NOTICE OF INTENT to Sole Source
1. SOLICITATION NUMBER: 75N95022Q00535
2. TITLE: Tox robot Incubator Repair
3. CLASSIFICATION CODE: 811219 OTHER ELECTRONIC AND PRECISION EQUIPMENT REPAIR
NAICS CODE: J066 MAINT/REPAIR/REBUILD OF EQUIPMENT-INSTRUMENTS
RESPONSE DATE:
September 8, 2022 at 9:00 AM EST
PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT:
Michelle Cecilia
michelle.cecilia@nih.gov
Phone: 301.827.7199
5. DESCRIPTION:
INTRODUCTION
THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME).
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Schrodinger, LLC for X-ray crystallography (XRC) Structure Studies & Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) Studies.
NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE and SET ASIDE STATUS
The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 811219 Business Size Standard $22.0 million.
REGULATORY AUTHORITY
This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Contracts
awarded using FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6 Competition Requirements. FAR Subpart 13.106-1 (b) Soliciting from a single source provides that: For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting officers may solicit from one source IF the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name OR industrial mobilization).
The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2022-06 dated May 26, 2022.
DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT
This request is to Arimation Robotics to provide service to repair the incubator which is integrated onto the Tox robot. The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) has invested millions of dollars in multiple robotic screening systems. These platforms are capable of screening thousands of 1536-well plates per week. The custom incubator installed with these systems nearly two decades ago remains a critical component of all operations involving cell-based and biochemical assays as they need controlled environment for humidity CO2 and 37C for the cells to survive, grow and produce quality data for example. These high-capacity plate storage incubators are essential to the required throughput as well. NCATS is interested in purchasing service to repair a Tox21 robot incubator. This will ensure continuity of RSC service to the Tox21 group with the system again having 2 working and reliable incubators. The second incubator on this same systems is experiencing problems that will lead to the servo motor becoming damaged with water leading to failure and us having no working incubators on the platform. The sealing gasket has started deteriorating and it is affecting the ability of the carousel to turn and will allow the water generated from the humified environment necessary to grow cells for screening into the motor itself. If we wait for this to happen we will be in catastrophic failure and experience a prolonged down time on the 6-month Tox21 screening campaign. This will allow the compound library to expire requiring replacement and waste of funds.
The incubators on the Tox and Kalypsys robots are complex, and custom made. Repairs are required by a specialized technician with the requested knowledge to work on these specific machines to evaluate their repair and provide maintenance. Arimation Robotics was founded by one of the original engineers who designed and built these incubators particular to NCATS.
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES:
Arimation Robotics is to provide onsite service to repair the custom high-capacity, controlled environment incubator integrated onto the Tox21 robot. In the short term they will also perform maintenance to prolong the life of the only functioning incubator on the system currently. This will include disassembling the incubator, cleaning the motor, repairing the gasket, lubrication, and reassembling as well as index alignment. 90 ARO Arimation Robotics is to provide service to assess, repair and replace hardware as needed. The goal is for the incubator to be in working order to allow uninterrupted 6-month non-stop screening that the Tox21 group will begin this summer.
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS:
The project consists of repairs of the Tox21 incubators.
Anticipated Period of Performance: 9/10/2022-3/9/2023
CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION
The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, Armitron Robotics is the only vendor in the marketplace that can provide the technical expertise required by NCATS.
The intended source is:
Arimation Robotics
14140 Northdale Boulevard
Rogers, MN 55374.
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.
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 shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.
All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number, 75N95022Q00535 Responses must be submitted electronically to Michelle Cecilia, Contracting Officer, at michelle.cecilia@nih.gov. U.S. Mail and fax responses will not be accepted.
