65 Pin Cryogenic Cables

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THIS SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-60. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334413 with a small business size standard of 500 employees. This acquisition is being procured using full and open competition. However, price preference will be given to small businesses. LINE ITEM 0001: NIST must purchase two full sets of 65-pin cryogenic cables Cable Specifications: Each cable consists of two 65-pin AirBorn connectors (AirBorn part number NM-213-065-000-0000-540) connected via a woven loom of 33 twisted wire pairs. The loom also contains woven Nomex for structural integrity. There are two different lengths of cables: - 150 mm (the "short" cable type) - 220 mm (the "long" cable type) A "set" of cables consists of three short (150 mm) cables and three long (220 mm) cables. The attached document, "65pin_cable_specifications.pdf" fully describes the technical specifications of the cables. NIST is purchasing 2 full sets of cables (i.e., 12 total cables: 6 long and 6 short). NIST will provide to the vendor the AirBorn connectors and the woven 33-pair NbTi/Nomex loom. The vendor's role is to solder the connectors to the loom, clean and test all connections, and pot the connectors with Stycast 2850/09. The vendor is responsible for supplying all fixtures, fittings, tooling, and jigs, and for supplying all materials other than the connectors and the woven loom. DELIVERY Delivery shall be made to NIST, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305. DELIVERABLE SCHEDULE: __Delivery 10 weeks after receipt of order______ Delivery term shall be FOB Destination. The Contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA Inspection will be done at the NIST facility upon receipt. In addition to the inspection and acceptance terms articulated in 52.212-4, the Government will reserves the right to verify the specifications listed above are met in the shipped product. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD Award will be made to the Contractor whose quote offers the best value to the Government price and non-price factors considered. The Government will evaluate quotations based on the following evaluation criteria: (1) Technical Capability: Meeting or Exceeding the Requirement, (2) Experience (3) Past Performance, and (4) Price. Preference will be given to small businesses. Technical Capability and Experience, when combined, shall be approximately equal in importance to price. Technical Capability: Evaluation of Technical Capability shall be based on the documentation provided in the quotation. Technical description and product literature submitted in the quotation shall be evaluated to determine that the proposed equipment meets or exceeds all salient characteristics identified herein. Experience: NIST requires that the chosen vendor has worked previously with the exact AirBorn connector part, NM-213-065-000-0000-540 previously. This is an unusual connector part, in that it has round wire stubs to which the NbTi wires must be laid on during soldering. It is difficult to work with. The vendor must be able to document having used this exact connector in a previous job. NIST requires that the vendor be qualified by either or both of NASA or the European Space Agency (ESA) to manufacture space-qualified cables for spacecraft and/or satellites. While none of the cables to be purchased here is slated to fly in space, the environment inside our cryostats (cold, vacuum) is very similar to that of space. Space qualification is also a strong indicator that a vendor in this field has the documented ability to build reliable interconnect products. Past Performance: The Government will evaluate past performance as it pertains to the proposed item to determine the level of quality, and the reliability of the product. Evaluation of past performance will be based on information contained in the technical proposal and information provided by references. The Government will evaluate past performance by contacting appropriate references, including NIST references; if applicable. The Government may also consider other available information. The Government will assign a neutral rating if the offeror has no relevant past performance. REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS All quoters shall submit the following: 1) For the purpose of technical evaluation quoters shall submit: a. A technical description and/or product literature which clearly details all required specifications, and clearly documents that the offered product(s) meet(s) or exceeds the specifications stated herein; b. Experience having worked previously with the exact AirBorn connector part, NM-213-065-000-0000-540 previously and is qualified by either or both of NASA or the European Space Agency (ESA) to manufacture space-qualified cables for spacecraft and/or satellites 2) This is an Open-Market Combined Synopsis/Solicitation for equipment as defined herein. The Government intends to award a Purchase Order as a result of this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation that will include the terms and conditions that are set forth herein. In order to facilitate the award process, ALL quotes shall include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: The offeror shall state "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition." OR The offeror shall state "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following: Offeror shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s) Please note that this procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an offeror submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the offeror's FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation. The Price provided should be a Firm Fixed Price, the price quoted will be the price paid by NIST for the requirement. Award will be made within two week of the response date. Delivery shall occur on or before December 31, 2012. 3) The country of origin for the product. 4) If the quoter is not registered at www.sam.gov, a completed copy of FAR 52.212-3 OFFERORS REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS. DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS All quotations shall be sent to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Acquisition Management Division, Attn: Tiffany Atchison, contact@example.gov. Submission must be received not later than 12:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, September 11, 2012. FAX quotations shall not be accepted. E-mail quotations shall be accepted. An e-mail quotation shall be considered received when it is received in the inbox of Tiffany Atchison. PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at www.acqnet.gov/far. The following provisions apply to this acquisition: 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors - Commercial; 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items. In accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, offerors must complete annual representations and certifications on-line at www.sam.gov. If paragraph (j) of the provision applies, a written submission is required; The following clauses apply to this acquisition: 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items; 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items including subparagraphs: 52.209-10 Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations 52.219-4, Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns 52.222-3, Convict Labor; 52.222-19, Child Labor-Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies; 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.223-18, Contractor Policy to Ban Text Messaging While Driving; 52.225-1 Buy American Act-Supplies 52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--Central Contractor Registration; and Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level above the Contracting Officer is also incorporated. It can be downloaded at www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/agency.htm.