RFQ Robotic Arm_Combined Synopsis-Solicitation_FA700025Q0005.pdf

General Information Document Type: Request for Quote Classification Code: 5340 NAICS Code: 333998

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quote is being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Please be advised that this Request for Quote (RFQ) in no manner obligated the Government to award a contract as a result from the issuance of the RFQ.

This solicitation is being issued as RFQ FA700025Q0005

This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2025-02, dated 03 Jan 2025.

This effort is being procured as a Small Business set aside. The NAICS code is 333998 and the size standard is 700 employees. All responsible sources may submit a quote, which if received in timely manner, will be considered by the 10th Contracting Squadron, United States Air Force Academy (USAFA).

***Notice to Vendor(s)/Supplier(s): Funds are not presently available for this effort. No award will be made under this RFQ until funds are available. The Government reserves the right to cancel this RFQ, either before or after the closing date. In the event the Government cancels this RFQ, the Government has no obligation to reimburse a vendor for any costs. ***

The Government bears no legal liability for the costs associated with preparing a quote. Vendors should not submit a quote unless they are willing to absorb all costs associated with submitting a quote. The Government will not consider any quotes that contain used, reconditioned, refurbished, gray market, or liquidated stock.

Before submitting a quote, please read the instructions in the addenda to FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items, listed below and comply with all requirements for submitting a quote. Failure to comply with all instructions contained within this synopsis/solicitation could result in the quote being ineligible for award. It is the quoter’s responsibility to ensure their quote meets all the requirements identified herein. The quotes will be evaluated IAW FAR 52.212-2, found herein.

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS

The US Air Force Academy (USAFA) has determined a need of a Assistive Technology Robotic Arm. The Robotic Arm is in support of ECE 463 Assistive Technology Capstone for Fall 2024 through Spring 2025, and beyond. Previous year’s teams have developed a wheelchair interface that could be driven by a user suffering from tetraplegia, by using simple “gaze” technology (through the HoloLens2 augmented reality headset) and voice commands. This project has advanced over the past five years, gaining attention from the assisted technology medical community and local media. The next evolution is to integrate a “gaze” and voice controlled robotic arm to the system to allow expanded capabilities such as lifting and moving items, pressing buttons, and opening doors. The robotic arm must be in accordance with (IAW) Attachment 01 – Robotic Arm Salient Characteristics.

It is USAFA’s preference/intent to acquire only domestic end products per the Buy American Statute (41 USC Chapter 83), except as provided in FAR 25.103. Foreign offers will be evaluated per DFARS 225.502 when comparing domestic and foreign offers. This requirement is for commercial off-the-shelf items; therefore, the manufacturing country of origin will determine if the quoted product is foreign or domestic. The Buy American – Balance of Payments Program Certificate (DFARS 252.225-7000), Buy American Certificate, must be completed and submitted with the quote. (Attachment 2)

Any applicable shipping costs must be factored into the unit price(s) of the line item(s). Do not include a separate line item for shipping charges.

Delivery:

Delivery must be F.O.B. Destination to United States Air Force Academy, CO 80840.

Required Delivery Date:

Schedule to be submitted by vendor.

Inspection and Acceptance:

The Government will inspect and accept supplies at the Government’s location, U.S. Air Force Academy, CO 80840. Payment on invoices cannot be made until the Government has accepted the supplies.

Quotes submitted with used, reconditioned, refurbished, gray market or liquidated stock will not be considered for award. Quotes shall be submitted with the following information: RFQ number, contact name, address, telephone number of the quoter, unit price, any discount terms, delivery terms, cage code, Unique Entity ID number, payment terms and size of business.

SOLICITATION INSTRUCTIONS

1) In all instances throughout this solicitation, to include the applicable provisions and clauses, any use of the word "proposal" should be understood as "quote." All instances of the word "offeror" should be understood as "quoter." All instances of the word "award" or “contract” should be understood as “purchase order”

Quotes supplied in response to this solicitation are not binding. Award of this requirement will be offered to the Quoter IAW 52.212-2, found herein.

2) The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Mar 2023), and the addenda listed below apply to this acquisition.

Addenda to FAR 52.212-1

Submission of offers. FAR 52.212-1(b) is amended to include the following:

1) Submit signed and dated quotes via e-mail to dawson.hopkinson@us.af.mil AND ronald.wilson.26@us.af.mil.

Note: zip files are not an acceptable format for the Air Force Network and will not go through our email system.

2) Quotes must be submitted by 15 January 2025, 10:00 A.M. Mountain Standard Time.

3) All questions regarding this RFQ must be emailed to dawson.hopkinson@us.af.mil, and ronald.wilson.26@us.af.mil no later than 13 January 2025, 10:00 A.M. Mountain Standard Time. The questions and answers will be compiled and posted in SAM.gov under the solicitation notice.

NOTICE TO QUOTERS: The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation, either before or after the closing date. In the event the Government cancels this solicitation, the Government has no obligation to reimburse a quoter for any costs.

Quotation preparation instructions

1) General Instructions. To assure timely and equitable evaluation of quotes, the quoter must follow the instructions contained herein. Quoters are required to meet all solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements. Failure to meet a requirement may result in a quote being ineligible for award. Quoters must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale.

Delivery Method. Only electronic submissions are being requested. Note: .zip files are not an acceptable format for the Air Force Network and will not go through our email system.

The quoter shall submit the following with their quote: solicitation number, contact name, address, e-mail, and telephone number of the vendor, CAGE code, Unique Entity ID number, size of business.

The Contracting Officer is not responsible for locating or obtaining any information not identified in the quote. If applicable, provide a written statement that the quote incorporates all amendments to the solicitation.

mailto:dawson.hopkinson@us.af.mil mailto:ronald.wilson.26@us.af.mil mailto:dawson.hopkinson@us.af.mil mailto:ronald.wilson.26@us.af.mil

All companies doing business with the Government must have an active registration in the System for Award Management at https://www.sam.gov at the time the quotation is submitted to be considered for award. See FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management.

(1) Specific Instructions. Quotes shall consist of three parts as identified below.

a. PRICE QUOTATION. Submit the price quote in accordance with the line-item structure listed in this solicitation. Price quotes must be firm-fixed-price. Price quotes must include unit prices and extended amounts for each line item (i.e., multiply the unit price and quantity for each line item). Include the total price (i.e., sum of all extended amounts) in the price quote. Include delivery terms and schedule, any discounts, and payment terms (e.g., Net 30) with the price quote.

b. DESCRIPTIVE LITERATURE. For the quote to be considered by the

Government, it must meet the salient characteristics specified in Attachment 01 – Wrestling Mats Salient Characteristics. Include any applicable descriptive literature, such as illustrations, specification sheets, or product brochures that clearly identify that the quote meets the Government’s requirements.

c. CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION.

(i) Quoters are required to be registered and have an active account in the System of Award Management (SAM) (https://www.sam.gov) at the time the quotation is submitted to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements. Quoters that are not registered or active in SAM at the time the quotation is submitted will not be considered.

(ii) Quotes must include completed copy of the following provisions that require fill-in text:

• DFARS 252.225-7000, Buy-American – Balance of

Payment Program Certificate

(2) The addenda listed below at FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2021) applies to this acquisition. The evaluation factors to be included in paragraph (a) of this provision are Price, Technical, and Past Performance.

(3) Late submissions. FAR 52.212-1(f) is amended as follows:

(a) Quoters are responsible for submitting quotations to reach the Government office designated in the solicitation by the time specified in the solicitation. If no time is specified in the solicitation, the time for receipt is 1:00 p.m., local time, for the designated Government office on the date that quotations are due.

(b) Any quotation received at the Government office designated in the solicitation after the exact time specified for receipt of quotations is late and will not be considered.

(c) If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that quotations cannot be received at the Government office designated for receipt of quotations by the exact time specified in the solicitation, and urgent Government requirements preclude amendment of the solicitation or other notice of an extension of the closing date, the time specified for receipt of quotations will be deemed to be extended to the same time of day specified in the solicitation on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume.

ADDENDA TO FAR 52.212-2:

BASIS FOR AWARD

(1) This is a competitive acquisition in accordance with FAR part 12 and part 13. The

Government will submit an offer in the form of a purchase order to the quoter that represents the best value to the Government. All quotes submitted will be reviewed for completeness. Quotes that are incomplete or missing information may be considered non-responsive and excluded from the evaluation. Quotes will be evaluated as described below.

I. Price Evaluation. The government will rank all offers by Total Evaluated Price (TEP).

The TEP will be calculated by multiplying the unit price by the quantity to confirm the extended amount quoted for the CLIN. Next, all extended amounts will be added together to get to the total price proposed. All pricing shall be rounded to the nearest dollar. The total proposed price will be evaluated for fairness and reasonableness IAW FAR 13.106-3(a). If there is a conflict between the quoted unit prices and extended amounts, the unit price shall be used to determine the total evaluated price. Any discounts identified in the quote will be included in the evaluation of the total evaluated price. The lowest price quote may not necessarily be selected.

Next, the quote that has the lowest TEP will be evaluated for Technical Acceptability and assigned a rating of “Acceptable” or “Unacceptable.”

II. Technical Evaluation. The evaluation team will review the descriptive literature to determine if quote meets the requirements identified in this solicitation. The technical information will be evaluated on an Acceptable/Unacceptable basis. To be considered “Acceptable,” the quote shall clearly meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation.

If a quote DOES NOT clearly meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation, the quote will be rated “Unacceptable.”

If the Quoter’s Technical rating is determined to be “Unacceptable,” the Quoter will no longer be considered for award and evaluation for that Quoter will stop. If the quote is rated “Acceptable,” the quote will next be evaluated for Past Performance.

III. Past Performance. Past performance information will be based on the information gathered using the CAGE code submitted by the Offeror, utilizing the System for Awards Management (SAM) pulled from SAM.GOV, and in accordance with DFARS 252.204- 7024, Notice on the Use of the Supplier Performance Risk System (Mar 2023). As a result, quoters will receive an “Acceptable” or “Unacceptable” past performance rating. A quoter will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably if they do not have a record of past performance in SPRS under the PSC of the items being purchased. The Government reserves the right to use any Past Performance history source for verification.

If the Quoter’s Technical rating is determined to be “Unacceptable”, the Quoter will no longer be considered for award and evaluation for that Quoter will stop.

(2) If the lowest priced acceptable offer is judged to have an “Acceptable” performance assessment rating and is determined to be responsible, that offer represents the best value for the government and the evaluation process stops at this point. Award shall be made to that Quoter without further consideration of any other quotes.

If the lowest priced Quoter is not judged to have “Acceptable” Technical and Past Performance ratings, the next lowest priced Quoter will be evaluated utilizing the methodology above, and the process will continue (in order by price) until a Quoter is judged to have an “Acceptable” Technical and Past Performance assessment rating or until all Quoter are evaluated.

(3) The Government reserves the right to award on an "All or None" basis.

(4) Discussions. The Government intends to award a purchase order without discussions with respective vendors/quoters. The Government, however, reserves the right to conduct discussions if deemed in its best interest.

The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items (Dec 2022), and the addenda listed below applies to this acquisition.

ADDENDA TO FAR 52.212-4:

Text in paragraph (c) is deleted and replaced with the following:

(c)Changes. Changes in terms and conditions of this contract may be made only by written agreement of the parties except for certain changes such as administrative changes including changes in paying office, appropriation data, etc. authorized by the Federal Acquisition Regulation and its supplements that may be made unilaterally by the Contracting Officer (for a complete list of changes that may be made unilaterally, see FAR 43.103(b))

5352.201-9101 OMBUDSMAN (OCT 2010)

(a) An ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition. When requested, the ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The existence of the ombudsman does not affect the authority of the program manager, contracting officer, or source selection official. Further, the ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of protests or formal contract disputes. The ombudsman may refer the interested party to another official who can resolve the concern.

(b) Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer for resolution.

Consulting an ombudsman does not alter or postpone the timelines for any other processes (e.g., agency level bid protests, GAO bid protests, requests for debriefings, employee-employer actions, contests of OMB Circular A-76 competition performance decisions).

(c) If resolution cannot be made by the contracting officer, the interested party may contact the ombudsman, Mr. James Anderson, 8110 Industrial Drive, STE 103, USAFA, CO 80840, Telephone number 719-333-2074, FAX 719-333-9018, Email: james.anderson.72@us.af.mil.

Concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations that cannot be resolved at the Center/MAJCOM/DRU/SMC ombudsman level, may be brought by the interested party for further consideration to the Air Force ombudsman, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary (ADAS) (Contracting), SAF/AQC, 1060 Air Force Pentagon, Washington DC 20330-1060, phone number (571) 256-2395, facsimile number (571) 256-2431.

(d) The ombudsman has no authority to render a decision that binds the agency.

(e) Do not contact the ombudsman to request copies of the solicitation, verify offer due date, or clarify technical requirements. Such inquiries shall be directed to the Contracting Officer.

The attached provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition. All provisions and clauses regulations references are found either in the FAR; Department of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS); Department of the Air Force Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DAFFARS) and may be viewed under https://www.acquisiton.gov. These applicable provisions and clauses will be incorporated either by reference or in full text and made part of the contract upon award.

(End of clause) https://www.acquisiton.gov/

Attachments to this Solicitation

Attachment 01 – Salient Characteristics Attachment 02 – Buy American Certificate Attachment 03 – FA700025Q0005 Provisions and Clauses