Request for Information Boarding Pass Scanner (BPS)

Request for Information: TSA25-04-0363

BOARDING PASS SCANNER (BPS)

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE & REQUEST FOR INFORMATION. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY.

     1.   Introduction

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Acquisition Program Management (APM) office is requesting information, seeking sources, and conducting market research of potential sources for Boarding Pass Scanner (BPS) equipment and associated support services.  The BPS shall be capable of validating the authenticity of boarding passes presented by passengers and communicating to Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) the screening lane to which the passengers is assigned based on the 2D barcode on their boarding pass.

The TSA is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) as part of its market research efforts to determine business interest, capability, and the socio-economic category of potential sources for the manufacture, servicing, and support of BPSs. Servicing and support includes, but is not limited to, maintenance, configuration management, and any system specific test items.

     2.   Background

The TSA protects the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce.  TSA’s APM Identity Management (IDM) is responsible for authentication and validation of passenger identification documents. The TSA uses BPS to in the field to scan relevant passenger information that is located within the barcode on the boarding pass to retrieve Secure Flight (SF) screening information. Several applications exist, including - but not limited to -  being used as a prescreening device (informing the passengers if they are in the TSA PreCheck® lane or a standard lane) and being used by the Traveler Document Checker (TDC) to retrieve a passenger’s real time screening status.

     3.   Submission of Information

Information in response to this RFI must be submitted in writing via e-mail to the points of contact identified below.

Attachment 1 - BPS RFI TSA25-04-0363, provides a recommended outline for response to this RFI. This outline is intended to minimize the effort of the respondent and structure the responses for ease of analysis by the Government.

TSA requests a written response that addresses each of the items noted in Attachment 1 to better understand market capabilities. The vendor is not required to answer or comment on all content contained in this RFI in order to respond to this notice. Interested vendors are encouraged to respond to all or some of the topics presented in Attachment 1.

Written responses shall be submitted no later than May 22 at 1:00 PM EDT, via e-mail to Jayson Allen, at Jayson.Allen@tsa.dhs.gov and David Taylor, at David.Taylor1@tsa.dhs.gov.

Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Email responses must have the subject heading of “BPS RFI [vendor name]”.

Adobe pdf attachments such as test reports and product brochures may be submitted as part of the response, but no more than 15 pages may be submitted in addition to Attachment 1. Electronic file sizes should not exceed 10MB.

     4.   Review of Vendor Response

The Government will review vendor responses for market research purposes only. The Government does not intend to provide a response to submissions for this RFI, but the Government reserves the right to hold a technical information exchange meeting after the RFI review at the agency’s discretion. These meetings will be scheduled at the discretion of the Government and may not be scheduled with all vendors that respond to the RFI. Responses to this RFI may be evaluated by Government technical experts drawn from staff within TSA and other Federal agencies.

     5.   Disclaimer

This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as an obligation on the part of the Government. This is NOT a Request for Quotations or Proposals. No solicitation document exists, and a formal solicitation may or may not be issued by the Government as a result of the responses received to this RFI. The Government will not pay for any response or demonstration expenses. All costs incurred responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Failure to respond to this RFI will not preclude participation in any future solicitation. Any information received will become the property of the Government and will not be returned to the submitter. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary information contained in their response. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. To aid TSA, please segregate any proprietary information.