Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF JULY 07, 2002 FBO #0217
SOLICITATION NOTICE

66 -- Liquid Scintillation Counter

Notice Date

7/5/2002
 

Notice Type

Solicitation Notice
 

Contracting Office

Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition and Logistics Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 3571, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-3571
 

ZIP Code

20899-3571
 

Solicitation Number

NA1341-02-Q-0593
 

Response Due

7/19/2002
 

Archive Date

8/3/2002
 

Point of Contact

Joni Laster, Purchasing Agent, Phone 301-975-8397, Fax 301-975-8884, - Carol Wood, Contract Specialist, Phone 301-975-8172, Fax 301-975-8884,
 

E-Mail Address

joni.laster@nist.gov, carol.wood@nist.gov
 

Description

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect in the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2001-07.*** The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 339111 with a small business size standard of 500 employees. However, this requirement is unrestricted and all interested contractors may submit a quote.***The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a requirement for one (1) Liquid Scintillation Counter. ***All interested offerors shall provide a quote for the following : Line item 0001: Quantity one (1) each Liquid Scintillation Counter with the following required specifications. (1) The liquid scintillation counting (LSC) system shall consist of a unit that shall include a sample transport mechanism, two Photomultiplier Tubes (PMT), signal amplifiers and discriminators, a multichannel analyzer (MCA), an internal calibration source, power supplies and other components necessary for operation. (2)The two PMT's shall be initially matched in gain to within 10 percent. (3) The MCA shall have a beta particle energy resolution of at least 0.5 keV per channel, with at least 4000 data channels. This energy resolution shall be maintained across the dynamic range of the instrument, which shall extend from 0 to 2000 keV. Each channel shall have a capacity for at least 1E6 counts. (4) The LSC shall be capable of being calibrated for and accurately counting samples utilizing solid scintillators. (5) The absolute counting efficiency shall be at least 65% for a sealed LS vial containing tritiated toluene cocktail. The background count rate for this region under the same conditions shall not exceed 10 CPM. (6) The two PMT's shall be able to operate in a non-coincidence mode for Cherenkov and luminescence counting. It shall be possible in this mode to record the spectrum from these PMT's. The normal operation of the PMT's shall be in coincidence mode. (7) There shall be the capability for determining the relative Compton photon production efficiency (quench) in a LS vial. The number of measurements to be made on each vial shall be software selectable from 0 to at least 5. The measurement time using the source shall be software selectable up to at least 60 seconds. (8) There shall be a phase separation monitor capable of detecting nonhomogeneous samples. An error code or flag to alert the user of such conditions shall be provided. (9) There shall be a non-radioactive static control mechanism to dissipate static electricity on the outside of a LS vial before it enters the counting chamber. (10) The LSC system shall incorporate a bi-directional sample changer that is capable of handling at least 300 standard vials or 500 small vials. (11) The counter shall be capable of collecting and storing for later retrieval and analysis the complete unaltered spectrum acquired by the MCA for each measurement on each LS vial. The counter shall store the sample rack number, the sample position within the rack, the date of the measurement, the starting time of the measurement accurate to one second, the actual livetime of the measurement accurate to one second, a quench parameter, and an error number or other parameter to indicate phase separation or problems in the measurement. The counter shall be capable of continuing all of its normal operations in automatic count mode if the computer unit is being used for another purpose. (12)The counter shall have an automatic diagnostic and calibration routine that, as a minimum, tests the mechanical and electrical components of the counter unit for proper operation, measures the background count rate for each PMT separately and in coincidence, measures the tritium counting efficiency for each PMT, performs a Chi-squared test, and displays the results. At least the background, tritium efficiency and sensitivity shall be stored so as to maintain a record of the results. The system diagnostics shall allow a historical report of the background, calibration and performance data for at least the last 100 calibrations. (13) The counter shall be capable of performing an "on demand" count during a sequence of automatic counts. It shall also return the system to the "interrupted" sample without losing any of the count/sample data and continue counting samples. (14)The system shall have provisions for the storage of at least 20 User defined counting protocols, with the option for overwrite protection. These protocols shall be protected against loss during power failure. (15) In the event that the AC power to the counter unit goes off, the counter unit shall be able to resume operation automatically when the AC power comes back on. The counter unit shall not lose any data acquired before the start of the measurement in progress at the time of the power failure and it shall not lose track of the correct date and time or of the sample rack number and sample position. The measurement in progress shall be restarted. (16)The counter shall be capable of transferring, storing, processing, and reprocessing any number of times all of the acquired spectra. Spectral data shall be available as an Excel spreadsheet and/or standard ASCII text files if so desired. Analysis reports shall also be exportable and/or saved as requested by the user. (17) The computer unit shall be capable of displaying and printing the integral count rates for at lease 3 software selectable regions in the spectrum currently being collected or in any stored spectrum. Each of the regions shall be able to include any portion of the channels in the spectrum. The user shall be able to dynamically adjust these regions during analysis. (18)The computer unit shall be capable of displaying on the monitor the spectrum that is currently being collected by the MCA or any stored spectrum. The boundaries of the integral regions shall also be displayed. The display is to be in the form of an X/Y graph. The X axis shall be software selectable from a range of approximately 0 to 20 keV beta particle energy up to a range of 0 to 2000 keV. The system shall also be capable of displaying sample count rate as a function of time in either a two or three-dimensional format. The Y axis shall be adjustable in scale and be able to toggle between linear and log scale. (19) The system shall be able to print out at lease the following items for each spectrum: starting date, starting time accurate to one second, livetime accurate to one second, total counts in each region, total count rate in each region, a quench parameter, an error number or other parameter to indicate phase separation or problems in the measurement, and the complete spectrum as a listing of counts (or count rate) in each channel. Any or all of these items, in any order, shall be software selectable for printing on the system printer. (20) The system shall provide for corrected DPM output based on quench curves for single, dual, and triple label counting. These counting modes shall utilize automatic quench correction for counting efficiencies and window settings. Provisions for stored quenched or unquenched isotope beta spectrums shall be provided for 3-H and 14-C. (21)The system shall be capable of sample recall and reprocessing without recounting of the sample. (22)The system shall be designed such that the user can easily perform basic cleaning and maintenance. Instructions for these operations shall be included. (23)The system shall come with a complete set of 7 ml and 20 ml racks, one set of protocol flags, one set of calibration standards (a background, 3-H, and 14-C vials), and a set of quench standards if needed. (24)Submissions with regularly sold "off the shelf" and "Turn Key" systems are preferred. Prototype or first of a kind offerings are highly discouraged. Line Item 0002: Quantity One (1) Year Warranty on all parts and labor. Line Item 0003: Quantity One (1) Lot, The vendor shall provide detailed operations and maintenance manuals for the model purchase. This shall include operating, calibration, and repair procedures, algorithm instructions, and hardware schematics. Line Item 0004: Quantity One (1) Lot, Within two months of delivery the vendor shall provide support personnel to train NIST HP staff during the set-up, initial calibrations, and initial usage of the monitor here at NIST. Line Item 0005: Quantity One (1) Year of Technical Support. ***The Contractor shall state the warranty coverage provided for line item 0001. ***Delivery shall be FOB Destination and shall be no later than 90 days after receipt of order. ***The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for any loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery. The contractor shall deliver all line items to NIST, Building 301, Shipping and Receiving, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001. ***Award shall be made to the offeror whose quote offers the best value to the Government, technical, past performance & price will be considered. The Government will evaluate information based on the following criteria: 1) Technical Capability factor "Meeting or Exceeding the Requirement," 2) Past Performance and 3) Price. Technical capability and past performance shall be more important than price. Evaluation of Technical Capability will be based on the information provided in the quotation. Past Performance will be evaluated to determine the overall quality of the product & service provided by the Contractor. Evaluation of Past Performance shall be based on the references provided and/or the offerors recent and relevant procurement history with NIST or its' affiliates. ***The following provisions apply to this acquisition: 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items; and 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items. ***The following clauses apply to this acquisition: 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items; 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items including subparagraphs: (11) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; (12) 52-222-26, Equal Opportunity; (13) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans; (14) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; (15) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans; (16) 52.222-19 Child Labor - Cooperation With Authorities And Remedies; (19) (i) 52.225-3 Alternate I, Buy American Act - Balance of Payment Program-Supplies; (21) 52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases ; (24) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration and 52.245-4, Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level above the Contracting Officer is also incorporated. It can be downloaded at www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/agency.htm.***All offerors shall submit the following: 1) An original and one (1) copy of a quotation which addresses Line Item 0001; 2) Two (2) copies of technical description and/or product literature; 3) Description of commercial warranty; 4) Two (2) copies of the most recent published price list(s); 5) A list of three (3) contracts/purchase orders completed during the past three years for similar requirements with the following information: Name of contracting activity, contract number, contract type, total contract value, contracting office and telephone number, and program manager and telephone number; and 6) A completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items which may be downloaded at www.arnet.gov/far. ***All quotes should be sent to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Acquisition and Logistics Division, Attn: Joni L. Laster, Building 301, Room B129, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 3571, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-3571.***Submission shall be received by 3:00 p.m. local time on July 15, 2002. Faxed offers will not be accepted.***
 

Web Link

Link to FedBizOpps document.
(http://www.eps.gov/spg/DOC/NIST/AcAsD/NA1341-02-Q-0593/listing.html)
 

Place of Performance

Address: 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, Maryland

Zip Code: 20899

Country: USA
 

Record

SN00111684-F 20020707/020706082121 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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