VISN 5 HTM Competency Software The Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN5, is conducting this Sources Sought to identify contractors who possess capabilities to provide a secure and centralized software solution described in the Statement of Work below. As permitted by the FAR Part 10, this is a market research tool being utilized for the informational and planning purposes. Your responses will assist the Government in the development of its acquisition strategy. Response is strictly voluntary it is not mandatory to submit a response to this notice to participate in formal RFQ process that may take place in the future. However, it should be noted that information gathered through this notice may significantly influence our acquisition strategy. All interested parties will be required to respond separately to any solicitation posted as a result of this sources sought notice. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. We appreciate your interest and thank you in advance for responding to the sources sought. This service will be implemented using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 541519. If a small business is interested in this procurement, they must provide at least 51 percent of the services rendered. Please respond to this RFI/Sources Sought 36C24525Q0756 with your: Business name (including Unique Entity ID (SAM.gov)) Business type, socio-economic status (e.g., Veteran-Owned, Woman-Owned, Disadvantaged Small Business, 8(a), etc.), and Person of contact (including telephone number & email address). Capability statement and summary of previous experience providing these types of services for the Veterans Health Administration or other similar facilities. Available contract vehicles (GSA FSS, etc.) for use by Department of VA (include applicable NAICS) Brief Summary of categories of services that your company can/cannot provide. Certification(s) / Licenses for meeting the local requirements to provide these services at the Martinsburg VAMC and associated CBOCs (if applicable) Confirmation that your organization has the capability & expertise to meet the performance requirements while complying with applicable limitations in subcontracting by responding to the questions below with your response: Do you intend to self-perform this effort? If you are located outside the immediate area, how will you self-perform? Or, do you intend to subcontract work under this contract? If you intend to subcontract work under this contract, how will you ensure compliance with the limitations on subcontracting? NOTES All Capability Statements/Responses to this Sources Sought Notice shall be submitted via email only to Danfeng.lu@va.gov. Telephone, Fax, or any other form of communication inquiries will not be reviewed or accepted. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice must be received no later than August 22, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). This Sources Sought Notice may or may not assist the VA in determining sources only. A solicitation is not currently available. If a solicitation is issued, it may or may not be announced at a later date, and all interested parties shall respond to that solicitation announcement separately from the responses to this Sources Sought Notice. DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked a proprietary will be handled accordingly in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), RFIs may be used when the Government does not presently intend to award a contract, but wants to obtain price, delivery, other market information, or capabilities for planning purposes. Responses to these notices are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses incurred associated with responding to this RFI. Statement of Work VISN 5 HTM Competency Software GENERAL Scope of Services: The Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 5, requires a secure and centralized software solution to track and manage the competency assessments and training activities of Biomedical Engineering staff in compliance with VISN 5 HTM Policy DND-24-02 and relevant standards from The Joint Commission and ANSI/AAMI. VISN 5 Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) staff are responsible for the maintenance and repair of medical equipment and must demonstrate competence to perform their duties safely and effectively. A standardized process and tracking mechanism are necessary to ensure initial and recurring competency assessments are completed, documented, and reviewed in accordance with policy requirements. WORK HOURS Hours of Operation: Normal business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. Coordination meetings, trainings, etc. are expected to be performed during normal business hours with any exceptions coordinated with the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR). National Holidays: The holidays observed by the Federal Government are: New Year s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran s Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national holiday. Contractor may work on holidays with prior communication and coordination. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE One year upon award of contract with deliverables expected within the period of performance. SPECIFICATIONS Technical Requirements The contractor should provide a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or custom-developed software solution with configuration, deployment, training, and support services. The system will manage employee core task assignments, competency levels per device, task, and equipment model, training plans and outcomes, audit-ready reporting and compliance documentation. Core Functional Requirements The software shall: Support the creation of individual employee competency profiles by selecting from a configurable bank of Core Tasks. Provide a centrally managed task bank that allows administrators to assign tasks based on job role, specialty, or local requirements. Record competency levels using the following standardized scale: Needs Assistance Minimal Assistance Performs Independently Resource/Instructor Manage assessment frequency based on task type: High-risk devices: annually Non-high-risk devices: every 3 years Information security (IS) tasks: annually Test equipment: once and upon introduction of new models Assign competency assessors per employee and task. Allow attachment of supporting documentation (e.g., forms, checklists, certifications) to each assessment. Assessment and Notification Features The software shall: Send automated email notifications to employees at least 30 days prior to scheduled assessments. Display assigned tasks, due dates, and assigned assessor contact information on the user dashboard. Send automated email notifications to assessors regarding pending or overdue assessments. Training Plan Management The software shall: Enable the creation and tracking of individualized training plans. Document both on-the-job training (OJT) and professional training activities. Track due dates and follow-up intervals: Monthly for professional training Bi-weekly for OJT Flag overdue training items for reassessment. Store all training records in the employee s profile for historical and compliance purposes. Reporting and Compliance The software shall: Generate reports on individual and department-level competency status across variable reporting periods (monthly, quarterly, biannual, and annual). Track and display training progress and highlight overdue training plans. Provide exportable reports in common formats (e.g., CSV, Excel, PDF). Include dashboards with real-time status updates for competencies and training. Data Security and User Access The software shall: Comply with VA information security requirements, including FISMA and VA Handbook 6500. Support role-based access control (e.g., Administrator, Supervisor, Assessor, Employee). Provide real-time visual dashboards to track progress, accessible based on user role. Maintain detailed audit logs of all user activity. Allow for rapid user management, including adding/removing users as staffing changes occur (within the limits of licensed users). Support granular permissions to allow user-specific capabilities, such as: View-only access Update/edit existing data Full administrative access to create and manage plans Provision of Software Be fully cloud-based and not reliant on on-premise client infrastructure or local web services. Be accessible through modern web browsers (e.g., Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox). The attached Software as a Service (SaaS) Contract Language shall be included/adhered to according to the current status of authorization of the product. Training The Contractor shall provide a minimum of two virtual training sessions for the software users. The Contractor shall provide recorded training for future reference/use in a format shareable with the VA. The Contractor shall provide electronic handouts as requested/available to highlight key activities in the program for the end-users. Labor All labor to complete the deliverables of this contract shall be included. Labor may include occasional virtual meetings with the VISN 5 stakeholders to customize to the Government s needs, to perform testing of the product, and more. Should updates occur to the software without the request of the Government, new training shall be conducted to educate the staff on the changes to the program. Remote Support The Contractor shall provide a telephone line available 24/7 for technical support. Contractor shall also provide a phone number for VA staff to call to dispatch Contractor field service engineers/technicians. Contractor shall respond to trouble phone calls within thirty minutes. Employee Information The Contractor shall safeguard employee information. The Contractor shall report to the Biomedical Engineering Department any issues with disclosed or unsecure information. Contractor shall note remove any hard drives, storage devices, or anything containing patient health information from the site. DELIVERABLES Contractor shall provide the following deliverables according to the due dates. Deliverable Description Due Date Project Plan Schedule of milestones and implementation phases Within 10 days of contract award Compliance to SaaS FedRAMP and VA authorization According to SaaS program Configured Software Fully operational system with VA user access Within 60 90 days of contract award (contingent upon SaaS VA Authorization plan) Virtual Training A minimum of two virtual sessions scheduled with the VA project manager Prior to go-live Training Materials Documentation and recorded training for users Before go-live Final Acceptance Test Plan VA approval of system capabilities and security Prior to go-live Technical Support Plan Ongoing maintenance and issue resolution At deployment Monthly Reports Usage, status, and support logs Monthly post-deployment GOVERNMENT FURNISHES PROPERTY OR INFORMATION The VA will provide access to relevant personnel, existing data, and network credentials as needed. QUALITY ASSURANCE End-users, Biomedical Engineering, and/or the contract COR shall perform system verification tests to ensure the system is fully functional to the standards specified in this contract. Final software implementation shall be accepted based on verification of full functionality, testing, and compliance with VA standards. Issues with the quality of the Contractor s work will be communicated through the Contracting Officer to the Contractor point of contact for resolution. Documentation with be completed in the Government systems.
