66 -- ELEMENTAL ANALYZER

Notice Date

September 13, 2001

Contracting Office

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Contracts Management Division (MD-33), Attn: ORDSC, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711

ZIP Code

27711

Solicitation Number

XN3801

Response Due

September 25, 2001

Point of Contact

Jennifer Hill, Contract Specialist, 919-541-3083

E-Mail Address

Click here to contact the contract specialist via (hill.jennifer@epa.gov)

Description

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN SUBPART 12.6, AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. QUOTES ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. The solicitation number is XN3801, and the solicitation is being issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-27. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 334516 and the small business size standard is 500 employees. Full and open competition procedures will be utilized. A firm, fixed-price purchase order is anticipated to result from the award of this solicitation. This procurement is for the an elemental analyzer described as a single instrument capable of simultaneous determination of the levels of carbon and nitrogen in both solid and liquid samples, with the capacity for reconfiguring the analysis of the same types of samples for sulfur or oxygen. In addition, the instrument shall be computer driven and capable of unattended operation after initial setup and calibration. Required specification are: 1.) Elemental analyzer shall be capable of simultaneous determination of levels of carbon and nitrogen, with the capacity to accept modules to configure for the analysis of sulfur or oxygen; 2.) Analyzer shall possess an autosampler capable of handling 49 solid samples or greater; 3.) Analyzer shall possess the capability to analyze liquid samples through direct injection or use of an automated liquid injection system; 4.) Instrument shall utilize gas chromatography separation of the sample with thermal conductivity detection or a trap and purge system; 5.) The package shall include enough consumables to analyze 5000 carbon and nitrogen samples and 1000 sulfur samples; 6.) The package shall include gas regulators and all tubing and connections necessary for instrument operation; 7.) The package shall include a microbalance, Mettler AT21 or equivalent; 8.) Instrument shall be delivered with software that will control the operation of the instrument as well as assist the generation and exportation of results. The software shall be capable of generating detailed reports of individual samples or a single report summarizing the results of a batch of samples. These reports shall be exportable in an Excel format. Software shall be windows 95/98 compatible; 9.) Instrument package shall include installation and training. An instrument will not be accepted until actual samples have been analyzed, along with a minimum of a 12 month comprehensive warranty. An extended warranty or maintenance agreement, inclusive of parts and labor, should be offered by the manufacturer to maintain this instrument at optimal performance; 10.)Instrument package shall be delivered fob destination, Duluth, MN, no later than 90 days after receipt of order. Proposal Instructions and Evaluation Criteria: The Government intends to award a single contract to the responsible offeror whose technically acceptable proposal represents the best overall value to the Government based on evaluation of technical approach, past performance and price. Only those offerors submitting technically acceptable proposals (as determined under subcriterion A.1 below) shall be considered for award. For the purposes of this best-value evaluation of technically acceptable proposals, technical approach (subcriterion A.2), past performance and price are of approximately equal importance. The following is a description of each evaluation criterion, including information which must be included with initial proposals. A. Technical Approach: 1. Demonstrated ability of the proposed system to meet the requirements set forth in the Statement of Work. The specifications represent the Government's minimum needs. Proposals must include sufficient material (such as narrative technical specifications, drawings, photos, brochures, demo disks, videos, etc.) to permit the Government to determine that the proposed instrument will meet the requirements set forth in the Statement of Work. Any specific variances from the specifications shall be addressed by the offeror with respect to how the offeror's proposal provides alternative equivalence. Failure of an offeror to demonstrate that the proposed instrument will meet the Statement of Work requirements shall render the offeror ineligible for further consideration for award. 2. Proposals determined to be technically acceptable under subcriterion A.1 above shall be evaluated for creative and innovative use of technology and methods to accomplish objectives. B. Past Performance willbe used for both responsibility determinations and as a factor against which offerors' relative rankings will be compared to ensure the best value to the Government. Each offeror submitting a technically acceptable proposal shall be evaluated on performance under existing and prior (within the past 3 years) contracts/subcontracts/orders for systems similar to that described in the Statement of Work for this requirement. The Government's evaluation shall focus on the quality of past performance and level of customer satisfaction. Proposals shall include a representative list of contracts/subcontracts/orders completed during the past three years, and contracts/subcontracts/orders currently in process, which are similar in nature to this requirement. For each contract/subcontract/order identified, include a brief synopsis which includes the date the work was performed, the client for whom the work was performed (include client name and telephone number), and a description of the system which was installed. C. Price: The proposed firm-fixed-price for the entire project shall be entered in the appropriate block on the standard form provided by the Government. The Government reserves the right to require additional pricing information if necessary to determine that the proposed price is reasonable. The following FAR provisions apply to this solicitation: 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial Items. All offerors are to include with their offer a completed copy of provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items. The following FAR clause applies to this acquisition: 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items. The following additional FAR clauses which are cited in clauses 52.212-5 are applicable to the acquisition: 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers; 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52,225-1, Buy American Act, 52.225-3, Buy American Act -- North American Free Trade Agreement, 52.232-34, Payment by Electronic Fund Transfer. Price and technical information should be submitted in separate proposals. Representations and Certifications shall be included with the price proposal. Offerors should review the Statement of Work and other information posted with this Request for Quotation on EPA's website at the following address: http://www.epa.gov/oam/rtp_cmd. Arrow down to the REQUEST FOR QUOTATION section and click on the solicitation. Arrow down below that section to COMMERCIAL BUY CLAUSES AND FORMS which are provided for your convenience. Please submit two copies of the technical proposal and two copies of the price proposal to Jennifer B. Hill, Contract Specialist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, MD-33, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711. Courier delivery address is U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Receptionist-Administration Bldg., Lobby, Attn: Jennifer B. Hill (MD-33), 79 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. All offers are due by September 25, 2001, 3:30 p.m., ET. No telephonic or faxed requests will be honored.

Web Link

Click here to visit the site that has information about (http://www.epa.gov/oam/rtp_cmd)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010917/66SOL007.HTM (W-256 SN50X5D5)