Request for Information for Radiological Detection System (RDS)

Active

Contract Opportunity

ATTACHED YOU WILL FIND A PDF VERSION OF THE BELOW RFI VERBAGE. PLEASE REFER TO THAT, AS IT WILL HAVE THE PROPER FORMATTING/NUMBERING.

Request for Information For:

Radiological Detection System (RDS)

1.0 Purpose:

This is a Request for Information (RFI) Only. This RFI is intended for release to SAM.gov. The Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND), Joint Project Manager Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Sensors (JPM S), Joint Product Leader for Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPdL RND) is issuing this RFI for information and planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP. This RFI does not contractually commit the Government for any supply or service. Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this RFI. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation if future RFPs are issued.

The RFI objective is to gain information about respondent’s capabilities in developing, testing, and/or manufacturing a solution capable of meeting the requirements set forth in the “Radiological Detection System (RDS) Performance Specification” and answer questions set forth below in Section. Each respondent shall review the RDS Performance Specification (P-SPEC) and provide feedback indicating respondent’s capabilities to develop, test and/or manufacture a system which would be able to meet the Government’s requirements. To get access to the RDS P-SPEC, the respondent shall request access from the Contracting Team (Contracting Officer AND Contract Specialist) via email. Please note, the RDS P-SPEC is marked Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) so please ensure (and provide evidence with your access request email) that your company has completed an NIST SP 800-171 Assessment in the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS).

In the event that the respondent’s current system and/or current capabilities do not meet the Government’s requirements, but may meet the Government’s requirements in the future, the respondent shall provide the anticipated timeline for meeting these requirements. Each response to this RFI shall include: (1) proposed System Description/Information; (2) Responses to all requested information noted below in Section 4.0 “Submission Criteria”.

The PSC Code for this RFI is 6665 “Hazard-Detecting Instruments and Apparatus”. The NAICS code for this RFI is 334519 “Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing”.

2.0 Background:

The objective of the RDS program is to provide a rugged Radiation Detection, Indication and Computation (RADIAC) meter that replaces legacy radiological survey meters currently employed by the United States Air Force (USAF) (ADM-300), United States Navy (USN) (Multi-Function RADIAC (MFR) Suite), United States Coast Guard (USCG) (MFR Suite), United States Army (USA) (AN/PDR-77 & AN/VDR-2) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) (AN/PDR-77). RDS provides a Joint solution that eliminates (or reduces the risk of) parts obsolescence, increases capability, reduces life-cycle costs, and addresses Operation Tomodachi lessons learned for common, interoperable equipment with adequate sensitivity and common units of measure. RDS will be fielded to all four Services (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force) in addition to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). In addition, Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) actively participate in the RDS Program.

On 12 September 2016, JPdL RND awarded contract W911SR-16-D-0027 to Ludlum doing business as (dba) Visionary Products Inc. (VPI) for the development and production of the RDS. RDS was approved for Full Rate Production (FRP) in 2024.

3.0 Potential Future need

The United States Armed Services is in need of FRP RDS systems. Approximate projected total quantities over five (5) years are:

• 16,000 base units


• 3,000 beta photon probes


• 1,100 alpha beta probes


• 200 small area beta gamma probes


• 200 sensitive gamma probes


• 200 FIDLER probes


• 700 neutron probes

The Government is investigating an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) for the FRP of the RDS. The Government projects a need for RDS production through 2043. The anticipated contract type is FIRM FIXED PRICE (FFP). The pricing information requested in Section 4 shall be completed assuming a FFP IDIQ.

The Government will require at minimum Government Purpose Rights (GPR) on all Technical Data associated with the RDS system if procured.

4.0 Submission Criteria:

The United States Armed Services is exploring the possibility to award one or more contracts. Possible contracts could include the development, testing and manufacture of the RDS system that has the same form, fit and function of the current design. Proposed solutions shall meet the requirements described in this section and the RDS P-SPEC. Respondents shall provide at minimum the following information:

Responses shall be submitted as indicated above and shall include, at a minimum: (1) RFI title, “Radiological Detection System (RDS)”, (2) company name, (3) company address, (4) telephone number(s), (5) email address(es); (6) website address (if available); (7) type of business, large or small (to include type of small business); (8) DUNS number; (9) CAGE Code; (10) facility clearance (Yes or No); (11) information Paper addressing the areas of interest listed in Section 4, brochures, published technical specifications; and (12) 3rd party performance verification. Responses shall also confirm their respondent’s current facility clearance level (FCL)(C, S, TS, etc.). Response shall also include the name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a point of contact having the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with a Government representative.

Additionally, all responses shall include each of the following items:

• General synopsis of the respondent’s solution to delivering systems that will meet the RDS requirements herein. Big picture – will the respondent be able to manufacture a system based off of the provided specifications? Or will additional development of the respondent’s solution be required? If so, please provide details on how much/ what additional developments will be required along with an estimated timeframe to incorporate required modifications.


• A brief description of the respondent’s potential version for the RDS requirement to include the following:
  
  
  
  • Ability to meet each requirement in the RDS P-SPEC specifically addressing the following:
    
    
    
    1. Can the potential version satisfy the Government’s requirements "as is"? If the potential version cannot satisfy the Government’s requirements "as is", what modifications are needed?
    
    
    2. If the respondent’s potential version currently does not meet Government minimum required specifications, please describe in detail which of the Government specifications are not met and why.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Technology proposed for detection (i.e. GM tube, scintillator, etc.);
  
  
  • Previous testing of the potential version to include nuclear survivability testing;
  
  
  • Calibration requirements, including: (1) recommended time between calibrations; (2) sources and dose rates needed for calibration; (3) ease of calibration; (4) cost of calibration; and (5) list of support equipment required to repair and calibrate the system (to include non-standard calibration equipment such as calibration at low and high temperatures);
  
  
  • Requirements that would require development of new technology (or adaptation of current technology not currently used for this purpose) instead of using technology that is currently available and used throughout the radiation detection industry;
  
  
  • Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the proposed system;
  
  
  • How (under what license, regulations, etc.) do you plan to distribute radiation sources (Cs-137 check sources) needed for the RDS;
  
  
  • What (if any) data rights concerns would there be with providing at minimum Government Purpose Rights on all technical data associated with the RDS (as GPR is the minimum required level of data rights the Government will require for the system);
  
  
  
  


• A brief description of the development history and production of the respondents’ potential version for the RDS requirement, or similar RADIAC, to include the following:
  
  
  
  • Number of units (either planned proposed system or similar system) sold as of the date of the submission;
  
  
  • Description of similar system and how it differs from proposed system;
  
  
  • Current monthly production capacity of similar production items;
  
  
  • What, if any, radiation check sources do you currently distribute to include exempt, generally licensed, and specific licensed sources;
  
  
  • Experience with Department of Defense contracts, specifically production contracts for similar equipment. This includes any historical experience of this kind, but please specifically point out any recent experience within the past five (5) years if you have any;
  
  
  • Experience with Department of Defense provisioning of spare parts, drafting of Technical Manuals, drafting of training materials, conducting developmental testing for the Government, and conducting operational testing for the Government;
  
  
  • Experience with obtaining Department of Defense Cybersecurity Authority to Operate;
  
  
  • Experience with intagrating equipment via ethernet and Army radios on Department of Defense networks;
  
  
  • Experience working with and being audited by Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) or Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). Include Quality Assurance plan(s);
  
  
  
  


• A brief description of the respondent’s potential schedule and production to include the following:
  
  
  
  • Time required to develop, build, test, and deliver First Article Test (FAT) systems per the RDS P-SPEC. Include time required from contract award to completion of FAT, to include submission and approval of the test plan and test report;
  
  
  • Time required to build, test, and deliver the first expected Delivery Order (see quantities below) per the RDS P-SPEC (including conformal testing and submission and approval of the test plan and test report);
    
    
    
    1. 1,600 base units
    
    
    2. 300 beta photon probes
    
    
    3. 110 alpha beta probes
    
    
    4. 20 small area beta gamma probes
    
    
    5. 20 sensitive gamma probes
    
    
    6. 20 FIDLER probes
    
    
    7. 70 neutron probes
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Time required to set up a production line for a minimum of 1000 base units/month and 200 probes/month (which is the minimum expected output during full rate production);
  
  
  • The average number of units/month currently produced (if any);
  
  
  • The projected minimum (to ensure production line stays stable/viable) and maximum number of units/month production capacity during full rate production;
  
  
  • The time required to obtain critical component(s);
  
  
  • The time and recommended conformance testing required based on the Performance Specification;
  
  
  • The time required to update the Technical Manual and Training materials;
  
  
  
  


• A brief description of the respondents’ cost of the potential system to include the following:
  
  
  
  • Assuming a 5-year FFP, IDIQ, respondents shall provide the below requested pricing information.
  
  
  • Approximate Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) price breakdown estimate for this effort. Include (1) FAT per Table 4 of the RDS P-SPEC; (2) delivery order for the approximate quantities of the expected order in Section 3 (including conformal testing per the Performance Specification); and (3) annual calibration cost by probe (include shipping costs to and from Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD).
  
  
  
  

5.0 Supporting Documents:

• RDS P-SPEC by request through Army Contracting Command (ACC) personnel listed below in section 6.0. As noted above in section 1.0: To get access to the RDS P-SPEC, the respondent shall request access from the Contracting Team (Contracting Officer AND Contract Specialist) via email. Please note, the RDS P-SPEC is marked Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) so please ensure (and provide evidence with your access request email) that your company has completed an NIST SP 800-171 Assessment in the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS).

6.0 Response Due Date, Page Limit, Disclaimer and Important Notes:

Due Date: Submissions shall be sent electronically to the following Points of Contact (POCs) and email addresses; Tyler N. Gates, Contracting Officer - tyler.n.gates2.civ@army.mil; Nathaniel W. Sievers, Contract Specialist - nathaniel.w.sievers.civ@army.mil. All submissions shall be received no later than 4:30PM Eastern Time (ET), 17 February, 2025. NOTE: If possible, enable delivery and or read receipt on all submissions to ensure arrival by the required deadline. The entirety of the respondent’s RFI email response shall not exceed 15MB of total file size. Failure to adhere to this limitation may result in portions of the response not being received by the Government. Telephonic inquiries will not be accepted.

Disclaimer and Important Notes: This RFI does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), or a promise to issue an RFP. The Government will not pay for costs associated with developing a response to this RFI, nor does it commit the Government to enter into any contractual agreement. The JPdL RND may issue a solicitation for this requirement in the coming months. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice shall ensure its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's capabilities. Respondents are advised the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. Although responses are highly encouraged, not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Any future postings/announcements related to this RFI, which may have language which contradicts with any language in this RFI will trump and supersede the language in this RFI. All submissions become the property of the Government and will not be returned. Proprietary information submitted in the RFI response shall be marked accordingly to ensure appropriate handling and disposition by the Government. No classified information shall be submitted in the RFI response.

Contracting Office Address:

US Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground,

Edgewood Contracting Division (ACC-APG)

8456 Brigade Street, E4215

APG (Edgewood), MD 21010-5401

Primary Points of Contact:

Tyler Gates, Contracting Officer

Email: tyler.n.gates2.civ@army.mil

Telephone: 520-671-1119

Nathaniel Sievers, Contract Specialist

Email: nathaniel.w.sievers.civ@army.mil

Telephone: 520-692-9630

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