THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. This Request for Information (RFI) is intended for information and planning purposes only at this time; and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Because this is a Request for Information announcement, no evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. No solicitation exists. Therefore, do not request a copy of a solicitation. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VISN 4, Network Contracting Office 4 (NCO 4), is seeking information and potential qualified sources capable of meeting the following minimum requirements and salient characteristics below for Brand Name or Equal, Laser Cassette Printer. Title of the project: Histology Laser Cassette Printer. 1. History/Background/Purpose: The Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System (VAPHS) requires new medical equipment to label Histology cassettes. The current equipment is experience frequent failures and will not be supported in the future. Laser printing creates clear, high resolution text that is used for accurate barcoding of the cassette throughout the entire process. Proper labelling is critical to reducing sampling errors and improving patient safety. The following requirements are needed: Provide one (1) Laser Cassette Printer which meets the specifications listed in section 3. Provide delivery of printer to VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. The awarded vendor must install and provide instructions and/or training on the use of instrumentation supplied. Training will be provided to Histology Technicians and Biomedical Engineers. The awarded vendor must clearly indicate the terms of the standard warranty provided with the instrument. Information concerning extended warranty options, if available, may be provided. The warranty period begins on the date of installation. 2. Detailed Description: Must use laser printing The unit must be able to hold at least 100 cassettes The unit must be able to contain at least 4 different cassette types or colors There is minimal jamming Dimensions must be no larger than 25 x 17 x 18 inches The unit must weigh less than 100 lbs. Voltage must be 110/220 VAC 50/60 Hz The unit must process at least 12 cassettes per minute The labelling unit must be compatible with Windows 10 operating system if applicable. 3. Delivery Requirement: Normal business hours for acceptance of deliveries are 8:00am-3:30pm, Monday thru Friday excluding Federal Holidays. Deliveries must be coordinated in advance with COR once a ship date is established. The COR, Biomedical Engineering and/or Logistics Representative shall be the only VA entity signing for freight received on this requirement. The VA-issued purchase order number must be included in the packing slip. All items included in the requirement shall be shipped and delivered to site at same time. If deliveries must be broken into several shipments due to size, this must be coordinated in advance with the COR. Failure the coordinate shipment with COR, may result in failure to deliver on site and cause re-scheduling of delivery/freight at no charge to the government. The packing slip must include the VA-issued purchase order number. Attn: Frank Fusca / Jason Tedrow VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System University Drive C Building 1 Pittsburgh, PA 15240-1001 Program Manager (Requestor): Frank Fusca Biomed Representative:
[email protected] Logistics Representative:
[email protected] Contracting Officer s Representative (COR): Jason C. Tedrow Prior to delivery, Contracting Officer Representative and/or Business Manager shall receive shipping information from Contractor and forward to Logistics and Biomed using the emails listed above. The Contractor must comply and provide all necessary information to VAPHS. Otherwise, the delivery may be refused and require redelivery at no additional cost to the government. 4. General Conditions: Request for Information - Instructions The information identified above is intended to be descriptive, not restrictive and to indicate the quality of the supplies/services that will be satisfactory. It is the responsibility of the interested source to demonstrate to the government that the interested parties can provide the supplies/services that fulfill the required specifications mentioned above. Responses to this RFI should include company name, address, point of contact, phone number, and point of contact e-mail, DUNS Number, Cage Code, size of business pursuant to North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 339112 (size standard of 1000 employees). Please answer the following questions: (1) Please indicate the size status and representations of your business, such as but not limited to: Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), HUBZone, Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Large Business, etc.)? (2) Is your company considered small under the NAICS code identified under this RFI? (3) Are you the manufacturer, distributor, or an equivalent solution to the items being referenced above? If not, can you provide additional information shown below. This is to confirm compliance with the non-manufacturer rule IAW 13 CFR 121.406(b) Nonmanufacturers. Does your company exceed 500 employees Primarily engaged in the retail or wholesale trade and normally sells the type of item being supplied. Take ownership or possession of the item(s) with its personnel, equipment, or facilities in a manner consistent with industry practice. Existing Non-Manufacture Rule class waiver? (4) If you are a large business, do you have any designated distributors? If so, please provide their company name, telephone, point of Contact and size status (if available). (5) If you re a small business and you are an authorized distributor/reseller provide an authorized distributor letter for the items identified above or an equivalent solution, do you alter; assemble; modify; the items requested in any way? If you do, state how and what is altered; assembled; modified? (6) If you intend to subcontract any work on this contract, what portion of the total cost will be self-performed/will be performed by your organization? Please provide estimated detailed percentage breakdowns related to subcontracted work and completion of job. (7) Does your company have an FSS contract with GSA or the NAC or are you a contract holder with any other federal contract? If so, please provide the contract number. (8) If you are an FSS GSA/NAC contract holder or other federal contract holder, are the items/solution you are providing information for available on your schedule/contract? (9) General pricing of your products/solution is encouraged. Pricing will be used for the purpose of market research only. It will not be used to evaluate for any type of award. (10) Please submit your capabilities regarding the salient characteristics detailed above and any information pertaining to equal to items to establish capabilities for planning purposes? (11) Please review salient characteristics/statement of work (if applicable) and provide feedback or suggestions. If none, please reply as N/A (12) Please provide your DUNS number. This RFI will be conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses must be received via e-mail to
[email protected] no later than, 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 1, 2021. This notice will help the VA in determining available potential sources only. Do not contact VA Medical Center staff regarding this requirement, as they are not authorized to discuss this matter related to this procurement action. All questions will be addressed by the Contracting Specialist, David Santiago. Questions or Responses will include the Source Sought number 36C24422Q0052. All firms responding to this Request for Information are advised that their response is not a request for proposal, therefore will not be considered for a contract award. If a solicitation is issued, information will be posted on the beta.Sam web site for all qualified interested parties at a later date and interested parties must respond to the solicitation to be considered for award. This notice does not commit the government to contract for any supplies or services. The government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this Request for Information. Information will only be accepted in writing by e-mail to Contracting Specialist at
[email protected]. (13) COVID 19 Contractor shall provide evidence of vaccination records or a negative COVID testing result within 72 hours of planned onsite visitation. This is to include installation, training, maintenance, and repairs. The VA has implemented an aggressive public health response to protect and care for Veterans, their families, health care providers, and staff in the face of this emerging health risk. We are working directly with the CDC and other federal partners to monitor the outbreak of the virus. Our Medical Center and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) have made changes to promote safety in our facilities. We continue to implement and practice enhanced safety measures. Any person entering our facilities will be met by a staff member who will be greeted and asked screening questions along with temperature screening. Depending on the answers, a VA health care professional will assist on the next steps of your visit. Physical distancing, face covering or masking, and limiting the number of visitors is mandatory. DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. End of Document