NICHD-23-234.Combined Synopsis Solicitation.FINAL.pdf

COMBINED SYNOPSIS / SOLICITATION WORKFORM

(1) Action Code: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation

(2) Date: 6/28/2023

(3) Year: 2023

(4) Contracting Office Zip Code: 20892

(5) Project Service Code: H241 - Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, and Air Circulating Equipment

(6) Contracting Office Address:

6710B Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892

(7) Subject/Title: Acquisition of a Medical Air Supply for the NIDDK Metabolic Suites

(8) Proposed Solicitation Number: NICHD-23-234

(9) Closing Response Date: 7/11/2023

(10) Contact Point: Amber Harris

(11) Contract Award and Solicitation Number: TBD

(12) Contract Award Dollar Amount: TBD

(13) Contract Line Item Number(s): TBD

(14) Contractor Award Date: TBD

(15) Contractor Name: TBD

(16) Description: (Background)

(i) “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.”

(ii) The solicitation number is NICHD-23-234 and the solicitation is issued as a request for quote (RFQ).

(iii) The solicitation document, the incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-04 Effective June 2, 2023.

(iv) The associated NAICS code is 334519, Other Measuring and Controlling Device

Manufacturing, and the small business size standard is 500. The acquisition is being conducted in accordance with the procedures of FAR Part 12 and FAR Part 13.

(v) The Contractor Requirements are listed below:

1.0 PURCHASE ORDER TITLE

Acquisition of a Medical Air Supply for the NIDDK Metabolic Suites

2.0 BACKGROUND

The three whole-room indirect calorimeters (Metabolic Suites) in the NIH Clinical Center are maintained and operated by members of the Human Energy and Body Weight Regulation Core under the supervision of Dr. Kong Chen. Changes in the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the air in the Metabolic Suites are used to measure human metabolism which serves as a primary or secondary endpoint in many studies supported by the NIDDK Metabolic Clinical Research Unit, including intra- and inter-institute protocols. These measurements require an incoming air source that is conditioned, dry, and has stable oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. The clinical center medical air system has served as this air source for the past several years but is being upgraded and, due to difficulty meeting user demand, the Office of Research Facilities has asked that the Metabolic Suites be removed from the upgraded building-wide medical air system. Thus, this project will establish an independent medical air supply for the Metabolic Suites and includes procuring equipment and overseeing installation.

3.0 OBJECTIVE

The objective of this requirement is to establish a medical air system for the Metabolic Suites independent from the current Building 10 Clinical Center system.

4.0 SALIENT / REQUIRED FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS

• Medical air system must be independent from the Building 10 system.

• Medical air system must supply all 3 Metabolic Suites up to 200 liters per minute.

• Medical air supply must have stable humidity, temperature, and oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.

• Purchase stand-alone medical air compressors system, independent of the building medical air system, based on specifications listed below in Supplies.

• Consult on inflow air source as needed

• Feed rate of the compressed air system should allow for up to 200 liters per minute per room for three room calorimeters

• Consult on converting room calorimeters to a “push” configuration (if needed)

• Select location for the compressor to minimize vibrational noisy to existing room calorimeter setup.

• Provide guidance to Office of Research Facilities for install of compressed air system.

• Provide remote support for validation testing after installation of the compressed air system.

• The compressed air system must be stand-alone – independent of the building medical air system.

• Compressed air must have stable levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide near those naturally occurring at sea-level (20.93% O2 and 0.04% CO2)

• Feed rate of the compressed air system should allow for up to 200 liters per minute per room for three room calorimeters

• The compressed air temperature should fall within the range of typical building air

(mean daily value between 22-26oC) and remain stable (±1oC deviation from daily mean value). Relative humidity should also remain within the standard building-wide range (30-50%) with stable values (<5% change per hour).

• The selected location for the compressor should consider potential for vibration, as mechanical vibration could corrupt data acquired from the room calorimeters.

Task Areas:

Task Area 1 – delivery timelines – Vendor will procure required components upon awarding of the PO. Installation is contingent on timelines provided by the NIH Office of Research Facilities.

Task Area 2 – shipping instructions – Vendor is responsible to order and ensure delivery of all necessary components to complete the on-site installation.

Task Area 3 – Installation requirements – Vendor will purchase the medical air compressor system to meet the needs of the 3 Metabolic Suites which require constant air supply of 60 – 200 liters per minute. The vendor will consult with the NIH Office of Research Facilities and the assigned project officer to determine location, piping, and electrical requirements for the new compressor system.

Task Area 4 – software, warranty, maintenance requirements – Vendor will provide the necessary software upgrades to incorporate the new medical air system into the existing setup. Vendor will supply remote support for validation testing.

Task Area 5 – training requirements (how much notice to schedule, how long/how many days, how many people to be included, etc.) – Vendor will provide a complete tutorial of the medical air system during on-site installation to Drs. Chen, Brychta, and LaMunion, and provide additional remote support for troubleshooting as needed.

Contractor shall produce the ISQEM-ESI mass detector and ship it to: The National Institutes of Health, NIDDK, Bldg. 5, Room 103, 9000 Rockville Pike, Maryland 20892.

Shipment will include the PC and other components required for installation and testing of the mass detector.

5.0 PURCHASE ORDER TYPE

This Purchase Order is to be a firm fixed price.

6.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE AND PAYMENT BREAKDOWN

Within 1 Year of Award

7.0 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

Inspection and acceptance will be performed at the place of installation - National Institutes of Health, NIDDK, 9000 Rockville Pike, Maryland 20892.

(vi) The provision at FAR clause 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.

(vii) The provision at FAR clause 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items, is applicable.

Award will be made to the contractor providing the most advantageous quote to the Government. Technical factors and price considered with technical factors outweighing price.

Specifically, the following technical factors will be evaluated:

i. The award will be made to the contractor who provides the most advantageous quote to the Government and will be evaluated via a comparative analysis of the quotes provided, technical factors and price considered.

ii. The Offeror should note that the evaluation criteria listed in order of importance are:

A. Technical – The equipment proposed by the vendor meets the requirements in the SOW and matches the items listed below.

B. Cost/Price

The technical factors are as follows:

Equipment/Service Specifications:

• Medical air system must be independent from the Building 10 system.

• Medical air system must supply all 3 Metabolic Suites up to 200 liters per minute.

• Medical air supply must have stable humidity, temperature, and oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.

• Purchase stand-alone medical air compressors system, independent of the building medical air system, based on specifications listed below in Supplies.

• Consult on inflow air source as needed

• Feed rate of the compressed air system should allow for up to 200 liters per minute per room for three room calorimeters

• Consult on converting room calorimeters to a “push” configuration (if needed)

• Select location for the compressor to minimize vibrational noisy to existing room calorimeter setup.

• Provide guidance to Office of Research Facilities for install of compressed air system.

• Provide remote support for validation testing after installation of the compressed air system.

• The compressed air system must be stand-alone – independent of the building medical air system.

• Compressed air must have stable levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide near those naturally occurring at sea-level (20.93% O2 and 0.04% CO2)

• Feed rate of the compressed air system should allow for up to 200 liters per minute per room for three room calorimeters

• The compressed air temperature should fall within the range of typical building air (mean daily value between 22-26oC) and remain stable (±1oC deviation from daily mean value). Relative humidity should also remain within the standard building-wide range (30-50%) with stable values (<5% change per hour).

• The selected location for the compressor should consider potential for vibration, as mechanical vibration could corrupt data acquired from the room calorimeters.

Delivery: Vendor will procure required components upon awarding of the PO.

Installation is contingent on timelines provided by the NIH Office of Research Facilities.

Shipping: Vendor is responsible to order and ensure delivery of all necessary components to complete the on-site installation.

Installation: Vendor will purchase the medical air compressor system to meet the needs of the 3 Metabolic Suites which require constant air supply of 60 – 200 liters per minute. The vendor will consult with the NIH Office of Research Facilities and the assigned project officer to determine location, piping, and electrical requirements for the new compressor system.

Software: Vendor will provide the necessary software upgrades to incorporate the new medical air system into the existing setup. Vendor will supply remote support for validation testing.

Training: Vendor will provide a complete tutorial of the medical air system during on-site installation to Drs. Chen, Brychta, and LaMunion, and provide additional remote support for troubleshooting as needed.

Evaluation Criteria Acceptable Unacceptable

Technical The services proposed by the vendor meet the requirements in the SOW

Summary Overall Rating (Overall Risk)

Cost/Price Offerors will be evaluated based upon cost/price completeness and accuracy to determine the validity of the price, realism, reasonableness, and risk.

Technical Evaluation Rating Definitions

(x) FAR clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items, is applicable. An offeror shall complete only paragraphs (b) of this provision if the offeror has completed the annual representations and certificates electronically via http://www.acquisition.gov If an offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at the System for Award Management (SAM) website, the offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (p) of this provision.

(xi) FAR clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.

(xii) FAR clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. Including the following clauses and Prohibitions:

i. 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Aside (Nov 2011) (15 U.S.C.

644)

ii. 52.219-13, Notice of Set-Aside of Orders (Nov 2011) (15 U.S.C. 644(r))

iii. 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Representation

iv. 52.222-19, Child Labor—Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies

(Jan 2014) (E.O. 13126).

v. 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities

vi. 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity

vii. 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities

viii. 52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons

ix. 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging while Driving

x. 52.225-1, Buy American--Supplies (May 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 83)

xi. 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases

Additional Clauses:

i. 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer— System for Award Management (OCT 2018) (31 U.S.C. 3332).

ii. 52.222-53, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Labor Standards to Contracts for Certain Services--Requirements (May 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67).

iii. 52.232-39, Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations

Rating Definition Acceptable Proposal meets requirements and indicates an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements, and risk of unsuccessful performance is no worse than moderate.

Unacceptable Proposal does not meet requirements of the solicitation, and thus, contains one or more deficiencies, and/or risk of unsuccessful performance is unacceptable.

http://www.acquisition.gov/

(xiii) Additional Contract Requirements:

The information submitted must be in and outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required.

One (1) copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe

PDF format using 11- point or 12-point font, 8-1/2" x 11" paper size, with 1" top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing. The response is limited to ten (10) page limit. The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested.

Vendor/Contractor Must be able to accept payments via IPP (Invoice Processing

Platform) The contractor may submit a request for an exception. See below for IPP, IPP helpdesk information and applicable Health and Human Services addendum clause.

INVOICING PROCESSING PLATFORM (IPP) In compliance with the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) M-15-19 memorandum "Improving Government Efficiency and Saving Taxpayer Dollars through Electronic Invoicing" directing Federal agencies to adopt electronic invoicing as the primary means to disburse payment to vendors. Invoices submitted under any award resulting from this solicitation will be required to utilize the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) in accordance with HHSAR 352.232-71, Electronic Submission and Processing of Payment Requests" IPP is a secure, web-based electronic invoicing system provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRSTL). Respondents to this solicitation are encouraged to register an account with IPP if they have not already done so. If your organization is already registered to use IPP, you will not be required to re-register however, we encourage you make sure your organization and designated IPP user accounts are valid and up to date. The IPP website address is:

https://www.ipp.gov If you require assistance registering or IPP account access, please contact the IPP Helpdesk at (866) 973-3131 (M-F 8AM to 6PM ET), or IPPCustomerSupport@fiscal.treasury.gov Note: Should an Offeror feel that use of the IPP would be unduly burdensome, the response to this solicitation should include an explanation of this position for a determination by the contracting officer.

HHSAR 352.232-71 Electronic Submission of Invoice Payment Requests (Feb 2022) will apply when this requirement is solicited and awarded. As stated: (a) Definitions.

As used in this clause, Payment request means a bill, voucher, invoice, or request for contract financing payment with associated supporting documentation. The payment request must comply with the requirements identified in FAR 32.905(b), "Content of Invoices" and the applicable Payment clause included in this contract. (b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this clause, the Contractor shall submit payment requests electronically using the Department of Treasury Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) or successor system. Information regarding IPP, including IPP Customer Support contact information, is available at www.ipp.gov or any successor site. (c) The Contractor may submit payment requests using other than IPP only when the Contracting Officer authorizes alternate procedures in writing in accordance with HHS procedures. (d) If alternate payment procedures are authorized, the Contractor shall include a copy of the Contracting Officer's written authorization with each payment request. (END OF CLAUSE)

(xiv) The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) and assigned rating are not applicable.

(xv) Offers shall be submitted via email to amber.harris@nih.gov

(17) Place of Contract Performance:

National Institute of Health, NIDDK 10 Center Drive

Bethesda, MD 20892

(18) Set-aside Status: This requirement is set aside for small business.

mailto:amber.harris@nih.gov