Sources Sought Notice: Dry Support Bridge

Sources Sought Notice DESCRIPTION OF INTENT This sources sought notice / market research survey seeks information for Government planning purposes only. The Army Contracting Command - Detroit Arsenal (ACC-DTA) is seeking to gain knowledge of interest, capabilities and qualifications of various members of the community, to include both small and large businesses, to understand the capability of the community regarding the modernization and sustainment of a legacy bridging system, via existing system upgrade or new procurement. No contract will be awarded from this announcement. This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) or an announcement of a forthcoming solicitation, nor is it a request seeking contractors to be placed on a solicitation mailing list. Responses to this questionnaire are voluntary and no reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this market survey and any follow-on information requests. Data submitted in response to this market survey will not be returned. No solicitation document exists at this time, and calls requesting a solicitation will not be answered. The United States Government (USG) is requesting information on academia, commercial and defense industry capability regarding the enhancement and sustainment of the U.S. Army's M1975 Dry Support Bridge (DSB), or a potential replacement. The information sought includes, but is not limited to, capability upgrades, replacement of obsolete components, improvements to maintainability and reliability, and configuration updates. A key point of this research is the potential need for the integration of the bridge and launcher onto a Palletized Load System (PLS) A1 chassis, supported by the current Army infrastructure while taking advantage of emerging technologies for remote-control and autonomous operations. The DSB system provides the U.S. Army with a critical tactical capability, enabling the rapid and secure crossing of gaps and obstacles up to 46 meters wide. The system must be highly mobile, adaptable to various environments and threat scenarios, and capable of being emplaced and retrieved quickly and efficiently. The system's design and functionality must also consider the need for logistics support, field service representation, new equipment training, and technical manual updates. The threat environment in which this bridging system operates is expected to be dynamic and unpredictable, with potential threats including indirect fire, direct fire from fixed and rotary wing aircraft, and secondary threats from threat forces operating in and around the rear area. The system must be designed and constructed to withstand these threats and to provide a reliable and secure crossing capability. Respondents are encouraged to provide information on their company's experience and capabilities in the following areas: - Design and development of bridging systems and components - Upgrade and modernization of existing systems - Development of new chassis and launcher systems - Logistics and field service support - Replacement of obsolete components and improvement of maintainability and reliability - New equipment training and technical manual updates - Integration with existing infrastructure and systems NOTE: All survey input is voluntary, and no compensation will be made for your firm's participation. Since this is a Sources Sought Notice, and not a solicitation for receipt of proposals or quotations, the Government does not encourage questions concerning this market research. Furthermore, the Government is not obligated to issue a solicitation or award a contract as a result of this announcement.? INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE SURVEY 1. You may respond in total, or in part, to this survey. However, all responses must be received 30 days of date of this notice 2. All completed surveys shall be sent via e-mail to: Sean M. Cotten Contract Specialist, ACC-DTA E-mail: sean.m.cotten.civ@army.mil Subject Line: BRIDGING SYSTEM MODERNIZATION AND SUSTAINMENT SURVEY RESPONSE 3. Relevant sales media and product manuals shall be included as attachments with your submission. Please clearly mark all proprietary information. The front page of your response package should state "PROPIETARY INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN" (all caps), if applicable. Also, please provide a release statement indicating that the proprietary information may be distributed to Army personnel involved with this survey. 4. Number each response with the appropriate question number. You do not have to repeat the question in your response. If you cannot answer a question, please indicate - No Response. If a response will satisfy another question, state: - See response to question XXX. 5. If providing an ACROBAT formatted manual, annotate the manual to indicate which material is applicable to the questions. If preferred, include Internet Web links to locations where animations/videos may be viewed. 6. Spell out any acronyms in their first instance. 7. Any product literature that cannot be emailed may be sent to: ATTN: Mr. Sean M. Cotten Army Contracting Command - Detroit 6501 E. Eleven Mile Rd BLDG 231 Floor 3 Detroit Arsenal, MI 48397-5000 QUESTIONNAIRE / SURVEY A) Vendor Profile. Please complete the yellow-highlighted fields below: 1. COMPANY NAME: MAILING ADDRESS: CAGE CODE: POC NAME / TITLE: PHONE NUMBER: E-MAIL ADDRESS: WEBSITE: 2. Business type for 332312 - Fabricated Structural Metal Manufacturing: (Please check all that apply.) 8(a) Small Disadvantaged HUBZone Women-owned Large Business None of the Above. Please Service-disabled Veteran-owned Explain: ________________ Small Business _______________________ *If claiming small business status, the information must be verifiable in SAM.gov 3. Please indicate if the NAICS code selected is appropriate, if not, please explain why. 4. Nonmanufacturer Rule. To qualify as a small business concern for set-aside or sole source supply contracts, a small business must meet at least one of the qualifications listed below. Please indicate which qualification, if any, applies to your firm: Manufacture the product itself; or Supply a product manufactured by another small business if it is a nonmanufacturer; or Supply the product of any sized manufacturer if the Small Business Administration has granted a waiver to the nonmanufacturer rule. B) Requirement-specific Information. Please complete the questions below: 1. What experience does your company have with bridging systems or similar technologies? Please describe your company's relevant products or services. 2. Provide a list of your major customers to include company name and a point of contact with phone number within the company. 3. Have you provided bridging systems and their prime mover vehicles, or similar technologies to the U.S. Government? If yes, please respond with a) the type and quantity of bridging / vehicle system or technology provided, b) the receiving Government agency, and c) the applicable contract number(s). 4. What experience does your company have with partnering or teaming arrangements? How do you see these arrangements benefiting the government in the context of bridging system modernization and sustainment? 5. Are there any terms and conditions unique to this industry that are not normally part of standard Government contracts? 6. Please make any suggestions on how the government can structure the acquisition to encourage innovation and competition in the bridging system market. 7. What is your company's standard warranty terms and conditions for bridging or vehicle systems? Please attach a sample warranty from your company. 8. What is your company's experience with modernizing and sustaining bridging systems and/or vehicles? Please describe your company's relevant products or services. 9. How would your company approach the modernization and sustainment of the DSB? Please include any experience with obsolescence management and technology insertion. 10. Do you have direct experience with providing Army Logistics? What were these efforts? 11. If awarded a contract for bridging system modernization and sustainment, would you perform the logistics effort in-house, or would you subcontract logistics? If you are subcontracting the logistics effort, who might be the prospective subcontractor? 12. Please list your company's experience, to include a) types and quantities of services provided, b) receiving Government agency, and c) the applicable contract numbers, for the following efforts: - Field Service Representatives (FSR) support - New Equipment Training (NET) - Technical Manual (TM) updates - Fielding Support Services GENERAL INFORMATION The U.S. Government appreciates the time and effort taken to respond to this survey. The U.S. Government acknowledges its obligations under 18 U.S.C. - 1905 to protect information qualifying as - confidential under this statute. [To avoid possible confusion with the meaning of the term - confidential in the context of Classified Information, we will use the term - PROPRIETARY.] Pursuant to this statute, the U.S. Government is willing to accept any trade secret or PROPRIETARY restrictions placed on qualifying data forwarded in response to the survey questions and to protect it from unauthorized disclosure subject to the following: 1. Clearly and conspicuously mark qualifying data with the restrictive legend (all caps) - PROPRIETARY with any explanatory text, so that the U.S. Government is clearly notified of what data needs to be appropriately protected. 2. In marking such data, please take care to mark only those portions of the data or materials that are truly confidential (over breadth in marking inappropriate data as - PROPRIETARY may diminish or eliminate the usefulness of your response - see item 6 below). Use circling, underscoring, highlighting or any other appropriate means to indicate those portions of a single page which are to be protected. 3. The U.S. Government is not obligated to protect unmarked data. Additionally, marked data that is already in the public domain or in the possession of the U.S. Government or third parties, or is afterward placed into the public domain by the owner or another party through no fault of the U.S. Government will not be protected once in the public domain. Data already in the possession of the U.S. Government will be protected in accordance with the U.S. Government's rights in the data. 4. Confidential data transmitted electronically, whether by physical media or not, whether by the respondent or by the U.S. Government, shall contain the - PROPRIETARY legend, with any explanatory text, on both the cover of the transmittal e-mail and at the beginning of the file itself. Where appropriate for only portions of an electronic file, use the restrictive legends - PROPRIETARY PORTION BEGINS: and - PROPRIETARY PORTION ENDS. 5. In any reproductions of technical data or any portions thereof subject to asserted restrictions, the U.S. Government shall also reproduce the asserted restriction legend and any explanatory text. 6. The U.S. Government sometimes uses support contractors in evaluating responses. Consequently, responses that contain confidential information may receive only limited or no consideration since the Respondent's marking of data as - PROPRIETARY will preclude disclosure of same outside the U.S. Government and therefore will preclude disclosure to these support contractors assisting the evaluation effort. The U.S. Government will use its best efforts to evaluate those responses that contain confidential information without using support contractors consistent with the resources available.