Inactive

AMENDMENT NO. 0001: This purpose of this amendment no. 0001 is to cancel this posting of this request for information (RFI) due to the incorrect Notice Type erroneously being posted as a "Combined Syn... AMENDMENT NO. 0001: This purpose of this amendment no. 0001 is to cancel this posting of this request for information (RFI) due to the incorrect Notice Type erroneously being posted as a "Combined Synopsis/Solicitation" instead of a "Sources Sought". This RFI is now posted under 68HERH19Q0063 where responses are to be submitted and received. Responses under this posting (68HERH19Q0051) will not be received. Please go to 68HERH19Q0063 to respond to the RFI. This postings response date has been changed to reflect the cancelling of this posting. Thank you Request for Information (RFI) Industry Survey: Agency-Wide Laboratory Equipment Maintenance Contracting Vehicle Background and Purpose: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking industry input on a potential national Agency-wide strategically sourced requirement for laboratory equipment/instrument maintenance (e.g., toxic vapor analyzer, mass spectrometers and chromatographs). The agency is exploring opportunities to reduce costs and administrative burden while improving and/or maintaining the quality of service received. EPA is open to considering a variety of business models that help to address these goals. The purpose of this request is to gather feedback from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that will help form the creation of EPA¿s acquisition strategy for laboratory equipment/instrument maintenance (routine and repair). Small businesses are welcome to submit a capability statement and past experience. Do not submit marketing materials and brochures. The acquisition is anticipated to be subject to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code of 811219 with a size standard of $20.5 million. EPA is contemplating using an Indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with firm-fixed-price (FFP) task orders as its sole or primary pricing arrangement to the maximum extent practicable. EPA is determining the best pricing arrangement to use (e.g., firm fixed rate, firm fixed price, time and materials, etc). General Description of Requirement: Historically EPA has spent roughly $5M annually through more than 300 different contract vehicles for these laboratory equipment/instrument maintenance agreements. EPA's laboratory equipment/instrument maintenance needs span more than 30 different labs located throughout the country (see Attachment 1 List of US EPA Laboratory Locations by City and State). EPA anticipates its future needs to be similar to these historical needs. EPA's laboratory equipment/instruments require periodic repairs, preventative maintenance, and calibration typical to that required within the relevant industries. In some instances, EPA needs the repairs/maintenance within a specific timeframe, (e.g., phone response within 4 hours, technician on site within 2-3 business days for regular non-urgent repairs, and within several hours in emergency situations.) Included are software fixes when they are needed as part of the needed equipment repair. Instructions: Taking into account the goals and scope of this effort, please answer the questions from the list below that are applicable to your business. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. If there is anything valuable to hear that was not asked, EPA welcomes your insight. Capabilities and Past Experience: 1. Please provide a brief description of your company's capabilities/business model in the laboratory equipment/instrument maintenance market. a. Please briefly describe your subject matter expertise in equipment/laboratory maintenance and any past experience that you have working with government agencies, or other similar entities. b. Which, if any, federal agencies have you served, and have any of these services been agencywide in scope? c. Please describe the range of geographic area that your company is capable of servicing. d. Do you have a guaranteed minimum response time? 2. Please describe your company's approach to providing timely and high-quality maintenance services at a reasonable cost. Include any ways in which your company helps to diminish the customer¿s administrative burden in managing many separate maintenance contracts. 3. Please describe your company's approach to any environmentally friendly aspects related to servicing laboratory equipment/instrument. Structuring Requirements: 4. Based on your knowledge in this market, how would you suggest EPA contractually structure their equipment/instrument maintenance needs to enable cost reduction and reduced administrative burden, while still maintaining the required level of service? Please explain your rationale. a. What are the benefits or drawbacks to consolidating multiple lab and other requirements into one solicitation vs. breaking them down into smaller groups? b. Which types of requirements do you feel are best suited for ISOs (independent service organization), OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), or an alternative business model? c. In your opinion, what are the tradeoffs between different contract pricing structures? (e.g., firm fixed rate, firm fixed price, time and materials, other)? d. EPA is interested in industry¿s perspective on achieving firm fixed price arrangements and what specific details do industry require in the statement of work (SOW) or performance work statement (PWS) to meet this pricing objective? e. Are volume discounts appropriate in this market? If so, what types of volume discounts are most effective in achieving savings for EPA? 5. How can EPA ensure that it receives service within needed response times (e.g., 2-3 business days in many cases), and explain how response time is related to the cost of the service. 6. Please explain how the following variables affect the terms of a contract: a. Is there a minimum number of specific pieces of equipment that EPA would need to have covered under an agency-wide maintenance contract? b. Are there equipment/instrument types that cannot be covered? c. Are there service levels/maintenance needs that cannot be provided? d. Under what conditions are equipment/instruments no longer eligible to be covered under the contract (e.g., when an existing model is replaced by a new model)? e. Are there age limitations on the equipment/instruments to be initially covered? f. Is there an age at which equipment/instruments will age out of coverage/no longer be covered? g. Explain how age effects the cost and terms of the contract. h. Are software upgrades included in the contract or are there additional costs? i. If included, at what point would software upgrades not be provided (give an example)? j. Can your software be used on EPA formatted and EPA compatible computers? 7. Please explain the role of preventative maintenance (PM) as part of the overall equipment/instrument maintenance contract. Does participating in a maintenance contract require enrolling all equipment/instruments in a PM agreement? What affect will equipment/instrument work load have on PM schedules and PM agreement pricing? 8. How shall EPA ensure that laboratory equipment/instruments coming off their original warranty will transition under an agencywide service/maintenance contract to prevent a lapse in coverage? 9. How shall EPA ensure that laboratory equipment/instrument can be added or deleted to the agencywide service/maintenance contract? 10. What information should EPA include in a solicitation for this requirement to allow for the most accurate and competitive quotations or proposals? 11. If your company is not the one completing the actual maintenance service, how do you hold the sub-contractor(s) accountable for responding to the customer issue in a timely fashion? 12. Applicable to other than small businesses: How much of the overall requirement (percentage), if any, would your company be able to subcontract to small businesses? Share the limitations and barriers for subcontracting opportunities to small businesses. 13. Are there another NAICS codes that would be applicable to a maintenance IDIQ for Laboratory equipment maintenance? Company Details: 14. Please provide the legal name of your company, as well as your DUNS number and SAM registration. 15. Are you currently on any Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) or other federal government contracting schedules for laboratory equipment/instrument maintenance, which aligns with the requirement? Submission: The information requested in support of this RFI shall be submitted in writing using FedConnect® web portal (www.fedconnect.net) only (using reference number 68HERH19Q0051). No email submissions, phone calls or faxes will be accepted. In order to submit RFI responses, your company must register in FedConnect® at www.fedconnect.net, see main page of FedConnect® website for registration instructions. For assistance in registering or for other FedConnect® technical questions please call the FedConnect® Help Desk at (800) 899-6665 or email at support@fedconnect.net. Registration with FedConnect® is free. Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. Responses to this survey must be received on or before May 31, 2019. NOTES: This RFI is solely for informational, planning and market research purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposals (RFP), Invitation for Bids (IFB), Request for Quotations (RFQ) or an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire services. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract nor do they affect a potential offeror's ability to respond to any future synopsis/solicitation. The U.S. Government reserves the right to determine how it should proceed as a result of this notice. Furthermore, those who respond to this RFI should not anticipate feedback with regards to this process. All data gathered shall remain the property of EPA. All cost associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the responding party's expense. The information collected in response to this notice, may or may not be used to assist with developing the acquisition strategy. Attachment 1 List of US EPA Laboratory Locations by City and State Ada, OK Ann Arbor, MI Athens, GA Chapel Hill, NC Chelmsford, MA Chicago, IL Cincinnati, OH Corvallis, OR Duluth, MN Durham, NC Edison, NJ Fort Meade, MD Gulf Breeze, FL Houston, TX Kansas City, KS Lakewood, CO Milford, OH Montgomery, AL Narragansett, RI Newport, OR Port Orchard, WA Research Triangle Park, NC Note: Several locations have multiple laboratory facilities, and certain laboratory facilities contain a combination of laboratories.