M00146-15-T-9023_QA_Att_1.docx

M00146-15-T-9023 Attachment 01

ELECTRIC STARTER MOTOR TEST STAND

SOLICITATION M00146-15-T-9023

Questions Received and the Government’s Response

1. Re: Section C, Paragraph 3.8.3 of the Purchase Description/Specification refers to "Engine Test Vibration Analysis Software". We believe this to be not applicable to the Electric Starter Motor Test Stand requirement - please confirm.

Response: The Government confirms that all references to "Engine Test Vibration Analysis Software" do not apply to this solicitation. See revised paragraph 3.8.3 of the Purchase Description/Specification for changes.

2. Re: Section C, Paragraph 5.0 of the Purchase Description/Specification calls for "labor hour reporting". This seems at odds with a competitively-bid, firm fixed price type project. Please clarify.

Response: In accordance with the Navy Marine Corps Acquisition Regulation Supplement (NMCARS) Part 5237.102-90 relating to Enterprise-wide Contractor Manpower Reporting Application (ECMRA), we are required to include this in all contracts that include any type of services such as, in this case, installation and training. The labor hour reporting does not apply to the manufacture/supply portion of the requirement.

3. Re: Section C, Paragraph 3.1 of the Purchase Description/Specification states "Bonding resistance, insulation resistance, and dielectric strength testing of starters is not a requirement of this specification." During the site visit, it was noted that "brush run in" tests are also to be performed on a separate machine and are not a capability requirement under this solicitation. Please confirm.

Response: The Government confirms that brush run-in testing will continue to be performed on a separate machine and it is not a requirement of this solicitation.

4. Re: Section C, Table 1 of Paragraph 3.1 of the Purchase Description/Specification lists the required component capability. Please confirm that the government will make these components, existing test adapters/tools (v-band, mounting plate, spline adapter, etc.), and/or the associated drawings available for vendor use in designing new test adapters/tooling to go with the new test stand.

Response: The Government cannot guarantee all of the components and or associated drawings will be available. However, the Government will provide the awardee with all information associated with these components that is available and approved for distribution.

5. Re: Section C, Table 1 of Paragraph 3.1 of the Purchase Description/Specification lists the required component capability. Please confirm that the government will make one of each of these components available for vendor use during factory acceptance testing.

Response: The Government will provide available motors for pre-shipment review if the review is held. However, if a specific motor is not available, the test shall be performed using the motors available at the time of Pre-shipment Review.

6. Please confirm that removal of the existing equipment is not part of the required work scope.

Response: The Government confirms that removal of the existing equipment is not part of the scope of work for this solicitation.

7. Please publish floor plan showing intended location of new test stand in room, along with path to move new test stand into place from outside the building.

Response: See Attachment 02 (Drawing PE-21537F) for proposed site location drawing.

8. Can you provide pictures of the existing equipment for reference?

Response: Yes. Pictures/Photos are available upon request to the Contracting Office (e-mail to larry.davis1@usmc.mil).

10. Will Computer-Aided Design (CAD) files of the Unit Under Tests (UUTs) be available? If not, we will need at a minimum a set of prints which clearly show the overall envelope and indicate all of the electrical connections as well as the mounting points so that we can define the position for each component within the test stand.

Response: No. CAD files are not available for the UUT’s and the Government cannot guarantee that all associated UUT drawings will be available. However, the Government will provide the awardee with any information associated with this requirement that is available and approved for distribution.

11. Are any of the prints of the existing stand available? (test cart, interface adapters, etc.)

a. While on site, several of us noted the custom APU starter adapter used for the V-22 UUT. Are any prints available for this part?

Response: No. Drawings do not exist for the current test stand. However, the Government will provide the awardee with all information associated with this requirement that is available and approved for distribution.

12. There was a discussion about cooling on the stand. The unloaded stand had what looked like ducting for a blower but it was unclear as to whether or not it was used during testing. The loaded stand also had a blower but it was connected to the Magtrol brake/loading mechanism. Is there going to be a cooling requirement for either of the UUTs which will be run on this stand and if so what is the effective heat removal required?

Response: The UUT technical manuals do not provide specific heat removal requirements or environmental conditions during testing, but all include statements requiring "adequate cooling" or use of an air stream to "cool the starter motor when tests are done.” The UUT technical manuals also identify starter motor duty cycles that should (under normal circumstances) help to ensure that excessive heat will not be generated. The vendor’s technical quote shall include a method for providing airflow to aid in heat removal (without specific minimum requirements).

13. What is the max inertia that either UUT can experience during an unloaded test? The existing unloaded stand has an inline braking/loading mechanism but it is not powered and it simply free-wheels during testing. Despite not providing any commanded load, however, it still provides some additional inertia to the driveline. It would be helpful to know how much is acceptable so we can determine if any provided braking mechanism will need to be clutched out for unloaded testing.

Response: No-load testing should not apply any additional load to the UUT. The Government's intent in Paragraph 3.2.1a(x) (Salient Characteristics) of the solicitation is that a "free running speed sensor" such as a fiber-optic device be used in order to avoid any undesirable loading that would affect UUT no-load performance.

14. While on site, there was a discussion about travelers for the UUTs tested on this stand. What are the requirements and/or desired options for what would be included on any traveler documentation.

Response: The Government interprets “travelers” as documents that accompany UUT for workload management and process flow documentation. The Government does not expect the potential awardee to modify or define this process. As stated in paragraph 3.2.c, Standard Features, the requirement of the specification is to save and print test results. This documentation does not currently exist. The Government’s intent is for the potential awardee to develop this test report with Government input and review.

15. The number of UUTs tested per quarter was mentioned while we were on-site. Can this information be clarified and posted.

Response: For example 3 months June 15 = 26 units, May 15 = 36 units, and April 15 = 20 units. Total per quarter = 82 units.

16. The existing loaded test stand had readouts for voltage, amperage, torque, and speed. Many of these items have stickers implying that calibration is not required. Can you clarify what the calibration requirements will be for the transducers/readouts that will be provided with the new test stand?

Response: The instrumentation accuracy requirements are listed in paragraph 3.3.2, Instrumentation Accuracies, of the Specification. All parameters used for quantitative measurement shall be calibrated in accordance with the calibration procedure in paragraph 3.5.5, Calibration Procedure, of the Specification.

17. Will an Electric Starter of each type listed in Specification, Table 1 of paragraph 3.1 be made available as GFE for testing at the contractor's facility prior to test stand delivery?

Response: See response to questions 4. above.

18. Please confirm that the Brush Run In Test is not required to be run on this test stand.

Response: The Government confirms that brush run-in testing will continue to be performed on a separate machine and it is not required to be included as part of this solicitation.

19. Reference Specification, Paragraph 3.6, last sentence, "The contractor shall submit information for approval to the Government in accordance with the contractor submitted and Government approved POA&M (Paragraph 3.23.4)." Please clarify "Paragraph 3.23.4 should" be changed to read "Paragraph 3.5.2."

Response: Correct. See revised paragraph 3.6 of the Purchase Description/Specification for change.

20. Reference Specification, Paragraph 3.8.3, "Special emphasis shall be placed on the Engine Test Vibration Analysis Software. Training shall include information on adding additional vibration profiles for new engines we well as editing current profiles. Training shall encompass all analysis tools provided in the Engine Test Vibration Software." Is this requirement an error?

Response: The Government confirms that all references to "Engine Test Vibration Analysis Software" do not apply to this solicitation. See revised paragraph 3.8.3 of the Purchase Description/Specification.

21. Reference Specification, Paragraph 3.7.5.2. Please clarify "Paragraph 3.7.5.2" should" be changed to read "Paragraph 3.8.5.2."

Response: Correct. See revised Purchase Description/Specification for change.

22. Reference Specification, Paragraph 3.7.6. Please clarified "Paragraph 3.7.6" should be changed to read "Paragraph 3.8.6."

Response: Correct. See revised Purchase Description/Specification for change.

23. Reference Specification, Paragraph 3.9.2.g, "The contractor shall locate the equipment within the boundary areas in a fashion that will provide a minimum working clearance of three (3) feet around the equipment, and the immediate work area." Please provide the measurements of the room where the Electric Starter Test Stand will reside.

Response: See Attachment 02 (Drawing PE-21537F) for proposed site location drawing.

24. Reference Specification, Paragraph 3.10.2, "At a minimum, the contractor shall include engineering management reports with program milestones." Engineering Management Reports are not identified under SOW Paragraph 3.5--Documentation and Deliverables. Should this be changed to "POA&M?" If not, please clarify if Engineering Management Reports are deliverables and if so, please provide a list of those items the Government expects to receive on a monthly basis, quarterly basis, etc., or on a one-time basis for PDR.

Response: The Government confirms that all references to "Engineering Management Reports" do not apply to this solicitation. See revised paragraph 3.10.2 of the Purchase Description/Specification for change.

25. Reference Specification, Paragraph 3.10.3 last sentence, "The contractor shall have, at this review, a final version of the site preparation and equipment installation plan, engineering, environmental impact and concerns, and all engineering management reports with program milestones." Please clarify if Engineering Management Reports are deliverables and if so, please provide a list of those items the Government expects to receive on a monthly basis, quarterly basis, etc., or on a one-time basis for JDR.

Response: The Government confirms that all references to "Engineering Management Reports" do not apply to this solicitation. See revised paragraph 3.10.3 of the Purchase Description/Specification for change.

26. Reference Specification, Paragraph 4.0 Verification. Please clarify Paragraphs 4.1 through 4.7 are "RESERVED" and no information was inadvertently omitted. Should these paragraphs be changed to read as follows:

Response: Yes. The subparagraphs should read as stated above for Section C, paragraph 4.0 Verification. See revised Purchase Description/Specification for change.

28. Reference Section G, 4.0--Contract Financing. The milestone payment schedule reference Purchase Description/Specification paragraph 3.9.2 for completion of the Preliminary Design Review. Please confirm correct paragraph reference should be 3.10.2.

Response: Correct. See Section G, 4.0--Contract Financing for revised payment schedule.

29. Reference Section G, 4.0--Contract Financing. The milestone payment schedule references Purchase Description/Specification paragraphs 4.2 and 4.2.2 for completion and acceptance of FAT. Please confirm correct paragraph reference should be 4.9 and 4.9.2, respectively.

Response: See Section G, 4.0--Contract Financing for revised payment schedule.

30. Reference Section G, 4.0--Contracting Financing (Preliminary Documentation Payment). Request the Government consider removing "Technical Data and Manuals (3.5.3)" from the preliminary version submittal as part of the 10% payment. In accordance with Specification, Paragraph 3.5.3, "The Contractor shall provide technical manuals and schematics describing all the components of the specified equipment delivered to the Government no less than thirty (30) days prior to delivery of the test stand." Once the equipment will be delivered, installation will begin within approximately 5 days with completion in approximately 30 days. Essentially, the Government would be withholding 70% of the contract value as the PDR (10%) and JDR (20%) will have been accomplished and all materials procured. This places a burden on small businesses.

Response: See Section G, 4.0--Contract Financing for revised payment schedule.

31. Please clarify there is no Section H - Special Contract Requirements for this solicitation. The solicitation identifies a Section G and then goes directly to Section I.

Response: Section H, which was inadvertently omitted, has been added to solicitation.

32. Reference Specification, Paragraph 4.8.2 Reliability Validation, "The contractor proposal shall provide documentation that substantiates reliability requirements." We do not find in the solicitation an attached document, or other reference, to any "Reliability Requirements." Please provide the requirements against which a contractor will need to substantiate reliability.

Response: See revised specification paragraph 4.1.2. Reliability Validation has been deleted and will not be a requirement of this solicitation.

33. The RFQ is inconsistent because it states this is both a commercial procurement and a system development. Please clarify how the government desires to acquire this item; as a commercial item or as a system development? Some more specific questions on this point follow.

Response: See revised specification paragraph 3.5.2. The term “system development” has been deleted.

33A: While FAR 52.212, Acquisition of Commercial Items Provisions and Clauses, is cited for this solicitation, the Purchase Description (PD) more closely mirrors a full development program. Per PD section 3.6.2 Data Rights, the Government specific purpose rights shall be provided to technical data, software, and drawings so that not only can the Government maintain and upgrade the items throughout the planned lifecycle, but will also allow the Government to have the right to use data, code and drawing to create a competitive procurement package. Additionally, when procuring a Commercial item, it is not standard to have design reviews such as those contemplated in Section 3.10 Design Reviews of the PD (e.g. PDR, JDR, etc.), nor is it standard to require design documentation related to these (e.g. VDD, ATP, DDD, etc.). Please address the inconsistency of levying the data and design requirements typical of a full development program in light of what appears to be a desired commercial acquisition.

Response: Although this is not a Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) item, it is still considered a commercial item in that the equipment to be provided is the same type sold and used in the commercial market for other than governmental purposes . . . . And, although the starters to be tested under this requirement are used on military aircraft engines, any commercial aircraft engine manufacturer would have to purchase starter test stands designed and manufactured specific to the starter(s) to be tested. The reviews are necessary in order to ensure that progress is being made and the item will be delivered on time and in accordance with the specifications.

33B: For a commercial product acquisition, why is the Government requiring a contractor to provide all of its design rights (e.g. data, code, drawings, and software)? It would not seem to be a commercial acquisition when these requirements are levied against a contractor. Please elaborate on the Government's intention in PD Section 3.6.2 Data Rights.

Response: A company is welcome to quote an item that they developed for another contract. Data rights can be negotiated, if and only if, the item was developed entirely at private expense and not pursuant to any government contract or delivered per the specifications of any government entity or contract. If a vendor was awarded a contract to develop this type of item for another agency, it may use that item as the base item, but it will have to be modified to meet the specifications of FRCE’s requirement. In addition, anytime an item is developed pursuant to a government contract, the default assumption is that the item was developed with mixed funding, not wholly private funding. Since this is usually the correct assumption, the government automatically obtains at least a Government Purpose Rights license to all the data and computer rights at whatever level the agency has deemed necessary for its requirement. A vendor who does not want to participate or meet the requirement is free to choose not to compete. However, FRCE does intend to obtain at least government purpose rights to the technical data, drawings and computer software developed for this item.

In addition, whenever technical data is needed for operations, maintenance, installation, training, or is form, fit, or function data, the government automatically has an unrestricted right to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose that data (and/or permit others to do so).

33C: Since the Government is considering this acquisition as commercial, governed by FAR 52.212-4 in, and also included in Section I - Contract Clauses, DFAR 252.227-7013 Rights in Technical Data - Noncommercial Items and 252.227-7014 Rights in Noncommercial Computer Software and Noncommercial Computer Software Documentation, please confirm that the Government desires to enter into an additional license rights agreement with the successful offeror so that PD Section 3.6.2 will not contradict the intent of either of these DFARs.

Response: The clause at DFARS 52.227-7013 is prescribed by DFARS 227.7103-6(a). This clause is used in solicitations and contracts, including solicitations and contracts using FAR part 12 procedures for the acquisition of commercial items, when the successful offeror(s) will be required to deliver to the Government technical data pertaining to non-commercial items, or pertaining to commercial items for which the Government will have paid for any portion of the development costs (in which case the clause at 252.227-7013 will govern the technical data pertaining to any portion of a commercial item that was developed in any part at Government expense, and the clause at 252.227-7015 will govern the technical data pertaining to any portion of a commercial item that was developed exclusively at private expense.) Note that any portion of an item like the one contemplated here would require substantiation of development at private expense, because the presumption is that the item is developed pursuant to the government contract resulting from this solicitation. Also note that 252.227-7014 is appropriate to use, because even though the government does not require delivery of data rights to COTS commercial software such as LabView, it does require full rights to the code used to create all program test sets for each engine starter testing program. Those portions of this software are non-commercial and therefore, data rights are a necessary part of our requirement. Since these portions of the software are non-commercial and not developed at private expense, the default data rights level is unrestricted unless a different level is negotiated in the contracting process.

The Government has a very strong preference for competition in procuring requirements. By obtaining the data rights we have requested in this solicitation, we are planning to meet the law and preference in the future when maintenance or replacements are contemplated.

33D: Conversely to Question 33C, please confirm the Government intends to remove those DFAR pertaining to non-commercial items, 252.227-7013, 252.227-7014, 252.227-7020 and remove the following wording from PD Section 3.6.2, "In addition, the Government's license to the technical data rights, license, and drawings will allow future competitive procurement of replacements and upgrades. When an upgrade or re-procurement is contemplated, the Government will have the right to provide drawings, software code and technical data to vendors who have signed a non-disclosure agreement allowing use of the data, code, and drawings only to create a competitive procurement package. The technical data, software, and drawings will not be used to award a sole source contract to a competitor. These data rights shall pertain to all documentation and drawings pertaining to the system to be acquired through this procurement."

Response: The Government does not intend to remove any of these data rights clauses as they are all considered appropriate for this procurement.

34. Based on the feedback from our personnel during site visit, we understand that the area is tight and you may be having space restriction. Do you have any room layout or dimensional drawing in place which we can refer?

Response: See Attachment 02 (Drawing PE-21537F) for proposed site location drawing.

35. Is "Brush Run-in" testing a requirement to be performed in the proposed test stand?

Response: No. Brush run-in testing will continue to be performed on a separate machine and it is not required to be included as part of this requirement.

36. Are there existing electric starter motor test stands at the end user facility similar to this test stand and if so, can you tell what company(s) provided them?

Response: Although there are existing stand at the end user facility, the Government cannot provide information due to the age of the stands and the modifications applied over the years.

37. Can we get speed-torque curves for the following motors listed in the RFQ?

Response: No. The Government does not have speed-torque curves for the motors listed in Section C, Table 1 of Paragraph 3.1 of the Purchase Description/Specification.