Automated Microbial Culture, Sample Preparation, and Analysis System (№4033460)

This solicitation is a Request for Quotations (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-95 effective 1/19/2017.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516 with a small business size standard of 1000 employees. This acquisition is being procured as a Total Small Business Set Aside. Only quotes submitted by qualified small business concerns will be considered.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) requires an automated system for microbial culture, sample preparation, and analysis, with components, software, and optional items set forth in ATTACHMENT 1 - STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW).

DELIVERY SCHEDULE
A detailed delivery schedule is set forth in RFQ ATTACHMENT 3 - LINE ITEM SCHEDULE.

SHIPPING
The items shall be shipped F.O.B. Destination to:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology
100 Bureau Drive
Building 301
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

FOB DESTINATION MEANS: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery.

EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD
The Government intends to award a single purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Contractor whose quotation, conforming to this solicitation will provide the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. The Government reserves the right not to award a purchase order.

NIST intends to evaluate quotes and issue a contract based on the initial quotes received. Therefore, the Contractor"s initial quote should contain the Contractor"s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. NIST reserves the right to request revised quotes from, or negotiate final contract terms with, one or more, but not all, Contractors if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.
In addition to price, the following factors shall be used to evaluate quotations:

1. Technical Capability
2. Past Performance

In determining best value, Technical Capability and Past Performance are listed in descending order of importance. When combined, the non-price factors shall be more important than price.

For the Evaluation of Technical Capability:
Evaluation of technical capability will be based on the information provided in the quotations submitted in response to this solicitation. NIST will evaluate whether the quoter has demonstrated that its proposed equipment meets all minimum requirements. If a quoter does not indicate how its proposed equipment meets a certain minimum requirement, NIST will determine that it does not.

Stronger consideration will be given to systems that demonstrate any of the following attributes:

• In place of the minimum required enclosure listed in Line Item 0002 of the SOW, a biosafety level 2 enclosure, with negative pressure inside the enclosure and HEPA filtration for both inlet and outlet air streams, and with containment alarm integrated into control/scheduling software (Line Item 0011) to indicate containment failure (open doors).
• An enclosure (Line Item 0002) with outside dimensions of no greater than 10 feet x 12 feet and a height no greater than 8 feet 3 inches.
• A system with multi-mode plate reader (SOW Line Item 0001.5) that provides temperature uniformity of ±0.25°C or better at 37°C.
• System software that includes a software development kit (SDK) for user development of new instrument drivers and to facilitate interactions with user databases and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS).

For the Evaluation of Past Performance:
Evaluation of past performance will be based on the references provided and/or the Contractor"s recent and relevant procurement history with NIST or its affiliates. Past Performance will be evaluated to determine the overall quality of the product and service provided by the Contractor. The Government will evaluate relevant past performance information based on Past Performance Surveys and by contacting appropriate references, including NIST references and the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS); if applicable. The Government may also consider information available from other sources. In the case of a Contractor without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the Contractor will be evaluated neither favorably nor unfavorably.

For the Evaluation of Price:
The proposed Firm-Fixed-Price will be evaluated to determine whether the proposed prices are reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. Prices must be entirely compatible with the technical portion of the quotation. The total price will be evaluated inclusive of all optional line items. Additionally, the Government will consider the total ownership cost of the system as it relates to the cost of consumables. The availability and market pricing of consumable items required to operate the system will be evaluated to determine their potential impact on the Government"s total ownership cost of the system. NIST may determine the cost risk of a contractor"s quote unacceptable if the prices of compatible consumables are considered to be prohibitively expensive.

REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS

All quoters shall submit the following in response to this solicitation:

1. For the purpose of evaluation of Technical Capability:
Documentation that clearly demonstrates the quoted system"s ability to meet all required specifications, all requirements of all Line Items including the following:

(A) Technical description or product literature for each component of the quoted system.
(B) Demonstration that the quoted system meets or exceeds each minimum requirement described in the SOW by providing a citation to the relevant section of its technical description or additional information.
(C) A description of the software licensing (number of seats/computers, use of dongle(s), etc.) for the software specified in Line Item 0011.
(D) A system schematic or drawing that identifies the vendor"s proposed placement of every required hardware component listed in Line Item 0001 as well as other hardware components necessary for system integration.

2. For the purpose of Past Performance:
A list of references - Government or non-Government are acceptable - for whom the same or similar products have been provided within the past three (3) years. The list of references should include, at a minimum:

(i) The name of the reference contact person and the company or organization;
(ii) The telephone number of the reference contact person;
(iii) The contract or grant number;
(iv) The amount of the contract;
(v) A description of the type of product provided; and
(vi) The date of delivery or the date services were completed.

3. For the purpose of Price, quoters shall provide:

(i) A firm-fixed price quotation for each Contract Line Item, and a total firm fixed-price inclusive of all required line items. For Option Line Items 0004, 0005, 0006, 0007, 0008, 0009, 0010, and 0012, the quoter shall specify the maximum period after award, not to exceed six (6) months, to exercise each option without impacting the delivery schedule for the System as a whole. The quoted price for all Option Line Items shall include the additional cost, if applicable, for hardware and software required to fully integrate the optional components into the automated system.

(ii) A detailed list of any consumables that are specific to the operation of the quoted system (e.g., pipette tips, sealing films, electroporation plates) and that are required for operation of the quoted system. Note that SBS-format multi-well plates, as listed in the SOW, for example, are not considered as "specific to the operation of the quoted system." Also note that the consumables are not being procured under this contract action; the pricing information is requested to facilitate the Government"s consideration of any factors that might impact total ownership costs. For any consumable, the contractor shall provide the following information, as applicable:

• Description of consumable;
• Discussion of whether the consumable is required for normal, routine operation, or if only situationally required; if situationally required, a discussion of the circumstances warranting the use of that consumable; and
• A list of three available sources to procure the consumable with contact information and estimated pricing. If less than three sources are available for a consumable, the contractor shall provide a rationale for the limited availability.

4. Quoters shall include a completed copy of all required provisions (highlighted in blue in the attached RFQ Attachment 2 - Applicable Provisions & Clauses document).

If the contractor objects to any of the terms and conditions contained in this solicitation, the contractor shall state "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:" [Contractor shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)]. It is the sole responsibility of the contractor to identify in their quote any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. If the contractor does not include such a statement, the submission of a quotation in response to this solicitation will be regarded as the Contractor"s acceptance of the Government"s terms and conditions for inclusion into the resultant purchase order.

5. Quoters shall provide an active DUNS number for the System for Award Management (SAM) registration. Contractors must have an active registration at www.SAM.Gov to receive an award.

6. If the quoter"s representations and certifications in SAM.gov do not reflect the NAICS code governing this solicitation, quoters must submit documentation that they are a small business under the NAICS code governing this solicitation.

7. Quoters shall submit a statement acknowledging RFQ ATTACHMENT 4 - DRAFT RFQ WITH AMENDMENTS 1-3 & Q&A so as to avoid questions that have been asked and answered during the market research phase.

DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS

All quotations must be submitted via e-mail to Dennis Bailey, Contract Specialist at [email protected] not later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday 24 July 2017 to be considered timely received. A quotation shall be considered received when it is received in the electronic inbox of Dennis Bailey.

All questions regarding this notice must be submitted via e-mail to [email protected] by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday 10 July 2017. Questions submitted after this date may not be addressed by the Government prior to the quotation submission deadline.

PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES

The provisions and clauses applicable to this solicitation can be found in RFQ ATTACHMENT 2 - APPLICABLE PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES. The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at www.acquisition.gov/far.

ATTACHMENTS

The following attachments apply to this solicitation:

1. RFQ ATTACHMENT 1 - SOW
2. RFQ ATTACHMENT 2 - APPLICABLE PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES
3. RFQ ATTACHMENT 3 - LINE ITEM SCHEDULE
4. RFQ ATTACHMENT 4 - DRAFT RFQ WITH AMENDMENTS 1-3 & Q&A