The U. S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Command (NSRDEC), Natick, MA is conducting a market investigation on behalf of the Product Manager-Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment (PM-SCIE), to identify domestic products, suppliers and manufacturers of individual water treatment/purification systems with the capability to meet military requirements for producing microbiologically purified water in the field. The U.S. Army anticipates a future solicitation for this or a similar requirement to be issued within the next 8-12 months with a minimum production requirement of 70,000 systems to be produced over 5 years. The U.S. Army is interested in identifying firms with products, technologies, and capabilities to provide a man-packable, water treatment/purification system for Individual Soldier use in purifying water (for drinking) from indigenous fresh water sources with the following requirements. A threshold (T) and objective (O) have been identified for each requirement. Mandatory System Requirements 1. The system shall provide microbiological purification equal to or greater than NFS Protocol P248 levels for fresh water and interested firms shall have a Letter of Compliance from the US Army Public Health Command (USAPHC) confirming performance according to the NSF, International Protocol P248 (T). The system will provide potable water from any water source (O). 2. The system shall be compatible with all Army approved personal hydration systems including the MOLLE Hydration System and 1 quart and 2 quart canteens (T) and modular, tailorable and compatible with all future Army hydration systems (O). 3. The system shall reduce raw water turbidity to 1.0 Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) or less per waters found in NSF Protocol P248 (T); reduce turbidity to 0.3 NTU or less (O). Preferred System Requirements 1. The system shall provide Soldiers with 1.5 liter/hour of drinking water (T); 2.0 liters/hour (O). 2. The system shall purify more than 131.25 liters before system component replacement (T); more than 495 liters (O). 3. The system shall satisfy a 4 foot drop to concrete alone; 6 foot drop to concrete in MOLLE Hydration System Carrier while dry; 300 lbs dynamic and static compression while dry (T); shall also satisfy a 6 foot drop to concrete alone (O). 4. The system shall have a treat to drink time of less than 20 minutes (T); less than 5 minutes (O). 5. The system shall be capable of being used and operable with water temperatures from 4oC to 49oC, in environments with temperatures ranges from -33oC to 52oC (T). The IWTD must be capable of being stored or transported in the temperature range of Hot-Dry, Hot-Humid, Basic, and Cold per AR 70-38 and MIL-STD-810 (O). 6. The total system shall weigh no more than 1 lb., dry weight, ready to use (T); 12 oz, total system dry weight, ready to use (O). 7. The system shall allow filling and servicing the system without contaminating the microbiologically purified water or surfaces that contact purified water (T=O). 8. The system shall be able to be maintained in a hygienically safe condition for the duration of its wear life (T). The system self-maintains a hygienically safe condition for the duration of its wear life (O). 9. The system shall be able to be worn with, attached to or carried on or in the current load bearing equipment (T=O). 10. The system shall be easily cleaned and disinfected without special tools; easily operated by all military personnel (T). It will not require cleaning and/or it will have self-sanitizing properties (O). 11. The system shall provide an indicator or assurance of the system's remaining useful lifetime (in volume purified) prior to component replacement (T=O). 12. The system shall use readily available and easily installed system components requiring no more than five minutes to install (T); no more than two minutes to install (O). 13. The system instructions shall be clear and concise, easily readable and with pictures; with a Soldier success rate of 80% (for successful operation) within three minutes (T=O). Interested sources must respond no later than 1200EST on 30 November 2014 with the following information on current commercial or non-developmental product(s) with capabilities to meet the Government's requirement stated above: (1) Product literature or company information on how the item meets each Military requirement stated above; (2) Whether their item should be considered a non-developmental item (NDI) for specific military application or whether it is available commercially, with supporting rationale; and (3) a price quote for fifty (50) of the item for a potential purchase order from the Government for the purpose of test and evaluation. The quote shall include shipping costs to Natick, MA and shall be valid for 90 days. Interested sources shall include information regarding a firm's experience, personnel, and facilities. Information should include product cost, detailed technical information (i.e., technical literature, independent or pending test data, illustrations, photographs, patents, etc.), relevant company background/experience, and a sample (optional). Firms responding shall indicate their socio-economic size status and small business classification, if applicable. Any information/samples submitted will not be returned. If a firm chooses to submit samples, no payment will be made by the Government for such samples. Responses to this notice are to be sent to Mr. Jeffrey Dunn at
contact@example.gov or U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, 15 Kansas Street, ATTN: RDNS-SEW-EWP, Natick, MA 01760. This notice is for market research only. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. The information received under this announcement may be used to purchase items for Government testing and/or to prepare a solicitation package and is considered market research.
