Complete Cryogenic Magnetic System

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-32. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 339999 with a small business size standard of 500 employees. Only small businesses shall be considered for award as this requirement is set-aside 100% for small business. In accordance with the non-manufacturer rule, the manufacturer and distributor of these supplies must be a small business in accordance with the NAICS code identified. For size purposes, there can be only one manufacturer of the end item being acquired. The manufacturer is the concern which, with its own facilities, performs the primary activities in transforming inorganic or organic substances, including the assembly of parts and components, into the end item being acquired. The end item must possess characteristics which, as a result of mechanical, chemical or human action, it did not possess before the original substances, parts or components were assembled or transformed. The end item may be finished and ready for utilization or consumption, or it may be semi-finished as a raw material to be used in further manufacturing. Firms which perform only minimal operations upon the item being procured do not qualify as manufacturers of the end item. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a requirement for a complete Cryogenic Magnetic System for Quantum Hall Research. All equipment must be new. Refurbished and or remanufactured shall not be considered for award. All interested Contractors shall provide a quote for the following line items: Line Item 0001: Quantity One (1) each, complete Cryogenic Magnetic System for Quantum Hall Research. System shall include a liquid helium dewar, superconducting solenoid magnet, magnet power supply and controller, variable temperature insert, and dry (oil free) vacuum pump as follows: (A) Liquid Helium Dewar which shall meet or exceed the following minimum required specifications: 1) Safety pressure relief values on vacuum regions; 2) Low static liquid Helium loss rate - 5 liters/day maximum; 3) 50 liters nominal reservoir capacity; 4) Liquid helium level monitor with interface to magnet current controller; (B) Superconducting solenoid magnet which shall meet or exceed the following minimum required specifications: 1) Passive quench protection devices installed; 2) 9.0 Tesla field at 4.2 K; 3) - 0.1% homogeneity over central 1 cm diameter spherical volume; 4) 1.5 inch minimum magnet bore; 5) Superconducting persistence switch; ( C) Magnet power supply/controller which shall meet or exceed the following minimum required specifications: 1) Programmable, reversing bipolar; 2) Ramp function programmable; 3) Internal energy absorber and quench protection; 4) Persistence switch heater output/control; 5) A minimum of one (1) Interface/inputs for Liquid cryogen monitors; 6) A minimum of two (2) Interface/inputs for thermometers; 7) IEEE-488 computer interface; 8) Must be fully integrated and tested with system; (D) Variable Temperature Insert which shall meet or exceed the following minimum required specifications: 1) Safety pressure relief valves on vacuum and sample region; 2) 1.5K to 300K operating temperature range 3) Sample Probe: a. Non-magnetic sample probe with non-magnetic sample mount; b. Sliding seal probe with gate valve for changing of samples without contamination; c. Wiring: i. Multipin feedthrough for heater and sensors: wired by manufacturer; separate shielding of heater and sensor wires; ii. Separate low resistance, low thermal emfs, low leakage multipin (min 14) feedthrough for sample. NIST shall provide the multipin feedthrough for sample mount; iii. Optional - wiring of multipin feedthrough/sample mount per the following: 1. Leakage resistance greater than 1013 ohms 2. Total resistance of individual leads at 4.2 K no greater than 5 ohms 4) Automated/programmable temperature control using: a. Heater installed on sample mount; b. Zirconium-oxynitride resistance thermometers at sample mount and heat exchanger; (E) Dry pump which shall meet or exceed the following minimum required specifications: 1) Oil free vacuum pump; 2) Pumping speed: 500 liters/m @ 60 Hz; 3) Ultimate pressure 7 millitorr; 4) Vacuum line and connectors to ports; 5) Exhaust silencer/mist collector (F) The final system, when fully built shall meet all of the above minimum specifications and the following required performance specifications: 1) Cool down time from 300 K to 4.2K of less than 24 hours; A shorter time frame is preferred 2) Probe at 4.2 K exchanged in less than 2 hours; A shorter time frame is preferred. Line Item 0002: Installation: The Contractor shall provide installation for the system. Installation, at a minimum, shall include uncrating/unpackaging of all equipment, set-up and hook-up of the system. Cool down and operation procedures shall be demonstrated. Onsite installation and demonstration shall be done at NIST, Gaithersburg, MD. Cryogens and gases will be supplied by NIST. All vacuum regions shall have been cleaned and leak checked. Line Item 0003: Training: The contractor shall schedule and facilitate one (1) training session for NIST personnel on-site @ NIST in Gaithersburg, MD. The training shall provide a thorough demonstration of all equipment functions, maintenance, data administration, and basic troubleshooting. The training may be completed at NIST immediately after installation and demonstration of performance specifications, but no later than 30 days after installation. Warranty: The vendor shall provide a minimum warranty period of one year on all parts and labor which shall commence upon final acceptance by the Government. Delivery, installation and training shall be completed not later than 90 days after receipt of an order. Delivery terms shall be FOB Destination. FOB Destination means: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for any loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery. The contractor shall deliver all line items to NIST, Building 301, Shipping and Receiving, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Evaluation Criteria : The Government will award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible quoter whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, results in the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following will be used to evaluate quotations: Technical Capability, Relevant Experience, Past Performance and Price. Technical Capability, Relevant Experience and Past Performance shall be equal in importance to price. Of the non-price factors, technical capability shall be most important. In determining best value, preference shall be given to systems with a cool down time from 300 K to 4.2K less than 24 hours; A shorter time frame is preferred; and a probe at 4.2 K exchanged in less than 2 hours; A shorter time frame is preferred. Technical Capability The Contractor must demonstrate their understanding of the project and their ability to successfully complete the project. Product literature submitted shall be evaluated to determine that the required components meet or exceed the minimum specifications stated herein. Data submitted shall be evaluated to determine the Contractor's overall capability to meet all final system performance specifications. The technical drawing shall be evaluated to determine its overall feasibility and likelihood for success in meeting the final system performance specifications. Relevant Experience Information submitted shall be evaluated to determine: -The degree of experience the quoter's possesses with respect to cryogenic systems and cryogenic magnets; -The degree of relevance between the equipment required by the solicitation and that manufactured by the Contractor; Past Performance Past Performance will be evaluated to determine the overall quality of the product & service provided and the Contractor's history of successfully meeting delivery schedules. Evaluation of Past Performance shall be based on the references provided and/or the quoters recent and relevant procurement history with NIST or its affiliates. The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html. The following provisions apply to this acquisition: 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items; 52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items. Offerors must complete annual representations and certifications on-line at http://orca.bpn.gov in accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required. The following clauses apply to this acquisition: 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions'Commercial Items; 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders'Commercial Items including subparagraphs: 52.219-28 Post-Award Small Business Program Representation; 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside; 52.222-3, Convict Labor; 52.222-19 Child Labor - Cooperation With Authorities And Remedies; 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52-222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; 52.225-3 Buy American Act - Free Trade Agreements - Israeli Trade Act 52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases; 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration. Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level above the Contracting Officer is also incorporated. It can be downloaded at www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/agency.htm. All quoters shall submit the following: 1. For the purpose of evaluation of Technical Capability, all quoters shall submit all of the following: -Product Literature,An original and one (1) copy of the technical description and/or product literature that shows the technical capability of the proposed product to meet or exceed the minimum specifications ; -Data on similar systems that shows that the quoter can meet the final performance requirements. Data must clearly show demonstrate timelines the Contractor has achieved with respect to: (1) Cool down for liquid helium dewars with a magnet installed; (2) Probe exchanges. -A technical drawing which shows a cut view through the cryostat magnet probe as assembled in the proposed system. The drawing must show the location and height of various required sensors. 2. For the purpose of evaluation of Relevant Experience, quoters shall submit: - Documentation which clearly identifies the types of systems the Contractor has manufactured within a 3-year period. Documentation may be photos, technical description, or drawings. Similarities and differences between the work completed by the Contractor and the work required by NIST must be discernable; and -An explanation of the Contractor's experience with cryogenic systems and operation of cryogenic magnets. 3. Past Performance Offerors must provide a list of at least three (3) references to whom the same or similar equipment has been provided. The list of references shall include, at a minimum: The name of the reference contact person and the company or organization; the telephone number of the reference contact person; the contract or grant number; the amount of the contract and the address and the telephone number of the Contracting Officer if applicable; the date of delivery or the date services were completed and a description of the equipment sold to the three (3) references; 4. An original and one (1) copy of a quotation which addresses all line items; This is an Open-Market Combined Synopsis/Solicitation for equipment as defined herein. The Government intends to award a Purchase Order as a result of this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation that will include the terms and conditions that are set forth herein. In order to facilitate the award process, ALL quotes shall include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: The offeror shall state - The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition. OR The offeror shall state - The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following: Offeror shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s) Please note that this procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an offeror submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the offeror's FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation. All quotes shall be received not later than 3:00 PM local time, on June 1, 2009 at the National Institute of Standards & Technology, Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B125, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1640, Attn: Joni Laster. Any questions or concerns regarding this solicitation should be forwarded in writing via e-mail to the Contract Specialist (Joni L. Laster) @ contact@example.gov. Because of heightened security, FED-EX, UPS, or similar delivery methods are the preferred method of delivery of quotes. If quotes are hand delivered, delivery shall be made on the actual due date through Gate A, and a 24-hour (excluding weekends and holidays) prior notice shall be made to the Contracts Office at +1 (555) 000-0000. NIST is not responsible for late delivery due to the added security measures. In addition, offerors/quoters who do not provide 24-hour notification in order to coordinate entrance to the NIST campus shall assume the risk of not being able to deliver offers/quotes on time. The Government is not responsible for the amount of time required to clear unannounced visitors, visitors without proper identification and without complete information that would allow delivery (i.e. point of contact, telephone POC, bldg., room number, etc.). If 24-hour notification was not provided, it is suggested your company representative or your courier service arrive at NIST at least 90 minutes prior to the closing time in order to process entry to the campus through the visitor center and complete delivery. Notice shall include the company name, name of the individual making the delivery, and the country of citizenship of the individual. For non-US citizens, the following additional information will be required: title, employer/sponsor, and address. Please ensure that the individual making the delivery brings photo identification, or they will be denied access to the facility. E-mail quotes ARE acceptable. Fax quotes will NOT be accepted.