Nalgene Bottles Amended Second Time

This COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION is hereby amended to answer questions raised by a potential offeror: Question: Do you have any number that quantifies - significant decrease? Some of the rare elements will most likely be undetected but elements like Zn may detectable to an extent because they are ubiquitous. NIST's answer: Impurities should be undetectable or no more than 1% of the certified value for that element in SRM 1640a (which can be found here: https://www-s.nist.gov/srmors/certificates/1640A.pdf) after the - blank amount from fresh 2% nitric acid is subtracted (since some elements might be present in acid). Additionally for detectable impurities of the elements (Al, Sb, As, Ba, Be, Bi, B, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pt, Rb, Se, Ag, Sr, Te, Tl, W, U, V, and Zn), the variation of that impurity should be no more than 10% over the bottles tested. If the 1% number is too stringent, a technical explanation why it is unachievable for some elements that are low in SRM 1640a may be considered acceptable. Any additional questions must be submitted no later than by 3 pm EST today to receive a response. The due date for quotation remains unchanged. This COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION is hereby amended to answer questions raised by a potential offeror: Question: I have a question about the - Acceptance Criteria requirement. What acceptance tests does NIST intend to perform on these bottles? What is the acceptance criteria? NIST'S response: NIST has already performed testing of typical impurities of the type of bottles being cleaned before acid washing. NIST will be testing for a significant decrease in the impurities present. This testing will be performed by sampling 10 to 20 bottles from those cleaned by the Contractor, filling with 2 % nitric acid and allowing to sit for 7 days. After this 7 day period, the 2 % nitric acid will be measured using ICP-MS. Impurities tested will be: Al, Sb, As, Ba, Be, Bi, B, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pt, Rb, Se, Ag, Sr, Te, Tl, W, U, V, and Zn. No additional changes have been made and the due date for quotation remains unchanged. This COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION is hereby amended to dissolve the small business set aside. This synopsis is now a full and open competition, the new due date for quotation is May 4th, 2021. No additional changes have been made. This COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION is hereby amended to update NIST's sepcifications and upload a new amended requirements document. The new due date for quotation is April 23rd, 2021. No additional cahnges have been made. COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION Brand Name Only Nalgene Bottles 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 separate written solicitation document will not be issued. This solicitation is being issued under the authority of FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The due date for quotation is March 29th 2021, 1:00pm EST This solicitation is a Request for Quotations (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2021-04 effective January 19th, 2021. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement shall be 326160 - Plastics Bottle Manufacturing with a small business size standard of 1250 employees. This acquisition is being procured as a 100% Small Business Set Aside competition. The NIST Inorganic Chemical Metrology Group is responsible for developing, critically evaluating, and applying techniques for the identification and measurement of inorganic and organometallic species using X-ray, optical, and mass spectrometry as well as classical analytical methods, pH, and electroanalytical methods. Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) and analytical methods development support a variety of industries including advanced materials, cements, ores, and fossil fuels, as well as clinical, food, and environmental analyses. The group develops and maintains primary national standards for elemental and anionic concentrations, pH, electrolytic conductivity, and isotopic abundance. BRAND NAME ONLY The Government has identified Nalgene narrow-mouth HDPE 250mL bottle Part #2099-0008 as the only acceptable product for this requirement based on Nalgene bottles use for packaging NIST SRM 1640b in previous versions of the NIST Natural Water SRM, SRM 1640 and SRM 1640a. The bottles have two main issues to control: 1) loss through evaporation or leakage and 2) contamination through leaching of elements from the parts of the bottle's internal surface. For leakage the Nalgene bottles have proven durable over a decade of use for SRM 1640. The - water material is actually acidified solution, the Nalgene bottles proven record of resisting embrittlement and corrosion during extended exposure to materials similar to the planned water material. This knowledge cannot be reproduced without monitoring another brand bottle for 8 years minimum (the expected sales life of the material) to ensure it is equally resistant. Additionally, shorter term (< 1 year) leakage concerns due to porosity of the bottle material and closure of the bottle has been studied by NIST's Chemical Sciences Division. Repeating this stability testing would take at least 6 months. Responsible quoters shall provide pricing for the following Line Items: Line Item 0001: 6000 Acid washed Nalgene Nunc narrow mouth HDPE 250 mL bottles. DELIVERY Delivery: Shall be FOB DESTINATION and shall occur within 30 days. However, due to current to access restrictions delivery shall not take place until the contractor coordinates with the designated Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) and Contracting Officer (CO). Prior to shipment, the Contractor must ensure NISTs campus is open and accepting deliveries. If the restrictions of access to the campus impacts delivery schedules, a modification may be executed by the CO to establish an extended delivery timeframe. The items shall be shipped F.O.B. Destination to: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY 100 Bureau Dr. Gaithersburg, MD. 20899-1640 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 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. ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA AND PAYMENT Government Acceptance: Acceptance will occur after the Government Technical Point of Contact has confirmed that all minimum requirements in this document have been met. Payment: Advance payment is not authorized. Partial Payments are not authorized. The contractor may submit and invoice after Government acceptance has occurred. Questions regarding this Synopsis/Solicitation can be emailed to contact@example.gov EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD The Government intends to award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible quoter whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, is the lowest price, technically acceptable quotation. Technically acceptable means that the Contractor's provide equipment meeting the minimum requirements in the requirements document. Price will be evaluated for all quoters whose quotations are determined technically acceptable. Price will be evaluated to determine that total price is consistent with the technical portion of the quotation and is a fair and reasonable overall price to the Government. The Contracting Officer may, if necessary, request revised quotation(s) prior to award. REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS All Contractors shall submit the following: For the purpose of evaluation of Technical Acceptability: Quoters shall provide documentation that demonstrates the quoted product's ability to meet or exceed the minimum specifications in accordance with the requirements document. For the purpose of Price: Quoters shall provide firm-fixed price quotations for Line Items Quoters shall include a completed copy of all required solicitation provisions contained in the attached Applicable Provisions/Clauses document (required provisions are highlighted) Any award resulting from this solicitation will contain the following statement: - The Government's terms and conditions, identified herein, shall be the prevailing terms and conditions governing this award. In the event of a conflict between the Government's and contractor's terms and conditions, the Government's terms and conditions take precedence. If the Contractor objects to any of the terms and conditions contained in this solicitation, the contractor 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: [Contractor shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)]. It is the sole responsibility of the Contractor to identify in their quote any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. If the contractor does not include such a statement, the submission of a quotation in response to this solicitation will be regarded as the Contractor's acceptance of the Government's terms and conditions for inclusion into the resultant purchase order as prevailing. Quoters shall provide an active DUNS # for the System for Award Management (SAM) registration. Quoters must have an active registration at www.SAM.Gov in order to be technically evaluated. 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 a contractor 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 contractor's FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation; PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES: The clauses and provisions applicable to this solicitation can be found under Applicable Clauses & Provisions. The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at https://farsite.hill.af.mil or www.acquisition.gov/far. The full text of a CAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at https://farsite.hill.af.mil or http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/acquistion_management/policy/. ATTACHMENTS: The following attachments apply to this solicitation: 1. The Requirements Document 2. Applicable Clauses & Provisions