J065--Tech Support Package-PM BD FACS Symphony A3 flow cytometer

Regional Procurement Office (RPO) - East intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with BECTON, DICKINSON AND COMPANY, 1, Becton Drive, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey 07417-1880, to purchase Tech-Support preventative maintenance for BD FACS Symphony A3 flow cytometer. For the VA Ann Arbor Health Care System. Becton Dickinson and Company is the only capable entity to provide services for its proprietary equipment.

Statement of Work

General Objectives and Requirements

Title: Service Contract for BD FACS Symphony A3

Authority for the project: Christine Basmajian, PhD, Deputy Associate Chief of Staff, Research Service, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System

Purpose of the project: The purpose of this project is to obtain a service contract for a VA-owned piece of equipment, called the BD FACS Symphony A3 Cell Analyzer, which we will refer to as a flow cytometer . The service contract would cover both scheduled maintenance visits and also cover repair costs and technical support, all of which are needed to keep the flow cytometer in operating condition.

Background: The flow cytometer was purchased in April 2023 by the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. The flow cytometer is central to the research needs of multiple investigators with VA-funded research projects, currently including Drs. Basmajian Curtis, Ganguly, Deng, Keshamouni, Olszewski, Goughenour, and Osterholzer. The VA-funded projects supported by the flow cytometer include topics relevant to Veteran health, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), post-deployment health, particularly centered around toxic airborne exposures, host responses to pathogens, including COVID-19, cancer, and others. The flow cytometer is used on a daily basis, frequently for many hours during the day. The initial purchase came with a 2-year warranty which included bi-annual preventative maintenance visits and service visits plus any necessary repairs. A service contract is important to keep the flow cytometer operating at peak performance and to minimize any disruptions or downtimes caused by technical issues or equipment malfunction.

Scope and Methodology: The Service Contract needs the following:

-Two preventive maintenance visits per twelve-month period: These visits must be performed by a qualified technician. The technician must arrange the visit in advance with a designated point of contact to ensure that the flow cytometer will not be in use by research staff. Travel expenses and parts needed for the visit must be included in the contract. The technician will inspect the flow cytometer electronics, lasers, FACS Flow supply system, and other parts to ensure optimal performance. Any performance issues must be remedied.

-Two preventive maintenance kits must be provided during the twelve-month period: These kits are used by the technician when conducing the preventive maintenance visit. They are also available for laboratory staff when minor fixes are needed. Examples include replacing o-ring gaskets, or de-clogging the sample port.

-Technical support over the phone: If VA research staff identify issues with the flow cytometer performance, they must be able to obtain technical support by telephone. The technical support staff should be able to talk the research staff member through potential solutions or fixes to the problem.

-On-site service: If technical support over the phone is not able to adequately address the issue that the research staff are experiencing, a qualified technician must be provided to perform on-site service. On-site service should be provided Monday through Friday (excluding holidays). Travel expenses (Monday Friday, excluding holidays) and parts needed for the visit must be included in the contract. It is important that emergency on-site service visits can take place within a 48-hour (Monday through Friday, excluding holidays) turn-around time to minimize disruption and down-time which could otherwise result in the loss of experiments.

Tasks and Associated Deliverables

Description of tasks and associated deliverables: The service contract must be able to support the routing maintenance, trouble-shooting, and repair of the following instrumentation and components:

Components:

Sub-components

Net PRICE

FACSSymphony A3

Laser Coherent OBIS 488-100 LS SORP

SSC Detector Decagon with specific detectors:

BB515 Detector (505LP; 515/20)

BB630 Detector (600 LP; 610/20)

BB700 Detector (690 LP; 710/750)

BB790 Detector (770 LP; 780/60)

Laser OBIS 637-140 LX SORP

Detector Decagon w/o SSC with specific detectors:

APC Detector (650LP; 670/30)

Alexa 700 Detector (690 LP; 710/750)

APC-Cy7 Detector (750 LP; 780/60)

Laser Violet Coherent OBIS 405-100 LX

Detector Decagon w/o SSC with specific detectors:

BV421 Detector (410 LP; 431/28)

BV480 Detector (450 LP; 470/14)

BV605 Detector (600 LP; 610/20)

BV650 Detector (635 LP; 670/30)

BV711 Detector (690 LP; 710/50)

BV786 Detector (750 LP; 780/60)

Laser System UV-G4 355-20 W/BE SORP

UV Detector Decagon w/o SSC with specific detectors:

BUV396 Detector (378/29)

BUV496 Detector (450LP: 515/30)

BUV563 Detector (550LP: 586/15)

BUV661 Detector (635 LP: 670/30

BUV737 Detector (690 LP; 740/35)

BUV805 Detector (770 LP; 820/60)

Laser Coherent OBIS 561-100 LS SORP

Detector Decagon w/o SSC with specific detectors:

PE with 561 Detector (570 LP: 586/15)

PE CF594 Detector (600 LP: 610/20)

PE Cy5 Detector (650 LP: 670/30)

PE Cy7 Detector (750 LP: 780/60)

FACSflow Supply System

X-Optic 450/50 (410 LP; 450/50)

X-Optic 515/30 (450 LP: 515/30)

Coherent connection with integration kit

FACS Diva software

Tasks and deliverables include the following:

-Preventive maintenance visits by qualified personnel (two visits in 12-month period)

-Preventive maintenance kits (two kits in 12-month period)

-Unlimited technical support by phone

-Unlimited on-site visits by qualified personnel (Monday-Friday, excluding holidays) if problems are not resolved by phone support

-Any parts, labor, or repairs needed as determined by the qualified personnel to ensure the flow cytometer is operating at peak performance

Reporting requirement: The results of the preventive maintenance visits and all on-site visits will be provided by e-mail to the designated VA point-of-contact. Plans for on-site visits will be communicated with the point-of-contact. Verbal communication will also be used to provide updates regarding any issues with the flow cytometer and should include the plan of action to repair the flow cytometer, any parts that need to be ordered, and the anticipated time by which the repairs should be complete.

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. Any responsible sources who wish to identify their interest and capability to provide this equipment or equipment that is compatible must notify this Contract Specialist at mae.mcgarry@va.gov NLT Thursday, April 24th, 2025 by 11:59 AM EST. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Upon receipt of the interested parties' notification, the Contract Specialist will determine whether to conduct a competitive procurement or proceed with sole source negotiations.