Occupational Prescription Safety Eyewear

Questions & Answers / Clarifications

This document provides responses to vendor questions regarding Solicitation 12639526Q0013 for Occupational Prescription Safety Eyewear.

• Visit Frequency: On-site optician services are required bi-monthly to address routine and urgent needs. Historically, if no employees were scheduled, the Contractor was given at least 48 hours' notice to cancel the visit without penalty or site visit fee.
• Due Date Extension: The due date for the solicitation will not be extended.

This Q&A clarifies the requirements for on-site visits and confirms that the due date will not be extended, impacting bidder planning and submission timelines.

Statement of Work (SOW)

To procure professional services for the provision of occupational prescription safety eyewear and related accessories for approximately 75 employees at the National Centers for Animal Health (NCAH) in Ames, Iowa.

• Provide prescription safety eyewear, including frames and lenses.

• Offer safety eyewear lens coatings and accessories.

• Provide on-site optician services for consultation, measurement, fitting, and adjustment.

• Ensure all eyewear meets or exceeds ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 standards.

• Services are required for personnel entering designated "eye-hazardous" areas.

• Prescription safety eyewear, lens coatings, and accessories must be delivered within 30 days of receiving COR authorization.

• On-site optician services are to be provided bi-monthly (second and fourth Wednesday of each month) for a minimum of 1 hour per visit.

• Quality control and staff qualifications are critical.

• On-site work will be conducted at the National Centers for Animal Health, 1920 Dayton Avenue, Ames, Iowa 50010.

• Services are generally performed from 8:00 am to 9:00 am on specified Wednesdays, excluding Federal Holidays.

• Personnel must be qualified and properly cleared, including government-issued photo identification for site access.

• Adherence to security regulations, including PII and PHI protection, HIPAA, HITECH, and Privacy Act is mandatory.

• Staff must be proficient in English, knowledgeable of OSHA/NIOSH/ANSI standards, and include a licensed optometrist and a practicing optician with specific qualifications.

• The Contractor must not dispense units without prior COR approval and authorization.

• Prescriptions must be current (within two years) and specify all necessary details for lens manufacturing.

• Only two pairs of prescription safety eyewear (one for far, one for near vision) are authorized per employee every two years, with exceptions for full-face respirators or damaged units on a case-by-case basis.

• Certain lens coatings (photochromic, permanent primary tinted) have specific authorization requirements or are rarely approved.

• Side shields and specific sunglass tints may be authorized for certain roles.

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This solicitation seeks a qualified vendor to provide occupational prescription safety eyewear and pertinent accessories through a professional services contract. The objective is to procure these items for government personnel.

• Provision of occupational prescription safety eyewear and accessories as detailed in the Statement of Work (SOW).

• Specific items include various types of frames, polycarbonate and respirator lenses (single vision, bifocal, trifocal, progressive), coatings (anti-reflective, photochromic), miscellaneous accessories, side shields, sunglasses, and temple grips.

• On-site optician services are also required.

• Award Type: Anticipated single Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with firm-fixed-price delivery orders.

• Contract Duration: Not to exceed five (5) years, with ordering periods from 1/12/2026 to 1/11/2031.

• F.O.B. Destination for all deliverables.

• Delivery: Within 30 days of receiving customer prescription authorization.

• Shipping Address: National Centers for Animal Health, 1920 Dayton Avenue, Ames, Iowa 50010.

• Evaluation Criteria: Lowest price technically acceptable.

• Price: Will be evaluated for fairness and reasonableness.

• Technical Acceptability: Will be rated as "acceptable" or "unacceptable" based on the offeror's ability to meet requirements.

• Past Performance: Will be evaluated as "acceptable" or "neutral."

• Offerors must submit pricing for all items to be considered responsive.

• Offerors must submit a capabilities statement and quality assurance plan (max 5 pages).

• Proposal Acceptance Period: 90 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers.

• The document references various clauses related to small business concerns, HUBZone, and other set-asides, indicating potential eligibility requirements.

• Contractors must maintain an active SAM registration to be eligible for orders.

• Attachment 2 - Statement of Work (SOW) provides further details.

• Questions are due by December 26, 2025, 5:00 PM Central Time, via email to stephen.tees@usda.gov.