Request for Information (RFI) Forensic Laboratory Information System General Information: This is an RFI as defined in FAR 15.201(e) to ascertain whether a commercial item exists that provides the capabilities described herein. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI will be treated as business confidential information. Nonetheless, submitters should properly mark their responses if the information is confidential. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. 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 expense associated with responding to this RFI. RFI Response and due date: 30 May 2017 Instructions to Responders: Responses from all capable and qualified sources are encouraged to respond to this request. White papers should adhere to the following formatting and outline instructions: 1. All submissions shall be made electronically and be in one of the following formats: Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF. 2. Cover Page (1page) • Title • Organization • Responders technical and administrative points of contact (names, addresses, phone, fax number and email addresses) • Topic area(s) addressed 3. Completed Attachment 1 and Attachment 2. Please note that the response shall provide sufficient technical data to determine how you fully meet the requirements as specified in Attachment 2 as well as the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Please note that responses are due no later than 30 May 2017, 2:00pm, Eastern. The preferred method of submission is via email. The point of contact for this action is Kim Hannan, Purchasing Agent,
[email protected]. Only electronic responses are requested. No evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. At this time no solicitation exists; therefore, please do not request a copy of the solicitation. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. It is the responsibility of any potential offeror to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. Background/Overview: The AFMES Division of Forensic Toxicology (DFT) is the centralized laboratory serving the interests of the Department of Defense (DoD) investigating military-related deaths, intoxicated drivers, victims of sexual assault and incidents involving aircraft, ground, and sea mishaps, among other special cases of national interest. The DFT also provides quality oversight of the DoD Drug Testing Program through certification, proficiency testing, and inspections, as well as developing assays for monitoring emerging drugs of abuse. Currently, the laboratory data is produced largely as paper products and physical case folders. The history, trends, and analyses are managed through several custom databases built out of necessity over time. These files are not integrated or organized, so many of the daily operations are handled by physical checks and balances on paper. This practice would not be sustainable if there were an abrupt increase in caseload, yet expectations of high quality and rapid turnaround time remain unchanged. Within DFT there are no resources or especially integrated systems to provide this service so a single Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) platform to meet these needs would be optimal. AFMES is seeking to purchase a Forensic Laboratory Information Management System, the STARLIMs system by Abbott Informatics offers a wide range of features that will aid the customer is staying compliant. As regulatory policies become more stringent on document control, training records, audit trails, and reagent traceability, the LIMS must be able to provide a central solution to meet requirements for inspector reviews from accrediting bodies such as American Board of Forensic Toxicology, American National Standards Institute-American Society for Quality National Accreditation Board, and American Society of Crime Lab Directors/Lab Accreditation Board: ISO17025 The laboratory desires the software package to be a unified system to avoid entry duplications and expensive upkeep among various software clients. The ability to track specimens upon arrival, follow progress, and issue results meets expectations from most LIMS packages. However, the forensic requirements of supporting documentation in reagent certification, analyst education, and instrument calibration all need to be integrated for supervisor review and litigation purposes.