Q511--OFL CSS/IOT Lab Management Software and Digital Lens Calculations

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. This is not a solicitation for bids, proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. The responses received from interested contractors will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Network Contracting Office (NCO) 20, is conducting market research to identify potential sources which can provide the following in support of Boise VA Medical Center.
Boise VA Medical Center has a need for Lab Management Software (LMS) and Digital Lens Contract.
STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW) Contract Title:
Lab Management Software (LMS) and Digital Lens Contract
Background:
The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Boise ID (VAMC) has an ongoing program to furnish eyeglasses to those veterans that require them and are eligible for assistance. It is VA s intention to solicit proposals and award a single IDIQ on a competitive basis. The contractor shall provide all LMS software, programming support, labor, equipment, IOT digital lens calculation data, access points for Opticom and VisionWeb for all lens materials, styles required to provide complete and continual LMS software operating support to produce ophthalmic eyewear for beneficiaries of the Department of Veterans Administration, VISN 20 Optical Fabrication Laboratory (OFL). It is anticipated that the VISN 20 OFL will manufacture and produce an estimated (EST) 100,000 to 200,000 pairs of ophthalmic eyewear per year with an estimated average of 150,000 pairs of ophthalmic eyewear per year. It is also anticipated that the VISN 20 OFL will manufacture and produce an estimated (EST) 2,000 to 90,000 pairs of digitally calculated ophthalmic eyewear per year with an estimated average of 5,000 pairs of digitally designed ophthalmic lenses per month. The VA does not guarantee or imply that any number of orders will be placed under this contract. The quantities identified herein are estimates only. The actual quantity may vary. The actual quantities will be based upon the number of patients who are determined eligible by the VA to receive ophthalmic eyewear.
Scope:
The contractor shall provide all service software, literature, licenses, and contractor support to operate the LMS, IOT digital lens designs, Opticom, and VisionWeb in-house at the VISN 20 Optical Fabrication Laboratory. The contractor shall provide all general calculation data and all IOT Freeform digital lens calculation data for Single Vision and PAL lenses using any standard spherical Single Vision Semi-Finished CR-39 plastic, 1.55 mid-index, 1.67 hi-index, Polycarbonate, Trivex, Polarized, Transitions, Photo-chromatic, SunSensor blank, or any other material as it becomes available. Digital lenses are back surface progressives where the front surface is spherical or rotationally symmetrical and the back surface combines the progressive and prescription surface to form an asymmetrical surface including but not limited to lenses incorporating optical optimization covered by patients owned by Carl Zeiss Vision and/or its affiliated companies ( CSV ) and Seiko Optical Products Inc. The Contractor s Lab Management Software is required to be compatible and interface immediately upon award with governmental systems which include CPRS, VISTa, and CERNER. The Contractor must provide evidence with their solicitation response that their lab software is already accepted for use by VHA IT systems. The Contractor shall be 100% compatible and show evidence that they are actively functioning with fully active remote ordering capabilities and Satisloh Digital surfacing equipment. Contractor support is with LMS Contractor to operate the LMS in-house at the VISN 20 OFL. Contractor shall be able to provide 24 hour telephonic technical support, 24 hour online technical support, unlimited remote order entry that consists of work ticket entry from multiple VA locations to the centrally located VISN20 OFL located at the Boise VA medical center campus (VAMC) in Boise, ID, unlimited Remote Job Checking, unlimited electronic messaging, and multiple customizable reports. The software and hardware provided will be maintained in the VISN 20 OFL.
Specific Tasks:
4.1 Contractor shall provide all software and hardware needed to support the LMS system and IOT digital Freeform designs. Contractor shall provide literature and training on Operating systems including Remote order entry, inventory control modules, Electronic Ordering with VisionWeb and Opticom, Reports and Analytics, Job Tracking, Lab Integration, Production scheduling, Production Monitoring, Freeform Production, Pricing and Invoicing, live support, and new features as they become available. Contractor shall provide automatic lens, frame, feature, and user updates as they become available. Contractor shall provide all general lens calculations to manufacture Single Vision, bi-focal, tri-focal, and PAL lens blanks from all lens vendors and materials including high power, high prism, and be able to support digital processing (IOT freeform SV and PAL). 4.2 Contractor shall provide all digital freeform lens calculations to manufacture IOT digital lens designs for Single vision and PAL lenses using Semi-Finished Single Vision blanks from all available lens vendors. 4.3 Contractor shall provide unlimited user-friendly remote order entry for multiple VA care sites (18 current with additional sites available) Contractor s Lab Management Software is required to be compatible and interface immediately upon award with governmental systems which include CPRS, VISTa, and CERNER. Contractor must provide evidence with their solicitation response that their lab software is already accepted for use by VHA IT systems. Contractor shall provide unlimited remote Job checking. Contractor shall provide electronic Reports for ordering and receiving lens and frame product and be 100% compatible with Opticom and VisionWeb. Contractor shall provide automatic monthly reports emailed to lens and frame vendors and VISN 20 OFL Supervisors at •••••@•••••.•••Sign up to see this detail as requested or needed. Contractor shall provide the ability to generate any report within its LMS system and can email those reports directly to reporting or billing agents as requested or needed. 4.4 Contractor shall be able to provide 24 hour telephonic and online technical support (exclusive of scheduled maintenance and Federal Holidays). Contractor shall provide remote troubleshooting support. (Access granted contingent upon compliance of all VA requirements for Network Security, VA Sensitive Information, and VA Privacy requirements) 4.5 Contractor will provide setup and support for Opticom and VisionWeb services for the duration of the contract period. 4.6 Contractor will identify a Program Manager and inform the VISN 20 OFL Manager of that person and provide contact for that individual to the •••••@•••••.•••Sign up to see this detail within 48 hours of contract award. If the Program Manager is no longer in that position a new Program manager will be identified and that information will be relayed to the VISN 20 OFL supervisory group. The program Manager will be the direct point of Contact for any maintenance issues, training schedules, upgrades, and be responsible for completing and maintaining employee access lists for access to VA systems. Contractor will provide annually to the VISN 20 OFL management at •••••@•••••.•••Sign up to see this detail a list of all authorized employees that will have access to the CAG and RDP and dates that the required VA training was completed. Completion certificates will be included with the annual report. Access will be denied to all employees that do not complete the required VA training within the specified timeline. All email and telephonic communication to Contractor Program Manager concerning any contract errors or issues will be replied to within 2 hours of the incident identification. Invoicing and Billing:
5.1 An itemized invoice shall accompany each filled order from the contractor. This invoice must include invoice number, PO number, Order Date, Ship Date, Description of items, and show quantities of each item ordered, shipped, and backordered, as well as item cost and item extended cost. The itemized billing invoices will be submitted to both the •••••@•••••.•••Sign up to see this detail and the VA Financial Services Center (VAFSC) for payment through Tungsten Network for payment no later than 10 working days after each month of service. Billing invoices can be submitted sooner if desired by the Contractor. All invoices will be submitted in accordance with these instructions.
5.2 In 2007 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) entered a relationship with Tungsten Network. With Tungsten Network, all Department of Veterans Affairs suppliers will now be able to securely submit invoices directly from their existing invoicing formats. In addition, by submitting invoices electronically through Tungsten Network, Department of Veterans Affairs suppliers will experience prompt payment with reduced exceptions.
5.3 Your participation is this existing process is required to continue providing products or services to the Department of Veterans Affairs in compliance with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA) and mandate AN97. The rule mandating electronic invoice submission was published on November 27th, 2012 and has an effective date of December 27th, 2012. Mandate AN97 can be located on the Federal Registry at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/11/27/2012-28612/va-acquisition-regulation-electronic-submission-of-payment-requests .
Vendors can comply with the mandate by using either of the two methods below:
The FSC uses a third-party contractor, Tungsten Network, for electronic invoice submission. For information on Tungsten Network electronic invoicing set-up, vendors should call +1 (•••) •••-••••Sign up to see this detail or email http://www.tungsten-network.com/veteransaffairs/ .
A system that conforms to the X12 electronic data interchange (EDI) format established by the Accredited Standards Center. For FSC e-Invoicing information, please call +1 (•••) •••-••••Sign up to see this detail or email •••••@•••••.•••Sign up to see this detail .
5.4 It is expected that at the onset of the contract, the vendor and VA may not be able to immediately begin the above billing process in which case the initial preferred method of payment may be the Government Purchase Card, and the contractor must be Level II billing capable and able to accept the credit card for payment. If this involves additional equipment or computers this will be at the contractor s expense. The Government issued purchase order number shall be inserted in the vendor purchase order block.
5.5 Any billing discrepancies shall be addressed with the vendor for resolution within 15 days from the receipt of the comprehensive bill.
5.6 The VA may dispute a charge if an invoice has not been received and/or the veteran did not receive the eyeglasses. If VA disputes a charge, that charge will be deducted from the invoice amount to be paid and the contractor notified accordingly. The invoice must consist of fabrication and dispensing. Therefore, the contractor may provide proof of shipment of eyeglasses with a proper invoice listed above. Payment can be made only after certification from the COR or designee that the prices billed are correct.
5.7 In using the Government Purchase Card, a credit card receipt with the invoice and signed acceptance receipt must be forwarded to the VISN 20 OFL as soon as the transaction has been completed in accordance with Government Purchase Card guidelines and time frames.
Ordering and shipping:
Upon award, the contractor shall coordinate with the VISN 20 OFL Manager to schedule and install all software and training to fully operate the LMS system. This includes full LMS install with all of its modules including but not limited to edger and tracer interface, Remote Job entry, Manual Job Entry, Lens and Frame database, Surface Calculation, Machine Interface, Job Tracking, Inventory, Reporting, Back Office, Pricing, and Stock Order Entry and Invoicing, IOT Freeform Designer, Workflow Monitor, Production Schedular, up to 6 client servers, Gatekeeper Integration Kit, Opticom services, and VisionWeb services. Contractor will provide all comprehensive training for all programs installed.
All hardware components will be shipped to the VISN 20 OFL within 48 hours of contract award to:
VISN 20 OFL Manager 500 W. Fort St. BLDG 28 Boise, ID 83702 The contractor shall immediately notify the Optical Fabrication Laboratory in the event of a product recall, removal, required adjustment, required modification or a substitution that is suggested or mandated by the contractor, distributor, manufacturer, or any regulatory or official agency. The information included in this notification shall include: A complete item description, identification. Administrative identification data including contract number, order number, and order date. Reason for recall, removal, adjustment, or modification. Instructions for appropriate corrective action.
The OFL Manager and the Contracting Officer (CO) shall approve or disprove all software and hardware to be installed and maintained.
Performance Monitoring:
Performance will be monitored by periodic inspections and observation of work. Work will be observed by the COTR, or designee, during performance of scheduled maintenance service and inspections and/or during repair service. VISN 20 Optical Fabrication Laboratory operators will be contacted to report on contractor performance when COTR, or designee, is not available. 7.1 Performance standards define desired services. The Government performs surveillance to determine if the contractor exceeds, meets or does not meet these standards. 7.2 The Performance Requirements Summary Matrix of the contract includes performance standards. The Government shall use these standards to determine contractor performance and shall compare contractor performance to the Acceptable Quality Level (AQL).
CONTRACT PERFORMANCE METRICS
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Task Id Indicator Standard Acceptable Quality Level Method of Surveillance Penalties








Support 1 Maintain LMS system to ensure maximum achievable reliability during normal business hours (6:00 a.m. 4:30 p.m. M-F, exclusive of federal holidays) Mountain Time
System must be fully operational at least 99% of the time, except for scheduled maintenance Specific Task: Paragraph 4.1 99% Up time will be monitored continually by routine use of the LMS system 10% Reduction on all relevant invoices. 2 Provide general and IOT digital lens calculation data
Lens data must be 100% accurate and up to date for processing needs. Specific Task: Paragraph 4.1 and 4.2 100%
Monitored continually by routine use of the LMS system. 10% Reduction on all relevant invoices. 3 Provide program applications that allow for user friendly remote order entry and unlimited remote job checking

Unlimited access to input and check status of orders remotely. Specific Task: Paragraph 4.3 100% Monitored continually by daily use from OFL and facility staff 10% Reduction on all relevant invoices. 4 Provide 24 hour telephonic, online, and troubleshooting support LMS system must be supported 99% of the time except for scheduled maintenance (exclusive of Federal Holidays) Specific Task: Paragraph 4.4 99%
Down time will be monitored continually by OFL staff 10% Reduction on all relevant invoices. 5 Provide setup and support for Opticom and VisionWeb services Opticom and VisionWeb must be available 99% of the time except for scheduled maintenance (exclusive of Federal Holidays) Specific Task: Paragraph 4.5 99%
Monitored continually by generation and receipt of orders input by OFL staff 10% Reduction on all relevant invoices.
6 Contractor will provide a Program Manager as a POC for the contract. Contractor Program Manager identified within 48 hours and provide contact info for that individual within 48 hours of contract award. Program Manager will respond to all inquiries within 2 hours of receipt of incident with solutions. Specific Task: Paragraph 4.6 100% Monitored continually by OFL management with email logs, phone logs, or LMS Work Order creation and tracking. 10% Reduction on all relevant invoices.
7.3 Evaluation Criteria. Contractor is required to have a complete knowledge of optics, IOT freeform lens designs, and general lens calculation data as they pertain to the manufacturing process of prescription eyeglass lens manufacturing. Contractor is required to present a list of current and former customers for referencing. Contractor is required to respond to telephonic, email, and or electronic work orders, within 2 hours of submission of work order with solutions to the work order. Contractor is required to provide their infrastructure to support multi-shift and weekend operations. Contractor s Lab Management Software is required to be compatible and interface immediately upon award with governmental systems which include CPRS, VISTa, and CERNER. Contractor must provide evidence with their solicitation response that their lab software is already accepted for use by VHA IT systems.
Security Requirements:
The C&A requirements do not apply, a Security Accreditation Package is not required. Contractor will only access to the VA Network through the Citrix Access Gateway (CAG) and then RDP to the Lab Management System systems to troubleshoot and upgrade system programs, features, and components of the Optical LMS and IOT systems only. This is valuable and required for proper maintenance and health of the Lab Management Software system. The contractor is required to comply with all requirements of Network Security, VA Sensitive Information, and VA Privacy requirements to gain Remote access to the VA s network. Remote access will only be granted after meeting all conditions of these requirements. Any software updates will be transmitted through the VA secure FTP server or downloaded from their secure Website and will meet VA Technical Reference Manual (TRM) requirements or will be submitted for evaluation and approval. The VA TRM can be located at https://www.oit.va.gov/Seervices/TRM/TRMHomePage.aspx . Vendor is responsible for completing and maintaining employee access lists for access to VA systems. Contractor will provide annually to the VISN 20 OFL management at •••••@•••••.•••Sign up to see this detail a list of all authorized employees that will have access to the CAG and RDP and dates that the required VA training was completed. Completion certificates will be included with the annual report. Access will be denied to all employees that do not complete the required VA training within the specified timeline.
Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE)/Government-Furnished Information (GFI):
VISN 20 OFL will provide a computer with identified specifications and a Windows based server for install of all LMS software. VISN 20 OFL will provide all optical manufacturing equipment including but not limited to tracers, blockers, generators, polishers, lens engravers, coaters, de-blockers, edgers, and any other optical manufacturing equipment as required. Current equipment load includes 2x Satilsoh tracers, 2x ART Blockers, 2 VFT Orbit Generators, 3x DUO-flex Polishers, 1x LensMark III lens Engraver, 1x Magna-spin solids box coater, 1x ART De-Blocker, 1x MX380 Anti-Reflective coating lab, 1x ES-Curve edger, 2x ES-4 Edgers, and 2x Gerber Kappa edgers. VISN 20 OFL is expanding to increase equipment to 2x tracers, 4x blockers, 4x generators, 4x polishers, 2x lens engravers, 2x solids coaters, 2x deblockers, 1x ARC coating lab, and 4x robotic edgers.
Other Pertinent Information or Special Considerations
Identification of Possible Follow-on Work Any system upgrades not identified in the initial quote or award may incur follow on work and cost. None immediately identified.
Identification of potential Conflicts of Interest (COI) None Identified
Inspection and Acceptance Criteria Contractor is required to have extensive knowledge of optics, IOT freeform lens designs, and complete lens calculation data as they pertain to the manufacturing process of prescription eyeglass lens manufacturing. Contractor is required to present a list of current and former customers for referencing. Contractor is required to respond to telephonic, email, and or electronic work orders, within 2 hours of submission of work order with solutions to the work order. Contractor is required to provide their infrastructure to support multi-shift and weekend operations. Contractor s Lab Management Software is required to be compatible and interface immediately upon award with governmental systems which include CPRS, VISTa, and CERNER. Contractor must provide evidence with their solicitation response that their lab software is already accepted for use by VHA IT systems.
Risk Control
Not Applicable. No Patient contact. No risks have been identified for this contract.
Place of Performance
Work will be performed onsite at the contractor s location and delivered to the VISN 20 OFL located at the Boise VA Medical Center BLDG 28 Boise, ID 83702
Period of Performance (subject to change based on actual contract award date)
Base period: Start Date: 07/01/2026 End Date: 06/30/2027 Option Year 1: Start Date: 07/01/2027 End Date: 06/30/2028 Option Year 2: Start Date: 07/01/2028 End Date: 06/30/2029 Option Year 3: Start Date: 07/01/2029 End Date: 06/30/2030 Option Year 4: Start Date: 07/01/2030 End Date: 06/30/2031
Federal Holidays
Unless specifically authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer, no services will be provided, and no charges will be incurred and/or billed to any order on any of the Federal Holidays listed below.
New Year s Day Labor Day
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Columbus Day
Washington s Birthday Veterans Day
Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day
Juneteenth Day Christmas Day
Independence Day
Potential candidates having the capabilities necessary to provide the above stated supplies at a fair and reasonable price are invited to respond to this Sources Sought Notice via e-mail to Nazanin Kreiner at •••••@•••••.•••Sign up to see this detail no later than March 04, 2:00PM MDT. No telephone inquiries will be accepted.
RESPONSES SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: Company name, address, SAM UEI, country where product is manufactured, and business size; point of contact name, phone number, and e-mail address; whether services are presently offered on a current GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract. NAICS Code 541519 Size Standard: $34 Million is applicable to determine business size standard. Any questions or concerns may also be directed via email to Nazanin Kreiner at •••••@•••••.•••Sign up to see this detail.
Disclaimer and Important Notes: This Sources Sought Notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. The Government will treat any information received as proprietary and will not share such information with other companies. Any organization responding to this Sources Sought Notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. The Government may or may not issue a solicitation as a result of this announcement. There is no solicitation available at this time.