SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Solicitation for EES Closed Captioning Services Responses should be emailed on or before March 14, 2019 at 10amCDT
- Notice Date
- 3/1/2019
- Notice Type
- Combine Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 561492
— Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Veteran Affairs;Program Contracting Activity Central;11152 South Towne Square;Saint Louis MO 63123
- ZIP Code
- 63123
- Solicitation Number
- 36C77619Q0018
- Response Due
- 3/14/2019
- Archive Date
- 3/24/2019
- Point of Contact
- Wanakee.Strickland@va.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- EMPLOYEE EDUCATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT EES Broadcast and Video Closed Captioning Services Page 1 of 10 MASTER Title of Project: EES Broadcast and Video Closed Captioning Services Background: The Veterans Health Administration Employee Education System (VHA-EES) provides educational training in the form of real-time and on-demand video media deliverables for VA employees. These media deliverables are provided via satellite channel delivery, internal and external cloud-based webcasting delivery systems, and real-time virtual conferencing webinar services, all in support of VHA facilities ability to stay abreast of the latest changes in treatment modalities, techniques, and regulations. The use of these media deliverables with the education system enables a much larger percentage of the VHA workforce to receive technical and professional training on a recurring basis. To operate in compliance of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, VHA EES intends to provide closed captioning services for our media deliverables. Scope of Work: The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and services necessary to perform real-time closed captioning services for live web-based broadcasts, virtual conferencing applications (webinars), and live satellite broadcasts. The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision and other items and services necessary to perform closed captioning services for pre-recorded video programming. The contractor shall perform to the standards in this contract (See Technical Exhibit 1, Performance Requirements Summary). The estimated quantities of work are listed in Technical Exhibit 2, Workload Estimates. Mandatory Tasks and Deliverables: The Contractor shall perform the mandatory tasks and provide the specific deliverables described below within the performance period stated in this Performance Work Statement (PWS). If, for any reason, any deliverable cannot be delivered on time according to the below schedule, the Contractor shall provide a written explanation to the Program Manager (PM)/Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) three days prior to deliverable due date. This written transmittal shall include a firm commitment of when the work shall be completed. This transmittal to the PM/OR shall cite the reasons for the delay and the impact on the overall project. The Contractor shall not commit or permit any act that interferes with the performance of work awarded to another Contractor or with the performance of Government employees. In any case where, in the course of fulfilling the contract requirements, the Contractor disturbs any work guaranteed under another separate contract, the Contractor must restore such disturbed work. Task 4.1: Kick-off meeting: The Contractor shall schedule and initiate, with the VA Contracting Officer (CO) and the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) concurrence, a post-award Kick-Off meeting with the COR to discuss project objectives, scope of work, expectations and review project deadlines and deliverables within ten (10) business days after date of award. The Contractor shall provide minutes from the meeting. Deliverable 4.1: Post award kick-off meeting minutes. Task 4.2: Real-time Captioning- Satellite and Video Streaming Line 21 Delivery: The Contractor shall provide real-time closed captioning services for live and/or taped programs aired on the Department of Veterans Affairs digital network known as the VA Knowledge Network (VAKN). The Contractor shall provide captioning services for a minimum of four simultaneous VA programs. The Contractor shall contact the VA Broadcast Center at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled program start time of the closed caption service for equipment tests, and shall provide a separate trouble phone number for use by the VA Broadcast Center to confirm that services are scheduled and for reporting technical difficulties during closed caption services. The Contractor shall use and maintain its own equipment to connect telephonically to the VA-owned audio couplers to receive the program audio. Simultaneously to the audio coupler connection, the contractor shall use and maintain equipment necessary to connect telephonically to VA-owned line 21closed caption encoders to transmit real-time CEA standard 708 or 608 closed caption data. The Contractor shall be able to offer caption data utilizing the EEG Basic iCAP Service, a cloud-based secure real-time IP captioning system for caption delivery to VA digital satellite network closed-caption encoders. The VA owns and maintains EEG caption encoders, which support the iCAP service. The Contractor shall be able to provide English to Spanish language translations real-time or on-demand caption requests. The Contractor shall be able accept electronic file transcripts, Power Point files, or web-based links from the VA, which will add to the value and accuracy of the captioners work for all real-time captioning services. The Contractor shall provide a closed caption file generated from the live session and formatted to work with the VA s video archive platform, within four hours of a live caption session. Deliverable 4.2.7: A closed caption file generated from a Line 21 live captioning session which shall be formatted to the VA s specification. Task 5.1: Real Time Captioning-Adobe Connect: The Contractor shall provide real-time closed captioning services for Adobe Connect virtual conferencing (webinar) sessions which must be compatible with Adobe s Connect Caption Pod solution. The Contractor shall join the scheduled Adobe Connect session, as an attendee or host, at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled program start time, and collaborate with the host in order to verify proper caption pod connectivity. The contractor shall have the ability to monitor audio from the VA National Telecommunications System (VANTS telephone) and provide a live transcription of the dialog to the Adobe Connect real-time conference caption pod. The contractor shall provide an electronic MS Word file of the transcript created for each Adobe Connect session Deliverable 5.1.2: Transcript files in Microsoft Word of each Adobe Connect session. Task 6.1: Real-time Captioning Web Portal Delivery The Contractor shall provide real-time closed captioning services for web-based delivery via Recap d, StreamText, or other similar service that will provide embeddable widgets for use with external web portals embedded video and caption players. The Recap d or other web portal shall include a text search tool and the ability to edit and export transcripts and timestamps, as well as provide a time-stamped XML closed caption file of each web session for export and download. The contractor shall provide direct links to the web-based closed caption for viewers to use in a stand-alone browser window. Direct web browser delivery of real-time captions shall be compatible with Internet Explorer web browser, mobile devices. The stand-alone browser web portal shall provide user control for text size, text style and color, background color, and the ability to resize and reposition the caption window. The Contractor shall provide a closed caption file generated from the live session and formatted to work with the VA s video archive platform, within 4 hours of a live caption session. Deliverable 6.1.2: URL links of web-based delivery services. Deliverable 6.1.3: Closed caption file generated from a live captioning session which shall be formatted to the VA s specification. Task 7.1: Real-time Captioning-Request Process - The Contractor shall be able to receive and acknowledge real-time electronic captioning requests created by the VA and delivered via MS Outlook email. The vendor shall acknowledge each real-time request on the same business day, between 0900 and 1800 ET, which the request was received. Task 8.1: Offline (Prerecorded) Captioning - The Contractor shall be able to receive pre-recorded programs and return the captioned deliverable within five (5) business days and accept 10 to 20 annual requests requiring less than a 24-hour turn-around. The Contractor shall be able accept electronic file transcripts, Power Point files, or web-based links from the VA, that will add to the value and accuracy of the captioners work for all offline captioning services. The Contractor shall be able to accept the following digital video file types for use in creating offline captioning files and creating video files with embedded captioning when supported: H.264 MP4, WMV, MPEG-1, QuickTime, QuickTime ProRes, Avid DNX, and MXF files. The Contractor shall be able to provide the most commonly available closed caption file types to include SRT, DFXP, XML, VTT, SMPTE-TT, SCC, CAP and SAMI. The Contractor shall be able to create and provide an electronic transcription text file created from archive video or audio files, upon request. The Contractor shall provide an external secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) server with secure access accounts to which the VA can upload and download video files to be used with the captioning services process. The SFTP server shall be able to receive video files up to 100 GB in size. The Contractor shall work with EES B&V and OI&T staff to establish the capability for the VA-managed Media Asset Management (MAM) to have ability to push and pull caption files to and from the vendor-managed SFTP watch folders. Deliverable 8.1.3: Electronic delivery of closed caption files. Deliverable 8.1.4: Electronic delivery of transcription text files Deliverable 8.1.5: Host name and login credentials needed for access to Contractor SFTP server storage. Task 9.1: Technical Exhibit 1- Performance Requirements: The contractor shall provide closed captioning for programs and enter the text at 98.6% or better accuracy for real-time captioning and 100% for off-line captioning. The Contractor shall evaluate system and staff performance and perform any technical repairs or staff changes to confirm proper operation and text accuracy. This evaluation shall be submitted monthly or upon request of the COR as a report. The Contractor shall submit a monthly report that lists all invoice numbers and amounts submitted to the VA against the current contract purchase order, separated by off-line captioning and real-time captioning tasks. The report shall also display the remaining purchase order balance at the date of the report. This shall be at 100% of time for the life of the contract, without fail The VA has the right to cancel services if services are determined by the VA to be unacceptable. The Contractor shall re-caption any program that is of unacceptable quality at no charge to the VA. Re-captioning shall be completed with 24 hours or at a time specified by the COR. The Contractor shall be able to receive, process, and provide deliverables for real-time and offline caption requests, in less than a 24-hour turn-around delivery time, for situations in which the VA determines are emergent. Deliverable 9.1.3: Monthly accounting report Task 10.1: Technical Exhibit 2- Work Load Estimates: Real-time Captioning will occur during weekdays except for federal holidays. Adobe Connect usage has varied between 25 and 75 hours per month. The number of satellite and webcast programs can vary between 3 and 20 hours per month. Program lengths can vary from approximately 10 minutes long to up to 2 hours long. Off-line Captioning requests are estimated to average 25 hours per month. Table 1, Mandatory Deliverable Table Deliverable Description Quantity Due Date 4.1 Post award kick-off meeting minutes. 1 Within 10 days of contract award 4.2.7 A closed caption file generated from a Line 21 live captioning session which shall be formatted to the VA s specification 1 Within 4 business hours of each live caption session 5.1.2 Transcript files in Microsoft Word of each Adobe Connect session 1 Within 4 business hours of each live caption session 6.1.2 URL links of web-based delivery services 1 Within 10 days of contract award 6.1.3 Closed caption file generated from a web-based delivery of live captioning sessions which shall be formatted to the VA s specification 1 Within 4 business hours of each live caption session 8.1.3 Electronic delivery of closed caption files 1 Within 5 business days of request date, and occasional emergency requests for turn-around in 24 hours or less 8.1.4 Electronic delivery of transcription text files 1 Within 5 business days of request date, and occasional emergency requests for turn-around in 24 hours or less 8.1.5 Host name and login credentials needed for access to Contractor SFTP server storage 1 Within 10 days of contract award 9.1.3 Monthly accounting report Contractor shall create and submit a Usage Rate Report NLT (15) business days after contract award. The Usage Rate Report shall be submitted to the government for review and acceptability of the Usage Rate Report document. 1 1 Monthly Within 15 days of contract award. Quality Control: The Contractor shall develop and maintain an effective internal quality control program to ensure that services performed are in accordance with the PWS. The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. As a minimum requirement, the Contractor shall internally develop quality control procedures that address the areas identified below in the Government s Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). Table 1, Performance Requirement Summary Performance Monitoring: Contractor s performance will be monitored through the use of a formal QASP. This plan will provide specific performance standards used for monitoring and measuring the Contractor s performance. The PM/COR will perform random and periodic inspection of the services covered under the contract. Performance Indicator Performance Standard Acceptable Quality Level Method of Surveillance Frequency Contractor s Project Management Plan (CPMP) Initial Contractor Project Management Plan (CPMP) is comprehensive, is responsive to the PWS, and addresses all PWS tasks as communicated in the Contractor s technical proposal; risks are identified and quantified and include a mitigation plan; contract schedule presents a work breakdown structure including associated activities with start and finish dates; communication plan addresses internal and external customers and stakeholders; and quality assurance demonstrates adherence to the PRS. Updates are provided on time and are thorough and complete. The contractor shall provide qualified staff to provide closed captioning for programs and enter the text at 98.6% or better accuracy for real-time captioning and 100% accuracy for off-line captioning. Two instances or fewer where significant errors or omissions were identified Real-time monitoring for live delivery; playback reviews of offline CC files Real-time monitoring for live delivery; playback reviews of offline CC files All live caption events and weekly reviews for offline captioning Monthly Professional and Technical Industry Standards The Contractor shall evaluate system and staff performance and perform any technical repairs or staff changes to confirm proper operation and text accuracy. This evaluation shall be submitted monthly or upon request of the COR as a report. Two instances or fewer where significant errors or omissions were identified Real-time monitoring for live delivery; playback reviews of offline CC files Deliverables Reporting The Contractor shall submit a monthly report that lists all invoice numbers and amounts submitted to the VA against the current contract purchase order, separated by off-line captioning, real-time captioning, and DVS. The report shall also display the remaining purchase order balance at the date of the report. Two instances or fewer where significant errors or omissions were identified Real-time monitoring for live delivery; playback reviews of offline CC files Deliverables The PM/COR will certify receipt of services and/or goods and recommends acceptance of the services/deliverables. This process will be used for approval of payment for the Contractor s invoices and will serve as the mechanism to document that the overall performance of the Contractor has been acceptable for the period of time covered by the invoice. The monthly invoices will be paid based on number of captioning hours used. Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE)/Government Furnished Information (GFI): No GFE will be provided to contractor. The contractor will be connecting remotely to equipment below: Equipment EEG Model HD490 Closed caption encoders Gentner Model Auto Coupler audio couplers Information Item# Phone Number Description 1 To be provided at time of award. CC ENCODER 1 2 314-416-6987 CC ENCODER 2 3 314-416-6988 CC ENCODER 3 4 314-416-6989 CC ENCODER 4 6 314-845-3244 AUDIO COUPLER CH. 1 7 314-845-2398 AUDIO COUPLER CH. 2 8 314-845-9483 AUDIO COUPLER CH. 3 9 314-845-9756 AUDIO COUPLER CH. 4 Performance Details: Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be for one (1) base year and four (4) option years after contract award. Place of Performance: Work shall be performed at VA-owned television studios located in St. Louis, MO; Washington DC, and Salt Lake City, UT. Contractor shall provide services during normal business hours from 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. local time, Monday through Friday, or as otherwise specified. Type of Contract: The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed-Price contract. Observance of Government Holidays. There are 10 Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103). Under current definitions, four are set by date: New Year's Day January 1 Independence Day July 4 Veterans Day November 11 Christmas Day December 25 If any of the above falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday. The other six holidays are set by a day of the week and month: Martin Luther King's Birthday Third Monday in January Washington's Birthday Third Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Labor Day First Monday in September Columbus Day Second Monday in October Thanksgiving Fourth Thursday in November Changes to the PWS: Any changes to this PWS shall be authorized and approved only through written correspondence from the CO. A copy of each change will be kept in a contract folder, along with all other products of the contract. Costs incurred by the Contractor through the actions of parties other than the CO shall be borne by the Contractor. Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure: It is agreed that: The preliminary and final deliverables, as well as all associated working papers and other material deemed relevant by VA that have been generated by the Contractor in the performance of this contract, are the exclusive property of the U.S. Government and shall be submitted upon request to the CO at the conclusion of the contract. The CO will be the sole authorized official to release, verbally or in writing, any data, draft deliverables, final deliverables, or any other written or printed materials pertaining to this contract. No information shall be released by the Contractor. Any request for information relating to this contract presented to the Contractor shall be submitted to the CO for response. Press releases, marketing material, or any other printed or electronic documentation related to this contract shall not be publicized without the written approval of the CO. Security Requirements: The C&A requirements do not apply, and that a Security Accreditation Package is not required. The contracted personnel will not have access to a VA system or sensitive information. NOTE: THIS NOTICE WAS NOT POSTED TO FEDBIZOPPS ON THE DATE INDICATED IN THE NOTICE ITSELF (01-MAR-2019); HOWEVER, IT DID APPEAR IN THE FEDBIZOPPS FTP FEED ON THIS DATE. PLEASE CONTACT 877-472-3779 or fbo.support@gsa.gov REGARDING THIS ISSUE.
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- SN05237591-F 20190303/190301230043 (fbodaily.com)
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