RFQ_69056719Q000009.pdf

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION

Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)

Solicitation No. 69056719Q000009

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice.

This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

This is a Firm Fixed Price Request for Quotation (RFQ) being issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Western Federal Lands Highway Division (WFLHD) Acquisitions for a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

This solicitation is prepared in accordance with FAR Part 12, the acquisition of commercial items in conjunction with the policies and procedures for solicitation, evaluation, and award as prescribed in FAR 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular

(FAC) 2019-01.

This solicitation is FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this solicitation is 511210 and the Product Service Code (PSC) is 7030. A responsible quoter is one whose offer conforms to the solicitation and will be most advantageous to the Government.

If you are interested in this acquisition, you may participate by submitting your response in accordance with the instructions in this solicitation.

It is the responsibility of the interested parties to incorporate any amendments and check the Solicitation posting for Question and Answers.

Contractor must be registered and active in www.SAM.gov prior to SUBMISSION OF THEIR QUOTE. Failure to be registered at time of quote submittal will cause your offer to be rejected.

http://www.sam.gov/

69056719Q000009 May 7, 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION A – SCHEDULE OF ITEMS

SECTION B – STATEMENT OF WORK/DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS

SECTION C – ATTACHMENTS

SECTION D – SOLICITATION PROVISIONS

SECTION E – CONTRACT CLAUSES

SECTION A – SCHEDULE OF ITEMS

ITEM DESCRIPTION QTY UNIT UNIT PRICE TOTAL PRICE

0001 Laboratory Information Management System 1 EA $ $

Unique Entity Identifier (DUNS):

SECTION B – STATEMENT OF REQUIREMENT

B.1 Background

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation, a cabinet-level organization of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government.

FHWA is charged with the broad responsibility of ensuring that America’s roads and highways continue to be the safest and most technologically up-to-date. Federal Lands Highways (FLH) provides program stewardship and transportation engineering services for planning, design, construction, and rehabilitation of the highways and bridges that provide access to and through federally owned lands.

FLH has three material laboratory offices, located in Sevierville, TN, Lakewood, CO, and Vancouver, WA. Each materials laboratory performs construction materials testing. Commonly tested highway construction materials include soils, aggregates, asphalt, concrete, steel, coatings, paint etc. Examples of commonly referenced test method providers include American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International.

B.2 Objective

The objective of this requirement is to support FLH operations by procuring a laboratory information management system (LIMS) which will integrate the current ad-hoc system and Excel-spreadsheet operations and provide for efficient, consistent and effective delivery of laboratory services to standardize and improve the operations and capabilities of all FLH laboratories. FLH material laboratory operations consists of approximately 30 to 50 individuals.

B.3 Description of Requirement

B.3.1 Minimum Requirements

a. GENERAL

• System shall support the ability to organize samples, tests, and results by project.

This functionality shall include the ability to enter a project name, number, and account into the system once and to associate samples, tests and results with the appropriate project without re-entering project information.

b. USER LOGIN

• System shall support authentication via Lightweight Directory Access Program (LDAP) through Microsoft Active Directory, and/or certificate based multi-factor credentials (Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards)

• The system must display a login warning banner, approved by the Government, that informs user of proper use of the system. The users must accept the conditions in the login-warning message by clicking on an acceptance button to gain access to the login screen. If the user does not acknowledge acceptance of the login warning the program must close.

o The Government shall have the ability to edit the banner

• Changes to user login credentials, especially user name, shall not impact databased test results.

c. IT INFRASTRUCTURE

• The system is to be a multi-tiered application including application and database components.

o The system may additionally include a web component (if Internet facing, PIV card authentication is required for DOT employees and their contractors).

o Client components of the system shall be compatible with the Microsoft Windows

10 Operating System.

o Server components of the system shall be compatible with the Microsoft

Windows Server 2016 Operating System.

• The system shall not use Adobe Flash or require the use of web browser Java applets by the client.

• Provide the Government a System Architecture document. This document shall provide the application design and show how the system connects to other internal and external systems, both upstream and downstream. The document is to be in Word, PDF, or other FLH approved format. Provide this document in response to this RFP, at the beginning of the contract, annually, and as updates are required.

• Provide the Government a Database Schema document. The document is to be in Word, PDF or other FLH approved format. Provide this document in response to this RFP, at the beginning of the contract, annually, and when changes are made to the database structure.

• Provide the Government a diagram in Word, PDF, or other FLH approved format of the flow of data through the system.

• The system shall include a relational database utilizing Microsoft SQL to meet the requirements of the FHWA reference architecture.

• The system and database shall run on virtualized servers hosted and managed by the government or may be a cloud based solution. Cloud based solutions must be FedRAMP authorized. The government may change its hosting environment in the future. Licenses shall be fully portable to change hosting location or environment at no cost to the government.

• No access to the government’s servers or network will be granted either remotely or in person to the vendor, any work requiring vendor supervision or assistance, such as initial setup, will be performed by a government system administrator, with direct vendor assistance which may include robust web-conferencing software. The vendor shall provide implementation, configuration and verification of the system based on the proposed solution.

• The system shall be fully usable, configurable and updatable without programming or development by the government.

• After implementation, the vendor shall provide system maintenance and/or updates to insure the continuing operation, performance and security of the system. The vendor shall define responsibility and support needed by the Government for the continued operation and maintenance of the software.

• The system shall automatically create and support event logs for system and security events for the following, if included:

Account management events to include successful and unsuccessful logon attempts

Successful and unsuccessful attempts to access, modify, or delete security objects

System events Policy changes Process tracking All other privileged functions o Event logs shall include the following information:

Establish what type of event occurred When (date and time) the event occurred (including login and logoff) Source of the event (source and/or destination addresses) Outcome (success or failure) of the event Identity of any user/subject associated with the event Activities that might modify, bypass, or negate IT security safeguards Security-relevant actions associated with processing Event log retention and archive schedules shall be configurable

• All activities performed using an administrator’s identity. System access shall be granted on a role-based system. All rights, responsibilities, access and privileges within the system shall be controllable granularly via a user’s assigned role.

o The government anticipates three primary levels of user:

End-user Technician End-user Manager Expert User

• System shall store all time and date data in UTC+0 (GMT). The system shall automatically apply a time-zone correction based on the user’s settings so that the user views all time and date information in their local time zone. System shall be capable of automatic adjustment for United States Daylight Saving Time.

• The government shall be granted license to maintain a test and live version of the software. These licenses shall be available for utilization in disaster recovery efforts.

The government’s system administrators and expert users must be able to test updates prior to implementation in the live environment.

• Updates shall be made available to the government’s system administrator for testing.

Implementation of updates to the live version of the system will be performed by the government’s system administrator on the government’s schedule.

• Updates shall not impact databased test results.

• Configuration of the system shall not impact databased test results.

• If the system contains a Web component, the following requirements apply:

o The system shall not use persistent cookies, or any other tool designed to collect

User Identifiable Data, nor shall it place any type of permanent file on any client.

Session cookies may be used provided that they are cleared after the session terminates. If session cookies are used, the documentation shall state that they are being used and explain why they are being used o The system shall support the top Internet browsers including at least those provided by Microsoft, Mozilla, Apple and Google and be device/ platform independent. The application must run on the current major version and one previous major version of the browser.

o Data sent between a field site and the server shall be encrypted using TLS version

1.2 or higher using NIST approved algorithms within HTTPS.

o Identify the ability of the application to operate on a Windows laptop computer being used at a remote site with no internet connectivity and how the collected data would synchronize upon connection to the internet.

o Website certificates shall be configured to comply with DHS requirements as listed in BOD 18-01.

o Web content should meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0).

The vendor shall state if product meets WCAG 2.0 standards.

d. TEST METHODS

• The system shall support the test methods listed as “core test methods” in Attachment

C.001.

• All test methods shall have dedicated data entry screens and associated printable data sheets to guide the technician through the testing and data entry process.

o All necessary calculations to complete the test should be performed by the system. Formulas should be provided (but not editable) to the technician.

o Relevant guidance such as proportioning and batching instructions should be presented to the technician as part of the process. Specifics of this guidance shall be editable by managers and expert users.

o Workflow and data entry fields shall be presented to the technician in an intuitive manner that mirrors the test methodology.

• Changes to support updated test methods shall not impact ongoing tests.

• Changes to support updated test methods shall not impact databased test results.

e. TESTING WORKFLOW

• System shall support sample log-in with, at minimum, support for the information fields listed in Attachment C.002.

• Upon sample log-in system shall create a lab tracking number unique to the sample.

Numbering shall be sequential and incremental.

o System shall support independent numbering between government laboratories.

• System shall allow input of project information independently of and concurrently with sample log-in.

• System shall allow designation of tests to be performed independently of and concurrently with sample log-in.

o Tests shall be selectable from a list of all supported and ad-hoc test methods. The list shall be sortable, at minimum, in the following ways:

By method number By associated material (aggregates, soils, binder, HMA, concrete) By test type (supported or ad-hoc)

• The system shall support each test method with a robust and intuitive workflow that supports the technician in carrying out each test and entering the test results in a quick and efficient manner.

• The system shall optionally allow the technician to print data sheets for assigned tests.

o Data sheets shall be intuitive to use and organized in a manner that mirrors the system workflow and data entry.

o Data sheet headers shall contain project and sample information.

• The system shall support test result entry in a manner that is intuitive and in an order that mirrors the test method.

• The system shall support multi-level (peer and/or manager) result verification and review if configured by a manager.

• The system shall support requirement of result verification for out of specification results if configured by a manager.

• The system shall support highlighting of out of specification results if configured by a manager.

• The system shall provide simultaneous user access control.

• The system shall support batch data entry such that the workflow of a test result may be bypassed and only the test results entered directly (such as when data sheets have been utilized for on-the-bench testing, and results are being entered at the end of the day).

• The system shall allow upload of supplemental documentation such as photos or scanned documents, to be associated with a specific lab tracking number.

• Once tests for a sample are complete the system shall automatically compile the results into a preliminary report and flag for Lab Manager approval.

• The system shall allow for sample tracking.

• The system shall support summary status of all samples and technician work assignments as part of standard views easily accessible.

• The system shall support summary status of multiple samples associated with a project as part of standard views easily accessible.

• The system shall support a laboratory dashboard, viewable by all technicians assigned to the laboratory, displaying all active projects, samples, and tests.

o The dashboard shall be sortable and searchable.

o Managers shall be able to assign priority levels to projects, samples, and tests on the dashboard.

o Managers shall be able to review a sortable list of all tasks requiring their review

(e.g. flagged test results, results for review etc.).

f. EXCEL INTEGRATION

• The system shall integrate with Microsoft Excel to facilitate ad-hoc testing by providing, at a minimum, the following capability:

o Ability to designate a test as ad-hoc;

o Ability to define expected test results from an ad-hoc test;

o Ability to import test result data from Excel;

o Ability to append Excel datasheets as supplemental documentation associated with the ad-hoc test;

o Inclusion of Excel generated test results in the system’s database; and o Inclusion of Excel generated test results in system generated reports.

g. REPORTING

• The vendor shall coordinate with the government to create or customize three pre-defined report templates. The government intends for different templates to be used by each of the government’s labs.

• Report templates shall support the following functionality:

o Automatic inclusion of project and header information as defined by the template;

o Automatic inclusion of all tests assigned to a sample;

o Option to granularly remove individual test results from the report, or to add other results from other samples;

o Automatic ordering of tests per a user-defined hierarchy. E.g. when performed, sieve analysis should always be included first;

o Automatic formatting to minimize white space and to consolidate results if results are removed; and o Option to toggle laboratory accreditation information inclusion.

• The system shall be capable of automatic report generation, such as upon completion of all tests assigned to a sample.

• The system shall support recall and reissue of reports.

• The system shall support amendment of reports.

• The system shall support versioning of reissued and/or amended reports.

• The system shall support automatic locking of test data when a report is generated.

• The system shall support previewing of reports.

o Previews shall not contain headers or signature blocks.

o Generation of a preview shall not lock test data.

• The system shall automatically lock reports once they are approved and place a

“Controlled Copy” stamp/watermark on the report.

• System shall support printing of the following reports:

o Preview reports;

Preview reports shall be marked “Not for distribution – Results not Final” o Official Reports;

o Unofficial copies of Official Reports; and

Unofficial copies shall be marked “Un-Controlled” o Revised Reports

Revised reports shall be marked “Revised” with the appropriate revision information (Revision 1, Revision 2, etc.) as appropriate

• The system shall automatically database all reports.

h. REPORT DISTRIBUTION

• The system shall support export of reports in Adobe Acrobat ‘.pdf’ format with an automatic file naming convention.

• The system shall support export of test results to MS Excel.

• The system shall support export of reports to MS Word.

• The system shall integrate with MS Outlook to support report distribution including, but not limited to, email distribution lists.

i. TRAINING MANAGEMENT

• The system shall allow custom definition of technician training and proficiency levels.

• The system shall support tracking of technician training, certification and proficiency levels.

• The system shall support tracking of technician training schedules and required retraining/recertification dates.

• The system shall allow limiting of user-access based on training and proficiency.

Examples of proficiency levels and user-access include:

o Untrained: Read only;

o Trained: Able to enter test results, but peer review required; and o Proficient: Able to enter test results without peer review requirement.

• The system shall support “At-a-glance” or “One-click” technician training and proficiency review.

• The system shall be capable of providing automatic reminders for expiring training and proficiencies.

j. EQUIPMENT AND CALIBRATION MANAGEMENT

• The system shall support comprehensive inventory management.

• The system shall allow custom definition of equipment, calibration, and maintenance types.

• The system shall support automatic isolation of test results based on equipment calibration status.

• The system shall support automatic flagging of test results for review based on equipment calibration status.

• The system shall support “At-a-glance” or “One-click” equipment and calibration status review.

• The system shall provide automatic reminders for expiring calibrations, required maintenance, and inventory service life.

• The system shall support record keeping for the full equipment database including maintenance dates, servicing technicians, calibration certification, disposal of property and transfer of property records.

k. BILLING

• The system shall allow a project account to be assigned to the sample identification number upon sample log-in.

• The system shall support a billing structure based on established unit cost per test.

o Billing structure shall support independent pricing structures for each government laboratory

• The system shall support the ability to waive test fees (zero invoice).

• The system shall allow modification of the cost structure and test pricing by designated users.

• The vendor shall coordinate with the government to provide a custom billing report.

B.3.2 Optional Requirements

a. TEST METHODS

• The system should support the test methods listed as “Tier 1” “Tier 2” and “Tier 3” in

Attachment C.001.

o All supported test methods are subject to the requirements listed in section B.3.1 as applicable.

• The system should support plotting for the test methods identified with a “plotting” sub-bullet in Attachment C.001. Plotting should be in a manner consistent with the test method.

o Plots should be for the values specified in Attachment C.001, or for the values identified by the specified test method if not specified.

o Plots should be visible to the technician during or immediately after data entry.

o Plots should be toggleable for inclusion/exclusion from reports.

o Plots should be printable as part of a report without changing basic report formatting (page size, orientation etc.)

b. REPORT DISTRIBUTION

• The vendor should coordinate with the government to develop or customize an exported data set containing specific test results for import into the government’s boring log software: gINT Professional Plus Version 10 and higher.

B.3.3 Informational Requirements

c. FUTURE INTEGRATION

• Vendor shall identify the ability of the system to support the following capabilities in the future.

o Construction Management (Project Management) o Field Testing

Support in this context includes native functionality of the system, or integration, interface, or other interaction with another program.

B.4 Requirements for Implementing Section 508 Standards

The following applies to all FHWA Contracts issued on or after January 18, 2018 containing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a deliverable. In addition to the work requirements specified in this statement of work, vendors must ensure that all ICT that they prepare will meet the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Final Standards and Guidelines (508 Refresh) at 36 CFR Part 1194.

As defined in the 508 Refresh, at 36 CFR Part 1194, Appendix A, E103.4, ICT is “Information technology and other equipment, systems, technologies, or processes, for which the principal function is the creation, manipulation, storage, display, receipt, or transmission of electronic data and information, as well as any associated content. Examples of ICT include, but are not limited to: computers and peripheral equipment; information kiosks and transaction machines;

telecommunications equipment; customer premises equipment; multifunction office machines;

software; applications; Web sites; videos; and, electronic documents.”

Section 508 requires that all electronic products prepared for the Federal Government be accessible to persons with disabilities, including those with vision, hearing, cognitive, and mobility impairments.

Applicable Standards:

• Appendix A to Part 1194 – Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Application and Scoping Requirements https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-a https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-a

• Appendix B to Part 1194 – Section 255 of the Communications Act: Application and Scoping Requirements

• Appendix C to Part 1194 – Functional Performance Criteria and Technical Requirements

Section 508 Refresh standards are available at https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh.

Before final acceptance of any ICT item, including updates and replacements, if the contractor claims its products or services satisfy the applicable Revised 508 Standards specified in the statement of work, and the contracting officer’s representative, in coordination with the contracting officer, determines that any furnished ICT item is not in compliance with such requirements, the contracting officer will promptly inform the contractor in writing of the noncompliance. The contractor shall, at no cost to the agency, repair or replace the non-compliant products or services within the period specified by the contracting officer.

B.5 Delivery

Conduct a pre-delivery preparatory meeting at least 3 days before delivery. Include the Government’s system administrator(s), database administrator(s), and expert user(s). Be prepared to discuss the following:

a) System installation

b) Initial troubleshooting procedures

c) Timeframes and coordination for training

For any items, which require physical delivery, the Contractor shall make use of commercial best practices in packing and shipment FOB Destination no later than 45 days after receipt of order to:

Federal Highway Administration - Western Federal Lands 610 E 5th Street Vancouver, WA 98661-3801

B.7 Training

B.7.1 Requirement

Coordinate with the Government to tailor or develop a comprehensive training program to be taught on-site. Training shall address the government’s specific needs and use-cases. The following are the government’s three primary use cases:

• Technician: Training shall include general system use and focus on day-to-day use of the system for testing and result entry.

https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-b https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-b https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-c https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-c https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh

• Manager: Training shall include general system use and focus on test result review and approval, report generation and dissemination, training and certification management, equipment and calibration management, and common configuration options.

• Expert User: Training shall be comprehensive of all system abilities. Additionally, expert users shall receive “train the trainer” training for technician and manager level training.

Vendor shall identify any government system or database administration training requirements.

B.7.2 Location

Arrange for three training sessions, one to be held at each of the government’s materials laboratory offices:

• Eastern Federal Lands, 1827 Jack Delozier Drive, John L. Marshall Technology Park, Sevierville, TN 37876-5227

• Central Federal Lands, Building 52, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225

• Western Federal Lands, 610 E 5th Street, Vancouver, WA 98661-3801

B.7.3 Schedule

Coordinate with the government to determine specific training dates. Training shall be conducted no earlier than 1 month after delivery of the system to the government, and no later than December 13, 2019.

Provide a preliminary training plan that will be finalized after award.

B.8 Technical Support

Vendor shall provide, at a minimum, the following technical support services:

• When identified by the government or the vendor, the system shall be updated to support changes made by the test method providers to the test methods identified in Attachment C001. Updates to methods shall be made during the next scheduled update if possible but no later than six months after identification if not. Updates to test methods shall be performed as part of the government’s ongoing maintenance contract with the vendor, and shall not incur additional cost to the government.

• The vendor shall provide a Help Desk or other means of support, available during a set of regular, posted hours for at least forty (40) hours per week excluding Federal holidays.

The Help Desk shall be available to, at a minimum, government system administrators and expert users. The Help Desk initial response time shall not exceed six business hours.

• The vendor shall insure the system supports Microsoft patches and updates for the duration of the contract.

B.9 Terms of Service (TOS) Agreement

The Terms of Service (TOS) Agreement must allow for use by the U.S. Government.

B.9 Authority to Obligate the Government

The Contracting Officer is the only individual who can legally commit or obligate the Government to the expenditure of public funds. No cost chargeable to the proposed task order can be incurred before receipt of a fully executed task order or specific authorization from the Contracting Officer.

B.10 Payment for Unauthorized Work

No payments will be made for any unauthorized supplies and/or services or for any unauthorized changes to the work specified herein. This includes any services performed by the Contractor of their own volition or at the request of an individual other than a duly appointed Contracting Officer. Only a duly appointed Contracting Officer is authorized to change the specifications, terms, and conditions under this effort.

SECTION C – ATTACHMENTS

The following attachments are incorporated in this solicitation and the resulting contract:

Attachment Description # of Pages

C.001 Test Methods and Equivalents 9

C.002 Sample Log-In Data 1

C.003 Past Performance Reference Questionnaire 4

SECTION D – SOLICITATION PROVISIONS

D.1 Incorporated by Reference

D.1.1 Federal Acquisitions Regulation (FAR)

52.252-1 -- Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at https://www.acquisition.gov/?q=browsefar

52.203-18 -- Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements-Representation (Jan 2017) 52.204-7 -- System for Award Management (Oct 2018) 52.204-16 -- Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (Jul 2016) 52.204-22 -- Alternative Line Item Proposal (Jan 2017) 52.212-1 -- Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Items (Jan 2017)

ADDENDUM TO 52.212-1 – INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL

ITEMS (Oct 2018)

1. Instructions

a. Questions regarding this requirement shall be submitted no later than Tuesday June 4, 2019, at 4:00 pm Pacific Time to WFL.Purchasing@dot.gov.

b. Response to this RFQ shall be submitted no later than Thursday June 6, 2019, at 2:00 pm Pacific Time. All submissions shall in PDF and shall be submitted via email to WFL.Purchasing@dot.gov. Quotes received in any other method or format shall not be accepted or reviewed. Quotes received after the above noted time will not be reviewed or accepted.

c. The Government reserves the right to request such additional information as may be necessary to determine the offeror’s qualifications for award or to clarify any aspects of the technical and/or cost/price submissions. Such information shall be furnished promptly upon the Government’s request.

d. Offerors shall not be reimbursed the costs of developing a quote for this RFQ.

https://www.acquisition.gov/?q=browsefar mailto:WFL.Purchasing@dot.gov mailto:WFL.Purchasing@dot.gov

2. Quote

a. The Contractor shall address an understanding of logistics, schedule, and any other miscellaneous issues of which the Government should be aware.

b. The Contractor shall indicate if any technical assumptions have been made, conditions have been stipulated or exceptions have been taken with the Government Description of Requirement as written. If technical assumptions are not noted, it will be assumed that the vendor’s quote reflects no technical assumptions for award and agrees to comply with all the terms and conditions set forth herein.

c. The quote MUST include the following information:

• A completed copy of Section A or the same information on a similar vendor-generated price quote sheet which includes your Unique Entity Identifier (DUNS);

• A statement confirming that your entity registration is active in www.sam.gov and the representations and certification are complete, current, accurate and is applicable to this solicitation;

• Statements specifically addressing if and how the quoted system meets each of the requirements in Section B.3. The responses must provide enough information to determine compliance with the stated elements;

• System Architecture document;

• Database Schema document;

• Data Flow diagram;

• A completed copy of TAR 1252.237-71;

• A list of five (5) references in the past five (5) years for the completion of similar work. Include point of contact with company or government agency, with customer phone, and email;

• Future Integration capabilities as defined in paragraph B.3.2b of the Statement of Requirement;

• Preliminary Training Plan (see B.7.3);

• List of test methods included in the system; and

• Complete system configuration documentation

d. The contractor shall provide the Past Performance Questionnaire (Attachment C.003) to those references listed in their quote.

e. The Contractor agrees to hold the price in its quotation firm for no less than sixty (60) calendar days from the date specified for receipt of quotes or as requested in any subsequent amendment.

3. Evaluation Factors for Award

a. Government intends to evaluate quotations and make award without discussions. This acquisition shall be conducted using the policies and procedures in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Evaluation of quotes shall be in accordance with evaluation scheme, factors and criteria in this section of the Request for Quotations (RFQ) and shall select an offeror for award using the best value analysis described in this section of the RFQ, price and other factors considered. Award will be made to the responsible contractor whose quote is responsive to this RFQ and is determined to represent the best value to the Government. An offeror’s quote will be eliminated from consideration prior to completion of evaluations if the proposal is so deficient or incomplete as to be rendered unacceptable and to preclude a meaningful evaluation. For example, an offeror’s proposal shall be deemed unacceptable if it does not represent a reasonable effort to address the minimum requirements of the Statement of Work (SOW).

b. Selection of the best value to the Government will be achieved through a process of evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses and/or deficiencies of each offeror’s proposal in accordance with evaluation criteria stated in the RFQ. The award decision will be made based on an integrated assessment of each quote on a “tradeoff” basis between technical compliance, minimum system requirements, test methods, future integration ability, past performance and price. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than price.

c. The Government intends to make a single award as a result of this RFQ. However, the Government reserves the right to make no award at all.

d. The Government may at their sole discretion elect to view a presentation by qualified vendors. Presentations shall be via web-conference. Presentations shall be at no cost to the government. Presentations will not exceed 2 hours.

4. Evaluation Criteria

The Government will use the following six (6) factors to evaluate quotes and make a best value determination:

1. Technical Compliance with Solicitation Requirements

To meet the technical compliance factor, the Contractor must submit ALL items identified in ADDENDUM TO 52.212-1 – INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – COMMERCIAL ITEMS (Oct 2018) paragraph 2.c.

Quoters will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis with respect to this evaluation factor. Quotes that do not include all identified items will fail and be excluded from further consideration. Quoters that pass will be further evaluated based on ability to meet minimum system requirements.

2. Minimum System Requirements

To meet the minimum system requirements factor, the system shall support the minimum requirements stated in section B.3.

Quoters will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis with respect to this evaluation factor.

Systems that do not meet the minimum requirements or quotes that do not contain enough information to determine if they meet the minimum system requirements will fail and be excluded from further consideration. Quoters that pass will be further evaluated based on available test methods, relevant past performance, price, and future integration.

3. Available Test Methods

The Available Test Methods evaluation will consider the specific tests a vendor’s system supports. Both the overall number of tests supported, as well as the importance of each supported test to the government will be considered. Tests are broken into 3 tiers of importance in attachment C.001. Tier 1 tests are more important than Tier 2 and Tier 3 tests. Tier 2 tests are more important than Tier 3 but less important than Tier 1 tests. Tier 3 tests are less important than Tier 1 and Tier 2 tests. Tests of the same tier are of equal importance to one another.

Tests that are not listed in attachment C.001 will not be considered.

4. Relevant Past/Present Performance

The following adjectival rating descriptions shall be used for evaluation of past performance:

• Excellent: Past/present performance records exist that demonstrates superior performance in managing the type of effort similar to this type of task order to include managing cost, schedule, quality, challenges and risk contemplated by the task order solicitation. Few, if any, problems exist and if there were any problems, they were minor. Any corrective action that was necessary by the contractor is/was highly effective in all cases.

• Very Good: Past/present performance records exist that demonstrates above average performance in managing the type of effort similar to this type of task order to include managing cost, schedule, quality, challenges and risk contemplated by the task order solicitation. Problems, if any, are minor. Corrective actions taken by the contractor are/were effective in all cases.

• Satisfactory: Past/present performance records exist that demonstrate average performance in managing the type of effort similar to this task order to include managing cost, schedule, quality, challenges and risk contemplated by the task order solicitation. Problems may exist but corrective actions taken by the contractor are/were effective in most cases.

• Unsatisfactory: Past/present performance records exist that demonstrate poor performance in managing cost, schedule, quality, challenges and risks contemplated by the task order solicitation. Problems exist for which solutions were not readily provided and/or which were/are ineffective. Customers are/were dissatisfied with offeror’s performance.

• Neutral: Neutral indicates that the offeror lacks a record of relevant or available past performance history. There is no expectation of either successful or unsuccessful performance based on the offeror’s past performance record. No relevant past performance will neither hinder nor help the offeror in the evaluation of their proposal.

The past performance evaluation will examine the offeror’s past/present performance to determine their ability to manage contracts and subcontracts in projects of similar size, scope and complexity contemplated under this solicitation to include areas such as, but not necessarily limited to: customer satisfaction, adherence to cost, schedule and performance baselines, risk mitigation and resolution of unanticipated problems for the IRS. The past/present performance evaluation will examine the offeror’s actual performance on a minimum of five (5) similar contracts. This review will focus on the size, scope, and complexity of the efforts, the performance measures/service levels applied, the actual performance results against those measures, and customer satisfaction achieved by the offeror.

Evaluation of past performance may be based on information obtained from references submitted by the quoter as well as information obtained from other sources such as CPARS, FAPPIS, SAM and any other sources deemed necessary by the Contracting Officer. Only ongoing contracts and contracts completed within the past five years will be evaluated with respect to past performance. Quoters that lack relevant past performance will be evaluated neither favorably nor unfavorably on past performance.

The Government is not obligated to contact all references provided.

5. Price

The Government will evaluate the quoted total cost/price to determine that the cost/price is valid, realistic, fair and reasonable as well as consistency and understanding of the SOW requirements.

If the solicitation includes option items, the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

The Government may reject any quote that is evaluated to be unrealistic in terms of program commitments, including contract terms and conditions, or unrealistically high or low in cost/price, or are unbalanced, such that the quote is deemed to reflect an inherent lack of competence or failure to comprehend the technical requirements.

6. Future Integration

The future integration evaluation will examine the vendor’s ability to support additional capabilities beyond a LIMS system. Abilities considered may include, but are not necessarily limited to: additional native functionality of the LIMS system beyond that listed in the technical requirements of paragraph 2.c above, and additional systems/programs sold by the vendor that can integrate with the vendor’s LIMS system “out-of-the-box”.

Quoters will be evaluated on a supported/not-supported basis with respect to each capability listed in paragraph B.3.3c. Quoters that support capabilities listed in paragraph B.3.3c may be evaluated more favorably as described in paragraph 3.b above. Quoters that do not support the capabilities listed in paragraph B.3.3c will not be excluded from evaluation.

D.2 Full Text Provisions

D.2.1 Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

52.203-98 -- Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements-Representation (Feb 2015) (DEVIATION 2015-02)

(a) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Resolution Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), Government agencies are not permitted to use funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) under that or any other Act for contracts with an entity that requires employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.

(b) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this provision does not contravene requirements applicable to Standard Form 312, Form 4414, or any other form issued by a Federal department or agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information.

(c) Representation. By submission of its offer, the Offeror represents that it does not require employees or subcontractors of such entity seeking to report fraud, waste, or abuse to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements prohibiting or otherwise restricting such employees or subcontractors from lawfully reporting such waste, fraud, or abuse to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.

(End of provision) 52.209-7 -- Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (Oct 2018)

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision— “Administrative proceeding” means a non-judicial process that is adjudicatory in nature in order to make a determination of fault or liability (e.g., Securities and Exchange Commission Administrative Proceedings, Civilian Board of Contract Appeals Proceedings, and Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals Proceedings). This includes administrative proceeding at the Federal and State level but only in connection with performance of a Federal contract or grant. It does not include agency actions such as contract audits, site visits, corrective plans, or inspection of deliverables.

“Federal contracts and grants with total value greater than $10,000,000” means—

(1) The total value of all current, active contracts and grants, including all priced options;

and

(2) The total value of all current, active orders including all priced options under indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, 8(a), or requirements contracts (including task and delivery and multiple-award Schedules).

“Principal” means an officer, director, owner, partner, or a person having primary management or supervisory responsibilities within a business entity (e.g., general manager; plant manager;

head of a division or business segment; and similar positions).

(b) The offeror [_] has [_] does not have current active Federal contracts and grants with total value greater than $10,000,000.

(c) If the offeror checked “has” in paragraph (b) of this provision, the offeror represents, by submission of this offer, that the information it has entered in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) is current, accurate, and complete as of the date of submission of this offer with regard to the following information:

(1) Whether the offeror, and/or any of its principals, has or has not, within the last five years, in connection with the award to or performance by the offeror of a Federal contract or grant, been the subject of a proceeding, at the Federal or State level that resulted in any of the following dispositions:

(i) In a criminal proceeding, a conviction.

(ii) In a civil proceeding, a finding of fault and liability that results in the payment of a monetary fine, penalty, reimbursement, restitution, or damages of $5,000 or more.

(iii) In an administrative proceeding, a finding of fault and liability that results in—

(A) The payment of a monetary fine or penalty of $5,000 or more; or

(B) The payment of a reimbursement, restitution, or damages in excess of $100,000.

(iv) In a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding, a disposition of the matter by consent or compromise with an acknowledgment of fault by the Contractor if the proceeding could have led to any of the outcomes specified in paragraphs (c)(1)(i), (c)(1)(ii), or (c)(1)(iii) of this provision.

(2) If the offeror has been involved in the last five years in any of the occurrences listed in (c)(1) of this provision, whether the offeror has provided the requested information with regard to each occurrence.

(d) The offeror shall post the information in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (c)(1)(iv) of this provision in FAPIIS as required through maintaining an active registration in the System for Award Management which can be accessed via https://www.sam.gov (see 52.204-7).

(End of provision) 52.209-11 -- Representation by Corporations Regarding Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction under any Federal Law (Feb 2016) https://www.sam.gov/

(a) As required by sections 744 and 745 of Division E of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L 113-235), and similar provisions, if contained in subsequent appropriations acts, the Government will not enter into a contract with any corporation that--

(1) Has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, where the awarding agency is aware of the unpaid tax liability, unless an agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that suspension or debarment is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government; or

(2) Was convicted of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the preceding 24 months, where the awarding agency is aware of the conviction, unless an agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that this action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.

(b) The Offeror represents that—

(1) It is [ ] is not [ ] a corporation that has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability; and

(2) It is [ ] is not [ ] a corporation that was convicted of a felony criminal violation under a Federal law within the preceding 24 months.

(End of provision) 52.212-3 -- Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items (Oct 2018)

(a) Definitions.