852.101 Using Part 852. Subpart 852.2-Texts of Provisions and 852.203-71 Display of VA hotline poster. 852.207-70 Report of employment under commercial activities. 852.209-70 Organizational conflicts of interest. 852.211-70 Requirements for operating and maintenance manuals. 852.211-71 Guarantee clause. 852.211-72 Inspection. 852.211-73 Frozen processed foods. 852.211-74 Telecommunications equipment. 852.211-75 Technical industry standards. 852.211-76 Noncompliance with packaging, packing and/or marking requirements. 852.211-77 Brand name or equal. 852.211-78 Liquidated damages. 852.214-70 Caution to bidders-bid envelopes. 852.214-71 Alternate items. 852.214-73 Bid samples. 852.216-70 Estimated quantities for require 852.270-1 Representatives of contracting officers. 852.270-2 Bread and bakery products. 852.270-3 Purchase of shellfish. 852.270-4 Commercial advertising. 852.271-70 Services provided eligible beneficiaries. 852.271-71 Visits to Department of Veterans Affairs guidance centers. 852.271-72 Time spent by counselee in counseling process. 852.271-73 Use and publication of counseling results. 852.271-74 Inspection. 852.271-75 Extension of contract period. AUTHORITY: 38 U.S.C. 501; 40 U.S.C. 486(c) Subpart 852.1-Instructions for 852.101 Using Part 852. Part 852 prescribes supplemental provisions and clauses to the FAR. Provision and clause numbering are as prescribed in FAR 52.101 (e.g, supplementary Architect-Engineer and Construction clauses are numbered 852.23670, 852.236-71, etc.). [50 FR 794, Jan. 7, 1985] Subpart 852.2-Texts of Provisions and Clauses 852.203-71 Display of VA hotline post er. As prescribed in 803.7002, insert the following clause: DISPLAY OF VA HOTLINE POSTER (a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) below, the Contractor shall display prominently in common work areas within business segments performing work under VA contracts, VA Hotline posters prepared by the VA Office of Inspector General. (b) VA Hotline posters may be obtained from the VA Office of Inspector General (53E), P.O. Box 34647, Washington, DC 200434647. (c) The Contractor need not comply with paragraph (a) above, if the Contractor has established a mechanism, such as a hotline, by which employees may report suspected instances of improper conduct, and instructions that encourage employees to make such reports. (End of clause) [57 FR 58718, Dec. 11, 1992, as amended at 63 FR 69223, Dec. 16, 1998] 852.207-70 Report of employment under commercial activities. As prescribed in 807.304-75, the following clause will be included in A-76 cost comparison solicitations: REPORT OF EMPLOYMENT UNDER COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES (OCT 1988) (a) Consistent with the Government postemployment conflict of interest regulations, the contractor shall give adversely affected Federal employees the right of first refusal for all employment openings under this contract for which they are qualified. (b) Definitions. (1) An "adversely affected Federal employee" is: (i) Any permanent Federal employee who is assigned to the government commercial activity, or (ii) Any employee identified for release from his or her competitive level or separated as a result of the contract. (2) "Employment openings" are position vacancies created by this contract which the contractor is unable to fill with personnel in the contractor's employee at the time of the contract award, including positions within a 50 mile radius of the commercial activity which indirectly arise in the contractor's organization as a result of the contractor's reassignment of employees due to the award of this contract. (3) The "contract start date" is the first day of contractor performance. (c) Filling employment openings. (1) For a period beginning with contract award and ending 90 days after the contract start date, no person other than an adversely affected Federal employee on the current listing provided by the contracting officer shall be offered an employment opening until all ad versely affected and qualified Federal employees identified by the contracting officer have been offered the job and refused it. (2) The contractor may select any person for an employment opening when there are no qualified adversely affected Federal employees on the latest current listing provided by the contracting officer. (d) Contracting reporting requirements. (1) No later than five working days after contract award the contractor shall furnish the contracting officer with the following: (1) A list of employment openings including salaries and benefits, (ii) Sufficient job application forms for adversely affected Federal employees. (2) By contract start date, the contractor shall provide the contracting officer with the following: (i) The names of adversely affected Federal employees offered an employment opening, (ii) The date the offer was made, (iii) A brief description of the position, (iv) The date of acceptance of the offer and the effective date of employment, (v) The date of rejection of the offer, if applicable for salary and benefits contained in the rejected offer, and (vi) The names of any adversely affected Federal employees who applied but were not offered employment and the reason(s) for withholding an offer. (3) For the first 90 days after the contract start date, the contractor shall provide the contracting officer with the names of all persons hired or terminated under the contract within five working days of such hiring or termination. (e) Information provided to the contractor. (1) No later than 10 working days after the contract award, the contracting officer shall furnish the contractor a current list of adversely affected Federal employees exercising the right of first refusal, along with their completed job application forms. (2) Between the contract award and start dates, the contracting officer shall inform the contractor of any reassignment or transfer of adversely affected employees to other Federal positions. (3) For a period up to 90 days after contract start date, the contracting officer will periodically provide the contractor with an updated listing of adversely affected Federal employees reflecting employees recently released from their competitive levels or separated as a result of the contract award. (f) Qualification determination. The contractor has a right under this clause to determine adequacy of the qualifications of adversely affected Federal employees for any employment openings. However, an adversely affected Federal employee who held a job in the Government commercial activity which directly corresponds to an employment opening shall be considered qualified for the job. Questions concerning the qualifications of adversely affected Federal employees for specific employment openings shall be referred to the contracting officer for determination. The contracting officer's determination shall be final and binding on all parties. (g) Relation to other statutes, regulations and employment policies. The requirements of this clause shall not modify or alter the contractor's responsibilities under statutes, regulations or other contract clauses pertaining to the hiring of veterans, minorities or handicapped persons. (h) Penalty for Noncompliance. Failure of the contractor to comply with any provision of this clause may be grounds for termination for default. (End of clause) [53 FR 43211, Oct. 26, 1988; 53 FR 46872, Nov. 21, 1988] 852.209-70 Organizational conflicts of interest. The following provision will be used as prescribed in 809.508-2: ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (APR 1984) sub (a) The offeror represents to the best of his/ her knowledge and belief that the award of the contract would not involve organizational conflicts of interest as defined in this representation. The term organizational conflicts of interests shall mean that a relationship exists whereby an offeror or a contractor (including his/her chief executive, directors, proposed consultants and contractors) has interests which may: (1) Diminish his/her capacity to give impartial, technically sound, objective assistance and advice or may otherwise result in a biased work product; or (2) result in an unfair competitive advantage. It does not include the "normal flow of benefits" from the performance of a contract. con (b) Based on this representation and any other information solicited by the tracting officer, it may be determined organizational conflicts of interest exist which would warrant disqualifying the contractor for award of the contract unless the organizational conflicts of interest can be mitigated to the contracting officer's satisfaction by negotiating terms and conditions of the contract to that effect. In the case of a formally advertised solicitation, the apparent successful offeror may enter into a supplemental agreement which mitigates the organizational conflicts of interest. (c) Nondisclosure or misrepresentations of organizational conflicts of interest at the time of the offer, or arising as a result of a modification to the contract, may result in the termination of the contract at no expense to the Government. (End of provision) [49 FR 12629, Mar. 29, 1984, as amended at 50 FR 794, Jan. 7, 1985] 852.211-70 Requirements for operating and maintenance manuals. (a) Solicitations and requests for proposals for technical medical and other technical equipment and devices issued by a field facility will normally require the contractor to provide operating and maintenance manuals. (b) The purpose of the requirement is for the manufacturer to provide the Department of Veterans Affairs a manual or groups of manuals that will allow the in-house repair of the equipment purchased. Unless the facility Chief, Engineering Service, indicates that such service manuals are not needed, each invitation for bid or request for proposal for technical medical or other technical equipment and devices will include the following clauses for operating and maintenance manuals: SERVICE DATA MANUAL (NOV 1984) (a) The successful bidder will supply operation/service (maintenance) manuals with each piece of equipment in the quantity specified in the solicitation and resulting purchase order. As a minimum, the manual(s) shall be bound and equivalent to the manual(s) provided the manufacturer's designated field service representative as well as comply with all the requirements in paragraphs (b) through (i) of this clause. Sections, headings and section sequence identified in (b) through (i) of this clause are typical and may vary between manufacturers. Variances in the sections, headings and section sequence, however, do not relieve the manufacturer of his responsibility in supplying the technical data called for therein. (b) Title Page and Front Matter-The title page shall include the equipment nomenclature, model number, effective date of the manual and the manufacturer's name and address. If the manual applies to a particular version of the equipment only, the title page shall also list that equipment's serial number. Front matter shall consist of the Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Illustrations and a frontispiece (photograph or line drawing) depicting the equipment. (c) Section I, General Description-This section shall provide a generalized description of the equipment or devices and shall describe its purpose or intended use. Included in this section will be a table listing all pertinent equipment specifications, power requirements, environmental limitations and physical dimensions. (d) Section II, Installation-Section II shall provide pertinent installation information. It shall list all input and output connectors using applicable reference designators and functional names as they appear on the equipment. Included in this listing will be a brief description of the function of each connector along with the connector type. Instructions shall be provided as to the recommended method of repacking the equipment for shipment (packing material, labeling, etc.). (e) Section III, Operation-Section III will fully describe the operation of the equipment and shall include a listing of each control with a brief description of its function and step-by-step procedures for each operating mode. Procedures will use the control(s) nomenclature as it appears on the equipment and will be keyed to one or more illustrations of the equipment. Operating procedures will include any preoperational checks, calibration adjustments and operation tests. Notes, cautions and warnings shall be set off from the text body so they may easily be recognizable and will draw the attention of the reader. Illustrations should be used wherever possible depicting equipment connections for test, calibration, patient monitoring and measurements. For large, complex and/or highly versatile equipment capable of many operating modes and in other instances where the Operation Section is quite large, operational information may be bound separately in the form of an Operators Manual. The providing of a separate Operators Manual does not relieve the supplier of his responsibility for providing the minimum acceptable maintenance data specified herein. Where applicable, flow charts and narrative descriptions of software shall be provided. If programming is either built-in and/ or user modifiable, a complete software listing shall be supplied. Equipment items with software packages shall also include diagnostic routines and sample outputs. Submission information shall be given in the Maintenance Section to identify equipment malfunctions which are software related. (f) Section IV, Principles of Operation- This section shall describe in narrative form the principles of operation of the equipment. Circuitry shall be discussed in sufficient detail to be understood by technicians and engineers who possess a working knowledge of electronics and a general familiarity with the overall application of the devices. The circuit descriptions should start at the overall equipment level and proceed to more detailed circuit descriptions. The overall description shall be keyed to a functional block diagram of the equipment. Circuit descriptions shall be keyed to schematic diagrams discussed in paragraph (i) below. It is recommended that for complex or special circuits, simplified schematics should be included in this section. (g) Section V, Maintenance- The maintenance section shall contain a list of recommended test equipment, special tools, preventive maintenance instructions and corrective information. The list of test equipment shall be that recommended by the manufacturer and shall be designated by manufacturer and model number. Special tools are those items not commercially available or those that are designed specifically for the equipment being supplied. Sufficent data will be provided to enable their purchase by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Preventive maintenance instructions shall consist of those recommended by the manufacturer to preclude unnecessary failures. Procedures and the recommended frequency of performance shall be included for visual inspection, cleaning, lubricating, mechanical adjustments and circuit calibration. Corrective maintenance shall consist of the data necessary to troubleshoot and rectify a problem and shall include procedures for realigning and testing the equipment. Troubleshooting shall include either a list of test points with the applicable voltage levels or waveforms that would be present under a certain prescribed set of conditions, a troubleshooting chart listing the symptom, probable cause and remedy, or a narrative containing sufficient data to enable a test technician or electronics engineer to determine and locate the probable cause of malfunction. Data shall also be provided describing the preferred method of repairing or replacing discrete components mounted on printed circuit boards or located in areas where special steps must be followed to disassemble the equipment. Procedures shall be included to realign and test the equipment at the completion of repairs and to restore it to its original operating condition. These procedures shall be supported by the necessary waveforms and voltage levels, and data for selecting matched components. Diagrams, either photographic or line, shall show the location of printed circuit board mounted components. (h) Section VI, Replacement Parts List-The replacement parts list shall list, in alphanumeric order, all electrical/electronic, mechanical and pneumatic components, their description, value and tolerance, true manufacturer and manufacturers' part number. (i) Section VII, Drawings-Wiring and schematic diagrams shall be included. The drawings will depict the circuitry using standard symbols and shall include the reference designations and component values or type designators. Drawings shall be clear and legible and shall not be engineering or productions sketches. (End of clause) (c) Solicitations and requests for proposals for mechanical equipment (other than technical medical equipment and devices) issued by a field facility will include the following clause: SERVICE DATA MANUAL (NOV 1984) The contractor agrees to furnish two copies of a manual, handbook or brochure containing operating, installation, and maintenance instructions (including pictures or illustrations, schematics, and complete repair/ test guides as necessary). Where applicable, it will include electrical data and connection diagrams for all utilities. The instructions shall also contain a complete list of all replaceable parts showing part number, name, and quantity required. (End of clause) (d) When the bid or proposal will result in the initial purchase (including each make and model) of a centrally procured item, the following clause will be used: SERVICE DATA MANUAL (NOV 1984) The contractor agrees, when requested by the contracting officer, to furnish not more than three copies of the technical documentation required by paragraph 852.21170(a) to the Service and Reclamation Division, Hines, Ill. In addition, the contractor agrees to furnish two additional copies of the technical documentation required by 852.21170(a) above with each piece of equipment sold as a result of the invitation for bid or request for proposal. (End of clause) [50 FR 795, Jan. 7, 1985; 54 FR 40065, Sept. 29, 1989; 61 FR 11587, Mar. 21, 1996. Redesignated at 63 FR 17338, Apr. 9, 1998, and amended at 63 FR 69223, Dec. 16, 1998] 852.211-71 Guarantee clause. (a) When the bid or proposal will result in any purchase of equipment, the following clause will be used: GUARANTEE (NOV 1984) The contractor guarantees the equipment against defective material, workmanship and performance for a period of 1 said guar 1 Normally, insert one year. If industry policy covers a shorter or longer period, i.e., 90 antee to run from date of acceptance of the equipment by the Government. The contractor agrees to furnish, without cost to the Government, replacement of all parts and material which are found to be defective during the guarantee period. Replacement of material and parts will be furnished to the Government at the point of installation, if installation is within the continental United States, or f.o.b. the continental U.S. port to be designated by the contracting officer if installation is outside of the continental United States. Cost of installation of replacement material and parts shall be borne by the contractor. 2 (End of clause) (b) Where it is industry policy to furnish, but not install, replacement material and parts at the contractor's exthe last pense, sentence will be changed to indicate that cost of installation shall be borne by the Government. Where it is industry policy to: (1) Guarantee components for the life of the equipment (i.e., crystals in transmitters and receivers in radio communications systems); or (2) require that highly technical equipment be returned to the factory (at contractor's or Government's expense) for replacement of defective materials or parts, the clause used will be compatible with such policy. [49 FR 12629, Mar. 29, 1984, as amended at 50 FR 794, 796, Jan. 7, 1985. Redesignated at 63 FR 17338, Apr. 9, 1998] 852.211-72 Inspection. (a) Contracts for property, other than packing house and dairy products and fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables will contain the following clause: REJECTED GOODS (NOV 1984) Rejected goods will be held subject to contractor's order for not more than 15 days, after which the rejected merchandise will be returned to the contractor's address at his/ her risk and expense. Expenses incident to the examination and testing of materials or supplies which have been rejected will be charged to the contractor's account. days or for the life of the equipment, insert such period. 2 The above clause will be modified to conform to standards of the industry involved. |