Contracting Section USCG Aircraft Repair & Supply Center, Elizabeth City, NC 27909-5001

42 -- INFLATABLE LIFE RAFTS, AIR DROP MULTI-PLACE (8 PERSON) SOL DTCG38-99-Q-900407 DUE 091099 POC POC Peter Thomas, Contract Specialist, (252)335-6643 or Gus Holzmiller, Contracting Officer, (252)335-6436 This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation number DTCG38-99-Q-900407 is being assigned to this procurement for tracking purposes only and this synopsis/solicitation is being issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The incorporated clauses and provisions are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-12. This requirement is unrestricted; the Standard Industrial Classification Code is 3069 and the size standard is 500 employees. Contract award will be made utilizing the simplified acquisition procedure test program. The Coast Guard seeks to award a contract for the procurement of fifty (50) each inflatable life rafts (air drop), multi-place eight (8) person, to Switlik Parachute Company, Model No. POD-8, or equal. The rafts shall be manufactured from heat-seal-able polyether polyurethane-coated cloth using radio frequency welding or similar heat-sealing techniques. The rafts shall be a commercial off the shelf item with minor modifications that meet or exceeds the minimum requirements of Federal Aviation Administration Technical Standard Order C70a (TSO C70a) Type II as modified by the following requirements: General: The raft shall be a single tube, non-reversible, octagonal shaped construction with an inflatable thermal insulating canopy. The buoyancy tube shall be divided into two independent air holding chambers separated by internal sleeves. In the event that one air holding chamber is deflated, the sleeves shall automatically expand to regain all of the raft's original shape and floor area to support the rated number of occupants out of fresh water with a freeboard of at least six inches. The raft shall be equipped with a one-piece, multi-chambered, toroidal water stability device, weighted for rapid deployment. The dry raft without carry case or equipment pack shall have a maximum weight of 66.50 pounds. The outside diameter shall be 93.00 +/- 1.0 inches. The buoyancy tube diameter shall be 14.25 +/- .25 inches. Construction: All air holding chambers, the floor-to-buoyancy tube junction seam and all load bearing patches shall be constructed using radio frequency welding or similar heat seal welding techniques and shall not require the use of adhesives to seal or join. The canopy-to-buoyancy tube attachment may be cemented. The buoyancy tubes and floor attachments shall be constructed with 0.75-inch overlap seams that are taped inside and out. All canopy seams shall be air holding and waterproof. All load-bearing patches shall be constructed such that the failure of any load-bearing patch does not violate any air holding chamber. Rated Capacity: The raft shall be designed to support eight (8) persons with an average weight of 200 pounds each. The raft shall have a minimum of 3.0 square feet per person usable floor space, and 14.7 inches of horizontal and 8.0 inches of vertical back support per person. The inflated volume shall be 3.25 cubic feet per person for a total of 200 pounds buoyancy per person in fresh water. Material: The buoyancy tube and floor shall be constructed from a high strength cloth double coated with polyether based polyurethane. The coated cloth shall comply with the performance characteristics of the US Marine Safety Association (USMSA) Alternative Performance Specification for Coated Cloth used on Inflatable Life Rafts as modified by FAA TSO C70a. The double-coated cloth shall be colored Spanish yellow by use of pigmented coatings. All material (except metal components) used in the construction of the life raft must have been manufactured not more than 18 months prior to the date of delivery of the finished product. Material certification showing tractability to the original manufacturer and date of manufacture shall be provided with the finished product. All material shall meet the flammability requirements of FAR 25.853(b)-3. Buoyancy Tube Inflation: The raft shall be inflated with dry air using a 3000 psi inflation system with one independent system for each buoyancy tube air chamber. The inflation systems shall have ball-pull/unbalanced piston release valves that shall not require the use of cams, springs or other mechanical means to release the stored gas. The valves shall have provision to vent any gas that leaks past the primary seal to prevent that gas from getting into the packed raft. Upon actuation, the vent shall automatically close to prevent gas from leaking from the inflated raft. The inflation systems shall have analog pressure gauges. The buoyancy chambers shall be equipped with pressure relief valves and manual inflation valves. Manual emergency inflation shall be accomplished with a hand pump with a press fit insertion attachment. Canopy: The canopy shall be furlable and permanently attached around the base to the buoyancy tube. The inside color of the canopy shall be blue-black. The outside of the canopy shall match the color of the buoyancy tube. The canopy shall consist of six (6) independent tufted construction inflatable segments. The canopy segment inflation systems shall be manually actuated separately from the buoyancy chamber inflation systems. Puncture of the buoyancy tubes shall not cause a loss of air in any of the canopy segments and vice versa. The canopy inflation systems shall be located and configured such that survivors upon entry to the raft can easily identify and operate them. Two (2) canopy segments shall be joined to each other to form one large canopy section. The remaining four (4) segments shall be joined to each other forming a larger canopy section such that when the individual segments are inflated, the canopy sections shall stand-up without any additional support structure to provide partial cover for the occupants. The two sections of the canopy shall be capable of being fastened together to fully cover and enclose the occupants with dual coil type slide fasteners capable of being operated from either side of the opening. The outer seams of the canopy sections shall be bound with retro-reflective tape. Water Ballast: The life raft shall be equipped with a toroidal water stability device, divided into eight separate but connected chambers holding a minimum of 26 cubic feet of water ballast. Each chamber shall be weighted for rapid deployment. The water ballast device shall be located along the maximum outboard circumference of the raft, and shall be constructed of a strong lightweight material to facilitate tight storage pack configurations. Boarding Aids: The raft shall be equipped with eight boarding ladders, one ladder attached with heat sealed patches to each octagonal section of the raft buoyancy tube. The rungs of the boarding ladders shall have stiffening to facilitate their use by survivors. The raft shall be equipped with boarding handles positioned such that an unaided survivor wearing either a SOLAS or FAA type life preserver and gloves can climb into or unto the raft should it become overturned. Lifelines and Grasp Lines: The raft shall be equipped with lifelines, attached to the outside of the buoyancy tube with heat sealed anchor patches, positioned to permit a survivor in the water to move around the outside of the raft, regardless of whether the raft is right side up or upside down. The raft shall also be equipped with inside grasp handles, attached to the raft with heat sealed patches for the survivors to hold onto. The raft shall be equipped with a righting strap. The righting strap shall permit a person weighing less than 165 pounds to right the raft unassisted. Handling Equipment: The life raft shall be equipped with a towing bridle, heaving line, mooring line and sea anchor. The towing line shall be at least 25 feet in length and have a breaking strength of 1000 +/- 100 pounds attached to the towing bridle. The towing bridle shall be attached to one end of the raft with two heat sealed patches of sufficient strength to permit towing at a speed of 5 knots. Failure of the towing bridle shall not breach the air holding integrity of the raft. The towing system shall not permit the inflated raft to be pulled under water without releasing the raft. The heaving line shall be 50 feet in length and shall be located adjacent to the mooring line. It shall be a floating type line with a floating ring on the end. The sea anchor shall be attached to the end of the raft opposite the towing bridle. It shall be equipped with a swivel and shall be self-deploying. Lighting: The raft shall be equipped with a water-activated light that is activated automatically upon inflation of the raft. It shall be located adjacent to the mooring and heaving lines inside the raft. Retro-Reflective Tape: Retro-reflective tape shall be installed on the raft in a cross shape on top of the canopy, on the inside floor and on the bottom of the raft. Each cross shall contain not less than 196 square inches of SOLAS grade silver retro-reflective material. Strips 2 inches wide shall beplaced at the bottom edge of the canopy around the periphery. Markings: Each raft shall have an information label that contains the following information: manufacturer; serial number; part number; date of manufacture. Each life raft shall be identified with a manufacturer assigned, unique, sequential, serial number. Rafts shall be shipped f.o.b. destination to any of the following locations: BALTIMORE MD 21226; CAPE COD MA 02542; CORPUS CHRISTI TX 78419; MIAMI FL 33054; SAN DIEGO CA 92101; MOBILE AL 36608, therefore, the offeror's proposal should reflect the price for each "ship to" location. Delivery is requested ninety (90) days after contract award. Packaging, packing, and preservation shall be in accordance with best commercial practices to enable shipments to designated Coast Guard units. Labeling data shall be attached to the outside of the shipping container. Facsimile offers are acceptable and may be forwarded via fax number 252-335-6840. Potential contractors, who currently manufacture a commercial item that with minor modifications will meet the requirements of this specification and who are interested in responding, shall submit one sample raft for evaluation by 7 September 1999. The sample will be examined on a pass/fail basis for conformance with all the requirements of this solicitation. Each submission shall include written certification that the sample submitted is representative of the quality and design that will be provided upon contract award, and that the sample meets all the requirements of this specification. Any proprietary data in the responses will be protected where so designated. All responses must reference this quotation number on both the mailing envelope and all enclosed documents and samples. This solicitation contains the best currently available information and is subject to change. The solicitation does not commit the Government to award a contract. Award will be made to that offeror whose commercial product meets or exceeds all the requirements of this solicitation, and proposes the lowest overall price. Note: The Government reserves the right to contact any potential source of information regarding an offeror's past performance. Offeror's are instructed to include a completed copy of FAR provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items (June 1999) with their offers. Offerors that do not have access to these certifications may request a copy from the point of contact reference above to obtain them. The following FAR provisions and clauses apply to this solicitation and are incorporated by reference: FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items (June 1999); FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Commercial Items (May 1999); FAR 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractors Sales to the Government (Jul 1995), Alternate I, (Oct 1995); FAR 52.219-8, Utilization of Small, Small Disadvantaged and Women-Owned Small Business Concerns (Jan 1999); FAR 52.219-23, Notice of Price Evaluation Adjustment for Small Disadvantaged Business Concerns (Oct 1998) Alternate I (Oct 1998); FAR 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Apr 1984); FAR 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Special Disabled and Vietnam Era Veterans (Apr 1998); FAR 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (June 19998), FAR 52.222-37; Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era (Apr 1998), FAR 52.225-3, Buy American Act Supplies (Jan 1994); FAR 52.233-3, Protest After Award (Aug 1996),. FAR 52.212-4 applies and is tailored as follows: FAR 52.203-3 Gratuities (Apr 1984); FAR 52.203-8, Cancellation, Rescission, and Recovery of Funds for Illegal or Improper Activity; FAR 52.203-10, Price or Fee Adjustment for Illegal or Improper Activity (Jan 1997); FAR 52.203-12, Limitation on Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions; FAR 52.204-4, Printing/Copying Double-Sided on Recycled Paper (Jun 1996); FAR 52.211-15, Defense Priority and Allocation Requirements (Sep 1990); FAR 52.243-1, Changes-Fixed Price (Aug 1987) Alternate I (Apr 1984); FAR 52.245-1, Property Records (Apr 1984); FAR 52.247-34, F.o.b. Destination (Nov 1991). Defense Priorities and Allocations System Rating: DO-A1. Notice to Offerors: It is the policy of the Coast Guard to issue solicitations and make contract awards in a fair and timely manner. To further this policy, the Commandant has created the position of Solicitation Ombudsman who is empowered to investigate issues raised by prospective offerors and resolve them, where possible, without expensive and time-consuming litigation. Potential offerors who believe that a Coast Guard solicitation is unfair or otherwise defective should first direct their concerns to the cognizant contracting officer. If the contracting officer is unable to satisfy the concerns, the offeror should then contact the Coast Guard Solicitation Ombudsman at the following address: Commandant (G-CPM-S/3), 2100 Second Street, SW, Washington, DC 20593. Telephone (202)267-2285; Fax No. (202)267-4011. Potential offerors should provide the following information to the Ombudsman in order to ensure a timely response: solicitation number, contracting office, contracting officer, and solicitation closing date. ATTENTION: Minority, Women-Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises(DBEs)! The Department of Transportation (DOT), Short-Term Lending Program (STLP) offers working capital financing in the form of lines of credit to finance accounts receivable for transportation related contracts. Maximum line of credit is $500,000 with interest at the prime rate. For further information, call (800)532-1169. Internet address: http://osdbuweb.dot.gov. Posted 08/18/99 (W-SN369497). (0230)

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