Maintenance for In-Vivo Xtreme 4MP Imager and Skyscan 1176 X-Ray

INTRODUCTION This is a pre-solicitation non-competitive (notice of intent) synopsis to award a contract without providing for full or open competition (including brand-name). THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT, NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. A SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED AND PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE REQUESTED. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Consolidated Station Support and Simplified Acquisitions (CSS/SA) Branch intends to negotiate and award a purchase order to Bruker BioSpin Corporation for maintenance support for an In-Vivo Xtreme 4MP Imager and a Skyscan 1176 X-Ray Micro-CT Scanner without providing for full and open competition (including brand-name). NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 811310 with a Size Standard of $14 Million. REGULATORY AUTHORITY The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 05-83 dated July 2, 2015. This acquisition is for a commercial item or service and is conducted under the procedures as prescribed in FAR subpart 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures. This acquisition is NOT expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. STATUTORY AUTHORITY This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the authority of FAR Subpart 13.106-1. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT Background: The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), conducting research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of neurological disorders and stroke. The NINDS mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. The NIH Mouse Imaging Facility (MIF) is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art anatomical, functional and molecular medical imaging capabilities for animal models of human disease. Purpose and Objectives The purpose of this acquisition is to provide the NIH Mouse Imaging Facility (MIF) with hardware and software maintenance support for its Bruker BioSpin Corporation In-Vivo Xtreme 4MP Imager and Bruker Biospin Corporation Skyscan 1176 X-Ray Micro-CT Scanner. This equipment is used to acquire optical luminescence/fluorescence/radiographic images and three-dimensional radiographic computed tomographic images of small mammals for ongoing preclinical biomedical research studies. Project Description The Contractor shall provide the following support for one (1) Bruker In-Vivo Xtreme 4MP Imager (Serial No. CUX00030, NIH Decal No. 01942157) and all its associated system parts and software: a. One (1) annual preventative maintenance and system calibration visit. The contractor will communicate and visit during scheduled working hours (8am to 6pm EST Monday through Friday). During this visit all costs for labor, software upgrades and materials will be free of charge. This visit will include: i. Alignment and testing of all components in the optical path for every mode ii. Co-registration of x-ray and optical modes iii. Geometrical correction test iv. Flat field correction test v. X-ray leakage test vi. Cleaning of all necessary parts vii. All software updated viii. Answer customer questions on the operation of the Bruker Xtreme. ix. Unlimited repairs of instrument. x. All repairs performed on-site by Bruker trained and certified field technicians. b. Response time for service visits shall be within 3 days of determining that a visit is necessary. The service contract will include all parts and labor. The contractor will maintain an inventory of parts for use in service. In those situations where the system console is not operational, repair parts to will be shipped to the MIF using overnight carrier services. After repairs are completed, defective components will be shipped back at the expense of the contractor. c. All labor shall be provided included and all non-consumable parts of the imaging system will be replaced (as needed) free of charge. Replacement parts include x-ray source components and camera. Replacement parts must be factory reconditioned or new from the original equipment manufacturer. Consumables such as bulbs, reagents, and samples shall not be covered by this plan. d. If replacement parts are required, they will be provided readily without delay on an exchange (refurbished) or new part basis. All parts will be warranted for a reasonable time period after installation. Additional materials necessary for engineering changes that are developed and mutually determined to be appropriate for the scanner will be available also. The contractor will be liable for delays in repair due to employee and or administrative issues that will directly or indirectly affect the performance of the MIF Bruker Xtreme 4MP Optical scanner. However, this does not include delays due to limited supply of parts. e. Unlimited remote access tech support shall be provided Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm EST. This includes phone support for technical issues on data acquisition and reconstruction, analysis, or any other technical question. f. All available software upgrades will be provided as soon as released, and free of charge. Software defects or other significant problems will be corrected as soon as possible though effective, mutual, communication regarding the steps taken or plan to take to repair instrument. g. Contractor will support the system in its original configuration unless those changes are made or directed by a Bruker Biospin Corporation representative. h. An Operator's Manual shall be provided for all hardware and software updates with documentation of changes. i. The MIF will not be obligated to pay any federal, state, or local tax imposed upon or measured by contractor's net income. Applicable tax will be invoiced unless we receive a tax exemption certificate will be provided which acceptable to the taxing authorities. j. The contractor will treat experimental information of the MIF as confidential. 2. The Contractor shall provide the following support for one (1) Bruker Skyscan 1176 X-ray micro-CT scanner (Serial No. 11D08046, NIH Decal No. 01884760) and all its associated system parts and software: a. One (1) annual preventative maintenance and system calibration visit. Contractor will communicate and visit during our scheduled working hours (8am to 6pm EST Monday through Friday). During this PM visit all costs for labor, software upgrades and materials will be free of charge. This visit will include: i. Gantry alignment test at low magnification (35'm pixel size) ii. Gantry alignment test at high magnification (7 - m pixel size) iii. All calibrations checked and adjusted iv. Geometrical correction test v. Flat field correction test vi. X-ray leakage test vii. Cleaning of all necessary parts viii. All software updated ix. Check and control of mechanical parts x. Answer customer questions on the operation of the 1176 CT. xi. Unlimited repairs of instrument. xii. All repairs performed on-site by Bruker trained and certified field technicians. b. Response time for service visit shall be within 3 days of determining that a visit is necessary. The service contract will include parts and labor. The contractor will maintain an inventory of parts for use in service. In those situations where the console is not operational, repair parts to will be shipped to the MIF using overnight carrier services. After repairs are completed, defective components will be shipped back at the expense of the contractor. c. All labor shall be included and all parts of the imaging system will be replaced (as needed) free of charge. Replacement parts include x-ray source components and camera. Replacement parts must be factory reconditioned or new from original equipment manufacturer. d. If replacement parts are required, they will be provided readily without delay on an exchange (refurbished) or new part basis. All parts will be warranted for a reasonable time period after installation. Additional materials necessary for engineering changes that are developed and mutually determined to be appropriate for the scanner will be available also. The contractor will be liable for delays in repair due to employee and or administrative issues that will directly or indirectly affect the performance of the MIF Bruker Xtreme 4MP Optical scanner. However, this does not include delays due to limited supply of parts. e. Unlimited remote access tech support Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm EST. This includes phone support for technical issues on data acquisition and reconstruction, analysis, 3D reconstructions or any other technical question. f. All available software upgrades will be provided as soon as released, and free of charge. Software defects or other significant problems will be corrected as soon as possible though effective, mutual, communication regarding the steps taken or plan to take to repair instrument. g. Contractor will support the system in its original configuration unless those changes are made or directed by a Bruker Biospin Corporation representative. h. An Operator's Manual shall be provided for all hardware and software updates with documentation of changes. i. The MIF will not be obligated to pay any federal, state, or local tax imposed upon or measured by contractor's net income. Applicable tax will be invoiced unless we receive a tax exemption certificate will be provided which acceptable to the taxing authorities. j. The contractor will treat experimental information of the MIF as confidential. Upon completion of the annual preventative maintenance visit (or any repair/service visit), the contractor will provide at least one copy of a written report summarizing the visit. This report shall include a list of the hardware or software items checked, notations of any corrections made to bring each item into specifications, and any recommendations for maintaining the imager within optimal specifications. This report shall be provided to the NIH before the service technician leaves the MIF. Delivery/Period of Performance The required period of performance shall be one year from date of award, plus one (1) one-year option period if possible. CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, only Bruker Biospin Corporation is capable of providing the necessary maintenance support service because the equipment requiring maintenance is proprietary to this company, the original equipment manufacturer. Bruker Biospin Corporation is the only contractor authorized and capable of providing service and parts to its proprietary systems. The contractor has provided a sole source letter to this effect. Use of any other contractor would jeopardize system integrity and functionality. The equipment requiring maintenance is used for research purposes and non-functional equipment, inappropriately calibrated equipment, or equipment with incorrect parts, software updates, or other service, would irreparably damage NIH research data. For these many reasons, Bruker Biospin Corporation is the only contractor capable of meeting the needs of this requirement. CLOSING STATEMENT THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov." A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number. Responses may be submitted electronically to Lauren Phelps, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. US Mail and Fax responses will not be accepted.