Notice of Intent to Sole Source: Maintenance Services for Rees Centron Monitoring System

THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS.  THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTE/PROPOSALS.

The purpose of this requirement is to provide the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) with maintenance services and support for a Rees Centron Monitoring System. The Rees Centron Monitoring System monitors the temperature of -80, -20/30 freezers as well as monitors and controls the temperature and CO2 levels of incubators in NIH campus buildings 35, 35A, 10 and 49. This system is a critical to the infrastructure of our scienctific and clinical research and ensures the safety and well-being of stored samples from years of collection for the purpose of finding more about diseases and cures for neurological disorders. A service agreement allows for quick repair and preventative maintenance that will ensure the Rees Centron Monitoring System will perform at peak manufacturer’s standards.  

SET ASIDE STATUS

This acquisition is NOT set aside for small businesses.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY

The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses of the Federal acquisition Regulation (FAR) in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2024-05, dated 5/22/2024.

CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION

The Government intends to issue a sole source award to the following organization:

Rees Scientific

1007 Whitehead Road

Trenton, NJ 08638

Annual sensor calibrations require access to Rees Scientific software. Rees Scientific Corp. is the sole manufacturer of the Rees Centron monitoring systems of both the hardware and software installed in NIH Bldgs. #35, #35A, #10. & #49 for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke located in Bethesda, MD. The software that runs the monitoring system is proprietary to Rees Scientific Corp and they are the developers and own the source code. No other companies or third parties have software rights or are authorized by Rees Scientific to work on; nor calibrate their monitoring systems. Upgrading of software is also included in the proposed contract and must be done by Rees Scientific in order to maintain product warranty.

• Rees Scientific is the only contractor who has manufacturer-trained and certified technicians to maintain and upgrade their patented and proprietary software and hardware.
• They are the only firm who can provide updates to their scientific equipment and software.
• They are the only firm who manufactures and certifies replacement parts for this equipment. All required parts and supplies for the Rees equipment must be purchased from Rees Scientific
• Replacement parts or accessories must be compatible with the existing Rees Scientific equipment. Compatibility with this equipment is required
• All manufacturer training is provided for Rees Scientific engineers only and no third parties are allowed.

Contract Type:

The Government intends to award a firm-fixed price type contract for these services, consistent with commercial practices.

CLOSING STATEMENT

THIS NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD ON A SOLE-SOURCE BASIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice.

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Universal Entity Identifier (UEI), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.  All responses must provide evidence that they can provide equipment that meets all of the requirements in this announcement.

All responses must be received by 08/01/2024 AT 5:00 PM EST and must reference the solicitation number 75N95024Q00478. Responses must be submitted electronically to Evan Feely, Contracting Officer, at evan.feely@nih.gov.  U.S. Mail and Fax responses will NOT be accepted.