SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- RECOVERY-Manufacture of Safety Shim Rods
- Notice Date
- 3/12/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 334516
— Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1640
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1640
- Solicitation Number
- AMD-10-SS68
- Archive Date
- 4/10/2010
- Point of Contact
- Carol A. Wood, Phone: 301-975-8172, Carol A. Wood, Phone: 301-975-8172
- E-Mail Address
-
carol.wood@nist.gov, carol.wood@nist.gov
(carol.wood@nist.gov, carol.wood@nist.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- RECOVERY - THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS. INFORMATION RECEIVED WILL BE USED FOR MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY. **SPECIAL NOTE: THIS REQUIREMENT MAY OR MAY NOT USE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT (ARRA) FUNDS AT THE ACTUAL TIME OF THE SOLICITATION AND AWARD. All responsible sources are encouraged to respond to this notice; however, sources that do not respond shall not be precluded from responding to any subsequent solicitation. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) owns and operates a 20 MW Test Reactor. This reactor is licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) under the name NBSR (National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Reactor; NBS is the former name of NIST). The purpose of the NBSR is to be a steady state source of neutron radiation that can be used to perform a variety of radiation experiments to support the research programs of the NCNR. Among the principal nuclear safety related components of the NBSR are Safety Shim Rods (SSRs). The function of the SSRs is to regulate and control the nuclear reaction that takes place in the core of the reactor as supported by fuel rods. The operational part of an SSR is a sheet of cadmium (a neutron absorber) that is captured between two aluminum cylinders in such a way that no cadmium is in contact with the outside world. These cylinders do not have a circular cross-section. Their cross-section is better described as “oval” or “race-track”. During an operational cycle of the NBSR there are always four (4) SSR’s present in the reactor core. Cadmium SSRs rods are consumables. As SSRs perform their function as control rods, the cadmium slowly “burns up” (which means, during use, the cadmium isotope that performs the control function is slowly replaced by another cadmium isotope that cannot be used to control the reactor). In practice, this means that the shim safety rods need to be replaced approximately, every four (4) years. The NCNR has a requirement for 20 SSR’s to perform its mission for the next twenty (20) years. The NCNR is working, through an existing contract, to complete an engineering package, inclusive of shop drawings, tooling drawings, work instructions, and quality control procedures, that, when strictly adhered to in the environment of a qualified manufacturing facility, will result in complete and workable SSR’s. NIST is seeking qualified manufacturing facilities to satisfy this requirement. After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed and a statement of work developed, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, then any competitive procurement that results would be conducted as a small business set-aside. A qualified manufacturing facility would be: 1. Able to deliver progress reports on a monthly basis; 2. Able to participate in monthly phone conferences; 3. Able to perform planning and scheduling in accordance with industry practice, such that delivery in accordance with contractual requirements is guaranteed; 4. Has a proven track record of executing engineered work flow without the need for further engineering involvement; 5. Has a Quality Program Plan that meets or exceeds the requirements for ASME NQA-1, ISO 9000, DOE Order 414.1A and 10CFR830.122; 6. Has access to Fabrication and Manufacturing capabilities including, but not limited to, the following: 6.1 Materials Procurement; 6.2 Machining; 6.3 Forming; 6.4 Cleaning; 6.5 Welding; 6.6 Heat treating; 6.7 Safe handling of toxic metals (i.e. cadmium); 6.8 Packaging. 7. Has access to the Quality Assurance and Quality Control capabilities including, but not limited to, the following: 7.1 Dimensional Inspection; 7.2 Weld Inspection; 7.3 Managing Welder Certification; 7.4 Non-Destructive Examination; 7.5 Factory Acceptance Testing; 7.6 Mass Spectrometer Leak Testing; 7.7 Helium Leak Testing; 7.8 Ultrasonic Testing; 7.9 Radiography Testing; 7.10 Bond Testing; 7.11 Receiving Inspection; 7.12 Administrative capabilities that can track output from 7.1 through 7.11. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large, foreign, and small businesses. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 334516, as those domestic sources having 500 employees or less. Please include your company's size classification in any response to this notice. Companies that can meet the requirements are requested to email a detailed report describing their abilities to Carol Wood, Contract Specialist, at carol.wood@nist.gov, no later than the response date for this sources sought notice. The report should include all information relevant to your capabilities. Also, the following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice: 1. A discussion of the work that could be performed in-house; If subcontractors would be utilized, please so state; 2. A discussion of the Contractor’s experience with and knowledge of cadmium material; 3. A discussion of the Contractor’s experience and knowledge working with materials and/or components in a nuclear environment; 4. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NIST/AcAsD/AMD-10-SS68/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Ship to;, NIST/Shipping & Receiving, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899, United States
- Zip Code: 20899
- Zip Code: 20899
- Record
- SN02090785-W 20100314/100312235217-9b4ea8e87330f7da6da162d3fb680d9d (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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