Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, Contracting Officer (90C), Acquisition & Material Management Service, One Veterans Plaza, San Juan, PR 00927-5800

99 -- TRANSCRIPTION OF CASSETTES AND TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENTS SOL IFB355-149-99 DUE 102898 POC Ana Alvarado 787 766 6537 This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for Commercial Items prepared in accordance with the format Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; bids are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation is issued as an Invitation for Bid (IFB). Solicitation number IFB355-149-99. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-05. This procurement is a Small Business Set-Aside. SIC (Standard Industrial Classification Code) 7389 is applied, business size standard is $3.5M. The Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center (VAMC), San Juan, PR, has the requirement to perform transcription of cassettes in English/Spanish to English and translation of documents in Spanish to English of administrative hearings from veterans appeal cases of the Veterans Affairs Regional Office (VARO) in Puerto Rico, the Board of Veterans Appeals in Washington, DC and Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC), San Juan, Puerto Rico. The contract will be for one (1) base year and four (4) option years. This requirement is for an IDIQ (indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity) -- fixed price. BASE YEAR (11/01/98 TO 9/30/99) 1001. Transcription/ Translation (Cassettes) English/Spanish to English: estimated quantity pages per year 11,393. Cost per page $__________. 1002. Translation (documents) Spanish to English: estimated quantity pages per year 750. Cost per page $___________. NOTE: Option line items are the same as described in the base year listed above. Offeror shall submit pricing for BASE YEAR (11/01/98 to 09/30/99) L/I # 1001 through 1002 and for each option year on a separate sheet as follows: OPTION YEAR I: (10/1/99 to 09/30/00) L/I # 2001 through 2002. OPTION YEAR II: (10/01/00 to 09/30/01) L/I # 3001 through 3002. OPTION YEAR III: (10/01/01 to 09/30/02) L/I # 4001 through 4002. OPTION YEAR IV: (10/01/02 to 09/30/03) L/I # 5001 through 5002. Contractor shall provide all personnel, space, materials, and equipment necessary to perform transcription of cassettes in English/Spanish to English and translation of documents in Spanish to English. Prices and billing shall be based on 12 Pitch, Elite typed page. ESTIMATED QUANTITY. The quantities listed herein are estimates only. The Government is not obligated to any specified amount of services, but shall be obligated to provide payment for all services requested and received in acceptable condition, and of the quality and quantity as requested. TYPE OF MATERIAL FOR TRANSCRIPTION/ TRANSLATION: The type of material for transcription shall include veterans appeals cases in English and Spanish (including dialects and accents) containing legal and medical terminology. Type of material for translation shall include documents, printed and handwritten material, legal, medical, letters, and other miscellaneous documents (i.e., birth certificates, death certificates, claims for burial expenses). FORMAT: Transcribed recordings and translated documents shall be of the highest quality [a] Paper (Good quality white bond paper), [b] Paper Size (8-1/2" x 11"), [c] Typing Font (12 Pitch, Elite), [d] Margins (Left 5" / Right 5"), [e] Line Spacing (Double Spaced), [f] Text Alignment (Left Justification), [g] Translation of documents shall follow the format on the original document in Spanish. CASSETTES: Transcription/translation of one or two sixty (60) minute standard size cassettes recorded on one or both sides in English and/or Spanish per case of veterans appeals hearing. DOCUMENTS: Translation from Spanish to English printed and handwritten letters, legal, medical, and miscellaneous documents. Work will be mailed and/or delivered by the most expeditious method agreed by the parties after contract award herein VARO and Contractor, from VARO in Puerto Rico and Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office, Board of Appeals, in Washington, DC. It is determined that a standard page consists of an average of 250 words. Contractor pricing will be based on an average word count stated and payment of services for each individual page. Document contents is based on general and technical information as prescribed. VARO shall prioritize and mark the cassettes/documents either "Regular" (Response Time: 5 working days) or "Priority" (Response Time: 3 working days). Contractor shall make every effort to transcribe the complete recorded and translate documents. Translated document showing official seals, stamps, etc., shall be referenced as a footnote in lieu of the original seal, stamp, etc. Where the recording is non-intelligible or the document is illegible or non-decipherable the word "non intelligible", illegible, or non-decipherable may be inserted where necessary. Translator's notes may be shown as footnotes on transcription/translation, if deemed necessary for explanatory reasons, but such notes must be extraneous to the matter. The Contractor shall maintain a procedure, which provides for screening and/or proofreading for accuracy and uniformity in terminology and format. Strikeovers, poor erasures or irrelevant remarks will not be allowed. Any transcriptions and/or translated documents requiring correction or are unacceptable to VARO or the Board of Appeals shall be returned to the Contractor who shall correct and return the corrected transcription and/or translated documents to VARO within THREE (3) working days at no additional cost to the Government. All original cassettes, documents, printed and handwritten material, legal, medical, letters, and other miscellaneous documents (i.e., birth certificates, death certificates, claims for burial expenses) are considered the property of the Government and are required to be returned to VARO and Board of Appeals, respectively. Contractor shall not retain any copies of cassettes and/or documents for their own use and/or files. The Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR), VARO, will review transcriptions and translations for quality. MARKINGS: Pagesof transcribed/translated text shall be marked as follow: BOTTOM/RIGHT-HAND CORNER: If the veteran's name and reference number appear in the Spanish language documents (for translation), translator must type the words "IN RE" (meaning: " in regard to") Example: IN RE: SMITH, JOHN. BOTTOM/RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF LAST SHEET: Type the contract number, name of the language translated from, the number of words (for billing purposes), and translator's initials. SERVICE HOURS AND RESPONSE: Government Regular Working Hours: Regular working hours will be Monday through Friday, 8:00AM to 4:30PM except for Federal Holidays: (New Year's Day January 1); (Martin Luther King's Birthday 3rd Monday in January); (Washington's Birthday 3rd Monday in February); (Memorial Day Last Monday in May); (Independence Day July 4); (Labor Day 1st Monday in September); (Columbus Day 2nd Monday in October); (Veteran's Day November 11); (Thanksgiving Day 4th Thursday in November); (Christmas Day December 25). Or any other day declared a nationalholiday by the President of the United States. REGULAR (NON-PRIORITY) WORK: All material (translated/transcribed) shall be accompanied by VA Form 3-2801 and shall be returned within five (5) working days from date of receipt by the on Contractor to the VARO and Board of Appeals, respectively. PRIORITY WORK: All material (translated/transcribed) shall be accompanied by VA Form 3-2801 and shall be returned within three (3) working days from date of receipt by the Contractor to the VARO and Board of Appeals, respectively. VA FORM 3-2801 "REQUEST FOR TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH": VA Form 3-2801 shall accompany each cassette and document for transcription/translation or correction. The form shall show, as a minimum: [a] veteran's names; [b] VA identifying file number; [c] number of cassettes recorded in each hearing and documents in Spanish. Contractor shall complete and return VA Form 3-2801 accompanied by original cassette documents, transcribed cassettes, and translated documents to VARO or Board of Appeals, respectively. When a cassette and/or document cannot be transcribed/translated because it is non-decipherable or illegible, the Contractor shall complete and return VA Form 3-2801(indicating the reason why it cannot be transcribed/translated) accompanied by original cassettes and documents to VARO or Board of Appeals within THREE (3) working days. Contractor shall retain a copy of VA Form 3-2801 for his files. Under no circumstances is the Contractor to erase a cassette and/or mark, mar or in any way alter the original cassettes and/or documents. Contractor shall ensure the confidentiality of all veteran information and will be held liable in the event of breach of confidentiality. The Contractor shall comply with FAR Clause 52.224-1, Privacy Act (APR 1984). MAILING FROM VARO (San Juan, Puerto Rico) TO CONTRACTOR: Every Tuesday and Thursday VARO will mail via Certified Mail or Express Mail (mailing costs paid by the Government) to the Contractor VA Form 3-2801 accompanied by original cassettes and copies of documents. Whenever Tuesday and/or Thursday are a Federal Holiday, it will be mailed the next working day. MAILING FROM BOARD OF APPEALS (WASHINGTON DC) TO CONTRACTOR: As required, the Board of Appeals (Washington, DC) will mail via Certified Mail or Express Mail (mailing costs paid by the Government) to the Contractor VA Form 3-2801 accompanied by original cassettes and copies of documents. MAILING FROM CONTRACTOR TO VARO: Return-mailing addresses for transcribed cassettes and translated documents received from VARO (accompanied by VA Form 3-2801, original cassettes and documents):VA REGIONAL OFFICE, ATTN: CHIEF, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE, (FOB/ADM/355/023) Room 270, GPO BOX 364867, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 00936-4867. MAILING FROM CONTRACTOR TO BOARD OF APPEALS: Return-mailing address for transcribed cassettes and translated documents received from Board of Veterans Appeals (accompanied by VA Form 3-2801, original cassettes and documents): DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, CENTRAL OFFICE, BOARD OF APPEALS, 810 VERMONT AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, DC 20420. Contractor shall pay all return mailing costs to VARO in Puerto Rico and Board of Appeals in Washington, DC. INSPECTION OF OFFEROR'S FACILITIES: VARO reserves the right to inspect and investigate the establishment and facilities and other qualifications of any offeror and to reject an offer regardless of price, if it should be administratively determined to be lacking in any of the essentials necessary to ensure acceptable standards of performance. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA: At no time shall any understanding or agreement, contract modification, change order, or other matters in deviation from the terms of this contract between the Contractor and a person other than the Contracting Officer, be effective of binding upon the Government. All such actions must be formalized by the proper contractual document executed by the Contracting Officer. CONTRACTING OFFICER'S TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE (COTR): Prior to contract award, the Contracting Officer will designate a VARO employee as COTR. No other person(s) shall be authorized to act as COTR of the VARO under this contract. INVOICING PROCEDURES: Contractor shall properly execute separate invoices for cassette transcription/translation documents from VARO and Board of Appeals. Contractor shall submit a properly prepared invoice, provided. At a minimum, Contractor's invoice will contain the following: date of service, contract number, purchase order number, contract prices, quantity (total number of words and/or documents transcribed/translated, payment terms, remittance address, patient's name (last name, first initial, patient's identification number, if provided by VARO/Board of Appeals. Payment shall be made monthly in arrears upon certification by the COTR as to the accuracy and completeness of the services. Contract shall submit invoices to: VA Regional Office, Administration Division (FOB/355-023), GPO BOX 364867, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936. When the service covered by this contract is discontinued, the VA shall terminate that portion of the contract upon thirty- (30) days written notice to the Contractor. The provision 52.212-1 Instructions of Offerors -- Commercial Items (AUG 1998), 52.212-2 Evaluation- Commercial Items (OCT 1997) applies to this acquisition. FACTORS FOR BASIS OF AWARD: The Government will evaluate bids in response to this solicitation without discussions and will award a contract to the responsible bidder whose bid, conforming to the solicitation, will be most advantageous to the Government considering only price and the price-related factors specified elsewhere in the solicitation. Bid submitted in response to this solicitation and that meet the solicitation requirements shall be evaluated in accordance with the following factors in descending order. All evaluation factors other than price are significantly more important than price and will have more weight. (a) Technical capability: (1) Experience: Offeror is required to submit sufficient evidence that they have adequate equipment, facilities, personnel and that they also have the necessary experience to establish responsibility and integrity to meet the requirements of this contract. Any offer from a bidder who does not have adequate experience, personnel, equipment and facilities, in the opinion of the Contracting Officer, will be rejected. Offeror shall submit evidence of the organization's qualifications, experience and achievements, past and present. Reference are required including name(s) of customer(s) with which the offeror has contract(s), type of contract, cost of contract and brief description of the work performed, the geographic location of the office performing the work and telephone number. (2) Personnel Qualification: Offeror shall provide evidence by certificate from an approved college based course of study and/or any documentation of length of experience working on the required job. (b) Past Performance: (1) Contract performance: Describe contract performance and critical performance with private sector facilities, and/or other federal agencies. (2) References: List references with bid, offerors shall submit contracts within the last 2 years to include client name, address, telephone number, person to contact and dollar amount of contract and other relevant information to allow for evaluation of performance of this acquisition. All criteria herein are required. (c) Price: Final selection will be determined by the offeror that submits the best technical proposal. Award may be without any written or oral discussions with any offeror. The Government may make multiple awards for the services listed herein to those responsible offerors whose offers, conform to the factors as listed in priority. COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS: The contractor shall comply with Join Commission Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) requirements. In compliance with JCAHO requirement the Contractor shall provided written confirmation that employees are competent to perform the task assigned on this contract. This written confirmation shall specify in which areas each contract employees are competent. The following provisions and clauses are applicable and are hereby incorporated into the solicitation by reference will be provided by the contracting Officer in full text upon request. Offeror shall submit a completed copy of provision 52.212-3 Offeror Representations, and Certifications -- Commercial Items (JAN 1997) with the bid. 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues or Executive Orders -- Commercial Items (JUN 1998), applicable clauses (52.203-6, 52.203-10, 52.22-26, 52-222-35, 52.222-36, 52.222-37, 52.225-3, 52.239-1, 52.247-64, 542.222-41, 52.222-43, 52.222-47). 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items (APR 1998), 52.214-1 Solicitation Definitions -- Sealed Bidding. (JUL 1987), 52.214-3 Amendments to Invitations for Bids. (DEC 1989), 52.214-4 False Statements in Bids. (APR 1984), 52.214-5 Submission of Bids. (MAR 1997), 52.214-6 Explanation to Prospective Bidders. (APR 1984), 52.214-7 Late Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals of Bids. (MAY 1997), 52.214-9 Failure to Submit Bid. (JUL 1995), 52.216-18 Ordering (OCT 1995), 52.214-10 Contract Award -- Sealed Bidding. (JUL 1990), 52.214-12 Preparation of Bids. (APR 1984), 52.243-1 Changes -- Fixed-Price. (AUG 1987), 52.216-19 Order Limitations (OCT 1995), 52.216-21 Requirements (OCT 1995), 52.216-22 Indefinite Quantity (OCT 1995), 852.216-70 Estimated quantities for requirements contracts. (APR 1984), 52.232-33 Mandatory Information for Electronic Funds Transfer Payment (AUG 1996), 852.214-70 Caution to bidders -- bid envelopes. (APR 1984), 852.270-1 Representatives of contracting officers. (APR 1984), 852.233-70 Protest content. (JAN 1998), 852.270-4 Commercial advertising. (NOV 1984), 52.242-13 Bankruptcy (JUL 1995), 52.217-5 Evaluation of Options (JUL 1990). Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (AUG 1989), 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (MAR 1989), 52.228-5 and 52.232-18 Availability of Funds (APR 1984). Bids are requested in writing and shall be submitted to the following address: VA Medical Center, One Veterans Plaza, Contracting Office (A&MMS) 90C, San Juan, PR 00926, no later than 4:00pm local time on Monday, October 28, 1998 directed to Ana G. Alvarado. Facsimile bids will not be considered. The solicitation number IFB355-146-99 shall be listed on the outside of your response for identification showing the time and date specified for receipt, the name and address of the bidder. Posted 09/28/98 (W-SN255439). (0271)

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