Inactive

AMENDMENT 001: The purpose of this amendment is to correct the due date for accepting quoations. Therefore, the due date for this RFQ is July 10, 2024, at 4:00PM, Eastern. All other terms and provisio... AMENDMENT 001: The purpose of this amendment is to correct the due date for accepting quoations. Therefore, the due date for this RFQ is July 10, 2024, at 4:00PM, Eastern. All other terms and provisions remain unchanged. End of text. 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. The solicitation is issued using simplified acquisition procedures under the authority of FAR Part 13.5. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT (i.e., STANDARD FORM) WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) Number 2024-05 dated May 22, 2024. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334519 – Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing with the Small Business size standard of 600 employees. This solicitation is released with no Set-Aside restriction. Large- and Small- sized businesses are invited to submit a quotation. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS Background: The Infrastructure Materials Group (IMG) of the Materials and Structural Systems Division (MSSD) in the Engineering Laboratory (EL) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) studies the durability and service life of materials, components, and systems composing US buildings, road- and waterways, and pipelines for resilient infrastructure. MSSD currently performs thermal analysis of infrastructure materials to understand thermal characteristics relevant to their use. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is a system that measures heat flow signals to allow users to better understand thermal events (chemical reactions, phase transitions, glass transitions, etc.) of materials. MSSD uses DSC to understand the thermal characteristics of infrastructure materials as they relate to processing, for example the cure kinetics of thermoset polymers and kinetics of the setting of cementitious materials. MSSD uses DSC also to investigate field performance, for example temperature-based transitions (e.g., glass-transitions) which may influence behavior. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) is a system that measures the weight/mass of a sample as a function of temperature. Changes in mass are indicative of reactions. MSSD uses TGA to understand the degradation of infrastructure materials with temperature, volatiles evolved in processing, and other compositional information (e.g., carbon content). The MSSD currently owns and operates a DSC “Q 2000” and TGA “Q 500,” which were manufactured and produced by TA Instruments – Waters. The DSC Q 2000 and TGA Q 500 are at the end of their service life. A new DSC and a new TGA are therefore required. Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this acquisition is to procure a new Brand Name Only differential scanning calorimeter with sub-ambient cooling capability and a new thermogravimetric analyzer. These new systems will replace the existing, outdated DSC Q 2000 and TGA Q 500 instruments. A dedicated DSC for measuring the heat flow into samples as a function of time and temperature is required. Similarly, a dedicated TGA is required to measure the mass loss of samples as a function of time and temperature. The two instruments are required to ensure accurate measurements and flexibility in their use, i.e., running experiments on the two instruments simultaneously. Statement of Requirements: Please see the attached Statement of Requirements document for further detail. The Period of Performance shall be no longer than 20 weeks after contractor receipt of order (ARO), to include delivery, installation, and training. CONTRACT TYPE & PAYMENT TERMS A Firm-Fixed Price purchase order is anticipated. Payment will be made on a NET30 basis using milestone payments following inspection and acceptance of individual deliverables. APPLICABLE PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES Please see the attached document for applicable provisions and clauses. QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD CAR 1352.215-73 INQUIRIES (APR 2010): Quoters must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing electronically to Mr. Hunter Tjugum, Contract Specialist, at hunter.tjugum@nist.gov. Questions must be received no later than 4:00PM, ET, on the 7th calendar day, excluding Federal holidays, following release of this solicitation. 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. (End of Provision). DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS All quotations must be submitted via email to Mr. Hunter Tjugum, Contract Specialist, at hunter.tjugum@nist.gov. Quotations must be received no later than 4:00PM, ET, on the 14th calendar day, excluding Federal holidays, following release of this solicitation. Note: Quoters MUST have an active registration at www.SAM.gov at time of quotation submission to be considered for award. 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 • 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 Offerors. Responses to this solicitation must include clear and convincing evidence of the offeror’s capability of fulfilling the requirement as it relates to the technical evaluation criteria. Responses to this solicitation must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities of providing the product or service. The Contractor shall provide a Firm-Fixed-Price Quotation corresponding to the requirements identified in the attached Statement of Requirements document. Shipping and Delivery cost must be included in the quotation either as a separate line item or contained in the total price of the quote. The price quote shall include unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, delivery days after contract award, delivery terms, prompt payment discount terms, F.O.B. Point (Destination), product or catalog number(s), product description, any warranty or training considerations, and any other information or factors that may be considered in the award decision. Such factors may include special features required for effective program performance, trade-in considerations, probable life of the item selected as compared with that of a comparable item, warranty considerations, maintenance availability, and environmental and energy efficiency considerations. The price quote shall include the CLIN/line item Structure identified in the Requirements document. The provision at FAR clause 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The following is an addendum to 52.212-2. Responses received to this RFQ will be evaluated on a Trade-Off Basis. The award will be made on a competitive best value basis, using “tradeoff” among price-cost and non-price-cost factors. The Government may elect to award to other than the lowest priced quoter, or other than the quoter with the highest rated non-price-cost quotation. In either case, a tradeoff will be conducted. The government reserves such right of flexibility in conducting the evaluation as necessary to assure an award with the contractor providing the best value to the government. Although technical and schedule factors are of paramount consideration in the award, cost or price is also important to the overall award decision. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are more important than cost or price. However, cost or price may become a critical factor in source selection in the event two or more offers are determined to be essentially equal following the evaluation of all factors other than cost or price. Each quotation will be evaluated in strict conformity with the evaluation factors, utilizing written critiques. The evaluation will be based upon the demonstrated capabilities of the prospective contractor in relation to the needs of the project as set forth in the RFQ. The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotations: (1) Technical Capability: The Government will evaluate for the degree to which the contractor’s quotation meets or exceeds the minimum requirements identified in the solicitation. Exceeding requirements will be viewed favorably when all minimum requirements are also met. (2) Corporate Experience: Quoters shall submit with their quotation a list of at least two (2) and up to three (3) contracts completed during the past five (5) years and / or contracts awarded currently in process that are similar in nature to the Statement of Work to demonstrate Corporate Experience. Contracts listed may include those entered into by the Federal Government, agencies of state and local governments and commercial concerns. An evaluation of Corporate Experience will be based on evaluation of contract requirements completed or currently in process and extent of the relevance of that experience in the areas covered by the Purchase Description requirements. The Government will evaluate quotations based on prior contracts or purchase orders for similarity in size, scope, and complexity to the requirements contained in this solicitation. The quoter may provide information on problems encountered on the identified contracts and the corrective actions taken or proposed, if any. The Government is not required to contact references provided by the quoter. The government may review other information than submitted by the contractor, such as CPARS, to evaluate Corporate Experience. For each contract, subcontract, or reference include: 1. Name of Contracting Organization/Customer 2. Contract Number (for subcontracts, provide the prime contract number and subcontract number) 3. Total Contract Value 4. Description of Requirement 5. Period of Performance or Delivery Timeframe Price. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by making a price reasonableness determination. For a price to be reasonable, it must represent a price to the government that a prudent person would pay when consideration is given to prices in the market. The Offerors must include a completed copy of the provision at FAR clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, with its offer. This requirement may be fulfilled by current completion of this provision in www.SAM.gov. The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The clause at FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, 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: 52.203-6 Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, with Alternate I 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 52.219-4 Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns 52.219-28 Post-Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation 52.222-3 Convict Labor 52.222-19 Child Labor-Cooperation With Authorities and Remedies 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity 52.222-35 Equal Opportunity for Veterans 52.222-36 Equal Opportunity for Workers With Disabilities 52.222-37 Employment Reports on Veterans 52.222-40 Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act 52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons 52.222-54 Employment Eligibility Verification 52.223-18 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving 52.225-1 Buy American-Supplies 52.225-13 Restrictions on certain foreign purchases 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 52.225-2 Buy American Certificate The following clauses apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference: • 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] 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: LAUREN ROLLER, CONTRACTING OFFICER 100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640 Gaithersburg, MD 20899 Email: LAUREN.ROLLER@NIST.GOV 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) 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) 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 1352.209-74 – Organizational Conflict of Interest 1352.237-71 – Security processing requirements - low risk contracts. 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 INVOICE@NIST.GOV. 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: IPPCustomerSupport@fiscal.treasury.gov 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. The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement. 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 quoters must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov.