SB1341-16-RQ-0866.pdf

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 -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. THE

SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES UNDER

FAR 13.

This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-89.

1352.215-72 INQUIRIES (APR 2010)

Quoters must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing, via email, to both the Contract

Specialist (christopher.mcgucken@nist.gov) and the Contracting Officer (Lynda.Roark@nist.gov).

Questions shall be received no later than seven (7) calendar days after the issuance date of this solicitation. All responses to the questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, on the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract. (end of provision)

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is

333415 with a small business size standard of 1,250 employees.

This acquisition is a Total Small Business Set-Aside.

BACKGROUND

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Physical Measurement Laboratory currently operates two (2) flow cryostats (Advanced Research Systems LT-3B) in an atomic-force microscope system. The Government sees to acquire a single laboratory scale liquid Helium (LHe) recovery system for the capture, storage, and liquefaction of the Helium boil-off of this system. The system to be acquired is intended to minimum the waste of Helium gas and result in substantial cost savings to the Government.

All items must be new.

All quoters shall provide a quotation for the following line items:

• CLIN 0001 (Firm-Fixed Price): One (1) Liquid Helium Recovery System, capable of meeting or exceeding the minimum system requirements below, delivery, installation, and warranty:

GENERAL SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

The contractor shall provide a single laboratory scale liquid helium (LHe) recovery system for the capture, storage, and liquefaction of the helium boil-off of two (2) flow cryostats (Advanced Research

Systems LT-3B) in an atomic force microscope system. The LHe recovery system shall be equipped to capture and/or store the low pressure helium gas from all four (4) exhaust ports [one (1) at each cryostat body and one (1) at each LHe transfer tube], at an equivalent rate of 17-20 L LHe per day.

Each cryostat exhausts the 0.7 L/hr at two points: (1) a 12.7 mm diameter main exhaust port at the cryostat body and (2) a port at the end of the LHe transfer line (dewar side). The He gas exhaust is at low pressure. The LHe transfer lines are 1.8 m in length.

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

The LHe recovery system shall, at a minimum, include the following:

Two (2) “feeder” dewars of at least 30 L LHe capacity which will feed each flow cryostat.

One (1) He liquefier plant capable of 17-20L /day liquefaction rates. Each flow cryostat consumes 0.7L/hr of LHe under normal operation with an estimated daily usage of 10 hrs. An additional 3-6L of LHe is anticipated for cool-down. The LHe recovery system shall handle

0.7L/hr x 10 hours x 2 cryostats + (3-6).

The system shall have the necessary number of high or medium pressure storage gas cylinders needed for the store or buffer volumes of He ga (exhaust collection).

The system shall include all necessary compressors, pumps, regulators, vales, and transfer lines needed to collect the low pressure He gas exhaust from the cryostats into the storage/buffer volumes and then transfer to the liquefier plant.

The system shall operate as follows:

1. The He liquefier plant shall transfer LHe to each separate “feeder” dewar no more than once per day.

2. The feeder dewar(s) shall then interface with the flow cryostats. Due to cryostat vibration concerns, feeder dewars must be utilized (no direct connection between the liquefier plant and the cryostats).

3. The system shall function in direct recovery mode with the compressors capturing all He gas exhaust and transferring to gas cylinders for storage (no bags or balloons).

4. The recovery system shall be plumbed in a closed loop fashion to minimize or eliminate the need for He purification.

5. The He liquefier plant shall be capable of operation in standby mode where liquefaction occurs to maintain a fixed volume of LHe in the plant with no liquid or gas transfers.

DELIVERABLE DOCUMENTATION:

The vendor shall supply physical and electronic copies of the user manual, service manual (if applicable), and relevant system schematics. The vendor shall also provide physical and electronic copies of care/calibration instructions.

DELIVERY:

FOB Destination delivery terms are required. Delivery shall be completed within five (5) months from the date of an award. The Contractor shall deliver all items to NIST, Building 301, Shipping and Receiving, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1640.

FOB Destination means: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for any loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery.

INSTALLATION:

Following delivery, the contractor shall provide on-site installation by a certified representative no later than December 1st, 2016 at Building 225, Room B65 (basement), located at the NIST campus in

Gaithersburg Maryland. The contractor shall coordinate installation with the Technical Point of Contract

[TBD], within thirty (30) days following system delivery.

Installation of the system shall include certification of the system by the contractor representative.

WARRANTY:

The contractor shall warrant the system offered, for a minimum of a one (1) year period. At a minimum, the warranty should include all parts, labor, travel for onsite technical support, and remote technical support.

PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES:

The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are hereby incorporated by reference.

All FAR clauses may be viewed at http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html.

PROVISIONS

52.204-7, System for Award Management

52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting

52.204-17, Ownership or Control of Offeror

52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items

52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (March 2015)

The offeror shall complete only paragraphs (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically via the System for Award Management (SAM) Web site accessed through http://www.acquisition.gov . If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html and certifications electronically, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (p) of this provision and provide a written submission.

52.225-4 -- Buy American -- Free Trade Agreements – Israeli Trade Act Certificate.

Buy American -- Free Trade Agreements--Israeli Trade Act Certificate (May 2014)

(a) The offeror certifies that each end product, except those listed in paragraph (b) or (c) of this provision, is a domestic end product and that for other than COTS items, the offeror has considered components of unknown origin to have been mined, produced, or manufactured outside the United States. The terms

“Bahrainian, Moroccan, Omani, Panamanian, or Peruvian end product,” “commercially available off-the-shelf item,” “component,” “domestic end product,” “end product,” “foreign end product,” “Free Trade

Agreement country,” “Free Trade Agreement country end product,” “Israeli end product,” and “United

States” are defined in the clause of this solicitation entitled “Buy American—Free Trade Agreements—

Israeli Trade Act.”

(b) The offeror certifies that the following supplies are Free Trade Agreement country end products (other than Bahrainian, Moroccan, Omani, Panamanian, or Peruvian end products) or Israeli end products as defined in the clause of this solicitation entitled “Buy American--Free Trade Agreements--Israeli Trade

Act”:

Free Trade Agreement Country End Products (Other than Bahrainian, Moroccan, Omani, Panamanian, or

Peruvian End Products) or Israeli End Products:

Line Item No.: Country of Origin:

[List as necessary]

(c) The offeror shall list those supplies that are foreign end products (other than those listed in paragraph

(b) of this provision) as defined in the clause of this solicitation entitled “Buy American--Free Trade

Agreement--Israeli Trade Act.” The offeror shall list as other foreign end products those end products manufactured in the United States that do not qualify as domestic end products, i.e., an end product that is not a COTS item and does not meet the component test in paragraph (2) of the definition of “domestic end product.”

Other Foreign End Products:

Line Item No.: Country of Origin:

[List as necessary]

(d) The Government will evaluate offers in accordance with the policies and procedures of Part 25 of the

Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(End of provision)

52.225-18, Place of Manufacture;

Offerors shall complete annual representations and certifications on-line at http://orca.bpn.gov in accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required.

52.225-25, Prohibition on Contracting with Entities Engaging in Sanctioned Activities Relating to Iran

Representation by Corporations Regarding an Unpaid Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony

Conviction Under Any Federal Law (Class Deviation) (March 2015)

(1) In accordance with Sections 744 and 745 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and Further

Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), none of the funds made available by the

Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 funding may be used to enter into a contract with any corporation that-

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

(b) 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 the agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.

(2) The Offeror represents that, as of the date of this offer-

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

(b) 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.

(End of provision)

52.203-98, Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality

Agreements—Representation (DEVIATION 2015-02)

PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES THAT REQUIRE CERTAIN INTERNAL

CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS—REPRESENTATION (FEB 2015)

(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)

CLAUSES

52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance;

52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance;

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items

52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—

Commercial Items (MAR 2015) including sub-paragraphs:

52.204-10 Reporting Executive Compensation and First Tier Contract awards

52.209-10 Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations

52.219-4, Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns

52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Representation;

52.222-3, Convict Labor;

52.222-19 Child Labor – Cooperation With Authorities And Remedies;

52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities;

52.222-26, Equal Opportunity;

52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities;

52.223-18 Contractor Policy to Ban Text Messaging While Driving;

52.225-3 --Buy American Act–Free Trade Agreements–Israeli Trade Act w/Alt I;

52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases;

52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration;

52.232-39, Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations;

52.232-40, Providing Accelerated Payment to Small Business Subcontractors;

52.247-35, F.O.B. Destination, Within Consignee’s Premises

CAR CLAUSES FULL TEXT CAN BE ACCESSED AT:

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/VFCARA.HTM

1352.201-70, Contracting Officer's Authority

1352.209-73, Compliance With the Laws

1352.209-74 Organizational Conflict of Interest

1352.246-70 Place of Acceptance (APR 2010)

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

In addition to the inspection and acceptance terms articulated in 52.212-4, the Government reserves the right to perform such performance tests and evaluations as defined below to verify specified system performance. Such tests and evaluations, if performed, shall be conducted within the environment that the system is to be operated. The Contractor has the right to be present during the tests and evaluations, if performed, at the Contractor’s expense.

Specifically, the Government will test the basic functionality of the items to ensure that it meets the system requirements listed above. The Government will complete the testing period no later than thirty

(30) days after installation and certification of the system.

INSTRUCTIONS:

System for Award Management (SAM) Registration http://farsite.hill.af.mil/VFCARA.HTM

In accordance with FAR 52.204-7, the awardee must be registered in the System for Award Management

(www.sam.gov) prior to award. Refusal to register shall forfeit award.

DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS

Offerors shall submit their quotations so that NIST receives them not later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 24th, 2016. FAX quotations shall not be accepted. E-mail quotations shall be accepted at

Christopher.mcgucken@nist.gov and Lynda.Roark@nist.gov. Please reference the RFQ number in the subject line of email communications. Quoters quotations shall not be deemed received by the

Government until the quotation is entered in the e-mail inbox set forth above.

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1, QUOTATION PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

PRICE QUOTATION:

The quoter shall submit (1) one copy of the completed price schedule. The pricing quotation shall be separate from any other portion of the quotation. The quoter shall propose a firm-fixed-price, FOB

Destination, for each CLIN. Contractor shall state express warranty coverage. Price quotations shall remain valid for a period of 90 days from the date quotations are due.

TECHNICAL QUOTATION:

The quoter shall submit one (1) copy of the technical quotation. The technical quotation shall address the following:

TECHNICAL CAPABILITY:

Technical Capability: The offeror shall submit a technical description and/or product literature for the equipment it is proposing, which clearly identifies the manufacturer, make and model. The offeror must demonstrate that its proposed equipment meets or exceeds each minimum requirement described in the statement of work by providing a citation to the relevant section of its technical description or product literature. If applicable, evidence that the Offeror is authorized by the original equipment manufacturer to provide the item(s) in the quotation should be included.

If standard product literature and/or technical descriptions do not address all required specifications, offerors must provide narratives and or explanation of the work that will be performed to meet the requirement(s). All proposed work must be addressed in sufficient detail that all technical requirements are discussed and that the intended outcome of the work can be clearly discerned.

EXPERIENCE:

The quoter shall demonstrate that they have a minimum of two (2) LHe recovery systems operating in the field. Vendors shall submit a list of at least two (2) similar systems supplied in the past five (5) years.

Information shall include the model name/number, date of sale, end user name, and end user contact information.

QUOTATION EVALUATION:

EVALUATION FACTORS:

Award shall be made to the quoter whose quotation offers the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. The Government will evaluate quotations based on the following evaluation criteria: 1) Technical Capability factor “Meeting or Exceeding the Minimum System Requirements,” 2)

Experience and 3) Price. Technical Capability and Experience, when combined, are more important than price.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITY:

All items must be new, used or refurbished instruments will not be considered for award. Evaluation of technical capability shall be based on the information provided in the quotation. NIST will evaluate whether the quoter has demonstrated that its proposed equipment meets or exceeds all system requirements. Quotations that do not demonstrate the proposed equipment meets all requirements will not be considered further for award. If a quoter does not indicate whether its proposed equipment meets a certain minimum requirement, NIST will determine that it does not.

EXPERIENCE:

NIST will evaluate the extent of the quoter’s experience successfully providing a minimum of two (2)

LHe recovery systems operating successfully in the field and will consider the relevance of the quoter’s experience to the current requirement in demonstrating prior experience.

PRICE:

The Government will evaluate price for reasonableness.

1352.233-70 AGENCY PROTESTS (APR 2010)

(a) An agency protest may be filed with either (1) the Contracting Officer, or (2) at a level above the

Contracting Officer, with the agency Protest Decision Authority. See 64 Fed. Reg. 16,651 (April 6, 1999).

(b) Agency protests filed with the Contracting Officer shall be sent to the following address:

NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION

ATTN: LYNDA ROARK, CONTRACTING OFFICER

100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

(c) Agency protests filed with the Protest Decision Authority shall be sent to the following address:

NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION

ATTN: HEAD OF THE CONTRACTING OFFICE (HCO)

100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

(d) A complete copy of all agency protest, including all attachments, shall be served upon the Contract

Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel within one day of filing a protest with either the

Contracting Officer or the Protest Decision Authority.

(e) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows:

U.S. Department of Commerce

Office of the General Counsel

Chief, Contract Law Division

Room 5893

Herbert C. Hoover Building

14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20230

FAX: (202) 482-5858

1352.233-71 GAO AND COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS PROTESTS (APR 2010)

(a) A protest may be filed with either the Government Accountability Office (GAO) or the Court of

Federal Claims unless an agency protest has been filed.

(b) A complete copy of all GAO or Court of Federal Claims protests, including all attachments, shall be served upon (i) the Contracting Officer, and (ii) the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General

Counsel, within one day of filing a protest with either GAO or the Court of Federal Claims.

(c) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows:

U.S. Department of Commerce

Office of the General Counsel

Chief, Contract Law Division

Room 5893

Herbert C. Hoover Building

14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20230

FAX: (202) 482-5858

(End of clause)