Nortek aquadopp profiler for NOAA center for operational oceanographic products and services (CO-OPS) office

***NOAA'S ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, EASTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-NORFOLK, NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS) CENTER FOR OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (CO-OPS) OFFICE INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), WITH NORTEK USA INC OUT OF BOSTON, MA FOR NORTEK AQUADOPP PROFILERS.

***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA) REQUIREMENT THAT NORTEK USA INC IS THE SOLE PROVIDER OF THE NORTEK AQUADOPP PROFILER 2 Z-CELL 600 KHZ. THE NORTEK AQUADOPP PROFILER 2 Z-CELL 600 KHZ (S6VZ) IS REQUIRED BY THE NOAA CENTER FOR OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (CO-OPS) TO SUPPORT A HIGH-LATITUDE OCEANOGRAPHIC SENSOR DEPLOYMENT AS PART OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE’S ARCTIC EDGE 2025 EXERCISE NEAR ANCHORAGE, ALASKA. NORTEK ADCPS ARE ALREADY INTEGRATED WITHIN CO-OPS TEST AND EVALUATION PROJECTS, AND THEIR INTERFACE, DATA STRUCTURES, AND MECHANICAL INTEGRATION ARE STANDARDIZED WITHIN CO-OPS WORKFLOWS.

THIS PROCUREMENT IS MADE UNDER THE JUSTIFICATION OF COMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING SYSTEMS, AS AUTHORIZED BY FAR 13.106-1(B)(1). THE AQUADOPP PROFILER SHARES SENSOR INTERFACE PROTOCOLS, DEPLOYMENT CONFIGURATIONS, AND POST-PROCESSING ROUTINES USED ACROSS CURRENT CO-OPS-SUPPORTED CURRENT SURVEY EQUIPMENT. THE Z-CELL DESIGN PROVIDES A FUNCTIONAL ADVANTAGE BY REMOVING THE BLANKING DISTANCE COMMON TO TRADITIONAL ADCPS—ALLOWING FOR CURRENT MEASUREMENT IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE SENSOR, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR NEAR-SURFACE OR NEAR-BOTTOM APPLICATIONS IN CONSTRAINED ARCTIC ENVIRONMENTS.

THE AQUADOPP PROFILER IS FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH CO-OPS’ OPERATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING:

• SENSOR MOUNTING KITS AND CAGE HARDWARE ALREADY INTEGRATED INTO THE CURBY PLATFORM
• EXISTING DATA LOGGERS, TELEMETRY SYSTEMS, AND REAL-TIME ACQUISITION ARCHITECTURE
• INTERNAL QA/QC PROCEDURES, METADATA FORMATS, AND ENGINEERING DOCUMENTATION
• ESTABLISHED CALIBRATION PROTOCOLS, DATA COMPARISON TOOLS, AND REPORTING FORMATS
• TECHNICIAN TRAINING PROGRAMS AND FIELD MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES USED FOR NORTEK UNITS

SELECTING A DIFFERENT CURRENT PROFILER SYSTEM WOULD REQUIRE:

• RECONFIGURATION OF THE SENSOR MOUNTING HARDWARE AND PLATFORM INTERFACE
• REDEVELOPMENT OF TELEMETRY DATA PARSING TOOLS AND QC CODE
• REWRITING SOFTWARE AND CONFIGURATION SCRIPTS FOR DEPLOYMENT AND LOGGING
• RETRAINING FIELD PERSONNEL AND TEST STAFF
• REDUNDANT PROCUREMENT OF DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS, CABLING, AND SPARE PARTS

THE NORTEK AQUADOPP PROFILER 2 Z-CELL 600 KHZ IS THE ONLY COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE INSTRUMENT OFFERING ZERO-BLANK DISTANCE CURRENT PROFILING IN THIS FREQUENCY CLASS, WITH FULLY DOCUMENTED INTEGRATION COMPATIBILITY FOR CO-OPS’ ARCTIC DEPLOYMENT NEEDS. USE OF THIS SPECIFIC SYSTEM IS NECESSARY TO PRESERVE CONTINUITY, REDUCE DEPLOYMENT RISK, AND SUPPORT NEAR-TERM MISSION OBJECTIVES UNDER THE CURBY PILOT FOR ARCTIC EDGE 2025. THE NORTEK AQUADOPP PROFILER 2 Z-CELL 600 KHZ (S6VZ) FEATURES A UNIQUE Z-CELL DESIGN, ALLOWING FOR VELOCITY MEASUREMENTS DIRECTLY AT THE SENSOR FACE—REMOVING THE BLANKING DISTANCE LIMITATIONS TYPICAL OF TRADITIONAL ADCPS—AND IS ESPECIALLY WELL-SUITED FOR NEAR-BOTTOM OR NEAR-SURFACE DEPLOYMENTS IN SHALLOW, HIGH-ENERGY, OR ICE-COVERED WATERS.

MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY CO-OPS DETERMINED THAT THE NORTEK AQUADOPP PROFILER 2 Z-CELL 600 KHZ IS THE ONLY INSTRUMENT AVAILABLE THAT MEETS ALL OF THE FOLLOWING MISSION-CRITICAL CRITERIA:

• FULL FORM, FIT, AND FUNCTION COMPATIBILITY WITH CO-OPS FIELD EQUIPMENT, DATA LOGGING SYSTEMS, AND TELEMETRY CONFIGURATIONS
• Z-CELL TECHNOLOGY ENABLING CURRENT PROFILING STARTING AT 0 METERS FROM THE INSTRUMENT FACE
• ROBUST ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE, INCLUDING PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE SENSORS, COMPASS, AND TILT INTEGRATION FOR HARSH CONDITIONS
• SUPPORT FOR 6-MINUTE REAL-TIME REPORTING, ALIGNED WITH NWLON AND PORTSⓇ OPERATIONAL STANDARDS
• ESTABLISHED USE AND DOCUMENTATION WITHIN CO-OPS EVALUATION WORKFLOWS
• EXCLUSIVE AVAILABILITY AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT THROUGH NORTEKUSA, THE SOLE U.S. DISTRIBUTOR AND SERVICE PROVIDER

CO-OPS TECHNICAL STAFF PERFORMED INFORMAL OUTREACH AND REVIEWED SPECIFICATIONS FROM MULTIPLE ADCP MANUFACTURERS. COMPARABLE INSTRUMENTS FROM OTHER VENDORS LACKED Z-CELL CAPABILITY, HAD LONGER BLANKING DISTANCES, REQUIRED SIGNIFICANT SOFTWARE AND INTEGRATION REDESIGN, OR WERE NOT PROVEN IN ARCTIC-CAPABLE DEPLOYMENTS. THESE ALTERNATIVES WOULD HAVE REQUIRED REENGINEERING OF THE PLATFORM, MODIFICATION OF REAL-TIME LOGGING SYSTEMS, AND ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND OPERATIONAL CERTIFICATION—ADDING RISK AND COST THAT ARE INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE CURRENT PROJECT TIMELINE AND OPERATIONAL SCOPE.

THIS PROCUREMENT WILL SUPPORT THE CURBY PROTOTYPE SYSTEM AND SERVE AS A FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE CO-OPS DEPLOYMENTS IN REMOTE, CHALLENGING, AND COLD-REGION ENVIRONMENTS. THE CAPABILITIES DEMONSTRATED BY THIS INSTRUMENT WILL INFORM THE STANDARDIZATION OF ARCTIC AND HIGH-LATITUDE CURRENT MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR USE ACROSS NOAA’S NATIONAL OBSERVING SYSTEMS.

THE ITEMS IN THIS PURCHASE ARE TO BE USED AS SPARE PARTS TO SUPPORT THE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS WITHIN THE CO-OPS NETWORK THAT USE NORTEK EQUIPMENT. NORTEK IS THE ONLY MANUFACTURER FOR THE SPECIALIZED OCEANOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT WE NEED. NORTEK USA INC DOES NOT HAVE ANY AUTHORIZED RESELLERS/PARTNERS WHO CAN PROVIDE THESE PROFILERS.

***THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS SYNOPSIS. SUCH DOCUMENTATION WILL BE EVALUATED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO CONDUCT THIS PROCUREMENT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS. A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.