NWWP92352000296 Statement of Need RFQ.docx

STATEMENT OF NEED (SON)

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (DOC)

NATIONAL OCEANIC ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA)

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE (NWS)

JACKSON WFO (WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE)

DELIVERY PERIOD:

Base Year: 9/1/2020 through 8/31/2021 Option Year 1: 9/1/2021 through 8/31/2022 Option Year 2: 9/1/2022 through 8/31/2023 Option Year 3: 9/1/2023 through 8/31/2024 Option Year 4: 9/1/2024 through 8/31/2025

BACKGROUND:

WFO Jackson is a 24-hour operation every day of the year and is a public safety agency. The primary mission of the NWS is the protection of life and property. The NWS in Flowood, MS launches weather balloons routinely twice a day. Each balloon requires approximately 75 cubic feet (CF) of hydrogen. Instrumentation is attached to each balloon which provides measurements of temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and height. This data is transmitted worldwide and used to make weather forecasts out to 10 days.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the NWS is to receive and keep on-site an adequate supply of hydrogen gas (no less than 800 CF, up to 4,000 CF) in individual cylinders to perform the weather balloon launches on schedule.

SCOPE

The Contractor is responsible for supplying hydrogen to the NWS upper air building located at 234 Weather Service Drive Flowood, MS 39232. The total amount of hydrogen to be delivered for the 12-month period of this requirement will be a minimum of 54,000 CF, up to a maximum of 66,000 CF. The hydrogen will be supplied at regular intervals throughout the period, provided as individual cylinders, delivered approximately every two weeks. See Delivery Schedule in Section 6, below, for details.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

All deliveries are to be made to the NWS office at 234 Weather Service Drive Flowood, MS 39232. The point of delivery is at the Upper Air Inflation building, located on the airport property just northeast of the main building. The driver must come into the office, so the delivery can be coordinated with the airport before they are escorted onto the airport property. The drop off door is located on the east side of the inflation building.

REQUIREMENTS

Site Storage and Usage: All hydrogen must be provided in individual cylinders as the facility is not arranged to allow for other configurations. The Government has space at the delivery point to receive and store up to 20 cylinders of hydrogen at a time. This site uses a minimum of 150 CF of hydrogen, every day of the year. Actual use has the potential to vary if we have to launch extra balloons. We anticipate using 2,100 CF every 2 weeks, but need to keep an additional store of hydrogen on site in case of additional unforeseen launches. The intent is that we will be replenished to our maximum of approximately 4,000 CF after each completed delivery.

Initial Delivery: The contractor shall supply a minimum of 4,000 CF of hydrogen on or after September 1, 2020. The actual amount of supplied hydrogen will vary based on the size of the cylinders. The hydrogen will be contained in no more than 20, 197 CF capacity individual cylinders.

Delivery Schedule: Deliveries shall be made every other week, Monday through Friday between the hours of 0800 and 1200 or 1400 and 1700 local time. This is a strict time slot as the balloon launches must not be delayed or interrupted in order to receive the delivery. Balloon launches occur twice a day, every day of the year, regardless of holidays. Therefore, the delivery schedule needs to be maintained regardless of holidays.

If a holiday falls on a scheduled delivery day and the Contractor is not able to complete a regularly scheduled delivery, the Contractor shall arrange in advance for an alternate delivery date. The Contractor will contact the NWS office if a delivery is going to be delayed for any other reason. If the Contractor is unable to find a reasonable supply in time to fill the requirement, the NWS reserves the right to purchase hydrogen from another supplier outside of this contract.

If additional deliveries are required prior to the next regularly scheduled delivery, the NWS will contact the Contractor and request the additional delivery, with delivery to be completed within three calendar days of being contacted.

The delivery schedule shall be arranged with the Upper Air Program Point-of Contact, Meteorologist-In Charge (MIC), or Administrative Support Assistant (ASA) upon contract award (see section 9 below for contact information).

Transition Period: If this contract is awarded to other than the incumbent Contractor, then prior to the first Comment by Michael Gallant: rrently WFO owns 36 bottles. We may need to dispose or transfer to vendor. Comment by Casey.Morris:

day of the contract, the new Contractor and one of the agency points of contact, listed in section 9 below, shall establish the delivery schedule, including coordinating the initial delivery to coincide with the pickup of cylinders by the former contractor. Likewise, upon completion of this contract, if the new follow-on contract is awarded to other than the current Contractor, the current Contractor shall participate in the transition coordination efforts in order to minimize the risk of a missed balloon launch due to the hydrogen being unavailable at the launch site. The end-of-contract transition period may include a lighter delivery in the final weeks of the contract.

Recurring Deliveries: The point of delivery is not staffed except for during the balloon launches. The Contractor shall supply hydrogen gas to the Place of Performance in accordance with the coordinated date and time schedule. The contractor will assume responsibility of special access if required by the Airport Authority.

The Contractor will replenish back to estimated 4,000 CF of hydrogen on a every other week basis in accordance with the arranged schedule, replacing all empty hydrogen cylinders with full hydrogen cylinders. The Contractor shall pick up the empty cylinders in the same trip. If additional deliveries are required prior to the next regularly scheduled delivery, the NWS will contact the Contractor and request the additional delivery, with delivery to be completed within three business days of being contacted.

The Contractor shall contact NWS personnel at this location when arriving for a delivery. The loading area is located on the North East side of the inflation building. The loading area will remain clear of obstructions and all safety rules shall be followed. All equipment necessary for safely loading, unloading, and transporting the hydrogen bottles to the storage location shall be provided by the Contractor. NWS personnel will not assist with loading or unloading of cylinders.

The Contractor shall ensure the bottles are securely strapped to the stand at delivery and placed in an orderly/neat and clean fashion with cap loose and nozzle facing out. The Contractor shall perform the deliveries in such a manner that there will be minimal interruption to, or interference with the normal operation of Government business on the premises.

Evidence of Delivery: The Driver shall provide evidence of delivery by way of shipping invoice that must be signed by an NWS representative (signed copy to vendor) at the time of delivery. NWS retains the right to validate fullness of hydrogen tanks delivered to the site within 5 business days. Any discrepancy must be reported by NWS within five business days, and in writing to the vendor i.e., via email or other documented method. A follow-on invoice must be provided to the NWS for each delivery within 10-14 business days of delivery, or at the end of each calendar month.

Compliance: If any of the deliveries do not conform to contract requirements (i.e. a delivery results in less than full replenishment of hydrogen to 4,000 CF), the Government reserves the right to require the Contractor to bring the delivery into conformity with contract requirements, at no increase in contract amount (i.e. without additional delivery charges).

SAFETY AND SECURITY

All rules concerning safety, not smoking and the security of the property must be observed at all times.

Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) must be provided by the Contractor to the MIC or ASA at each office, where the information will be kept on file in accordance with applicable guidelines of the OSHA Hazard Communications Standard. Requirements pertaining to recordkeeping will be strictly followed, with copy(s) provided to MIC as necessary and upon request.

POINTS OF CONTACT

The Government contacts at the NWS office in Flowood, MS are:

TBD

INVOICING

The Contractor will invoice on a monthly basis in arrears for that month’s hydrogen deliveries and related surcharges (i.e. cylinder rental fee, etc.). The invoice must include the following items:

a. Name and address of the contractor, which must be the same as that on the Purchase Order

b. Invoice date and invoice number

c. Purchase Order number and associated line item number from the Purchase Order

d. Description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price and extended price of supplies delivered, and date of delivery

e. Evidence of delivery by way of receipt signed by NWS representative at the time of delivery

f. Name (where practicable), title, phone number, and mailing address of person to notify in the event of a defective invoice (a defective invoice is one that does not meet all the above requirements)

The invoices may be sent to the following address:

National Weather Service 234 Weather Service Drive Flowood, MS 39232

Alternatively, the invoices may be e-mailed to TBD image1.jpg image2.png