Duct and Tubing Repair Capabilities

The purpose of this Sources Sought/Request for Information (RFI) is to conduct market research and to gauge potential interest in support of US Department of Defense (DOD) aircraft duct, tubing and associated component repairs. The Government seeks information that will be used as part of an analysis to determine if responsible sources may be able to support the described repair support. The Government is interested in responses from commercial businesses of all sizes. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or commitment by the Government. DOD ducts and tubing are very complex, highly engineered products that are flight critical and require great skill to maintain in mission-ready status. The ducts and tubes are not scheduled maintenance items and repairs most often occur incident to other maintenance. With DOD aircraft service-life extensions becoming more common, aircraft ducts and tubing intended to last throughout a traditional life span of 20-30 years often require repair or replacement before aircraft retirement. Due to the unpredictable nature of these repairs and long lead-times for out of production replacement parts, DOD believes that repairing (vs. replacing) aircraft ducts and tubing may be a more cost effective and timely approach . DLA Aviation anticipates possible award of a sole source or competitively sourced performance based contract to support aircraft duct, tubing, and associated component repairs. The DOD is still determining which aircraft platforms and associated NIINs will be targeted for this repair effort. Performance metrics for this acquisition will be determined during development of the acquisition strategy. The location of work performance may be on a military facility and/or at a contractor facility. The overarching objectives of this acquisition include the following: Lower total material acquisition costs Improve material availability by shifting item management from DLA-managed Consumable to Repairable status Minimize obsolescence and diminishing manufacturing source issues Improve duct and tubing performance Decrease aircraft repair turn-around time The anticipated repair contract may include the following: Quickly determining the criticality & repair of an aircraft tube or duct Applying appropriate analysis techniques to evaluate/diagnose material condition Manufacturing needed components using advance techniques and additive manufacturing Developing and executing new repairs in accordance with regulations and applicable industry standards Performing final testing and component certification/verification to ensure airworthiness Replenishing a Service-managed rotable pool of A-Condition material In addition to responding to the questions below, please provide the following business information with your response: Company Name Physical and/or Mailing Address DUNS Number Number of Employees Point of Contact (POC) Name & Title POC Phone Number POC Email Address Web Page URL (if available) Description of Small Business Category or Type (if applicable) Please respond to the following questions: - 1. Describe your company's current capability to repair complex US military aircraft ducts, tubing, and associated components? Please address each of the following capabilities in detail in your response: - a. Ability to turn-around duct & tubing repairs within 30 days (from induction to shipment) without OEM proprietary drawings or data - b. Reverse engineering aircraft ducts & tubing - c. On-staff Aerospace Engineers with extensive knowledge of ducting & tubing conveyance - d. In-house duct & tubing manufacturing & repair capability (to include complex & specialty metal tube bending, braising & fusion welding, fluorescent & x-ray non-destructive testing, laser scanning, metal forming, hose & coupling assembly, and temperature/impulse/ vibration/burst testing capability) - e. Non-Standard repair development to include assessment, design, and execution of complex duct & tubing repairs without OEM proprietary drawings or data - f. Upgrades to ducts & tubing to improve reliability and lower ownership costs - g. Additive Manufacturing of ducts, tubing and associated components - 2. Describe your company's current duct & tubing repair facilities to include scope of manufacturing & repair capability, dedicated square footage, and geographic location(s). - 3. Describe your company's current and recent past experience repairing Commercial & DOD military aircraft ducts & tubing? Please list specific contracts your company has performed on, the type of repairs performed, the duration of the work, and the total dollar value of the contract. - 4. Does your company have current AS9100, ISO 14001, and EASA/FAA Part 145 Repair Station certifications? - 5. Describe in detail the process or steps your company would employ to evaluate and diagnose complex duct or tubing repairs? Describe your company's diagnostic equipment that would be used to develop complex duct & tubing repairs? - 6. Describe your company's current relationships with major aerospace duct & tubing original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and your ability to acquire proprietary technical data (if needed) to repair ducts & tubing from these manufacturers without Government assistance? - 7. Is your interest in this duct & tubing work as a prime contractor or subcontractor? - 8. If your interest in this duct & tubing work is as a prime contractor, what major categories of subcontract work do you anticipate employing? - 9. Describe your company's recent experience performing complex aircraft duct and tubing repairs on ALL of the below duct & tubing materials? - a. Inconel - b. Titanium - c. Stainless Steel - d. Aluminum - 10. Describe your company's recent experience in re-insulating repaired aircraft ducts and tubing? Is your company's re-insulation capability in-house or subcontracted? - 11. Describe your company's ability to develop OEM part number-specific duct & tubing stabilization tooling? - 12. With aircraft ducting & tubing repairs varying in complexity, describe your recommendation for how repairs could be priced contractually? - 13. Are you currently registered in the Systems for Award Management (SAM) and Wide Area Workflow (WAWF)? - 14. What is the rate of condemnation during repair? For instance, 80% of the ducts/tubing received are repaired and 20% are condemned. - 15. Describe your company's vision for management of repairable duct and tubing. For instance, is there a need to maintain a pool of ready to issue assets in the event the item cannot be repaired? - 16. What types of items would you recommend for a repairable initiative for ducts and tubes? For instance, dollar value of item, characteristics of item, etc. Disclaimer: THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INTEND TO AWARD A CONTRACT BASED ON THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) OR TO OTHERWISE PAY FOR INFORMATION SOLICITED. This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information receive in response to this RFI that is marked proprietary or competition sensitive will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. The responses to this notice are not an offer and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government reserves the right to reject, in whole or in part, any contractor input resulting from this RFI. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. Interested sources should respond by email to Project Managers Nicole Byrd (nicole.byrd@dla.mil) and Steve Morgan (steven.morgan.ctr@dla.mil) by the close date of 31 August 2017.