W065--Histology Cassette and Slide Printing

Sources Sought Notice (SSN) Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Network Contracting Office 16 (NCO 16) This SSN is for market research and planning purposes only, and shall not be considered an Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Task Execution Plan, Request for Quotation (RFQ), or a Request for Proposal (RFP). Additionally, there is no obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services described in this SSN. Your response to this SSN will be treated only as information for the Government to consider. You will not be entitled to payment for direct or indirect costs that you incur in responding to this SSN. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated or received for this effort. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to pay for the information submitted in response to this SSN. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this requirement is 532490 with a minimum business standard of $40M and Product Service Code (PSC) of W065. PURPOSE The purpose is to establish a lease contract to provide and install slide and cassette printing and delivery systems at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) 4300 W. 7th Street, Little Rock, AR 72205. This will be installed in the Histology Laboratory, Room 2E-140, 2E-141, and 2D-185. Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (P&LMS) requires the slide and cassette printing that correlate with the current Dreampath Crystal Slide Traceability and Archiving system for slide and block storage which enables electronic tracking and storage of surg path sections as well as greatly reduces tech time spent filing and retrieving both slides and blocks and possible tech errors including mis-labeling and misfiling. SCOPE The Contractor s leased contract shall provide, transport, install, and test all listed equipment. The Contractor shall furnish all materials, parts, tools, supplies, equipment, facilities and services required for delivery and installation of the supplies and equipment. The Contractor is responsible for any missing parts and components not included in order to carry out the installation. All products must meet all salient characteristics defined in this section. Salient Characteristics This piece of leased Slide Printing equipment will be a highly specialized slide printer and delivery system that enables automated labeling and storage of surgical pathology slides recommended manufacturer and brand name: Statlab PiSmart Twin Hopper Thermal Slide Printer or Thermo Fisher Epredia Slidemate Pro Slide Printer which must contain the following features: Tabletop Instrument Laser printer Print speed of 3-5 seconds or less Unit must consist of an automatic/manual Slide Delivery system along Slide printer Ability to print individual slides and create/print sequences of slides and change the template used to print slides Ability to design your own template using different fonts and barcode types Set templates to accept data from scanned barcodes or LIS input Ability to edit and delete slides within a sequence. Must operate on 24V DC adaptor and have power cord Must hold a minimum of 72 slides Must correspond with cassette printer to ensure proper labeling Must correspond with Dreampath Crystal Slide Traceability and Archiving system Yearly scheduled PM included All replacement parts, including printheads, labor and travel expenses for any unscheduled service will be covered by the vendor (not to include accessory items) All applicable instrument shipping charges covered by vendor for year of contract Service will ship replacement unit within 48 hours of request if needing repair at no cost to CAVHS Technical support and troubleshooting during normal business hours (M-F 8am-5pm EST) This leased piece of Cassette Printing equipment will be a highly specialized cassette printer and delivery system that quickly and accurately labels cassettes for gross specimen sections and allows for automation at the microtome while reducing errors associated with handwritten labeling. Recommended manufacturer and brand name: StatLab PiSmart Six Hopper Laser Cassette Priner or Theromo Fisher Epredia PrintMate AS 450 Cassette Printer which must contain the following features: Ability to print each cassette in 3-5 seconds or less Have a compact footprint to ensure close proximity to gross stations Automatic/or manual cassette delivery system Reduced tech TAT and maximize efficiency by creating a 2D data matrix barcode Dimensions not to exceed: 15in D x 17in W x 32in H with cassettes Ability to hold 450 cassettes Touchscreen Must correspond with Dreampath Fina Block Traceability and Archiving system Yearly scheduled PM included All replacement parts, including printheads, labor and travel expenses for any unscheduled service will be covered by the vendor (not to include accessory items) All applicable instrument shipping charges covered by vendor for year of contract Installation and validation of unit operation Vendor is responsible to setup and install unit in final operating condition. Vendor must ensure unit operates according to manufacturer s specifications on completion of installation. Onsite training of designated staff Vendor will provide onsite training of designated Histology staff in routine operation and maintenance of the unit. Vendor will provide onsite training of designated BioMedical engineering staff in basic maintenance and repair of the unit. Vendor shall provide three (3) complete sets of the operator s manuals (hard copy and digital) Vendor shall provide two (2) copies of the technical manuals, if available (hard copy and digital) Vendor shall provide telephone support with response to troubleshooting call preferably within twenty-four (24) hours but no later than two (2) business days after call is placed. Vendor shall perform at least one (1) annual preventative maintenance visit, including maintenance of parts at no charge, to each unit. Documentation of the preventative maintenance will be given to the Anatomic Pathology supervisor upon completion. Delivery and Installation Contractor shall deliver all equipment to the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) Anatomic Pathology Laboratory Rm 2E-141 Histology Section of P&LMS at 4300 W. 7th Street, Little Rock, AR 72205. Install all equipment to the manufacturer s specifications maintaining Federal, and Local safety standards. All work shall be completed between 8:00AM and 4:30PM, Monday Friday. All federal holidays, excluded. Federal holidays are available at the Federal Holiday OPM site. If there is an operational conflict with installation, night or weekend installation may be required. Government will provide a seventy-two (72) hours notice of change of installation hours. The Contractor shall coordinate all deliveries, staging areas, installations, and parking arrangements with the designated representative at time of award. The Contractor shall remove all related shipping debris and cleanup any construction associated with delivery and installation of the specified items. Contractor shall remove all packaging from the VA premises. The Contractor shall be responsible for any damage to the building that occurs due to Contractor error or neglect. The following information is requested in a response to this SSN: General Company Information: Name of Company: Address: Point of Contact: Phone Number: Email Address: Company Website (if available): SAM Unique Entity Identifier Number: Commercial & Government Entity (CAGE) Number: Business Type (Socio-economic status as it relates to 339112). Please ensure the System for Award Management (SAM sam.gov) indicates this NAICS code if you are interested in the requirement. Please put a check mark or X next to the type of business you are below: a. Large b. 8(a) c. HubZone d. Small Business e. Small Disadvantaged Business f. Woman Owned Small Business g. Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business h. Veteran Owned Small Business ***Note: All Veteran Owned Businesses must be registered in SBA Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) at Veteran Small Business Certification (sba.gov) to be considered a Veteran Owned Business. Socioeconomic status (whether Service Disable Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VSOB), Hubzone, 8(a), Woman Owned, Small Disadvantaged, etc.). If small, does your firm qualify as a small, emerging business, or small disadvantaged business? For all small businesses, to include SDVOSB and VOSB at least fifty (50) percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the concern. If disadvantaged, specify under which disadvantaged group and if your firm is certified under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act. *** Is this product available under a federal supply schedule (GSA)? If yes, please provide the contract number. How long has your company provided these products and/or services? Does your company directly provide this product? Provide information for any current or past VA contracts for these products and/or services. Proposed NAICS code (if different from above) Proposed PSC code (if different from above). All responses to this Sources Sought Notice should be emailed to contact@example.gov . All responses are due by noon on Monday, 28 April 2025.