Service Contract for the LSM880 Airyscan FAST confocal microscope, Manufactured by Carl Zeiss Microscopy, Inc

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NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE NIH-OLAO-OA3-NOI-7.9.25 Service Contract for the LSM880 Airyscan FAST confocal microscope, Manufactured by Carl Zeiss Microscopy, Inc

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders intends to use Carl Zeiss Microscopy, Inc to service the LSM880 Airyscan FAST confocal microscope. It is anticipated that an award will be issued approximately Five (5) days after the date of this notice unless the Government determines that another supplier has the capability to meet this requirement.

Responses

The proposed acquisition action is for items and services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-1 (b). If you believe you can provide the items or services requested, responsible sources may submit a capability statement, which shall be considered by the agency. Please send to the attention of Contracting Officer, Sharmaine Fagan, sharmaine.fagan@nih.gov referencing notice number NIH-OLAO-OA3-NOI-7.9.25 by 7.11.25 @10:00A.M. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract acquisition based upon responses to the notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Information provided will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

Any solicitation resulting from the analysis of information obtained will be announced to the public on SAM.gov in accordance with the FAR Part 5. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

Service Contract for the LSM880 Airyscan FAST confocal microscope, Manufactured by Carl Zeiss Microscopy, Inc.

SCOPE

Under this task order, the contractor will independently provide repair and preventative maintenance (PM) services to satisfy the overall operational objectives of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics. The primary objective is to provide a service contract with PM services for the LSM880 Airyscan FAST confocal microscope.

ORGANIZATION

Laboratory of Molecular Genetics (LMG)

Section on Human Genetics (SHG)

National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

35A Convent Drive, room 1F-141

Bethesda, MD 20892

Mission:

The Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Section on Human Genetics, performs basic biological research on hearing disorders and competes against other labs throughout the world in the field of audiology. The research results are published in scientific journals and are subjected to strict peer review. In order for the lab to remain competitive, the equipment used for experiments must be kept in top working condition so that errors are not introduced into the data and downtime from broken instrumentation is kept to a minimum.

TASKS/ SERVICES. The contractor shall:

• Schedule a PM service once per year, which includes cleaning, calibration, inspection, adjustments and a function test of the instrument.


• Perform any remedial or emergency service in the event of malfunction required to keep the instrument running to the manufacturer’s specifications.


• Perform unlimited repairs during business hours (8:00 am-5:00 pm M-F). The repair call should cover all labor, all components of the instrument including the lasers and software, replacement parts, non-consumable parts, travel time and software upgrades with no extra charge.


• Cover all costs needed, with no further negotiations, to repair the instrument within five business days.


• Update the instrument with any new software designed by the manufacture to improve performance of the instrument, to add new features or to correct obvious or subtle problems.


• Use only parts supplied by the manufacturer and after completion of the work, the service technician shall remove from the lab the old parts that were replaced.


• Arrange for parts to be shipped overnight to the site during the on-site routine or emergency maintenance visits.


• Adhere to all laws regarding contracting with the Federal Government, Intellectual Property Rights, and Copyrights.


• Not contract out any repair or PM service to a third party who has not been approved by the manufacturer.

Quality Assurance

The contractor must develop its own Quality Assurance Plan (QASP) as part of its proposal for a performance-based effort. The contractor’s QASP must be meet the minimum criteria established below. The contractor must strive to meet past performance levels that were acceptable and improve on those that were less than optimal.

Along with evaluation criteria for tracking the service call from start to finish, there is evaluation criteria for managing the ongoing maintenance of the instrument. This criteria includes:

1. Many manufacturers upgrade the software for their instruments periodically. The contractor must be able to provide the lab with the latest software upgrades at no extra charge, regardless of whether or not the instrument is being repaired. The contractor also must be able to provide the lab with any necessary training on the upgraded software.

1. Lasers are a defining feature of confocal microscopes. The contractor must repair and replace the lasers when necessary.

1. The contractor must automatically schedule the yearly preventative maintenance service.

1. Most manufacturers require a re-instatement visit and charge for instruments that have a lapse in service contract coverage. The contractor must pay any re-instatement fee charged by the manufacturer should the lab decide not to use the contractor at any time and go back to using the manufacturer directly

1. Should the contractor cease to be able to fulfill its obligation to the lab during the contracting period, there must be a smooth transition without a lapse in coverage on the instrument between the contractor and the manufacturer. The contractor would be responsible for any re-instatement fees and completing any necessary paperwork required for the transition.

CERTIFICATIONS, LICENSE, PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OR OTHER EXPERTISE REQUIRED.

The contractor must have:

• Experience working within research laboratory.

• Training directly from Zeiss for the LSM880 Airyscan FAST microscope


• Safety training for working with class 3b and 4 lasers


• Current certification and authority from Zeiss to work on the LSM880

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE.

One year plus one option year.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE.

The work will be performed at Bethesda, MD 20892-3729

OPERATIONAL HOURS.

Work will be performed up to 40 hours per week during normal business hours, Monday-Friday, excluding Federal and public holidays. Occasionally after-hours emergency work might be required.

SAFETY ISSUES.

The contractor is required to adhere to all rules governing laboratory safety at the NIH for BSL I level labs, including wearing PPE, understanding chemical hazard labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDS), and not eating, drinking, or smoking in the laboratory.

GOVERNMENT- FURNISHED EQUIPMENT, BADGE, KEYS AND/OR FACILITIES PROVIDED.

The lab provides a land-line phone for the service technician to make calls related to the repair or PM and any reagents or consumables needed to run the instrument. The lab will also make sure that there are no safety related hazards posted during the visit and will provide the technician with disposable nitrile gloves and a lab coat to use during the visit if he or she requests.

SECURITY CLEARANCE/ POLICE CHECK/ DRIVING RECORD CHECK.

Work under this task order is

__x_ UNCLASSIFIED

____ SCREET

____ TOP SECRET

The contractor shall comply with all applicable Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) security regulations and procedures during the performance of this task order. The contractor shall safeguard any data files that are on the instrument.

NON-PERSONAL SERVICE STATEMENT.

Contractor employees performing services under this order will be controlled, directed and supervised at all times by management personnel of the contractor. Contractor employees will perform independent of and without the supervision of any Government official. Actions of contractor employees may not be interpreted or implemented in any manner that results in any contractor employee creating or modifying Federal policy, obligating the appropriated funds of the U.S. Government overseeing the work of Federal employees, providing direct personnel services to any Federal employee or otherwise violating the prohibitions set forth in Parts 7 .5 and 37 .1 of the Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR). The Government will control access to the facility and will perform the inspection and acceptance of the completed work.

BASIS FOR AWARD

The government intends to award on a best-value basis, using the Lowest-Priced Technically Acceptable (LPTA). An offeror who passes all of the technical criteria, and has acceptable past performance, will be available for award.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. Technical Criteria

The minimum technical standards for this maintenance contract are listed below. Each one will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis. Failure to demonstrate within the offeror’s proposal that there is capability to meet the standard will result in a failing grade for that criterion. Failure in one criterion below will lead the offeror to be considered technically unacceptable, and will make the offeror unavailable for award. The contractor must be able to fulfil all (A-H) of these requirements.

1. Use engineers who are certified annually, trained directly by and work for the manufacturer of the instrument. Only manufacturer-trained and authorized technicians are permitted to work on the machine.

1. Use service engineers who are local and assigned specifically to NIH.

1. Provide unlimited - at no extra cost— diagnostic and repair service visits, labor, travel, manufacturer certified parts (no generics), upgrades/hotfixes for both software and firmware, any necessary training on software and upgrades, safety and performance updates to any part of the instrument, and removal of old parts.

1. Guarantee a technician to be on-site within 24 hours of a service call that cannot be repaired over the phone. Guarantee that parts not available at the time of service will be shipped next day, at no extra cost to the government. Be able to have the instrument functioning to 100% of the manufacturer’s specifications by the fifth day, with the new part. If the instrument is not able to be repaired in five business days or less, an equivalent loaner instrument must be provided until the original is returned and working at 100% to the manufacturer’s specifications.

1. Schedule the annual PM service, which consists of cleaning, calibration, inspection, adjustments and a function test of the instrument.

1. Provide unlimited remote support, along with unlimited applications and technical phone support.

1. Provide unlimited coverage on all components and subcomponents of the LSM880 confocal microscope, which includes—lasers, detectors, filters, polarizers, reflector modules, computers, power supplies, scan modules, electronics controller, software, scanning stage, nosepiece and cameras.

1. Meet the minimum standards of the government’s Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) provided above. Additionally, the QASP must demonstrate discounts to the government for failure to meet the standards provided.

2. Past performance

Past performance is a major factor in determining how well the contractor will perform in the current period of time—if a contractor failed in the past on any of the below criteria, it is assumed that it will do so again. Likewise, if a contractor was able to meet the criteria below in the past, it is assumed that it will do so again. Past performance is the most important evaluation criteria. Past performance criteria include:

1. Contractor must have been able to get the instrument up and running to a 100% functioning level within three days or less from the time of the initial service call placement to getting the problem solved--including obtaining replacement parts, fixing the instrument, and generating a service report.

1. The contractor must have acted honestly with the customer in the past for each repair—using only certified parts, ensuring that instrument performance is within manufacturer specifications, adhering to copyright and intellectual property regulations, adhering to all laws regarding contracting with the Federal Government, doing all that is stated in the contract, charging only what was agreed upon in the contract, not adding extra charges to the service call, and using certified technicians to perform the work.

1. Contractor must have kept the software upgraded to the best availability from the manufacturer of the instrument, even if the old software was working properly. Contractor must have provided any necessary training on the new software.

1. Contractor must have scheduled the annual PM service.

1. Contractor must have repaired and replaced lasers when necessary for the function of the confocal microscope within the manufacture’s specifications.

The customer has the right to inquire about past performance of a contractor with other customers who used that contractor in the past to perform repair work on their lab equipment and use this information to determine the suitability of the contractor. The contractor shall submit references for past performance.

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