U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, Purchasing Division, Room 1230, 844 North Rush St., Chicago, IL 60611-2092

36 -- DIGITAL DUPLICATORS SOL RFQ 99-C-02 DUE 010599 POC Velinda Nix -- 312/751-3387 I. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subject 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Bids are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. II. This solicitation is issued as a Request-For-Quotation (RFQ) 99-C-02. III. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular Number 97-09. IV. This solicitation is not a small business set-aside. V. A. The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), an independent Federal Government agency, with its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, intends to procure, through a Lease with Option to Purchase (LWOP) Fair Market Value Purchase Option, two (2) digital duplicators. B. Each firm's bid must include freight and installation charges, including, but not limited to, inside delivery, set-up and complete operator training. The price quotation shall be configured as follows: 1. Offered purchase price that is the basis for the monthly price shall provide for the equipment and maintenance service. 2. Monthly lease price shall provide for the equipment and maintenance service. 3. Purchase Option Cap price at the end of the 36 month lease period. 4. Prices for installation and implementation of the digital duplicators and de-installation and removal and trade-in credit for Risograph GR3750. 5. Maintenance support price Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, excluding Federal holidays. 6. On-call Repair Services/Emergency Repair Services -- hourly price. (Periods other than 8:00 a.m. -- 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This price includes holiday periods and weekends). VI. A. General Requirements -- 1. Digital duplicators shall have the manufacturer's serial number, manufacturer's name and/or trademark, and model number permanently and legibly affixed on the major component in readily accessible location. 2. An operator's manual (English) shall be furnished with each placed digital duplicator. Manuals permanently affixed to equipment are acceptable in lieu of manuals furnished separately from equipment. 3. Digital duplicators shall feature a definite indicator of when the equipment is energized. This may be either a special "power on" light or an appropriate indicator on the control panel. 4. Digital duplicators shall have a self-diagnostic, on-line help system which displays understandable operator messages. 5. Digital duplicators shall be equipped with a lighten/darken contrast control. 6. All digital duplicators furnished shall be capable of handling stocks from 16-100 pound weights. 7. Digital duplicators shall have a minimum of three preset reduction/enlargement ratios which allow direct selection of the percentage required for standard reduction enlargement copy specifications. Digital duplicators equipped with one or more of the following features are considered to be in compliance with this requirements: a. Preset ratios: the reduction/enlargement ratios are entered into the copier by the manufacturer and are quickly accessible by pressing the appropriate preset button. b. Memory storage capability: Digial duplicators has several reduction/enlargement memories available to be programmed by the operator. While the required ratios may not necessarily be preset by the manufacturer, the operator can easily program them into memory, such that they are readily accessible at any time. 8. Digital duplicators shall have the ability to zoom reduction and enlargement at 1% increments. 9. Digital duplicators shall have a minimum 1,000 sheet capacity for both feeding and receiving. 10. Digital duplicators shall have a photograph enhancement mode. 11. Digital duplicators shall have automatic paper size detection. 12. Digital duplicators image area shall be a minimum of 10.7" x 16.5" which is capable of copying onto a 11" x 17" stock. 13. Digital duplicators shall have the capability to copy originals from bound or bulky documents (Book Mode). 14. Digital duplicators shall be equipped with automatic idle. 15. Digital duplicators shall be equipped with photograph contrast control. 16. Digital duplicators shall be equipped with two-up mode. 17. Digital duplicators shall perform satisfactorily at any temperature between 50 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. 18. Digital duplicators shall perform satisfactorily at any relative humidity between 15 and 85 percent. B. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS 1. Digital duplicators shall be able to print multiple colors. 2. Digital duplicators shall be capable of digitizing an original at a minimum of 600 x 600 dpi. 3. Digital duplicators shall have a minimum output quality of 600 x 600 cpi. 4. Digital duplicators shall have a recommended monthly volume in excess of 200,000 copies. 5. Digital duplicators shall have a minimum copy speed of 120 letter size (8.5" x 11") copies per minute (CPM). 6. Digital duplicators shall have the capability to print onto a maximum paper size of 11" x 17". 7. Digital duplicators shall have the ability to electronically store up to 15 jobs in onboard memory. 8. Digital duplicators shall have an adjustable glass platen. 9. Digital duplicators shall be compatible with envelope feeder, model number AR8000. C. The contractor shall accept for trade-in and remove from the premises the current machine, Risograph GS3750 and attached equipment. The contractor shall minimize disruption of service by removing the Government-owned machines at the time the replacement equipment furnished here under is delivered and ready to be installed. The Board will not provide temporary storage of equipment pending removal from the building. D. In addition, the system/model must be in current production as of the date a bid is submitted under this solicitation. Current Production", for purposes herein shall mean that the system/model is being manufactured as new equipment for the United States market. Any system/model being offered as "remanufactured" is also acceptable; however it must have been inspected and tested to the original manufacturer's standards. The system/model furnished after award, as new or remanufactured, must not have been used at any other time prior to delivery after the manufacturing or remanufacturing process. E. The contractor must provide implementation assistance to allow for a brief cut-over period. The optimum period for deinstallation/installation would begin after 3 p.m. on Friday and end by noon Sunday; however, the Board is willing to consider other alternatives. The implementation assistance shall include, but not be limited to: 1. Delivery and/or consulting in the areas of system software updates, and installing all cables, connectors and other peripherals necessary to operate the system; F. Orientation and technical overview presentations for in-house system operators. VII. Digital duplicators must be delivered, installed and set up on the second floor of headquarters at 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2092. There is one freight elevator available with a weight capacity of6,000 lbs. Delivery should occur within 45 days after receipt of order. VIII. FAR Provision 52.212-01, Instructions to Commercial Offerors -- Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and is hereby included by reference. The bidder must describe the methods/features/software with which the specifications will be met. Include detailed specifications, brochures, descriptive literature and functionality assessments. Warranty information, if applicable, and terms must be a part of the package as well as a detailed description and schedule of the on-site operator training program. Both must be included in the pricing document. The successful bidder must provide full on-call maintenance support, 8:00 am. until 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday except Federal holidays by full qualified factory trained certified technicians on all components of the system. A maintenance schedule must be included in the bid package. Additionally, on-call repair services shall be available with a response time of 3 hours after notification from the RRB. IX. Proposals will be evaluated using the following technical and past performance criteria: Technical Proposal Evaluation. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The technical and past performance when combined, are weighed 1:1 in relation to price factors. The following technical factors shall be used to evaluate offers: A. Past Performance. 1) Past performance of the offeror on similar contracts which demonstrate the offeror's capability to meet the RRB's requirements including: a) Quality of service, which includes the contractor's compliance with contract requirements, accuracy of reports and quality of staff. b) Timeliness of performance, which includes the contractor's reliability as well as the ability to meet contractually established deadlines. c) Business relations, which includes the contractors ability to cooperate with the client in addition to the ability to respond to inquiries in an effective manner. d) Customer satisfaction, which includes satisfaction of end users with the contractor's service. 2) Assessment of the offeror's past performance will be one means of evaluating the credibility of the offeror's proposal, and relative capability to meet performance requirements. a) Information utilized will be obtained from the references listed in the proposal, other customers known to the Government, consumer protection organizations, and others who may have useful and relevant information. Information will also be considered regarding any significant subcontractors, and key personnel records. b) Evaluation of past performance will often be quite subjective based on consideration of all relevant facts and circumstances. It will include a determination of the offerors commitment to customer satisfaction and will include conclusion of informed judgement. However, the basis for conclusions of judgement will be documented. B. Maintenance Plan/Schedule. 1) The maintenance plan/schedule should demonstrate the contractor's capability in meeting the RRB's requirements including: a) Full on-call maintenance support between the hours of 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. b) Factory trained and fully certified technicians. c) Cost for after hours work, i.e., Federal hours, weekends, etc. d) Response time in four (4) hours or less from the initial service call placed by the designated RRB employee. e) A schedule plan for preventive maintenance. C. Implementation Plan. 1) A clear and concise plan for removing the old equipment and installing the new equipment with minimal disruption to the agency. 2) On-site training of RRB personnel in the operation of the equipment installed. D. Equipment. 1) The capability of the equipment specified to meet RRB requirements. The offeror shall submit, as part of its proposal information on previously performed contracts or on-going contracts that are similar to the statement of work inthe solicitation performed for Federal, State or local Governments and for commercial firms. Information shall be provided on either 1) all such contracts within the past three years, or 2) the last three such contracts performed, whichever is fewer, and shall be limited to the name and address of the organization for which the product was supplied and services were performed and the number (phone, fax or Internet) of at least two contacts for each contract listed. The offeror should not describe past performance history in the proposal. The information may include, however, discussion of any major problems encountered on the contracts listed and the corrective actions taken to resolve them. The information may also include a description of any quality awards earned by the offeror. X. FAR Provision 52.212-3, Offeror's Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items, must be completed and submitted with the offer. XI. FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items, appliesto this solicitation. XII. FAR clause, 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders -- Commercial Items, hereby applies to this acquisition. XIII. FAR clause, 52.232-18, Availability of funds, applies to this solicitation. System must be Year 2000 compliant per FAR Subpart 39.002 incorporated by reference. Offeror certifies price and terms offered in response to this solicitation are valid for 180 calendar days from the date of offer. XIV. Offers and supporting documentation shall be received in this office no later than 11:00 a.m. local time, January 15, 1999. Mark outside of the envelope clearly with RFQ 99-C-02 enclosed" and bidder's name and address. Facsimile responses will not be accepted. The RRB will not send an acknowledgment of receipt of any firm's submission. Posted 12/18/98 (W-SN281667). (0352)

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