Inactive

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. This Request for Information (RFI) is intended for information and planning purposes only at this time; and shall not b... THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. This Request for Information (RFI) is intended for information and planning purposes only at this time; and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Because this is a Request for Information announcement, no evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. No solicitation exists. Therefore, do not request a copy of a solicitation. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VISN 4, Network Contracting Office 4 (NCO 4), is seeking information and potential qualified sources capable of meeting the following minimum requirements and salient characteristics below for a brand name or equal Cryostat system located in VA Healthcare System, Lebanon, PA. Requirements Compatibility Requirements: Discontinued models are not acceptable. All models shall perform satisfactorily at any laboratory temperature between 59 and 86 degrees. All models shall perform satisfactorily at any laboratory relative humidity between 10-85%. It must be available 24/7 for use. All work is to be performed in accordance with the guidelines established by federal, state, and local ordinances, with the FDA Manufacturer s guidelines, with all terms, conditions, provisions, schedules, and specifications provided. Brand Name or Equal to Tissue Tek Cryo3 Flex model #6201. General Requirements of the Cryostat: Must be fully motorized with precise control of thickness of tissue specimens being sectioned in a chamber which accommodates -20C and lower temperatures. Must have anti-roll rake to prevent sections from rolling. Must have the ability to perform quick and precise fine angle adjustments on all three axes (XYZ) to preserve tissue by reducing trimming. Must have 1 travel distance. Shall have storage space to keep as many as possible blocks frozen for immediate recuts. Must provide accurate temperature control and quick freezing to avoid stress to delicate tissues or creating artifacts which interfere with diagnosis. Must have ergonomic designs. Must have two ozone disinfections cycles; long cycle (approximately 135 minutes warm) and a short cycle (approximately 45 minutes cold) with the ability to be set within a 24-hour period. Must be able to remove debris with little to no exposure to the technologist. Must be durable and able to withstand daily use. Must be capable of using low and high profile, disposable microtome blades. Technical Specifications: Dimensions: Width: 25.8 inches Depth: 29.7 inches Height: 47.0 inches Power requirement: 115/120 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 11 Amps Chamber Temperature: -35°C to 0°C +/- 2°C Cryo+ Temperature: When activated Cryo+ is 20°C lower than the chamber temperature, within 5 minutes. Lowest Cryo+ temperature is -50°C. Section Thickness Settings: 1 to 99 µm in 1 µm steps Maximum Specimen Thickness: 25mm Trimming Range: 1 to 100 µm in 1 µm steps Specimen holder Sizes: Round 26mm, 36mm, 55mm Specimen orientation: +/-8° (XY axis), 360° (Z axis) Chuck: 3D Precision Chuck secures the specimen holder to the microtome. Dial indicators show the exact angle of the Chuck. The guide marks show the exact orientation of the specimen holders in the chuck. Travel Range: Vertical:2.5 inches Horizontal: 1.0 inch Defrost Cycle: Manual: Defrosts the chamber within 30 minutes, when activated. Defrost Cycle: Automatic: Defrosts the chamber within 1 hour; start time can be set within a 24-hour period. Certifications: IEC 61010-1:2010 Ed:3, IEC 61010-2-010 Ed:3, IEC 61010-2-101 Ed:2, UL 61010-1 Ed:3, CAN/CSA C22.2 61010-1:2012 Ed:3 EMC: CENELEC IEC/EN 61326-1, EMC: CANELEC IEC/EN 61326-2-6 Special Considerations: Installation: The contractor shall be responsible for installation, which consists of in-house delivery, positioning, and mounting of all equipment listed in the delivery order and connections of all equipment and interconnecting wiring and cabling if applicable. Upon receipt of notice to proceed with installation, it shall be the contractor s responsibility to inform the contracting officer of any problems which may be anticipated in connection with installation or which will affect optimum performance once installation is completed. In the event that progress of the installation is interrupted through no fault of the contractor, the continuous installation referenced preceding paragraphs may be terminated until the cause of delay has been eliminated, and then shall be resumed within 24 hours after the contractor has been notified that the work may proceed. Upon completion of installation, the equipment will be turned over to the hospital for use. Onsite installation and demonstration shall be done at Lebanon VAMC Pathology Department, 1700 S. Lincoln Ave, Lebanon PA 17042. The contractor shall coordinate the delivery and installation with the COR. Optimization, Validation, and Acceptation: Contractor shall assist with optimization and validation of all equipment after installation. The government shall accept equipment once installation and successful testing has been completed and approved by the Chief of Pathology. Warranty: The contractor shall warrant all pieces of equipment for a period of at least one (1) year. The warranty must include unlimited telephone/e-mail support for questions regarding operation. All costs including parts, labor, travel, and other expenses necessary to repair the system will be borne solely by the contractor at no additional cost to the U.S. Government. Warranty shall begin after installation of equipment and completion of tests. Training: The contractor, without additional charge to the government, shall provide training by a qualified technical person at the government location for all operating personnel at the time of installation of the contractor s equipment. Training will be required to learn how to set up, operate, and maintain all equipment. The contractor shall conduct one three-day training session for all users. The training shall provide a thorough demonstration of all system/solution functions, maintenance, data administration, and basic troubleshooting. The contractor shall provide one (1) copy set of operating manuals of Cryostat and other necessary Cryostat equipment to include schematics, installation, operation and maintenance and any other applicable manuals for system. Documentation shall be provided in English in hard copy and on CD/DVD ROM. Contractor Shall provide delivery within 30 days of contract award. Item Number Description Ref CLIN Comment Quantity Unit of Measure 0001 Tissue Tek Cryo3 Flex Cryostat Model D 115V 60Hz Part #6201 Tissue Tek Cryo3 Flex Cryostat Model D 115V 60Hz Part #6201 1 EA The information identified above is intended to be descriptive, not restrictive and to indicate the quality of the supplies/services that will be satisfactory. It is the responsibility of the interested source to demonstrate to the government that the interested parties can provide the supplies/services that fulfill the required specifications mentioned above. Responses to this RFI should include company name, address, point of contact, phone number, and point of contact e-mail, DUNS Number, Cage Code, size of business pursuant to North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 339112 (size standard of 1000 employees). Please answer the following questions: (1) Please indicate the size status and representations of your business, such as but not limited to: Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Hubzone, Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Large Business, etc.)? (2) Is your company considered small under the NAICS code identified under this RFI? (3) Are you the manufacturer, distributor, or an equivalent solution to the items being referenced above? (4) If you are a large business, do you have any designated distributors? If so, please provide their company name, telephone, point of Contact and size status (if available). (5) If you re a small business and you are an authorized distributor/reseller for the items identified above or an equivalent solution, do you alter; assemble; modify; the items requested in any way? If you do, state how and what is altered; assembled; modified? (6) If you intend to subcontract any work on this contract, what portion of the total cost will be self-performed/will be performed by your organization? Please provide estimated detailed percentage breakdowns related to sub contracted work and completion of job. (7) Does your company have an FSS contract with GSA or the NAC or are you a contract holder with any other federal contract? If so, please provide the contract number. (8) If you are an FSS GSA/NAC contract holder or other federal contract holder, are the items/solution you are providing information for available on your schedule/contract? (9) General pricing of your products/solution is encouraged. Pricing will be used for the purpose of market research only. It will not be used to evaluate for any type of award. (10) Please submit your capabilities in regard to the salient characteristics detailed above and any information pertaining to equal to items to establish capabilities for planning purposes? (11) Please review salient characteristics/statement of work (if applicable) and provide feedback or suggestions. If none, please reply as N/A. (12) Please provide your DUNS number. *** Submissions addressing number (10) should show clear, compelling and convincing*** evidence that all equal to items" meet all the salient characteristics. This RFI will be conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses must be received via e-mail to walida.moore@va.gov no later than, 03:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on May 12, 2020. This notice will help the VA in determining available potential sources only. Do not contact VA Medical Center staff regarding this requirement, as they are not authorized to discuss this matter related to this procurement action. All questions will be addressed by the Contracting Officer, Walida Moore. All firms responding to this Request for Information are advised that their response is not a request for proposal, therefore will not be considered for a contract award. If a solicitation is issued, information will be posted on the FedBizOpps (FBO) web site for all qualified interested parties at a later date and interested parties must respond to the solicitation to be considered for award. This notice does not commit the government to contract for any supplies or services. The government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this Request for Information. Information will only be accepted in writing by e-mail to Contracting Officer at walida.moore@va.gov. DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. End of Document