NIST CITE-AHU Software Development

This sources sought notice is issued for information and planning purposes only. This announcement is not a Request for Quotation (RFQ) and does not commit the Government to solicit or award a contract now or in the future. No solicitation is available at this time. The purpose of this notice is to identify sources with the requisite qualifications that could provide the service stated herein. All businesses, large and small businesses (8(a), SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, VOSB and SDVOSB) capable of performing the requirement indicated below are encouraged to respond to this notice. Small businesses are especially encouraged to respond to this notice. Operational faults for mechanical systems in office buildings can negatively impact energy consumption, maintenance costs, thermal comfort for the occupants and environmental protection. Automated commissioning software programs are effective tools for the evaluation of mechanical systems in buildings. These software programs are designed to aid building operators and commissioning agents to perform semi-automated commissioning tasks. The software can be used to inject test signals to elicit system responses under different conditions and then to apply expert rules for analysis while requiring only rudimentary information on the hardware and operating setpoints for the systems involved. In previous years, the Mechanical Systems and Controls Group of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed CITE-AHU.exe, and the BACnet Communications DLL (BCD), to facilitate the analysis and maintenance of air handling units in office buildings. The CITE-AHU software was developed in partnership with a French research lab (Centre Scientifique et Technique du B'timent, CSTB), while the BCD was developed solely at NIST. The purpose of this procurement is for the contractor to provide NIST with an updated version of the CITE-AHU application with a graphical user interface that provides all the functionality of the current Version 1.6. The new version shall be referred to as Version 2.0. This shall include the source code and all project files associated with the program. The source code as delivered must compile to the executable. The delivered software shall be based on the CITE-AHU.exe software. The structure of the software shall be modular to facilitate functional updates and future expansions. The contractor may note that some procedures may be performed more efficiently in Visual C++ (or other approved language) than in the original Visual Basic code. The contractor shall implement the code in the most efficient way. Note that the intent is to preserve and/or improve the functionality of the code, not to perform a line-by-line translation. The end software provided by the contractor shall provide the capability for analysis of multiple pieces of equipment in a building or network of buildings. The software shall be able to reliably perform the data pre-processing and analysis for single-duct air-handling units, provide new graphing capabilities, and be designed and documented in a manner that would facilitate the future expansion to include analysis for other types of mechanical equipment i.e., chillers, variable air volume boxes, dual-duct air handling units, etc. NIST anticipates using a FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures to award a firm fixed price contract. The attached draft Statement of Work provides details on this requirement. Sources that have the ability to provide the necessary support services are asked to respond to this notice with a corporate capability statement of a maximum of ten (10) pages to provide a clear and complete narrative of current capabilities to meet the requirements as detailed above. The capabilities statement should be tailored to the requirements detailed here. Responses should include the following information: organization information to include company name and address, size of business as it relates to the primary NAICS code 541511 (size standard $25 million), information on any additional small business classifications granted, current point of contact (including telephone number, facsimile number and e-mail address), list of current GSA schedule contracts (if applicable) under which your company can provide the services described in this notice, and a list of contracts within the past three (3) years under which the interested party has performed the same or similar work. All responses must be emailed to contact@example.gov so that they are received by no later than 5:00 pm EST March 29, 2012.