Maintenance Agreement - Qexac   2

Background
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), a public health regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is responsible for ensuring that meat, poultry, catfish, and egg products are safe, wholesome, and accurately labeled.

This contract aims to maintain the operational readiness of critical analytical systems used in food safety testing at the FSIS Midwestern Laboratory located in St. Louis, MO. The contractor will provide all necessary labor, travel, and materials, including Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) replacement parts for preventative maintenance and repairs on one Thermo Q Exactive Focus and three Thermo Q Exactive Basic instruments.

Work Details
The contractor shall perform the following tasks:
- Provide preventative maintenance and repair services for one Thermo Q Exactive Focus MS System and three Thermo Q Exactive Basic MS Systems coupled with Liquid Chromatographs (LCs).
- Ensure factory certified parts, labor, and travel for remedial repairs.
- Guarantee a two business day onsite response time for remedial repairs.
- Conduct one preventative maintenance visit per instrument per contract year.
- Provide hardware and application telephone support with priority access for technical inquiries.
- Offer a 25% discount on fixed price services and ensure firmware/software updates are provided.
- Maintain an adequate inventory of spare parts to accommodate timely repairs.
- Document all preventive maintenance activities and provide comprehensive records of performance testing and parts replaced within specified timelines.

Period of Performance
The contract period is from July 11, 2026 to July 10, 2031, consisting of one base year followed by four option years.

Place of Performance
USDA-FSIS-OPHS Midwestern Laboratory, 7654 Natural Bridge Road, St Louis, MO 63121.

Bidder Requirements
Bidders must ensure that only manufacturer-certified personnel perform service and maintenance actions. They are required to provide documentation of training/certification prior to commencing work. The acquisition is unrestricted; however, it is noted that this acquisition is not set-aside for small business concerns.

Incumbent Analysis (see Incumbents section for more detail)
This opportunity appears to have a confirmed incumbent based on the prior maintenance contract 123A9423C0006 awarded to The Remi Group for $404,777 (07/10/23–07/09/26). That prior award was a new maintenance contract covering Thermo Q Exactive Focus and related Q Exactive mass spectrometry systems, and the current requirement similarly calls for preventative maintenance and remedial repairs (including OEM parts) for one Thermo Q Exactive Focus and three Thermo Q Exactive Basic instruments. The overlap in instrument family and the same type of ongoing maintenance/repair services suggests the new effort is a continuation of the existing analytical system support.