SOLICITATION NOTICE
J -- 2021 Service Contract for Altis Mass Spectrometer
- Notice Date
- 4/8/2021 10:26:15 AM
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 811219
— Other Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance
- Contracting Office
- NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NICHD BETHESDA MD 20817 USA
- ZIP Code
- 20817
- Solicitation Number
- NICHD-21-085
- Response Due
- 4/15/2021 6:00:00 AM
- Archive Date
- 04/30/2021
- Point of Contact
- Amber Harris, Fax: 3014803278
- E-Mail Address
-
amber.harris@nih.gov
(amber.harris@nih.gov)
- Description
- PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS 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 THERMO ELECTRON NORTH AMERICA LLC for the purchase of a 2021 Service Contract for Altis Mass Spectrometer. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 811219 with a Size Standard of $22.00. REGULATORY AUTHORITY The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2021-05 effective March 10, 2021. 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 Year:������� May 1, 2021 � April 30, 2022 Option 1*:������� May 1, 2022 � April 30, 2023 Option 2*:������� May 1, 2023 � April 30, 2024 Option 3*: ������ May 1, 2024 � April 30, 2025 Option 4*: ������ May 1, 2025 � April 30, 2026 Place of Performance National Institutes of Health National Institute of Digestive, Diabetes & Kidney Diseases 10 Center Drive Bethesda MD 20892 DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) conducts and supports research on many of the most serious diseases affecting public health. The Institute supports much of the clinical research on the diseases of internal medicine and related subspecialty fields, as well as many basic science disciplines. The Institute's Division of Intramural Research encompasses the broad spectrum of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, inborn errors of metabolism, endocrine disorders, mineral metabolism, digestive and liver diseases, nutrition, urology and renal disease, and hematology. Basic research studies include biochemistry, biophysics, nutrition, pathology, histochemistry, bioorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, chemical and molecular biology, and pharmacology. NIDDK extramural research is organized into 4 divisions: Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases; Digestive Diseases and Nutrition; Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases; and Extramural Activities.� The Institute supports basic and clinical research through investigator-initiated grants, program project and center grants, and career development and training awards. The Institute also supports research and development projects and large-scale clinical trials through contracts. _________________________ NIDDK�s Advanced Mass Spectrometry Core Facility offers important support through a wide but not all-encompassing range of technical areas in protein analysis. For many years this has included analysis of pull-down experiments which help researchers identify important interactions between known and unknown proteins in biological systems. Recently, comparative studies have been performed which detect even small differences in the apparent relative amounts of thousands of proteins. Furthermore, the facility has developed a capability to analyze cross-linked protein samples that should provide researchers with ways of testing structural models. Although sample quality will always be the most important factor in whether a project succeeds, the sensitivity and the analysis speed of the mass spectrometer share in being the next most important factor in analysis. The maintenance period of our modern instrument has passed, and we are in need to arrange service through a service contract. Due to the complexity of this piece of equipment, it requires skilled technicians above and beyond what is typically seen with standard scientific equipment.� Interruption of normal analysis support using this instrument can lead to significant delays. Therefore, the procurement of a service contract mechanism is necessary for continued analysis support using this instrument. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES The National Institutes of Health (NIH)�s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has a requirement for maintenance of an Altis instrument installed by Thermo. The Altis Mass Spectrometer instrument is an advanced, high-speed and sensitive instrument performing a wide variety of experiments. Due to the complexity of this piece of equipment, it requires skilled technicians above and beyond what is typically seen with standard scientific equipment.� Interruption of normal analysis support using this instrument can lead to significant delays. Therefore, the procurement of a service contract mechanism is necessary for continued analysis support using this instrument.� Additionally, a service contract mechanism provides a cost-effective mechanism for maintaining the instrument in a functional state. This instrument is located in Building 10.� �� SALIENT / REQUIRED FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS Specifically, the NIDDK requires the following: 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 � Work will be done on site or through remotely diagnosing problems. One preventive maintenance will occur toward the end of the contract period. 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 THERMO ELECTRON NORTH AMERICA LLC to be the only reasonable available source to provide a 2021 Service Contract for the Altis mass spectrometer.�� This acquisition was pursued on a sole source basis centered on the complexity of this piece of equipment and it requiring skilled technicians above and beyond what is typically seen with standard scientific equipment.� Interruption of normal analysis support using this instrument can lead to significant delays. Therefore, the procurement of a service contract mechanism is necessary for continued analysis support using this instrument. Failure to procure these deliverables from THERMO ELECTRON NORTH AMERICA LLC would result in a significant loss of research. The Altis instrument is a complex, modern instrument that 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 Electron) 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). Furthermore, third party vendors are unable to support a rapid response time to service calls, whereas 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. Coupled with the complexity of the instrument, maintenance of this instrument requires skilled technicians above and beyond what is typically seen with standard scientific equipment. 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 Thursday, April 15, 2021 to the Contracting Officer, Amber Harris, at amber.harris@nih.gov. Assessment of Capability Lowest Price Technically Acceptable
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://beta.sam.gov/opp/ee4197b64b654c06839a63e6f655e6f2/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Zip Code: 20892
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 20892
- Record
- SN05966168-F 20210410/210408230106 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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