Testing Procedures 9mm PCC.docx

Testing Criteria/Procedures The following procedures will be followed for testing the samples submitted in response to the subject Request for Proposal (RFP). The evaluation of samples submitted in response to this RFP will be conducted in a three phased approach. At the end of each phase, unsatisfactory submissions will be eliminated from further consideration. Phases II and III will use a comparative evaluation of offers to determine the most advantageous offer to the Government.

Phase I

1. Technical Volume Review (Pass/Fail) The offeror(s) technical volume will be inspected for compliance with the Instructions to offeror(s) and Statement of Work. The following will be reviewed for completeness and compliance:

a. Manufacturer’s Information: The Manufacturer’s information sheet shall include name, address, and model designation for the submitted samples. (1 page limitation)

b. Serial Numbers: The offeror(s) shall provide a list of serial numbers for the five (5) samples of each (rifle and PDW) submitted. (1 page limitation)

c. Manufacturer’s Maintenance Schedule, Operator Manual, and Armorer Manual: The offeror(s) shall provide information regarding the factory recommended maintenance procedures for the expected service life of the weapons (at the operator and armorer levels). This document should specifically address the model submitted for evaluation. (No page limitation)

d. Proof of Compliance with the National Firearms Act 26 U.S.C., Chapter 53, §§ 5801-5872: The offeror(s) shall provide a copy of the notice provided to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). (1 page limitation)

e. Warranty Information: The offeror(s) shall provide detailed information on the commercial warranties of the models submitted. (No page limitation)

f. Offeror’s Quality Control/Quality Assurance plan: The offeror(s) shall provide either their DoD DMCA Certification or ISO/9000 Certification, in addition to a brief detailed narrative on their production quality control and quality assurance practices, to include the equipment used to control the quality of the weapons produced. (No page limitation)

g. Accessories/a la cart Parts List: The offeror(s) shall submit a manufacturers list of compatible parts for the models submitted. (No page limitation)

2. Conformity with the Statement of Work (Pass/Fail) The offeror(s) samples will be inspected and tested for conformity with physical characteristics of the Statement of Work.

a. Weight: All samples submitted will be weighed using an Ohaus Model I10 electronic scale, in increments of no less than one• quarter (.25) pounds to verify compliance.

b. Barrel: All samples submitted will have the barrel physically inspected. The interior of the bore will be examined for reliability/durability (initial, during, and post) with the use of a bore scope. Barrel length will be measured from the face of the closed bolt to the barrel muzzle. All samples submitted will have the chamber dimensions verified by physical inspection and the use of certified headspace gauges. Initial and post reliability /durability headspace shall be measured and recorded on all samples.

3. Trigger Test (Pass/Fail) All samples will have the trigger verified by physical inspection. The trigger pull of all samples will be measured by a Dvorak Trigger Scan System in increments of no less than one-quarter (0.25) pounds. The average of three (3) trigger pulls per sample will be used to verify compliance.

At the conclusion of the Trigger Test, the five (5) samples will be randomly assigned to a grouping by the Government. The groupings and remaining test areas are as follows:

1 sample – Exemplar (will not be used for further testing) Set A (3 samples) – Designated for Performance and Reliability & Endurance Testing Set B (1 sample) – Designated for Drop Testing (Phase I, Part 6 & 7) Set C (1 sample) – Designated for Exemplar

4. Velocity Test (Sample Set A) Ten (10) rounds will be fired through each of the samples. The ammunition used for velocity testing will be Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P, or the ballistic equivalent ammunition. Ammunition will be supplied by the United States Secret Service (USSS).

Velocity of the rounds fired will be measured using an Oehler System 85 Ballistic Instrument and Model 57 Ballistic Screens. Results will be recorded and averaged.

Phase I Velocity test results will be used as a benchmark for velocity degradation of samples in Phase III.

5. Accuracy Test (Sample Set A) – (Ranked) All samples in Set A will be tested for the initial accuracy at one hundred (100) yards, utilizing a Zeiss Conquest V6 5-30x50 scope or equal. During testing the firearm will be fired from a bench, utilizing a tripod shooting rest and sandbag.

Accuracy will be evaluated at one hundred (100) yards by shooting three (3), five (5) shot groups (rifle) and fifty (50) yards by shooting three (3), five (5) shot groups (PDW).

Return to zero testing: Three (3) groups of three (3) shots shall be fired after removal and reinstalment of the suppressor. The point of impact shift shall not exceed one (1) MOA.

The ammunition used for accuracy testing will Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P.

The average extreme spread of the three (3), five (5) shot groups shall not exceed 4 minutes-of-angle (MOA)/inches using “max MOA size”. Offerors will be rated based on the total average group size.

a. 0-2.0MOA 10pts.

b. 2.01-2.50MOA 8pts.

c. 2.51-3.0MOA 6pts.

d. 3.01-3.5MOA 4pts.

e. 3.51-4.00MOA 2pts.

Rifle and PDW variants will be rated independently.

6. Rifle Drop Test (Sample Set B) – (Pass/Fail) Based on the specifications outlined in ANSI/SAAMI Z299.5-2016, the Government will perform the following modified drop test to replicate realistic mishandling conditions:

The rifle in Set B, in the “Safe Carrying” condition (safety on), shall be dropped a total of eighteen (18) times from the following orientations from a height of 48” (from lowest point of the rifle) onto a concrete floor:

a. Barrel vertical, muzzle down (3 times)

b. Barrel vertical, muzzle up (3 times)

c. Barrel horizontal, bottom up (3 times)

d. Barrel horizontal, bottom down (3 times)

e. Barrel horizontal, left side up (3 times)

f. Barrel horizontal, right side up (3 times) An empty primed case will be place in the chamber prior to each drop test. The firearm shall be re-cocked and reset in the “Safe Carry” condition (safety on) after each drop.

The firearm shall not fire the chambered empty primed case when tested.

The firearm shall be serviceable and exhibit no catastrophic damage[footnoteRef:2] as a result of being dropped. [2: Major damage is defined as damage that would result in the firearm being unsafe to fire (e.g.: crack in the receiver, barrel, or buttstock, and/or bending of any metal part of the receiver, or barrel.)]

Minor damage resulting from drop testing does not constitute failure as long as the empty primed case does not fire, and the firearm can be unloaded safely after each drop.

Any magazine that is damaged during the drop test will be removed from further testing and replaced with another randomly selected magazine supplied by the offeror(s) for that model.

All drop tests shall be conducted with the following accessories to the weapons, to simulate the weight of an operational weapon:

· Magazine* fully loaded with rounds of metallic dummy ammunition

· Aimpoint T-2 sight with mount

· Streamlight TLR RM2 flashlight *Denotes item supplied by offeror(s); all other items will be supplied by the Government for this test

7. Firing Safety Inspection, Component Check, and Function Fire (Sample Set B) – (Pass/Fail) The Government shall conduct an armory inspection after the completion of the drop testing. Function fire will be conducted to verify continued safe operation.

8. Armorer’s Repair & Maintenance Evaluation (Sample Set A) – (Ranked) The firearms of Set A will be assessed by the USSS Armorer to assess the time and difficulty associated with long-term preventative maintenance needs. The Armorer will assess four (4) areas associated with the long-term preventative maintenance of the firearms:

i. Ease of Disassembly/Assembly of Major Components,

ii. Ease of Disassembly/Assembly of Minor Components,

iii. Ease of Preventative Maintenance Procedures and Servicing,

iv. Overall Fit & Finish of Components.

Each area will be given a rating of Exceptional, Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. The following are the definitions of the ratings:

· Unsatisfactory: Requires extensive manipulation and/or time to disassemble/reassemble relevant components, requires special tools not provided by manufacturer

· Satisfactory: Generally uncomplicated to disassemble/reassemble relevant components, requires provided special tools

· Exceptional: Relevant components disassembled/reassembled with ease, does not require special tools

The Armorer’s Assessment Evaluation Sheet can be found in Appendix C.

At the conclusion of all the above testing areas, only models that received a score of Pass on all scorable sections will move forward to Phase II, End User Evaluations.

Phase II In Phase II, the firearms from Set A will be evaluated by USSS end users. The following factors will be evaluated in Phase II

1. Ease of Use

2. Comfort

3. Mission Compatibility Factors 1 and 2 are of equal importance; Factor 3 is of more importance. When Factors 1 and 2 are combined, they equal to Factor 3. User evaluation sheets will be used to assess each users’ experience. Subjective ratings will be assigned to each category. User evaluation sheets, with ratings and definitions, are contained in Appendix D.

Part A: End user Live Fire Assessment (Sample Set A) Users will be selected from a cross section of USSS end users, with a minimum number of four (4) shooters. All shooters shall be qualified Law Enforcement personnel.

The ammunition used for PHASE II evaluations is the following and will be supplied by USSS:

· Speer Gold Dot 124+P This evaluation will begin with the weapons cleaned & lubricated. Part replacements will be executed pursuant to the Offeror's recommended maintenance intervals. Weapon manufacturer and model information markings will be obscured from user (via tape).

This evaluation shall be conducted with the following utilizing the following accessories:

· Magazine

· Aimpoint T-2 with mount

· Streamlight TLR RM2 flashlight

At the conclusion of Phase II Testing, an overall ranking of all models in Set A will be made based on the scores received in each user assessment. At this time, a Price Analysis and Past Performance assessment will also be conducted and will be included in the overall ranking of the Phase II results. Part A assessments are rated significantly higher than Price. The top three ranked models at the conclusion of Phase II testing will continue to Phase III, Reliability and Endurance Testing.

Note: End user live firing will constitute the first 300 rounds of Phase III endurance testing.

Phase III Sample Set A for the top three (3) ranked models from Phase II will be utilized for Phase III testing.

1. Reliability & Endurance (R&E) (Sample Set A) – (Pass/Fail) Each of the three (3) samples per model in Sample Set A will undergo a 10,000 round (per firearm) reliability test in intervals of one hundred fifty (150) round firing cycles, to determine barrel life.

The United States Secret Service defines barrel life as, in observance of the offeror’s submitted maintenance protocols, that:

· Accuracy does not exceed 4 (four) minute-of-angle (MOA)

· Velocity decreases no more than 125 feet per second (fps) (in accordance with USSS velocity testing procedures).

If any sample within Sample Set A for any model fails the barrel life test, the entire model will be removed from consideration for award.

Shooter name, start time, end time, elapsed times, and malfunctions will be recorded.

Firing Procedures A shooter will fire one hundred fifty (150) rounds through the weapon engaging targets at multiple ranges. The firing shall be at a rate one hundred fifty (150) rounds over five (5) minutes.

After one hundred (150) rounds the weapon will be allowed to cool for fifteen (15) minutes.

This sequence will continue (shoot 150 rounds, cool 15 minutes), until round 450, at which time the weapon will be field stripped, cleaned and lubricated in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations. A minimum of twenty (20) minutes will be allowed for cooling before the weapon is fired again (this will include the time to field strip, clean the weapon and reassemble).

Maintenance and Inspection Procedures All manufacturer recommended maintenance procedures will be adhered to, and parts/components will be changed at the offeror's recommended maintenance interval (using supplied replacement parts), however cleaning and lubrication schedule will be conducted at the frequency at intervals defined by above by the Government.

Major component parts changes/replacement will not be permitted. Major components parts are identified for the purposes of Phase III testing as:

· Receiver Upper and Lower

· Barrel A failure of a major component part will result in the elimination of that model/variant from further consideration.

A detailed inspection will be performed after every 5,000 rounds. The headspace of each firearm shall be monitored throughout reliability/durability testing using certified headspace gauges and must be within SAMMI specifications throughout the duration of the entire testing process.

Trigger Pull inspections will be conducted, at the discretion of the evaluation team. The results of these tests will be recorded.

Velocity testing will be conducted at 5,000 and 10,000 rounds. The results of these rests will be recorded.

Accuracy testing will be conducted at a minimum at 5,000 and 10,000 rounds. The results of these tests will be recorded.

Stoppages and Malfunctions The Reliability and Endurance testing will continue until 10,000 rounds have been fired through each PHASE III weapon in Sample Set A. During this firing, all malfunctions will be evaluated and recorded by the Test Administrators.

All stoppages/malfunctions will be analyzed by USSS Armorers and recorded to determine the type/cause. Information recorded will include:

· Round number at which stoppage occurs.

· Magazine in use when stoppage occurs.

· Description of stoppage.

Only stoppages/malfunctions attributed to the firearm(s) will be used for final scoring/ranking purposes.

Ammunition Ammunition utilized for Phase III reliability and endurance testing will represent a variety of ammunition used by the USSS in training and operational environments, as specified in the Statement of Work, to include:

· Speer Gold Dot 124+P (80%)

· 70-100gr lead free (10%)

· 124gr FMJ (10%) All ammunition utilized will be provided by the USSS.

Each sample in Sample Set A shall fire the same amounts of each ammunition type, in the same sequence and cycle.

Non-destructive testing will be conducted on each firearm after completion of the reliability test. The key firearm components (barrel and receiver) shall be free of cracks, seams and other defects at the end of reliability/durability testing.

Magazines Each Phase III rifle will be randomly assigned ten (10) magazines as supplied by the offeror. These magazines will be numbered, and their usage will conform to the protocols specified herein.

Only magazines provided by the manufacturer will be utilized in that offeror’s corresponding model/variant.

Any magazine associated with 3 malfunctions not determined to be shooter induced or ammunition induced will be removed from the test and replaced with another randomly selected magazine supplied by the offeror for that model/variant. These malfunctions will not count against the weapon.

Any magazine which is damaged will be removed from further testing.

Magazine Procedures:

1. Shooters will verify that magazines are properly loaded before insertion into the magazine well.

2. Magazines will not be subjected to dust, dirt or grime prior to insertion into the magazine well.

3. Excessive force will not be used to seat magazines.

4. Magazines will be pushed into the magazine well until seated.

5. Magazines will not be rocked back and forth while in the magazine well.

6. Each magazine will be cleaned or replaced at the offeror’s recommended interval.

2. Trigger Test – Phase III (Sample Set A) The Government reserves the right to conduct trigger pull testing at any point during R&E Testing. When doing so, ALL Phase III samples will undergo identical evaluation.

Trigger pull testing will be repeated at the discretion of the evaluation team during the R&E Test. If at any interval a trigger pull weight less than 3.0 pounds, or more than 5.0 pounds, is measured it will be recorded.

The trigger pull will be measured by a Dvorak Trigger Scan System in increments of no less than one quarter (.25) pounds. The average of three (3) trigger pulls per sample will be used to verify compliance.

3. Velocity Testing – Phase III (Sample Set A) The Government reserves the right to conduct velocity testing at any point during R&E Testing; when doing so, ALL Phase III samples will undergo identical evaluation.

Velocity testing will be repeated, at minimum, at the 5,000 and 10,000 round intervals during the R&E Test. If at any interval, a weapon is calculated to have an average velocity decrease exceeding 175 feet/second from the initial velocity (identified in Phase I), that model will be disqualified from further testing.

10 rounds will be fired through each of the three (3) samples. The ammunition used for velocity testing will be Speer Gold Dot 124gr+P and will be supplied by the USSS.

Velocity of the rounds fired will be measured using an Oehler System 85 Ballistic Instrument and Model 57 Ballistic Screens. Results will be recorded and averaged to track rate of degradation from Phase I testing.

4. Accuracy Testing – Phase III (Sample Set A) The Government reserves the right to conduct accuracy testing at any point during R&E Testing. When doing so, ALL Phase III samples will undergo identical evaluation.

Accuracy testing will be repeated at the 5,000 and 10,000 round intervals during the R&E Test. If any weapon exhibits greater than 4.0 MOA accuracy at any time prior to the service life threshold, that model/variant will be disqualified from further testing.

· Firearms will be rated for accuracy at one hundred (100) yards (rifle) and fifty (50) yards (PDW) utilizing a Zeiss Conquest V6 5-30x50scope or equal.

During this testing the firearm will be fired from a bench, utilizing a tripod shooting rest and sandbags.

· Accuracy will be evaluated at one hundred (100) yards by shooting three (3), five (5) shot groups. The ammunition used for accuracy testing will be Speer Gold Dot 124gr+P and will be supplied by the USSS.

The average extreme spread of the three (3), five (5)-shot groups, using “max MOA size”, shall be recorded to determine the level and rate of degradation from Phase I testing.

User Maintenance During R&E, user maintenance will be continuously re-assessed on the following: ease of disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly.

Notable comments will be addressed and recorded on the Shooter Evaluation Form.