SOURCES SOUGHT
J -- Maintenance agreement for the transmission electron microscope (TEM), model L120C, manufactured by ThermoFisher Scientific
- Notice Date
- 6/21/2024 10:25:00 AM
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 811210
—
- Contracting Office
- NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIDA Bethesda MD 20892 USA
- ZIP Code
- 20892
- Solicitation Number
- 75N95024Q00366
- Response Due
- 7/5/2024 11:00:00 AM
- Archive Date
- 07/20/2024
- Point of Contact
- Fred Ettehadieh
- E-Mail Address
-
Fred.Ettehadieh@nih.gov
(Fred.Ettehadieh@nih.gov)
- Description
- This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition.� It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract.� Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes.� No award will be made as a result of this notice.� The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.� This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Background and Objectives: �Studying changes of normal and perturbed conditions related to the aging process at the cellular, sub-organelle, and molecular levels require the use of a 120 kilovolt TEM microscope that can record images and tilted image series at sub-nanometer resolution. A TEM image is formed by accelerating an electron beam (120 kV) through a sample. The resulting transmitted image is recorded on an integrated digital camera and has a pixel size of ~0.5 nm to 0.2 nm. Sub-nanometer resolution is a requirement for categorizing fine membrane physical changes and for using such methods that can reveal structure and chemical identity. Methods NIA will use for studies that require TEM analysis include: negative staining and antibody-gold labelling of cellular membranes and membrane-bound compartments (extracellular vesicles and autophagosomes), evaluation of membrane to membrane contact within tissues and cells, and screening of purified proteins. 3D tomography imaging is also a method that will be used and can only be performed efficiently on a fully automated transmission electron microscope with integrated software developed by the microscope manufacturer. The continuous functioning of this microscope is required to meet NIA mission needs of producing high resolution images depicting aging and aging-related disease. No other company can provide manufacturer supplied parts and manufacturer developed software. No 3rd party company can supply replacement parts as quickly as TFS. Project requirements:� Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed. The manufacturer shall provide preventive maintenance as follows: PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE CHECKS: The Contractor shall provide one preventive maintenance check per year. SOFTWARE UPDATES: The Contractor shall provide standard software updates of operating system free of charge. REQUESTING SERVICE: To request service on Equipment, Government will call the telephone number on the Service Quote or email Contractor service center. Contractor shall make commercially reasonable efforts to respond within 24 hours of Government contact with Contractor service center. If a Contractor representative cannot resolve an Equipment problem in a reasonable time frame, Contractor shall escalate the problem by providing both telephone and/or on-site support, as necessary. TELEPHONE SUPPORT: Contractor shall provide telephone support for repair and maintenance of the Equipment during Contractor business hours set forth on the Service Quote, exclusive of contractor holidays. Such support shall include responses about operating practices and service issues that can be diagnosed and resolved over the telephone. For telephone support, the Government will call the telephone number set forth on the Service Quote or such other number provided by Contractor. REPLACEMENT PARTS AND COMPONENTS: Contractor shall make commercially reasonable efforts to ship standard parts or components, in accordance with the shipping terms on the Service Quote, within twenty-four (24) hours after authorization for a part or component. In certain cases, Equipment or a part will need to be returned to Contractor for repair or replacement. Equipment may be returned to Contractor only after approval and assignment of a specific return materials control number by Contractor. Government acknowledges and agrees that replacement parts or components may be new or reconditioned to manufacturer�s specifications. Contractor may, at its sole discretion and to the extent permitted by law, exchange and/or repair and modify existing parts or components of the Equipment, so long as it does not diminish the functionality of the Equipment. Any repairable parts or components supplied and replaced by Contractor with replacement parts or components shall become the sole property of Contractor. Contractor sells repairable parts or components on net price basis. Government is responsible to return any such parts or components within ninety (90) days after the date of delivery of the replacement parts or components to Government. Government will be invoiced full list price if Government fails to return such parts or components. Any part or component package opened by Government will be considered as sold and if such part or component is not returned within ninety (90) days after the date of delivery of the replacement part or component, the full list price will be invoiced to Government. A restocking fee will be charged for all returned parts and components. Anticipated Period of Performance: �7/30/2024 to 7/29/2025. Capability statement /information sought: Small business concerns that believe they possess the capabilities to provide the required services should submit documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement must specifically address each of the project requirements separately.� Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) the total number of employees, 2) the professional qualifications of personnel as it relates to the requirements outlined, 3) any contractor GSA Schedule contracts by which all of the requirements may be met, if applicable, and 4) any other information considered relevant to this program. Small businesses must also provide their Company Name, Unique Entity ID (UEI) from SAM.gov, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information. Interested small businesses are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, reference the solicitation notice number. One (1) copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11-point or 12-point font, 8-1/2� x 11� paper size, with 1� top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing. The information submitted must be in an outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirements and in the capability statement/information sought paragraphs stated herein.� A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required. The response is limited to ten (10) pages.� The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested. All capability statements sent in response to this Small Business Sources Sought Notice must be submitted to Fred Ettehadieh, Contracting Officer, by email at fred.ettehadieh@nih.gov before the closing date and time of this announcement. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered. Facsimile responses are not acceptable. �Disclaimer and Important Notes:� This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization�s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).�
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/6c49ff419b354d8893665afa38e2d9a6/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: MD, USA
- Country: USA
- Country: USA
- Record
- SN07104605-F 20240623/240621230111 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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