Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF JUNE 10, 2017 FBO #5678
DOCUMENT

R -- Reply to Vendor Questions, Update SLINs, & Extend Closing Date (6/12/17) - Attachment

Notice Date

6/8/2017
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

561492 — Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;VA CENTRAL WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS HCS;Acquisitions-90;421 North Main Street;Leeds MA 01053-9764
 

ZIP Code

01053-9764
 

Solicitation Number

VA24117Q0335
 

Response Due

6/12/2017
 

Archive Date

7/7/2017
 

Point of Contact

Johanne.Menard@va.gov
 

E-Mail Address

johanne.menard@va.gov
(johanne.menard@va.gov)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
 

Description

RESPONSE TO VENDOR QUESTIONS 1. The industry standard for court reporting and transcription services generally requires different rates for various proceeding types (such as depositions and hearings). Are we able to separate out the proposed page rates to better reflect the actual cost for services rendered by the agency? YES 2. When the agency requests an o+2, are both copies meant to be distributed within the agency or will the additional copy be delivered to outside parties? THE +2 IS TO COMPLY WITH NAGE MASTER LABOR AGREEMENT WHEREBY EMPLOYEE AND UNION REPRESENTATIVE ARE EACH ENTITLED TO A COPY OF THE EMPLOYEE S TESTIMONY. 3. Is the agency able to separate original transcripts from additional certified copy transcripts? While some proceedings may require the agency to purchase additional copies for outside parties (such as EEOC hearings) not all hearings will require this (such as depositions). By separating original copy costs from certified copy costs, the potential contractor is able to provide more precise rates at a better value to the government. THERE HAVE NOT HET BEEN ANY REQUIREMENT FOR ADDITIONAL COPIES TO BE CERTIFIED. IF A CASE EVER WENT TO AN EXTERNAL ENTITY, THE AGENCY WOULD PROVIDE THE EXTERNAL ENTITY A COPY OF THE AGENCY S ORIGINAL COPY (BUT HAVE YET TO EXPERIENCE A NEED TO DO THIS IN OVER 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH AGENCY ADMINISTRATIVE INVESTIGATION BOARD (AIB) TRANSCRIPTS). 4. In the Statement of Work, the agency has listed out many possible locations for proceedings under this contract. However, the price/cost schedule portion only lists a few possible locations. Are the locations meant to represent where a bulk of the possible work will take place? (The locations the vendor is referring to that are called out in the Price/Cost Schedule are the stations. Will the bulk of the work take place at your station?) PER PARA. 1.1.2, ADMINISTRATIVE INVESTIGATION BOARDS, THE TYPE OF PROCEEDING IN WHICH THE TRANSCRIPTION WILL BE RECORDED, WILL TAKE PLACE AT EACH STATION WHEN THE DIRECTOR OF THE RESPECTIVE STATION CONVENES AN AIB AND THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD IS READY TO PROCEED WITH CALLING OF WITNESSES TO TESTIFY. THE CONTRACTOR, AT THEIR OWN DISCRETION, MAY OPT TO CAPTURE THE ONGOING TESTIMONY VIA STENOGRAPHY OR KEYBOARDING AS THE TESTIMONY IS BEING GIVEN, IN ORDER TO SAVE CONTRACTOR TIME LATER. THE PROCESS OF REDUCING RECORDED TESTIMONY TO WRITTEN, COMPLETED TRANSCRIPTS WILL OCCUR AT THE CONTRACTOR S PLACE OF BUSINESS. 5. Is the agency able to provide an estimate of the previous number of transcripts ordered within the previous contract for court reporting and transcription work? If so, is the agency able to break down the number of requests made by proceeding type (such as hearings vs. depositions)? ALL PROCEEDINGS FOR VAMC MANCHESTER HAVE BEEN AIBs WHERE A PANEL (TYPICALLY COMPOSED OF 3 MEMBERS) ASK QUESTIONS OF WITNESSES AND LISTENS TO THEIR TESTIMONY. RECENT HISTORY SUGGESTS THAT AIBs HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED BETWEEN 2 AND 4 TIMES PER YEAR AND TYPICALLY HAVE ANYWHERE FROM 5 30 WITNESSES DEPENDING ON THE NATURE OF THE INVESTIGATION. THESE ARE ESTIMATES AND EACH YEAR MAY BE DIFFERENT. HOWEVER, THE ABOVE WOULD APPLY TO EACH OF THE THREE STATIONS. 6. Reference 4.1.1. Does the Government require the contractor to obtain the Rules of Procedure of the Government's panel? If so, will the Government provide the directions in which to complete this requirement? Does the Government require two or three copies of the transcript? THE AGENCY DOES NOT REQUIRE THE CONTRACTOR TO OBTAIN THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE GOVERNMENT S PANEL. THE AGENCY REQUIRES AN ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT W/ERRATA SHEET AND 2 ADDITIONAL COPIES (ONE FOR WITNESS AND ONE FOR WITNESS UNION REPRESENTATIVE. HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED A NEED FOR VAMC MANCHESTER TO NEED TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES AFTER 5 PM. 7. Reference 5.2. How many requests are made per year? NO PAST HISTORY OF THIS TO PROVIDE AS IT IS A STIPULATION IN THE NEW MASTER LABOR AGREEMENT THAT WAS NOT IN THE FORMER AGREEMENT. 8. Reference 7.0. Would the Government consider a performance threshold that takes into account that error-free services over five years is a difficult standard to achieve? 7.0 DOES NOT USE THE TERM ERROR-FREE. THE IMPORTANCE IN 7.0 IS THAT ALL THE TRANSCRIPTS BE DELIVERED WITHIN 10 BUSINESS DAYS IN ORDER TO LIMIT DELAYS OF EACH WITNESS BEING ALLOWED TO READ THEIR TRANSCRIPTED TESTIMONY TO DETERMINE IF THEY RECALL IT BEING A RELATIVELY ACCURATE REFLECTION OF WHAT THEY STATED WHEN THEY PROVIDED TESTIMONY. THE PANEL NEEDS THE TESTIMONIES BACK AND REVIEWED BY THE WITNESSES SO THE PANEL CAN REVIEW AND PREPARE THEIR FINAL REPORT TO THE CONVENER OF THE AIB. 9. Reference 9.0. Typically, court reporting vendors retain transcripts to provide to authorized parties when requested. Does the Government require vendors to destroy all copies following acceptance of deliverables? PLEASE SEE 3RD TO THE LAST PARAGRAPH UNDER THE VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL REQUIREMENTS SECTION.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/NoVAMC/VAMCCO80220/VA24117Q0335/listing.html)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA241-17-Q-0335 A00002 VA241-17-Q-0335 A00002.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=3564972&FileName=VA241-17-Q-0335-A00002000.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=3564972&FileName=VA241-17-Q-0335-A00002000.docx

 

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

Record

SN04537576-W 20170610/170608234653-8df0fd665cd365f70928d983985d3ebd (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

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

---

| FSG Index  |  This Issue's Index  |  Today's FBO Daily Index Page |