Preventative Maintenance and Repair for Biological Safety Equipment

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is issuing an Invitation for Bid (IFB) to procure preventative maintenance and repair services for biological safety equipment at its Richmond facility. The procurement encompasses comprehensive maintenance, certification, repairs, testing, and calibration of approximately 98 Biological Safety Cabinets (BSCs), BioBUBBLE equipment, fume hoods, clean benches, and over 60 incubators distributed across four laboratory programs: the Microbial Diseases Laboratory (MDL), Viral Rickettsial Disease Laboratory (VRDL), Training Laboratory (TRNL), and Genomic Center. Services required include annual inspections of BSCs, BioBUBBLE equipment, fume hoods, and clean benches, as well as semi-annual incubator certifications, with emergency repairs to be completed within 24 hours and standard repairs within 72 hours, all performed in accordance with National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) standards and manufacturer specifications. The selected contractor must maintain accreditation by a nationally recognized quality assurance program throughout the three-year contract period and demonstrate at least three years of experience providing similar services to CDPH or comparable state or local public health laboratory environments, state and local government research laboratories, or complex multi-laboratory organizations. Questions are due by January 27, 2026, with bids due February 17, 2026, and public bid opening scheduled for February 18, 2026 at 10:00 AM. The contract will commence July 1, 2026, and run through June 30, 2029, with a possible one-year extension at CDPH's discretion. Evaluation criteria prioritize the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, with the contractor required to maintain commercial general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and comply with all state and federal requirements including intellectual property provisions and confidentiality protections.

This procurement includes several preference programs available to eligible respondents: California Certified Small Business preferences (5%), non-small business subcontractor preferences (5%), Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) incentives, and Target Area Contract Preference Act (TACPA) preferences, with a combined maximum preference not to exceed 15% or $100,000. The maximum budgeted contract amount is $450,000, and any bids exceeding this threshold will be deemed non-responsive. The cost worksheet requires bidders to submit firm unit pricing for each line item across all three years, encompassing labor, equipment, supplies, certifications, insurance, overhead, inflation adjustments, profit margins, and all other expenses necessary to perform the work; pricing must include a 10-percent contingency allowance for unanticipated parts replacement and tasks. Year 1 (July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027) baseline services include 135 BSC certifications, 150 semi-annual incubator calibrations, 20 non-CO2 incubator calibrations, and 100 CO2 incubator calibrations, with slight increases in Year 2 and Year 3, particularly in BSC certifications (150 and 165 respectively). The contractor must be NSF-certified and capable of performing the full scope of diagnostic testing support for the laboratories' occupational health and safety program in compliance with Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) requirements, which are inspected during yearly CLIA inspections.