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Small Business Sources Sought Only

This small business sources sought is issued solely for information and planning purposes.It does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation in the future. This small business sources sought notice does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service.

The Government is not at this time seeking proposals. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations.

The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified small business sources to perform a potential requirement. The small business sources sought respondents are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or costs incurred in response to this small business sources sought; all costs associated with responding to this small business sources sought will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this small business sources sought does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be issued via Sam.gov. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement, if any.

Background, Purpose, and Objective:

The Division of Laboratory Sciences (DLS) of the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), CDC, owns a significant number of Shimadzu pieces of equipment which are used to perform critical chemical analyses in support of its public health mission. These instruments are used in analyses performed for chemical terrorism/emergency response, biomonitoring, tobacco, and research and development to establish new analytical methods for a broad variety of sample types on a wide range of mission critical projects. DLS/NCEH/CDC is defined by Congress’ Federal Response Plan for Terrorism to be the single location for measuring chemical warfare agents or their metabolites in humans. The other primary responsibility of the Division is to provide measurements of environmental toxicants in humans, also known as biomonitoring.

As part of the above objective, This contract is for preventative and remedial maintenance and repair of the Shimadzu systems. This maintenance agreement for the Shimadzu systems serves to keep all instruments running optimally while eliminating costly repairs due to damaged or malfunctioning equipment parts.

Anticipated Scope of Work

C.1: Scope of Work

The contractor shall provide maintenance and repair services to keep the covered instruments properly calibrated, serviced and maintained in accordance with or to exceed the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) recommendations throughout the contract period (09/09/2023 – 09/08/2024 renewable for up to four additional option years through 09/08/2028). The contractor shall provide telephone support, on-site maintenance and repairs by qualified trained service engineers, priority response time, and coverage of all parts, travel to CDC, labor costs, and software/firmware updates and support. Maintenance service includes periodic preventative maintenance according to the specific needs of the instrument. This preventative maintenance may be performed during remedial maintenance. Repair includes any action performed on instrumentation which restores the instrument to its originally designed working order and function. Certified replacement parts must be either new or Shimadzu factory remanufactured and furnished on an exchange basis (i.e., the replaced parts become the property of the contractor). The Contractor shall ensure hardware and software installation, operation, maintenance, update, and patching will not alter the configuration settings or requirements specified above. A copy of CDC standards and procedures, including the “Mobile Device/Portable Media Standard,” will be provided to the contractor with a properly executed non-disclosure agreement under CDC policy. This agreement covers all instruments and instrument components as detailed on the quote and spreadsheet provided as part of the requisition.

C.2 Technical Requirements: The Contractor shall perform the following tasks:

1. General Service Requirements - At the completion of work at each service location, the contractor service representative shall restore the work site to its original condition. Contractor site clean-up shall include disposal of any discarded parts, empty containers, packing materials, trash and debris. All chemical spills on equipment and/or surrounding floor shall be removed, and these areas shall be cleaned to return to their original condition. The contractor shall not create or permit any safety or fire hazard to exist at the equipment site. Government-owned dumpsters may be used for disposal of waste materials except for metal parts and components, which shall be removed by the contractor. The general area of serviced equipment shall be left in a clean and orderly condition free of any trash or debris resulting from preventive maintenance and/or service activities.

1. Repair Service – 24-hour confirmation of request for repair; 48-hour response by service engineer; 5 working days timeframe to repair equipment. Routine repair service includes replacement or restoration of parts; all contractor services required to return installed CDC laboratory equipment to the operational and design specifications in accordance with OEM recommendations and requirements or exceeding them.
   
   
   
   1. The contractor shall confirm receipt within 24 hours to service call requests for instruments covered in the contract.
   
   
   2. Response (depending on the nature of the problem and as requested by CDC personnel) will be in one of the following forms:
      
      
      
      1. a telephone call and/or email troubleshooting the problem and resulting in repair of the equipment by CDC personnel
      
      
      2. dispatch of part(s) for problem resolution with instructions for replacement or repair by CDC personnel; and/or
      
      
      3. an on-site visit by a service representative. Initial confirmation of the request will be within four hours of formal service call placement.
      
      
      4. Other method that will resolve the issue and is acceptable to the CDC end user
      
      
      
      
   
   
   3. If the contractor service representative is unable to complete required service and return equipment to good working condition during the initial service call, the contractor shall provide a senior service representative on-site, to resolve any remaining problems within 5 working days. If the repair requires additional time a written plan must be agreed upon between the Government and the Contractor. Contractor workmanship shall be at or above industry quality standards, and any government notice of non-acceptability shall be rectified by the contractor within 48 hours of notice, at no additional cost to the government.
   
   
   4. Necessary replacement parts shall be “new” not “used” or “reconditioned” (unless mutually agreed to by the CDC program in advance and replacement parts are Shimadzu Reconditioned). The cost of labor, travel, replacement materials, parts or supplies required to complete routine repair of CDC laboratory equipment and restore to OEM operational specifications shall be the sole responsibility of the contractor and shall be provided at no additional cost to the government.
   
   
   5. CDC procedures for barcoded equipment replacement will be followed, which includes clearly documenting the equipment serial number(s) and barcode(s) as well as procuring needed paperwork prior to removal from CDC possession.
   
   
   6. During situations where the CDC laboratory is responding to a national emergency, the Contractor shall provide repair services required as needed 24 hours per day, 7 days per week at additional costs to the government. The Contractor shall provide a point of contact available to receive service requests in after-hour times. The Contractor shall respond within four (4) hours to notification of problems or equipment failure and shall perform repairs as necessary to put the system back into service.
   
   
   7. For any loaner or mail in repair service, the Contractor shall pay for all shipping charges for equipment return, repair, loaner or replacement.
   
   
   8. In the event that covered equipment is to be relocated to an alternate site, the Contractor shall provide appropriate service to ensure the safe transport, installation, and ensure the full operational condition of the equipment in the new location at no additional cost to the Government.
   
   
   9. The Contractor shall ensure hardware and software installation, operation, maintenance, update, and patching will not alter the configuration settings or OEM operational specifications.
   
   
   10. The Contractor shall guarantee that the service performed along with the products and parts supplied to repair or replace the equipment conforms to standards of workmanship prevailing in the trade.
   
   
   
   

1. Software Upgrades – The Contractor must provide and install software and firmware upgrades, version upgrades, or new applications designed to replace old applications within 6 months following release of the updated software. Any software presented under the contract, whether transferred to CDC via portable media (CDs, thumb drives etc.), ftp sites, email or other means, must be scanned using CDC approved anti-virus program with up-to-date definitions prior to installation on CDC computers. In addition, portable media (except for required software downloads under the terms of the contract--see above) and mobile devices (laptops, PDAs, phones, MP3 players, cameras or similar equipment) shall not be connected to CDC networks or computers.
   
   
   
   1. A copy of CDC standards and procedures, including the “OCISO Standard for Portable Media and Mobile Device Security,” will be provided to the contractor with a properly executed non-disclosure agreement under CDC policy.
   
   
   2. The Contractor shall ensure IT applications operated on behalf of HHS are fully functional and operate correctly on systems configured in accordance with the above configuration requirements.
   
   
   3. The Contractor shall use Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP)-validated tools with FDCC Scanner capability to ensure its products operate correctly with FDCC configurations and do not alter FDCC settings--see http://nvd.nist.gov/validation.cfm. The Contractor shall test applicable product versions with all relevant and current updates and patches installed.
   
   
   4. The Contractor shall ensure currently supported versions of information technology products meet the latest FDCC major version and subsequent major versions.
   
   
   5. The Contractor shall ensure IT applications designed for end users run in the standard user context without requiring elevated administrative privileges.
   
   
   
   

1. Preventative Maintenance - The contractor shall perform electrical and mechanical preventive maintenance services on CDC laboratory equipment as specified by order in accordance with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) recommendations and requirements or exceeding them.
   
   
   
   1. Preventive maintenance services include periodic inspections and on-site service of installed equipment, in accordance with OEM recommendations or exceeding them; including, but not limited to cleaning, calibration, adjustments, replacement or restoration of parts, as necessary, and all services required to return equipment to OEM operational and design specifications.
   
   
   2. Preventive maintenance services shall be performed, in accordance with a contractor proposed schedule, which shall be coordinated with CDC scientists
   
   
   3. The contractor shall provide a copy of the preventative maintenance schedule to the COR within 2 months of contract award or new option year, to minimize disruption to planned laboratory experiments.
   
   
   4. To the maximum extent possible individual equipment preventative maintenance services shall be coordinated to maximize efficiency and reduce preventative maintenance costs.
   
   
   5. The contractor shall provide all consumables and reagents used for troubleshooting and performance verification testing both for preventative maintenance visits and repairs.
   
   
   6. Provide no cost repairs to any nonoperational or defective instrumentation that result from normal operation and usage.
   
   
   
   

1. Service Engineers – Service engineers are considered visitors and must have proper approved access into CDC laboratories. Service engineers must follow all CDC policies and procedures and abide by all DLS laboratory safety requirements.
   
   
   
   1. At CDC all non-U.S. citizen service engineers are required to register 10 days prior to a visit through the Non-U.S. Citizens Access Management System (NCAMS). Due to the time sensitivity of instrument repairs and maintenance it is required that field service engineers be a U.S. citizen or plan accordingly to ensure no delay to service.
   
   
   2. On-site Contractor operations are subject to compliance with all applicable OSHA rules and regulations. All incidents and injuries to Contractor employees shall be promptly investigated by the Contractor. A copy of the incident report shall be furnished to the COR and the Contracting Officer.
   
   
   3. The service engineers shall provide CDC with Shimadzu certificate of trainings requisite for DLS instrumentation in order to maintain records necessary for CDC equipment Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certification.
   
   
   4. CDC badges may be given to service engineers that visit CDC/DLS regularly and considered essential by the Contracting Officer Representative.
      
      
      
      1. Service Engineers are required to take NCEH/DLS Safety Survival Skills I training in order to receive a badge.
      
      
      2. CDC Badges may be revoked at any time by the Contracting Officer Representative.
      
      
      
      
   
   
   5. Service engineers should follow CDC standards of conduct and ethics.
   
   
   
   

1. Service Records – The Contractor shall provide a service invoice (field service report) to the instrument user and the COR/technical monitor detailing the work that was completed following remedial and preventative maintenance.
   
   
   
   1. Provide to the user a printout and/or electronic copy of calibration verification performed during preventative maintenance to include in instrument logs.
   
   
   2. At a minimum, service tickets shall contain the following information: Contract Order #, Manufacturer, Model Number, Serial Number, Program Contact, Location, Type of Service (preventive maintenance, routine repair, etc.), Date of Service and a Description of Service that was performed (i.e. calibration, parts replaced, etc.) for each instrument.
   
   
   
   

C.3 Special Considerations:

1. The contract will specify a list of equipment to be covered by the contract. The equipment list will be evaluated at least semi-annually to determine if new equipment needs to be added or taken off the list. Changes to the equipment list will be done by modification to the contract. The Government does not guarantee any quantity of equipment for any of the services.

1. The contractor shall waive any re-certification/reinstatement fee for new equipment to be added to the contract for at least 90 days following the warranty period.

1. Removing Devices with CDC Information from CDC Premises

Contractor shall scan all media (CDs, DVDs, portable hard drives, thumb drives, etc.) used for upgrading and installing the vendor’s software/firmware with antivirus software that has the latest virus signatures. The scans shall occur before using the media in a CDC computer/device and when moving the media between CDC computers/devices.

If in the performance of this contract, the contractor must replace an information storage device (hard drive, non-volatile flash memory module, etc.) or service equipment offsite, the contractor must remove the information storage device(s) from the equipment and provide it to CDC to be either destroyed or erased. The contractor shall not bring off-site any part of the equipment they are servicing that contains CDC data.

Capability Requirements:

To be deemed capable of providing the required services, interested parties must submit a written capability statement. Organizations that submit statements in response to this notice will be evaluated against the following technical areas of experience and expertise:

1. Ability to perform the work as described in scope of work - trained technicians, reporting software


2. Past performance/references from contracts within the past 3 years


3. Ability to respond in time frame required by the contract. How will you guarantee this?


4. Parts procurement – ability to acquire parts/supplies in timely fashion. How will you guarantee that you can do this?


5. Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan – what methology will you be using to assure that your quality and performance is up to par? What type of software or documentation will you be using to summarize this data?

Responses:

Interested parties believing that they possess the expertise and experience to meet the Government's needs described above are invited to submit a capability statement with their technical and management capabilities addressing the requirements.

Interested parties are requested to include the following information in their response:

1. Company name, address, phone number;


2. UEI and CAGE Code as registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at http://www.betaSam.gov/


3. Business size and Classification (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code of 811210 – Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance.


4. Small Business Administration Business Opportunity Specialist (name, email address, phone number) if applicable.


5. Point(s) of contact including e-mail addresses and telephone numbers for contacts.

Submission Instructions:

Responses are due via email on or before March 30, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time to Marva Lewis, email address: knn5@cdc.gov. Only emailed responses will be accepted.

Copy and paste into subject line: Response to Sources Sought for DLS of the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) (insert your company name).

Responses are limited to 10 pages, 11pt Times New Roman font. Responses greater than 10 one-sided pages will not be considered.

Attachments: The Equipment List

Late responses will not be accepted.

Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in the response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

This is strictly market research and the Government will not entertain any questions or phone calls.

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