POST DATE : January 8, 2013

CLOSING DATE : January 13, 2013

PROPOSED AWARD DATE : March 31, 2013

Title : Electron Microscope CCD Cameras Service Agreement

Project Title or General Description:

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) on behalf of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), is seeking sources to provide Electron Microscope CCD Cameras maintenance services. This SOURCES SOUGHT (SS) is being issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP), NOR IS IT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ). It is not to be construed as a commitment by the requesting party 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 SS. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties in responding to this SS. This FedBizOpps SS is strictly for market research purposes only. As a result of this SS, the Government may issue a RFQ, however, should such requirements materialize, no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to the SS.

The North American Classification System (NAICS) code applicable to this requirement is 811219 - Other Electric and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance and the associated small business size standard is $19.0 Million.

Based on the responses received from this SOURCES SOUGHT announcement, the NHLBI may conduct a competitive procurement.

All eligible companies responding to this SS Announcement must have the capabilities to provide the below services upon receipt of contract.

Statement of Work:

The Laboratory of Structural Biology Research (LSBR) seeks to elucidate structure-function-assembly relationships of macromolecular complexes by cryo-electron microscopy integrated with other approaches. Systems currently under study include viruses, cytoskeletal filaments, energy-dependent proteases, and amyloid filaments.
In order to keep the LSBR's electron microscope CCD cameras operational and maintain them in peak performing condition, a maintenance agreement that covers repair and routine maintenance is required.

Contractor Requirements:

Scheduled Preventative Maintenance: A minimum of one scheduled preventative maintenance visits for each covered instrument shall be provided during the term of the annual contract. During the course of scheduled visits, ordinary repairs and adjustments arising from usage of the equipment shall be made to promote long-term performance and reliability, and to ensure that the instrument is operating within specifications. The contractor shall perform a compliance review of the equipment and shall clean, align and calibrate the equipment, as necessary for the full functioning of the equipment. These visits shall be scheduled for mutually agreed upon dates and times. If both parties do not agree upon dates and times, the Government will designate a date and time.

Unscheduled Maintenance: In addition to scheduled preventative maintenance visits, the Government may place corrective unscheduled maintenance (repair) service calls to the contractor, at no additional cost, in the event of equipment failures requiring immediate repair. The contractor shall respond to unscheduled maintenance calls within one working day of being notified of the need for repair by the Government. The Government shall have priority over service required by non-contract-holding customers for unscheduled field and factory service.
For unscheduled maintenance, the contractor shall provide the following number of minimum site visits, listed below by instrument, each contract year:

Gatan Model 895 UltraScan 4000 CCD, 3 visits
Gatan Model 894 UltraScan 1000 CCD, 3 visits

A visit of consecutive days on site will constitute one visit.

Period of Performance:
One twelve (12) month base year, April 01, 2013 through March 31, 2014. One twelve month (12) option year, April 01, 2014 through March 31, 2015.

Companies that can perform the requirement above are requested to submit a tailored capability statement for this requirement, not to exceed 20 single-sided pages (including all attachments, resumes, data, etc.) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, that clearly details the ability to perform the task (s) as described above. The capability statement shall include the following:
1. Name and identify your size and type of business (i.e. Large Business; Small Business; Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB); Woman-owned Small Businesses (WOSB); Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone); Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB); and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB];
2. If subcontractors will be utilized, the name of company(ies), and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address);
3. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in finalizing its market research.
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 pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

All capability Statements sent in response to this SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to Caitlin Palmer, Contract Specialist, at [email protected] in either MS Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), by January 13, 2013 by 12:00 a.m. EST. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered.