MRAP CAT III MK2A2 Buffalo Emergency Egress Lighting Improvement Upgrade

Notice Type: Request for Information (RFI) Title: MRAP CAT III MK2A2 Buffalo Emergency Egress Lighting Improvement Upgrade THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This request is for planning purposes only, and does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, a Request for Proposals, a Solicitation, a Request for Quotes, or an indication the Government will contract for the items contained in the RFI. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with submission of the information being requested. The purpose of this RFI is to receive feedback from industry in regard to the following effort in support of market research. Information is being gathered to determine if more than one supplier has the capability to meet the Government's need. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is seeking interested sources capable of providing a design improvement and performance upgrade for the Emergency Egress Lighting (EEL) kit currently installed in production vehicles. This request shall include appropriate documentation necessary for the government to perform the installation or integration of the upgraded or improved EEL kit into/onto the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Category (CAT) III MK2A2 Buffalo vehicles. The MRAP vehicles are a family of military armored vehicles designed to survive Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks and ambushes. It is the contractors' responsibility to check FedBizOps (FBO) to get additional data. CONTRACTORS ARE NOT TO CONTACT ANY USMC GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE OTHER THAN THE POINT OF CONTACT LISTED BELOW REGARDING THIS RFI. The Government has interest in an integration design solution and production kits that will be installed by Government personnel at US Marine Corps Logistics Command (LOGCOM), Albany GA. Potential sources must have prior experience in designing, testing, developing systems integration documentation for, and producing a complete EEL production or upgrade kit. The design and integration could consist of an improved control module, upgraded housings, wiring, light pods, audible warning devices, or necessary parts and hardware to better integrate existing components to meet the approved Purchase Description. The design shall illuminate the interior of the nine Buffalo egress points, and the latches necessary to employ them. Egress points to be illuminated shall include the six overhead hatches, the rear door, and each of the two Third Plane of Egress windows on either side of the vehicle. Lighting shall be activated by pitch, roll, and water sensors and shall include an audible warning. Lights shall activate at a threshold roll or pitch angle of 45 (+/- 5) degrees. A tolerance of +/- 1 degree is the objective. The audible warning shall sound as the vehicle approaches rollover angles, and shall cease once the vehicle has rolled over, or when manually deactivated. Water submersion shall trigger the egress lighting with no audible alarm when water begins to intrude into the crew space. The design shall be small enough to allow unobstructed integration into the vehicle without impacting design or function of other subsystems. The system shall remain installed and operate without degradation after exposure to a sea-salt atmosphere, operational vibration, rainfall as encountered globally, and sand and dust as found in arid locales. The threshold operating temperature for the design shall be -25 to +130 degrees Fahrenheit, but shall be able to operate and remain installed after exposure to hot, dry temperature extremes of up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. The design shall operate in fresh and sea water at a depth of at least 10 feet, with 20 feet as the objective. The design shall include installation and integration consideration to minimize man-hours required. The system shall not induce electromagnetic interference beyond established military and commercial standards. The design being sought shall include an independent power supply that shall recharge and maintain its power through interface with the vehicle's 24VDC power source. Objectively, complete recharge of the design shall require less than 10 hours. The design's independent power source shall maintain lighting with less than 10% degradation over 45 minutes of continuous operation. A power source life indicator shall indicate the EEL battery state of charge easily read by the operator. All EEL design components shall have a shelf life of at least two years, and components must be capable of being removed with common hand tools. Successful improvement to the current EEL system will eliminate existing passivation issues which reduce the responsiveness of the system and require operator or maintainer interaction to maintain full system brightness and responsiveness. The improved design or upgrade shall consider periods of system inactivity of at least three months and, objectively, up to one year. The current design has demonstrated delay and degradation of illumination potentially due to line loss during manual activation. The successful design shall employ a means by which the operator and maintainer can test system readiness with visual and audible verification of system function. Manual system test shall activate the system with no more delay than that experienced by automatic activation. Annual preventive maintenance shall not exceed 15 minutes and shall not include operation of the system to prevent battery passivation. This shall be prevented by circuit design or system configuration. To help the warfighter distinguish egress points and latches, the design shall employ white lights to outline doors and hatches and green lights to illuminate latches. The system shall not employ blinking lights. Contractors who believe that they possess the expertise, proven capability and experience to fulfill the preceding requirements are invited to submit technical and management capabilities addressing the requirements in writing. Please send responses via e-mail to Shari Chandler, shari.chandler@usmc.mil by 2 PM EST, May 22, 2015. Please reference the title of the program in the subject line. Please limit your response to no more than twelve pages (size: 8.5 x 11 pages, double spaced, with 1 inch margins), using Times New Roman 12 pt. font or equivalent, and submitted in Microsoft Word 2003 or Adobe PDF formats. The submission shall be clearly readable, and legible. Any information submitted that is not readable will not be considered. Do not include, attach or send brochures in addition to your response. DO include information such as: Company name, address, email, telephone number, points of contact, Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code, size of business pursuant to North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code 336992 (Military Armored Vehicle, Tank and Tank Component Manufacturing) and respond to the following questions: (1) Is your business a large or small business, (2) If small, does your firm qualify as a small, emergent business, or a small, disadvantaged business, (3) If disadvantaged, specify under which disadvantaged group and whether your firm is certified under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, (4) Is your firm a certified HUBZone firm, (5) Is your firm a woman-owned or operated business, (6) Is your firm a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business, and (7) What are your company's core competencies? To the maximum extent possible, please submit non-proprietary information. All information received in this RFI that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and will not be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.