SOURCES SOUGHT
65 -- Warming Blankets & Units
- Notice Date
- 10/8/2008
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 339113
— Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Navy, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, NMC San Diego, Bldg 1, 38400 Bob Wilson Drive, San Diego, California, 92134-5000
- ZIP Code
- 92134-5000
- Solicitation Number
- APP9-10-0809-02
- Archive Date
- 11/14/2008
- Point of Contact
- Cindy Ingrao,, Phone: 619-532-8517
- E-Mail Address
-
cynthia.ingrao@med.navy.mil
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- A. General Information Southwest Region seeks approval to standardize Warming Blankets & Units for patient temperature management in the prevention of hypothermia for its Army, Navy, and US Air Force medical facilities in California. Standardization action for this product line represents a new initiative for this Region. It is not the preference of this standardization to make a multiple selection, however, if necessary due to non-availability from a single source, a multiple selection would be made based on a combination of Regional Clinical preference as determined by the Clinical Product Team (CPT) and vendor product availability. This product line includes warming units that utilize warm air for heating and these items in the following sizes: adult upper body approximately 72 in. by 24 in.; adult lower body approximately 60 in. by 36 in.; adult full body blanket at least 84 in. by 36 in.; and pediatric full body blanket approx. 36 in by 33 in. Vendors are required to supply all items listed in all sizes listed. The primary objective of this standardization initiative is to achieve a best value determination that represents the clinically preferred product or source at the best possible price. It is also intended that standardized product be obtained through the DoD Prime Vendor Program. The major facilities in the area include but are not limited to Naval Medical Center San Diego; David Grant Medical Center, Travis AFB; Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton; Robert E. Bush Hospital, Twenty-Nine Palms; Weed Army Community Hospital, Ft. Irwin; and Naval Hospital Lemoore. This standardization action is part of the Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor program executed by the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Directorate of Medical Materiel. In order to participate, your company must have a Distribution and Pricing Agreement (DAPA) and a separate commercial agreement with the Prime Vendor of the program. This is pursuant to the DAPA clause by which DAPA holders agree to the Standardization process and to allow Prime Vendors to distribute their items. This is a supplement to the Prime Vendor Program and it is not a contract. For additional information regarding DSCP's Prime vendor program please access our web site at: https://dmmonline.dscp.dla.mil The Tri-Service Regional Business Office (TRBO) will provide anticipated volume (quantity) based on historical usage/forecasted requirements. The agreement will be for a base period of two (2) years (24 months) from date of award with three (3) 12-month option periods. Anticipated award date is December 2008. The evaluation will be based on technical, clinical and pricing factors. The Technical/Company and Clinical/Performance evaluation factors, when combined, are considered significantly more important than cost or price. As the technical and clinical evaluation results become more equal, price will become more important. The selection will be determined utilizing best value/trade off criteria. The selection of a single vendor is anticipated. However, if no single vendor can meet the total requirement of the Region, the Government reserves the right to make two or more selections for RIAs. In this event, selection would be based on a combination of MTF preference and product availability. Point of Contact: Cindy Ingrao, RN, MSN at (619) 532-8517; Email- cynthia.ingrao@med.navy.mil B. Products & Performance Required The Southwest Region is seeking product line items in the category of Warming Blankets & Units for patient temperature management in the prevention of hypothermia. Within this region, this product line has an estimated annual dollar requirement of $78,000. This forecast is based on historical prime vendor sales during a recent 12-month period. At the request of the Southwest Region Military Treatment Facilities vendors will provide on-site support and in-servicing, educational resources and tools for clinical use of the product, conversion information, prime vendor order numbers, MSDS information, and itemization of the brands, types and packaging information of the products offered by the vendor. C. Instructions to Vendors If you are interested in participating in this standardization initiative, email your (1) Company name and address, (2) POC (Name and Phone Number, Fax Number, E-mail address, your answers to the technical questions/criteria below and product literature to cynthia.ingrao@med.navy.mil no later than October 30, 2008. Submissions must be received by 5:00 PM PST on the specified closing date/time of this sources sought notice. Vendors that fail to meet the submittal deadline will be disqualified. If your product literature is more than 4MB in size, please mail your product literature to: Cindy Ingrao, RN, MSN Tri-Service Regional Business Office MSMMO - Southwest Region 34800 Bob Wilson Drive, Suite 110 San Diego, CA 92134 Phone: (619) 532-8517 This process will include vendor requirements of electronic responses to technical criteria, no charge samples for clinical evaluation, and submission of electronic best price offers. Due to the potential for email to become lost in transmission due to network security, etc., the vendor is strongly encouraged to confirm with the Region that its quote and literature actually arrived at the Region via email. All e-mail communication between vendors and the region will be digitally signed by the issuer. We strongly recommend that each submitting vendor confirm receipt, allowing enough time for re-submission before the due date, if a problem should occur with the first transmission. D. Evaluation Criteria Phase I - Technical/Company Evaluation Process. Vendors will be required to provide detailed responses to the technical/company criteria and product literature. Amplifying information about your products may be requested by the Government. The responses will be reviewed under the purview of the TPRB to determine acceptability. All technical/company criteria are weighted equally. The vendors who meet the following technical/company criteria will be qualified/invited to participate in the clinical/performance evaluation process via e-mail communication with each vendor. All communications of significant milestones, such as invitations to participate, notices of disqualification, etc. must be digitally signed. The TPRB will review the responses from the vendors and determine which vendors meet the criteria and determine acceptability. Acceptability for purposes of evaluation of technical/company criteria: Generally, responses to all questions in this section demonstrate: (1) the vendor is a distributor or manufacturer of a complete line of the subject medical/surgical consumables; (2) based on the vendor's responses, the evaluators have reasonable confidence that the line or products and/or services submitted meet the medical standards of care of the community, applicable to such products or services; (3) the vendor has, or is obtaining a DAPA for the items (vendors that fail to have a DAPA will be disqualified); (4) the vendor has, or is obtaining, an agreement covering the items, with Cardinal, the Prime Vendor for the region (vendors whose products are not available through the regional PV will be disqualified); (5) the vendor intends to provide discounts off DAPA for all products included in this standardization initiative (vendors that fail to provide a discount from DAPA will be disqualified); and (6) the vendor's information provided is factually correct. Any misrepresentation of information will disqualify the vendor from further consideration. Technical/Company Criteria 1. Your company must manufacture and/or distribute a complete line of Warming Blankets, Warming Units, and accessories. At a minimum, the line must include a temperature management unit that would support convection air warming blankets in several types (upper body, lower body, full body, under body, etc.), configuration and sizes for adult, pediatric and neonatal patients. 2. Provide the brand(s) under which your company manufactures or distributes your products. 3. Provide the size for each type of product, is it suitable for the field setting, how the product is packaged and how the sizes are identified. 4. Your warming blankets must meet federal standards for devices (FDA and AAMI). Please provide documentation stating that they meet the standards. 5. Due to the increasing number of latex sensitive beneficiaries in our health system, our region requires latex-free versions of products in this product line where available. Additionally, products must be clearly labeled as latex free. 6. Your warming units must be lightweight, quiet and with a small footprint. 7. Your warming units must be easily cleaned. 8. Your warming unit must be able to identify the status of over-temperature, calibration and fault code servicing alerts, warnings, and alarms. 9. Your warming units must be able to warm air to at least 38 C in 30 seconds with a feature that allows for fast warming and for warming very cold patients. Please provide your approximate blanket temperatures from ambient to high. 10. Your warming units must have an automatic shutdown safety feature to ensure patient safety. 11. Your warming units must have a HEPA filter to reduce airborne particulate. 12. Your warming units must have multiple mounting options. 13. Your warming units must have options that allow it to be used during surgery, the recovery room or other critical care areas. 14. Your warming units must have power cords that are easily stored when the unit is not in use. 15. Your warming blankets must be made of a soft, strong, flexible fabric that resists tears, punctures and fluids. 16. Your warming blankets must allow it to be contoured closely to the patient over and under the body without bunching or billowing up. 17. Your warming blankets must offer "surgical access" to the patient to check tubes and pulses. 18. Your warming blankets must be made of fabric that does not interfere with or affect x-rays. 19. Your warming blankets must not create hot plastic surfaces. 20. Your products must be available through the Prime Vendor, Cardinal Health, or you will be disqualified from the standardization process. Please acknowledge and identify that you have such an agreement with Cardinal Health. 21. Your company must have a DAPA number for this product line or you will be disqualified from the standardization process. Please provide the DAPA number for this product line. 22. Your company must offer volume discounts off DAPA for all products included in this standardization initiative. Where FSS prices are available, DAPA holders are required by previous agreement to provide the FSS price as their DAPA price. Therefore, FSS prices do not represent a discount off the DAPA. Vendors that fail to offer a discount off the DAPA price will be disqualified. 23. Educational tools or materials in the form of written, audio and/or visual must be provided for this product line. Please state how your company will meet this requirement. 24. Your company must provide staff training for this product line. Please state how your company will meet this requirement. 25. Please provide a list of product representatives for each account in the Southwest Region. 26. Please provide your company's returned goods policy. 27. Please provide an implementation plan for servicing the supply requirements of the Southwest region. 28. Please annotate the hours that customer service support is accessible via a toll-free number. 24 hours/day, 7 days/week support is preferable. If your company does not provide preferable level of support, state the hours support is provided. 29. Please provide any history of backorders, recalls, and/or adverse events for this product line stating dates and duration, cause, and resolution. Vendors should put their best foot forward, that is, provide a context to include any mitigating factors for these situations and any relief or resolution which may have been provided since there will be no further opportunity to explain these incidents. If your company has not had any of the above, so state. Phase II - Clinical/Performance Evaluation Process. The TPRB will request samples and product literature from the product group to be clinically evaluated at selected Military Treatment Facilities. Vendors are required to ship samples directly to the designated MTFs. Vendors will be given 14 calendar days to ship samples. Samples must arrive at the MTF by COB, 5PM local time, on the 14th calendar day after the notice to ship. Vendors failing to deliver by the deadline will be disqualified from further consideration in the standardization process. The MTFs will evaluate the clinical/performance criteria using a scale from one (1) to five (5) where 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree and 5 = Strongly Agree. All clinical/performance criteria are weighted equally. The evaluations are conducted a clinical setting. The CPT has established a target threshold of 3.0 for clinical acceptability of product for standardization. The CPT will analyze acceptability as being at or near 3.0 depending on the "break", in the average scores and how closely the scores are clustered near the Acceptability Target Threshold of 3.0. Subject to this review, products below this threshold will be clinically unacceptable and be disqualified from further consideration for standardization. A Clinical Product Team (CPT) comprised of medical professionals from several disciplines will evaluate the products based upon on the following evaluation criteria to determine acceptability. Clinical/Performance Criteria 1. The warming unit is easy to set up and operate. a. Clinicians require the warming unit is easy to set up for normal operation and in an emergency leading to timely care of the patient and avoidance of further hypothermic damage. b. This criterion will be evaluated in the clinical setting at least (3) times. c. Evaluator will simulate an emergency and set up the warming unit as quickly as possible by plugging in the unit and turning it on, choosing the settings and adjusting alarms to determine the ease of set up and operation. 2. The warming unit screen is easy to read. a. Clinicians require the screen be visually clear with appropriate contrast for quick reference and safe operation. b. This criterion will be evaluated in the clinical setting at least (3) times. c. Evaluator will turn on the warming unit, wait until the screen is on and view the screen for easy readability up close and from a distance of at least (5) feet. 3. The warming unit's alarm is visible and audible and the cause(s) of the alarm is (are) easily identifiable a. Clinicians require the warming unit's alarm be both visible and audible as well as seeing what the cause is to allow for timely intervention and maintain the safety of the patient. b. This criterion will be evaluated in the clinical setting at least (3) times. c. Evaluator will simulate a patient being over warmed so the alarm is set off and assess if the alarm is visible and sufficiently audible from outside the room and visualize if there is a cause listed on the screen. 4. The warming blanket packaging allows for simple and quick application. a. Clinicians require packaging that allows for easy opening and handling of the warming blanket for quick application and attachment to the warming unit for timely implementation to the patient. b. This criterion will be evaluated in the clinical setting at least (3) times. c. Evaluator will open/remove warming blanket from the packaging, apply to patient and attach hose from warming unit and will observe for ease of application process. 5. The warming blanket can be removed from the patient easily. a. Clinicians require the blanket not be difficult to remove to avoid stress to the patient and extended heating time. b. This criterion will be evaluated in the clinical setting at least (3) times. c. Evaluator will remove warming blanket from the patient and will observe for ease of removal process 6. The warming blanket is soft and comfortable next to the patient's skin. a. Clinicians require the warming blanket be soft and comfortable next to the patient's skin to prevent skin irritation and increase the patient's comfort. b. This criterion will be evaluated in the clinical setting at least (3) times. c. Evaluator will feel the warming blanket and place it against the patient's skin and ask the patient if the fabric is soft and comfortable. 7. The warming blanket hugs the patient while allowing quick access to the patient's chest, arms, torso, and lower body. a. Clinicians require the warming blanket cover the patient adequately yet allow for access to the patient's body for assessment purposes and dressing checks. b. This criterion will be evaluated in the clinical setting at least (3) times. c. Evaluator will apply the blanket to the patient and visualize if there are cut outs/openings where the patient's chest, arms, torso, and lower body can be accessed easily. 8. The warming unit is easy to turn off, unplug and stow away. a. Clinicians require the warming unit be easy to power off and store after normal use in a timely manner and without potential injury to the clinicians. b. This criterion will be evaluated in the clinical setting at least (3) times. c. Evaluator will power off, unplug and store the warming unit to determine the ease of stowing it away. Phase III - Pricing Analysis Process. All vendors who provide samples for clinical evaluation will be asked to submit best value pricing for analysis. Vendors will be given 14 calendar days from the date of request to submit their best pricing, in a prescribed format, based upon the total requirements of the Southwest Region. The Region intends to evaluate pricing and select a vendor or vendor(s), without discussions. Vendor pricing should contain the vendor's best product matches for the products or product lines requested in this announcement. Vendor pricing should contain the vendor's best tiered-pricing discounts off of the vendor's DAPA pricing (based on committed volume of 80% of the total requirements of the MTFs in the Region). Additionally, the Region reserves the right to conduct discussions and request revised pricing, if it is determined to be necessary. Pricing will be evaluated based on best value to the government and will be based on a committed volume for a two-year period with possible one-year option periods (not to exceed 5 years). The following elements will be considered in the pricing analysis: (1) Impact of RIA prices on the Region (Post-Standardization Costs), (2) Potential Cost Avoidance, (3) Impact of Unmatched Lines, and (4) Consideration of SKUs by each vendor. The impact of RIA prices on the Region is considered more important than other pricing elements. The Technical/Company and Clinical/Performance evaluation factors, when combined, are considered significantly more important than cost or price. As the evaluation results become more technically/clinically equal, price will become more important. Pricing will be evaluated based on best value to the government and will be based on a committed volume for a two-year period with possible one-year option periods (not to exceed 5 years). Failure to submit a discount off the DAPA price will result in exclusion.
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