Laundry Services Puget Sound Healthcare System
9
PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT
The Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS) with campus locations at 1660 South Columbian Way; Seattle, WA 98108 and 9600 Veterans Drive; Tacoma, WA 98439 has a requirement for full commercial laundry services. The estimated volume is approx. two (2) million pounds per year.
The work required by this Performance Work Statement (PWS), consists of furnishing all labor, supervision, management, management support, supplies, reports, and materials, necessary to successfully perform laundry services. The Contractor shall process, package, and assist in loading/delivering laundry.
Soiled linen, patients clothing, uniforms, specialty items and general linens shall be shipped in contained in facility identified linen shipping/receiving carts. The contractor shall separately process each Facility s linens except for specialty items and uniforms. Specialty and uniforms will have a specially identified cart. The contractor shall transport each facility s soiled linens to the laundry plant. Then, after the linens are cleaned and processed, the contractor shall transport the clean linens back to the original facility.
Individual facility linen items shall remain separate through all processing cycles; soiled receipt, pre-sort, washing, drying, post-sort, processing and clean shipment. The use of tags will be used to record the processing in and out time of each Medical Center s laundry processing and maintain for time verification. A maximum of two empty washer pockets shall be placed in between each facility s linen to ensure linens are kept separate through the tunnel washer. Soiled linen with the same wash/dry formulas shall be combined to conserve water, chemicals, utilities and energy to ensure full utilization of and avoid damage to laundry equipment.
All workmanship shall be in accordance with practices established by the National Association of Institutional Laundry Managers (ALM), and VA Laundry publications. It is intended that services shall include all processes necessary for the laundering of the articles even though every step involved is not specifically mentioned. All work shall be performed under sanitary conditions. After processing, laundered articles shall be in serviceable and sanitary condition.
Contractor shall provide copies of Material Safety Data Sheets for all chemicals.
The contractor shall provide delivery services to transport clean and soiled textiles daily including weekends and holidays.
Contractor shall be responsible for delivering and exchanging prepackaged clean linen carts for preloaded soiled linen carts. Carts average 28 wide x 54 long x 63 in height and may vary in quantity and weights from delivery to delivery, particularly subsequent to the weekends and/or holidays.
Any changes that require permanent adjustments in frequency or type of performance, shall be coordinated with the Contractor by the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) and approved by the Contracting Officer (CO) in writing, prior to initiation of such change to assure adequate contractual coverage.
Any items found to be unsatisfactorily cleaned shall be identified for the Contractor by COR. Items identified by the COR shall be returned on the next scheduled pickup after an unsatisfactory condition is discovered. These items are to be kept separate from the normal laundry items.
The contractor shall re-wash items as needed or directed by the COR. Responsibility for the cost of re-wash shall be borne by the party governing control over the cause for unsatisfactory cleaning.
Emergency situations may require alteration of schedules. Emergency situations will be defined by the COR. In the event of medical facility emergencies, disaster, or drills, the Contractor shall perform all services required by the Emergency Operations Plan. The Contractor shall respond to the requirements in the Medical Center Disaster Plan placed upon the "Laundry" or Textile Care Section.
This contract is intended to produce a minimal acceptable level of performance. The Government does recognize the possibility of the Contractor achieving the same or improved results due to innovative approaches and advances in the state-of-the-art of materials and supplies. Any proposed changes to these specifications are contingent upon the recommendations of the COR and the approval of the CO in a written modification to the contract.
All tasks accomplished by the contractor personnel shall be done so as to preclude damage or disfigurement of furniture and building structure. The contractor shall correct any damage caused by their employees to any part of the building or equipment or any area covered by this contract.
Contractor at the beginning of the contract will be determined by current on hand linen inventory between the COR and contractor and will a minimum of 4 days of PAR levels for each facility.
The contractor shall have a Contingency Plan that minimally addresses the following:
In the event services required are beyond the contractor's capacity, how the contractor will meet the requirements of this contract.
In the event of a labor dispute and / or strike how contractor will provide continuity of coverage with no interruption of service or reduction in the quality of service.
In the event of unforeseen circumstances i.e. national or local disaster to include but not limited to destruction of the facility, sabotage, or an act of God or nature that renders the contractor's facility unsafe or inoperable, how the contractor will continue to provide service.
Re-work will be completed within 72 business hours of linen identified as needed to be re-worked and sent to the sites within 96 business hours.
At no time will any laundry be left in a washer or dryer overnight whether it be washed or being prepped for wash.
B. SUPERVISION BY CONTRACTOR
The Contractor shall assign an on-site Plant Manager (Contractor Facility), who is solely responsible to supervise the operation of the laundry plant. The Contractor's Plant Manager (CPM) shall meet the following requirements:
Certified by the ALM or a graduate of an independently controlled management training program emphasizing institutional Laundry. The format course must have been previously established, sponsored by a teaching activity, and comparable in content and duration to the American Laundry and Linen College, Part I and II Curriculum.
CPM shall have at least three (3) years of specialized experience in the operation of laundry plant processing a minimum of four million pounds per year or equivalent. Equivalency requirements will be mutually developed by VA and contractor with the CO retaining final approval authority.
Certification of experience including name and address of facility, and certifications of completed courses shall be submitted to the COR 15 days before commencement of contract performance.
The contractor shall provide the CO and COR the name, address and telephone number where the Contractor's alternate for the CPM (when the CPM is not available), can be reached during normal business hours, 7:00 am - 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The CPM and alternate shall also provide emergency phone numbers to be used during non-duty hours in the case of emergency situations.
The alternate CPM shall, at a minimum, possess a certificate of completion of an ALM or Acceptable correspondence course in laundry management. A copy of the certificate of completion shall be provided to the COR within 30 calendar days of starting work under the contract.
The Contractor shall be responsible for the effective implementation of the Quality Control Program.
C. QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM:
The contractor shall establish and maintain a complete Quality Control Program (QCP) to ensure the requirements of the contract are met. The plan will include procedures to implement all quality requirements of the contract, which shall include the following:
Inspection of all the services required by this contract which specifically addresses the areas to be inspected and if those inspections are on a scheduled or unscheduled basis, how often the inspections will be accomplished, how the inspections will be documented, and the name and title of the individual who will perform the inspection (this person should be someone other than the Program Manager and who does not report directly to the Program Manager).
Methods of identifying and preventing defects in the quality of service performed before the level of performance becomes unacceptable. This includes but not limited to, procedures to assure proper temperatures, bleaches, bluing, chemical rinse, (sour) detergents and other additives consistent with the requirement of infectious linen.
Written records of all quality control inspections conducted by the contractor and corrective action taken to prevent continued recurrence of deficiencies. This documentation shall be made available to the COR or Contracting Officer at any time during the term of the contract. The contractor shall provide its Quality Control Reports and Infection Control Reports to the COR on the last working day of each month throughout the duration of this contract.
A plan to keep products segregated in accordance with their status, such as accepted, rejected, set aside for re-wash, and awaiting decision, to prevent intermixing and unauthorized use of soiled or contaminated linen.
A RAG-out report will be provided every 14 days with complete breakdown by linen items.
The contractor shall provide a web based electronic management system that shall at minimum monitor, track and report monthly laundering totals, both clean and dirty weights. Contractor shall provide at minimum of two logins with passwords accessing the program supplied by the contractor.
D.1 QUALITY ASSURANCE INSPECTION BY VA:
The government, at any time, may make unscheduled visits to the contractor s facility to observe equipment and in-process work. A site visit of the Contractor s facilities may be conducted prior to awarding any contract to determine the Contractor s capability to perform these services. Site visits are made to observe compliance with safety procedures, assess the capacity of the facility, and observe the overall operation of the facility.
D. CORRESPONDENCE:
All correspondence relative to this contract shall bear the VA Contract Number, contract title, and name of the VA Medical Center to which the correspondence pertains, and shall be addressed to the CO.
E. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS:
In addition to items specified elsewhere in the contract, the contractor shall furnish:
All resources necessary to transport soiled linen from VAPSHCS to the contractor facility and to return clean linen to VAPSHCS.
A facility equipped and ventilated to prevent dissemination of contaminants and to ensure no cross-contamination of laundry. The ventilation system for this facility includes adequate intake filtration, negative and positive air flow, exchange rate, and exhaust in accordance with local, state, and federal requirements. All work shall be performed under sanitary conditions and have a complete barrier wall and pass through washing system that separates soiled linen from clean linen.
All soaps, chemicals, detergents, bleaches, starches, sizing, spotting agents, hangers, plastic and other packaging materials.
Tools, bundle tie machine, miscellaneous materials and supplies.
All staffing necessary to properly sort, clean, dry, press, fold and repair any damaged linens.
All training for contractor staff.
Appropriate protective clothing for contractor staff.
Physical examinations for contractor staff.
A packing slip type document for each cart delivered. This document shall identify the contents on the cart by item count for each type item on the cart.
The Contractor shall furnish all materials necessary to perform the tasks specified in the contract. Technical literature and descriptive brochures on all materials (including wash formula chemicals) proposed for use by the contractor shall be submitted to the CO for approval prior to contract start and whenever a change is requested.
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to the VA prior to using any chemical utilized in the fulfillment of this contract.
F. SPECIFIC TASKS: 1-13
The following tasks are to be performed by the contractor. All work is to be performed in accordance with the Contractor s approved Procedures and Quality Control Manuals.
TASK -1: LAUNDRY SERVICES: The contractor shall provide full commercial medical center laundry cleaning, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract, including but not limited to hospital linens, employee uniforms and patient clothing. All specialty items shall be stamped with VA logo.
TASK-2: PICK UP AND DELIVERY SERVICES: The contractor shall be responsible for the pickup and delivery of all soiled / contaminated and clean linen for both campuses; loading and unloading of all items for both campuses. The transport vehicles will be disinfected after each soiled collection pick-up.
Seattle: Pick up/ Delivery- 7am-8am
American Lakes: Pick up/Delivery 10am-11am
TASK-3: PROCESSING SERVICES: All laundered articles shall be in serviceable and sanitary conditions after processing meeting performance standards established by organizations such as ALM, contractor s washroom standards and linen inspection standards. All wash procedures shall be regulated to ensure washed items are restored to its intended appearance, in a manner that will prevent damage to the items being processed. Shrinkage shall be no more than what can be called natural shrinkage. Tumbled work such as undershirts, socks, bath towels, laundry bags, blankets and bathrobes shall be completely dry and soft. Flatwork shall be hand or machine folded so that surfaces are smooth and free of wrinkles.
The contractor shall not bill for laundry services for Laundered linens until those linens have been delivered to the Government. Government-owned items lost or badly damaged, (except normal wear and tear) while under the control of the contractor must be replaced with the exact item as approved by the COR within thirty (30) days. The government will provide all specifications (brand, item number, etc.) The contractor bears any and all costs associated with replacing lost/damaged items
TASK-4: SPECIAL WASH ITEMS SERVICES: When applicable the contractor shall steam tunnel and process certain items requiring special wash (such as patient trousers and shirts). The Contractor shall separate special wash by VA facility (American Lake division or Seattle Division) with tag facing out stating special wash item . Contractor shall ensure special wash items are returned on hangers and are readily identifiable upon return to the government.
TASK -5: REPLACEMENT AND REPAIR SERVICES: The contractor shall replace and / or repair any linen or carts deemed to be damaged or unserviceable. Unserviceable linen includes those items that are not deemed repairable. Depending on severity, this may include rips, tears, holes, broken buttons or snaps, excessive stains, or excessive wear and tear. The government will determine the final disposition of these articles. Unserviceable items due to laundry machine malfunction, using wrong wash formulas, or excessive drier heat or any other damage or loss done at the laundry facility shall be immediately replaced at contractor's expense. Items lost or badly damaged shall be replaced within a 30-day period.
TASK-6: SPECIAL HANDLING SERVICES: The contractor shall take precautions and use special handling procedures when transporting medical contaminated / soiled linen. The items shall be removed in separate linen bags, containers and / or carts. The linen bags, containers and / or carts used shall be cleaned, sanitized and disinfected after each use. Moreover, the contractor shall clean and disinfect the truck and /or trailers after use. SEE: OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standards. The contractor shall comply with all standards in OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard 29 CFR 1910.1030.
The contractor shall disinfect carts after removing soiled linen and before placing clean linen in those cleaned carts, with a Tuberculocidal Germicide, which has been approved by the COR.
TASK 7: RE-CLEANING SERVICE: The contractor may be subject to re clean one or more items upon request by the COTR at no additional charge to the Government. Such items found to be in unsatisfactory condition shall be processed again to meet satisfactory standards set forth in the contract.
Any items found to have been unsatisfactorily cleaned according to quality and performance standards, shall be re-cleaned/processed at no additional cost to the Government. Such items shall be identified, for contractor recognition by the COR (within 48 hours) when they are returned on the next scheduled pickup after an unsatisfactory condition is discovered. These items are to be kept separate from the normal laundry items for separate processing. Re-cleaned items will be identified separately and not charged to the Government.
TASK- 8: EMERGENCY SERVICES: The contractor shall be responsible for responding to all emergency medical situations and provide full commercial medical center laundry services within eight hours after receipt of request services. The need shall be disclosed to the contractor at the time of request for emergency services. In the event of medical facility emergencies and/or disasters, the Contractor may be required to perform additional laundry services with compensation to be arranged and negotiated by the Contracting Officer.
TASK- 9: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES: This scope of work is intended to produce a minimal acceptable level of performance. The Government does recognize the possibility of the Contractor achieving the same or improved results due to innovative approaches, advances in the state-of-the-art of materials and supplies. If the Contractor or VA demonstrates the ability to perform the services herein using improved techniques, materials, scheduling, the Contracting Officer will evaluate and approve or disapprove the recommended changes based on what s in the best interest of the VA.
TASK 10: MAINTAIN CARTS: The Government shall furnish approximately 150 laundry carts for use by the contractor. The contractor is responsible for maintaining these 150 laundry carts and providing any additional laundry carts required for the performance of this contract and maintaining all carts in good working order at all times.
TASK 11: SURGICAL LINENS/SPECIALTY: Equipment and Process; laundry service must have a working Light table (or similar equipment) for inspecting surgical linens. Additionally, surgical gowns, wraps and like items will be inspected for holes, tears, etc. utilizing the light table, product damaged but repairable will be repaired, or discarded. After inspection, individual pieces will be marked onto the item directly. This function will occur in a pack room separated from linen/laundry flow area on the clean linen side. Employees in the pack room will wear the approved clothing and covers.
TASK-12: PAR LEVEL:
Seattle- Par Level: Minimum of four (4) days linen. Linen shall be provided to the contractor by the government.
American Lake- Par Level: Minimum of four (4) days linen supply. Linen shall be provided to the contractor by the government.
The contractor may be required to provide additional specialty items. Those items will be purchased with the approval of the contracting officer by a contract modification only.
TASK-13: CONTINGENCY PLAN
Contractor shall furnish a detailed, written contingency plan indicating that services can be continued in the event of contractor s equipment issues including and not limited to; transportation vehicle failure, production facility failure, or any circumstance that impacts the contractor s ability to perform the services within 10 days of contract award. The contractor s contingency plan must include provisions to assure contractor s ability to comply with the scheduled delivery to each VA facility within a 6-hour time frame of the delivery windows specified in this PWS. The contractor shall comply with the contingency plan provided. The contracting officer shall be notified within 24 hours if there are any changes in the contingency plan and the plan must be approved by the contracting officer.
G.1 ADDITIONAL TASKS
Contractor shall receive and weigh soiled linens, uniforms, patient clothing, mops and other general or surgical linens.
Contractor shall sort soiled linens into proper wash classification.
Contractor shall process soiled linens (general and surgical), uniforms, patient clothing, mops and other general or surgical linens.
Contractor shall separate and package like linen items according to this PWS. All surgical linens shall be packaged separately from other linens.
Contractor shall pre-treat or pre-wash patients clothing, put on hanger, run through steam tunnel and hang on rolling rack and return to proper Medical Center. Excluding any items placed on a plastic hanger that will require immediate placement on the hanger after the dryer has completed the cycle.
Contractor shall pre-treat or pre-wash uniforms, put on hanger, run through steam tunnel, hang on rolling rack or cart and return to proper Medical Center. Excluding any items placed on a plastic hanger that will require immediate placement on the hanger after the dryer has completed the cycle.
Contractor shall dry patient clothing (underwear, socks, and other general or surgical linens) package and return to proper Medical Center.
Contractor shall clean and maintain transport carts.
Contractor shall release clean linens, uniforms, patient clothing and other general or surgical linens.
Contractor shall perform all above tasks as required in declared emergency situations.
The Contractor shall accomplish all soiled linen sorting.
VA will provide a designated location for all clean shipments for all facilities receiving deliveries seven (7) days per week.
Clean linen identified as unserviceable shall be sorted by item (fold & unfolded), bagged, tagged, and documented on the Clean Weight Ticket CWT and returned to the shipping facility for disposition.
Carts containing clean linen being returned shall be covered with clean covers to protect against contamination while in transit between the contractors laundry plant and the medical center. If reusable laundry bags or liners are used to transport soiled laundry, they must be laundered after use. If reusable bags are not available, the VA Medical Center will utilize plastic bags for soiled linens, which are to be destroyed.
G.2 LINEN CONTROL
All general, surgical, specialty items/linen, uniforms and patient clothing shall be placed onto clean racks/carts and covered. Cart covers shall cover the exposed area of the linen cart. All items shall be neatly stacked and/or hung on linen racks and carts in such a manner then an accurate visual inventory can be taken. All like items shall be placed in the same rack/cart. If there is still rack/cart room for additional linen, the linen must be separated with a clean white sheet. General, surgical, and specialty linen items shall be folded, stacked, and hung, as follows but not limited to:
Items to be folded with two (2) primary folds, three (3) cross folds and stacked:
Regular bed sheets
Surgical sheets
Bedspreads
Blanket/spreads
Surgical linens
Items to be folded with two (2) primary folds and stacked:
Regular pillowcases
Surgical pillowcases
Pajama shorts
Items to be French-folded with one (1) cross fold and stacked:
Bath towels
Items to be French-folded in thirds and stacked in stacks:
Patient gowns
IV gowns
Bathrobes
Isolation gowns
Surgical gowns
Pajama coats
Items to be folded with two (2) primary folds and two (2) cross folds:
Thermal blankets
Cotton blankets
Items to be folded with one (1) lengthwise primary fold, two (2) equal length cross folds and stacked:
Pajama trousers
Items to be folded in half and stacked:
12" x 12" surgical wrappers
Sheep skins
Surgical hand towels
Items to be folded with two (2) primary folds, one (1) cross fold and stacked:
36" x 36" surgical wrappers
24" x 24" surgical wrappers
54" x 76" surgical wrappers
18" x 18" surgical wrappers
54" x 54" surgical wrappers
Items to be received and processed in Mesh bags and returned in mesh bags:
Patient clothing (T-shirts, underwear, handkerchiefs, socks and pajamas)
Items to be laid flat and stacked:
Washcloths
Items to be weighed and shipped in bulk, in regular laundry cart:
Rags
Mops (wet and dust)
Restraints, posies (untangled)
Slings
Discards
Items to be hung, with top button closed, processed through steam finishing cabinet and placed on laundry transport rack and returned to proper facility. All marked items shall be kept separate and returned to appropriate Medical Center.
Dress, uniform
Shirt, uniform
Trousers, uniform
Coat, knee-length
Smock, short
Coat, short
Pant suit, bottom
Pant suit, top
Smock, long
Trousers, personal (patient)
Shirt, personal (patient)
All surgery scrub wear, uniforms, except OR gowns
Cubical curtains
Table Skirts
Items to be neatly folded according to size and returned to proper Medical Center: Painters drop cloths
NOTE: Any new items added to the circulating inventory will be added by the COR and/or the Medical Centers.
Fitted sheets and Laundry Bags shall be placed in laundry bags unfolded, 25 count per bag.
H. DAMAGE AND EQUIPMENT LOSS:
All tasks accomplished by Contractor's personnel shall be performed to preclude damage or disfigurement of Government-owned furnishings, fixtures, equipment and architectural or building structures. The Contractor shall provide a written report of any damage or disfigurement to these items within 24 hours. This report shall be given to the COR.
When the Contractor has caused damage or loss of Government property, performance is determined to be unsatisfactory and the COR will issue a Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR). The Contractor shall reply to the COR in writing within 10 workdays stating the reason for the unsatisfactory condition. The statement shall also include corrective measures which have been taken and preventive procedures initiated to prevent future damage or loss.
Any loss or damage of Government property caused by the Contractor during the course of the Contractor's performance of work under the contract shall be repaired or replaced at the Contractor's expense. The Government will submit a bill of collection for reimbursement under such circumstances.
Contractor shall participate in up to two complete linen inventories per year or as needed. A complete linen inventory consists of assisting each site by counting and keeping separate each counted and uncounted carts. Additional inventories may be scheduled by the COR if needed.
Articles other than linen lost or damaged while under the control of the Contractor shall be replaced by the Contractor. The Contractor shall notify the COR immediately of any lost or damaged items. The Contractor shall replace the lost or damaged items within 30 calendar days or less of giving notification to the COR.
The contractor shall provide a daily count by pounds of all clean items shipped to each facility. The count shall be broken down to identify individual facilities.
INTERFERENCE WITH NORMAL FUNCTION:
Contractor's employees shall be required to interrupt their work at any time so as not to interfere with the normal functioning of the VA facilities, including but not limited to utility services, fire protection systems, and passage of patients, personnel, equipment, and carts and patient care procedures.
HOURS OF OPERATION:
The Department of Veterans Affairs normal business hours are 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. The federal holidays are as follows: January 1 (New Year Day), 3rd Monday in January (Martin Luther King's Birthday), 3rd Monday in February (President s Day), last Monday in May (Memorial Day), July 4th, 1st Monday in September (Labor Day), 2nd Monday in October (Columbus Day), November 11 (Veterans Day), 4th Thursday in November (Thanksgiving Day), and December 25 (Christmas). This list shall include any other day specifically declared a federal holiday by the President of the United States.
ENVIROMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring vendor provides product identification to meet OSHA, VA, Green Environmental Management Systems (GEMS) Q:\GEMS\SPCC\138SAF_5001_Petroleum_Underground_StorageTank_Operations_Guideline_(11-7-10).doc & EPA requirements; USEPA Community-Right-To-Know regulations for Emergency Planning [40 CFR 355 and 40 CFR 370] Sections 305, 311 and 312 of Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA) Title II. Contractor shall be responsible for assuring that all chemicals and wash formulas provided are specific to the HealthCare type soiled linens and compatible with the chemical in use during the initial fill-up/mixing of said bulk tanks.
Joshua G Anderson
Contract Specialist
509-321-3969
Joshua.Anderson2@va.gov
