66--Blood culture system

This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) only. Market research is being conducted to determine the amount of qualified and capable businesses that can provide the items requested below. If you believe your firm is able to provide the items requested below, you are encouraged to respond by the due date with all of the required information indicated below in order to be considered. Due date for responses is close of business (4:30PM local time/CT) on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. Email responses to Melanie Stockman at contact@example.gov. All questions must be submitted in writing to the Contracting Officer in writing via email. Telephone inquiries will NOT be accepted/returned. When submitting a response to this RFI, offerors must include the following: Indicate socio-economic status Include picture of offered items and support literature, brochure etc Indicate any existing Government contract where item(s) may be purchased (i.e. FSS/GSA contract etc) Must be able to provide installation 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. NAICS: 325413, 1250 employees SPECIFICATIONS: Fully Automated Blood Culture System Basic Requirement: The Minneapolis VA HealthCare System, 1 Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55417, hereinafter referred to as the MVAHCS, is requesting a cost-per-test or reagent rental contract for fully automated blood culture testing on the BacT/Alert Virtuo. If equipment is provided under a reagent rental/cost per test, then all equipment costs shall be figured into the price of the reagents. This is to include but not limited to instrument, interface system, plastic collection bottles, collection adaptors for plastic blood culture bottles, service, support, and 1-year full warranty. Equipment must have Windows 10 operating system or higher. Contract Type and Term: The MVAHCS is requesting cost-per test, or reagent rental, contract. The effective period requested is 3/1/19 and shall be for through twelve (12) months with the options to extend the contract for additional 12-month periods, at the discretion of the VA, for up to four (4) additional years. Total contract will not exceed five years. Estimated Quantities: The quantities listed are estimated yearly requirements. The MVAHCS attempts to be as accurate as possible when providing estimated quantities, however, actual quantities required may vary from quantities as listed. All products will be requested on an on demand, as needed basis. Yearly estimated need: 135 cases (100 bottles per case) Site Preparation and planning: The Contractor will make recommendations regarding site preparation and planning. The Contractor will provide documentation and information characterizing the physical, electrical, Technology, and environmental requirements of the equipment prior to installation. A RISK assessment must be completed before the system can be placed online at MVAHCS. Equipment installation: The Contractor will install all equipment. The installation of all equipment will be coordinated with the VA Laboratory Service. Installation will proceed at a mutually agreed time after confirmation has been given that all equipment has been delivered and the site is ready for installation. The contractor shall bear the responsibility of delivering and installing equipment at the VA Medical Center, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service (PLMS), One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55417, at no additional expense to MVAHCS. Installation of the equipment shall be coordinated with the VA Laboratory Service. Validation Studies: The Contractor shall assist with the performance of all validation Studies: precision, method comparison with the current instrumentation, accuracy, linearity, calibration verification, reference interval verification, determination of sensitivity and specificity. The vendor shall perform all the statistical analysis and report data in an organized, clearly comprehensible format. Vendor shall provide assistance with reference ranges to include handling data with appropriate software to establish or validate reference intervals. Operators Manual: Contractor is to provide a copy of the equipment operator documentation either in paper or electronic format. Equipment Maintenance: Contractor agrees to maintain the equipment in good working condition and will repair or replace any defects in the equipment during the contract period at no additional expense to the Government. (Maintenance shall include all upgrades). Maintenance/Service Calls: Equipment maintenance and repair service for the analyzers: A technical assistance center must be available by hot-line M-F 7am-9pm CST with a maximum call back response time of 1 hour with on-site service provided, not to exceed 24 hours following determination that site service is required. Preventive Maintenance: Contractor will provide scheduled preventive maintenance service calls as required by manufacturer s recommended PM schedule, Upgrades: The vendor must provide upgrades to instrument hardware and software in order to maintain the integrity of the system and state-of-the art technology at no additional charge to the Government. This must be provided as they become commercially available and at the time as they are being provided to commercial customers. This requirement only applies to system upgrades that enhance the model of equipment being offered (.i.e. new version of software, correction of hardware defect, upgrade offered to commercial customers at no additional charge, upgrade to replace model of equipment no longer vendor supported, etc.) During the time of the contract, should the repair record of laboratory equipment reflect a downtime of 4% during a 3-month period, a determination will be made by the designated representative of the Government, to replace the malfunctioning equipment with new equipment. Replacement of equipment will be the responsibility of the Contractor. Technical telephone support must be available Monday through Friday between 8:00am and 5:00pm. Telephone response time shall be within four (4) hours of notification. Equipment Ownership: Contractor shall retain ownership of the equipment. Removal of Equipment: Upon termination of the contract the Minneapolis VA BioMedical department will remove the hard drive and terminate it according to policies and procedures. The actual equipment will be the contractor s responsibility to dismantle, decontaminate, and remove his equipment from MVAHCS premises. All costs for removal and return of equipment shall be borne by the contractor. MSDS, HAZARDOUS MATERIALS and WASTE STREAM ANALYSIS: The contractor shall provide VA medical facilities in Minneapolis, with a listing of the vendor s products used with this analyzer(s) that are considered hazardous. The listing should also include a determination as to what can be considered harmless to be disposed of by normal methods, such as disposing in the sink or disposing in the trash and what must be specially handled for disposal and how it is handled. The contractor is required to provide a list identifying any "hazardous materials" that may be provided as a part of this contract that are defined as hazardous under the latest version of Federal Standard No. 313. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) shall be submitted for all products. Deliveries of reagents and supplies: All supplies shall be delivered FOB Destination to the VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (unless otherwise indicated in the Bid Schedule) and shall arrive at the MVAHCS no later than 5 calendar days after receipt of an order. Deliveries shall be made to: VA Medical Center, Bldg. 70 Warehouse (90D), PO# _________ One Veterans Drive Minneapolis MN 55417 Delivery Times: Between 8:00am and 3:30pm (Monday-Friday except Federal Holidays) All deliveries shall be accompanied by a delivery ticket or sales slip which shall contain: vendor s name, purchase order number, date of order, date of delivery, itemized list of products furnished including product description and quantity shipped. Changers/modifications: Changes in the pricing, terms, conditions of this Delivery Order may be made only by written agreement of the parties. Any and all modifications for changes in: the prices, discounts, terms or conditions of this agreement, will be prepared for signature by the VA Contracting Officer for VISN-23. Product Quality and Quality Control: All products offered to the MVAHCS must be of the same consistent high quality as would be offered to the general commercial public in the United States. All products are purchased subject to acceptance by the MVAHCS, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service. Products that fail to meet Quality Control criteria of the Laboratory will not be accepted. Products will be rejected and may be discarded if found unsatisfactory by the Laboratory's Quality Control when they are received, or later if deterioration of the product occurs before the outdate. The VAMC will not be financially liable for unacceptable materials. All products must be tested for Quality Control by the supplier, and only those products that pass Quality Control may be sent to the VA Laboratory. The supplier will demonstrate documentation of Quality Control performance of any item upon request of the VA Laboratory Substitutions of product must have the written approval of the MVAHCS Laboratory Service and the Contracting Officer or his/her designee. All defective or inferior products must be replaced within 48 hours at no cost to the VA Medical Center. The VA Laboratory is not required to return unacceptable product, but may do so in the rare case where a limited number of items may be returned to solve a quality control problem. It is the contractors responsibility to provide this medical center with recall notices on any product that has been delivered to this facility that may be defective. Notification shall be made to the Contracting Officer via the most expedient method. Shelf Life: All products must be received in the Laboratory with at least 2/3 of the shelf life remaining. The manufacture/distributor will provide and update when necessary a shelf life list (time from production to our date) for each product purchased.