Maintenance Service for Bruker M4 Tornado Plus Micro-X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer

Introduction

This is a notice of intent, not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued, and quotations will not be requested.

Purpose

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to negotiate a firm-fixed priced purchase order on a sole source basis with Bruker AXS, LLC, located at 5465 E Cheryl Parkway, Fitchburg, WI 53711-5373. The purchase order will specifically procure a Preventive Maintenance and corrective repair agreement on an existing Bruker M4 Tornado Plus Micro-X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectrometer, manufactured and produced by Bruker AXS. The Period of Performance of the service agreement shall be effective for 12 months on or around June 1, 2025 with two (2) subsequent option year periods.

Authority

This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of FAR Subpart 13.106(b)(1) allowing the Contracting Officer (CO) to solicit from one source. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 811210 – Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance with a small business size standard of $34.0 million.

Description

The Materials and Structural Systems Division (MSSD) in the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at NIST owns and operates an existing Bruker M4 Tornado Plus Micro-X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectrometer. MSSD employs the spectrometer to analyze the standards and codes involving a wide range of construction materials, including cement clinker, cement, fly ash, blast furnace slag, aggregate, and composites.

MSSD requires a service agreement for the maintenance of the Bruker M4 spectrometer and its associated components to ensure uninterrupted performance within the manufacturers’ specifications on a scheduled and as-needed basis. The Contractor shall perform the following on the M4 Tornado Plus Micro-X-ray fluorescence spectrometer:

• Preventative and corrective maintenance as applicable that is covered under the agreement, using OEM authorized service engineers and repair parts for:
  
  
  
  • M4 Tornado Plus Micro-X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, SN 4110 3163 1223
  
  
  • 1st x-ray tube: ixtube-Rh-30-25; target Rh, S/N 2004001
    
    
    
    • X-ray optic: poly capillary lens with spot size 20 µm
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Primary filters: 12.5 µm Al, 25 µm Al, 100 µm Al, 640 µm Al, (100 µm Al+ 100 µm Ti + 25 µm Cu); (100 µm Al+ 68 µm Cu + 15 µm Zr + 50 µm Mo), 1 mm aperture, 0.5 mm aperture
  
  
  • 2nd x-ray tube: ixtube-Ag-30-25; target Ag, S/N 2003956
    
    
    
    • X-ray optics: Collimators- (0.5, 1, 2, 4.5) mm
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Collimator: (4500, 2000, 1000, 500) micrometers
  
  
  • 2 Detectors (S/Ns 18885, 18886)
  
  
  • Associated optics and ancillary components for instrument, including motorized X-Y-Z stage and optical system (complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera, 10x and 100 x magnification, and fisheye objective)
  
  
  • Computer and instrument control networking
  
  
  
  

• One preventative maintenance (PM) visit per year.
  
  
  
  • The Contractor shall coordinate with the NIST Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) to schedule each respective service visit. Each visit shall be performed within NIST’s normal operation hours (Monday through Friday; 8:30 a.m. ET through 5:00 p.m. ET).
  
  
  • All travel, labor, and supplies necessary for performance of the aforementioned preventative maintenance visits shall be the responsibility of the Contractor.
  
  
  • Other Direct Costs (ODCs) for replacement parts are not authorized for this requirement. In the event during an emergency service visit, the Contractor identifies that a replacement part other than those specified in the listing above is required, and such a replacement part has an individual cost associated with it, such a replacement part is not authorized by this requirement and would have to be procured outside of this requirement.
    
    
    
    • Any repairs or maintenance service which cannot be processed under the maintenance service agreement for any reason shall be estimated for the Government and provided to the COR and NIST Subject Matter Expert (SME) for review. No additional work, beyond the maintenance service described, shall be performed without written authorization by the Contracting Officer.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

Sole Source Determination

The sole source determination is based on the following:

All preventive maintenance and corrective repairs shall be performed in accordance with the contractors’ commercial preventive maintenance agreement practices and must be performed by a certified service technician/engineer. Bruker AXS, LLC is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the listed equipment and does not authorize 3rd parties or other sellers or resellers to perform maintenance on the subject equipment. No other or 3rd parties therefore exist that can achieve this requirement. For purposes of compatibility with existing equipment, the required preventive maintenance and service agreement must be purchased directly through Bruker AXS, LLC.

Information for Interested Parties

Interested parties that believe they could satisfy the requirements listed above for NIST may clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing by or before the response date for this notice. This notice of intent is NOT a solicitation.

Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to Hunter Tjugum, Contract Specialist, at Hunter.Tjugum@nist.gov. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted via email to hunter.tjugum@nist.gov so that they are received not later than 10:00 AM, Eastern Time, on the 5th business day following release of this notice.

Each response should include the following Business Information:

a. Contractor Name, Address,

b. Point of Contact Name, Phone Number, and Email address

c. Contractor (SAM) Universal Entity Identification (UEI)

d. Contractor Business Classification (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, HUBZone, veteran owned, etc.) as validated in System for Award Management (SAM). All offerors must have an active registration in www.SAM.gov.

e. Capability Statement