Sources Sought HFP-2025-129690 vFinal.pdf

MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY

NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL OR SOLICITATION

Service Contract for XPLORA Raman Confocal Microscope

HFP-2025-129690

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is conducting market research to support the acquisition of a service contract for the Office of Laboratory Operations and Applied Science (OLOAS), Office of Microbiology and Technology (OAMT), Division of Food Processing Science and Technology (DFPST)’s XPLORA (Horiba) confocal Raman microscope with enhanced darkfield / hyperspectral imaging accessory.

The FDA is seeking small business sources to determine the availability and capability of small businesses capable of providing the required product. Other Than Small Business (OTSB) concerns are also encouraged to submit capability statements. The following information is provided to assist the FDA in conducting Market Research to identify potential contractors for this effort.

The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is - 811210 – Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance; the applicable Small Business Size Standard is $34 million.

Statement of Work

See below.

Alternative Solutions

Alternative solutions will be considered insofar as any such alternate system and/or system components meet the minimum intended use of the system and brand name or equal technical requirements.

The offeror shall furnish sufficient technical information necessary for the Government to conclusively determine that the offered products/services and components meet the technical requirements identified above.

Response Instructions

Though the target audience is small business manufacturers or small businesses capable of supplying a U.S. made product/service of a small business manufacturer or producer all interested parties may respond. At a minimum, responses shall include the following:

Section 1: Respondent Overview

- Business name, SAM Unique Entity ID number, business address, business website, business size status (i.e., SB, VOSB, SDVOSB, HUBZone SB, SDB, WOSB, LB), point of contact name, mailing address (if different from business address), phone number and email address.

Section 2: Descriptive Information

- Sufficient descriptive literature that unequivocally demonstrates that offered products and services can meet the above requirements.

- All descriptive material necessary for the government to determine whether the service/product offered meets the technical requirements including technical specifications, ISO certifications, descriptive material, literature, brochures, and other information, which demonstrates the capabilities of the contractor to meet the requirement.

Section 3: Past Performance

- Three (3) years of past performance service information, if not the manufacturer of the equipment identified herein, where the respondent has provided same or substantially similar service solutions on the same or near-same brand name equipment.

- For each past performance reference include the date of sale, description, dollar value, client name, client address, client point of contact name, client point of contact mailing address (if different from that provided for client), client point of contact phone number, client point of contact email address, and name of the manufacturer (to include SAM Unique Entity ID number and size status) if not the respondent.

Section 4: Capabilities and Delivery

- The offeror’s capability to meet the delivery requirements within the time specified above.

- The Offeror’s point of view on a purchase versus lease as alternatives.

- Estimated historical on-site response time from the initial call for service until a service technician was on-site for the brand name and model of instrument in this solicitation or a standard target time for onsite performance from initiation of service call.

- If applicable, identification of the firm's GSA Schedule contract(s) by Schedule number and SINs that are applicable to this potential requirement. Detailed list of items included and not included on the GSA contract to meet this requirement.

- If applicable, identification of Best in Class (BIC) contract information or other Government-wide or HHS-wide contracts that the equipment/service is available on.

- Capability and understanding of accessibility testing and customization to conform with the applicable Section 508 standards identified herein.

Provide information if the respondent has an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) for the products offered for the Revised 508 Standards.

The ACR should be based on the Voluntary Product Accessibility

Template Version 2.0 (MS Word) provided by the Industry Technology Industry Council (ITIC).

- Identification of any specifications deemed too restrictive.

- If a large business, identify the subcontracting opportunities that would exist for small business concerns.

- Standard commercial warranty and payment terms.

- Place of product manufacture or service performance and any other applicable information to enable review and analysis pertaining to the Buy American statute and requirements relating to Made in America in the event a nonavailability waiver request through the MIAO Digital Waiver Portal is needed.

- Though this is not a request for quote, informational pricing is encouraged for both the purchase of the instrument and a lease of the instrument.

The government is not responsible for locating or securing any information, not identified in the response.

The Government encourages any comments and/or suggestions from any interested party, regarding the specifications. While the Government will not respond directly to your comments and/or suggestions; we will consider them as we finalize the specifications in preparation for the forthcoming solicitation.

Interested Parties shall respond with capability statements which are due by email to the point of contact listed below on or before July 10, 2025 by 13:00 hours (Central Time in Jefferson, Arkansas) to david.kramer@fda.hhs.gov. Reference HFP-2025-129690.

Notice of Intent

Responses to this Sources Sought announcement will assist the Government in determining whether any future requirement similar to this one should be set aside for small business, made available to full and open competition, or procure through sole-source acquisition procedures.

Disclaimer and Important Notes

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in sam.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

OAMT Statement of Work (SOW)

Service Contract for XPLORA Raman Confocal Microscope

HFP-2025-129690

1. Purpose

The purpose of this requirement is to acquire a multi-year service contract for the Office of Laboratory Operations and Applied Science (OLOAS), Office of Microbiology and Technology (OAMT), Division of Food Processing Science and Technology (DFPST)’s XPLORA (Horiba) confocal Raman microscope with enhanced darkfield / hyperspectral imaging accessory.

2. Background

DFPST currently possesses a state-of-the-art Horiba XPLORA confocal Raman imaging system with enhanced darkfield / hyperspectral imaging accessory. This instrument is used to support a range of food packaging, sensing, and chemistry projects at DFPST. The device was procured in FY2020, serial number 1429 and there is no current maintenance contract.

To ensure that data acquired with this instrument are accurate and reliable, the Raman imaging system needs yearly professional calibration / alignment in accordance with manufacturer specifications and potential unscheduled maintenance. Calibration and alignment ensure that the Raman system has maximum sensitivity and that measured geometrical parameters (object size and inter-object distance, etc.) are accurate in accordance with manufacturer specifications. Additionally, the instrument may malfunction, necessitating emergency repair. Ensuring that project milestones are completed in a timely manner requires that instrument downtime associated with addressing malfunctions be minimized.

For these reasons, DFPST requests a yearly service contract that includes a yearly preventative maintenance visit or emergency service, as well as remote support for more routine (hardware or software) malfunctions. At present there is no maintenance contract in place for the Raman microscope.

3. Scope

Service contract for DFPST’s XPLORA Raman confocal microscope with enhanced darkfield / hyperspectral imaging accessory.

4. Specific Tasks

In execution of this contract, the service provider shall:

Task 1: Provide a service contract that encompasses both the confocal Raman microscope and enhanced darkfield / hyperspectral imaging system. (XPlorA base instrument serial number: 1293.)

Task 2: Provide one (1) preventative maintenance visit per year or one emergency visit per year.

Task 3: Provide unlimited remote support via phone or via email with response within one (1) business day.

Task 4: Conduct emergency visits within five (5) business days of request.

Task 5: Provide unlimited remote diagnostic services and unlimited telephone support during normal business hours.

Task 6: Perform services to ensure instrument operates with maximum sensitivity and accuracy.

Task 7: Minimize downtime to less than ten (10) business days due to instrument malfunction.

5. Performance Requirements

In execution of this contract, the service provider shall meet the following performance requirements:

The service contract shall include the cost of one on-site repair service, including emergency repair, parts, labor, and travel or a preventative maintenance visit per Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) specifications.

The services shall be performed between normal business hours of 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET, Monday through Friday.

The preventative maintenance shall include complete system optical alignment, cleaning and lubrication of optics and mechanical parts, calibration, and validation test.

The preventative maintenance shall include written documentation of the calibration and validation test performance.

The contract shall include all travel costs, labor costs, and parts costs (plus shipping).

The service shall be delivered using original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts.

The service shall include unlimited software and firmware updates.

6. Deliverables

Deliverable 1: Service Reports. The contractor shall provide service reports clearly identifying the work performed in contractor format distributed by email to the designated POC.

7. Government-Furnished Property, Material, Equipment, or Information (GFP, GFM, GFE, or GFI)

N/A

8. Contractor Provided Special Material Requirements

9. Security

The work described in this Statement of Work is non-sensitive.

Contractor engineers shall be accompanied by FDA staff during service visits. Contractor shall receive training on general laboratory security and safety prior to performing services.

10. Travel

Service contract should include all travel by the contractor to FDA’s Moffett center for on-site servicing of the Raman microscope system.

11. Other Considerations

12. Place of Performance

This service contract shall include on-site service of the Raman microscope at:

FDA Moffett Campus 6502 South Archer Road Bedford Park IL 60501.

13. Holidays and Government Closures

The Contractor is not required to provide on-site services on the following days that are Federal Holidays or on any other day designated as a Federal holiday for the Washington, DC area:

New Year’s Day Martin Luther King Day President’s Day Memorial Day Juneteenth Independence Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veteran’s Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day

In the event of inclement weather when the Federal government is closed, the Contractor is not required to provide on-site service. The Contractor is required to follow, as a minimum, other directives issued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or other such official for late arrivals due to inclement weather (unless otherwise specified in the Contract).

In the event the Federal Government is closed by order of the President of the United States or the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for any reason, or the agency, the center or the building is closed for administrative or safety reasons, the Contractor shall follow directives issued by responsible officials concerning reporting for work.

14. Period of Performance

Anticipated Dates for the Option year based on the date of the actual award and actual warranty date are as follows:

Award date: 8/1/25

Delivery date, ninety (90) days after award: 10/30/25

Warranty Period: 11/1/25 – 10/31/27

Optional Post-warranty Service: 11/1/27 – 10/31/29

15. Contract Administration

The FDA Contracting Officer Representative (COR):

To be provided at time of award

Technical Point of Contact (POC):

To be provided at time of award.