Cone Calorimeter with Annual Maintenance

AMENDMENT 0002: The purpose of this amendment is to provide answers to contractor questions. Please see the attached Questions and Answers document as well as the revised Combined Synopsis Solicitation and Required Specification documents attached. Additionally, the quotation deadline is changed to April 18, 2022 at 11:00 AM ET. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged. __________________ AMENDMENT 0001: The purpose of this amendment is to correct typographical errors in the question and answer and quotation deadline dates. Questions are due on April 6, 2022 and Quotations are due on April 15, 2022. The Combined Synopsis Solicitation attachment is also revised to reflect these two corrections. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged. __________________ 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 of Commercial Items - as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. The solicitation is issued using simplified acquisition procedures under the authority of FAR Part 13. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT (i.e. STANDARD FORM) WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2022-04 dated January 30, 2022. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334519 - Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing. The small business size standard is 500 employees. This solicitation is being competed on a total small business set-aside basis. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS Purpose & Objectives The Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology for engineered systems in ways that enhance economic security and improve quality of life. The Flammability Reduction Group (FRG) within the EL develops, advances, and deploys measurement science to reduce fire hazard to building contents and construction materials. The FRG carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to reduce material ignition probability, fire growth and spread, and environmental impacts; and develops codes and standards for cost-effective, fire-safe building contents and construction materials. The FRG requires a device to assist with its research of measuring oxygen consumption under forced combustion among materials and products. The purpose of this acquisition is to procure a Cone Calorimeter device to measure heat release rate, mass loss rate and visible smoke release rate for materials and products using oxygen consumption calorimetry according to ASTM E1354-17. The cone calorimeter will be used to run tests on multilayered specimens with the NIST developed - Cube test sample holder. Description of Requirements Please see the attached Statement of Need / Required Specifications document. DELIVERY & INSTALLATION Please see the attached Statement of Need / Required Specifications document. CONTRACT TYPE A firm fixed price contract type is anticipated. PAYMENT TERMS Payment shall be made NET 30 after inspection and acceptance. APPLICABLE PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES Please see the attached document for applicable provisions and clauses. QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD CAR 1352.215-73 INQUIRIES (APR 2010): Quoters must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing electronically to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. Questions must be received by or before April 6, 2022 at 11:00 AM ET. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract. (End of Provision). DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS All quotations must be submitted via email to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. Submission must be received not later than April 15, 2022 at 11:00 AM ET. REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS For the purpose of evaluation of Technical Capability: Quoters shall submit a technical capability document and/or narrative which may include specifications, charts, graphs, tables and drawings. The technical capability document and/or narrative should clearly describe, in sufficient detail for understanding, the specifications of the quoted equipment and optional equipment, as well as technical support, warranty, and optional maintenance services. Information should clearly address how the quoter will successfully fulfill the technical requirements identified in this RFQ and the Statement of Need / Required Specifications document. For the purpose of evaluation of Past Performance: Quoter shall provide past performance information to include details on at least three (3) and no more than five (5) purchase orders or contracts in which the Quoter performed work similar to the scope of this requirement. Past performance information provided shall be for work completed or substantially completed within the past five (5) years. Past performance shall include the following information: Name of the Organization Supported Organization Point of Contact with Current Phone Number and Email Address Contract Number Period of Performance Dollar Value of the Contract Narrative describing the services performed. The narrative should make clear similarities to the scope of work outlined in this solicitation. For the purpose of evaluation of Price: A firm-fixed price quotation for the line items identified in the - Contract Line Item Structure section below. Quoters shall provide a breakdown of the proposed pricing sufficient to demonstrate how the total proposed firm fixed price was derived, inclusive of separate line items for optional requirements. The breakdown shall include materials costs, fabrication costs, installation costs, and training costs, as well as annual maintenance costs and any other relevant information associated with the pricing. Quoters shall propose a firm fixed price payment schedule, inclusive of proposed payment amounts, for the requirement, including optional products and services, that is tied to completion of identified deliverables and that conforms to the requirements of the - Payment Schedule section of the Statement of Need / Required Specifications document. Completed Provisions Quoters shall submit a completed copy of the provisions in the attached Provisions and Clauses document. Provisions requiring completion have highlighted fields for completion. Contractor DUNS DUNS shall be used to verify the quoter's active System for Award Management (SAM) registration. Quoters must have an active registration at www.SAM.Gov to be considered for award. CONTRACT LINE ITEM STRUCTURE: Please see the required contract line-item numbering (CLIN) structure for this Solicitation in the attached CSS document. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD In accordance with FAR 52.212-2: Evaluation - Commercial Items as included in the attached Applicable Provisions and Clauses document, the Government plans to award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible contractor whose quotation conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous and represents the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. Best value shall be determined using the trade-off evaluation method. The Government will use the simplified acquisition procedures of FAR Part 13. The Government will evaluate quotations utilizing the procedures of FAR 13.106-2 Evaluation of quotations or offers. The Government will consider price and other technical non-price factors described in this solicitation and will conduct a comparative evaluation of the benefits between price and the other technical non-price factors of each quotation as well as a comparative evaluation between quotations in order to determine the quotation that is most advantageous and represents the best value. Therefore, the Government may award to other than the lowest priced quoter or the highest technically rated quoter. Per the provision FAR 52.212-1 (g) Contract award contained within this solicitation, the Government intends to evaluate quotations and issue a purchase order based on the initial quotations received. Therefore, the quoter's initial quotation should contain the quoter's best terms from a price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to request revised quotations from, or negotiate final purchase order terms with one or more, but not all, quoters if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. However, the Contracting Officer will not establish a competitive range, conduct discussions, or otherwise use the formal source selection procedures described in FAR part 15. The Government may reject any or all quotations if the quotation fails to comply with the requirements of this solicitation; and the Government may issue a purchase order to other than the quoter with the lowest priced quotation. The factors identified below shall be used to evaluate offers. Factor 1 (Technical Factor): Technical Capability Factor 2 (Technical Factor): Past Performance Factor 3 (Non-Technical Factor): Price Technical / non-price factors (Factors 1 and 2) are equally important and, when combined, are more important than price (Factor 3). However, price will become more important as the degree of equality among technical non-price evaluations increases. Technical Capability: The Government will evaluate the contractor's capabilities to meet specified requirements. At a minimum, the quotation shall meet all requirements detailed in the Statement of Need / Required Specifications document. In addition, the Government will also evaluate the quoted product's capabilities in relation to the following items: 1) Preference will be given to instruments offering a higher distance between the cone heater and the supporting plate than the stated requirement of 170 mm; 2) Preference will be given to instruments with load cells offering weight capacities above the minimum requirement of 2.5 kg; 3) Preference will be given to instruments which offer less load cell drift due to temperature variation; 4) Preference will be given to instruments which allow for simple NIST installation of cameras inside the enclosure; and 5) Preference will be given to enclosures that open horizontally rather than vertically. Of the five additional items to be evaluated, as listed above, items 3 and 4 of the most importance to NIST. Items 1, 2, and 5 are also important, but items 3 and 4 are most important. Past Performance: The evaluation of past performance information will consider the extent to which the Quoter's past performance for products and services provided within the last five (5) years demonstrates the capability and capacity to provide a fully functional cone calorimeter and technical support, both of which are similar to the requirements of this solicitation. The Government may contact provided references. The Government may also use data obtained from other sources. The Government will consider the relevance of the Quoter's previous contracts to the subject requirement, and the Quoter's performance on the previous contracts. Quoters without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on Past Performance, and will be assigned a Neutral rating. Price: Pricing will be evaluated but not scored. Price evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are complete and reasonable in relation to the RFQ requirements and the current marketplace.