OCONUS -UAE- Gaseous Helium (GHe)

This is a Sources Sought notice issued by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy-FEM - San Antonio, Texas. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals. No awards will be made from the responses to this announcement. However, responses may be used to determine the appropriate acquisition strategy for a potential future procurement. This notice issued by DLA Energy is to identify potential sources and solicit industry to express their capability and interest to provide all helium, personnel, materials, supplies, management, engineering, tools, equipment, services, and labor necessary for accomplishing these requirements. This potential requirement is for the filling, inspection, general maintenance, repair, marking, storage and disposal of bulk gaseous helium containers within the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Government may contract for all, some, or none of the below, however it still is requesting sources for a potential requirement. SCOPE OF REQUIREMENTS: The Contractor shall be responsible for all aspects associated in obtaining and managing all facilities, land, utilities, equipment, personnel, raw materials, supplies, and services needed to support and meet the following requirements. Filling bulk helium containers with compressed gas helium that meets the product specifications contained within to pressures between 2400 and 4500 psi. Safely fill multiple types of bulk helium containers in accordance with CGA standards. Maintenance/repair and storage of bulk helium containers and associated wheeled chassis in accordance with CGA and DOT standards. Contractor is required to complete all required hazardous material (HAZMAT) certification documentation and the ability to access U.S., NATO, and local government facilities for the purpose of delivery, removal, and service of bulk helium containers and associated equipment. PRODUCT: Gaseous Helium shall conform to the requirements of Type I, Grade A of specification MIL-PRF-27407D, dated 01 August 2014, Propellant Pressurizing Agent Helium, NSN: 9135-01-525-1620. For the MIL-PRF-27407D Helium, gas containers interconnected by a single manifold that equalizes the pressure across all the containers is considered a lot and shall be sampled and analyzed. The samples shall be taken from the manifold sampling point on the containers. Sampling shall be accomplished by one of the methods indicated in the MIL-PRF-27407D. The sampling port on the manifold shall be clean and free of contaminants. One copy of a Certificate of Analysis (COA) for each sample required by the specification shall be attached to the container inside the rear cabinet and shall also be submitted as an attachment to the applicable Invoicing, Receipt, Acceptance, and Property Transfer (iRAPT) document (Wide Area Workflow-WAWF). FILLING OF BULK HELIUM CONTAINERS: Contractor shall maintain bulk helium containers in a ready to fill state at all times. Helium containers shall be serviceable, road-worthy, and meet CGA, DOT, and industry standards for safe transport. Gauges, manifolds, and valves shall be operational to CGA and industry standards. Contactor shall fill helium containers to the maximum allowable working pressure as stated on each container. Product Heel: All helium containers returning to the Contractors fill point will have residual product inside. The Contractor shall have the capability to analyze heel for compliance with specification stated herein. Product heel that conforms to the specification shall be retained within the helium container for top-filling. At no time will heel product be purged from returning containers unless approved by the DLA Contracting Officer. In the event heel product does not meet the specification or helium container is contaminated (e.g., valves open or no pressure in the cylinders/tubes), Contractor shall have the capability to clean, evacuate, and/or purge bulk helium containers within 24 hours, so that when filled, the product will meet specification requirements. Purge procedures shall follow industry standards for bringing containers back into service. Contractor shall fill helium containers within 14 days of issuance date on delivery order. Contractor shall provide proper material handling equipment needed to move, up/down load bulk helium equipment to include loading and moving ISOs not on chassis as necessary during filling operations. STORAGE: Contractor shall provide storage for up to 20 chassis-mounted compressed helium ISO containers, 8 empty chassis, and 40 HPCAs. Contractor shall provide secure storage safeguarding Government provided equipment at all times. Contractor shall provide proper material handling equipment needed to move, up/down load bulk helium equipment to include ISOs not on chassis as necessary during storage operations. MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS: Contractor shall provide maintenance and repair services needed to ensure each compressed gas container and wheeled conveyance meets CGA and U.S. compressed gas industry standards for safety and transport. INSPECTION: Contractor shall inspect each piece of equipment within 48 hours of arriving to contractor facilities. Inspection is be used to determine level of maintenance or repair needed to bring equipment to serviceable and roadworthy condition. Contractor shall inspect each piece of equipment IAW 49 CFR - 396 and document the condition of equipment. Contractor shall document the condition of arriving equipment on an inspection report. Contractor shall provide DLA copies of all inspection reports upon request. Utilizing the inspection report, Contractor shall prepare and submit to the DLA contracting officer (CO) a detailed list of service required to maintain helium containers and equipment in a serviceable and transport ready condition. Contractor shall also include digital photographs for purpose of adequately evaluating the Contractor's proposed services. The Contractor shall be responsible for visually inspecting all mechanical, electrical, pneumatic and structural components of the equipment for damage, wear, distortion, missing parts or other forms of failure or potential failure. The list of required services shall be as described below into two sections, - Routine Maintenance and - General Repairs. The Government reserves the right to have a Government Representative inspect the equipment relative to the services proposed by the Contractor, prior to approval of the Contractor's proposal by the CO. The CO will advise the Contractor of approved services. ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND GENERAL REPAIRS: Contractor shall complete routine maintenance and general repair services within 30 days of issuance date on delivery order for services. Routine maintenance includes services such as scheduled or preventative maintenance to allow continued safe operation of equipment which may include, but not limited to, tighten, straighten, lubrication, calibration, rupture disc replacement, pressure checks, leak checks, sealing, cleaning, and corrosion control. Routine maintenance includes marking, labeling, and placarding of equipment as needed to meet DOT and U.S. industry standards. This includes hazardous material labeling. Contractor shall ensure each helium container and removeable chassis has a properly updated name plate which clearing identifies container serial number and other information consistent with industry standards. Contractor shall stencil container serial number on each side of the exterior of container using 2 or greater sized letters. Removeable trailer chassis shall be stenciled with chassis VIN number. General repairs includes services required to repair, replace, or install components to allow continued safe operation of equipment which may include but not limited to; tire repairs or replacement, rims, hubs, brake system repairs, lights and reflectors, pressure gauges, valves, manifolds, regulators, tubing, electrical plugs and wiring, landing gear, cabinet doors, frame components, hoses, sheet metal work, mud flaps, and touch-up painting. Every effort shall be used to keep or return helium equipment in its original design specifications for safe operations and transport. Each bulk helium container is equipped with one or more pressure gauges. If missing upon arrival, Contractor shall furnish and install a pressure gauge with an isolation valve, if approved on general repair Delivery Order. The pressure gauge shall have a range of no less than 0-3,000 psi and no more than 0-4,000 psi with a 4 to 5 dial on each manifold per trailer. DLA Energy recommends the Ashcroft Duragauge Pressure Gauge Type 1377, Grade 2A (+0.5%) or equivalent. Landing gear, which require replacement, shall be replaced with a heavy-duty landing gear kit that includes heavy duty feet. DLA Energy recommends HOLLAND Heavy Duty Mark V (Part Number LGH-3A-012). Other brands that are equivalent or exceed specifications may be used. Replacement of tires requires new 11XOOX22.5 Steel Radial Tires, or equivalent. Standard wheels for these tires are up to 10 holes with steel bud. Disposal of damaged tires shall be included with replacement. Touch-up painting on repairs shall use similar paint color as original to keep consistency of color. Contractor shall use industry standards for touch-up painting. For informational purposes, the original paint type and color scheme is ID: 33446, Color Group: Yellow, Color Name: Tan 686A Camo IAW Aerospace Material Specification, AMS-STD-595 Rev. A, dated Feb 2017. Contractor shall properly update container markings upon acceptable completion of requalification extension process as stated per respective DOT Special Permit. Contractor shall provide DLA CO with copies of all applicable visual inspection results and documentation as required per respective DOT Special Permit. Contractor shall ensure that upon completion of requalification extension per DOT Special Permit for respective equipment, each container meets all applicable DOT requirements for safe operations and transport as originally intended when placed in service by DLA. This includes transport by surface and air. DISPOSAL: Parts removed and replaced during routine or general services shall be disposed of locally only after approval received in writing from the DLA CO. The Government reserves the right to require removed parts or components be disposed of by using DLA's Defense Reutilization and Marketing System (DRMS) process. Bulk helium containers deemed as excess, shall be prepared for disposal by the contractor using Defense Logistics Agency Instruction (DLAI) 4145.25, - Storage and Handling of Liquefied and Gaseous Compressed Gasses and Their Full and Empty Cylinders, dated 16 Jun 00, Section 8 - Disposal Of Compressed Gas Cylinders. This will include removing of valves, rupture discs, or making a large hole in each cylinder. Contractor shall document disposal actions taken and certify cylinders are empty of hazardous product and free of any pressure. BULK HELIUM EQUIPMENT TYPES: Chassis-mounted compressed gas ISO container - Length: 279", Width: 96", Height 131, Gross weight full is about 40,000 lbs. MAWP is about 2850 psi. Capacity is about 91,000 cubic feet or about 2,580 cubic meters. Containers have 12 cylinders each. High Pressure Cylinder Assemblies (HPCAs) - Length 64, Width 56, Height 75, Gross weight full 5,200 lbs. MAWP is about 4500 psi. Capacity is about 10,850 cubic feet or 307 cubic meters. 25 cylinders manifold together with portable cage. Empty chassis - Length 279 - 323 (Extendable), normally use at 20 position. Width 96, Height 53. Weight is about 6,000 lbs. ESTIMATED QUANTITIES: a. Base Year - 75,000 CZ, b. Option Year One - 50,000 CZ c. Option Year Two - 50,000 CZ ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: 1 October 2022 through 30 September 2025. This potential requirement has a 3 year period of performance. ANTICIPATED CONTRACT TYPE: Requirements type contract, single award. The Government will not lock into a fixed quantity, but all helium needed to support these locations will be pulled under this contract. CAPABILITY STATEMENT: Interested qualified organizations should submit a capability statement for this requirement addressing the areas below. Statements should include an indication of current business size and a list of available ancillary services available as well as any technical information believed to be useful to the Government. The capability statement at a minimum shall address the potential vendor's ability of the following: a. Capability to fully meet the specification b. Capability to perform all the sampling/testing requirements listed in the specifications c. Capability and willingness to allow government quality assurance inspectors access to supplier production/load-out plant to conduct quality assurance assessments as needed. d. Statement of ability to meet needs for all DLA Customers e. Capability for a potential Federal Government Contract, your company must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1. Is your company registered SAM, and if so, what is your company's cage code and Duns # If your company is not currently registered in SAM, would you be willing to register in the SAM system? f. Confirmation that your company have the space to potentially store helium trailers. g. Capability to complete trailer maintenance. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: All capability statements sent in response to this Sources Sought notice should be submitted to Tammie D. Campbell, Contracting Officer, at email: tammie.campbell@dla.mil. Email Subject Line shall include: OCONUS -UAE- Gaseous Helium (GHe). All responses must be received no later than 4 March 2022 at 1:00pm Central Standard Time (CST). DISCLAIMER AND IMPORTANT NOTES: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published on the sam.gov website at: https://sam.gov. Respondents will be added to the prospective offerors list for any subsequent solicitation. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. CONFIDENTIALITY: No classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. All proprietary information should be marked as such.