SOURCES SOUGHT
70 -- Passport Card and Border Crossing Card
- Notice Date
- 12/27/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 333244
— Printing Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of State, Office of Acquisitions, Acquisition Management, 1701 N. Ft. Myer Drive, Arlington, Virginia, 22209, United States
- ZIP Code
- 22209
- Solicitation Number
- RFI_Passport_BCCcard
- Archive Date
- 2/12/2013
- Point of Contact
- Adrienne Bell,
- E-Mail Address
-
bellam@state.gov
(bellam@state.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- THIS IS A FULL AND OPEN SOURCES SOUGHT REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (SS-RFI) ONLY AS DEFINED BY FAR 15.201(E) 1.0 Overview: The Department of State (the Department) requests that interested businesses provide specific evidence that they are capable of meeting or exceeding the Department's minimum objectives identified below. The Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA), Office of Consular Systems and Technology Services (CST), is issuing this Full and Open Sources Sought/Request for Information (SS-RFI) for planning purposes only in support of the Department's market research. This does not constitute an Invitation for Bids or a Request for Proposals (RFP). The Department does not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with submission of the information being requested or reimburse expenses incurred to interested parties for responses to this SS-RFI, or any subsequent RFP. This announcement is only a request for information and in no way commits the Department to award a contract. Responses to this notice will not be considered as offers and cannot be accepted by the Department to form a binding contract. 1.1 Background: The Department (in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has developed and implemented U.S. card-format travel cards: the Passport Card and Border Crossing Card (BCC)-credit-card-size travel documents. The Passport Card has been an accepted alternative to the traditional book-style passport at U.S. land and some sea ports-of-entry (POEs) since June 1, 2009. The Passport Card is functional in the DHS ReadyLane system, an integrated, automated border-crossing identification system including programs such as NEXUS, Secure Electronic Network for Travelers' Rapid Inspection (SENTRI), and Free and Secure Trade Program (FAST). The Department also issues a Border Crossing Card (BCC) to qualified citizens of and residents of Mexico. The BCC allows them to enter defined border zones in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas for business and pleasure. When presented together with a valid Mexican passport, the BCC allows the holder to travel for business or pleasure to anywhere in the United States. 1.2 Scope: The Department is seeking information regarding Passport Card stock to continue the production and printing of Passport Cards at projected volumes using current equipment. The Department is also seeking information regarding BCC stock to continue production and printing of BCCs using current equipment. Further, the Department is seeking information on Radio Frequency (RF) Attenuating Sleeves, card printers, card readers, and the available technical support services that could facilitate the production, personalization or intended use of the card. Additionally, the Department may use the card stock and support infrastructure, such as printers and readers, to create additional types of travel cards. These travel cards would be functionally similar to the Passport Card but would be used to denote other travel privileges.   2.0 Vendor Submission Instructions: Vendors that believe they possess the expertise and experience to fulfill all or portions of the requirements listed in the Statement of Objectives (SOO) section, Attachment A, are invited to please: 1. Provide company name; address; e-mail address, telephone number, points of contact, ; and the size classification of its business pursuant to North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS). Please provide your companies level of facility security clearance and also identify if your solution is under any GSA schedule or GWAC. 2. Submit a written description of technical and management capability and experiences. 3. Provide a description of the solutions that deliver the requested components and services or support the development, deployment, and maintenance of the components. As part of your submission, please address the following: (a) solution description and key features; (b) performance characteristics; (c) any security considerations; (d) degree of customization or configuration anticipated to meet the Department's requirements; and (e) cost drivers. 4. Discuss any implementation considerations you believe are relevant to the initiative as a whole. This discussion may include salient risks and mitigation measures, lessons learned from other projects or agencies, contracting approaches, or any other pertinent information. 5. Provide relevant examples of previous work or solution implementations, to include client points of contact (POCs). 6. Do not provide sales brochures, videos, and other marketing information materials. These are not solicited and will not be reviewed. To the maximum extent possible, submit Non-Proprietary Information. All information received in this SS-RFI that is appropriately marked "Proprietary" will be handled accordingly. Responses to this SS-RFI will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed. Respondents are requested to format their response with the following sections and adhere to the page limits shown: 1. Proposed technical concepts, products, and deliverables (not to exceed 15 pages) 2. Past performance directly related to the identified products addressed throughout this document (not to exceed 3 pages) 3. Pricing - to the extent practicable, historical pricing related to actual past performance examples, or established catalog, market, or pre-priced agreements. No phone calls related to this SS-RFI will be accepted. All correspondence must be via email. All responses need to be provided in electronic format (.doc or.docx preferred). Font should be Times New Roman, size 12. All packages submitted by email must be free of any computer virus. If a virus is found, the package will be destroyed and a replacement will be requested, which must be provided within three days after notification. Please submit responses no later than 1:00 p.m EST, January 28, 2013, to bellam@state.gov. NO TELEPHONE CALLS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Any questions concerning this RFI should be emailed to Adrienne Bell (bellam@state.gov). There is no guarantee that any or all questions will be answered. Any interpretation or additional information will be provided in writing by Adrienne Bell.   Attachment A - Statement of Objectives 1.0 Statement of Objectives (SOO): The primary objectives the Department expects to achieve include obtaining information on the following products and services: Cards • Preprinted RFID enabled Passport Card stock, ready for personalization • RFID enabled Passport Card Test stock, ready for testing in Passport Card Personalization System • Preprinted RFID enabled BCC stock, ready for personalization • RFID enabled BCC Test stock, ready for testing in the Passport Card Personalization System • RF Attenuating Sleeves for RFID enabled cards • Automatic Card Inspection Equipment • Card Delivery System The Department requires that Vendors shall not sell, give, or transfer to any other government, entity, or person, any products, materials, and/or processes unique to United States Passport Card and BCC or their production. 2.0 Technical Requirements: 2.1 Cards Passport and BCC Stock The Passport/BCC Card shall meet ISO 7810 ID-1 specifications and follow the guidelines of ICAO 9303 Part 3 Volume 1 Sections IV and V recommendations for TD-1 Documents of Identity where applicable. In case of conflict, use ICAO 9303. Passport/BCC Card will display information similar to that of the data page of the current U.S. Passport book: • On the Passport Card front: citizen facial image and biographic information • On the Passport Card back: MRZ for ID-1 type document compliant with ICAO 9303 Part 3 Volume 1 Section IV part 9, and Section V parts 6-9 and appendices 3 and 6. The Passport/BCC Card shall have further machine-readable capability with an embedded RFID capable integrated contactless circuit (ICC) and antenna. The ICC shall store only a manufacturer-encoded number that shall be unique to the specific card. The Passport/BCC Card must serve as a tamper-resistant and physically secure (counterfeit deterrent and alteration deterrent) and durable travel document that will permit Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to use RFID equipment to read the ICC number onboard the Passport/BCC Card in order to access data from a DHS database, to read the MRZ encoded personalized data on the back of the Passport Card/BCC card using passport readers designed to read ICAO 9303 MRZs, and to confidently inspect the card on its face value. Card Stock Mandatory Features Card body material shall: a. Be nontoxic (presents no toxic hazard in the course of personalization and normal use). b. Be compatible with ICC components that enable each card to function as a passive RF responder. c. Be compatible with a DataCard MX6000 printer utilizing a first generation laser and have material receptive to laser energy, so that tactile printing can be done per personalization concepts. Material must be deep enough in card to prevent tactile print removal without clear tamper evidence. d. Be composed of polycarbonate layers with no adhesive usage or equivalent for which the Vendor must provide sufficient evidence that alternate will not degrade durability performance compared to polycarbonate. Vendor must provide sufficient evidence that any layers fused in the construction of the card cannot be intentionally split or otherwise compromised to facilitate alteration after production and will meet all other requirements herein. Card Stock Pre-Printing The pre-printing shall not rub off or fade during the life of the Passport Card, nor shall the printing process deposit debris on the personalization printer. Pre-printed card stock pattern and features, offered security features, and the offered personalization process shall not interfere with the ICC and related card components, nor shall it obstruct access to machine-readable information. RF Attenuating Sleeves and Optional Privacy Features Privacy of citizens is a primary concern of DoS and DHS. Privacy features enable a cardholder to effectively activate and deactivate a Passport Card. The Department believes multiple privacy features maximize privacy protection and prefers a privacy solution that includes both an attenuating sleeve and additional privacy protection features that default to the deactivated state. At a minimum, Vendor shall propose RF Attenuating Sleeves that meet the requirements described below: RF Attenuating Sleeves shall be of a material that will enclose the card stock, so that the card stock comes out only with manual effort of the holder. The Sleeve material will have RF reading single layer shielding effectiveness of at least 40 dB, compared to unshielded card RF reading for a frequency in the 860 to 980 MHz range. RF Attenuating Sleeves shall not affect the function of a removed card after repeated insertions and removals over the life of the Passport Card. 2.2 Miscellaneous Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Transition Plan, Disaster Recovery (DR) plan The Department will require a specific SOP, Transition Plan, and Disaster Recovery plan including plans for a six-month level of emergency stock. Deliverable Warranties The Department requires details from the Vendor on how they produce a card that will remain fully functional after passing through the personalization process. "Fully functional" means that the card fully communicates and operates in a normal working environment based on the requirements within this document. Respondents are reminded to follow explicitly the instructions provided in the SS/RFI. Your cooperation and compliance will ensure a prompt and thorough review and analysis of your submission.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/State/A-LM-AQM/A-LM-AQM/RFI_Passport_BCCcard/listing.html)
- Record
- SN02956147-W 20121229/121227234016-1ad320be62a49dbe1f87aece9b9f145d (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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