Notice_of_Intent_1.pdf

Notice of Intent to Sole Source

Solicitation Number: 75N94025Q00014 Solicitation Type: Sole Source (Non‐Competitive) Title: NICHD: Service: Aquatic Life Support Systems Preventative Maintenance NAICS / Size Standard: 332420 / 750 Employees

Introduction

THIS IS A PRE‐SOLICITATION NON‐COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Office of Acquisitions (OA), intends to negotiate and award a purchase order on a noncompetitive sole source basis to small business Aquaneering LLC to provide a preventative maintenance service agreement for the aquatic life support systems.

Background Information

This preventative maintenance service is needed to maintain proper functionality of the machinal components for the four aquatic life support systems (LSS) used daily in building 6 shared zebrafish facility.

Each LSS contains pumps, motors, computer‐controlled frequency drives, mixer, air blowers, ultraviolet sterilizers, dozens of specialized valves, and miles of PVC pipes. All this equipment supports hundreds of thousands of fish that are used to conduct millions of dollars’ worth of research across multiple institutes. Failure to procure this service will would result in equipment failure that would requiring costly replacements and in turn threaten the lives of the fish and the integrity/security of the research.

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this contract is to obtain a preventative maintenance and service agreement for the aquatic life support systems.

Period of Performance

The Period of Performance will be January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025 with the potential for three option years as follows:

Option Year 1: January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026 Option Year 2: January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2027 Option Year 3: January 1, 2028 through December 31, 2028

Contractor Requirements

The contractor needs to provide the following in their service maintenance agreement:

Preventive Maintenance 3 Quarterly Visit and 1 Annual Service Visit.

Walk‐Through Visits for Additional Training and to Evaluate Potential Upgrades and/or Repairs

Needed.

PBF Service, System Status (Values on Arrival), Pump Service, Filtration Services, Chem Feed

Dosing Service, UV Sterilizer Inspection and Service, General Rack Service, Customer Training, Monitoring Service, and Heating and Cooling Service.

Walk‐Through Visits for Additional Training and to Evaluate Potential Upgrades and/or Repairs

Needed.

(4) Emergency Visits if Needed.

Sole Source Justification

Aquaneering has a local service and supply network that ensures a rapid turnaround for new parts when replacements are needed. This is particularly important because each piece of equipment does a specific task/function and if rendered inoperable the facility has no other means of performing that specific task.

The equipment is needed for daily use and should one of them be inoperable for more than 24 hours, it would result in the compromising of the research time, filter changing schedules, and the inability to provide the animals with clean water. Aquaneering’s extensive history with maintaining equipment throughout NIH as well as the Aquatic animal facility has allowed them to have a wide antiquity of the inner workings of the Aquatic building’s utilities systems so they can effectively and efficiently maintain the equipment. Failure to procure this service with rapid turnaround time would result in equipment failure that would require costly replacements and in turn threaten the lives of the fish and the integrity/security of the research.

Regulatory Authority

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 13.106‐1(b) Soliciting from a single source. (1) For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, or industrial mobilization).

FAR Clauses

The provision at FAR clause 52.212‐1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.

The provision at FAR clause 52.212‐2, Evaluation – Commercial Items, is applicable. The Government will award a contract resulting from this notice to the offeror listed above. The following factors shall be used to evaluate the offer: The contractor shall demonstrate its ability to provide the detector listed that meets the specifications provided above.

FAR clause 52.212‐3, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Products and Commercial Services, is applicable. The Offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically in the System for Award Management (SAM) accessed through https://www.sam.gov. If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through

(v) of this provision.

FAR clause at 52.212‐4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies to this acquisition.

FAR clause at 52.212‐5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies to this acquisition.

FAR 52.217‐9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract, is applicable to this award as follows:

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within the term of this contract; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 10 days prior to contract expiration. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed four (4) years.

Additional Information

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 332420 and the Small Business Size Standard is 750 Employees. This acquisition is being conducted under FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures, therefore the requirements of FAR Part 6, Competitive Requirements, are not applicable and the resultant award will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular 2024‐07 effective September 30, 2024.

This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona‐fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non‐competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

All responses must be received by November 22, 2024 5:00 PM ET and must reference solicitation number 75N94025Q00014. Responses shall be submitted electronically to nicole.freid@nih.gov. Responses will only be accepted if dated and signed by an authorized company representative. All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency.