Leica Bond-maX Immunohistochemistry (IHC) In Situ Hybridization (ISH) Stainer System Maintenance

MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY
NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL OR SOLICITATION

This is a sources sought to determine the availability and capability of small businesses to provide technically certified equipment maintenance. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is‐ 811219-Laboratory Instrument Repair and Maintenance Services; Small Business Size Standard is $19.0 million.

Part I: General Information (Introduction/Background/Scope)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Microscopy and Imaging Core facility (MIC) requires annual maintenance service on one (1) Leica Bond-maX Immunohistochemistry (IHC) In Situ Hybridization (ISH) stainer system (Serial No. M212198), including all stainer parts and accessories as well as computer system, UPS backup, label printer, barcode scanner and related all parts and accessories, with up to four (4) 1-year option periods of maintenance. This stainer system is the only system at MIC for fully automated IHC and ISH used for analyzing cell and tissue slides. The system is heavily used as a scientific tool in the research program to support the investigators. The maintenance of this system is critical to keep the system operational at optimal performance for the mission of CBER's elemental analysis for Vaccine, Blood products and Tissue product evaluation and related research. This equipment was purchased in 2012 and original warranty for the equipment expired 9/23/2013. This will be the first maintenance contract for this equipment.
Part II: Work Requirements

A. Service Requirements

At a minimum the Contractor shall:

• Perform not less than one (1) annual on-site Preventative Maintenance (PM) visit to clean, inspect, calibrate, replace and test critical parts, ie valves, hoses, connections and safety components, for both the base instrument and controller, including all labor, travel, parts, kits, subassemblies, etc.
• Provide unlimited on-site corrective/remedial maintenance/repair visits for the base instrument and controller, inclusive of all labor, travel, parts, components, subassemblies, etc. within seventy-two (72) hours of service call.
• Provide unlimited technical support, Mondays - Fridays (excluding Federal Holidays) between the hours of 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, within 8 business hours of contact for assistance (e.g., telephone-based, email-based, website-based, etc.)
• Perform all maintenance and repair activities with officially trained and certified technicians/engineers, following Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) specifications, manuals, and service bulletins, using OEM-certified new replacement parts, components, subassemblies, etc.
• Include coverage for unlimited software and firmware updates/maintenance.

B. Records and Reports:

The Contractor shall, commensurate with the completion of each service call, provide the end-user of the equipment with a copy of a field service report/ticket identifying the equipment name, manufacturer, model number, and serial number of the equipment being serviced/repaired and detailing the reason for the service call, a detailed description of the work performed, the test instruments or other equipment used to affect the repair or otherwise perform the service, the name(s) and contact information of the technician who performed the repair/service, and for information purposes, the on-site hours expended and parts/components replaced. In addition, the Contractor shall provide a written report to the FDA COR and Contract Specialist, summarizing all maintenance and repair activities each time service and/or repair is performed.

Part III: Supporting Information

A. Place of Performance

Shall be maintained at:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
Microscopy and Imaging Core Facility
Building 29, Room 500
29 Lincoln Dr.
Bethesda, MD 20892

Vendor shall coordinate all maintenance with Project Officer (to be provided with order).

B. Period of Performance

08/01/2014 - 07/31/2015 - Base with PM to be completed within 90 days of award
08/01/2015 - 07/31/2016 - Option Period 1 with PM to be completed within 90 days of
exercising of option
08/01/2016 - 07/31/2017 - Option Period 2 with PM to be completed within 90 days of
exercising of option
08/01/2017 - 07/31/2018 - Option Period 3 with PM to be completed within 90 days of exercising of option
08/01/2018 - 07/31/2019 - Option Period 4 with PM to be completed within 90 days of exercising of option

Instructions to Prospective Respondents

Responses to this sources sought shall unequivocally demonstrate that respondent has certified/trained technicians to perform the services. Though the target audience is small businesses capable of servicing the equipment, all interested parties may respond. At a minimum, responses shall include the following:

• Business name and bio, DUNS number, business address, business website, business size status (i.e., SB, VOSB, SDVOSB, HUBZone SB, 8(a), SDB, WOSB, EDWOSB, LB), point of contact name, mailing address (if different from business address), phone number and email address;

• Three (3) years of past performance information for the service of same or substantially similar items, to include date of services, description (should also include technical literature and specifications), 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 DUNS number and size status) if not the respondent;

• Descriptive literature, brochures, specifications, marketing material, etc. detailing the nature of the services the responding firm is regularly engaged in providing;

• If applicable, identification of the firm's GSA Schedule contract(s) by Schedule number and SINs that are applicable to this requirement;

• If a large business, identify the subcontracting opportunities that would exist for small business concerns;

• Although this is not a request for quote, informational pricing is encouraged;

• 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.

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

Interested Parties must respond with capability statements which are due in person, by postal mail or email to the point of contact listed below on or before
July 2, 2014 by 1:00 PM (Central Time in Jefferson, Arkansas) at the Food and Drug Administration, OC/OA/OAGS, Attn: Crystal G. McCoskey, 3900 NCTR Road, Bldg 50/Room 426, HFT‐320, Jefferson, AR 72079‐9502 or email crystal.mccoskey@fda.hhs.gov. Reference #1134816 in all correspondence with the point of contact listed above.

Notice of Intent
Responses to this sources sought announcement will assist the Government in determining whether this requirement should be set aside for small business, made available to full and open competition or procured through other than full and open 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 combined synopsis/solicitation (No. 1134816) may be published via FedBizOpps. 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).