PRESOL | 66 | DYNAMIC RHEOMETER SYSTEM WITH ACCESSORIES AND A TRADE-IN PACKAGE

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF AUGUST 18, 2002 FBO #0259
SOLICITATION NOTICE

66 -- DYNAMIC RHEOMETER SYSTEM WITH ACCESSORIES AND A TRADE-IN PACKAGE

Notice Date: 8/16/2002
Notice Type: Solicitation Notice
Contracting Office: Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, North Atlantic Area Office, 600 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA, 19038
ZIP Code: 19038
Solicitation Number: RFQ-17-3615-02
Response Due: 8/30/2002
Point of Contact: Lisa Botella, Contract Specialist, Phone 215-233-6551, Fax 215-233-6558, - Eileen LeGates, Procurement Assistance Officer, Phone 215-233-6551, Fax 215-233-6558,
E-Mail Address: lbotella@naa.ars.usda.gov, elegates@naa.ars.usda.gov
Description: The USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) requires a Contractor to furnish, deliver and install an Dynamic Rheometer with Accessories and accept a Rheometer trade-in package at the USDA, ARS, NAA, Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) in Wyndmoor, PA. The USDA, ARS, ERRC, Dairy Pilot Plant (DPP) Unit will use the Rheometer for determination of elastic modulus, viscous modulus, complex viscosity, and other rheological information of cheese and other foods and food components. The system also allows for dynamic strain sweeps, frequency sweeps, and temperature sweeps. Prices are being requested and a written solicitation has been issued. The Solicitation number 17-3615-02 is issued as a Request For Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2001-08. This procurement is unrestricted. The NAICS is 444190 with a size standard of $6.0 million dollars. This solicitation and any other documents related to this procurement will be available electronically at the Internet site http://www.eps.gov. Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments (if any). It is the offerors responsibility to monitor the site for release of the solicitation and any related documents. SCHEDULE OF ITEMS - The Contractor shall furnish, deliver and install a new Dynamic Rheometer System with Accessories in accordance with the terms, conditions, and specifications contained in this document. ITEM: 01 - Dynamic Rheometer System with Air Dryer Membrane, Low Temperature Option, and Analysis Software; QTY:1; UNIT: EA; UNIT PRICE: $____; AMOUNT:$___. ITEM 02 - Solids Testing Tooling - Upper and Lower Tools; QTY:1; UNIT: EA; UNIT PRICE: $____; AMOUNT:$___. ITEM 03 - Curve Fitting and Modeling Module; QTY:1; UNIT: EA; UNIT PRICE: $____; AMOUNT:$___. ITEM 04 - Time-Temperature Superposition Module; QTY:1; UNIT: EA; UNIT PRICE: $____; AMOUNT:$___. ITEM 05 - Rheological Transformation Module; QTY:1; UNIT: EA; UNIT PRICE: $____; AMOUNT:$___. ITEM 06 - TRADE-IN: 1987 Rheometric Scientific's RDA700 Rheometer System, Serial No. 023-30; QTY:1; UNIT: EA; UNIT PRICE: $____; AMOUNT:$___. NOTE: THE GOVERNMENT SHALL MAKE A SINGLE AWARD. THEREFORE, OFFEROR'S MUST PROPOSE ON ALL LINE ITEMS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR AWARD. ALL THIS FOR A TOTAL OF $____. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED ITEMS - The Government shall provide: 1) The necessary facility utility hookups; and 2) the personal computer with windows software and compatible color printer. TRADE-IN INFORMATION - The Contractor shall accept a Government-owned, 1987 Rheometric Scientific's RDA 700 Dynamic Rheometer, serial number 023-30, tag AG002289972 as a trade-in. In order to transfer the property, a form AD-107, Report of Property Transfer or Other Disposition or Construction of Property is required to be completed by both parties prior to award. The initial purchase price was $60,000 and currently has a trade-in value of $_______________. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS - 1) The System must include a true strain dynamic oscillatory and steady shear rheometer, parallel plate fixtures, cone and plate fixtures, software and software upgrades. 2) The Salient Characteristics include: a) Capability of performing dynamic strain sweeps, frequency sweeps, and temperature sweeps. b) Temperature control between ?60 and 600 degrees Celsius will be required for tests below and above ambient temperatures. c) a minimum commanded strain of 0.005 milliradians. d) as angular strain resolution of 0.03 milliradians. e) An interchangeable transducer to be used with existing Government-owned equipment. 3) The System also includes all necessary components and accessories commonly needed and used fittings, tubing, connectors and other needed parts should be included as necessary for the type of research being performed. 4) Used equipment is not acceptable. SECTION 508 ACCESSIBILITY COMPLIANCE CLAUSE - The Government has determined that Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, standards 1194.21 through 1194.23, and 1194.25 applies to each system. The Contractor must note in the schedule whether each product or service is compliant or noncompliant with the accessibility standards at 36 CFR 1194. For each item that is identified as compliant the Contractor shall provide evidence or verification of compliance. The proposal must indicate where full details of compliance can be found (e.g schedule attachment, vendor's website or other readily available location (specify). DELIVERABLES - The Contractor shall furnish and deliver (F.O.B. Destination, Within Consignee's Premises), the equipment within forty-five (45) days after receipt of the purchase order. Deliveries shall be made to the USDA, ARS, NAA, Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excl. Federal holidays. PACKING AND SHIPPING - The Contractor shall be responsible for shipping the materials and equipment. The Contractor shall pack each item for shipment in a new container in such a manner that will ensure acceptance by common carrier and safe delivery at the destination. Containers and closures shall comply with the Interstate Commerce Regulation, Uniform Freight Classification Rules, or regulation of other carriers as applicable to the mode of transportation. The items to be furnished hereunder shall be labeled with the purchase order number and delivered, all transportation charges paid by the Contractor in accordance with the F.O.B. Destination, Within Consignee's Premises clause to: USDA, ARS, NAA, Shipping & Receiving, Eastern Regional Research Center, 600 East Mermaid Lane Wyndmoor, PA 19038, P.O. #:_____. INSTALLATION AND SET-UP - The Contractor shall be responsible for performing all start-up operations to ensure the system is fully functional for its intended purpose. The date and time for installation and start-up shall be coordinated by the Contractor with the COTR at least one (1) week prior to delivery and completed within two (2) weeks after delivery. TRAINING - The Contractor shall provide a minimum of 1-day training on-site at ERRC for a maximum of five (5) individuals and include all pertinent training materials. The date and time shall be coordinated by the Contractor with the COTR (to be named at time of award) at least one (1) week prior to delivery and completed within two (2) weeks after delivery. Training shall include system operation, maintenance, and trouble shooting and include all pertinent training materials. DOCUMENTATION - The Contractor shall provide the following: 1) a system specifications to the COTR within five (5) days after receipt of the award notice. 2) One (1) set of the operations, repair and maintenance manuals, service instructions, and software operating instructions for each piece of equipment or software upon delivery. 3) One (1) copy of the software on diskette upon delivery of the system. 4) Software upgrades shall be provided to the COTR within five (5) workdays after issuance. All documentation shall include the P.O. number. Final payment shall not be made unless and until such documentation is received and accepted by the COTR. WARRANTY - The Contractor shall provide a one-year, parts and labor warranty on the system (included in the price.) The period of the warranty shall begin upon acceptance. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the warranty for each item with their offer. The Contractor shall also provide information regarding the available extended warranties, consumables and pricing. BRAND NAME INFORMATION AND LITERATURE - Offerors are required to identify the brand and type of equipment offered and provide the descriptive literature even if literature has been submitted previously. Failure to submit this literature will render the bid nonresponsive and ineligible for contract award. Offerors must identify the brand and type of equipment being offered in the space below: ITEM DESCRIPTION:______; BRAND NAME:___; MAKE/MODEL:______. ITEM DESCRIPTION:______; BRAND NAME: ___; MAKE/MODEL: ______. If necessary continue on a separate sheet. DESIGNATION OF CONTRACTING OFFICER'S TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE - The Contracting Officer shall designate the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) at the time of contract award. The COTR is responsible for administering the performance of work under this purchase order. In no event, however, will any understanding, agreement, modification, change order, or other matter deviating from the terms of this purchase order be effective or binding upon the Government unless formalized by proper contractual documents executed by the Contracting Officer prior to completion of the purchase order. The Contracting Officer should be informed as soon as possible of any actions or inactions by the Contractor or the Government which will change the required delivery or completion times stated in the purchase order so that the contract may be modified accordingly. (This does not apply to individual task assignments which were issued by the COTR; provided they do not affect the delivery schedule or performance period stated in the purchase order.) On all matters that pertain to the purchase order terms, the Contractor must communicate with the Contracting Officer. Whenever, in the opinion of the Contractor, the COTR requests efforts outside the scope of the purchase order, the Contractor should so advise the COTR. If the COTR persists and there still exists a disagreement as to proper contractual coverage, the Contractor should notify the Contracting Officer immediately, preferably in writing if time permits. Proceeding with work without the proper contractual coverage could result in nonpayment or necessitate submittal of a purchase order claim. ADDITIONAL QUOTATION INFORMATION - This solicitation and any other documents related to this procurement will be available electronically at the Internet site http://www.eps.gov. Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments (if any). It is the offerors responsibility to monitor the site for release of the solicitation and any related documents. Potential offeror's are required to provide the following mandatory information to establish a bidder's mailing list: company name, street address, telephone, fax and contact name. Only the Contractor's identified or requested to be placed on the bidder's list will be considered responsive and evaluated for award upon return of the quotation package. This information must be faxed to the Contracting Officer at (215) 233-6558 and reference Solicitation No. RFQ 17-3615-02. REQUESTS SENT BY E-MAIL ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. QUOTATIONS SENT BY E-MAIL OR FACSIMILE ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. The provision at 52-212-1, Instruction to Offerors - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and is amended as follows: 1. Item (b) Submission of Offers is amended to include the following: The Offeror shall complete the - i. Standard Form 1449-Page 1: Blocks 12 and 17a; Page 2: Block 17b; Page 3: Blocks 30a, 30b and 30c; Page 4: Insert your price(s) in A.2. ii. Acknowledgement of amendments (if any). iii. Provide information required in the following Sections: Trade-In Information (A.4), Section 508 Accessibility Compliance Information (A.7), Warranty (A.13), Brand Name Information (A.14), Descriptive Literature (A.15), Pricing Information (D.3), and Evaluation Information (D.6). iv. Complete Page 37-47: Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors, (D.7). v. Provide a copy of the Extended Service Agreement and pricing, and any optional equipment components information and pricing. FAILURE TO SUBMIT THIS INFORMATION MAY RENDER THE OFFER NONRESPONSIVE. All information shall be submitted to Lisa M. Botella, USDA, ARS, North Atlantic Area, Contracting Office, 600 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA 19038. 2) Item (c) Period for acceptance of offers is amended to include the following: The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 60 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers. 52.215-20 REQUIREMENTS FOR COST OR PRICING DATA OR INFORMATION OTHER THAN COST OR PRICING DATA, ALTERNATE IV-(a) Submission of cost or pricing data is not required. (b) Provide information described below: 1. For catalog items, a copy of or identification of the catalog and its date, or the appropriate pages for the offered items, Provide a copy or describe current discount policies and price lists (published or unpublished), e.g., wholesale, original equipment manufacturer, or reseller. Also explain the basis of each offered price and its relationship to the established catalog price, including how the proposed price relates to the price of recent sales in quantities similar to the proposed quantities. 2. For market-priced items, the source and date or period of the market quotation or other basis for market price, the base amount, and applicable discounts. In addition, describe the nature of the market; 3. The offeror grants the Contracting Officer or an authorized representative that right to examine, at any time before award, books, records, documents, or other directly pertinent records to verify the reasonableness of price. For items priced using catalog or market prices, or law or regulation, access does not extend to cost or profit information or other data relevant solely to the offeror's determination of the prices to be offered in the catalog or marketplace. 2) Item (c) Period of acceptance of offers is amended to 60 calendar days. FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The following evaluation criteria are included in paragraph(a) of that provision: 1) Technical Capability, 2) HUBZone Small Business Concerns Factor; 3) Small Disadvantaged Business Participation Factor; 4) Past Performance and 5) Price. Technical and past performance, when combined, are significantly more important than price and will be scored on a "Pass/Fail" basis. (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer is technically acceptable, conforming to the solicitation and the lowest priced offer inclusive of all line items price. ADDENDA TO FAR CLAUSE 52.212-2 - 1. Deletes item D.3(b), Options. 2. Only the Contractor's identified or requested to be placed on the Bidder's List will be considered responsive and evaluated for award upon return of the quotation package. 3. Any resulting order will be issued to the company offering the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered:. (i) Technical capability of the item offered to meet the Government requirement; (ii) Past performance; and (iii) Price. Award shall be based on the technically acceptable, lowest priced offer inclusive of all line items. A) TECHNICAL CAPABILITY OF THE FIRM. Technical capability will be based on product literature and includes: 1)Technical capability of the item offered to meet the Government's requirement. Manufacturer or brand name and model of the item; 2)Product Literature-Each offeror is required to furnish for each component the above items or other documentation which shows how the offered product meets or exceeds the requirements as specified in the Specifications; 3) Section 508 Compliancy, and 4) Warranty provisions. B) PAST PERFORMANCE. Past performance history may be based on the Contracting Officer's knowledge of any previous history of this type of work, customer surveys or any other verifiable information available to the Contracting Officer. In order to be considered for a contract award, Contractors shall provide a list of three (3) contracts of a similar nature and complexity that the were awarded within the past three (3) years or that is/are currently in force. This information must be submitted with your offer. For each contract, list the following: 1. Name, address, and telephone number of the contracting organization, the Government's Project Officer and Contracting Officer. 2. Contract number, description, contract type, period of performance, warranty and price. 3. List any contract(s) terminated for convenience or default (partial or complete) within the past three (3) years. Include the contract number, name, address, and telephone number of the terminating officer. The offeror's lack of performance history will not result in disqualification, but will result in a neutral past performance rating of "pass". C. PRICE - will be based on: 1. Labor, supervision, materials, equipment, supplies, trade-in value, shipping costs, delivery, taxes, warranty, installation and discount terms. 2. Price evaluation adjustment for HUBZone Small Business Concerns in accordance with FAR Clause 52.219.4 (if applicable.) 3. Price evaluation adjustment for Small Disadvantaged Business Concerns in accordance with FAR Clause 52.219.23 (if applicable.) NOTE: An evaluation factor of ten (10) percent will be used for items b and c, if necessary. If the offeror elects to waive the preference, it shall so indicated in its offer. Offerors shall include a complete copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror/Representation and Certifications-Commercial Items, with the quotation. FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. FAR Clause 52.212-4 is amended to include the following clauses by reference: 1. Item a: AGAR 452.246-70, Inspection and Acceptance shall be made at: i) Destination. 2. Item (g)- Invoices shall be submitted in an original after acceptance of all items, to the Contracting Officer. 3. This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. The full text of these clauses, incorporated by reference, may be accessed electronically at this address: http://www.arnet.gov/far/ and AGAR Provisions and Clauses can be located at http://www.usda.gov/procurement/policy/agar.html. 52.204-4, PRINTING/COPYING DOUBLE SIDED ON RECYCLED PAPER; 52.211-5, MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS; 52.214-21, DESCRIPTIVE LITERATURE; 52.214-34 - SUBMISSION OF OFFERS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE; 52.214-35 - SUBMISSION OF OFFERS IN US CURRENCY; 52.225-8, DUTY FREE ENTRY; 52.227-19, COMMERCIAL COMPUTER SOFTWARE-RESTRICTED RIGHTS; 52.228-5, INSURANCE?WORK ON A GOVERNMENT INSTALLATION; 52.242-17, GOVERNMENT DELAY OF WORK; 52.247-35 - F.O.B. DESTINATION, WITHIN CONSIGNEE'S PREMISES; 452.204-70, INQUIRIES; FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The following FAR clauses cited in 52.212-5 are applicable to this acquisition for supplies: 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (Alt 1); 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Vietnam Era Veterans; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52.225-1, Buy American Act-Balance of Payments Program-Supplies; 52.225-3 (ALT II), Buy American Act-North American Free Trade Agreement-Israeli Trade Act-Balance of Payments Program; 52.225-13, Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases; 52.225-15, Sanctioned European Union Country End Products; 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration; and 52.247-64, Preference For Privately Owned U.S.-Flag Commercial Vessels. Responses are due on AUGUST 30, 2002 by 3:30 p.m. local time, to the USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Contracting Office, 600 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA 19038.
Web Link: Link to FedBizOpps document.
(http://www.eps.gov/spg/USDA/ARS/NAAO/RFQ-17-3615-02/listing.html)
Place of Performance: Address: USDA, ARS, NAA, ERRC, 600 East Mermaid Lane Wyndmoor, PA; Zip Code: 19038; Country: USA
Record: SN00143342-F 20020818/020816221808 (fbodaily.com)
Source: FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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66 -- DYNAMIC RHEOMETER SYSTEM WITH ACCESSORIES AND A TRADE-IN PACKAGE