6515--Water Purification Unit

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS VETERANS INTEGRATED SERVICE NETWORK (VISN) 16 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 36C25622Q0898 REQUESTED RESPONSES: The intent of this Request for Information is to establish sources in order to define the procurement strategy. Interested contractors are requested to respond in accordance with the following Please respond to this RFI if you are capable of providing the brand name products listed in the Statement of Work found in the background section below. In the response, please cite business size status. POTENTIAL SOURCES SHALL PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IN THEIR RESPONSE: 1) Company name, address, phone number, primary contact(s), e-mail address, NAICS code(s), business size (i.e., small/large), proof that supplies are domestically made, and unique entity identifier used in SAM.gov. 2) Provide a Statement of Capability that demonstrates the offeror's past performance in providing these types of supplies. Please include the following: (a) Proof of OEM or OEM distributor of brand name supplies. (b) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information. Please include contract number of previous contract(s). CONTACT INFORMATION AND RESPONSE DUE DATE: Please email all responses to contact@example.gov. Please respond to this RFI no later than 07:00 Central Standard Time on Friday, May 13, 2022. DISCLAIMER: This RFI is issued solely for informational and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Department of Veterans Affairs to form a binding contract. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. BACKGROUND: Statement of Work Replace broken building water distillation unit with stand-alone ultrafiltration units placed in various laboratories and aquatic research lab. The work will not only solve the problem of current broken / nonrepairable central distillation unit and is necessary for upcoming relocations. 2. Background and Justification Purified water is critical to every aspect of biomedical research. Molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, and cell culture all require research grade Type I water. Aquatic animals (xenopus/zebrafish), equipment including autoclaves, water bath, incubators, and glassware cleaning require Type II or III . Tap water cannot be used. For the last ~30 years a large heat distillation unit on the R&E 5th floor generated pre-purified water (Type III). This water was then piped to various lab drops in the building but not main subbasement areas. At the drop points, the water can be further polished to obtain Type I water. However, the distillation unit completely broke down in Feb. 2021. It cannot be repaired, and replacement of this ancient unit would be highly expensive. The purchase is also required for upcoming relocations of the Research Service laboratories. First, purchase is required for move due to 4th floor construction. Beginning in the fall of 2022, the R&E 4th floor labs will be relocated to the subbasement, which does not have the distilled water drops. The requested stand-alone units will provide water to the subbasement including aquatic Xenopus/Zebrafish embryology labs. Second, the purchase is required for building renovations necessitating off-site relocation of the Research Service (in 2025). The requested water ultrafiltration units can move with the labs as they will not be tied into the old distillation system. The units are therefore a strategic investment for the VAMC. Note that the Research Service is carrying out funded research for Veterans Affairs Office of Research Development, National Institutes of Health and a varied of industry awards including COVID clinical trials. Collectively, these studies bring significant VERA dollars and other indirect funds from the Central VA Office of Research Development (ORD) to the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery facilities to support research indirectly. 3. Technical requirements / specifications The units use ultrafiltration technology, so not dependent on a central source of distilled water. In addition to not being tied into a central distillation facility, ultrafiltration technology is more energy efficient as it does not require energy to distill tap water. Each of the below units are stand-alone systems, which connect directly to house tap water lines. In this way the units can be relocated as needed for the planned R&E building relocations: Move of 4th floor labs to subbasement, which does not have distilled water drops (beginning Fall 2022). Off-site relocation of the Research Service (planned for 2025). As the water purifications are not tied into the old distillation system they can move with the labs. This will save considerable future expense as the units can move with the labs. Provide one (1) stand-alone unit that does not require distilled water or other pre-purified water source. The unit should include a 50L holding tank. The unit should generate research grade Type I or Type II/III directly from tap water. This will free us from dependance of being tied to a central distillation source. Provide three (3) stand-alone water purification units capable of generating Type 11/III water to feed into our existing Millipore Synergy polishers. Should include 60L holding tank. The Synergy polishers will generate Type I research grade water from the Type II/III water feed. It is therefore critical that the units are compatible with the Synergy Units. All connectors/fitting and ultrafiltration cartridges should be compatible with the existing Millipore Synergy units. In this way both units can work together. Provide one (1) stand-alone Type III unit capable of generating reverse osmosis water for the existing research aquatic Xenopus frog and Zebrafish aquarium systems. The unit should have a similar operation and same cartridges as the Milli-Q HR 7060 Water Purification System used in the UMMC aquatic lab. In this way technicians and veterinarian already trained on the unit will already be familiar with the operation and maintenance of the unit. Furthermore, when we move the aquatic lab to UMMC, our system will be compatible with the system already in place at UMMC. 4. Services included. All installation provided. This includes connecting the type II/III units to our existing Millipore Synergy units. All training is provided. As the units are used for basic and translation biomedical nonprofit research, any available academic discounts should be provided. 1 Exteranal Solenoid Valve / EXTSV00A1 1 2 Water Sensor / ZWATSENA1 1 3 Milli-Q IQ 7005 Purification System / ZIQ7005T0 - 1 4 Milli-Q IQ 7003-5 Purification Kit H / IQ700XPKT1H - 1 5 Biopak Polisher / CDUFBI0A1 - 2 6 Storage Tank Frame 50 L / TANKA050 - 1 7 Storage Tank Top Assembly / TANKT0PA1 - 1 8 Q-POD Remote Dispenser / ZIQP0D000 - 1 9 TRAVEL ZONE 1 / ZWAAZONE1 - 1 10 E-POD Remote Dispenser / ZIQEP0D00 - 1 11 Connector 2m System- Tank / ZFC0NN2ST - 1 12 Connector 2m System- POD / ZFC0NN2SQ - 2 13 Country Box IQ 70XX US / ZFCBIQXUS 1 14 StartPAK Installation Pack / STARTPK01 1 15 Milli-Q IQ 70XX Installation / ZWMQXIQIN2 - 1 16 STAND ALONE LEAK DECTECTOR 1/2" BRASS VALVE / ZSNAFS12LKD 3 17 WATER SENSOR INTEGRAL (1/PK) / ZFWATDET4 - 3 18 Elix Essential 5 UV Kit US / ZLXEV50US - 3 19 Progard Pre-treatment Pack, Milli-Q Integral/ PR0G0T0S2 6 20 60 Litre Capacity Storage Reservior/ TANKPE60 - 3 21 Reservoir Vent Filter / CO2 Trap, Elix Water/ TANKMPK01 3 22 Elix Essential Installation / ZWSEESIN1 3 23 TRAVEL ZONE 1 / ZWAAZONE1 - 1 24 Synergypak 2 Polishing Cartridge / SYPK0SIX2 - 3 25 Biopak Final Filter, Nuclease & Endotoxin Free Water / CDUFBI001 3 26 Milli-Q HR 7060 Water Purification System (LC) 120V 60Hz / ZR0L61060 1 27 Freight Charges / ZFREIGHT 1 DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. In accordance with 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.