Sources Sought PCA-NINDS-05708.docx

Bulk Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Carbon Dioxide Sources Sought Notice Solicitation Notice Number: PCA-NINDS-05708

Contracting Office Address Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Office of Acquisitions, OA Office of the Director, OD 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 537-S, Bethesda, MD, 20892.

Introduction This is a notice issued on behalf of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Acquisitions, OA Office of the Director, OD, DHHS, UNITED STATES. This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this Sources Sought is to seek the availability and capability of small business concerns, including 8(a) small business and/or small qualified small business concerns [including Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB), Woman-owned Small Businesses (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Businesses, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB] that are interested in and capable of performing the work described in the statement of work. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.

Background The National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is seeking small businesses with the ability to provide a comprehensive bulk gas solution for the procurement of gases and related products and services for use in biomedical research.

STATEMENT OF NEED:

The primary objective of this contract is to provide the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) with a comprehensive bulk gas solution for the procurement of gases and related products and services for use in biomedical research. Specifically, the Government requires medical grade bulk oxygen (gas), nitrogen (liquid), and carbon dioxide (gas) and associated support on an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) basis. The period of performance for this requirement shall be five years from the effective date of award.

NINDS seeks an innovative approach for this Requirement that ensures accuracy and cost-effectiveness. The Contractor shall provide all resources necessary to accomplish the tasks and deliverables described in this Statement of Work (SOW).

1. Bulk Gas

The Contractor shall provide bulk gases which meet the specifications detailed below.

a. Nitrogen NF (Medical Grade, Approved for Human Drug Use):

b. Oxygen USP (Medical Grade, Approved for Human Drug Use):

The overall maximum estimated bulk gas requirements are detailed in Table 1 below. The minimum contract quantities are detailed in Table 2.

Table 1: Overall Maximum Estimated Requirements

(Usage estimated to increase 3% year over year) 1,439,208 Cubic Feet

(Usage estimated to increase 3% year over year) 752,904 Pounds

Table 2: Minimum Quantity to be Ordered for the Life of the Contract

2. Bulk Gas Management

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) owns bulk gas tanks with telemetry monitoring systems for liquid nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. The Contractor shall provide the required bulk gases to the NINDS-owned tanks and shall supply all equipment necessary for delivery of the gases into the tanks. Please find tank information detailed below:

1. One (1) Oxygen 1500-gallon tank

2. One (1) Nitrogen 6000-gallon tank

3. One (1) Carbon Dioxide 6-ton tank

A spill pad is included on the CO2 tank, and a safety wall exists between the oxygen and liquid nitrogen tanks.

3. Customer Support

The Contractor shall respond to telephone to support requests within 30 minutes during business hours (9:00 AM to 5:00 PM) and shall provide on-site support during business hours as necessary within 24 hours following a telephone request. The Contractor must have one or more mechanisms available to process emergency orders (e.g., emergency phone line, website portal, etc.) and the ability to fulfill emergency orders within 4 hours.

Support will include diagnosis of equipment when pressure fluctuations occur or any other equipment concern arises, removal of ice balls when they impair access to tank valves and gauges, and visual inspection of tank-telemetry equipment and gas levels during delivery. Visual inspections shall be provided as part of the overall bulk gas solution. Should repairs be required, the Contractor shall provide a budgetary quote and description of the diagnosed problem for consideration.

The Contractor shall monitor levels of all three gas tanks on at least a twice weekly basis and make recommendations when observed gas levels are at a quarter tank or lower. The Contractor shall also make recommendations when observed gas levels are at a point that tank safety may be in question.

4. Delivery

In accordance with an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, each bulk gas shall be delivered a minimum of twice monthly or at a maximum of five deliveries per month as demand necessitates. The Contractor must accommodate a 6:00 AM, Bethesda, MD local time, or earlier, delivery schedule to offset loading dock constraints as required.

Delivery must be made within 24-48 hours after order placement. In the event of an emergency, however, ordered quantities must be delivered on the day of order placement. Emergency same-day deliveries shall not exceed four (4) per year. The Contractor must have one or more mechanisms available to process emergency orders (e.g., emergency phone line, website portal, etc.) and the ability to fulfill emergency orders within 4 hours.

5. Ordering and Receiving

The maximum quantity that the Government may order over the life of the IDIQ contract is detailed in column three of Table 1. The minimum quantity to be ordered for the life of the contract is detailed in Table 2. Please note that the minimum quantity might not be ordered in one record of call, but would be ordered over the life of the contract.

Orders issued under this contract may be placed in writing or via electronic mail (e-mail) by the authorized designee(s). The authorized designee(s) shall be identified at time of award. The Contractor representative(s) authorized to receive and accept orders placed by telephone shall be identified at time of award. Each delivery must be accompanied by evidence of delivery/performance. Orders shall not be made more than once every two weeks. Orders may be set up to be recurring, at the discretion of the authorized Federal designee but each delivery must be individually accepted by the authorized Federal designee. Ordered quantities must be delivered within 24-48 hours after order placement.

In the event of an emergency, however, ordered quantities must be delivered on the day of order placement. Emergency same-day deliveries shall not exceed 4 per year. The Offeror must have one or more mechanisms available to process emergency orders (e.g., emergency phone line, website portal, etc.) and the ability to fulfill emergency orders within 4 hours.

All orders delivered under this contract must be verified by the authorized Federal designee(s). The authorized Federal designee shall formally document all orders received. Toward this end, the Contractor shall provide the Government with two copies of a statement of delivery each time an order is delivered. The authorized Federal designee shall verify and sign off on these statements and the authorized Federal designee shall retain one for Government records. This written documentation of approved receiving shall be necessary to authorize Contractor payment.

Bulk gas delivery shall be performed at National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Building 35 Back Loading Dock, Bethesda MD 20892.

The Contractor shall employ a technical approach, utilize organizational resources, and implement management controls to achieve the cost, schedule, and performance requirements throughout the execution of the Contract Requirements. The Contractor shall be responsible for providing, managing, and overseeing its personnel, as well as any subcontractor/consultant efforts used in the performance of the Contract Requirements.

Capability Statement Small business concerns that believe they possess the capabilities necessary to undertake this work should submit complete documentation of their capabilities to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement should include:

1)Name and address of the vendor,

2) Size and type of business,

3) Point of contact with the name, title, phone, fax, and email,

4) UEI number.

5) the professional qualifications of experts, and technical personnel as it relates to the above outlined requirements, any other information considered relevant to this service.

The capability statement must not exceed 7 pages. Interested small business organizations are required to identify their size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone numbers of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number.

Responses to this requirement must include clear and convincing evidence of the offeror’s capability of fulfilling the requirement as it relates to the technical evaluation criteria.

1. The Offeror must document the ability to provide all of the gases noted in this solicitation in the estimated annual quantities in its quotation.

2. The Offeror must document that its gases meet the gas specification requirements.

3. The Offeror must document ability to meet the customer support requirements detailed in this solicitation.

4. The Offeror must document ability to meet the delivery and ordering & receiving requirements detailed in this solicitation to ensure that the government does not run low or run out of the bulk gases. The offeror must provide evidence of real-time telemetry monitoring to ensure that this requirement is met.

Point of Contact:

Luz Casey, Contract Specialist, Office of the Director, OD, Luz.Casey@nih.gov.

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Office of Acquisition, Office of the Director, 6701 Rockledge Dr., Rm 537-S, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA Submission Instructions:

Interested parties shall submit capability statements via email to Luz Casey at Luz.Casey@nih.gov. Due Tuesday, July 14, 2026 @ 09:00 am EST.

All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the response. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your 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 provide the item. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. 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 review of the responses received, pre-solicitation and solicitation notices will be published in SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number.