MODIFICATION
99 -- Verbatim Hearing Reporters
- Notice Date
- 2/25/2010
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 561492
— Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
- Contracting Office
- Social Security Administration, Office of Budget, Finance, and Management, Office of Acquisition and Grants Eastern Region 3, 300 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19123-2932, United States
- ZIP Code
- 19123-2932
- Solicitation Number
- SSA-RFQ-RG03-10-1005
- Point of Contact
- Linda Seidle, Phone: 215-597-9143, Linda Seidle, Phone: 215-597-9143
- E-Mail Address
-
Linda.Seidle@ssa.gov, Linda.Seidle@ssa.gov
(Linda.Seidle@ssa.gov, Linda.Seidle@ssa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- Vendors: Please Note that the following inquiries have been received and addressed by this office as of this date 2/5/2010- 2/25/2010. How do I calculate my quote? Response: I cannot tell you what to quote. A quote is the contractor's responsibility. If you are independent contractor, then you would use the same standard as applied to your current customers. How Do I provide an annual quote as reflected on Page 7 when there are no p per page or the hours? Response: -On Page 7, is not asking for an annual price-but a per hearing price which would be effective for the entire ordering period of performance at that particular site. The solicitation indicates reporters will not be paid per page or per hours. It also indicates there will be no appearance fee. How can I calculate my quote without knowing the number of hours for a hearing and preparation time? Response: This is not a traditional court reporter opportunity. The reference to no per page quote or per hour refers to the fact that no transcripts are required as a deliverable. Therefore, you cannot provide a quote on a per page basis. You are to quote per hearing as the directions indicate on Page 7. The estimate length of the hearing as indicated in the Blanket Purchase Agreement is 1 1/2 hours. This is an approximate time. Preparation time is not excessive and can be considered as part of the 1 1/2 hour estimate. Additional Clarification Information. This appears in the foreword of the RFQ package. Response: This is not a traditional court reporter opportunity therefore no appearance fee is acceptable. The only fee that you will receive is the quoted price per hearing. If it is a remote site, then you will be able to choose either to include mileage or list it as a separate line item. Your choice. Mileage is outside of the 75 miles commuting area and will be paid at the current Government per diem rate for the ordering period of performance. Additional Clarification. This appears in the foreword of the RFQ package. Response: The product will be uploaded to a server upon completion of the hearing. That is all of the deliverable you will provide. Why does the invoice ask for page total? Response: The invoice reflects the possibility of multiple hearings in a month. If this occurs, you will need to list each of the hearings you attended and then tally the total amount due to you at the bottom of the page. The example provided sets out the method by which you would show the hearings you have attended and the product you delivered. It is essential that you read the package in its entirety because it gives you an approximate hearing length and sets forth the process. There are over 120 vendors located throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and their pricing is confidential. If you are to respond to this RFQ, you must develop your own pricing plan(s). Please note that this is a Verbatim Hearing Reporter Contractor opportunity and that it is not the traditional court reporting process with a transcript as a deliverable end product. 1) Please identify the parameters surrounding the scheduling of SSA hearings. In the information it states that the VHR is to be available from 8:00 to 5:00 five days a week. Are hearings conducted every day all day and is the chosen vendor required to be onsite during the entire timeframe? RESPONSE: The BPA does not indicate that you are to be available from 8 AM to 5 PM. It reads that hearings are conducted between this timeframe. Further, there is no guarantee that you will be working 5 days a week. Yes, if you are scheduled for 5 hearings, you are expected to remain on site. If there is a break in the hearing schedule between the morning and afternoon sessions, then as a contractor it would not be necessary for you to remain on site. Please remember that this is a contractor opportunity and not employee. Unless you are recording a hearing, you will only have access to public areas only. You will only be able to use public restrooms whether you are recording a hearing or not. No SSA or ODAR employee including the Hearing Office Director, Schedulers or Administrative Law Judge has the ability to amend this requirement. 2) What type of training will be provided for the equipment? Where does the training take place and for how long and at what location? RESPONSE: The VHR is generally provided training at the Hearing Office or a site in close proximity to the performance site. Training should not be longer than 1 session and is not chargeable. 3) It is clearly stated that the chosen vendor only gets paid for the delivery of the final product. In that regard, please confirm the chosen vendor could attend multiple hearings and in the event a final product is not requested for said hearing(s) no compensation will be paid? RESPONSE: The vendor shall only be paid for the delivery of a final product. A final product consists of a full hearing. In the event of a dismissal, cancellation or no show, the vendor receives $5.00. In the event of a continuance, the vendor receives full compensation because there will be a final product in the form of a CD and the recorded hearing notes. This is the final product. We do not request final products; they either are produced or not produced in accordance with the above. Further, if the vendor does not produce a usable product due their failure to turn on the equipment or format the CD, then they do not receive compensation. This may be a situation where the vendor is assessed damages for failing to record a hearing. 4) Who has the option to request/order the final product from the chosen vendor? What is the frequency of requests for the final product relative to the hearings attended (on average)? RESPONSE: There is no option to request or order a hearing final product. This is not a traditional court reporter situation. A final product is the CD and only when a final product is delivered will full payment be made to the VHR. 5) What locations(s) is the chosen vendor required to deliver the final product to? Is there ever an occasion where delivery is required outside of the performance site? RESPONSE: The vendor is required to record and upload the CD to a server when a hearing is conducted in the Hearing Office. For remote sites, the CD is either given to the Administrative Law Judge or sent by mail to the Hearing Office upon completion of the hearing. You may not include invoices in this submission. 6) On Page 11-F of the RFQ it addresses the failure to deliver a complete final product. What does a hearing cost and/or how can the chosen vendor assess an estimate as to potential "actual damages" in the event he or she cannot deliver the final product due to unanticipated circumstances? RESPONSE: This is not something which I cannot accurately address. The cost may range from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. The best course of action is for the vendor to ensure that the final product is delivered as required. If you completed a hearing, then it is your responsibility as a contractor to get the final product to SSA. Please understand that the VHR's are recording Disability Hearings. These hearings determine whether an individual seeking Disability under the Social Security Laws will receive benefits which will enable him or her to secure life's essentials such as food, housing and medical care. I cannot stress the importance of these hearings and the importance of the VHR following through by providing the final product. 7) What is a FD-258 and is there a cost for this? RESPONSE: This is a fingerprint chart and yes there is a charge for this. However, fingerprints and forms are only issued to individuals who have been awarded a BPA. 8) The RFQ states that the chosen vendor is to conclude his or her rationale for the pricing submitted. If this is a requirement where specifically this information should be provided? RESPONSE: The information should be included with the pricing pages. 9) After Year 1 of the Agreement are the successive one year periods effective upon the mutual agreement of the parties or is this Agreement a 5 year legal/contractual obligation where the chosen vendor is not afforded a right of termination for convenience (without cause) and/or a similar contractual right to decide whether or not to continue providing this service at the conclusion of Year 1? RESPONSE: Either party may opt to continue to accept or provide service. If you are awarded a BPA and chose to resign, then a letter of resignation to this office is required. No punitive action will be taken provided that you have no outstanding final products. Additional Inquiries: Equipment and CD's will be provided by the Agency. The VHR is required to one of the following: 1. In Hearing Office Sites- upload the CD to the server 2. In Remote Office Sites- either gives CD to Administrative Law Judge or Mail (at the VHR's expense) to the Hearing Office of record within the specified timeframe established by the Hearing Office. This is not a highly technical contractor opportunity, but it does require knowledge of a computer. The ability to operate the equipment and upload the CD. This is not a traditional court reporter requiring RealTime, transcripts or videoconferencing skills. The individual will need to have the basic computer skills to operate the provided equipment
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/SSA/DCFIAM/SSAR3/SSA-RFQ-RG03-10-1005/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Various sites as identified in the Request for Quote Performance Site List., Blanket Purchase Agreement Administration:, 300 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia PA 19123, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19123, United States
- Zip Code: 19123
- Zip Code: 19123
- Record
- SN02076869-W 20100227/100226095041-44538f51b9f4af2d0b14c72633baff31 (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 |