NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to issue sole-source firm-fixed priced award for twelve (12) months to Cepheid, 904 Caribbean Drive Sunnyvale, CA 94089. A sole source procurement will be issued to Cepheid because they are the only vendor capable of fully performing the service. Due to the proprietary & specialized nature of the work it must be conducted by personnel with a high level of training & qualifications. This procurement is being conducted in accordance with FAR Part 6.302-1 Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. The NAICS code is 811219 and has a size standard of $22.0 Million for this procurement. NOTE: Respondent must be registered in beta.SAM.gov. Respondent claiming SDVOSB and VOSB status must be registered and CVE verified in VetBiz Registry www.vetbiz.gov. SCOPE OF WORK: Cepheid GeneXpert full-service maintenance The James H. Quillen VA Medical Center has a significant need for a full-service maintenance contract to maintain the GeneXpert equipment. Contractor shall provide parts as needed to maintain and/or repair the system. The Contractor shall provide remote services to install all factory recommended software updates. REQUIREMENTS: Unlimited visits for emergency repairs as well as all associated costs with emergency repair to include travel, parts, and labor (onsite service available Monday through Friday between the hours of 8am to 4pm EST), one calibration annually, and telephone technical support 24X7. a. SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE: The Contractor shall perform Annual Calibration and repair services to ensure that equipment listed in the schedule performs in accordance with paragraphe 3. The Contractor shall provide and utilize procedures and checklists with worksheet originals indicating work performed and actual values obtained (as applicable) provided to the Microbiology Supervisor and COR at the completion of the annual calibration and or repair. The contractor shall provide written description of Vendor Service Reports. These descriptions shall include an itemized list of the procedures performed, including electrical safety. Calibration and repair services shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: b. MAINTENANCE ON THE Genexpert SHALL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: Unlimited visits for emergency repair All costs associated with emergency repair (includes travel, parts, and labor) Priority scheduling of requests for service Telephone technical support Onsite 1-business day response time for repairs, if required c. UNSCHEDULED MAINTENANCE (Emergency Repair Service) (1) Contractor shall maintain the equipment in accordance with paragraph 3. The Contractor will provide repair service which may consist of calibration, cleaning, oiling, adjusting, replacing parts, and maintaining the equipment, including all intervening calls necessary between regular services and calibrations. All required parts shall be furnished, with the exception of operating supplies such as paper, disks, etc. (2) The Contracting Officer has the authority to approve/request a service call from the Contractor when purchase orders are approved for unscheduled equipment repair outside the normal business hours covered by this contract. d. PARTS: The Contractor shall furnish and replace parts to maintain the equipment covered by the contract. The Contractor has ready access to unique and/or high mortality replacement parts. All parts supplied shall be compatible with existing equipment. The contract shall include all parts except operating supplies. The Contractor shall use new or rebuilt parts. Used parts, those removed from another piece of equipment, shall not be installed without approval by the COR. All used or rebuilt parts must be specifically approved by the Contracting Officer or COR. e. REPORTING REQUIRED SERVICES BEYOND THE CONTRACT SCOPE: The Contractor shall immediately, but no later than 24 (twenty- four) consecutive hours after discovery, notify the CO and COR (in writing) of the existence or the development of any defects in, or repairs required, to the scheduled equipment which the Contractor considers he/she is not responsible for under the terms of the contract. The Contractor shall furnish the CO and COR with a written estimate of the cost to make necessary repairs. f. CONDITION OF EQUIPMENT: The Contractor accepts responsibility for the equipment described in paragraph I., in "as is" condition. Failure to inspect the equipment prior to contract award will not relieve the Contractor from performance of the requirements of this contract. g. COMPETENCY OF PERSONNEL SERVICING EQUIPMENT: (1) Each respondent must have an established business, with an office and full-time staff. The staff includes a "fully qualified" FSE and a "fully qualified" FSE who will serve as the backup. (2) "Fully Qualified" is based upon training and on experience in the field. For training, the FSE(s) has successfully completed a formalized training program, for the equipment identified in the Section B schedule. For field experience, the FSE(s) has a minimum of two years of experience, with respect to scheduled and unscheduled preventive and remedial maintenance. (3) The FSEs shall be authorized by the Contractor to perform the maintenance services. All work shall be performed by "Fully Qualified" competent FSEs. The Contractor shall provide written assurance of the competency of their personnel and a list of credentials of approved FSEs for each make and model the Contractor services at the VAMC. The CO may authenticate the training requirements, request training certificates or credentials from the Contractor at any time for any personnel who are servicing or installing any VAMC equipment. The CO and/or COR specifically reserves the right to reject any of the Contractor's personnel and refuse them permission to work on the VAMC equipment. (4) If subcontractor(s) are used, they must be approved by the CO; the Contractor shall submit any proposed change in subcontractor(s) to the CO for approval/disapproval. h. TEST EQUIPMENT: Prior to commencement of work on this contract, the Contractor shall provide the VAMC with a copy of the current calibration certification of all test equipment which is to be used by the Contractor on VAMC's equipment. This certification shall also be provided on a periodic basis when requested by the VAMC. Test equipment calibration shall be traceable to a national standard. i. SERVICE MANUALS: The VAMC shall not provide service manuals or service diagnostic software to the contractor. The contractor shall obtain, have on file, and make available to all FSE s all operational and technical documentation (such as; operational and service manuals, schematics, and parts list) which are necessary to meet the performance requirements of this contract. The location and listing of the service data manuals, by name and/or the menu. REFERENCES: Contract service shall ensure that the equipment functions in conformance with the latest published edition of NFPA-99. The listed equipment shall be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's standards and/or specifications. Preventive Maintenance inspection/repair procedures shall be in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: James H. Quillen VAMC (Mt. Home VAMC) Corner of Lamont & Veterans Way Mountain Home, TN 37684 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: 12/05/2020 thru 12/04/2021 Other important considerations: Cite any other information that is necessary for potential respondents to understand the nature of the potential requirement or proposed acquisition. Capability statement /information sought: Response to this announcement shall not to exceed 10 pages and should include the following information: (1) A tailored capability statement indicating the firm s ability to provide a product and related services; (2) The respondents DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., SDVOSB/VOSB, etc,) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code; (3) Information should be provided electronically in a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotes. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement and submit quotations with the subject line "Special Notice # 36C24920Q0424 by 10:00 a.m. on 10/16/2020 to:
[email protected]. Responses received will be evaluated; however, a determination by the Government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses received to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Disclaimer and Important Notes. 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 to allow the Government to determine the organization s qualifications to perform the work. 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. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality. 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).