lotus Domino ® (version 8.02), IBM Lotus Connections ® (version 2.5), IBM Lotus Sametime ® (version 8.02), IBM Lotus Sametime Gateway ® (version 8.02) IBM Lotus Quickr ® (version 8.2) in the collaborative environment, and IBM DB2 CommonStore for Lotus Domino (CSLD) ® (version 8.3) for the litigation hold archiving (under 1 TB currently, growing at 2GB/day). Blackberry Enterprise Server (version 4.1.7), and PGP Encryption (version 9.10) for desktop client encryption. VHA currently has 152 VA Medical Center sites with approximately 456 users (individual and groups) in the catalog. The current VHA waste minimization and compliance Report data collection system requires the creation of a URL which is generated annually and does not have the capability to roll over previous year's data. In addition, VHA has the option to utilize the following capabilities: Cisco MeetingPlace 7.0 Cisco Unified Presence Server 7.0.6 Cicso IP Communicator 7.0.3 Cisco Unified Personal Communicator 7.0.2 Cisco Unified Communications Manager 7.1.3 Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator Blackberry Client A list of standard software approved for use within VHA is provided as Attachment 4 VHA Approved Standard Software. The hardware infrastructure of data collection system is aging (5+ years) and deployment of new servers. The current infrastructure is site specific. For example, each of the 157 locations (in the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Manila) has its own set of servers. Further, if a regional location has power issues or becomes unusable, access to URL is lost for users at that location. URL via e-mail archiving is currently implemented inconsistently, is difficult to use, and does not meet information retrieval (e-discovery) requirements. Additionally, the storage associated with URL via e-mail archiving continues to grow and is costly to manage. Recent regulations for handling e-mail litigation hold and discovery demand that VHA implement a more effective and expedient process. Data collection process has evolved over the years into an integrated data collection and collaborative environment. VHA's current environment lacks the level of integrated features that is commercially available. VHA requires a greater use of these integrated data collection and collaborative tools to support its mission and critical position within the federal government. Additionally, VHA is seeking a solution that will reduce the government's in-house system maintenance burden and provide VHA users with more timely implementations of new versions and features. VHA will maintain customer (user) support to trouble calls or requests for assistance and interface with the appropriate technical support. No direct customer support is required from this solicitation. Only technical and system administration staff will interface directly with the Offeror. Scope The scope of the resulting contract will include all computing and support services required to transition, deploy, operate, maintain, and safeguard an enterprise-wide- data collection and collaboration environment. Period of Performance The base period of performance is for three years from contract award with four, one-year options. Objectives Business Objectives A.Replace the current data collection and collaboration environment with data collection and collaboration services that are integrated as seamlessly as possible via a single sign-on and that improve business performance by providing VHA users with expanded and new capabilities that reflect industry standards: 1.Provide enhanced and state-of the-art-data collection functionality in a multiple domain environment. 2.Provide expanded access to state-of-the-art collaborative tools and capabilities (such as waste volume conversion (pounds to ton), budgetary/cost avoidance capabilities, waste diversion rates, on-line meetings/webinars, shared workspace, groupware, workgroup support systems, real time data access, etc.) that will enhance VHA's ability to conduct business. 3.Provide improved archiving capability with unlimited storage for data and the ability to mark and retain data to support litigation requirements (litigation hold). 4.Provide frequent technology updates and/or enhancements that give VHA users access to the most current, commercially available service offerings. 5.Provide robust and rapid search capability to enable forensics and e-discovery across archived and active files. 6. Provide a state-of-the-art-data collection management and reporting structure that is compatible with the current VHA report structure: VHA Central Office, VISN/Network Level, VA Medical Center/Healthcare system Level. B.Conduct a seamless and expedited transition from the current data collection and collaboration environment to the storage and collaboration services with minimal disruption to business operations while insuring data integrity: 1.Plan and conduct an expedited transition from the current environment to the new environment and develop an executable exit strategy that would allow transition to another solution should this become necessary in the future. 2.Establish an efficient and executable data migration plan that will migrate litigation hold data (now in CommonStore) and a strategy for existing data and archived content so that, if migration beyond litigation hold data is deemed essential, a seamless transfer of data and archived information is achieved. 3.Improve workforce efficiency and effectiveness and reduce costs through enterprise-wide standardization of business operating procedures and near 100% user adoption of functions and capabilities. Technical Objectives A.Procure a data and collaboration service with a high degree of reliability and availability including: 1.Service that maintains a redundant data and collaboration infrastructure that will ensure access for all VHA users in the event of failure at any one provider location. 2.Service that includes effective contingency planning (including back-up and disaster recovery capabilities). 3.24x7 trouble shooting service for inquiries, outages, issue resolutions, etc. 4.Data and collaboration services that are 100% dependable and provide response rates that are consistent with industry standards. 5.Data and collaboration service with the capability to perform the following functions including, but not limited to: "Web-based tool that is username and password protected. No software installation, no server space allocation, no maintenance or update requirements to the tool by users. "300 user accounts may be created for data entry, data viewing, report writing or any combination; a "zone tree" with a top administrative level (universal access), and other levels of administrative access and authority as required. "Users may enter both material and financial information in the following healthcare specific categories: oSolid waste oRecycling oConstruction and demolition debris oHazardous waste oElectronic waste oRegulated medical waste "Financial information will include costs, revenues and waste hauling fees that may include dumpster rental fees or other applicable disposal fees "Data can be entered daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. "Users can enter data straight from a hauler invoice and include invoice numbers for reference. "Transactions are easily searchable by invoice number as well as by date of invoice or date of data entry. "Waste streams may be tracked system-wide, hospital-wide and by individual buildings. Data may also be tracked and monitored by hauler/service provider and container. "Summary data can be viewed during data entry as well as in reports that are generated with the click of a button. "Data remains owned by the government "Data can be Exported in standard MS Excel format "All data delivered in MS Excel format at contract termination "Must be able to generate multiple types of reports: oStandard report shall include data for each waste stream and calculates total diversion rates as well as rates by adjusted patient days per year. The report shall also include information on material tonnage, financials, service providers, containers, and fiscal year to fiscal year comparisons of data trends over time. oEnvironmental report shall estimate the environmental benefits of recycling in comparison to disposal. Greenhouse gas emissions shall be calculated using the US EPA WARM Model. This tool provides users with information on the environmental impact of waste reduction and recycling programs. "Reports must be able to be converted to Word documents, which allows for tables and graphs to be easily inserted into other electronic media. "Data may also be exported to Excel. "Reports shall be able of to analyze a hospital's waste streams to identify waste reduction and recycling program improvements and increase efficiency in waste management practices. "Reports shall be able to analyze and calculate diversion rate for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), and Construction and Demolition debris (C&D) in accordance with EO. 13514. "Reports shall be able of to analyze a hospital's waste streams to identify waste cost avoidance and program improvements and increase efficiency in waste management practices. "Reports shall be able to analyze and calculate cost benefits related to hospital waste streams such as Pharmacy reverse distribution, on-site Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) treatment, Operating room/ Medical devices recycling, and re-usable sharps container programs. B.Procure a data and collaboration service with the Security and Privacy levels and controls that are required by regulations and consistent with best professional practices include, but not limited to: 1. Security controls that are confirmed to meet the security standards for Moderate Impact systems as described in NIST SP 800-53 with an accepted Certification and Accreditation (C&A). 2. Adhere to the Privacy Act, Title 5 of the U.S. Code, Section 552a and applicable agency rules and regulations. 3.Contracts under which the contractor dose not store, use, generate or access VA sensitive information are not subject to the statutory requirements or agency policy regarding data and information security. Contracts for the purchase of equipment or soft ware only, without service, or maintenance agreements (including warranty agreements), do not require the inclusion of the security clause in VA's Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS) or any of the language contained in VA handbook 6500.6. Appendix C. 4.IT Security Procedural Guide CIO-IT Security-09-48, Security Language for IT Acquisition Efforts, including: -Required Policies and Regulations for GSA Contracts -VHA Security Compliance Requirements -Certification and Accreditation (C&A) Activities -Reporting and Continuous Monitoring -Additional Stipulations (as applicable) "Within 45 days after contract award, the contractor shall be required to provide a draft System Security Plan (SSP). "Within 90 days of award the Contractor shall provide a draft completed assessment package as prescribed in GSA CIO-IT-06-30 (Managing Enterprise Risk Guide). "The draft completed assessment package will be reviewed by the government within 10 work days. "The completed assessment package will be reviewed by the government within 10 work days. "All final deliverables related to the assessment shall be required from the Contractor within 10 additional work days from the government's response. "The deliverables are required by CIO-IT Security-09-48 to support system certification. Specific requirements for evidence of security controls to be submitted with offeror proposals will be detailed in Instructions to Offerors of the resulting solicitiation. C.Procure a Cloud data and collaboration service that is customizable and extendable: 1.Procure an extendable data and collaboration capability based on open-standards APIs that enable integration with third party applications. Management Objectives Procure data and collaboration services provider that provides outstanding management and customer support: 1.Reduce the government's burden related to the management of data and collaboration capabilities. 2.Provide VHA Systems Administrators with 24x7 visibility into the services through real-time, web-based "dashboard" capability, for administrators and users to access the status of the services, i.e. to monitor, in real or near real time, the key performance indicators of the system against the established operational parameters. 3.Provide services with meaningful and timely reporting and analytics that provide VHA with current and comprehensive information regarding technical and management performance (summarizing projected vs. actual measures), pricing and other related issues. Constraints This section lists laws, rules, regulations, standards, technology limitations and other constraints that the service and/or service provider must adhere to or work under. Non-Disclosure Agreements Standard non-disclosure statements shall be provided as required for system administration personnel who may have access to government data in the course of their duties. Accessibility Requirements for accessibility based on Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) are determined to be relevant. Information about the Section 508 Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Standards may be obtained via the Web at the following URL: www.Section508.gov. The Government Product/Service Accessibility Template (GPAT) is found in Attachment 7 of this solicitation. Generally accepted inspection and test methods corresponding to the identified Section 508 standards are reflected in the EIT Acceptance Guide found at Attachment 8. Data All data (waste volumes, diversion rates, budgetary cost/ avoidance, contact information, container location, etc) is and shall remain the property of the government. The Contractor shall ensure that the government retains access and download capability of all data for research, investigation, transfer, or migration to Excel or other systems. Confidentiality, Security, and Privacy In accordance with the Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR) clause 52.239-1, the Contractor shall be responsible for the following privacy and security safeguards: (a)The Contractor shall not publish or disclose in any manner, without the Contracting Officer's written consent, the details of any safeguards used by the Contractor under the resulting contract or otherwise provided by or for the government. (b)To the extent required to carry out a program of inspection to safeguard against threats and hazards to the security, integrity, and confidentiality of any non-public government data collected and stored by the Contractor, the Contractor shall afford the government access to the Contractor's facilities, installations, technical capabilities, operations, documentation, records, and databases. (c)If new or unanticipated threats or hazards are discovered by either the government or the Contractor, or if existing safeguards have ceased to function, the discoverer shall immediately bring the situation to the attention of the other party. (d)The Offeror's solution must comply with the VHA Procurement and Logistics Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Acquisition Security Requirements: Part I: Implementing VA Handbook 6500.6, Contract Security, Part II: Contractor Personnel Security and Suitability, Part III: personal Identity Verification (PIV) of Contractor; and Part IV: Business Associate Agreements (BAA) for contracts (see Attachment 2) as required for a Moderate Impact system. (e)Work on this project may require or allow contractor personnel access to Privacy Information. Personnel shall adhere to the Privacy Act, Title 5 of the U.S. Code, Section 552a and applicable agency rules and regulations. (f)All data at rest will reside within the contiguous United States, the District of Columbia, and Alaska (CONUS) with a minimum of two data center facilities at two different and distant geographic locations Administrative: All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. It is requested that interested contractors submit an electronic response that addresses the above information. Please note that hard copies will not be accepted. Please include the company's name, address, Dun & Bradstreet number, socio-economic status, point-of-contact name, phone number, and e-mail address. Responses must include the Sources Sought number and project title in the subject line of their e-mail response. Please note that this is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE for Market Research purposes ONLY to determine the availability of small business firms for a potential small business category type set-aside. Particularly, the purpose of this notice is to gain knowledge of potential small business sources to include small business in the following categories: Verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Verified Veteran-Owned Small Business, Certified 8(a), Certified HUB Zone, and other small business. The capabilities will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether to set-aside for the Small Business community or to conduct as an Other Than Small Business Procurement. The Government must ensure there is adequate competition among the potential pool of available contractors. The response for this Sources Sought is not expected to be a Request for Proposal or Invitation for Bid, nor does it restrict the Government to an ultimate acquisition approach. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and is neither to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. No evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. After completing its analyses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition among the small business categories listed above or proceed with full and open competition as other than small business. At this time no solicitation exists; therefore, please do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps at https://www.fbo.gov. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.
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