6515--Automatic Tablet Cutter

THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) / SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE IS ISSUED  SOLELY FOR INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION ABOUT PRICING, DELIVERY, THE MARKET, AND CAPABILITIES IS HIGHLY ENCOURAGED AND ALLOWED UNDER THIS RFI FOR PLANNING PURPOSES IN ACCORDANCE WITH (IAW) FAR 15.201(e). DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. IAW FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. SOURCES SOUGHT/RFI DESCRIPTION This is NOT a solicitation announcement. This is a Sources Sought Notice / RFI only. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice / RFI is to gain information about potential qualified sources and their size classification relative to NAICS 339112 (size standard of 1,000 Employees). Responses to this Sources Sought Notice / RFI will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. After review of the responses to this Sources Sought Notice / RFI, further RFIs and/or a solicitation or other announcements may be published. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking sources capable of providing Automated Tablet Cutter equivalent to Swisslog ezCut Tablet Cutter.
STATEMENT OF WORK
Background: The VA Greater Los Angeles Inpatient Pharmacy Department is required to prepare and distribute medications in their final form. There are occasions when patients require doses that are not commercially available and therefore tablets are required to be split. Current practice is for pharmacy staff to manually split tablets using a plastic, disposable tablet splitter. Time spent splitting tablets could be better utilized in another task. Pharmacy splits over 5000 tablets a quarter, resulting in many hours of pharmacy technician time that can be utilized for other tasks that require close attention. Procurement of an automatic tablet splitter would allow for precise tablet cutting and increased workflow efficiency, cutting down time required to split. An automatic device can perform in a minute what a technician would typically dedicate an hour of time to produce
Objective: Department of Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System Pharmacy Department is looking for a contractor who can provide an automatic tablet splitting device that is capable of accurately splitting and then sorting split oral solid medications. Procurement of an automatic tablet splitter shall enable reallocation of labor to focus on less manual and tedious tasks and accurately split tablets with efficiency.
Scope: The contractor shall provide Swisslog ezCut Tablet Cutter or an equivalent standalone equipment solution that meets the capabilities and specifications mentioned under salient characteristics.
Place of Performance: VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System 11301 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90073
Period of Performance: 90 days after receipt of order (ARO)
Deliverables: CLIN Description Qty UOM 0001 Swisslog ezCut Tablet Cutter or equivalent Automated Tablet Cutter that meets or exceeds listed salient/functional characteristics 1 EA
Salient Characteristics: Must be robust stand-alone system Must be compact; must be within 1 of 9.9 H x 9.4 W x 16 D Must not exceed 35 pounds Must have Automatic shape recognition Must be Canister-free operation Must have irregular tablet identification capable of recognizing faulty tablets (e.g., irregular shapes, damaged tablets, unregistered shapes) Must automatically separate rejected pills into a separate collection cup, ensuring only accurate doses are dispensed Must have a capability of pill counting Hygienic workflow what is determined to be hygienic workflow? Cutting speed must go up to 20 tablets per minute at minimum Must demonstrate precise cutting accuracy with no more than 5% variance Must count a minimum of 60 to 80 tablets per minute Must identify and recognize round and oblong tablets at minimum; any additional shape identification is acceptable Must have a minimum of 12 months warranty at no additional cost to the Government
The list of DRAFT characteristics is intended to be descriptive, not restrictive, of the supplies/services that are required. If your company is interested and capable of providing the required supplies/services, please provide the information indicated below. Response to this notice should include company name, address, point of contact, size of business pursuant to the following questions: (1) Submit your capabilities statement illustrating how your organization can/cannot meet the list of SOW requirements. For instances where your company cannot meet the SOW requirement(s), please explain. For instances where your company can meet the SOW requirement(s), please show how your company meets/exceeds each requirement. (2) Please review the list of SOW requirements and provide any additional feedback or suggestions. If none, please reply as N/A. (3) Please indicate the size status and representations of your business, such as but not limited to: Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), HUBZone, Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Large Business, etc. (4) Is your company considered small under the NAICS code identified in this RFI? (5) Are you the manufacturer, authorized distributor, and/or can your company provide a solution to the required supplies/services described in the list of SOW? (6) If you are a large business, do you have any designated/authorized distributors? If so, please provide their company name, telephone, point of contact and size status (if available). (7) If you re a small business and you are an authorized distributor/reseller for the items identified above, do you alter; assemble; modify; the items requested in any way? If you do, state how and what is altered; assembled; modified. (8) Limitations on Subcontracting: How does your business ensure compliance with the limitations on subcontracting as outlined in 13 CFR § 125.6? (9) Are the items you are identifying/providing considered Commercial of the Shelf (COTS) items as defined in FAR Part 2.101 under commercial items? (10) Non-Manufacturer Rule: If applicable, can you confirm your business complies with the Non-Manufacturer rule? Specifically, does your company: Provide a product from a small business manufacturer or processor? Not exceed 500 employees? Primarily engage in the retail or wholesale trade and normally sell the type of item being supplied? Take ownership or possession of the item(s) with its personnel, equipment or facilities in a manner consistent with industry practice? (11) Please indicate whether your product conforms to the requirements of the Buy American Act? (12) What is your lead time to deliver a single unit with all components? Is there scale in lead time with greater quantities? Please elaborate. (13) What is estimated life span of your solution? What support/services does that entail? (14) Does your proposed equipment have FDA clearance? Please specify what FDA clearance(s) have been obtained. (15) Does your organization offer a leasing solution? Please elaborate. (16) Does your company have a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) GSA/NAC/SAC/BPA/NASA SEWP or any other Federal Government contract? If so, please provide the contract number(s). (17) If you are an FSS GSA/NAC/SAC/BPA/NASA SEWP or any other Federal Government contract holder, are all the items/solutions you are providing information about available on your schedule/contract? Please state if all or some items are available on the contract. (18) General pricing of your products/solution is encouraged. Pricing will be used for the purpose of market research only. It will not be used to evaluate for any type of award. (19) Please provide your SAM.gov Unique Entity ID/Cage Code number. Responses to this notice shall be submitted via email to Hestia.Sim@va.gov. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses must be received no later than Tuesday, June 2, 2026, by 10AM Pacific Local Time. All responses to this Sources Sought/RFI will be used for planning purposes only. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice / RFI are not considered a request to be added to a prospective bidders list or to receive a copy of the solicitation. If further RFIs and/or a solicitation or other announcement is issued as a result of the information provided from this RFI, all interested parties must respond to the specific posting separately IAW the specifications of that announcement.