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NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE SOLICITATION/NOTICE NUMBER: 75N95023Q00102 TITLE: Replace 316 Grade Stainless Steel Distribution Header Piping for the Avidity Science Indigo Reverse Osmosis (RO) Syste... NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE SOLICITATION/NOTICE NUMBER: 75N95023Q00102 TITLE: Replace 316 Grade Stainless Steel Distribution Header Piping for the Avidity Science Indigo Reverse Osmosis (RO) System CLASSIFICATION CODE: J066 - MAINT/REPAIR/REBUILD OF EQUIPMENT-INSTRUMENTS AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENT NAICS CODE: 811219 Other Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance RESPONSE DATE: February 13, 2023 PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT: Sneha Singh, Contracting Officer NIDA Office of Acquisition, Contracts Management Branch Red sneha.singh@nih.gov DESCRIPTION: THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTE/PROPOSALS. The purpose of this requirement is to provide the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Animal Health Care Section (AHCS) with replacement of existing fused polypropylene supply header piping with stainless steel header piping on the existing Avidity Science Animal Drinking Water Treatment System. The Contractor shall provide all labor, travel, materials, and required tools for performing the supply header replacement in accordance with the following specific parts, materials, and requirements. Replace 316 Grade Stainless Steel Distribution Header Piping • Stainless Steel Avidity Science Clean Joint Piping System originating at the Avidity Science Indigo Reverse Osmosis System located in 35A/BD-730 and terminating at two (2) existing bottle fillers located in 35/BBC-104 and 35A/BE-731B. NOTE: Stainless steel piping system shall be run below the ceiling (exposed) and shall be attached to the walls and ceilings with stainless steel mounting hardware and standoff brackets. Each bottle filler at the location described above shall have a dedicated supply header from the existing Avidity Science Indigo RO System located in 35A/BD-730. • Removal of existing plastic supply header piping above ceiling after completion and start-up of new stainless steel supply header piping. This requirement is for services to occur until full completion of the project and no later than 12 weeks after receipt of award, which NIH intends to award on a sole-source basis to Avidity Science, LLC. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE and SET ASIDE STATUS The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 811210 (formerly NAICS coder 811219) with a Size Standard of $30.0 million. This acquisition is NOT set aside for small businesses. REGULATORY AUTHORITY The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses of the Federal acquisition Regulations (FAR) in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2022-08, dated 10/28/2022. BACKGROUND, PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF REQUIREMENT The Animal Health Care Section (AHCS) is a component of NINDS and is tasked with providing veterinary care, management, and oversight responsibilities for two animal facilities at the NIH Main Campus. The NINDS AHCS has an immediate requirement to replace a failing fused-polypropylene header piping system that distributes purified and treated animal drinking water from a dedicated Avidity Science Indigo Reverse Osmosis (RO) system. The Avidity Science Indigo RO System was purchased from and installed by Avidity Science, LLC (formerly known as Edstrom Industries) in 2016. The Indigo RO System serves as the AHCS’s animal drinking water treatment system by ensuring the delivery of bacteria-free water to laboratory animals on a consistent basis. AHCS facilities are accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC). One of the criteria for maintaining accreditation, and to reduce experimental variables in study protocols, is the ability of AHCS facilities to produce contaminant-free drinking water effectively and efficiently for the research animals to consume ad libitum. The Indigo RO System delivers a consistent, bacteria-free animal drinking water supply. The Avidity Indigo RO system produces drinking water through RO specifically for the research animals. This system injects a low-level of free chlorine (post-RO processing) which protects the animal drinking water from bacterial growth during 1) water make-up and storage, 2) through the header piping that delivers the water to the bottle filling stations, and 3) in the water bottles that are in use on active animal cages. The estimated period of performance is 12 weeks from receipt of award. SINGLE-SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION This acquisition is conducted as non-competitive under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c) under provisions of the statutory authority of FAR Subpart 6.302-1 – only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Avidity Indigo RO System was specifically designed to produce bacteria-free animal drinking water that is suitable to meet the strict drinking water requirements for rodents utilized in biomedical research. This system must operate with minimal downtime in order to meet the continuous demand for animal drinking water and ensure compliance with animal welfare regulations. Avidity Science, LLC is the only vendor capable of providing these services as the system controls involve the use of proprietary software owned by Avidity. Additionally, Avidity is the only vendor that has OEM-trained and certified technicians capable of servicing this sophisticated system. Finally, Avidity has not granted authority to any third party to perform maintenance services on the Indigo RO System. As there is no reasonably available alternative for fixing the equipment, and only one vendor is authorized to perform such services, the Government intends to issue an award on a sole-source basis to the following contractor: Avidity Science, LLC 819 Bakke Avenue Waterford, WI 53185 Contract Type: A firm-fixed price contract 12 weeks from date of award is planned for this acquisition, consistent with commercial practices. CLOSING STATEMENT This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. An interested Offeror must be able to successfully demonstrate its capability to independently, and not as an agent of the Government perform the requirements described above. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. Responses to this notice must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities and experience of providing the service described above. Interested parties shall provide a description of experience and capability, describe the proposed technical approach and include any other information or factors that may be considered. Such factors may include: past performance; special features or equipment required for effective program performance. The price quote shall include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, delivery days after contract award, delivery terms, F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), product or catalog number(s). In addition the SAM Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), 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) www.sam.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. All responses must be received by February 13, 5:00 PM Eastern Time and must reference number 75N95023Q00102. Responses must be submitted electronically to Sneha Singh, Contracting Officer, at sneha.singh@nih.gov and must reference the solicitation number 75N95023Q00102 in the subject line of the electronic submission. Mailed and faxed responses are not accepted.