20250225_ACE_Section L_ICT 1500-2500.pdf

SECTION L

Information To Offerors (ITO)

And Instructions for Proposal Preparation

Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA)

Inspection Equipment ICT 1500/2500 309 Maintenance Support Group

Hill Air Force Base, UT

25 February 2025

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

I. Proposal Format

A. General: The following instructions cover the preparation and submittal of the offeror’s proposal for this solicitation. Offerors must follow the instructions contained herein. Offerors are cautioned that any noncompliance with the terms and conditions of the Request for Proposal (RFP) may cause their proposal to be determined to be unacceptable and therefore not considered eligible for award. If a joint venture arrangement exists for this acquisition, the offeror shall provide a copy of the joint venture agreement that is signed and dated by all joint venture members as part of the proposal submission. Offerors shall submit only one proposal for the Inspection Equipment ICT 1500/2500 requirement, as the Government will review only one proposal per offeror. Proposals must be received by OL:H_PZIMB, Attention: Randall Egbert, see block 7, and no later than the date and time specified in Block 9 on the front page of the RFP or specified date and time on applicable amendments.

B. Communications:

Exchanges of source selection information between Government and offerors will be controlled by the Contracting Officer. Email may be used to transmit such information only if the email can be sent encrypted and must include “Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104” in the subject line of the email. In order to facilitate the sending and receiving of encrypted emails, offerors must use MS Outlook email configured to support encryption or a different email product that is S/MIME compatible and configured to support encryption. If you intend to submit your source selection information via encrypted email, you will need to contact the Buyer/Contracting Officer indicated on the face page of the solicitation prior to that first submittal in order to exchange certificates used for encryption. To ensure the process is working correctly, send a test encrypted message first (without including any source selection information). Otherwise, source selection information can be transmitted via DOD SAFE at https://safe.apps.mil/. When submitting source selection information via email, file suppression utilities, to include but not limited to zip files, will not be accepted.

C. General Instructions:

This section of the ITO provides general guidance for preparing proposals as well as specific instructions on the format and content of the proposal. The offeror's proposal must include all data and information requested by the ITO and must be submitted in accordance with these instructions. The offer shall be compliant with the requirements as stated in the RFP and its supporting attachments. Non-conformance with the instructions provided in this ITO may result in an unacceptable proposal evaluation.

D. General Information:

1. Point of Contact The Contracting Officer (CO) is the sole point of contact for this acquisition. Address any questions or concerns you may have to the CO. The Contract Specialist (CS) is to be copied on e-mail correspondence. Written requests for clarification may be sent to the CO at the address located in Section A of the model contract/solicitation.

2. Debriefings The CO will promptly notify offerors of any decision to exclude them from the competitive range; whereupon, they may request and receive a debriefing in accordance with FAR 15.505. Offerors excluded from the competitive range may request a pre-award debriefing or they may choose to wait until after the source selection decision to request a post-award debriefing. However, offerors excluded from the competitive range are entitled to no more than one debriefing for their proposal. The CO will notify unsuccessful offerors in the competitive range of the source selection decision in accordance with FAR 15.506. Upon such notification, unsuccessful offerors may request and receive a debriefing. Offerors desiring a debriefing must make their request in accordance with the requirements of FAR 15.505 or 15.506, as applicable.

3. Discrepancies If an offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the offeror shall immediately notify the CO in writing with supporting rationale as well as the remedies the offeror is asking the CO to consider as related to the omission or error. The Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussion. This reservation includes matters of additional or substitute pages of the initial proposal.

4. Electronic Reference Documents All referenced documents for this solicitation are available on the Government Point of Entry web site at http://www.sam.gov. Potential offerors are encouraged to subscribe for real-time e-mail notifications when information has been posted to the website for this solicitation.

5. Oral Presentations Not applicable.

6. Discussions The Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussion.

This reservation includes matters of additional or substitute pages of the initial proposal. If the Government determines to hold discussions, they will be held in accordance with FAR 15.306.

II. Volume Organization

A. General: Proposals shall be submitted to the Government as separate volumes as set forth below:

VOLUME DESCRIPTION COPIES PAGE LIMIT

I Completed RFP and Price Proposal 1 No Page Limits II Written Technical Proposal 1 50

B. Format Instructions:

In addition to the page limitations set forth above, proposal volumes shall comply with the following format:

1. The sealed package used to submit the proposal package must show the time and date specified for receipt. Each volume shall be marked with the RFP number and the offeror’s name and address, and the number of the Volume, i.e. I, II. Proposals shall be in the English language and all monies shall be proposed in United States dollars.

2. Print shall be no smaller than a font size of 12 and should be on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper, excluding any charts, graphs, drawings, diagrams, supporting illustrations, or spreadsheets and shall not be greater than 11” x 17”. Each volume within the proposal shall be separately tabbed and identified. Margins shall be no smaller than 1 inch and each page within a volume shall be numbered consecutively. Elaborate formats, bindings, or color presentations are not desired or required.

3. The page limitation for Volume II, Written Technical Proposal, is 50 pages. The page limitation includes any charts, graphs, drawings, diagrams, supporting illustrations, spreadsheets but excludes any cover page, table of contents or list of acronyms (if utilized). Offerors are cautioned that any pages that exceed the page limitations shall not be read but shall be removed and either retained in the contract file without being considered in the evaluation, or, sent back to the offeror.

4. Page limitations may be placed on Evaluation Notices (ENs), if issued. The specified limits for EN responses will be identified in the letters forwarding the ENs to the offerors or on the EN form itself.

5. Each page containing proprietary information should be so marked.

6. Each page should contain the following legend at the bottom of each sheet:

SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION--SEE FAR 2.101 and 3.104

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

C. Submission Instructions:

1. The contractor will either mail, hand carry, or e-mail their proposal to the below address no later than the date and time specified in Block 9 of the SF 33. Late proposal submissions will not be accepted. Email is the preferred submission method. A receipt confirmation is recommended.

AFSC PZIMB

Attn: Randall Egbert Reference: FA822425R0006 ICT 1500-2500 RFP 6038 Aspen Ave, Hill AFB, UT 84056 Email: randall.egbert@us.af.mil

2. HAND-CARRIED PROPOSALS NOTICE: Offerors are cautioned that Hill AFB (HAFB) has stringent visitor control procedures requiring individuals not affiliated with the installation to obtain a visitor pass and be cleared by the Government POC to be visited prior to entrance. A request must be received by the above Contracting Specialists at least five (5) days prior to requested entry for an offeror to gain entrance onto HAFB. It is possible the POC may not be available to clear offerors for entrance, which may prohibit submission of hand-carried proposals;

consequently, offerors electing to hand-carry their proposals for submittal just prior to closing time do so at their own risk.

3. Hard copy proposals will be accompanied by a non-rewritable CD with electronic versions of the proposal document and all associated attachments

D. Volume I, Completed RFP and Price Proposal

1. General: Volume I, shall consist of a Completed RFP and Price proposal. The Completed RFP shall consist of the completed and signed RFP, to include any amendments issued, with a cover letter delineating any exceptions taken to the RFP terms and conditions with accompanying rationale. However, offerors are cautioned that any noncompliance with the terms and conditions of the RFP may cause their proposal to be determined not eligible for award. Offerors shall ensure that all clauses and provisions that require “fill-in” information are appropriately completed, including the proposed prices associated with the contract line items in the Schedule of the RFP.

1.1 Cost/Price Information

The Contracting Officer has determined there is a high probability of adequate price competition in this acquisition.

Upon examination of the initial offers, the Contracting Officer will review this determination and if, in the Contracting Officer's opinion, adequate price competition exists, no additional cost information will be requested and certification under FAR 15.406-2 will not be required. However, if at any time during this competition, the Contracting Officer determines that adequate price competition no longer exists, offerors may be required to submit information to the extent necessary for the Contracting Officer to determine the reasonableness of the price.

1.2 Price Proposal - Total Evaluated Price

This solicitation requires that price proposals shall be presented in the following way. Offerors shall develop their Total Evaluated Price (TEP) as follows:

CLIN 0001 – X-Ray Source - Linatron 9MEV/ICT-1500 - Material Purchase CLIN 0002 – X-Ray Source - Linatron 15MEV/ICT-2500 - Material Purchase CLIN 0003 – Upgrade ICT-1500 Part 1 Gov't Acceptance IAW SOW 10.2 CLIN 0004 – Upgrade ICT-2500 Part 1 Gov't Acceptance IAW SOW 10.2 CLIN 0005 – Upgrade Linatron 9MEV for ICT-1500 Part 2 Gov't Acceptance IAW SOW 10.2 CLIN 0006 – Upgrade Linatron 15MEV for ICT-2500 Part 2 Gov't Acceptance IAW SOW 10.2 CLIN 0007 – Post Award Training ICT-1500 CLIN 0008 – Post Award Training ICT-2500 CLIN 0009 – CDRLs (A001-A007) Not Separately Priced The total evaluated price will be the sum of the total prices for all listed CLINs.

1.3 Exceptions to Solicitation Requirements:

Exceptions to Solicitation Requirements: Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors or subfactors. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award.

Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale. Each exception shall be specifically related to each paragraph and/or specific part of the solicitation to which the exception is taken. Provide rationale in support of the exception and fully explain its impact, if any, on the performance, schedule, cost, and specific requirements of the solicitation. This information shall be provided in the format and content of the table below.

Solicitation Exceptions

SOLICITATION

Document

Page/ Paragraph

Requirement/ Portion

Rationale

PS, ITO, Evaluation Criteria, etc.

Applicable Page and Paragraph Numbers

Identify the requirement or portion to which exception is taken

Describe why the requirement can/will not be met

1.4 Other Information Required:

Authorized Offeror Personnel – Provide the name, title, email address, and telephone number of the company/division point of contact regarding decisions made with respect to your proposal and who can obligate your company contractually. Also, identify those individuals authorized to negotiate with the Government.

Company/Division Address, Identifying Codes, and Applicable Designations – Provide company/division’s street address, county and facility code; CAGE code; DUNS code; and size of business (large or small).

E. Volume II, Written Technical Proposal

1. General: The written technical proposal shall be clear, concise, and include all the information required by this provision in sufficient detail for effective evaluation. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government’s requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume the Government has no prior knowledge of their capabilities, work processes, facilities, and experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the offeror’s technical proposal. Please ensure to specifically address each of the items listed within each of the subfactors.

2. Format and Specific Content: The following information shall be provided in the written technical proposal and will be evaluated to assess technical acceptability in accordance with Section M, Evaluation Basis for Award.

The written technical proposal shall address each of the following subfactors to describe the offeror’s proposed approach to performing the requirements set forth in the ITO and SOW.

3. Data Rights: Responding vendors will state any limitations on the disclosure of full/unlimited data rights.

Unlimited data rights are preferred by the government for this acquisition; any exceptions or objections to this arrangement must be addressed within the proposal.

4. Technical Subfactors

4.a. Technical Subfactor One

Description: Authorized Vendor

Offeror shall provide evidence that demonstrates their team (including subcontractors if applicable) is an authorized vendor by specifically addressing the following conditions:

1. Offeror meets the standards identified in FAR 9.104-1.

2. Offeror has a completed and certified DD Form 2345.

4.b. Technical Subfactor Two

Description: Technical Capabilities

Offeror shall provide a detailed response to each of the items below:

1. General

a. Contractor shall elaborate how they plan to use easily sourced parts for all upgraded parts within the system for the ease of future replacement and repairs. (See SOW 3.4, 3.5, 3.9)

b. The contractor shall elaborate on how the features below (Software, Motion Control, Detector

(LDA), X-Ray Source, Mechanical) must be able to communicate with one another for seamless integration of the system to meet our Translate-Rotate acquisition system requirements outlined in the SOW.

2. Software

a. Contractor shall provide an automated means of evaluating system spatial resolution and contrast sensitivity measured from a disk phantom as described in ASTM E 1695. These measures will be necessary for comparing system performance before and after the system upgrade. (See SOW 7.1.1.2, 7.3.2.1, 7.3.3 and 7.3.9.1)

b. Contractor shall elaborate on how they plan to program the Translate-Rotate feature within the software.

c. Proposed software shall have the capability of visualizing real-time data collection results (sinograms) and independently operated reconstruction of sinogram data. (See SOW 7.1.4 and 7.1.5)

d. Proposed software shall allow scan setup parameters as defined in the SOW (e.g., object type, scan height, table angle, field-of-view, resolution aperture, thickness aperture, etc.). (See SOW Sections 4, 5, 7.2, and 7.3)

e. Contractor shall elaborate on how they plan on generating complete 3D volumes allowing the user to view objects from any angle, slicing and moving through the asset and accurately measuring defects. (See SOW 7.1.1.4)

f. Contractor shall elaborate on how they plan to meet or exceed the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) resolution requirement: minimum of .3-line pairs per mm (lp/mm). (See SOW 7.3.3)

3. Motion Control

a. Contractor shall elaborate on the motion control system design. The Bosch Rexroth motion controller and servo motors are required. If a different system is proposed, contractor shall provide sufficient detail to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed motion controller. (See SOW 6.1, 6.2)

b. Contractor shall elaborate on how they plan on providing motion system encoders on the three linear stages and one rotary stage with resolutions that meet or exceed the current system (200 counts/mm on linear stages and 2000 counts/degree on rotary stage). (See SOW 6.3)

c. Motion control design shall include provisions for automated motion of two detector resolution apertures. (See SOW 6.4)

d. Contractor shall elaborate on how they plan on aligning the x-ray source and the LDA (See SOW 7.1.1.4). The contractor shall elaborate on how they propose to position all axes to user designated positions for setup and alignment. (See SOW 6.5)

e. Contractor shall elaborate on how the user shall have the capability of manipulating the tube head, LDA, and the CT table independently while also allowing input of parameters within the software prior to scanning. (See SOW 7.1)

4. Detector (LDA)

a. The contractor shall elaborate on how they plan to meet or exceed the following specifications.

The required detector upgrade will utilize the existing aperture hardware and CdWO4 (cadmium tungstate) crystals (or equivalent). Specific upgrades must include improved light pipes, photodiodes, and supporting electronics. (See SOW 3.10, 3.11, 3.11.1, 3.13)

b. If the contractor chooses a new drop-in detector design, contractor shall elaborate on how the proposed design will address scatter rejection equivalent to or better than the current design. Their proposed replacement plan must also address minimizing down time. (See SOW 3.10)

c. The contractor shall elaborate on how they plan on providing detector electronics, such as A-to-D converters, so they will be interchangeable from channel position to position within the LDA. (See

SOW 3.14)

d. The contractor shall provide detector electronics of modern design and capabilities as stated within the SOW (i.e., 20-bit, gain corrections by channel, synchronization with the linear accelerator x-ray source for precision object positioning information, etc.). (See SOW 3.14)

e. Contractor shall elaborate on how they intend on providing a reference detector design using a design like the existing design of the main detector channels. (See SOW 3.13)

f. Contractor shall elaborate on how they plan on providing detector channel diagnostic utilities to aid in troubleshooting and replacement of failed electronics in the detector channel chain. (See

SOW 3.15)

g. Contractor shall provide prior experience installing LDA detectors.

h. Contractor shall elaborate on the design and assembly of the scintillator assembly; i.e. Photodiode, light pipe and (CdWO4) cadmium tungstate or equivalent. (See SOW 3.11, 3.12)

i. Contractor shall elaborate on their prior experience in repairs of PCBs within an LDA on a

15MeV (K15) system.

5. X-Ray Source

a. Contractor shall provide prior experience installing or upgrading 9 MeV (M9) and 15 MeV (K15) systems. (See SOW Section 7.5.1, 7.5.2)

i. The contractor shall provide examples of past project experience that proves contractor competencies in high energy CT systems. The past projects must include upgrades or installations of 9MEV AND 15MEV systems.

ii. The contractor shall elaborate on how they intend to integrate while maintaining or exceeding the current timing, i.e. firing, measuring, pulsing, positioning, rotations, and accuracy, of all integrated components within the system (detector, x-ray source, motion system, and mechanical communications). (See SOW Section 6.7)

6. Mechanical

a. Contractor shall provide experience with stepper motors, servo motors, servo resolvers, and controls driving large gantries to ensure smooth motion to allow for clear image acquisition. (See SOW Section 4, 5, 6)

i. Contractor shall elaborate on past project experience that proves contractor competencies in manipulating the CT table with weight capacities of 120k pounds and an inspection envelope of 8ft diameter and 29ft in height for the ICT-2500; and 10k pounds and an inspection envelope of 4.5ft in diameter and 8ft in height for the ICT-1500.

b. Contractor shall elaborate on past projects involving large mechanical positioning components i.e.

ball screws, ways, bearings, multiple axes, drive motors, towers and cables that demonstrates how the mechanical design for the ICT-2500/ICT1500 will meet specifications of the SOW. (See SOW Section 4, 5, 6).

i. The contractor shall elaborate on how they plan on safely upgrading the critical mechanical components to meet the following Hill AFB’s needs:

1. The contractor shall elaborate on how they plan on ensuring positional accuracies and timing of all axes, encoders, CT table, drive motors, and ensure hard and soft limits are accurate and in place to protect explosive Air Force assets. (See SOW Section 1, 6, 10.2.3)

c. Contractor shall elaborate on how they plan on integrating with existing facility interlocks, area alarm and other safety system features. (See SOW 7.6 through 7.6.5)

7. Integration of the components within the ICT-1500/2500 systems

a. Contractor shall elaborate how they plan to integrate the Translate Rotate Software, Motion

Control, Detector, X-Ray Source, and Mechanical components within the system. (See SOW Section 4, 5, 6, 7)

i. The contractor shall provide examples of past project experience that proves contractor competencies in high energy CT systems. The past projects must include upgrades or installations of 9MEV AND 15MEV systems. (See SOW Section 4, 5)

4.c. Technical Subfactor Three

Description: Period of Performance (POP) and Downtime Schedule

Offeror shall provide a satisfactory POP and Downtime Schedule response that meets the following requirements below:

1. The contractor shall elaborate on how they plan to meet or beat the POP of 80 weeks from award. (See

SOW 3.6)

2. The contractor shall elaborate on how they plan to meet or beat the allowed downtime for each phase of each ICT system. (See SOW 10.5)