RFI For ENTERPRISE-WIDE OPTICAL FABRICATION LABORATORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) For ENTERPRISE-WIDE OPTICAL FABRICATION LABORATORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Navy is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Vendors are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. It is the responsibility of the interested vendors to monitor these sites for additional information pertaining to this requirement. 1.0 Description 1.1 The Optical Fabrication Enterprise (OFE) provides optical fabrication support-the manufacture of eyeglasses, protective mask inserts, and specialty lenses-for the Armed Forces, Wounded Warriors, Service men and women with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), as well as for other Federal agencies. The OFE's primary mission is to provide these key elements of vision readiness and optical support to the U.S. Armed Services. The OFE is tri-service effort with 27 optical laboratories (10 Army labs including Korea and Germany; 17 Navy labs including detachments) with the capability to fulfill single vision, multi-focal, and specialized optical prescriptions. OFE provides its services to well over 400 tri-service clinics throughout the world, and currently processes over 1.6 million optical prescriptions a year. To handle this workload, OFE has implemented information technology to assist in streamlining the optical fabrication process, primarily through the use of Lab Management Systems (LMS) at most sites. Because of this workload and the continual process improvements it undertakes to improve the fabrication process, OFE is the largest and most advanced optical laboratory within the Department of Defense (DoD). Among these 27 Army and Navy laboratories across the OFE, the larger labs use different lab management systems, while the smaller labs generally use hand tallied, paper based systems. These labs operate independently, but rely heavily on each other's resources in the event of urgent situations, such as: - Deployment ordering spikes - Facility resource capabilities - Personnel shortages - Equipment failures - Inclement weather - Budget constraints Currently, no single enterprise-wide capability exists to ensure streamlined workload distribution, performance metrics, staffing requirements, supply management, calculation of operating costs, and accountability. Naval Ophthalmic Support and Training Activity (NOSTRA) is the command responsible for performing these objectives and has initiated the project name DOFEMS (Defense Optical Fabrication Enterprise Management System) to represent the solution. DOFEMS, illustrated in this RFI as a vendor-created solution, will provide centralized web-based management and "dashboard viewing" capability of a globally distributed optical fabrication lab management Wide Area Network (WAN) for all OFE stakeholders. As a service provider, OFE continues to place a strong emphasis on improving customer (clinics and patients) service throughout the fabrication process, from the ordering of a pair of eyeglasses to the fulfillment of the order upon delivery. To achieve its vision of improved customer service via DOFEMS implementation, OFE requires a standardized optical fabrication LMS that interfaces with current and planned DoD clinical, logistic, and electronic optical order entry programs for each lab. 2.0 Scope 2.1 This requirement encompasses development, deployment, and support of a standardized optical fabrication LMS for the OFE. Key features of the new, Wide Area Network (WAN) enterprise-wide LMS called DOFEMS, must include: - Integration and interface with current Spectacle Request Transmission System (SRTS) and planned web-based SRTSII system in order to support remote order entry. Visit https://srts.amedd.army.mil/ for more information regarding SRTS. - Integration with Government EyeWare (G-Eyes) https://g-eyes.amedd.army.mil/ in order to support remote order entry. - Integration with Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support (DMLSS) http://jitc.fhu.disa.mil/washops/dmlss.html to ensure accurate oversight of lab inventory. - Optical Manufacturers Association (OMA) Compliance with all Optical Fabrication Lab equipment used across the 27 lab enterprise to allow for two-way information exchange. - Integration with UPS and FedEx tracking to ensure timely and traceable deliveries. - "Dashboard" capability using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) - allowing OFE Leadership control and status (in real-time or near real-time) of both enterprise-wide and individual lab workload distribution, to include: o Thresholds/quotas/benchmarks at each facility in order to shift/balance workload and identify "slow moving" inventory o Ability to design/configure local rules for workload distribution o Visibility of workload/statistics at all 27 laboratories o Inventory control in order to provide automatic substitutions and allow for automatic/manual updates to inventory databases o Query production data by hour, day, month and year o View current/historical OMA equipment data and personnel statuses o Financial data o Current Work-in-Progress (WIP) statistics o Fail over capability for the dashboard by providing redundant backup functions - Detailed and user-friendly reporting functions to include: o Easy configuration o Microsoft Excel capability o Real-time or near real-time OMA-compliant lab instrument breakage monitoring and reporting o Reporting customization capability - Custom queries - Dynamic time frames (hourly, daily, monthly, quarterly, yearly) - Inventory reports for auditing, using inventory-specific results (e.g., spectacle lens & frame types) - Ability to merge/sort any combination of databases to get graphed/charted data in printable or viewable format. 2.2 Within the Scope of the proposed DOFEMS project, interested vendors must be prepared and equipped to provide: - A vendor-provided support team to administer DOFEMS installations, technical support questions, maintenance and system change requests within the OFE on a 24 hour, 7 day a week basis. - Training and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to primary Points of Contacts (POCs) within the OFE, and provide training and updates to software to OFE POC's on a quarterly basis to ensure product enhancements are utilized to the fullest capability. Also ensure OFE personnel are trained and equipped to support frequent changes in staffing. 3.0 Background This DOFEMS project is a critical next step in carrying out NOSTRA's primary objective of consistently improving clinic and patient customer service throughout the optical fabrication process, from the ordering of a pair of eyeglasses to the timely fulfillment of the order upon delivery. To achieve this vision for consistent customer service improvement, a standardized, enterprise-wide, global-reaching, optical fabrication LMS that interfaces with current and planned DoD clinical, logistic, and electronic optical order entry programs must be in place. Therefore, DOFEMS would involve integration with: - Army's current Spectacle Request Transmission System (SRTS) and its web-based successor, currently in development, SRTSII - Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support (DMLSS) - All LMS-operated applications and equipment that allow an optical order to be received from an external customer, validated, tracked, calculated, manufactured, verified, and shipped to the external customer This would not be a new capability, but enhancement to the current system by incorporating networking at an enterprise level. The projected benefit of this new capability would be standardization across 27 Navy and Army labs at approximately 1.5M jobs per year, which will improve costs; workload distribution; performance metrics; staffing requirements; supply management; and inventory control through a database. It will insure all OFE labs use a unified tool in optical fabrication for managing labs. Currently 7 labs of the 27 use some form of a lab management system. Because every lab is independent, currently there are inconsistencies in reporting, workload distribution, and there is no centralized inventory management. DOFEMS will do two things: 1) Provide a web-based centralized management tool 2) Provide a stand-alone standard LMS for all 27 labs The impact-if DOFEMS is not introduced-will force larger labs to work independently and ultimately affect the direct timely response of optical fabrication. Optical fabrication is in direct support of the warfighter. Time, cost and efficiency are keys to getting a service member deployed. The accompanying document in this RFI shows the current architecture of our OFE and what we intend to accomplish with DOFEMS. 3.1 Security Requirements: Compliance with applicable Military Health System Assurance Information System (MHS AIS) security, patient privacy and data transmission requirements including: - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations - The required Defense Information Assurance Certification & Accreditation Process (DIACAP) in accordance with (IAW) DoD Regulation 8500.2 associated with operating on a government network across the OFE. 4.0 Responses 4.1 Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper, and afterwards the Government intends on holding a Vendor Industry Day to allow interested candidates to show their current capabilities in providing a potential solution with DOFEMS. Only vendors that submit a white paper will be notified of the Industry Day if one occurs. 4.2 White papers in Microsoft Word for Office 2007 compatible format are due no later than 07 May 2013, at 1400 EST. Responses shall be limited to 5 pages for Section 2 and submitted via e-mail only to Thea.hofgesang@med.navy.mil. The subject line of the email should read as follows "RFI: Defense Optical Fabrication Enterprise Management System." Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. 4.3. Section 1 of the white paper shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following as a minimum: 4.3.1. Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact. 4.3.2. Recommended contracting strategy. 4.3.3. Either 1) copies of executed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with the contractors supporting SPAWAR and SPAWAR supported PEOs and DRPMs in technical evaluations or 2) a statement that the vendor will not allow the Government to release its proprietary data to the Government support contractors. In the absence of either of the foregoing, the Government will assume that the vendor does NOT agree to the release of its submission to Government support contractors. 4.3.4. Business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business) based upon North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541512, Computer Systems Design Services. 4.3.5 The facility security clearance of the vendor. The number of pages in Section 1 of the white paper shall not be included in the 5-page limitation, i.e., the 5-page limitation applies only to Section 2 of the white paper. 4.4 Section 2 of the white paper shall answer the issues addressed in Section 3 of this RFI and shall be limited to 2 pages. 5.0 Industry Discussions NOSTRA representatives may or may not choose to meet with potential vendors. Such discussions would only be intended to get further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements, especially any development and certification risks. 6.0 Questions Questions regarding this announcement or of a technical nature regarding this RFI may be sent to thea.hofgesang@med.navy.mil. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. 7.0 Summary THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY to identify sources that can provide and enterprise-wide DOFEMS LMS system. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The Navy has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.