Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 FBO #3579
SOLICITATION NOTICE

R -- Measurement Science for Innovative Thermal Insulation Materials

Notice Date

9/10/2011
 

Notice Type

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
 

NAICS

541990 — All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1640
 

ZIP Code

20899-1640
 

Solicitation Number

SB1341-11-RQ-0757
 

Archive Date

9/30/2011
 

Point of Contact

Carol A. Wood, Phone: 301-975-8172, Carol A. Wood, Phone: 301-975-8172
 

E-Mail Address

carol.wood@nist.gov, carol.wood@nist.gov
(carol.wood@nist.gov, carol.wood@nist.gov)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

Total Small Business
 

Description

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for commercial services. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-53. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541990 with a small business size standard of $7.0M. This acquisition is 100% set-aside for small business. Responsible quoters shall provide pricing for all of the following line items: LINE ITEM 0001: Quantity (1) Job. The Contractor shall provide all labor, materials, equipment, travel and services necessary to conduct measurement science for innovative thermal insulation materials in accordance with the following statement of work: Background The most cost effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with building energy consumption is through the use of thermal insulation. Insulation in the building envelope and thermal devices, such as furnaces, boilers, refrigerators, and air-conditioning units, greatly reduces the need for heating and cooling the space, hot water, and other thermal processes. Accurate determination of the insulating capability of these materials is critical to achieve the energy savings that are expected. A vital aspect of the measurement system for thermal insulation is the availability of reliable methods for determining thermal properties of insulating materials. A key challenge is determining the insulating capabilities of innovative insulating materials. Innovative insulating materials have been proposed to reduce heating and cooling loads in buildings, but the measurement science challenges have not been fully solved. Some materials with potential for greatly reducing energy consumption in buildings include phase change materials, vacuum insulation panels, and micro-porous materials, such as aerogels. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) requires a critical assessment for such materials to reduce energy consumption in buildings and to address the gaps in the measurement science needed to effectively implement these materials. Purpose The purpose of this procurement is to develop a written document that describes the technical assessment of innovative insulation materials and the measurement science needed to implement these materials. For the purpose of this solicitation, the term "innovative insulating materials" means state-of-the-art and future building insulation materials. General Requirements The Contractor must work with NIST to assess the critical measurement science needs in order to implement innovative insulation materials in buildings. Specific Requirements Requirement #1 - Identification of Materials The Contractor shall identify a minimum of three advanced (non-conventional) insulating materials and/or systems that are intended for use in buildings. The Contractor shall, where possible, organize the materials into generic categories for materials that have common or similar properties. Materials and/or systems to be researched can be materials that are available in the United States and/or internationally. For all specific categories of advanced insulating material, the Contractor shall provide the following information: 1. Manufacturer, trade name, style, other (if applicable). If the material is considered a research material, the Contractor shall identify the university or other entity that is developing the material; 2. Mandatory properties - the properties can be functions of other parameters such as temperature or gas pressure: (i) Bulk density; (ii) Thermal properties including heat transport properties (i.e., thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, thermal resistivity, or thermal conductance) and heat capacity. 3. Other properties of interest as determined by the Contractor; 4. Safety issues - a material safety data sheet (MSDS) must be provided for each commercially available material; 5. The Contractor shall explain why the insulating material is considered non-conventional and how the advanced insulating material is intended to function in a building. Requirement #2 - Usage in Buildings For each material identified in Requirement #1, the Contractor shall provide information on the usage of the material in a (residential or commercial) building and, address the following questions, at a minimum: 1. What part of the building would the material be installed? For example, the material can be installed in the thermal envelope (foundation, basement, wall, window, roof, other) or in thermal equipment that operates in the building. 2. What, if any, are the concerns about using the material in different geographic locations in the U.S. (i.e., under different climates or elevations); 3. How is the material to be installed? What, if any, are the concerns with the compatibility with adjacent or other materials in the building construction? 4. What is the service life of the material? Are there any concerns with how the thermal properties identified in Requirement #1 change with time? What other factors (such as moisture, among others) may effect the material? 5. How sustainable (i.e., carbon dioxide footprint or other sustainability factor) is the material? What metrics are important for sustainability? 6. Describe the potential energy savings by using the material. 7. What market conditions, if any, are preventing the material from commercial application in buildings? Requirement #3 - Thermal Performance Evaluation For each material identified in Requirement #1, the Contractor shall provide an in-depth analysis of the material including all of the following information, at a minimum: 1. Describe what are the measurement challenges for determining the thermal performance of the material: in the laboratory; and, in the field. 2. What are the important metrics? 3. What test methods exist or are needed for thermal performance evaluation? 4. What standards exist or are needed? Requirement #4 - Reporting Requirements Progress Report The Contractor shall provide a progress report on a monthly basis which discusses all work completed within the period, the current status of each Specific Requirement, any problems encountered and steps taken to resolve them, and the completion date for each Specific Requirement. The progress report shall be in Microsoft Word format and shall be forwarded to the technical contact (to be identified in the award) via e-mail not later than the 10th of each month. Final Report The final report shall include the findings from Requirements #1, #2, and #3. The final report shall also include a summary with recommendations for future measurement research needs. All numerical quantities shall follow NIST Guidelines on the usage of SI units. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The period of performance shall be one year from the date of award. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE All work shall be performed at the Contractor's site. DELIVERABLES 1. Identification of materials Due Date: 30 Days after award 2. Technical selection of candidate materials Due Date: 60 Days after award 3. In-depth analysis of candidate insulation materials Due Date: 120 Days after award 4. Final Report Due Date: 1 year after award. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA The NIST Technical Contact will review all deliverables submitted by the Contractor to ensure that deliverables are complete, accurate, comprehensive, and meet all specific requirements. Comments or approval shall be provided to the Contractor with seven days of receipt of any given deliverable. The Contractor shall revise deliverables in accordance with comments received at no additional cost to the Government and within 14 days of receipt of the comments. TRAVEL Travel to innovative insulation manufacturers shall be conducted as determined appropriate by the Contractor. All travel costs shall be included in the Contractor's quotation and shall be in accordance with Government Travel Regulations. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD Award shall be made on a technically acceptable/low price basis. Technically acceptable means: 1. The Contractor has at least an Masters of Science (MS) degree or higher in Engineering, Physics or a related technical field; 2. The Contractor has at least 10 years of experience writing technical reports specifically, peer- reviewed archival journal papers 3. The Contractor has an overall understanding of the required work as demonstrated by submission of at least two advanced insulating materials that would be researched. Evaluation of Technical Acceptability shall be based on the documentation provided in the quotation. Documentation submitted in the quotation shall be evaluated to determine that all of the requirements that define technically acceptable are met. Price shall be evaluated for reasonableness and realism. REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS All quoters shall submit the following: 1) For evaluation of Technical Acceptability the Contractor shall submit all of the following: -Documentation of the degree held by the Contractor, specifically, key personnel who will perform the required work; -Resume or other documentation which clearly documents and describes at least 10 years of experience writing technical reports, specifically peer-reviewed, archival journal papers; -A list of at least two materials that will be the subject of this research. 2) An original and one copy of a price quotation for all required work; 3) This is an Open-Market Combined Synopsis/Solicitation for services as defined herein. The Government intends to award a Purchase Order as a result of this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation that will include the terms and conditions that are set forth herein. In order to facilitate the award process, ALL quotes shall include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: The offeror shall state "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition." OR The offeror shall state "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following: Offeror shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s) Please note that this procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an offeror submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the offeror's FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation. 4) If the quoter is not registered at www.orca.bpn.gov, a completed copy of FAR 52.212-3 OFFERORS REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS. 5) The quoter's Dun & Bradstreet Number. Quoters must have an active registration in the Central Contractor Registration; www.ccr.gov; DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS All quotations shall be sent to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Acquisition Management Division, Attn: Carol A. Wood, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1640. All offerors shall ensure the RFQ number is visible on the outermost packaging. Submission must be received not later than 3:30 p.m. local time on September 15, 2011. FAX quotations shall not be accepted. E-mail quotations shall be accepted. An e-mail quotation shall be considered received when it is received in the electronic inbox of Carol Wood. Because of heightened security, FED-EX, UPS, or similar delivery methods are the preferred method of delivery of hard copies of quotes. If hard copies are hand delivered, delivery shall be made on the actual due date through Gate A, and a 48 hour (excluding weekends and holidays) prior notice shall be provided to Carol Wood, Contract Specialist on 301-975-8172. NIST is not responsible for late delivery due to the added security measures. In addition, quoters who do not provide 24-hour notification in order to coordinate entrance to the NIST campus shall assume the risk of not being able to deliver quotes on time. PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at www.acqnet.gov/far. The following provisions apply to this acquisition: 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items; 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items; In accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, offerors must complete annual representations and certifications on-line at http://orca.bpn.gov. If paragraph (j) of the provision applies, a written submission is required; The following clauses apply to this acquisition: 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items; 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items including subparagraphs: 52.209-6, Protecting the Government's Interests When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment; 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set Aside; 52.219-28, Post-Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation; 52.222-3, Convict Labor; 52.222-19, Child Labor-Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies; 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; 52.222-40, Notification of Employee Rights under the National Labor Relations Act; 52.222-54, Employment Eligibility Verification; 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Message While Driving; 52.225-1, Buy American Act-Supplies; 52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases (E.O. 12722, 12724, 13059, 13067, 13121, and 13129; and 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--Central Contractor Registration. Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level above the Contracting Officer is also incorporated. It can be downloaded at www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/agency.htm; and NIST LOCAL 36 - TRAVEL NOTE (a) The government will reimburse the contractor for all necessary expenses in connection with travel authorized pursuant to this order/contract. Costs incurred for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses shall be considered to be reasonable and allowable only to the extent that they do not exceed on a daily basis the maximum per diem rates in effect at the time of travel as set forth in the Federal Travel Regulations prescribed by the General Services Administration. (b) Subsistence is authorized in accordance with the DoC and Federal Travel Regulations. Invoices requesting reimbursement for travel must be accompanied by itemized paid receipts. The invoices must be submitted to the payment office specified elsewhere in this order/contract.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NIST/AcAsD/SB1341-11-RQ-0757/listing.html)
 

Place of Performance

Address: Ship to:, NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithesburg, Maryland, 20899, United States

Zip Code: 20899
 

Record

SN02571154-W 20110912/110910233745-d4184700c601d8bd6c65cd45a62a7e2e (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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