QCCCF RFS 12-10-2025.pdf

RFS QCCCF

Request for Solutions

For

Operation of the Quad City Cartridge Case Facility

(QCCCF)

For

Government Fiscal Year 2026

Issued by:

Army Contracting Command - Rock Island

In Support of:

Project Lead for Joint Services

Issue Date: 19 November 2025 White Papers Due Date/Time: 08 January 2026 / 4:00pm Central

Questions will not be accepted after 10 December 2025 /12:00pm Central

I. Background/Terms and Conditions

1. Purpose The purpose of this Request for Solutions (RFS) is to solicit fixed price prototype whitepapers for potential capabilities that could be developed and manufactured at the Quad City Cartridge Case Facility (QCCCF) for Department of Defense (DoD) or commercial use that could benefit the facility with additional workload and revenue.

In conjunction with this effort, the contractor must be able to maintain the critical defense industrial base capability that is capable of producing the steel and brass cases for direct and indirect fire at a minimum rate of 3,000 units per month, which could include the M148A1B1 105mm Steel Direct Fire Case, M150 105mm Steel Direct Fire Case, M14 105mm Brass Indirect Fire Case, MK109 Navy 5” Steel Case, Navy 57”” Brass Case, Navy 76mm Brass Case, Bofurs 40mm L60 & L70 Brass Cases, other future brass or steel cases requiring deep drawn manufacturing processes per aforementioned manufacturing process.

2. Background Army Contracting Command – Rock Island (ACC-RI), on behalf of the U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command (JMC) located at Rock Island Arsenal, IL and the Project Lead for Joint Services (PL JS) located at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, plan to execute a prototype project directly relevant to enhancing mission effectiveness pursuant to 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 4022, Authority of the DoD to carry out certain prototype projects, through an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA).

This OTA effort will help develop a business model and production process for new innovative work to enhance the US organic industrial base. The prototype effort will increase production capabilities at the QCCCF and identify the necessary workload and revenue to maintain the QCCCF. It is critical that additional production workload is developed to maintain the specialized skills and the workforce expertise within the QCCCF.

3. Other Transaction Authority In accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 4022, Authority of the DoD to Carry Out Certain Prototype Projects, each prototype project awarded under an OTA must meet at least one of the following conditions:

A. There is at least one nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution participating to a significant extent in the prototype project.

B. All significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are small businesses (including small businesses participating in a program described under Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. § 638)) or nontraditional defense contractors.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=10-USC-1875391109-791309680&term_occur=1&term_src=title:10:subtitle:A:part:IV:chapter:139:section:2371b https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=10-USC-2032561260-548934770&term_occur=155&term_src=title:10:subtitle:A:part:IV:chapter:139:section:2371b https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=10-USC-308593337-791309681&term_occur=1&term_src=title:10:subtitle:A:part:IV:chapter:139:section:2371b https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=10-USC-1875391109-791309680&term_occur=2&term_src=title:10:subtitle:A:part:IV:chapter:139:section:2371b

C. At least one third of the total cost of the prototype project is to be paid out of funds provided by sources other than the Federal Government.

D. The senior procurement executive for the agency determines in writing that exceptional circumstances justify the use of a transaction that provides for innovative business arrangements or structures that would not be feasible or appropriate under a contract, or would provide an opportunity to expand the defense supply base in a manner that would not be practical or feasible under a contract.

Per the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment’s Other Transactions Guide, Version 2.0, “A prototype project addresses a proof of concept, model, reverse engineering to address obsolescence, a pilot or novel application of commercial technologies for defense purposes, agile development activity, the creation, design, development, demonstration of technical or operational utility, or combinations of the foregoing.

A process, including a business process, may be the subject of a prototype project.”

Throughout the period of performance of any OTA, the Government will actively monitor the award to ensure compliance with this provision in accordance with the implementation guidance from Headquarters – Department of the Army and/or the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Offerors will be given the opportunity to become compliant with the guidance should they be found non-compliant. Failure to comply may result in termination.

4. Eligibility

The following eligibility requirements apply:

a. Under no circumstances may any foreign entity (i.e., organizations, companies, or persons) receive access to export-controlled information unless proper export procedures have been satisfied.

b. The Security level includes [unclassified and CUI].

c. The contractor shall ensure that all controlled unclassified information is handled in accordance with DoD Instruction (DoDI) 8582.01, DoDI 5200.48, and DoD 5010.12-Manual.

d. The contractor shall implement the security requirements of NIST SP 800-171 for safeguarding its unclassified internal information system. All cyber incidents that affect the controlled unclassified information shall be reported directly to the Agreements Officer (AO) and DoD at https://dibnet.dod.mil.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=10-USC-3059661-605032131&term_occur=481&term_src=title:10:subtitle:A:part:IV:chapter:139:section:2371b https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=10-USC-2032561260-548934770&term_occur=156&term_src=title:10:subtitle:A:part:IV:chapter:139:section:2371b

Offerors must have an active registration with the Joint Certification Program (JCP) in order to handle unclassified military technical data required for this initiative. Instructions for obtaining JCP certification may be found at the following site: https://www.dla.mil/HQ/LogisticsOperations/Services/JCP/

5. Agreement Type Subject to availability of funds, the Government intends to award a Fixed Price OTA. The Government may opt to make no awards, or re-open the RFS at a later period if the submissions are insufficient in quality or fail to meet the intent of the

RFS.

6. Period of Performance The period of performance is 48 months.

7. Place of Performance The place of performance will be at the QCCCF located on the Rock Island Arsenal, IL

8. Metrics for Successful Completion

1. Business Analysis Technical Report: The Contractor shall develop a business model and production process for new innovative work to be completed at the QCCCF which will enable economic sustainment of the facility, while maintaining the current manufacturing capability located at QCCCF. Success of this effort will be a business analysis technical report that validates that QCCCF can be a manufacturing facility, whose manufacturing output is sufficient for the facility to operate in an economic manner to cover all associated direct and in-direct costs.

2. QCCCF Capability Analysis & Pilot Trials: The Contractor shall identify unique and/or innovative work which could be performed (with or without additional process equipment) at the QCCCF. Success of this effort is the completion of prototype efforts.

3. Process Map: The Contractor shall develop a process map for maintaining cartridge cases. This will ensure the cartridge case capability can meet a minimum production rate of 3,000 units per month.

9. Milestone Payment and Deliverables Milestone payments will be made in accordance with the negotiated agreement resulting from this RFS. Acceptance criteria for each milestone will be approved/disapproved by the Agreements Officer Representative (AOR) within 14 calendar days of receipt from the contractor. Once the Government has determined the milestone has been successfully completed and provided notification of approval, the contractor may invoice through Wide Area Workflow (WAWF)/Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE).

https://www.dla.mil/HQ/LogisticsOperations/Services/JCP/

10. Intellectual Property/Data Rights

The Government will establish a combination of both Government Purpose Rights and Unlimited Rights in all technical data under this effort dependent on the individual deliverables within the Statement of Work (SOW) table. Technical data includes, but is not limited to, all process records, descriptions of manufacture, operating and inspection procedures, quality performance and test procedures, maintenance procedures and records, material and component purchase descriptions, software, and software applications. Irrespective of the source of funds, the contractor grants nothing less than Government Purpose Rights in all technical data used in the execution of this agreement, except as otherwise specifically negotiated. Government Purpose Rights involve the right to use, modify, release, reproduce, perform, display or disclose the data within the Government without restriction but may release or disclose the data outside the Government only for government purposes. Technical data will be provided to the Government at the end of the contract performance period in its most current form, i.e., current as of the last date of its use. Technical data delivered with Government Purpose Rights will automatically revert to Unlimited Rights five years after the end of the contract performance period. The offeror may identify and assert restrictions on the Government’s use, release, or disclosure of technical data or computer software under the procedure identified at DFARS 252.227-7017. Although DFARS clauses are not applicable to this OTA, all technical data and computer software developed or delivered under this Agreement shall have appropriate data rights markings in accordance with the procedures identified in DFARS 252.227-7013(f) and 7014.

A. Technical Data Rights

Government Purpose Rights: Unless greater rights apply under a separate agreement or contract, the Contractor shall grant to the Government, Government Purpose Rights license in the Technical Data that is first developed or generated under this agreement and delivered to the Government.

Limited Rights: Unless greater rights apply under a separate agreement or contract, the Contractor shall grant to the Government a Limited Rights license to Technical Data that is delivered to the Government and developed independent of this Agreement or developed entirely at private expense.

All rights not granted to the Government are retained by the Contractor. The Contractor is not required to deliver to the Government any Technical Data that is not specifically required to be included in a deliverable as specified in this agreement.

B. Data Rights Assertion

Any Technical Data that is intended to be delivered with less than Government Purpose Rights is identified in the Data Rights Assertion Table below. Contractor shall not deliver any Technical Data to the Government with less than Government Purpose Rights unless such Technical Data is listed on the Data Rights Assertion Table. If there are any changes in the SOW or the deliverables under this agreement, Contractor may revise the Data Rights Assertion Table and the Government agrees to modify this agreement accordingly.

C. Marking of Data

In addition, any Technical Data delivered shall be marked with the appropriate data rights markings and the Contractor's name and address and include the following legend:

For Government Purpose Rights:

GOVERNMENT PURPOSE RIGHTS

Contract Number:

Contractor Name:

Contractor Address:

The government’s rights to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display or disclose these data or authorize others to do the same are for government purposes only as set forth in Attachment 0001. Any reproduction of data or portions thereof marked with this legend must also reproduce the markings.

For Limited Rights:

LIMITED RIGHTS

Contract Number:

Contractor Name:

Contractor Address:

The government’s rights to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display or disclose these data are subject to the limitations and restrictions set forth in Attachment 0001. Any reproduction of data or portions thereof marked with this legend must also reproduce the markings. Any person, other than the Government, who has been provided with access to such data must promptly notify the above-named Contractor.

Each page of the deliverable shall be conspicuously and legibly marked with at least one of the above legends. Failure to mark the deliverable with an appropriate legend will be presumed by the government to mean Unlimited Rights are granted for that deliverable. If a page contains mixed rights, indications such as scoring, highlighting, or circling with a note or other indicator shall be made to appropriately identify the level of rights associated with the legends within that page. For example, if a page contains both Government Purpose Rights legend and Limited Rights legend, then the paragraphs corresponding to Government Purpose Rights shall be indicated as such and another set of paragraphs shall be separately indicated so that those paragraphs are associated with Limited Rights.

Contractor shall use restrictive markings in accordance with the terms of this agreement and shall maintain records sufficient to justify the validity of any restrictive markings on Technical Data delivered under this agreement. The Government reserves the right to seek validation of restrictive markings on any delivered Technical Data.

D. Copyright

The contractor shall grant the Government rights to works that are subject to copyright protection concurrently with the level of rights granted for Technical Data in section B above.

11. Technical Documents Technical documents are included for this initiative. A TDP is included for this initiative. The TDP is export controlled.

The TDP is Distribution D and has been marked as Export Control and requires Government approval prior to gaining access. To request access to TDP, please email the Agreements Specialist. The requestor MUST BE the data custodian that is listed on DD 2345. Please allow 2-3 working days to process your request.

If multiple individuals in your company need access to the Export Control TDP for the RFS, it can be obtained from your data custodian listed on DD 2345.

12. Government Property

Government Furnished Equipment & Property

The Government will provide the appropriate Government Furnished Equipment (GFE), Government Furnished Information (GFI), and Government Furnished Materials (GFM) as required for this effort. A complete list of GFE/GFM will be provided to the offeror upon award of this OTA.

Contractor Acquired Property

The Contractor shall provide a Contractor Acquired Property (CAP) report for Personal Property: General Equipment, Plant Equipment, Special Tooling, Special Test Equipment, sensitive property, controlled property, and Material procured under the contract. The Contractor shall enter all CAP associated with this contract into the IUID Registry within PIEE. The Contractor shall submit a CAP to GFP conversion request in PIEE. PIEE will generate a DD250 that will be submitted to the AOR The AOR shall send DD250 to PL JS, and PL JS shall sign the DD250 to acknowledge receipt and verification.

Unique Identification Registry

The Contractor shall register for access to the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE), Item Unique Identification Registry (IUID), and Government Furnished Property (GFP) module and obtain training on the PIEE home page at https://piee.eb.mil.

Contractor shall ensure that a Unique Item Identifier is assigned, items are physically marked with an IUID compliant 2-D barcode, as applicable, and accurate item information is input to the (PIEE) IUID Registry within 20 working days of receipt of personal property cost of $5,000 and greater or within seven days of receipt of any real property cost of $250,000 or greater.

The Contractor shall submit DD250 in the Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) within the PIEE for the property for which the Government made payment. If approved, USG will transfer it back to the Contractor as GFP for continued use to support the contract’s requirements.

QCCCF facilities and equipment are owned by the US Army. The government owned equipment will be made available to the contractor for use during the execution of the required tasks. New tools, in-process inspection equipment and manufacturing technology developed to optimize throughput based on the unique batch process by a GO and GOCO team are unique to QCCCF Industrial base operations and retained as Government Property.

Equipment identified and procured under this agreement as required to complete the tasks herein will be designated as Government property upon acquisition/receipt. The contractor is responsible for safeguarding and maintaining any equipment acquired as part of the tasking. The Government will not provide any other additional equipment unless the equipment is available at the offeror’s facility from other projects and the use of such equipment is acceptable sponsors.

13. Non-Government Personnel

This OTA will utilize non-Government personnel to function as technical advisors to the Government reviewers. These non-Government personnel will have access to the information submitted in response to the RFS and will provide technical expertise and/or advice as required. All non-Government personnel have Non-Disclosure Agreements on file with the Government and are required to protect information to the same standards as Government personnel.

14. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Any sensitive documents or other proprietary data submitted by non-Government parties to this agreement shall be marked with a restrictive legend. The Government will follow its FOIA procedures, including submitter notice, in the https://piee.eb.mil/ event that any person requests sensitive or proprietary data which belongs to a non-Government party.

15. Accounting System Requirements

The contractor shall ensure that appropriate arrangements have been made for receiving, distributing and accounting for Federal funds under this agreement.

Consistent with this stipulation, an acceptable accounting system will be one in which all cash receipts and disbursements are controlled and documented properly and which is capable of generating a cost element summary.

16. Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

The Government shall make all payments under this contract by EFT. The Government will make payment to the Contractor using the EFT information contained in the SAM. In the event that the EFT information changes, the Contractor shall be responsible for providing the updated information to the SAM.

17. Electronic Invoicing

The WAWF/PIEE system is the method to electronically process vendor payment requests and receiving reports. To access WAWF/PIEE, the Contractor shall have a designated electronic business point of contact in the SAM and be registered to use WAWF. Step-by-step procedures for self-registration in WAWF/PIEE is available at https://piee.eb.mil/piee-landing/.

18. Use of Funds and Comptroller General Access

All funds are to be used only for costs that a reasonable and prudent person would incur in carrying out this prototype project. To the extent required by 10 U.S.C. § 4022(c), the Comptroller General shall be permitted to examine the records of any party to resulting agreement.

19. Limitation of Government Liability

Claims for damages of any nature whatsoever pursued under this agreement shall be limited to direct damages only up to the aggregate amount of Government funding disbursed as of the time the dispute arises. In no event shall the Government be liable for claims for consequential, punitive, special, and incidental damages, claims for lost profits, or other indirect damages.

20. Foreign Involvement

For the entirety of this agreement, and in accordance with the 2018 Unclassified National Defense Strategy (NDS) which articulates the threat from foreign predatory economics and inter-state strategic competitions that are the primary https://wawf.eb.mil/piee-landing/ threats to US security, the USG will restrict foreign participation, access and transfers. Any proposed foreign participation, access or transfer will require Government notification and concurrence on a case-by-case basis prior to initiating any work effort.

21. Non-US Research Programs

For the entirety of this agreement, the USG will restrict direct or indirect participation, collaboration, communication or acceptance of funding with non-US research programs, such as the Thousand Talent Program (TTP), even in the case the activity is conducted with and/or through a US citizen, entity or company. Any proposed non-US research program involvement will require Government notification and concurrence on a case-by-case basis prior to initiating any work effort.

23. Security

The security classification level for this effort is UNCLASSIFIED and shall remain UNCLASSIFIED for the life of the agreement.

24. Safety

GENERAL:

1.1 Because the prototyping, pilot trials, and pilot production will be done on Government-owned equipment, it is critical that the contractor has the required skills and safety training to protect the equipment and workforce. The contractor shall adhere to all Federal, State, and Local ordinances, laws, rules, regulations and construction codes required to maintain a safe and non-hazardous occupational environment throughout the duration of this contract. The Contractor shall ensure employees have the skills and safety training and are committed to ensuring a safe and healthy work environment, demonstrate proper safety behaviors, including wearing required personal protective equipment (PPE) when in the manufacturing area, maintaining a clean work environment, and reporting any unsafe conditions or safety violations to the QCCCF supervisor or manager. This Safety PWS applies to all production and operation of facilities by the Contractor, regardless of the origin of the work.

1.2 The Contractor shall protect the lives and health of its employees, Government employees, and the public from its operations. The Contractor shall ensure that the subcontractors and tenants meet the safety requirements required within this PWS. The Contractor shall also protect Government property.

1.3 The Contractor shall comply with the applicable documents listed below: 29 CFR 1903, General policies for inspections, citations, and proposed penalties;

29 CFR 1904, Recording and reporting of occupational injuries and illnesses;

29 CFR 1910, Occupational safety and health standards; 29 CFR 1926, Regulations for construction work, when applicable; and 29 CFR 1960, Basic program elements for Federal employees. In addition, the Contractor shall comply with the following safety requirements.

1.3.1. The Contractor shall respond to the Agreements Officer (AO), in writing, regarding safety inspections of its operations performed by DOD, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Material Command, the U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command and/or by any other Government entity (Deliverable C001). The Government reserves the right to inspect all operations without advanced notice.

1.4 The Contractor shall notify the AO and the Agreements Officer Representative (AOR), upon arrival of any Federal, State or Local agency, including, but not limited to, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Illinois Department of Public Health, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and provide to the AO one copy of any report issued by such agencies within 15 calendar days of receipt. The Contractor shall also provide one copy of the response to the report to the AO within 5 business days of responding to the report generator (Deliverable C002).

1.5 The Contractor shall not construe the requirements of this PWS as making the Government the controlling employer (as defined by State and Federal OSHA) at this facility.

1.6 The Government has the right to conduct its own investigation of any accident occurring at the facility, as outlined in 29 CFR 1960, subpart D. The Contractor shall cooperate with the government investigation and requests for information.

SPECIFIC SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTRACTOR OPERATIONS:

2.1 Accident Reporting: The Contractor shall provide timely notification (within four hours of the occurrence) to AOR and AO of any major accident/incident (including fire) resulting in any one or more of the following: causing one or more fatalities or one or more disabling injuries; three or more personnel hospitalized as inpatients from a single mishap; damage of Government property exceeding $10,000; affecting program planning or production schedules; degrading the safety of equipment under contract, such as personnel injury or property damage may be involved; identifying a potential hazard requiring corrective action. The Contractor shall prepare the report in accordance with DI-SAFT-81563 (https://quicksearch.dla.mil/Transient/D206C8152004494AB6328CD4BFA827C2.

pdf) for each incident (Deliverable C003). The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the report within 15 business days. The AO will provide final approval of the report.

2.1.1. The Contractor shall provide a copy of its OSHA Form 300, Log of Work- Related Illnesses and Injuries to the AO and AOR, showing data for the previous month (e.g. February form showing January data). The Contractor shall also provide a copy of the OSHA Form 300 for each Army Retooling and Manufacturing Support (ARMS) tenant, subcontractors, and tenants (Deliverable C004). The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the form within 15 business days. The AO will provide final approval of the form.

2.1.2. The Contractor shall annually provide a copy of its OSHA Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Illnesses and Injuries to the AO and AOR. The Contractor shall also provide a copy of the OSHA Form 300A for each ARMS tenant, subcontractors, and tenants (Deliverable C005). The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the form within 15 business days. The AO will provide final approval of the form.

2.1.3 The Contractor’s performance for (1) Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR), (2) Lost Time (LT) case rate, and (3) Days Away Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate, shall be at or below the most current publication of the U.S. Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics) rates for their North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. The Contractor shall report performance against their NAICS code quarterly to the AO (Deliverable C006). The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the report within 15 business days. The AO will provide final approval of the report.

2.4 QCCCF Government Staff Training: The Contractor shall provide comparable safety training to the QCCCF Government Staff as the Contractor does for its own staff. This requirement includes OSHA and other safety training as the mission may dictate. When feasible, the QCCCF Government Staff can attend classes established for Contractor personnel. Examples of training include hearing conservation, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER), radiation protection, use of respirators, HAZMAT, asbestos, lead exposure, and emergency action plans. The Contractor is not obligated to develop training to satisfy training mandates applicable only to Government employees. The purpose of this requirement is to assist with integration of the Contractor and Commander’s safety programs. The Government does not expect the Contractor to incur additional costs to execute this requirement.

2.4.1 The Contractor shall develop, track and provide general safety awareness training to all facility visitors, Contractor personnel, and Government employees (Deliverable C007). The document will be provided to the AO semi-annually. The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the document within 15 business days. The AO will provide final approval of the document.

2.5 The Contractor shall prepare a written Emergency Action Plan and provide a copy to the AOR 30 calendar days after award of the contract (Deliverable C008). The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the Plan within 15 business days. The AO will provide final approval of the Plan. The plan shall comply with 29 CFR 1910.38 as well as any additional state and/or local requirements if more stringent. The Contractor shall exercise the plan at least once per year. After each exercise, the Contractor shall provide the AO a written after-action report with corrective actions identified (Deliverable C009). The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the report within 15 business days. The AO will provide final approval of the report.

SUBCONTRACTING/RENTING:

3.1 Before signing a lease or contract for any purpose the Contractor shall do the following:

3.1.1. Inform subcontractors or tenants of their obligation to comply with Federal, State, and Local safety and health laws and regulations. The Contractor shall flow down all applicable safety requirements contained in this PWS and ensure compliance.

3.1.2. Decontaminate facilities and equipment to the appropriate degree to ensure safe use.

3.1.3. Ensure buildings and equipment meet current OSHA and other standards before allowing subcontractor or lessee access.

3.1.4. Ensure subcontractor or tenant returns buildings, equipment and land to the pre-lease / pre-rental level of contamination or better after the lease or subcontract expires.

3.1.5. In addition to the accident reporting requirements stated above in paragraph 2.3, the Contractor shall report to the AO and AOR any accident involving its subcontractor or tenants that in the opinion of the Contractor is likely to arouse media attention.

WRITTEN SAFETY PLAN:

The Contractor shall develop a written Safety Plan and provide a copy to the AOR 30 days after award of contract (Deliverable C010). The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the Safety plan within 15 business days.

The AO will provide final approval of the Safety Plan. The Contractor shall review/update the plan at least once per year. The Contractor shall allow to the AOR access to any tools associated with the plan and comply with a written Safety Program that meets the requirements below:

4.1The Plan shall describe in detail how the Contractor will assure operations and the facilities used comply with OSHA requirements (primarily 29 CFR 1910).

The Contractor shall address each 29 CFR 1910 Subpart separately. The

Contractor only needs to address those subparts that apply to operations or facilities used.

4.2 If applicable and in the Plan, the Contractor shall separately address implementation of 29 CFR 1910.119, Process Safety Management (PSM). As a minimum, the plan shall address the following elements from Appendix C to 29 CFR 1910.119: Employee Participation, Process Safety Information, Process Hazard Analysis, Operating Procedures, Training, Contractors, Pre-Startup Safety Review, Hot Work Permits, Management of Change, Incident Investigations, Emergency Planning and Response, Compliance Audits, and Trade Secrets. Documents related to PSM compliance and execution will be made available to AO (Deliverable C011). The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the documents within 15 business days. The AO will provide final approval of the documents.

4.3 The Plan shall describe the process the Contractor will use to correct waivers and/or exemptions and implement interim protective measures that will be used to correct those waivers/exemptions.

4.4 The Plan shall require the Contractor to document in writing all inspections, surveys, etc. performed to determine compliance with OSHA.

4.5 The Plan shall require the Contractor to enter all conditions found to be non-compliant with OSHA and all hazardous condition(s) (not attributable to non-compliance with OSHA or DODM 4145.26), regardless of time to correct (i.e. on-the-spot correction) into a searchable electronic database to permit tracking of the non-compliant condition or hazard until corrected or abated. The database shall include the date of discovery, description of condition / hazard, work order number (if applicable), and names and contact information of person(s) responsible for correction (Deliverable C012). The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the database within 15 business days. The AO will provide final approval of the database.

4.6 The Plan shall provide that, in the event of an accident requiring direct notification to OSHA or state agency (fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputations, or loss of an eye(s)), the Contractor shall take immediate action to re-focus its workforce on matters of safety, such as a stand down or similar appropriate activity.

4.7 The Plan shall describe in detail how the Contractor will comply with this PWS. The plan may not decrease the requirements of this PWS.

4.8 The Plan shall include a decontamination plan. This decontamination plan shall address the decontamination of items contaminated with hazardous materials, certify the level of decontamination of each item, and identify what restrictions that level places on the item.

4.9 The Contractor’s Safety Plan shall address occupational health. The Contractor shall maintain and operate an occupational health and Industrial Hygiene programs in accordance with (IAW) applicable Army, Federal, State, and Local regulations. The Contractor shall provide all legally required occupational health related care to Contractor employees and subcontractor employees located on the installation. The Contractor shall support audits, inspections, or information requests as required by the government.

4.10 LEGAL APPLICABILITY OF STANDARDS: The Contractor and its employees shall comply with the federal regulatory standards distributed OSHA in Title 29.

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE:

The AOR shall determine compliance primarily by visual inspection and review of records as the work is performed.

DEVIATIONS, WAIVERS, AND EXEMPTIONS:

6.1 Deviations, Waivers, or Exemptions of Mandatory Safety Requirements.

Mandatory safety requirements are those that use the term "shall", "must", or "will". The Contractor shall not deviate from the mandatory safety requirements without prior written approval from the AO. The Government grants waivers and exemptions for specific situations. The Contractor shall not interpret them to cover similar operations, locations, or conditions.

6.1.1. The Government may grant a deviation, waiver, or exemption only after it has been determined that the Contractor cannot comply with applicable safety standards, and that essential work must still be performed. The Government normally grants waivers for 1 year or less, and no waiver shall remain in effect for longer than 5 years. The Contractor shall forward all requests for deviation, waiver, or exemption to the AO no less than 30 business days prior to requested approval for a Negligible or Minor Risk, no less than 60 business days for a Moderate Risk, and no less than 90 business days for a Serious or Critical Risk (Deliverable C013). Upon submission of a deviation, waiver, or exemption, the Contractor senior management official will accept the risk by approving and signing the request for deviation, waiver, or exemption. The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the deviation, waiver, or exemption within 15 business days. The AO will provide final approval of the deviation, waiver, or exemption.

6.1.2. When the time to correct the deviation or waiver will exceed 5 years, the Contractor shall forward a request for an exemption to AOR.

6.1.3. The Contractor shall review deviations, waivers (granted for a period of more than 1 year) and exemptions annually to ensure that the circumstances requiring the deviation, waiver or exemption have not changed. The Contractor shall forward the results of this review and a progress report on corrective actions the Contractor has completed to the AO (Deliverable C014). The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the report within 15 business days.

The AO will provide final approval of the report.

6.1.4. The Government will not grant deviations, waivers, or exemptions without evidence that the Contractor has taken positive steps to program and budget for correction of the noncompliance.

6.1.5. The AO will rescind waivers and exemptions on the stated expiration date unless the Contractor sends a request for renewal to the AOR at least 120 days before the expiration date. The AO will cancel approved deviations, waivers, or exemptions that are no longer necessary, prior to the stated expiration date, when notified by the Contractor. The Contractor shall maintain a current list of open deviations, waivers, and exemptions and submit a monthly status report on deviations, waivers, and exemptions to the AOR (Deliverable C015). The AO will work with the Contractor and the AOR to finalize the report within 15 business days. The AO will provide final approval of the report.

6.1.6. The AO may temporarily suspend a deviation, waiver, or exemption when an accident involving the deviated, waived, or exempted condition or facility occurs until investigation and analysis justify reinstatement.

NOTE:

All references regarding Government / installation commander duties and authorities or responsibilities in any of the documents, regulations, pamphlets, and manuals are specifically excluded from this PWS.

SITE SPECIFIC SAFETY REQUIREMENTS:

Nothing in this section of the Safety PWS will negate or lessen any portion of Sections 1 through 7 of this PWS.

8.1 Due to the unknown production activities / operations to be conducted by the Contractor at the QCCCF beginning in year 3 of the contract or sooner, this PWS shall be modified to align with the proposed production activities / operations to ensure compliance.

Applicable Documents:

29 CFR 1903 – General policies for inspections, citations, and proposed penalties 29 CFR 1904 – Recording and reporting of occupational injuries and illnesses

29 CFR 1910 – Occupational safety and health standards 29 CFR 1926 – Regulations for construction work 29 CFR 1960 – Basic program elements for Federal employees EM 385-1-1 – Safety Health and Emergency Response Plan

25. Environmental

The QCCCF is located within a Government Installation, the RIA, and the USAG- RIA retains environmental permits for the Installation. Mission-specific permits need to be retained by the Contractor.

Environmental Compliance: The contractor shall conduct all activities in compliance with Federal, State, and local environmental laws and regulations, Executive orders, DoD Directives, regulations, treaties, and agreements to protect health, safety, and the environment; provide for the conservation and preservation of natural and cultural resources; and implement pollution prevention initiatives.

Pollution Prevention Plan: The contractor shall give consideration to alternative materials and processes in order to eliminate, reduce, or minimize hazardous waste being generated. This is to be accomplished while minimizing item cost and risk to item performance. If it is determined by the contractor that pollution will be generated under this Agreement, the contractor shall coordinate with the USG and prepare a Pollution Prevention Plan in accordance with established procedures at the QCCCF.

The Contractor shall indemnify the Government for any liability or responsibility resulting from its operations or any of its subcontractors’ operations that result in any type of violation, fine, fee, or other regulatory action due to noncompliance with existing Federal, State, or local environmental laws, regulations or Executive Orders. This indemnification applies to non-DoD operations.

The USAG-RIA warrants to the best of its knowledge that no hazardous substance other than those which are identified in the Environmental Condition of Property (ECP) dated September 2018 are present on the land as of the Commencement Date. The Contractor may, but is not required to, obtain an Environmental Site Assessment at its own expense upon the expiration or earlier termination of this agreement.

26. Follow-On Production

There is potential for this prototype OT Agreement to lead to a GOCO non-competitive follow-on production OT award. The potential for follow-on production for projects awarded from this RFS will be in accordance with 10. U.S.C. 4022(f).

Upon determination that the competitively awarded prototype project has been successfully completed, the requiring office may determine to award a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of competitive procedures.

There is no guarantee for follow-on efforts.

27. Terms and Conditions/Clauses

FAR Clause 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.

FAR Clause 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain

Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.

DFARS Clause 252.232-7006, Wide Area Workflow Payment Instructions

II. Instructions to Offerors

White Paper/Oral Presentation Instructions

This will be a two-step evaluation process. Offerors who attended the March 2025 or Sept 2025 Vendor Opportunity Days, or have toured the facility in the past 2 years, can submit a white paper for evaluation.

Step I

A. White Paper Submission

White papers are due no later than 4:00pm Central on 08 January 2026.

Questions will be accepted until 10 December 2025. White papers shall remain valid for a period of six (6) months from the closing date.

White papers shall be submitted electronically via email to the addresses below.

The offeror can choose to send the email encrypted or unencrypted. If an offeror chooses to encrypt the email, send a separate email follow up with the encrypted password to the following address:

i. Mallory Schmitt, Agreements Specialist, mallory.d.schmitt.civ@army.mil

B. Formatting and Page Limitations

White papers shall adhere to the following requirements:

i. White papers shall include a cover page that includes the company name, Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code, Unique Entity ID (UEI), address, and point of contact (including phone number and email address).

The cover page shall be excluded from the page count limit.

ii. Offerors shall include a completed and signed Representation and Certification statement as provided at Attachment 0003. The mailto:mallory.d.schmitt.civ@army.mil

Representation and Certification shall be excluded from the page count limit.

iii. White papers shall be submitted in PDF, shall not exceed 25 pages, and shall be Unclassified.

iv. Pages shall be 8.5 inches x 11 inches; however, graphs, charts, tables, and diagrams may use oversized paper and shall not exceed 25 pages.

Supplementary appendices or exhibit documentation may be included and will be excluded from the page count limit.

v. Text size shall be no less than 12 point and offerors shall utilize Times New

Roman font. A smaller font size may be used in figures and tables but must be clearly legible.

vi. All pages shall be numbered and contain at least one inch margin.

vii. Offerors will mark all technical information that is to be protected for five years from FOIA disclosure with a legend identifying the documents as being submitted on a confidential basis.

C. Technical

To be considered a capable source for this effort, all offerors must submit the following information in their white paper:

1. The offeror is to provide a white paper for performing all work requirements as defined by the SOW. The white paper shall be submitted in sufficient detail and completeness to provide for a thorough and comprehensive evaluation of the offerors’ program to accomplish all requirements defined by the SOW. Any deviation or alternative proposed from the SOW should be explained in sufficient detail so that a thorough technical evaluation can be made.

2. A summary that includes a brief description of the contractor’s capabilities to include: parent organizations, name/address/point of contact identification/email address, potential partnering/teaming agreements, capabilities.

3. Past manufacturing experience with cartridge cases, or any manufacturing experience with similar items in size, complexity, function, material and inspection test procedures.

4. A description of the facilities/equipment, manufacturing processes, existing production/prototyping capacity, subcontracted processes and/or components, inspection capability, certified personnel, and Quality Management System certifications or standards used that demonstrates (projected) offerors’ capabilities.

5. Identification of any long lead items for the capability, inclusive of risk assessment of possible impacts to milestones and plans to mitigate identified risk.

D. Price

1. Offerors shall provide a fixed price proposal. The fixed price proposal shall identify all pricing assumptions and include the basis of estimate and vendor quotes used to generate proposed costs.

2. The fixed-price proposal shall be submitted in Excel format with workable formulas and is not included in the page limitations.

3. Cost sharing, if required by 10 U.S.C. §4022, shall be clearly identified in the offeror’s proposal.

4. In accordance with, Other Transaction Guide Version 2.0, Section II, paragraph (E)(3)(b)(i), which provides that price reasonableness is key consideration prior to award. The Government may obtain and consider, among other data, commercial pricing data, market data, parametric data, or cost information. Also, in adherence to the additional guidance of, “the AO should exhaust other means to establish price reasonableness before resorting to requesting cost information.”

5. Offerors shall provide documentation that demonstrates that their accounting system and cost data are reliable and are capable of identifying costs to individual agreements/contracts. The offerors shall provide the cost of this effort in their submittal, along with the per unit cost to deliver the innovative capability they will offer.

6. Contractors may propose a milestone payment schedule in their price volume using the provided Milestone Template (Enclosure 3). The milestone payment schedule shall include events and timing, event completion criteria, and event values. Milestone events shall be or represent meaningful and essential steps in successfully executing the work called for under this initiative. Milestones’ events and their completion dates shall be clearly and adequately defined so that their accomplishments can be objectively determined. Milestone payment amounts shall be commensurate with the value of the performance event, and fairly represent the progress achieved on the agreement. At minimum 10% of the total amount for each awarded action (i.e. base award, options, phases, etc.)

shall be reserved for the final milestone. The Milestones shall be excluded from the page count limit.

Step II

If an oral presentation is requested from an offeror, the presentation shall adhere to the following requirements:

• The oral presentation session will not become a part of any contract agreement resulting from this RFS but will be evaluated for purposes of making an award decision.

• The oral presentation session will not constitute discussions, nor will they obligate the USG to conduct discussions or to solicit or entertain any proposal revisions.

• Oral Presentations shall be conducted using Microsoft PowerPoint slides with an allotted presentation time of 2 hours. The number of slides is limited to 30.

• When the oral presentation session is complete, the USG will convene for 1 hour to evaluate, discuss, and collect questions for the offeror. The USG will meet with the offeror to discuss their oral presentation and questions for no more than 1 hour.

I. Evaluation Criteria

Request for Solutions will be evaluated by their ability to meet the Government’s needs as outlined in the SOW, innovative approach, and by the following criteria:

1. Past manufacturing experience with cartridge cases or any manufacturing experience with similar items in size, complexity, function, material and inspection test procedures.

2. The solution addresses the Government’s needs and states how the solution can meet or exceed the stated objectives.

3. The solution demonstrates sufficient understanding of operations at QCCCF and how the proposed solution would complement, augment, or help sustain the current critical manufacturing capabilities.

4. Proposed facilities/equipment investments required.

5. The solution meets the requested milestones.

II. Evaluation:

a. For the first step of the two-step process:

Evaluations of all white papers submitted in response to this RFS will be issued via email notification by the Government. Each paper will be assigned one of the following two ratings: “Of Interest” or “Not of Interest” at this time. Offerors submitting white papers that receive a rating “Of Interest” will be requested to do an Oral Presentation. However, any such request does not ensure a subsequent award.

Rating definitions are as follows:

Rating Definition

Of Interest White paper demonstrates understanding of the evaluation criteria, displays…