U.S. Army Materiel Command, Natick Contracting Division, Attn: AMSSB-ACN, Natick, MA 01760-5011

84 -- CONCEALABLE BODY ARMOR SOL DAAD16-99-R-2019 DUE 082399 POC Peggy Dube 508 233 4881, Jerry Jeffrey 508 233 6257 WEB: click here to download a copy of the RFP, http://www3.natick.army.mil. E-MAIL: click here to contact the contract specialist, pdube@natick-notes02-army.mil. The Solicitation has been amended in accordance with the following document. This replaces the initial solicitation. Questions received and answers to those questions follow this revised document. This is a full and open competition combined synopsis/solicitation DAAD16-99-R-1019 for commercially available Concealable Body Armor (CBA) which may require minor modifications to meet government requirements. The CBA Vest consists of a carrier and soft ballistic inserts. The U.S. Army Materiel Command Acquisition Center, located at the U. S. Army Soldier & Biological Chemical Command, Natick, MA intends to award up to four (4) purchase orders (within available funding constraints) for up to a maximum quantity of 60 each CLIN 0001, (30 male, SubCLIN 0001AA and 30 female SubCLIN 0001AB) CBA Vests for user evaluation/acceptance. Items will be field tested and evaluated for the following criteria: concealability, comfort, flexibility, durability, design, and user acceptance/preference. This phase will take approximately nine (9) months. If those items are acceptable in the six(6) criteria defined above, the Government may exercise an option, CLIN 0002, to procure a maximum quantity of 100 CBA vests, SubCLIN 0002AA and 100 carriers, SubCLIN 0002AB, to one or two companies, based on feedback from user evaluation of that criteria and best value to the Government. The required delivery of the initial quantity is 30 calendar days after award of a purchase order and 60 calendar days following exercise of the option and placement of delivery orders. The Government desires delivery of both the initial quantity and optional quantities within 30 calendar days following award or placement of orders. The Government reserves the right to issue multiple orders for up to 100 CBA Vests and 100 Carriers. The delivery address for the 60 CBA vests, SubCLIN 0001AA and SubCLIN 0001AB is U.S. Army Soldier Biological & Chemical Command, Natick, MA 01760. The delivery address for the optional quantities, SubCLIN 0002AA and SubCLIN0002AB, is Commander, Protective Services Unit 701st MP Group HHD (CID) 6010 6th Street Ft. Belvoir, VA 22060-5587. All items shall be preserved, packaged and shipped FOB Destination in accordance with best commercial practices to the above locations. This synopsis/solicitation is prepared in accordance with the format in FAR subpart 12.6 and supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement will constitute the only solicitation. A request for a hard copy of this RFP will not be honored. Vendors are required to submit a hard copy proposal and product samples as described herein. All clauses applicable to this solicitation may be accessed electronically at the following addresses: "http://www.arnet.gov/far"; "http://farsite.hill.af.mil"; "http://www.dtic.mil/dfars". The Concealable Body Armor Vest shall meet the following performance requirements: the CBA vest shall be NIJ certified for Level IIIA (9mm, FMJ, 124 grain at 1400 ft/sec and 44 Magnum, Lead SWC Gas, 240 grain at 1400 ft/sec.) with a maximum depth of deformation of 1.73 inches (44mm); the area density shall not exceed 1.0 lb./sq.ft.; the stiffness for the ballistic insert shall not exceed 200 cm-g.; the thickness of the ballistic inserts shall not exceed 0.30 inches; the CBA Vest shall provide side ballistic protection with one-inch minimum overlap, tails, and shoulder and side adjustability. Side adjustability shall be accomplished with two straps; the CBA shall provide for maximum visual concealability, comfort, mobility and flexibility while increasing protection levels and minimizing weight and thickness; it shall be concealable/undetectable at 3 meters under a men's dress shirt or under a women's blouse with scoop or V-type neckline; the CBA carrier shall be white #37925 in color per Federal Standard 595A; the CBA carrier shall be launderable using commercially approved laundering procedures. A certificate of compliance for shrinkage of the carrier cloth for conformance to industry standards for fabric shrinkage in both directions will be acceptable; materials used shall not create any hazards that might impact upon the health, safety and performance of the user. Material Safety Data Sheets for the carrier cloth, shall include finishes to confirm there is no toxicity concern to the wearer; the CBA performance shall not degrade when stored in climatic design types hot, basic, and cold and operated in climatic design types of hot and basic IAW Army Regulation 70-38; the CBA shall be easily and quickly donned and doffed without the help of another person; the CBA carrier and ballistic inserts (front and back) shall be clearly labeled in accordance with commercial practices for care and use and any additional information required by law. In addition to all necessary labels, the contractor is required to also include a durable label on the ballistic inserts (front and back) specifying which side is to be worn next to the body. This label shall be placed in a visible area of the insert and it shall read "This Side Next To The Body" in capital letters and a minimum font size of 20; an instruction sheet on how to remove/insert the soft ballistic inserts in the carrier along with maintenance and precautions shall be included; Body measurements to be provided by the government at the time of award of a purchase order and at the time any orders are placed; and will, therefore, be custom fit. A seven-year Commercial Warranty on the CBA soft ballistic inserts is required with a ten-year Warranty desired. The government requires a one year warranty on the CBA Carrier. The Government will make award(s) (within funding constraints) resulting from this synopsis/solicitation to the responsible offeror(s) whose offer(s) is most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following evaluation criteria, in descending order of importance, will be used to evaluate offerors proposals and product samples: Technical, Price and Past Performance/Warranty. The Technical area is greater in importance than Price which is significantly more important than Past Performance/Warranty. TECHNICAL will be evaluated for: The proposed items' capability to meet the solicitation requirements as demonstrated by the written proposal (to include all test data and NIJ Certification), product literature, ballistic panel (one) and product samples submitted (two: one male and one female). The product sample submitted shall be a medium size male and female to fit the following body measurements: male -- 40" chest and the female -- 36" chest (bust). Sample vests will be evaluated for concealability, human factors, donning and doffing and design. The ballistic sample panel (12"x12") will be evaluated for area density, thickness, and stiffness. PRICE: will be evaluated for price realism, fairness and reasonableness. PAST PERFORMANCE/WARRANTY: the vendor's recent relevant experience in providing these or similar items and length of Warranty will be evaluated for performance risk. Vendors shall submit a written technical proposal not exceeding (5) pages which describes how their item(s) meet the requirements stated herein. Vendors shall submit a written past performance proposal not exceeding (2) pages which describes their recent, relevant experience in providing CBA or similar items. Vendors shall submit with their proposal a ballistic panel and product samples (one each male and female) that meets the requirements stated herein. Pricing may be filled in on the Request for Proposals DAAD16-99-R-1019 posted on the U. S. Army Materiel Command Acquisition Center Business Opportunities web site: http://www3.natick.army.mil/. Proposals shall be submitted to: U. S. Army Materiel Command Acquisition Center, Building #20 Warehouse, ATTN: Peggy Dube, Contract Specialist (AMSSB-ACN-S), Kansas Street, Natick, MA 01760-5011. Response time is 3:30 p.m., August 23,1999. This solicitation incorporates the FAR provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-14 as applicable. The FAR provision at 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial applies to this solicitation as do the following clauses: 52.212-2, Evaluation -- Commercial Items; 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items; 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Requires to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders -- Commercial Items which includes the following additional FAR clauses: 52.203-6; 52.203-10, 52.219-8; 52.219-14, 52.222-26; 52.222-35; 52.222-37. The following DFARS clauses at 52.212-7001 apply: 252.225-7001; 252.225-7007, 252.225-7012, 252.225-7014, 252.225-7015, 252.247-7024. Vendors shall include a completed copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3 with their offer. The applicable Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code for this acquisition is 2399, the size standard is 500 employees. In order to be eligible for award, vendors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registry ("http://ccr.edi.disa.mil"). Questions may be directed to Peggy Dube via e-mail at "pdube@natick-notes02-army.mil". Amendments will be posted by notice on the CBD web page. Questions and Answers:1. Are there any details available relative to "Preserved Packaged"? No. It shall be in accordance with best commercial practices. 2. Are there any additional details available relative to the shirts listed? No. Standard commercial items. 3. Is Army Regulation 70-38 available? Yes. A copy of the regulation can be obtained from the Internet -"http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/usace-docs/army-reg/ar70-38." 4. What are the waist and torso length dimensions for the male and female samples required to be included with the proposal? The length dimensions shall be based on what is customarily used by the manufacturer. 5. What lighting conditions will the concealability of the vest be assessed? Product samples will be evaluated under normal fluorescent lighting. The ballistic insert shall be tested in accordance with ASTM D 1388, Standard Test Method for Stiffness of Fabrics, to determine the flexural rigidity in units of cm-g for each component. These results are then used to calculate an overall system flexibility as follows: System Stiffness = [ (Gi, warp + Gi, fill) / 2] x Layers Components Where: i = different fabric components in the system Gi, warp = Flexural Rigidity in the warp direction (cm-mg) Gi, fill =Flexural Rigidity in the fill direction (cm-mg) Layers i = Number of total layers of ith component in the system Example Calculation: A system is composed of 12 plies of material a and 6 plies of material b. Component flexural rigidities are as follows: Material A:GA, warp = 4.000 cm-mg GA, fill = 6.000 cm-mg Material B GB, warp = 7.000 cm-mg GB, fill = 8.000 cm-mg System stiffness = [(4.000 + 6.000)/2 x 12] + [(7.000 + 8.000)/2 x 6]= 105.000 cm-mg The calculated system stiffness is less than 200,000 cm-mg (200 cm-g) and is therefore acceptable. Posted 08/16/99 (W-SN368423). (0228)

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