Solicitation
NTX Steam Trap Monitoring
Department of Veterans Affairs · Sol. 36C25727Q0033
Due in 26 daysSDVOSB
AI summary Beta
The Department of Veterans Affairs (Network Contracting Office 17, working through the Central Texas VA office in Temple, TX) wants one contractor to survey, replace and wirelessly monitor roughly 673 steam traps on the Dallas VA Medical Center campus, then test them twice a year and fix steam parts under a capped repair allowance. Only VA-verified service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses can bid. The work is a base year starting December 1, 2026 plus four one-year options (up to five years total).
Watch out for
- SDVOSB only, VA-verified. Only firms listed in VA's VIP database as SDVOSBs can bid, and at least half of the work (by dollars paid) must stay with VIP-listed SDVOSBs, which limits teaming.
Offers are solicited only from VIP-listed SDVOSBs.
- Conflicting award method. The solicitation says it will pick the technically acceptable offeror, yet also describes a pairwise best-value comparison, so you cannot tell whether lowest price or technical strength will decide it; ask a question before the Oct 28 deadline.
to the Technically Acceptable offeror meeting or exceeding the
- Large up-front equipment and labor outlay. You must buy and install all trap stations, wireless transmitters, repeaters and gateways, and replace every trap in the base year, at fixed prices, while the Government supplies none of the equipment.
The Government will NOT provide tools, test equipment, transmitters
- Trap count is only an estimate. You price 100% replacement at fixed prices but the 673 trap count may change after the survey; extra traps found are paid from the capped allowance, not the fixed-price lines.
Offerors shall not rely on the
- Asbestos and lead presumed on site. You must stop work whenever suspect asbestos or lead is found and wait for the Government to abate it, which can delay a tight replacement schedule, and you need general liability insurance with no asbestos exclusion.
shall not disturb, remove, cut, sand, scrape, or otherwise handle any suspect ACM
- Repair allowance is a ceiling with no markup. Repair work needs written pre-approval, the amount is not guaranteed and is not set until award, and you cannot add any markup on parts or subcontractors.
Any markup on materials, parts, or subcontracted work.
- Tight base-year schedule. The survey, phasing plan and RF site survey are due 30 days after award, and all traps must be replaced and monitored within the base year, with penalties through the quality plan if phase milestones slip.
sequencing 100% replacement of the verified trap population within the Base Period.
- Strict data-integrity and platform rules. The Government gets no login, so you must email alerts within 24 hours and deliver certified, unedited machine exports; an altered or incomplete file is treated as a serious discrepancy that can lead to termination.
Delivery of an altered, incomplete, or falsified data file is a Level 3 Contract Discrepancy Report
- Platform continuity must be priced and explained. You must disclose the annual platform cost and how a successor or the Government could keep using the system, and the Government says it will treat an inability to answer as a risk.
The Government will treat an inability to answer these questions as a material risk.
- Security review before installing any device. VA security staff must approve your monitoring architecture and FCC details in writing before any transmitter is installed, which could hold up the first replacement phase.
No transmitting or connected device shall be installed on VA property before the Government
- Strict proposal rules; incomplete offers are removed. Missing a volume, a signature, a fill-in clause or the subcontracting certification, or exceeding the 25 page limit, can knock you out.
Failure to submit a complete offer in accordance with the instructions contained in this addendum
- Inconsistent formatting and status-check instructions. The notice gives both an 11-point font and a Times New Roman 12 instruction, and the SDVOSB clauses refer to VA's VIP list while the instructions say status is checked in the SBA database; confirm both with the contracting officer.
TIMES NEW ROMAN 12.
- Site visit is soon but optional. The site visit is October 15, 2026, only about a week after posting; it is not required but the access conditions (tunnels, crawl spaces) are hard to price without it.
Although site visits are not mandatory, Contractors are highly encouraged to attend the
Full brief
What they want
- Survey, tag, photograph and test every steam trap within 30 days of award, and deliver a Trap Survey and Baseline Report with a quantified steam-loss and cost baseline
- Submit a tag-level Phasing Plan and an RF (radio) site survey with repeater and gateway placement within 30 days of award
- Replace 100% of the verified trap population (estimated at 673) with quick-change trap-station assemblies during the base year, in four priority phases
- Furnish, install, commission and maintain a wireless steam-trap failure monitoring system (transmitters, repeaters, gateways) on every trap, with 100% coverage by the end of month 12 and failure alerts sent to the COR within 24 hours
- Perform semiannual preventive maintenance and dual-method testing of every trap station, with PM cycle reports
- Do steam and condensate repairs only under a Government-set Not-to-Exceed allowance, with written COR approval before work starts
- Deliver monthly and quarterly machine-readable data exports (CSV or XLSX), a digital trap database, progress and energy reports, 8 hours of on-site training and a transition-out package
- Provide a 12-month workmanship warranty and pass through manufacturer warranties; the Government owns the installed hardware and all data
- Contract type
- Single firm-fixed-price commercial contract (RFQ under FAR Part 12), with a Not-to-Exceed steam repair allowance line in each period whose amount the Government enters at award
- Period of performance
- 1 base year (Dec 1, 2026 - Nov 30, 2027) + 4 one-year option periods (through Nov 30, 2031); total not to exceed 5 years
- Place of performance
- Dallas VA Medical Center campus, 4500 S. Lancaster Road, Dallas, TX 75216 only (no other VA North Texas facility is in scope)
- How they'll choose
- The documents conflict. Section E.3 says a single FFP award goes to the technically acceptable offeror, but E.2 and E.3 also describe a pairwise best-value comparison of technical capability, past performance and price. The order of importance of the factors is not stated.
- Offers due
- Wednesday, November 4, 2026, 10:00 AM CST (questions due Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 10:00 AM CST)
- How to submit
- E-mail only to shawn.reinhart@va.gov, with the solicitation number and 'Proposal Submission' in the subject line
- Page limits
- Technical approach: 25 pages (technical exhibits such as resumes do not count). Redacted technical volume: 25 pages. Past performance: no more than 5 references. Price: no page limit. Pages over the limit are not evaluated.
What they'll judge offers on
- Factor 1 - Technical Approach / Capability, with sub-factors: (a) trap standardization and baseline survey, (b) monitoring platform architecture, data integrity and reporting, (c) preventive maintenance and testing method, (d) corrective repair and NTE allowance management, (e) staffing, key personnel and program management, (f) transition-in / phase-in plan, (g) quality control, safety and facility coordination. Failing any sub-factor rates the whole technical factor 'Did Not Meet'.
- Factor 2 - Price (total evaluated price includes all option years; checked for fairness, reasonableness and unbalanced pricing)
- Factor 3 - Past Performance (recent = last 5 years, relevant = similar size and scope; lack of past performance is not a negative)
What to include when you submit
- Submit two separate PDF volumes, each labeled with the RFQ number, your company name and the volume number
- Volume I (one PDF, in this order): signed SF 1449 (complete Blocks 12, 17a, 30a, 30b, 30c and Section B.1.a), Section B.2 price schedule, every clause or provision that has a fill-in or signature, technical approach, and past performance. Do not include the PWS or other clauses
- Return the signed VAAR 852.219-75 limitations on subcontracting certification with the offer; offers without it are ineligible
- Price every CLIN, including all four option years, as an all-inclusive firm fixed unit price; no alternate prices (if one is given, the Government uses the higher price)
- Volume II is a redacted copy of the technical approach with nothing that identifies your company (name, logo, staff names, subcontractors, 'incumbent'), on plain white paper; it must match Volume I
- Past performance: only contracts where you were the prime, listed by contract number (not solicitation number)
- State the annual cost of the monitoring platform and alerting service, the terms on which a successor or the Government could continue it, whether the installed hardware works with any other platform, and your FedRAMP status (PWS 14.4 and 10.5.4)
- Do not include a capability statement or SBA letters verifying SDVOSB status
- Send questions to shawn.reinhart@va.gov with the solicitation number and 'Questions' in the subject; answers are posted as an amendment on SAM.gov
- Proposals stay valid for 90 days; only one proposal per offeror
- Format: 8.5 x 11 paper, 1 inch margins (the notice gives both an 11-point and a Times New Roman 12 font instruction)
- Optional site visit: Dallas VAMC, October 15, 2026 at 0900, POC Jerry Reese, jerry.reese@va.gov
You must have
- Must be a VA-verified service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) listed in VA's Vendor Information Pages (VIP) at the time of offer and at award
Offers are solicited only from VIP-listed SDVOSBs.
- Must meet the small business size standard for NAICS 238220 (SF 1449 shows a size standard of $19 Million)
$19 Million
- Limitations on subcontracting: the SDVOSB prime may not pay more than 50% of the amount the Government pays it to firms that are not VIP-listed SDVOSBs
will not pay more than 50% of the amount paid by the government to the prime for contract performance
- Signed certification of compliance with the limitations on subcontracting (VAAR 852.219-75) must be returned with the offer
The Government will not consider offers for
- Active SAM.gov registration (FAR 52.204-7 is included in the offer instructions)
FAR 52.204-7 SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT - REGISTRATION (NOV 2025)
- Insurance: employer's liability of at least $100,000, general liability of $500,000 per occurrence, and automobile liability; before award, show general liability coverage with no asbestos exclusion
The successful bidder must present to the Contracting Officer, prior to award, evidence of general
- Technicians must be experienced in steam systems and trap diagnostics, and must hold any Texas licenses and certifications required for work on pressurized steam piping
Personnel performing work on pressurized steam piping
- All contractor staff must complete VA background investigation and badging, and VA privacy and security training
All Contractor personnel shall complete VA background investigation and
- Service Contract Labor Standards apply; prices must reflect the listed wage determination
WD #: 2015-5227 Rev. 30 dated Aug 21, 2026
- Your own confined-space entry program, competent person, air monitoring and rescue equipment, plus a VA confined space permit before each entry
The Contractor shall furnish its own confined space
Current contractor
None. The solicitation says this is a new requirement with no incumbent (PWS 14.5).
Not in the notice text
- Total contract value or the Government's cost estimate; the repair allowance (NTE) dollar amount is entered by the Government at award and is not stated
- Actual number and sizes of steam traps; 673 is an estimate to be verified by the survey, and Government drawings and trap location data are described as incomplete
- Whether award will go to the lowest-priced technically acceptable offer or through a best-value tradeoff, and how the three factors are weighted
- Which stations contain asbestos or lead and when the Government will abate them
- Details of the wage determination (listed as WD 2015-5227 Rev. 30 on SAM.gov, not included in the text) and the full Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan
- Answers to offeror questions (due October 28, 2026), which will be issued as an amendment
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Key facts
- Response due
- Nov 4, 2026, 4:00 PM UTC
- Posted
- Oct 5, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Solicitation
- 36C25727Q0033
- Agency
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Office
- 257-Network Contract Office 17 (36C257)
- Set-aside
- Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside (FAR 19.14)
- NAICS
- 238220
- Product/service code
- J045
- Business type
- Construction & renovation
- Place of performance
- Dallas, TX, 75216
- Contracting contact
- Mr. Shawn R. Reinhartshawn.reinhart@va.gov
Full notice text from SAM.gov
The Contractor shall provide all labor, supervision, management, materials, equipment, tools, transportation, permits, and incidentals necessary to: Survey, tag, and baseline the entire steam trap population; Replace one hundred percent (100%) of the verified trap population with quick-change trap-station assemblies; Furnish, install, commission, monitor, and maintain a continuous wireless steam trap failure monitoring system covering 100% of the replaced traps; Perform semiannual preventive maintenance (PM) and testing of all trap stations; and Perform repair and replacement of steam traps and associated steam distribution components IAW PWS.
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