FA8125-17-R-0016_-_Q&A.pdf

Question

Number Question Answer

Items accepted. Payment shall be made for items accepted by the government that have been delivered to the delivery destinations set forth in the contract.

a. Does this mean the government will not pay until the furnace is delivered to Tinker? If so this will increase the price of the furnace due to financing costs.

b. If progress payments are allowed (per design milestones set forth in the SOW) cost can be reduced since the project would not require financing.

In accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

32.003 ‐ Simplified Acquisition Procedures Financing, contract financing is not provided for purchases under the authority of

Part 13.

Small Business Set aside

a. What type of the Small Business contract is this and what % of work to be completed by the Small Business?

This is a 100% small business set‐aside with no further restrictions applied. Please see 52.219‐14 (incorporated in

52.212‐5) for small business performance requirements.

Davis Bacon Act for Wages

a. Will the government require wage identification for installation activities? It is the SELLER understands that the OEM wages are not subject to this guideline, please confirm.

Davis‐Bacon Act does not apply.

Can you clarify what is meant by "Work support rails shall be top slotted to all for molybdenum rod inserts"? This is found in paragraph 3.3.8 at the last sentence.

The support rails should have slots for molybdenum rods to sit in, in order to minimize contact between the support rails and work grid sitting on top of them.

1000 – 2400F = +/‐ 10F

a. Exception to this requirement for factory and final acceptance tests. Type K thermocouples are only rated up to 2100F. If

2100F+ tests are required, we request that non‐standard thermocouples be listed for use in the specification or that they be supplied by the government.

K thermocouples are only required to monitor temperature uniformity through the operating temperature range of 800°F to 2200°F in 4.7.2. According to our sources, K thermocouples are good up to 2282°F

Door must be an autoclave style

a. Exception to this requirement, [vendor] design is a 360o Circumferential Clamping Ring opens and closes around the outside of the Chamber and Door flanges. It is industry accepted and proven on hundreds of installations all over the world.

Door must be in compliance with SOW 3.3.1.2

Blower and HX can be internally or externally mounted

a. Exception to external blower requirement, [vendor] utilizes the internal design and subjects the system to high pressure tests, vacuum tests, and uses specially designed seals to prevent any outside contamination.

Acceptable internal blower design in accordance with SOW

3.3.6.2

VRT transformer required – Hilmar, Inc or equal with a 5 year warranty

a. Exception to this requirement, [vendor] uses Dry Type Transformers with SCR. Must be in compliance with section 3.3.21

6 heating zones all trimable

a. Exception to this, standard is 3 zones Acceptable in accordance with section SOW 3.3.7 (revised).

Televac vacuum controller or equal

a. SELLER’s standard MMI will display all required parameters Acceptable in accordance with sections 3.3.16, 3.3.19, and

3.3.20

Loader with rails – electric or pneumatic operated

a. SELLER’S standard loading system consists of a powered walk behind loader with special rollers on the loader that mates with guide rails mounted under the furnace. This arrangement does not require any rails to be mounted on the floor which can be a trip hazard. Is this design acceptable to the government?

Acceptable in accordance with section 3.6.1

Accessories items requested:

a. x5 – Rubber Aprons

b. x20 – Pairs of Leather gloves (22 ounce, 600F, abrasion resistant)

c. x2 – Pairs of Cryogenic gloves (min 15” length)

d. x4 – Sets of High Heat face shield

e. ITEMS a thru d above… why are they being requested, the vacuum furnaces that are to be provided do not require any of these items for material handling. Can this requirement be clarified as to its purpose?

Accessories are required for this acquisition.

80 DB @ 3 feet from the equipment (backfill and pumps?) – Comply with the exception that during gas backfill during cooling, noise is elevated for only a short duration at this time and then stabilized. Is this acceptable to the government?

Acceptable in accordance with 3.1.4.2 and 3.1.5. Remains below 80DB during normal operation.

The contractor shall provide the government the program/software that is used to program the furnace

a. What is the request here? Do you want the ability to program recipes; are you requesting PLC code or the software to view the PLC code?

We do need to have the ability to program recipes, as well the ability to view the PLC code. This also alludes to the backups mentioned in 3.8.2 k.

200 days (28.5 weeks) to install the equipment

a. Is this the complete project schedule from award to final acceptance? Yes

60 days after preliminary installation drawing approval – final submission of Installation drawings (Final drawings shall bear a complete title block with a permanent drawing number, signature, date, and an original stamp or seal of a Professional

Engineer (PE) licensed in Oklahoma)

a. What is the intent here? It can add additional cost and time to the schedule.

No longer a requirement.

Site visit was not issued, so there is no information about the work site, furnace removal conditions or distance of move on the base. Detailed information needs to be supplied if a site visit is not to be conducted.

See attachment for layout and pictures of site and removal location.

NO government resources are available to us during installation

a. Does the SELLER need to provide dumpsters for waste? No, there are dumpsters available on site for use.

Offloading and Placement is scheduled once the equipment arrives

a. Can this be scheduled before the furnace arrives?

Yes, we would like to have this scheduled before the furnace arrives

Catwalks, ladders, platforms are our responsibility

a. These items are non standard and are not typically provided on the size of furnace requested. Are these items required by the government? If so what is the governing requirements that would make them need to be supplied?

No, these are not required by the government

Material for performance testing at factory acceptance

a. What material is required? Can the government provide this material?

The only material required will be the parts referenced in

4.7.2.

The government typically uses old parts or scrap metal that can have load thermocouples inserted.

22 What is the power available? Paragraph 3.10.3 indicates we are reutilizing existing utilities.

See SOW 3.10.3. Power: 480V, 3 phase and 120V. The contractor should specify their electrical rating requirements in their Installation Drawings (Preliminary Submission) in 3.9 of the SOW for our review. We can easily accommodate a full load amperage of 2000 amps.