Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Glycol Loop Flushing - NWI
Department of Veterans Affairs
AI summaryThe Department of Veterans Affairs (solicitation 36C26327Q0060) wants two glycol heating loops (Surgery and Microbiology) drained, flushed and refilled at the Omaha VA Medical Center, Nebraska, with the service repeated about 12 months later, for one firm-fixed-price award. Only service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA) can bid. The response due date is November 10, 2026, 5:00 PM Central, after an amendment extended it. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
The notice looks incomplete: Part of the main solicitation file (S02 - 36C26327Q0060.pdf, including clauses C.6 to part of C.11) was attached but not read, and the Wage Determination 2015-5005 for Douglas County could not be read here; check the file on SAM.gov for the wage rates. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (solicitation 36C26327Q0060) wants two glycol heating loops (Surgery and Microbiology) drained, flushed and refilled at the Omaha VA Medical Center, Nebraska, with the service repeated about 12 months later, for one firm-fixed-price award. Only service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA) can bid. The response due date is November 10, 2026, 5:00 PM Central, after an amendment extended it.
Who can bid
- Service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and designated that way in the System for Award Management (SAM); the notice is a total SDVOSB set-aside
- Registered and current in SAM at the time of the offer
- Sign and return the certificate that you will meet the limitations on subcontracting (the form marks special trade construction: no more than 75 percent of the amount paid to the prime to firms that are not certified SDVOSBs, excluding materials)
How to submit: Email to Erica Miller, Contracting Officer, at erica.miller5@va.gov, with the subject line: Quote – Solicitation 36C26327Q0060. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (9)
From the version posted Oct 23, 2026.
- Serious: Only certified SDVOSBs can bid. The work is a total set-aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses certified by the Small Business Administration; other firms will not be considered.
- Serious: Signed subcontracting certificate required with the quote. Quotes without the signed limitations on subcontracting certificate are not evaluated, and the quote must also explain how much work would go to other businesses.
- Worth checking: Loop volume and glycol amounts unknown. Each of the eight line items is priced as 1.00 JB (job), but loop volumes, current fluid strength and the number of 250-gallon totes are unknown, so the contractor must estimate a fixed price without them.
Show all 9Show fewer
- Worth checking: Two different outdoor temperature rules. The statement of work says to work when temperatures exceed 40 degrees Fahrenheit, while the Q&A says the Surgery loop needs outdoor temperatures expected to stay above 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the Microbiology loop above 40 degrees; ask the contracting officer which governs.
- Worth checking: Performance period: 12 months or 13 months. The schedule runs from November 1, 2026 to October 31, 2027, but the Q&A says the total period should be 13 months so the second flush can come 12 months after the first.
- Worth checking: Site visit offered; not stated as required. The Q&A answer to the site visit request gives October 28 as an available day, and other answers say to use the site visit to check valves and measure pipes, which matters for pricing.
- Worth checking: Many parts to the quote. The quote needs signed forms, a capability narrative, a subcontracting narrative, a labor standards statement and pricing within a 30-page limit, so leaving one out can hurt the offer.
- Minor: Response due date moved to November 10, 2026. Amendment 0001 extends the response due date from October 26, 2026, 5:00 PM CDT to November 10, 2026, 5:00 PM Central.
- Minor: Escorted hospital access. Contractor staff must check in and out each workday and are escorted by VA engineering staff, and hoses may not be routed through the main hospital.
Read from the notice and 6 attachments. Show which files.
- S02 - Amendment 36C26327Q0060 0001.pdf (read)
- 36C26327Q0060 0001_1.docx (read)
- S02 - 36C26327Q0060.pdf (read)
- 36C26327Q0060_1.docx (read)
- Questions and Answers.pdf (read)
- WD - 2015-5005 Douglas County.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Sample the old fluid, work out each loop's volume, and drain the Surgery and Microbiology glycol loops into storage totes
- Arrange transport of the totes to a disposal facility, with disposal manifests (shipping records)
- Flush each loop with deionized (purified) water, four complete loop volumes per flush, and clean the Y-strainers (pipe filters) and the feeder tank
- Refill with new propylene glycol heat transfer fluid and test the strength with a refractometer (a tool that reads glycol concentration)
- Do the whole service twice: first within 30 calendar days of award, then about 12 months after the first is complete
- Deliver a pre-flush fluid sampling report, system volume calculation, flush documentation, final system condition report, refractometer readings and disposal manifests
- Follow lockout/tagout (locking equipment off so it can't start) and VA medical center safety rules, with a 1-year workmanship warranty
- Furnish all labor, materials, deionized water, tools, testing instruments and transportation
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (FFP): one set price, whatever the work ends up costing. Simplified acquisition procedures (FAR Part 13), one award planned.
- Period of performance
- Anticipated November 1, 2026 to October 31, 2027 per the schedule; initial service within 30 calendar days of award and a second service about 12 months later. The Q&A says the total period should be 13 months.
- Place of performance
- Omaha VA Medical Center, 4101 Woolworth Ave, Omaha, NE 68105 (the SAM.gov place of performance field is blank; the documents give this address)
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Comparative evaluation under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106-2(b)(3): quotes are compared to one another to find the best benefit to the Government; a quote other than the lowest price may be chosen.
- Offers due
- November 10, 2026, 5:00 PM Central
- How to submit
- Email to Erica Miller, Contracting Officer, at erica.miller5@va.gov, with the subject line: Quote – Solicitation 36C26327Q0060
- Page limits
- 30 pages for the technical proposal and past performance volumes (the text doesn't say whether that is per volume or combined), minimum 11-point Arial, Calibri, Courier or Times New Roman; signed solicitation and clause documents don't count
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical or Quality: how well the quote meets or exceeds the Government's requirements, based on the information asked for in the instructions
- Past Performance: risk of success based on past record, which may draw on the contracting officer's knowledge, customer surveys, questionnaires and the federal contractor performance database
- Veterans Involvement: credit for a prime that is an SDVOSB or veteran-owned small business registered and verified in the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages (VIP) at quote submission and at award
- Price: the total of all line-item prices is the Total Evaluated Price
What to include when you submit
- Send the technical proposal and past performance as separate volumes
- Include a signed copy of the Standard Form 1449 (SF 1449, the form you sign and return as your offer) and the relevant solicitation certificates and clauses
- Include signed Standard Form 30 (SF 30, the amendment form) pages acknowledging amendments, if applicable
- State your ability to meet the limitations on subcontracting in Section C.12, with the percentage you would subcontract, and name each business with a contact name, email and phone; sign and return the certificate in that clause
- State your understanding of the requirement to pay under the Service Contract Labor Standards (minimum wages and benefits set by the Department of Labor wage determination), with narrative showing you can meet it
- Give a detailed narrative of your existing capability to meet the statement of work, including your technical approach and how the work is organized, staffed and managed
- Price in the format of the B.3 price schedule, as a PDF or Excel file (not handwritten); firm fixed prices must include all labor, overhead, profit, materials and related costs
- Hold your prices firm for 90 calendar days from the date offers are due
- To get Veterans Involvement credit, be registered and verified in the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages (VIP) when you submit the quote and at award
Not in the notice text
- Part of the main solicitation file (S02 - 36C26327Q0060.pdf, including clauses C.6 to part of C.11) was attached but not read, and the Wage Determination 2015-5005 for Douglas County could not be read here; check the file on SAM.gov for the wage rates.
- The wage rule that applies is the Service Contract Labor Standards (clause 52.222-41), not Davis-Bacon; the actual wage rates are in the unread Wage Determination.
- Whether the site visit is required, its meeting place and its time zone are not stated; the Q&A answer reads 'We are available from 1-3pm on Wednesday October 28th.'
- What to put in the past performance volume (number of references, recency) is not stated.
- The form lists 'Required: TMS 20939 No Access' without explaining what it is or when it must be done.
- The current glycol strength, loop volumes and tote count are not given, and the Q&A does not say whether the 30% strength on the price schedule is the right target.
Eligibility and how to respond
- Only service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) certified through SBA's VetCert can bid as the prime contractor. Not certified through VetCert yet? Apply on VetCert (SBA), or start with the SDVOSB guide. More open service-disabled veteran-owned set-asides under NAICS 238220
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to Erica Miller, Contracting Officer, at erica.miller5@va.gov, with the subject line: Quote – Solicitation 36C26327Q0060. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
- Construction contracts over $2,000 pay at least the local Davis-Bacon wage rates, from the wage determination in the solicitation. Price your labor from it: How to price a government contract, and how Davis-Bacon differs from the Service Contract Act.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 23, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- Network Contract Office 23 (36C263), Saint Paul, MN
- Product/service code
- J045 · Maint/Repair/Rebuild of Equipment – Plumbing, Heating, and Waste Disposal Equipment
- Business type
- Construction & renovation (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 238220)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 23, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 10, 2026 (changed)
- Oct 14, 2026 · Combined Synopsis/SolicitationDue Oct 26, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Open SDVOSB set-aside contracts
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, SDVOSB (service-disabled veteran-owned small business), Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
RFQ 36C26327Q0060 Amendment 0001 Questions and Answers for solicitation posting Extending due date