Schindler Miconic A Elevator Maintenance

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) intends to enter into a sole source contract with Schindler Elevator Corporation for the operation, maintenance and repair of the Schindler Miconic "A" elevators in the NRC's Two White Flint North (TWFN) Building in Rockville, MD. The period of performance will be for a base year and four option years beginning on May 6, 2014. Schindler Elevator Corporation is uniquely qualified to provide this service because Schindler Elevator Corporation is the sole manufacturer of the elevator systems installed in NRC's TWFN Building. The software, circuitry charts, and diagnostic equipment used for program analysis and troubleshooting are proprietary to Schindler, and as such, are unavailable for use by any other elevator maintenance company for maintaining and servicing elevators. Any attempts by any other company to maintain the elevator systems without the use of the Schindler proprietary software would inevitably lead to malfunctions, delays, and problems that could impact the health and safety of the NRC employees. Additionally, upgrades to the elevator equipment and software that have been installed by Schindler on the nine (9) elevator systems were either designed and/or engineered by Schindler, such as the surge protection system, which was designed to prevent elevator outages during severe thunderstorms. The ability to communicate and interface with the Miconic A SSD processor and software requires a CADI tool. Schindler Elevator has sole ownership of the CADI tool and any related patents. In addition, there is a key that operates the entire software system and is required for access into the system to make changes, repairs and upgrades. The CADI tool and software key are both owned by Schindler Elevator and are not available to other elevator companies. The two tools listed above are absolutely necessary for the elevator system to operate properly. In addition to the tools, the actual software for this elevator system is proprietary to Schindler Elevator. Although a diagnostic tool is available on the open market, it serves only as an informative tool to anyone besides Schindler Elevator. Should any software need repair or upgrade, Schindler is the only company that is able to upgrade or repair any software issues. Further, since the equipment was custom designed by Schindler Elevator for NRC, the software is extremely specific and another elevator company would not have the capability to modify, upgrade or repair it. Additionally, Schindler Elevator provides software enhancements and upgrades effecting safety and reliability at no cost to the government. These upgrades and enhancements are only available from Schindler Elevator. As an added feature, Schindler Elevator has a remote monitoring tool that will monitor the elevators 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The system provides interactive communication with the controllers to identify and diagnose elevator faults. Through this remote system, a technician will be automatically dispatched directly from the SRM upon indication of a failure. Schindler's Advanced Diagnostic Support System (ADSS for short) also provides an action plan of faults to check and verify in order to pinpoint the root cause of the fault. This feature assists in correcting the specific problem the first time therefore reducing repeated service calls. This feature is exclusive to Schindler Elevator. Although other elevator companies offer remote monitoring systems, no other system can be installed on the Miconic A equipment. Schindler's approach to remote monitoring has been shown to reduce the return to service by approximately 25% as opposed to non-SRM units. Schindler's SRM is the only remote monitoring unit that can be retrofitted on non -Schindler units with all of the above capabilities. The SRM system was developed by and remains the property of Schindler Elevator. The authority to enter into a contract on a sole-source basis with Otis Elevator is made under the authority of 41 U.S. C. 253(c)(1) and Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 which provides for limiting competition in those situations where the supplies or services are available from only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy the agency requirements. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 238290 - Other Building Equipment Contractors. This notice of intent is neither a request for proposal nor a solicitation of offers. A determination not to compete this proposed procurement based on responses to the notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely to determine whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government. In doing so, interested sources must submit technical capabilities and any other information that demonstrates their ability to meet the NRC's needs. Detailed capabilities must be submitted to the below address not later than 15 calendar days from the date this announcement appears in the Federal Business Opportunities. Responses providing insufficient information for evaluation by the NRC will not be considered. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted.