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(i) This is a Combined Synopsis/Solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.
(ii) The solicitation number is AMDTCRQ2501713, and the solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) restricted on a Total Small Business Set-Aside basis. This acquisition is for a commercial item or service and is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures and FAR Part 12—Acquisition of Commercial Items. A Fixed-Price type of Purchase Order contract is contemplated for any resulting contract entered into as a result of this solicitation.
(iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) Number / Effective Date: 2025-04 / 06-11-2025.
(iv) The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 333415 – Air Conditioning and Warm Air Heating Equipment and Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing. The small business size standard is 1,250 employees. This is a total small business set-aside solicitation. Only small businesses under the applicable NAICS code are eligible to respond.
(v) SCOPE OF WORK: 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 to perform the work statement. See the attached Statement of Requirements for further detail.
SITE VISIT:
A Site Visit will be conducted by NIST personnel to allow potential Quoters to view the workspace for the chambers and to obtain a better understanding of the work required. The Site Visits will include an escorted view of the workspace, located in Building 206, Room 107, on the NIST Gaithersburg, MD campus. No photographs may be taken during the Site Visit.
While not required in order to submit an offer, potential Quoters are strongly encouraged to participate in the site visit. In no event shall failure to attend the site visit or to inspect the site constitute grounds for a claim after contract award.
The Site Visit will be conducted on July 8, 2025, from 11:30 AM through 12:30 PM, Eastern Time on the NIST campus, located at 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1640. Each contractor may send a maximum of two (2) participants to attend the site visit. At least one NIST employee will be present for the site visit. Contractors must be physically present to participate in the site visit and may not participate via teleconference. Photographs are not allowed at the Site Visit. Note that no alternate dates or times will be scheduled.
To participate in the site visit, potential Quoters must request attendance via email to the Contract Specialist, Mr. Hunter Tjugum, at [email protected]. Requests must be received not later than July 1, 2025 by 12:00 PM ET.
Potential Quoters must provide the following information with their requests:
• Full name of each attendee (maximum of 2 attendees per request). The name must match the individual’s photo identification (driver’s license, passport, etc.) which is required to be presented at the NIST Security Office before attending the site visit.
• Company Name
• (If subcontractor) Prime Company Name
• Contact Information for each attendee, including email address and phone number.
NIST will respond to timely requests with confirmation of assigned site visit information as well as site access guidance. Please refer to the following web site for additional Visitor Information http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/visitor/. Contractors shall be required to familiarize themselves with all requirements at this website prior to entering the NIST campus.
Questions will be allowed during the site visits. However, note that any questions asked during the site visits will be recorded, anonymized, and answered in a Question and Answer (Q&A) amendment associated with this solicitation. Photographs are not allowable at the site visits and NO pictures shall be taken.
Potential Quoters are cautioned that all terms and conditions of the solicitation remain unchanged unless they are changed by written amendment to the solicitation. It is the responsibility of each Quoter, prior to submitting a quotation, to seek clarification of any perceived ambiguity in the solicitation or as created by an amendment to the solicitation.
(vii) The provision at FAR 52.252-1, Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998), applies to this acquisition. This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at these addresses:
https://www.acquisition.gov/?q=browsefar
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title48/48cfrv5_02.tpl
(End of provision)
The following provisions apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference:
• FAR 52.203-18, Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements-Representation
• FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management
• FAR 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting
• FAR 52.204-17, Ownership or Control of Offeror
• FAR 52.204-20, Predecessor of Offeror
• FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment
• FAR 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation
• FAR 52.209-2, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations-Representation
• FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items
• FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (DEVIATION FEB 2025)
• FAR 52.225-25, Prohibition on Contracting with Entities Engaging in Sanctioned Activities Relating to Iran
The clause at FAR 52.252-2, Clauses Incorporated by Reference, applies to this acquisition. This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at these addresses:
https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title48/48cfrv5_02.tpl
(End of clause)
INSTRUCTIONS TO QUOTERS (Addendum to FAR 52.212-1):
The Quoter’s quotation shall be submitted electronically via email and shall consist of two volumes as detailed below. Each quotation volume shall include the Quoter’s name, UEI number, and point of contact information in a cover page, header/footer, or other easily identified location. The Contracting Officer intends to award a purchase order without discussions but reserves the right to enter into discussions if in the best interest of the Government.
Volume 1: Technical Response
This volume shall contain the Quoter’s technical response. The technical response (not including table of contents) shall not exceed ten (10) single-spaced, single-sided pages. Text shall be no less than 12-point Times New Roman font in Microsoft Word or searchable Adobe PDF format.
The technical response shall include the name, title, phone number, and email address of the Quoter’s primary point of contact and the individual authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Quoter (if negotiations are determined to be necessary).
The technical response shall include:
1. Proposed design information for the required chambers with a narrative explain how the proposed design addresses the Government’s requirements
2. A description of the proposed pre-installation, installation, and training methods for addressing the Government’s requirements
3. A description of proposed warranty and preventative maintenance services
4. A description of the proposed contract schedule, detailed for each task associated with the requirement. Please include any potential issues that might cause delays and risk mitigation plans.
5. Prior experience information to include information on at least one (1) and up to three (3) purchase orders or contracts in which the Quoter performed work similar to the scope of this requirement. Prior experience information provided shall be for work completed or substantially completed within the past five (5) years. Prior experience shall include the following information:
6. Completed provision responses, from the provisions attached to this solicitation. Provisions requiring response are highlighted in yellow.
7. A list of assumptions and/or exceptions made in preparing the quotation.
Volume 2: Price Quotation
This volume shall contain the Quoter’s price quotation in Microsoft Excel format, or in searchable PDF format. All figures must be rounded to the nearest hundredth.
Price quotations shall be submitted on a firm fixed price and fixed rate basis in accordance with the contract line item numbering structure details below. Quotations shall be valid for 60 days after solicitation close.
CONTRACT LINE ITEM STRUCTURE:
The required contract line item numbering (CLIN) structure for this Solicitation is listed below. CLINs shall include FOB Delivery pricing inclusive of any tariffs.
CLIN 0001: Environmental and Curing Chamber for NIST Gaithersburg Building 206 in accordance with the attached Statement of Requirements.
EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD (Addendum to FAR 52.212-2):
The Government intends to award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible contractor whose quotation conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous and represents the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. Best value shall be determined using the trade-off evaluation method. Therefore, the Government may award to other than the lowest priced quote or the highest technically rated quoter.
The Government intends to evaluate quotations and issue a purchase order based on the initial quotations received. Therefore, the quoter’s initial quotation should contain the quoter’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. The Government reserves the right to request revised quotations from, or negotiate final purchase order terms with one or more, but not all, quoters if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any or all quotations if the quotation fails to comply with the requirements of this solicitation.
The factors identified below will be used to evaluate quotations.
Factor A (Technical Factor): Design and Technical Approach
Factor B (Technical Factor): Schedule, Preventative Maintenance, and Warranty
Factor C (Technical Factor): Prior Experience
Factor D (Non-Technical Factor): Price
Technical / non-price factors are listed in descending order of importance. Technical / non-price factors, when combined, are more important than price. However, price will become more important as the degree of equality among technical non-price evaluations increases.
A. Design and Technical Approach
The Government will evaluate quotations for understanding of the Government’s requirements and the degree to which the proposed design and approach address stated product requirements. The Government will evaluate proposed products for quality and expected effectiveness and useful life in the laboratory.
B. Schedule, Preventative Maintenance, and Warranty
The Government will evaluate quotations for the degree to which they address the schedule, preventative maintenance, and warranty requirements. Faster schedule (including ready availability of parts proposed) and longer warranty may increase confidence.
C. Prior Experience
The Quoter’s response will be evaluated for the extent to which the Quoter has demonstrated prior experience relevant to the requirements of the solicitation and Statement of Requirements. Relevancy shall be considered similarity to the current requirement in scope of work, period of performance, and total dollar value. The government will consider prior experience on efforts completed or substantially completed within the past five (5) years.
D. Price
Quoted pricing will be evaluated but not scored. Price evaluation will determine whether the quoted price is fair and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements and what a prudent person would pay in the marketplace. The fair and reasonableness price determination will include both base and optional requirements.
EVALAUTION RATING SCALE
The Government will use the rating scale defined below to assign ratings to each individual technical evaluation factor (not to price). The Government will not assign an overall confidence rating to each Quoter. This evaluation may be done holistically, and the assigned rating will inherently consider an overall assessment of risk.
High Confidence - The Government has high confidence that the Offeror understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing the contract.
Some Confidence - The Government has some confidence that the Offeror understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing the contract.
Low Confidence - The Government has low confidence that the Offeror understands the requirement, proposes a sound approach, or will be successful in performing the contract.
(ix) The Quoters must include a completed copy of the provision at FAR clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (DEVIATION FEB 2025), with its offer. This requirement may be fulfilled by current completion of this provision in www.SAM.gov.
(x) The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.
(xi) The clause at FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (JAN 2025) (DEVIATION FEB 2025), applies to this acquisition and is incorporated by reference.
The following provisions of FAR clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—Commercial Items are applicable to this solicitation:
52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights
52.204-10 Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards
52.204-27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application
52.209-6 Protecting the Government’s Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment
52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside
52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting
52.219-28 Post-Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation
52.222-3 Convict Labor
52.222-19 Child Labor-Cooperation With Authorities and Remedies
52.222-36 Equal Opportunity for Workers With Disabilities
52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons
52.223-23 Sustainable Products and Services
52.225-3 Buy American-Free Trade Agreements-Israeli Trade Act, Alternate II
52.225-13 Restrictions on certain foreign purchases
52.226-8 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving
52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-- System for Award Management
The following provisions apply to this acquisition and are incorporated as an attachment, and MUST be completed and submitted with any response to this RFQ:
• FAR 52.204-20 Predecessor of Offeror
• FAR 52.204-24 Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment
• FAR 52.204-26 Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation
• FAR 52.209-5 Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters
• FAR 52.209-11 Representation by Corporations Regarding Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction under any Federal Law
• FAR 52.225-4 Buy American-Free Trade Agreements-Israeli Trade Act Certificate
• FAR 52.237-1 Site Visit
The following clauses apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference:
• FAR 52.203-19 Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements
• FAR 52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance
• FAR 52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance
• FAR 52-204-19 Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications
• FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items
• FAR 52.232-39 Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations
• FAR 52.232-40 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors [DOC Deviation April 2020]
(xii) The provision at CAR 1352.233-70 AGENCY PROTESTS (APR 2010) applies to this acquisition and incorporated in full text:
An agency protest may be filed with either (1) the Contracting Officer, or (2) at a level above the Contracting Officer, with the agency Protest Decision Authority. See 64 Fed. Reg. 16,651 (April 6, 1999).
Agency protests filed with the Contracting Officer shall be sent to the following email and mailing address:
NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION
ATTN: HING-PAN WONG, CONTRACTING OFFICER
100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640
Gaithersburg, MD 20899
Email: [email protected]
Agency protests filed with the Protest Decision Authority shall be sent to the following address:
NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION
ATTN: HEAD OF THE CONTRACTING OFFICE (HCO)
100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640
Gaithersburg, MD 20899
A complete copy of all agency protest, including all attachments, shall be served upon the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel within one day of filing a protest with either the Contracting Officer or the Protest Decision Authority.
Service upon the Contract law Division shall be made as follows:
U.S. Department of Commerce
Office of the General Counsel
Chief, Contract Law Division
Room 5893
Herbert C. Hoover Building
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20230
FAX: (202) 482-5858
(End of Provision)
(xiii) The provision at CAR 1352.233-71 GAO AND COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS PROTESTS (APR 2010) is applicable to this solicitation and incorporated in full text.
(a) A protest may be filed with either the Government Accountability Office (GAO) or the Court of Federal Claims unless an agency protest has been filed.
(b) A complete copy of all GAO or Court of Federal Claims protests, including all attachments, shall be served upon (i) the Contracting Officer, and (ii) the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel, within one day of filing a protest with either GAO or the Court of Federal Claims.
(c) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows:
U.S. Department of Commerce
Office of the General Counsel
Chief, Contract Law Division
Room 5893
Herbert C. Hoover Building
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20230.
FAX: (202) 482-5858
(End of Provision)
(xiii) The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are hereby incorporated by reference. All CAR clauses may be viewed at http://www.ecfr.gov
1352.201-70 – Contracting Officers Authority
1352.201-72 – Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)
1352.209-73 – Compliance with the Laws (APR 2010) 1352.209-74 – Organizational Conflict of Interest
1352.246-70 – Place of Acceptance
(a) The Contracting Officer or the duly authorized representative will accept supplies and services to be provided under this contract.
(b) The place of acceptance will be:
100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD. 20899
NIST LOCAL 54 – BILLING INSTRUCTIONS
NIST requires that Invoice/Voucher submissions are sent electronically via email to [email protected].
Each Invoice or Voucher submitted shall include the following:
(1) Contract number;
(2) Contractor name and address;
(3) Unique entity identifier (see www.sam.gov for the designated entity for establishing unique entity identifiers);
(4) Date of invoice;
(5) Invoice number;
(6) Amount of invoice and cumulative amount invoiced to-date;
(7) Contract Line Item Number (CLIN);
(8) Description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price, and extended price of supplies/services delivered;
(9) Prompt payment discount terms, if offered; and
(10) Any other information or documentation required by the contract.
(End of Clause)
NIST LOCAL-53 Contract Performance During Changes in NIST Operating Status
All contractors performing work on active contracts at the U.S. Department of Commerce(DOC), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campuses and/or working in NIST workspaces should go to the www.nist.gov website and under the “About NIST” tab click on “Visit”. This site includes information about campus access and security information; identification requirements; parking information and more.
Contractor personnel are required to check the appropriate campus operating status and personnel requirements at https://www.nist.gov/campus-status daily prior to arriving on site. All personnel must adhere to the requirements set forth in the operating status.
Unless otherwise stated in the contract terms and conditions, normal days of business operation are Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays. However, throughout the contract period of performance, there may be circumstances beyond the control of NIST that will impact normal days of business operation such as inclement weather, power outages, etc. In circumstances such as these, the Contractor must call the appropriate NIST campus status line to verify the operating status:
Gaithersburg Campus Operating Status Line:
(301) 975-8000
(800) 437-4385 x8000 (toll free)
Boulder Campus Operating Status Line:
(303) 497-4000
(303) 497-3000 option 2
In the event of a lapse in appropriation, access to Government facilities and resources, including equipment and systems will be limited to excepted personnel for both Federal employees and contractor personnel. If performance of the contract is onsite and/or requires Government interaction, unless the contractor has been, or is notified that it is required to work under an excepted status, the contractor must stop work. The work stoppage shall remain in effect until the lapse is resolved and notification is provided via the NIST website at www.nist.gov (banner on front page) and/or the NIST operating status line(s). Additionally, contractors are encouraged to monitor public broadcasts or the Office of Personnel Management’s website at www.opm.gov for the Federal Government operating status.
NIST will provide notification to all contractors that are determined to have excepted status. All excepted contractors are required to continue performance and communicate with the appointed Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for further guidance, or NIST Contracting Officer if a COR is not appointed.
Contractors with active supply or service contracts that are fully funded at the time of contract award and do not require access to Government facilities, resources, or active administration by Government personnel in a manner that would not cause the Government to incur additional obligations during the lapse in appropriation may continue performance.
Please note that in all circumstances that impact operations on the NIST campuses, contractors are expected to follow all direction and guidance provided by NIST authorities.
NIST LOCAL 56 – INVOICING PROCESSING PLATFORM-ALTERNATE I
Upon written notice from the contracting officer the following supersedes all other instructions for the submission of payment requests. Accordingly, following written notice payment requests must be submitted electronically through the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform System (IPP).
"Payment request" means any request for contract financing payment or invoice payment by the Contractor. To constitute a proper invoice, the payment request must comply with the requirements identified in the applicable payment request or invoicing instructions, Prompt Payment clause included in the contract, or the clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items included in commercial item contracts. The IPP website address is https://www.ipp.gov.
Under this contract, the following documents are required to be submitted as an attachment to the IPP invoice:
The Contractor must use the IPP website to register, access, and use IPP for submitting payment requests. If not already enrolled, the Contractor Government Business Point of Contact (as listed in SAM) will receive enrollment instructions via email within three to five business days of the addition of the contract award to IPP. Contractor assistance with enrollment can be obtained by contacting the IPP Production Helpdesk via email: [email protected] or phone (866) 973-3131.
If the Contractor is unable to comply with the requirement to use IPP for submitting payment requests, the Contractor must submit a waiver request in writing to the Contracting Officer with its proposal or quotation. Contact the contracting officer for more information on submitting a waiver request.
(xiv) The following additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions as determined by the contracting officer are necessary for this acquisition and consistent with customary commercial practices: There are no additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions applicable to this acquisition.
(xv) The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement.
(xvi) The alphanumeric Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in SAM.gov, the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size must be included in the response. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov.
(xvii) Quoters must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to [email protected]. Questions shall be received no later than the day following the Site Visit, or by July 9, 2025, at 4:00 PM, Eastern. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract.
(xviii) All responses must be received no later than the date specified in this announcement on July 16, 2025 at 4:00 PM, Eastern. Late responses will not be accepted. All responses must reference the subject solicitation number. Responses must be submitted electronically to [email protected]. Facsimile responses will not be accepted. For information regarding this solicitation, contact Hunter Tjugum, Contract Specialist, by email at [email protected] or by phone at 303-497-3663. Note: Quoters must have an active registration at www.SAM.gov at time of quote submission to be considered for award.