Scientific Services to Support Smart Target Electronics and Hardware Design

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 of Commercial Items - as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. The solicitation is issued using simplified acquisition procedures under the authority of FAR Part 13. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT (i.e. STANDARD FORM) WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2021-07 dated 09-10-2021. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541330 Engineering Services. The small business size standard is $16.5 million. This acquisition is 100% set aside for small businesses. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS Background Robots wear down over time which can lead to degraded accuracy that negatively influences robot performance. Some errors in performance, such as a performance slip in the robot arm, may not be apparent to the human eye but could have detrimental consequences for the quality of the parts or products operated upon by the robot. The industry's current best practice to address degradation is to perform local calibrations or perform in-process/final part inspection to ensure that degradation has not occurred that would compromise a part's quality. These practices add complexity to the manufacturing process and increase the maintenance costs to leverage applications. The industry would benefit from a way to measure the degradation of translation and orientation accuracy. Such measurement capability would raise the awareness of robot health thereby supporting more timely maintenance actions that will ultimately lower maintenance costs. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a novel smart target to support the precise measurement of a robot's position and orientation. The novel smart target is patented under U.S. Patent US010885368B2 which may be found at https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2020/03/27/18-034US1_Publication_11-21-19.pdf. The goal of this technology is to support a test method that manufacturers can use to detect unknown performance changes to avoid compromised quality and unplanned downtime. NIST requires contractor support to develop an improved prototype. This support will assist NIST in furthering smart target research, including pilot activities in industrial environments. Objectives The scope of this procurement is the provision of support services to design an improved smart target prototype. Required Specifications Please see the attached Performance Work Statement for details. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The period of performance shall be 7 months from date of award. PAYMENT TERMS The Contractor shall be paid, in accordance with Net 30-day payment terms, upon receipt and acceptance of a proper invoice, in accordance with the firm fixed price payment schedule established at time of award. APPLICABLE PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES Please see the attached document for applicable provisions and clauses. QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD CAR 1352.215-73 INQUIRIES (APR 2010): Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing electronically to Ms. January Magyar, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. Questions must be received by or before January 10, 2022 at 5:00 PM ET. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract. (End of Provision). DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS All quotations must be submitted via email to Ms. January Magyar, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. Submission must be received not later than January 14, 2022 at 5:00 PM ET. REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS The Offeror's quotation shall consist of two (2) volumes as detailed below. Each quotation volume shall include the Offeror's name, DUNS number, and CAGE code in the cover page, header/footer, or other easily identified location. The Contracting Officer intends to award a purchase order without discussions but reserves the right to enter into discussions if in the best interest of the Government. Volume 1: Technical Response This volume shall contain the Offeror's cover letter and technical response. Cover letter and technical response (not including cover page, table of contents, or key personnel resumes) shall not exceed twenty (20) single sided pages. Text shall be no less than 12-point Arial font, or otherwise legible font, in read-only Microsoft Word or searchable Adobe PDF format. The cover letter shall include the name, title, phone number, and email address of the Offeror's primary solicitation point of contact and the individual authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Offeror (if negotiations are determined to be necessary). The technical response shall include the resume of the proposed key personnel and a narrative description of the Offeror's technical approach, clearly demonstrating the Offeror's understanding of the requirements and its ability to manage schedule, logistics and staffing effectively in accordance with the PWS. Volume 2: Business Response This volume shall contain the Offeror's business response/quotation in read-only Microsoft Excel format or in searchable PDF format. All figures must be rounded to the nearest hundredth. Quotations shall be submitted on a firm fixed price basis in accordance with the contract line item structure listed below. However, the offeror shall provide a further breakdown of the proposed firm fixed price that provides, for each of the Tasks 1 - 5 from the PWS, the proposed labor categories to be used, estimated hours per labor category, and total price. The breakdown shall clearly show that the sum of the total prices for each of PWS Tasks 1 - 5 equal the total proposed firm fixed price for CLIN 0001. Additionally, offerors shall include a proposed fixed price payment schedule. The proposed payment schedule shall be tied to the acceptance of individual deliverables to the maximum extent possible. The following must also be included: Contractor DUNS DUNS shall be used to verify the offeror's active System for Award Management (SAM) registration. Offerors must have an active registration at www.SAM.Gov to be considered for award. Completed Provisions Please complete the highlighted areas in the applicable provisions and clauses documents and return with submissions. CONTRACT LINE ITEM STRUCTURE: Responsible Offerors shall provide pricing for the following line item: LINE ITEM 0001: Support services in accordance with the Performance Work Statement (PWS) titled - Scientific Services to Support Smart Target Electronics and Hardware Design. Includes performance of all Tasks 1 - 5 in accordance with PWS. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD In accordance with FAR 52.212-2: Evaluation - Commercial Items as included in the attached Applicable Provisions and Clauses document, the Government intends to award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, represents the best value to the Agency. Best value shall be determined using the trade-off evaluation method. Quotations shall be evaluated against the following non-price evaluation factors and price. Non-price evaluation factors include the following in descending order of importance: 1) Technical Approach and 2) Key Personnel. Non-price factors when combined are more important than price for this requirement. The Government anticipates making an award without discussions. Technical Approach: The Government will evaluate the offeror's technical approach for performing each task in the SOW. The technical approach proposed shall be evaluated for overall understanding of Government requirements, realism, and expected effectiveness. The technical approach shall also be evaluated for realism and reasonableness in managing schedule, logistics, and staffing effectively. Key Personnel: The Government will evaluate the extent to which the resume submitted for the offeror's proposed key personnel demonstrates the proposed individual meets or exceeds the minimum qualifications detailed in the PWS and has the appropriate education, qualifications, and experience to efficiently and effectively address requirements in accordance with the PWS. Price: Pricing will be evaluated but not scored. Price evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are complete and reasonable in relation to the RFQ requirements.