Service Contract for the A1R Confocal Microscope SN 40098 manufactured by Nikon

Service Contract for the A1R Confocal Microscope SN 40098 manufactured by Nikon. NIH-SS- 6551446 The National Institutes of Health intends to award a Firm-Fixed-Price purchase order NIKON INSTRUMENTS INC. 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747-3064 for a Base Period one year from February 1, 2023 through January 31, 2024 plus an additional option year POP February 1, 2024 through January 31, 2025. In accordance with FAR Part 6.302-1, the Contractor is the only known responsible source who can provide the subscription service as no other source has been identified who can provide the requirement listed below. SCOPE Under this task order, the contractor will independently provide repair and preventative maintenance (PM) services to satisfy the overall operational objectives of the Section on Neuronal Circuitry. The primary objective is to maintain the accuracy and reliability of the confocal microscope to support neuroscience research. ORGANIZATION Section on Neuronal Circuitry (SND) National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) National Institutes of Health (NIH) 35A Convent Drive, room 3E-450 Bethesda, MD 20892 Mission : The Section on Neuronal Circuitry in the NIDCD performs basic biological research on neurons of the auditory system. They seek to understand the function of neurons that originate in the brainstem, but project to the cochlea, and modulate auditory perception. The neurons are implicated in protection from noise trauma, detection of sounds in noise (hearing speech in a noisy room), as well as altered functions in pathological auditory conditions such as in tinnitus or hyperacusis. The research involves studying the electrical activity of single neurons in the brain and cochlea and the interaction of these neurons with other neurons. Experiments require visualizing the physical contacts between neurons with tremendously high spatial resolution, requiring state-of-the-art microscopes kept in top working condition so that errors are not introduced into the data and downtime from broken instrumentation is kept to a minimum. The purpose of this acquisition is to arrange annual service to the Nikon Confocal microscope to ensure that it operates with the precision required for our experiments. TASKS/ SERVICES. The contractor shall: Consultation with Nikon technical experts NIS-Elements software updates included One Preventative Maintenance (PM) visit with eligible Service Agreement Selection Repair Parts, Labor and Travel included Pre-approved repair and service authorization – means no purchase order requirement to have eligible system repaired 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. Criteria for managing the ongoing maintenance of the instrument. 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. 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. 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 a research laboratory. Training directly from Nikon International for the Confocal A1R microscopes Current certification and authority from Nikon to work on the A1R confocal CONTRACT TYPE. Fixed price PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE. Base year plus one option year – Nikon can currently only offer base +1 options PLACE OF PERFORMANCE. The work will be performed in the NIH-NIDCD-LMG-SHG, located on the NIH campus in Building 35A, Room 3E484 , 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. At that point, the lowest priced offeror would be awarded the contract. 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-E) of these requirements. Use engineers who are certified, trained directly by and work for the manufacturer of the instrument. Only manufacturer-trained and authorized technicians are permitted to work on the machine. Use service engineers who are local to the DC metro area. Provide unlimited - at no extra cost— diagnostic and repair service visits, labor, travel, manufacturer certified parts (no generics), upgrades for the existing software, safety and performance updates to any part of the instrument, and removal of old parts. A necessary training on software, hardware and upgrades must be made available to users. Provide unlimited remote support, along with unlimited applications and technical phone support. 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: Contractor must have been able to get the instrument up and running to a 100% functioning level after the completion of a service call. 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. 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. 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 upon request. This notice is not a request for competitive quotes. However, any party that believes it can provide the Service Contract for the A1R Confocal Microscope SN 40098 manufactured by Nikon service as stated herein may submit a written capability statement that clearly supports and demonstrates their ability to perform the requirement. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, 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. A determination by the Government to compete this proposed award based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. In order to be considered for an award, an offeror must have completed the online electronic Representations and Certifications located at https://www.sam.gov in accordance with FAR 4.1201(a). By submission of an offer, the offeror acknowledges the requirement that a prospective awardee shall be registered in SAM at https://www.sam.gov/ prior to award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchasing agreement resulting from this solicitation (Lack of registration in the System for Award Management will make an offeror ineligible for award). All responsible sources may submit an offer that may be considered by the Agency. 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 organization has the capability to meet this requirement. Please email responses to [email protected] no later than 9:00 a.m. EST on Monday January 30, 2023.