Combined_Synopsis_Solicitation_AMENDMENT_2.pdf

COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION-AMENDMENT 2

Argon Gas and Tank Maintenance

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6 - Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation;

quotations are being requested, and a separate written solicitation document will not be issued.

This solicitation is a Request for Quotations (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-97 effective 1/24/2018.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 325120 with a small business size standard of 1,000 Employees. The non-manufacturer rule is waived for this procurement. The small business size standard for a quoter that does not itself manufacture the required products, but will resell the product of another manufacturer, is 500 employees. This acquisition is being procured 100% set aside for small business.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NISTs) Inorganic Measurement Science Group (646.01) within Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) is responsible for performing researching leading to the development of reference measurement procedures, developing quality assurance protocols, and developing standard reference materials (SRMs) for quality assurance and method validation. The types of equipment and instrumentation used for such work consumes large quantities of argon gas. NIST has built an infrastructure to meet the argon needs, which include a 3000 L liquid argon tank outside Building 227 near the loading dock and the attendant argon gas pipelines that distribute the gaseous argon from the tank to the group located on the third floor of Building 227.

Responsible quoters shall provide pricing for all of the following line items:

BASE PERIOD:

CONTRACT LINE

ITEMS (CLINS)

DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT

OF

ISSUE

UNIT

PRICE

TOTAL

AMOUNT

0001 Argon Gas up to 19,000 Liquid Liters

19000 LITER

0002 Tank Inspection and Valve Replacement

1 EA

0003 Tank Maintenance 1 (Per Occurrence)

EA N/A

0004 Diagnosis of Tank and Telemetry Unit

(Per Occurrence)

EA N/A

OPTION 1:

CONTRACT LINE ITEMS

(CLINS)

DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT

OF

ISSUE

UNIT

PRICE

TOTAL

AMOUNT

1001 Argon Gas up to 19,000 Liquid Liters

19000 LI

1002 Tank Inspection and Valve Replacement

1 EA

1003 Tank Maintenance 1 (Per Occurrence)

EA N/A

1004 Diagnosis of Tank and Telemetry Unit

(Per

OPTION 2:

CONTRACT LINE ITEMS

(CLINS)

DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT

OF

ISSUE

UNIT

PRICE

TOTAL

AMOUNT

2001 Argon Gas up to 19,000 Liquid Liters

19000 LI

2002 Tank Inspection and Valve Replacement

1 EA

2003 Tank Maintenance 1 (Per Occurrence)

EA N/A

2004 Diagnosis of Tank and Telemetry Unit

(Per

OPTION 3:

CONTRACT LINE

ITEMS (CLINS)

DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT OF

ISSUE

UNIT

PRICE

TOTAL

AMOUNT

3001 Argon Gas up to 19,000 Liquid Liters

19000 LI

3002 Tank Inspection and Valve Replacement

1 EA

3003 Tank Maintenance 1 EA (Per Occurrence)

N/A

3004 Diagnosis of Tank and Telemetry Unit

1 EA

(Per

N/A

OPTION 4:

CONTRACT LINE

ITEMS (CLINS)

DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT OF

ISSUE

UNIT

PRICE

TOTAL

AMOUNT

4001 Argon Gas up to 19,000 Liquid Liters

19000 LI

4002 Tank Inspection and Valve Replacement

1 EA

4003 Tank Maintenance 1 EA (Per Occurrence)

N/A

4004 Diagnosis of Tank and Telemetry Unit

1 EA

(Per

N/A

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance shall be for a one year base period with four one year option periods. The Government anticipates that award will be made not later than June 11, 2018. If so, the period of performance for the base period and each one-year option period shall be as follows:

BASE PERIOD: September 8, 2018 – September 7, 2019 OPTION PERIOD 1: September 8, 2019 – September 7, 2020 OPTION PERIOD 2: September 8, 2020 – September 7, 2021 OPTION PERIOD 3: September 8, 2021 – September 7, 2022 OPTION PERIOD 4: September 8, 2022 – September 7, 2023

The Government reserves the right to adjust these dates based upon the actual date of award.

EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD

The Government intends to award a firm fixed priced purchase order resulting from this solicitation, to the responsible Contractor whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, is the lowest price, technically acceptable quotation.

Technically acceptable means:

1. Contractor has the capability and resources to deliver argon gas in the quantity and frequency required by

NIST for the base period and each one-year option period;

2. The Contractor has the capability and resources necessary to provide annual inspection and valve replacement of the NIST owned argon tank;

3. The Contractor has the capability and resources necessary to provide maintenance of the NIST owned argon tank;

4. The Contractor has the capability and resources necessary to monitor the NIST-owned telemetry system;

5. The Contractor has the capability and resources necessary to diagnose problems and recommend solutions for repair for the argon tank and telemetry unit; and

6. Quoter is compliant with all requirements of thesolicitation.

Price will be evaluated to determine that the quoted price includes all technical requirements and is an overall fair and reasonable price. The Government will evaluate quotations for award purposes by adding the total price for liquid argon and tank maintenance. The unit prices for tank maintenance and diagnosis shall be evaluated for reasonableness. The Government may determine that quotation is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options does not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

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. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if it determined to be in the Government’s best interest to do so.

REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS

For evaluation of Technical Acceptability, quoters must submit all of the following:

1. Product documentation which clearly details the specifications, purity levels and availability of the required liquid argon;

2. Proposed approach to telemetry unit connection, tank inspection, product delivery, maintaining the purity level in the tank & guaranteeing continuity of service at all times;

3. A description of personnel which must include, the number of personnel, expertise of and availability of personnel, including, at a minimum, delivery drivers, inspectors, service and maintenance personnel, and designated customer service representatives, that will be responsible for the required work under this contract.

4. Ability of delivery drivers to maintain the required pressure levels during fills must be discussed.

5. A description of the process that will be undertaken by the Contractor to monitor the telemetry unit.

6. A description of the supply volume of liquid argon available to the quoter.

7. A description of the quoter’s available fleet of trucks, including numbers of and sizes of trucks.

8. A description of the quoter’s facility which will maintain 24/7 customer support, including holidays, potential emergency situations, and will ensure all sites are properly monitored and filled as required by the Statement of Work.

9. Quoters must submit a firm fixed priced quotation for all line items for the base period and each one-year option period.

10. A completed version of the solicitation provisions. Reference the attached provisions/clauses document.

Provisions in blue highlight must be completed. The Government will refer to the quoter’s active SAM.Gov registration to review other applicable provisions.

11. Contractors shall provide a DUNS # for their active System for Award Management (SAM) registration.

The Contractor must have an active registration at www.SAM.Gov to receive an award.

12. If the Contractor's representations and certifications in SAM.gov do not reflect the NAICS code governing this solicitation, Contractors must submit documentation that they are a small business under the NAICS code governing this solicitation or meet the small business size standard of a non-manufacturer.

13. Please note that this procurement IS NOT being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If a contractor submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the contractor's FSS or GWAC contract.

http://www.sam.gov/

14. Quotations must assert compliance with the terms and conditions of the solicitation, without change, alternation, modification or deletion.

DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS

All quotations must be submitted, via e-mail, to Rodney Johnson, Contract Specialist at rodney.johnson@nist.gov. Submission must be received not later than 2:00 P.M. a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 3, 2018. A quotation shall be considered received when it is received in the electronic inbox of Rodney Johnson not later than the date and time identified herein.

All questions regarding this notice must be submitted via e-mail to rodney.johnson@nist.gov by 11:00 a.m.

Eastern Time on Monday, July 2, 2018.

PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES:

The clauses and provisions applicable to this solicitation can be found under Attachment 2 titled, Applicable Clauses & Provisions. The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at https://farsite.hill.af.mil or www.acquisition.gov/far. The full text of a CAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at https://farsite.hill.af.mil or http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/acquistion_management/policy/.

ATTACHMENTS:

The following attachments apply to this solicitation:

1. Statement of Work

2. Applicable Clauses & Provisions http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/acquistion_management/policy/