This Notice is for planning purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal or Request for Quotation or an obligation on the part of the NIST for conducting a follow-on acquisition. NIST does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Notice, or otherwise pay for the information requested. No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by NIST will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST's use of such information. NIST recognizes that proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non-restricted/non-proprietary information. In the absence of such identification, NIST will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data provided in the response.

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks information on commercial vendors that are capable of providing a service agreement for preventive maintenance and emergency service for four Thermo Fischer Scientific (FEI) Electron Microscopes, 2 Helios NanoLab 660 Dual Beam microscopes, a Titan 80-300 kV Analytical Transmission Electron Microscope (ATEM), and a Titan 80-300 kV Environmental Transmission Electron Microscope (ETEM) with an image corrector. The microscopes are located at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD.

BACKGROUND

The CNST Nanofab is a multi-user facility that provides state-of-the-art equipment and expert training to users with all levels of experience. The CNST NanoFab has successfully supported advanced research projects in polymers, biology, nanoelectromechanical systems, ceramics, radiation physics, atomic physics, optics, and more. It also provides access to a wide variety of measurement and characterization tools, technologies, and expertise to NIST and its partners.

The service contract shall be a 5 year contract, a base year plus 4 option years, that will provide routine preventive maintenance (PM), emergency services, repair, and calibration for the electron microscopes. These systems are used as shared resources that are accessible to researchers from industry, academia, NIST and other government agencies. The service contract is required to keep these systems operational, with minimal interruption in service so they are available for use 24 hours per day and 7 days a week.

The instruments to be covered by the service contract are listed below.

Helios NanoLab 660 dual beam microscopes. Two (2) commercial FIB SEM microscopes were purchased as Helios NanoLab 650s and upgraded to 660s. They consist of a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope equipped with a high resolution FEG Magellan electron column and a Tomahawk ion column.

1. FEI Helios NanoLab 660, Serial number 9920003 with 5 gas injection systems, electro static beam blanker, ICE detector, STEM detector, Nav-Cam camera, Multi GIS system and AutoProbe 200.2
2. FEI Helios NanoLab 660, Serial number 9920008 with 4 gas injectors, electro static beam blanker, ICE detector, annular STEM detector, Nan-Cam camera and Auto Probe 300.2.

CNST’s Titan™ 80-300 kV transmission electron microscopes.

1. Titan™ 80-300 Analytical S/TEM with FEG, Gatan GIF Quantum SE/963, Gatan Orius camera, Fischione HAADF STEM detector, and EDAX EDX detector (in the NanoFab, Serial number D3226).
2. Titan™80-300 ETEM with X_FEG, monochromator, CEOS image corrector, ETEM operation, Gatan GIF Quantum ERS/966, EDAX EDX detector, Fischione HAADF STEM detector, on-axis BF/DF detectors, multiple turbo pumps, Digiscan, Dual EELS and Gatan Ultrascan camera (Serial number D3263).

1. SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide a service agreement for the preventive maintenance and emergency service for the electron microscopes listed above and the associated components to ensure uninterrupted performance within manufacturers’ specifications on a scheduled and as-needed basis.  The above electron microscopes are complex instruments that require routine maintenance and calibration to continuously meet the manufacturer’s specifications.  In addition, these instruments require emergency service to repair faults, failures, and sudden degradation in the performance envelope of the instrument.  The Contractor shall guarantee the full system performance of these instruments, including third-party accessories that were purchased through FEI.

Service and maintenance shall include unlimited emergency visits during regular business hours in addition to scheduled preventive maintenance visits for one year, unless stipulated otherwise.  Covered expenses shall include all parts, labor, travel, and per diem.  The Contractor shall repair/replace all parts (i.e., hardware, software, accessory components/systems) required for the operation of the systems listed below:

1. SPECIFIC TASKS

The Contractor shall provide all support for project oversight, equipment, administration and technical execution of this contract.  The Contractor is responsible for maintaining accurate records of project activities. 

The Contractor shall perform the following tasks for the electron microscopes:

Preventive Maintenance

1. Provide two (2) preventive maintenance visits during each one year term of the service agreement. 
2. The FEG source shall be replaced upon failure.
3. Scheduling of the visits shall be consistent with the maintenance requirements of the instrument as detailed in the service and use manuals for the equipment. 
4. Preventive maintenance visits shall occur during NIST’s regular business hours as specified in Section IX of this Sources Sought.  NIST Technical Contact (TC) shall contact the Contractor to schedule a mutually acceptable date and time for the preventive maintenance visits. 

System Enhancements

1. Software updates that improve the functionality of the previously purchased software capabilities are included.  
2. Prior to completion of the installation, the Contractor shall test the equipment, review the equipment’s performance, and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the equipment is functioning in accordance with the manufacturers’ specifications.  

Service Calls

1. Respond to an unlimited number of requests for service calls in the event of instrument failure which requires immediate repair. 
2. Respond to service calls Monday through Friday, during regular business hours only.  The Contractor shall provide a Thermo Fisher Scientific company certified service technician/engineer on-site at NIST Gaithersburg, MD within a targeted 48 hour response time after the service call is placed by the Government.  No weekend service visits shall be required.
3. For any third party service calls, the Contractor shall provide an original equipment manufacturer certified service technician/engineer on-site at NIST Gaithersburg, MD within seven calendar days after the service call is placed by the Government. No weekend service visits shall be required.
4. In the event that the Contractor is unable to resolve the problem during the service call, the Contractor shall provide telephone support and on-site support as needed to expedite a solution for NIST. 
5. The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining all parts required for all repairs and maintenance.  The Contractor shall make a commercially reasonable effort to secure parts within 72 hours after identifying the need for a replacement part for the covered equipment. Note:  due to the custom nature of FEI systems certain parts, components and software updates must be built to meet each unique system and therefore delivery within a 72 hour time frame is not always possible.
6. Replacement parts provided under this agreement shall be new. The Contractor may exchange and/or repair existing components of the microscope.
7. All repairs must result in the microscope meeting manufacturer’s specifications.

Service Conditions

1. All service provided under this agreement must be provided by trained personnel who are fluent in the operation of the covered equipment. 
2. Service must be rendered on-site at NIST Gaithersburg, MD unless otherwise agreed by the parties. 
3. In the event that a component needs to be repaired off-site, the Contractor shall be responsible for all packaging, shipping and transportation costs as well as liability for the shipment to and from NIST Gaithersburg, MD.  The Contractor shall be responsible for providing a “Return Authorization Number” or other information authorizing return of the shipment to their facility prior to the shipment.  Furthermore, if the off-site repair of a component is projected to exceed 7 calendar days including shipping and transportation, the Contractor is to provide a temporary replacement component to maintain operation of the tool. 
4. All parts shall be approved for use with the instrument by Thermo Fisher Scientific.  The Contractor shall only employ tools, instruments, test apparatus, methodologies, techniques, and practices approved for use with the instrument by the manufacturer.  The service protocols and instrument specifications shall be adhered to at all times. 

Telephone Support

1. Provide telephone support for the covered equipment during regular business hours. 
2. Telephone support must include response to questions about operating practices, application use, and service issues that can be diagnosed and resolved over the telephone.

1. DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERABLE DUE DATES

The Contractor shall submit a service ticket prior to departure from NIST on any given service call for maintenance or repairs with all pertinent information about the service call

1. CONTRACTOR’S MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 

The Contractor shall provide Thermo Fisher Scientific certified engineers or technicians during the performance of this requirement.  Contractor personnel shall have at least two (2) years of experience on one or more of the electron microscopes in this requirement.  Contractor personnel must be US citizens to access the NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.

The Contractor shall abide by the Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR) clause 1352.237-75 Key Personnel.  The key personnel necessary for the successful completion of the SOW are at least two (2) service engineers/technicians Gaithersburg, Maryland.  The service engineers/technicians are necessary for effective and efficient maintenance and timely repair of the electron microscopes.

NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large, foreign, and small businesses. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 811219, as those domestic sources having 500 employees or less. Please include your company’s size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice. 

Companies that can provide a preventative maintenance service contract for the Thermo Fisher microscopes are requested to email a detailed report describing their abilities to [email protected] no later than the response date for this sources sought notice. The report should include achievable specifications and any other information relevant to your product or capabilities. Also, the following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice: 1. Name of the company that manufactures the system components for which specifications are provided. 2. Name of company(s) that are authorized to sell the system components, their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address). 3. Indication of number of days, after receipt of order that is typical for delivery of such systems. 4. Indication of whether each instrument for which specifications are sent to [email protected] are currently on one or more GSA Federal Supply Schedule contracts and, if so, the GSA FSS contract number(s). 5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research.