Maintenance of Perkin Elmer Equipment at CBP Laboratories

Notice for U.S Customs and Border Protection Office of Information Technology (OIT) Laboratory and Scientific Services (LSS) Equipment Maintenance Request for Information (RFI) The U.S Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Office of Information Technology (OIT) Laboratory and Scientific Services (LSS) is seeking industry feedback from the business community to identify sources capable of providing the scale and scope of work as outlined within this Request for Information (RFI). This RFI pertains to select Maintenance of Perkin Elmer Equipment at CBP laboratories. This RFI is issued solely for informational, acquisition planning and market research purposes only and does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, Request for Proposal, or Request for Quotes. In accordance with FAR 15.202(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Additionally, the U.S. Government will not provide reimbursement for any information that may be submitted in response to this RFI. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. Based on the response to this RFI, CBP may elect to solicit for any subsequent requirements relating to this RFI, CBP will do so in accordance with agency's established solicitation procedures. Background CBP's mission is to facilitate the legitimate flow of people and cargo into and out of this country while denying entry to persons or cargo that would be dangerous to this country or which for any of a number of reasons may be denied entry. CBP identifies persons who would pose a danger were they allowed entry in the United States (e.g., the individual was on the terrorist watch list, have a medical condition that would pose a threat to the US population, or have prohibited agricultural materials etc.) and collects tariffs and duties on imported goods. CBP is a front-line agency in the war on terrorism and collects more revenue than any US agency other than the Internal Revenue Service. As part of the initiative to be more cost effective and efficient with government resources, CBP is looking into potentially obtaining service contracts for its scientific instruments located in its laboratories. The CBP laboratories analyze samples from commercial importations, perform forensic analyses, and provide support for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) detection and screening. Some of the instrumentation is portable for use in mobile laboratories located around the country. Purpose and Objectives The purpose of this RFI is to obtain information about available sources for laboratory equipment for Perkin Elmer maintenance and repair purposes. The service provider must be able to repair and maintain both the equipment and the software (if applicable). One preventive measure call per instrument is to be included in the contract. The list of equipment is attached in a separate document. In addition to the above, interested parties are requested to address the following four (4) areas: - 1. Viability - What is the private sector's perception of the viability of this initiative? Is there interest in providing this capability? Would the initiative be more viable if certain equipment was removed? - 2. Concept - What is the vendor conceptual approach to meeting this requirement? What limits are there on the solution being proposed? - 3. Vendor Experience - Please detail the vendor's experience in providing the maintenance on the equipment listed in the attachment. - 4. Other - What other information and ideas does the private sector offer for pursuing this initiative? What other factors related to this effort should CBP be aware of (e.g., issues with specific original equipment manufacturers (OEM), proprietary limitations)? Responding to this RFI Interested parties are encouraged to respond to this notice if they have the capability and capacity statements to provide the identified maintenance services for the equipment identified in the attached spreadsheet (or for a significant portion of that equipment) with little or no disruption of services to the current users at CBP. Please see each tab in the spreadsheet for lab equipment at respective laboratories. Questions related to this RFI are due by 4:00 PM EST, Wednesday, January 21, 2015 and should be forwarded via email to both Brice Winston at brice.winston@dhs.gov and Dione Shelton Dione.Shelton@cbp.dhs.gov CBP will provide a timely response to all RFI questions. The due date and time for RFI responses is 12:00 NOON EST, Monday, January 26, 2015 and shall be submitted via email to: brice.winston@dhs.gov and Dione.Shelton@cbp.dhs.gov. Responses should be limited to not more than ten (10) single spaced pages. All responses should include a notated copy of the spreadsheet identifying which equipment CAN and CANNOT be serviced. The submission shall be logically assembled. Each response section shall be clearly titled and shall begin at the top of each page (i.e.: Viability; Concept). All pages of each response section shall be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date, and referenced number listed on the Notice in the header and/or footer. Page size shall be no greater than 8 1/2" x 11." The top, bottom, left and right margins shall be a minimum of one inch each. Font size shall be no smaller than 12-point. Arial or New Times Roman fonts are required. Characters shall be set at no less than normal spacing and 100% scale. Tables and illustrations may use a reduced font size not less than 8-point and may be landscape. Line spacing shall be set at no less than single space. Each paragraph shall be separated by at least one blank line. Page numbers, company logos, and headers and footers may be within the page margins ONLY, and are not bound by the 12-point font requirement. Footnotes to text shall not be used. Pages in violation of these instructions, either by exceeding the margin, font or spacing restrictions or by exceeding the total page limit, will not be evaluated. Pages in excess of the maximum will be removed from the end of the response by the Contracting Officer without being evaluated. The page count will be determined by counting the pages in the order they come up in the print layout view. Pages not evaluated due to violation of the margin, font or spacing restrictions will not count against the page limitations. Your response may be releasable to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, and the DHS FOIA regulation, 6 C.F.R. Chapter 1 and Part 5. If you wish CBP to consider any portion of your response as "confidential commercial information", you should clearly mark the portion as "confidential commercial information". The procedures for identifying "confidential commercial information" are set forth in the DHS FOIA regulation cited above and are available on the DHS website, http://www.dhs.gov/xfoia/editorial_0579.shtm. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), at its discretion, may request respondents to this RFI to elaborate on information in their written response. All information contained in this RFI is preliminary and is subject to revision and is not binding on the Government. Please don't send a price proposal in connection with this RFI. Also note that the collection of this data does not obligate the U.S. Government to the incorporation of the solicited comments in any future procurement action nor does it obligate the Government to the procurement of any services or products related to this RFI. Responses to this RFI will not be returned nor will respondents be privy to debriefings to their respective submittals. Contracting Office Address: 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Room 1310 NP Washington, District of Columbia 20229 United States Primary Point of Contact: Brice Winston Contracting Officer Email: brice.winston@dhs.gov Phone: 202-344-3645