Redacted Sole Source J and A Final - SAM.pdf

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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New firm-fixed-price contract to purchase United States Air Force (USAF) Radiochemistry Laboratory's (CIL) Thermo Fisher Scientific Support and Maintenance. Request approval to award a sole source contract to Thermo Electron North America, 1400 Northpoint Pkwy Ste 50 West Palm Beach, FL 33407-1976 (Cage:

3WXJ7). Thermo Electron is represented by the NAICS Code 334516 Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing with a corresponding size standard 1000 employees.

Some of the chemical analysis required by the lab's mission utilize a Inductive Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP- MS) instrument, Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and Capillary HPIC™ System ICS-3/5 - High Performance Ion Chromatography System. These instruments are used to purify compounds of interest by using plasma energy to measure the emission energy of a sample of interest. The lab owns these Thermo instruments and the associated support components; we have determined that these instruments require a support maintenance plan to execute their “mission.” The ICP-MS support maintenance plan we are requesting will increase the capability of our instruments to: provide additional information regarding the chemicals we're examining, enable additional methods for compound separation, and improve the quality of an existing ICP-MS method. Additionally the support maintenance plan guarantees that the instrument will be properly calibrated and maintained. Furthermore if an atypical situation occurs, the instrument will be guaranteed a service engineer that specializes in Thermo Fisher ICP-MS instrumentation to come to our facility and "fix" whatever atypical situation that has occurred. The support maintenance plan MUST have the following:

iCAP Qa Quadrupole ICP-MS Spectrometer -Element ICP-MS, iCAP 7600 ICP-OES Duo with direct system, CD Conductivity Detector, ICS-3/ICS-5, Neptune Plus Bundle 3 Jet Interface+SEM, Dual Pump Analytical Isocratic and Grad, Thermal Compartment-two 6-port injection, Variable Wavelength Detector Single Wave, Detector Compartment Dual Temperature Z, and UltiMate 3000 AFC-3000 Automated Fraction. - High Performance Ion Chromatography System Unity Essential Plan

· Unlimited number of demand on-site service visits with a maximum 72-hour response

· Engineer labor and travel is included

· One (1) scheduled preventative maintenance visit

· Priority status for technical support inquiries

· Factory-certified replacement parts included

· Thermo Scientific supplied personal computers are covered

· Subscription to e-Support Online Technical Resources

· 10% discount on Institute based or on-site training for chromatography, mass-spectrometry or trace elemental instruments. The training must be purchased during the contract validity period. May not be available in all locations (please check availability with your local Thermo Fisher sales representative or customer service team). Applications, method development, or informatics training courses are excluded

· 10% Loyalty discount on Parts, Accessories or Consumables for end user during active contract. Contact our parts group at Unity Priority line 1-877-594-3224 and mention the Loyalty PACs program.

· Software updates and notifications. (Updates are defined as changes of the existing software version that

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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· Computers purchases from Thermo Fisher Scientific and required for the operation of the analytical system. Replacement of functional computers in order to accommodate an upgrade to a newer version of the operating systems is not covered by

B. Base Coverage Exclusions:

· Computers and/or software not provided and installed with the system by Thermo Fisher. Hardware and Operating System upgrades, replacing a HD with larger capacity. Replacement of functional computers in order to accommodate an upgrade to a newer version of the operating systems.

· Instrument control software version upgrades, nor layered application software support are not provided under a Support Plan.

· Consumables items and parts such as: bottles, sample cones, skimmer cones, nebulizers, spray chambers, impact beads, torches, torch bonnets, torch screens, torch injectors, peristaltic pump tubing, electron multipliers, slits cone tools, ETD filaments (excluding the one included in the PM visits), calibration solutions and laser ablation accessories.

· Operator training

· Sample concentrator plumbing

· Work related to radioactive sources.

· Components that cannot be repaired or replaced due to lack of availability from Thermo Scientific supplier (obsolescence).

· Complete system replacement is not covered under contract.

· Software packages offering features beyond that purchased.

· Training of new operators.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is the single source manufacturer of the Thermo ICP-MS, ICP-OES, and ICS-3/5 instruments and software.

These instruments use a technologically advanced method to analyze, purify and to identify elemental samples and can only be serviced by the manufacturer. This requires us to purchase Thermo Fisher support maintenance plan, as competing brand ICP-MS, ICP-OES, and ICS-3/5 support maintenance plans will have components that commonly don't integrate well. The components and replacement parts of the Thermo Fisher ICP-MS, ICP-OES, and ICS-3/5 equipment are proprietary to Thermo-Fisher. The use of parts not validated by Thermo-Fisher will jeopardize the integrity of the equipment, the mission and lab capacity to provide reliable results.

The statutory authority for this acquisition is 10 U.S.C 2304(c) (1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, “Only One Responsible Source and Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.”

The statutory authority for this acquisition is 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1. In accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), “Only One Responsible Source and Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.” These mission critical instruments must be serviced and maintained to meet certification and lab

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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A sources sought notification was posted on SAM.gov on 26 May 2022 and closed on 9 June 2022. No vendors responded to the sources sought including the incumbent. Thermo Fisher Scientific is the SOLE manufacturer and the only company certified to provide support, maintenance and upgrade services for the Thermo ICP-MS, ICP-OES, and ICS-3/5. Thermo Fisher Scientific trained and certified Field Service Engineers (FSEs) and Technical Support Representatives are available to service and offer support for the Mass Spectrometry instrument. Thermo Fisher Scientific does not sub-contract services in relation to the support of this system and do not train other engineers to service out their equipment. Thermo Fisher Scientific is the only company certified to provide support, maintenance and upgrade services to ensure that the instrumentation, sampling accessories and software will continue to perform according to original manufacturing specifications. Thermo is the only certified manufacturer for the system parts.

Price analysis will be performed to determine the prices to be fair and reasonable. Price analysis will be performed IAW FAR 15.404-1 - Proposal Analysis Techniques, by comparing proposed prices with the historical prices and other similar contracts awarded to Thermo Fisher Scientific. A technical evaluation will be performed by the mission partner who has expertise in this field and knowledge of the work to be performed.

Award will be made when the parties reach agreement on a fair and reasonable price which conforms to the terms and conditions set forth in this solicitation and are technically acceptable.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is the SOLE manufacturer and the only company certified to provide support, maintenance and upgrade services for the Thermo ICP-MS, ICP-OES, and ICS-3/5. Thermo Fisher Scientific trained and certified Field Service Engineers (FSEs) and Technical Support Representatives are available to service and offer support for the Mass Spectrometry instrument. Thermo Fisher Scientific does not sub-contract services in relation to the support of this system and do not train other engineers to service out their equipment. Thermo Fisher Scientific is the only company certified to provide support, maintenance and upgrade services to ensure that the instrumentation, sampling accessories and software will continue to perform according to original manufacturing specifications.

Thermo is the only certified manufacturer for the system parts.

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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