Subject: PURCHASE OF INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA
SPECTROMETER
Report on bids and award of purchase of an Inductively-Coupled Plasma Spectrometer to the lowest responsive bidder, Perkins Elmer Instruments, for a total cost of $104,733, including tax, and authorize the Director of General Services to execute the purchase order.
BACKGROUND
The Environmental Services Department/Water Pollution Control Plant has requested the purchase of an Inductively-Coupled Plasma (ICP) System which will replace the existing ICP that was purchased in March of 1992 and has served its useful life.
The cost to have a sample prepared and analyzed for 7 elements by ICP at a commercial lab is approximately $180/sample based on our survey. The City’s lab is currently analyzing about 100 samples by ICP each week, which is equivalent to $18,000 of service per week. This demonstrates the high service value of the ICP instrument.
A notice inviting bids was published on March 16, 2001. Additionally, bid packages were mailed to seven (7) vendors. A Pre-Bid Meeting was held March 20, 2001 and was attended by five (5) vendors. Bids were publicly opened on April 4, 2001. Bids were received from two (2) vendors and are listed below:
|
|
|
8.00% |
|
|
|
Bid |
Sales Tax |
Total |
|
TJA Solutions/Thermo
Elemental, Franklin, MA |
$86,000.00 |
$6,880.00 |
$ 92,880.00 |
|
Perkin Elmer Instruments,
Norwalk,CT (Main Bid) Perkin Elmer Instruments,
Norwalk CT (Alternate Bid)* |
$96,975.00 $89,280.00 |
$7,758.00 $7,142.40 |
$104,733.00 $ 96,422.40 |
*The alternate bid submitted by Perkin Elmer did not meet the wavelength range specification and therefore is not considered responsive.
The request for bids stated that bid responses would be evaluated on the following criteria:
· Bid response meets specifications
· Lowest Price
· Sample Analysis Time
The Sample Analysis Time is a performance test that measures the amount of time required to analyze five samples. The result of the Sample Analysis test is as follows:
· TJA Solutions: 41 minutes
· Perkin Elmer: 26 minutes
The two instruments can be compared by considering the amount of time saved by a faster instrument. The Perkin Elmer ICP saves 15 minutes for every 5 samples analyzed or 3 minutes per sample. Since the City lab analyzes about 5,000 samples per year, 15,000 minutes or 250 hours can be saved per year. At a rate of $50/hour for laboratory personnel, there is a potential of $12,500 savings per year in personnel costs. Although the resulting time saved by a faster analysis time is not exactly equivalent to saved personnel time because of the automation on the instrument, a significant portion (50%) of the saved analysis time is expected to translate to a considerable savings in personnel time ($6,000).
The faster analysis capability of the Perkin Elmer instrument is expected to result in a savings that exceeds the $10,975 higher Perkin Elmer instrument cost within a period of two years. Since the lifetime of the instrument is expected to be 10 years, the potential savings to the City over the lifetime of the instrument is between $50,000 and $70,000. San José Municipal Code section 4.12.117 permits the low bidder to be determined by considering life cycle costs when included in the specification. It is therefore recommended that the award go to Perkin Elmer (Main Bid) for a total cost of $104,733, including tax.
This project was listed with DemandStar, the City’s Internet bid listing service, and advertised in the San Jose Post Record.
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office, the Budget Office and the Environmental Services Department/Water Pollution Control Plant.
Fund: SJ/SC Treatment Plant Operating Fund - 512
Amount: $170,000
Budget Document: 2000-01 Adopted Capital Budget, Page 788
FRANCIS B. MCVEY
Acting Director, General Services Department