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FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF DECEMBER 12, 2014 FBO #4766
DOCUMENT

R -- Cemetery Tracking Solution Project RFI - Attachment

Notice Date

12/10/2014
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

541511 — Custom Computer Programming Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;Technology Acquisition Center;23 Christopher Way;Eatontown NJ 07724
 

ZIP Code

07724
 

Solicitation Number

VA11815N0071
 

Response Due

12/22/2014
 

Archive Date

1/21/2015
 

Point of Contact

Lindsay Simon
 

E-Mail Address

0-9698<br
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

NCA MEMORIALS CEMETERY TRACKING SOLUTION This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and shall not be considered an Invitation for Bids, Request for Quotations, or a Request for Proposal. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract; there is no obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services described in this RFI. Your response to this RFI will be treated only as information for the Government to consider, you are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted or competition sensitive information contained in your response, and all information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. The Government does not intend to pay for the information submitted in response to this RFI, you will not be entitled to payment for direct or indirect costs that you incur in responding to this RFI, and responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. No funds have been authorized, appropriated or received for this effort. The information provided may be used by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in developing its acquisition strategy and Performance Work Statement RFI OBJECTIVE The primary purpose of this RFI is to seek information on existing technologies (or technologies with reasonable modifications) that can be used to meet the needs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the cemetery tracking capabilities described in the requirements section below. Furthermore, this RFI serves to identify qualified contractors who are able to meet VA's requirements, determine the appropriate contract type i.e., firm fixed-price, cost-reimbursement or time and material, understand commercial pricing practices, and gather other market information readily available. BACKGROUND / SCOPE The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) honors Veterans and their families with final resting places in national shrines and with lasting tributes that commemorate their service and sacrifice to our Nation. NCA maintains approximately 3.3 million gravesites at 131 national cemeteries, on national Veterans' burial ground and 33 soldiers' lots and monument sites in 40 states and Puerto Rico. NCA manages approximately 20,500 acres within its cemeteries. This has the potential to provide approximately 6.5 million gravesites. The NCA oversaw 124,787 interments in Fiscal Year 2013. The number of internments is expected to increase annually until the year 2020. (Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, 2014) NCA continually strives to improve the IT systems that underlie its mission operations through the investment of resources to automate manual business processes, and enable the needs of NCA employees as well as Veterans and their families. Over the past 25 years these enhancements and revisions to the systems have evolved into the Burial Operations Support System (BOSS) Enterprise suite of applications that support the NCA environment. Currently the architecture faces a number of challenges and requirements gaps that are significant enough in their size that NCA and its Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) partners are evaluating new potential platforms for supporting the NCA mission going forward. The current BOSS Enterprise provides the NCA the ability to: oReceive applications, determine eligibility, schedule interments, and inter decedents oReceive applications, determine eligibility, and provide services like Headstone, Memorials, and Markers; Presidential Memorial Certificates, and other services. oManage cemeteries, employees, volunteers, and visitors. REQUIREMENTS With the potential for 6.5 million gravesites, the scope of assets which NCA manages makes it imperative that NCA has contemporary information systems to support the efficient delivery of memorial benefits to our Veterans, beneficiaries, and next of kin. NCA is interested in the delivery of cemetery tracking capabilities as a single integrated solution that may have one or more products, a solution that may be a subcomponent of a larger product, or as single product. The Cemetery Tracking Solution (CTS) should include robust functionality that will allow NCA to perform the critical tasks of Digital Mapping, INDS and Remains Tracking over a Wide-Area Network (WAN) deployment. A commercial Cloud-based solution or Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) will not be considered. NCA leadership has identified the below features as required of the CTS Information regarding additional cemetery management features that are not within the categories below are not desired nor are considered of additional value to NCA. A.Digital Mapping oInteractive Mapping - NCA internal users need an interactive mapping solution for the tracking of gravesites using a PC or mobile device. The system will automatically update cemetery maps from the creation of new cemetery maps and sections to the assignment and closure of an individual gravesite. oGravesite Inventory - Gravesite inventory tracking should include a visual representation of gravesites, link detailed data about the gravesite to the gravesite location on the map, and support tracking real-time inventory of all gravesites by type. oCemetery Mapping - The mapping function should track occupied graves, gravesite set-asides, gravesite reservations, obstructed sites, roads, shelters, and other landmarks. The mapping solution should allow the Memorial Service Networks (MSNs) to identify future gravesite layouts, and allow for gravesite usage forecasting that supports gravesite construction projects. oUser Interface - The digital mapping module should generate a visual representation of the selected cemetery on a PC or mobile device. The features will be used for broad views such as the areas within a cemetery and locations as well as granular views such as individual gravesites and their attributes. Each cemetery will have access to their map as well as the satellite cemetery map. The driving directions provided by mobile mapping should help NCA external users within or near the cemetery. The system should support a detailed printing of maps that can be used by the public and visitors to identify a specific gravesite location in a section. NCA needs mapping capabilities on both PC and mobile devices. For NCA external users, mapping requirements include the abilities to locate a cemetery, view the burial schedule at any national cemetery, provide information about NCA burial and memorial benefits, and send comments, questions, and feedback to the VA. oData Frequency - The suggested implementation should result in real-time updating of cemetery maps displaying information regarding burials, cemetery layouts, etc. B.Interment Notice/Dig Slips (INDS) The INDS is a notice to both the office and field personnel. It informs the office personnel that an interment has been placed on the cemetery's daily schedule by the National Cemetery Scheduling Office (NCSO). It also informs the field personnel to open a gravesite and should provide specific information on the gravesite and surrounding gravesites. The INDS system shall also provide an electronic Interment Notice/Dig slip populated with data already entered in the enterprise system. oCreation of INDS - For all interments, the solution must create an Interment Notice (also referred to as a Dig Slip) that informs the interment crew of the section, row, and gravesite number to be opened, the depth and position of the new interment, and type of outer container (if appropriate). The solution should provide a standardized and automated INDS that will track the cemetery staff interment process to its completion. The INDS will display information on the associated Veteran, decedent, and adjacent gravesites. oINDS Validation - The Interment Notice will be verified and signed off for every interment as part of a daily interment process checklist, and again at the end of day check. oGravesite Validation - The NCA needs the ability to produce Dig Slips that properly identify the gravesite to be used and incorporates the necessary checks used by the cemetery to ensure the proper burial of the remains. oTracking of Work Assignments - The solution will capture the amount of time field crews and other personnel expend on a particular duty. oAsset Assignment - The foreman will be able to make backhoe and dump truck assignments for gravesite excavations and closings. oHand-held Interface - The field crew will have the ability to view and update the INDS on a hand-held device. The INDS will be viewable on both the hand-held device and the enterprise system. The foreman in the office can make assignments to the field crew in the field. oRemains Tracking Integration - The INDS will also capture the final remains tracking from the shelter to the gravesite and associated signature(s). The INDS should be able to be printed or viewed on a remote device and would eliminate any need to look up surrounding gravesites in the system or maps. C.Remains Tracking The NCA needs a system that automates the tracking of remains from the time the remains are received at the cemetery until the time the remains are laid to rest in the gravesite. This includes the transfer from the funeral home or family to the cemetery representatives to the foreman/caretaker to the final resting place. oEditing of Decedent Information - The solution shall be flexible enough to allow authorized users to add and edit information in the Decedent Interment record to address real-time scenarios associated with the receipt, movement, and tracking of decedent remains. oAIDC - The system should use Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) technology to verify the casket, urn, temporary marker, gravesite, and permanent marker are accurately located. A hand-held device or quick way to verify proper placement of casket, temporary marker, and permanent marker is required. Integral to Remains Tracking and the identified activities, is the standardized and automated Interment Notice/Dig Slip. SUBMITTAL INFORMATION This is an RFI only. It is requested that all contractors interested in this effort please note their interest by providing a response (electronic submission) of no more than eight (8) pages total, single-spaced, 12 point font. Responses should include a one (1) page company profile (to include, but not limited to, history, company size and socioeconomic category, applicable North American Industry Classification [NAICS], list of any federal supply schedule (FSS) contracts or Government-wide acquisition contracts for which you are a prime contractor, and primary line of business), a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) of up to two (2) pages, and a Capability Statement of no more than five (5) pages, along with any questions, addressing the effort described in the paragraphs above. Marketing material will not be accepted as an indication of capability. The ROM shall include the estimated cost ranges separating product from support costs and duration estimate range for implementing a solution for cemetery tracking. This cost estimate should include a solution that satisfies the basic requirements. This duration estimate should associate and combine the delivery of required solution components within 6 month periods of time and arrive at a reasonable total period of performance. This estimate should break out solution and support costs and durations separately. The Capability Statement must include the following: oCompany Name, Address, Point of Contact, and Phone Number / Email address for Point of Contact. oDescribe the basic technologies and solutions to deliver the cemetery tracking functions described above. oDescribe any pre-existing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products you recommend to simplify the implementation. The COTS products can be recommended as a partial or whole solution. Include information outlining the interface between the existing BOSS system and the COTS products. oExplain the commercial software licensing approach, if applicable, that minimizes license management costs and leverages COTS products available under VA enterprise license vehicles. oProvide a general explanation of applicable products and services that are on the GSA FIPS-201 Approved Products List (APL) and are in compliance with the current version of the Standard and its supporting Publications. oIdentify FSS schedules, if any, through which these products and services are currently available. In response to the RFI, interested contractors shall submit the above information by 3:00PM ET on December 22, 2014, via email to lindsay.simon2@va.gov. Points of Contact: David Nostrant, Contracting Officer, (732) 440-9706, david.nostrant@va.gov and Lindsay Simon, Contract Specialist, (732) 440-9698, lindsay.simon2@va.gov.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/035eb4e930a3c2908cb308890168ada5)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA118-15-N-0071 VA118-15-N-0071.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=1765056&FileName=VA118-15-N-0071-000.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=1765056&FileName=VA118-15-N-0071-000.docx

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN03592962-W 20141212/141210234932-035eb4e930a3c2908cb308890168ada5 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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