Workboat Medium Brand Name Items Sources Sought

 Purpose

This sources sought notice is in support of the forthcoming solicitation number,

N00024-21-R-2255 for the procurement of the Commander, Naval Installation Command (CNIC) Work Boat Medium (WBM). The CNIC WBM procurement will be for an estimated fifty-five (55) additional boats with brand name specific commercial components. This boat shall be a contractor design. While the Navy intends to solicit multiple sources for the WBM under a competitive total small business set aside, the requirement specifies the following Brand Name commercial items:

• Cummins (Brand Name) for the diesel engines, quantity one (2) per boat;
• Furuno (Brand Name) electronic Navigation System; quantity one (1) per boat
• Standard Horizon (Brand Name) for VHF Marine Band Radio; quantity two (2) per boat
• Shakespeare (Brand Name) Antennas; quantity four (4) per boat
• Whale (Brand Name) Manual Bilge Pump; quantity one (1) per boat
• Rule (Brand Name) for Electric Bilge Pump; quantity two (2) per boat
• USS (Brand Name) for Float Switch; quantity two (2) per boat
• ACR (Brand Name) for EPIRB; quantity one (1) per boat

The following brand-name or equal descriptions are presumed to have no equivalents; however, it is possible that an equivalent or potentially superior product or system may be found or become available:

• Aquamet (Brand Name) or equal for Propulsion Shafts; quantity two (2) per boat
• PYI (Brand Name) or equal for Shaft Seals; quantity two (2) per boat
• Airpax (Brand Name) or equal for Circuit Breakers; quantity forty-five (45) per boat
• Cooper-Bussman (Brand Name) or equal for Circuit Breakers; quantity five (5) per boat
• Carling Technologies C, E, and F (Brand Name) or equal for Circuit Breakers; quantity fifteen (15) per boat
• Optima (Brand Name) or equal for Batteries; quantity four (4) per boat
• Ritchie (Brand Name) or equal for Compass; quantity one (1) per boat
• Racor (Brand Name) or equal for Diesel Fuel/Water Separator; quantity one (1) per boat
• Fortress (Brand Name) or equal for Anchor; quantity one (1) per boat
• Bloom (Brand Name) or equal for Hydraulic Winches; quantity two (2) per boat
• Crosby (Brand Name) or equal for Winch Shackle; quantity two (2) per boat

Detailed rationale for the brand names requested are based upon the following justifications:

The use of the brand name equipment is essential to achieve the standardization and commonality required by the Navy. The rational for this requirement is to standardize the brand name equipment on the incoming CNIC WBM)boats to what is currently on the in-service fleet deployed worldwide. Changes to these items could result in substantial duplication of cost that is not expected to be recovered through competition. The following describes examples where maintaining commonality of these components/systems provides substantial cost savings to the Government:

1. Major attributes of form, fit, function, interface, weight, and/or material to achieve a specific performance of the system within which it is used, and the boat as a whole. The following descriptions may apply:
   1. The item requires a form and fit in the boat’s design for installation, operation, or maintenance.
   2. The item’s weight is of critical importance to the boat’s design.
   3. The connection fittings required to incorporate the item into a system are necessary to incorporate or interface the specified item with the boat’s design.
   4. Input power, capacity, and other operating requirements for the item have been selected based on requirements of the boat’s design.
   5. Output power, capacity, and other performance parameters of the item have been selected based on requirements of the boat’s design.
   6. The selected item is known to have low or no Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)/ Radio-Frequency Interference (RFI) with tactical communications equipment. There is no standard to which electronics can perform to that guarantees low or no EMI/RFI with the embarked tactical communications equipment. Compliance can only be determined through lab testing or on-boat installation testing.
2. The specified item is one with established logistic support. Logistic support includes, as applicable: maintenance planning and analysis; training and training support, including training equipment, curricula, and instruction materials; supply support; support equipment such as special tools and test equipment; technical documentation including technical manuals, Product Technical Description (PTD), Planned Maintenance System (PMS), Technical Repair Standards (TRS), and software documentation; computer resource support; facilities for maintenance and training; unique packaging, handling, storage, and transportation requirements; and human engineering considerations.
3. The specified item has either passed, is in the process of, or is planned for Cyber Security validation. Cyber Security requirements for boats and craft are outlined in Ser 05D/193 INITIAL EFFORTS FOR CYBERSECURITY FOR BOATS, COMBATANT CRAFT, SEABORNE TARGETS AND SERVICE CRAFT.
4. The specified item has undergone testing for qualification/validation at the expense of the Government.
5. The specified item is a spectrum dependent (SD) system common to existing platforms deployed worldwide which require certification of spectrum support to operate. Spectrum supportability requirements for boats and craft are outlined in Ser 05D/195 SPECTRUM SUPPORTABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR BOATS, COMBATANT CRAFT, SEABORNE TARGETS AND SERVICE CRAFT.

Please refer to Attachment 1 for the table for descriptions of the applicable justifications for each component or system.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

Vendors interested in providing information regarding “or equal” items for N00024-21-R-2255 shall provide a response as follows:

Format:

• Microsoft Word® or Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF)
• Length – No more than two (2) pages, excluding the cover page. Each side of a double- sided page counts when printed.
  Content:
   
  Responses shall be UNCLASSIFIED and shall include the following information:
   

1. Cover Page. The cover page should include the notice number, and company profile to include, at a minimum, the following:
    
   Company Name                    
   Address                                 
   Point of Contact                    
   CAGE Code                          
   DUNS Number                     
   Phone Number and E-mail Address  
   Web Page URL                     
   North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes    
   Small Business (Y/N):          
   Woman Owned Small Business (Y/N):         
   Small Disadvantaged Business (Y/N):          
   8(a) Certified (Y/N):             
   HUBZONE Certified (Y/N):
   Veteran Owned Small Business (Y/N):         
   Service Disabled Small Business (Y/N):       
   Central Contractor Registration (Y/N):         
   Company Ownership (U.S.), (Y/N):  
    
2. Name of the Brand Name Item, the “or equal” Make/Model number, and a written justification for how the alternate equipment meets “or equal” criteria to the Brand Name Item.

Responses are due to the contracting officer at roxie.thomas, contract specialist aban.iqbal@navy.mil AND Assistant Program Manager – PEO Ships/PMS 325G matthew.warncke@navy.mil no later than 12pm ET on 10 January 2021-. The subject line of the email shall read:  “Company Name - Response to N00024-21-R-2255”.

NOTES:

• Do not send hardcopies (including facsimiles), as only electronic submissions will be accepted and reviewed.
• Do not attach ZIP files or lock or encrypt the file you submit, or attach password- protected files.
• The Government will scan all files submitted and if a virus is detected, it may be grounds for rejection of the response.
• Cost data is not required in the response to this RFI.
   
  Questions and requests for clarifications on this notice must be sent via email to : Roxie Thomas, Contracting Officer – NAVSEA 02 (roxie.thomas@navy.mil), Aban Iqbal, Contracting Specialist – NAVSEA 02 (aban.iqbal@navy.mil) or Matt Warncke, Assistant Program Manager – PEO Ships/PMS 325G (matthew.warncke@navy.mil) no later than 20 December 2020.
   
  When submitting questions, subject line of your email shall read: “Company Name – Questions in Response to N00024-21-R-2255.  The Government may post questions and answers to the Federal Business Opportunities website at https://www.fbo.gov/ but is not obligated to do so as this is market research.
   
  The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this notice or pay for the information. This notice is solely for market research, informational and planning purposes. This is not a Request for Quotation or a Request for Proposal, and it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. Issuance of this notice does not constitute any obligation on the part of the Government to procure these items. Responses to this notice cannot be accepted as offers. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government arises as a result of submitting responses to this notice or the Government’s use of submitted information. Any information that the vendor considers proprietary or confidential business
  information should be clearly marked as such. Responses to this notice that indicate information
  therein is proprietary or represents confidential business information will be received and held in confidence for use by U.S. Government. The information provided in this notice is subject to change. The Government is under no obligation to revise any aspect of this notice should any information herein change. The Government will provide any additional information and issue
  any additional requests for information at its sole discretion.