SOLICITATION NOTICE
J -- Acquisition of Vitrobot Maintenance Agreement
- Notice Date
- 12/12/2022 9:08:03 AM
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- Contracting Office
- NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NICHD BETHESDA MD 20817 USA
- ZIP Code
- 20817
- Solicitation Number
- NICHD-23-039
- Response Due
- 12/27/2022 6:00:00 AM
- Point of Contact
- Amber Harris, Fax: 3014803278
- E-Mail Address
-
amber.harris@nih.gov
(amber.harris@nih.gov)
- Description
- INTRODUCTION THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT OR PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME). The National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Office of Acquisitions (OA) on behalf of the on behalf of the National Institute of Digestive, Diabetes & Kidney Diseases intends to award a purchase order without providing for full and open competition (Including brand-name) to FEI CO for a Vitrobot Maintenance Agreement. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 811210 with a Size Standard of $20.50. REGULATORY AUTHORITY The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular 2022-08 Effective October 28, 2022. This acquisition is conducted under the procedures as prescribed in FAR subpart 13�Simplified Acquisition Procedures at an amount not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold ($250,000). STATUTORY AUTHORITY This acquisition is conducted under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c) under provisions of the statutory authority of FAR Subpart 6.302- FAR 6.302-1�Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1). PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE Base:� � � � � � � � � �3/11/2023 � 3/10/2024 Option year 1: ��� �3/11/2024 � 3/10/2025 Option year 2: ��� �3/11/2025 � 3/10/2026 Option year 3: ��� �3/11/2026 � 3/10/2027 Option year 4: ��� �3/11/2027 � 3/10/2028 Place of Performance National Institutes of Health� National Institute of Digestive, Diabetes & Kidney Diseases� 8 Center Drive Bethesda, MD 20892 � ? DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT The NIDDK supports a wide range of medical research through grants to universities and other medical research institutions across the country. The Institute also supports government scientists who conduct basic, translational, and clinical research across a broad spectrum of research topics and serious, chronic diseases and conditions related to the Institute's mission. In addition, the NIDDK supports research training for students and scientists at various stages of their careers and a range of education and outreach programs to bring science-based information to patients and their families, health care professionals, and the public.� The Multi-institutes (NIDDK, NHLBI, NIAMS, NINDS) Cryo-EM Facility (MICEF) has a requirement to obtain services to maintain the operation of the Vitrobot plunge freezer located in Building 8, Room 1A18. Vitrobot is used to freeze cryo-em samples and is essential for cryo-em projects that are going on at MICEF. _________________________ PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES The objective of this request is to procure a base, plus four (4) option year service contract to ensure the proper functioning of equipment. If this equipment fails and we do not have a service contract in place repairs may take a very long time and be very costly. �The service contract of the Vitrobot is essential for the continuation of the plunger performance, and thus the quality and productivity of the ongoing cryo-em research at MICEF. TASKS AREAS Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the contractor shall perform all of the detailed Task Areas listed below: Task Area 1 � Maintenance Agreement � Contractor shall provide 4-hour targeted telephone support, 48-hour targeted onsite labor response, unlimited labor hours (including travel time and expenses), all necessary spare parts (including all accessories listed on the contract), replacement FEG tip (for applicable products), one preventive maintenance visit (per year) and software updates (as required). Task Area 2 � Location of Service(s) � The Contractor shall perform the services for the gamma counter located in Building 8, Room 1A18, Bethesda MD, 20892 at NIH�s Bethesda Main Campus. CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted as prescribed in FAR Part 10�Market Research. �Only one source is available: Per FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) the Contracting Officer has determined FEI CO to be the only reasonable available source to provide a Vitrobot Maintenance Agreement. �� This acquisition was pursued on a sole source basis centered on the fact that the Vitrobot plunger is a complex, powerful, and precise equipment for preparing biological samples for 2D and 3D characterization. In order to ensure the mechanical stability and perfect performance, this plunger requires regular maintenance. Maintaining the Vitrobot is essential to producing high quality samples with high reproducibility. Failure to maintain this equipment quality and productivity of the ongoing cryo-em research at MICEF. FEI Company is part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, who is the sole manufacturer of the Vitrobot plunger which can only be serviced by the certified technicians at Thermo Electron (aside from basic functions and maintenance we are able to do ourselves). The lab does not have the specialized, proprietary training needed to fix this instrument. This leaves us with 3 options; (1) episodic per-event payment for repair, (2) direct contract with the instrument vendor, or (3) contracting with an insurance/service management provider as a 3rd party which would indirectly pay for instrument service. �Because of the limited number of certified technicians and finite number of spare parts, the episodic approach leads to very long delays in instrument servicing. �Disincentives for faster, more expensive repair (where excess parts used in addressing potential approaches to fixing the instrument cannot easily be returned to the contract engineer�s company, Thermo Fisher Scientific/FEI Company) will reduce the efficiency of the 3rd party solution. This results in the need for a direct contracting solution, which is the most effective way of maintaining the instrument. The savings between options 2 and 3 are not as significant relative to the internal revenue from cost recovery which would be lost if there were just a few delays in repair (especially as knock-on effects lead to disproportionate delays in many types of project support). The Vitrobot plunger is a highly specialized piece of equipment that requires skilled technicians above and beyond what is typically seen with standard scientific equipment. �Direct service by the vendor is superior to third party insurance-like coverage because service provided by technicians from the vendor include delivery of multiple fix kits to cover a single issue prior to a service call. �Third party providers are unable to support a rapid response time to service calls. �Thermo Fisher Scientific offers the only factory trained service organization that is qualified to service this product. Their maintenance representatives are trained and certified in Holland in order to maintain the distinctive hardware and software configurations for the plunger components. As the variety of hardware and software options is unique to this plunger, no other vendors are certified/qualified to provide the high level of specified maintenance and/or repairs needed to keep the plunger functioning at optimum levels. Failure to use FEI Company/Thermo Fisher Scientific to service the plunger and its many components may result in voiding any manufacturer warranties on the plunger, delays for software upgrades and repairs, and could result in inaccurate research results that in turn could result in MICEF�s failure to meet its mission. CLOSING STATEMENT This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties� bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: descriptive literature, delivery timeframe, warranties and/or other information that demonstrates that the offer meets all the foregoing requirements, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.� A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. All responses to this notice shall be submitted electronically by 9:00 am Eastern Standard Time, on Tuesday, December 27, 2022 to the Contract Specialist, Amber Harris, at amber.harris@nih.gov . Assessment of Capability Lowest Price Technically Acceptable �
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/ec5eb30c4cd64a858879d043b460884a/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Zip Code: 20892
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 20892
- Record
- SN06539922-F 20221214/221213084339 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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