Telephone System Maintenance

SSA is in the process of determining the acquisition strategy to obtain maintenance, including an experienced on-site, manufacturer certified technician, for an Intecom E PBX telephone switch and ancillary equipment. This is a Sources Sought Notice for Small Businesses certified under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Act of 1997 , Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program (SDVOSB) or Small Business. The equipment which includes approximately 2,000 telephones of various types, an ACD system, a voice mail system and a battery back-up (UPS), is installed at 1 Jamaica Plaza, Jamaica, NY Northeastern Program Service Center. The present contract will be expiring on September 27, 2008 and SSA is looking for interested vendors to provide maintenance on the Intecom E and all adjacent equipment for one base year and three (3) one-year options The maintenance and on going services will include but not be limited to managing system operations, preventative, remedial and routine maintenance, inspections, on going monitoring, installation services, add, move and change services, system programming, technical design, and technical consultative services and user training services. The contractor shall keep the equipment operating at peak efficiency in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications, practices and benchmarks and provide ongoing telecommunications services. The contractor shall guarantee a supply of spare parts sufficient to fulfill the requirements of this contract. The contractor shall provide all spare and miscellaneous parts required for the maintenance of all equipment under the scope of this contract and for the duration of this contract. The Government shall not purchase parts for the purpose of having them stored on site to facilitate maintenance. If the contractor feels that storing parts on site is the proper way to meet the required response times, then the contractor may do this. Waiting for parts delivery is not an acceptable reason for the delay of repairs. The contractor shall provide remote monitoring, diagnostics and repair services for assisting the dedicated on-site technician during trouble calls. The contractor must be able to identify their current resources, level of experience, and capabilities for providing this service. The contractor shall also have standard escalation procedures for maintenance required after hours or weekends. The period of performance will cover a base year and three one-year option periods. The government expects to make an award on or about September 2008. This acquisition will be issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP) on or about April 2008. The government seeks industry input to determine if this acquisition should be set aside for 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB or Small Business under the auspices of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 19. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this requirement is 811213 with a size standard of $6.5M. Interested firms who are certified and/orqualified as either 8(a), HUBZone SDVOSB or Small Business in NAICS 811213 should submit a package outlining their capabilities as relevant to the performance of this requirement. (No large businesses should respond to this announcement) Interested firms are encouraged to respond and submit their capability statement(s) to this office NLT COB on April 14, 2008. Please address the five (5) Small Business criteria questions that are posted as a word document in conjunction with this notice to FedBizOpps. Please provide these packages via email to Ms. Joan Smith at joan.m.smith@ssa.gov. The government plans to use the Internet and e-mail as the primary means of disseminating and exchanging information. Hard copies of documents posted on FBO will not be made available. The government will provide email confirmation of receipt of your statements. If companies do not receive an email confirmation after submitting their package, they are urged to verify receipt telephonically at 410-965-6269. Interested sources that believe they have the ability to perform the services required should submit a detailed statement of their capabilities in writing indicating reference number RFI-JS08-001 to Joan Smith, Contract Specialist, via email at joan.m.smith@ssa.gov. Responses must be received by 3:00 p.m. EDT on April 14, 2008.