Ultrasonic Wind Sensors

Request for Information for National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service (NWS), Office of Observation (OBS) Ultrasonic Wind Sensors. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This is a Sources Sought notice/Request for Information (RFI) only. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), a Request for Quotation (RFQ), or an indication that the Government will contract for any of the items and/or services discussed in this notice. This RFI is issued in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.215-3. Further, NOAA is not at this time seeking proposals or quotes and will not accept unsolicited proposals or quotes. The purpose of this notice is to: 1. Determine if sources exist that are capable of satisfying the agency's requirements; and/or 2. Determine if commercial items suitable to meet the agency's needs are available or could be modified to meet the agency's requirements Submission of a response to this RFI is entirely voluntary. The voluntary submission of a response to this RFI shall not obligate NOAA to pay or entitle the submitter of information to claim any direct or indirect costs or charges or any other remuneration whatsoever. Further, no proposals or quotes are sought at this time. Respondents are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the potential respondent's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future formal solicitation, if any is issued. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation. There is no bid package or solicitation at this time. In order to protect the integrity of any future procurement, additional information will not be given and no appointments for presentations will be made in reference to this RFI. Issuance of this notice does not constitute any obligation on the part of the Government to procure these items or to issue a solicitation. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response to this RFI. If included, any information should be clearly marked as such. All information received shall be safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure. NAICS Code: 334519- Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing; corresponding size standard of 500 employees. Background: The Vaisala Model 425NWS ultrasonic wind sensor was deployed across the Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS) Network as a replacement for the original Belfort cup and vane style anemometer in the early 2000s and was expected to be in service through the early 2020s. However, critical repair parts are no longer available and the 425NWS is no longer supportable. The NWS is seeking a replacement anemometer capable of being integrated into ASOS with capabilities similar to the 425NWS. ? Requirement: The National Weather Service (NWS) has a requirement for Ultrasonic Wind Sensors that measures wind speed and wind direction over a minimum range from 0 to 125 knots to replace the existing Vaisala model: 425NWS Ultrasonic Wind Sensors. The NWS intends to purchase approximately 500 wind sensors to replace the 425NWS model. The Governments objective is to acquire a commercial off-the-shelf ultrasonic wind sensor that is compliant with the meteorological performance of the current wind sensor, or that can be modified to be fully compliant with minimal developmental effort or risk. The Government requires a low maintenance sensor that meets the performance requirements and meteorological conditions specified below: Operational Environment: The ultrasonic wind sensor shall provide accurate reporting of wind speed, direction, and peaks without degradation of performance in severe outdoor environments consistent with all U.S. locations. Specifically, the ultrasonic wind sensor shall continuously report wind speed, wind direction, and wind peaks in conditions of severe icing and heavy snow and/or blowing snow. The Ultrasonic Wind sensor will be integrated into the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS). It shall meet all requirements when exposed to any combination of the following environments: Dust/pollen: Continuous exposure to wind driven respirable dust and/or pollen. Salt Fog: Continuous exposure to severe coastal marine environment. Temperature Extremes: Continuous exposure to a wide range of ambient temperatures. Rain: Exposure to continuous heavy rain that may be experienced at any USA location. Freezing Precipitation: Exposure to continuous freezing rain and/or drizzle. Solar Insolation: Exposure to desert environments. Electromagnetic Interference: Exposure to radio frequency energy as may be experienced in a typical airport environment. Snow and blowing snow: Exposure to continuous white-out conditions due to snow and/or blowing snow. Power and Signal Connections: The current wind sensor is mounted at the top of a ten (10) meter wind mast and is powered by a 24 VDC, 10 Amp power supply mounted at the base of the wind mast. The current wind sensor power supply is powered by a 115 VAC, 3 Amp dedicated circuit. The new ultrasonic wind sensor shall operate using either the existing single 24 VDC power supply or using the 115 VAC source already in place. The sensor shall require less than 300 watts at 115 VAC, 60 Hz including heaters, if required. The sensor shall be supplied with cables of 26 - 0.5 feet in length. The length of all wires and cables shall be such that splices are unnecessary. The sensor inputs and outputs shall be capable of communicating via standard RS232 serial protocols. Internal signal connection terminals or an external data communications cable will be supplied with the unit. If the sensor is supplied with a separate electronics/power supply enclosure, the enclosure shall contain an empty space suitable to mount a government furnished fiber optic modem on a mounting plate. In this case, the enclosure shall be heated to withstand extreme cold operating conditions of -60 - F. The wind sensor shall communicate with the Government ASOS equipment already in place and accept queries and provide responses in ASCII format. The query and response handling shall be configurable within the sensor software for compatibility with the legacy ASOS equipment. Size: The ultrasonic wind sensor shall not exceed 32H x 14W x 14D inches. Weight: No separate assembly of the ultrasonic wind sensor shall weigh more than thirty (30) pounds. The weight of the sensor that mounts to the top of the wind mast shall be eight (8) pounds or less. Hardware used to mount the sensor to the top of the wind mast shall be twenty-five (25) pounds or less. Sensor Unique Requirements Performance Requirements: The ultrasonic wind sensor shall meet the following performance requirements for wind speed, direction, and peaks. The sensor shall report horizontal scalar wind speed values in knots and wind direction values in degrees. The ASOS will poll the sensor via a RS232 serial interface and consist of a pair of American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) characters. The poll will be sent and then ASOS will wait for the appropriate response. The sensor shall transmit an ASCII response to this interrogation within 250 milliseconds. Control characters and control procedures shall be compatible with ANSI X 3.28 and ANSI X 3.66 respectively. Wind Speed Requirements: The ultrasonic wind sensor shall report wind speed over a minimum range of 0 to 125 knots with an accuracy of - 2 knots or - 3% of the true wind speed, whichever is greater. The wind speed shall be reported to a resolution of 0.1 knots. Wind Direction Requirements: The ultrasonic wind sensor shall report wind direction from 0 to 360 degrees with an accuracy of - 4 degrees for wind speeds greater than or equal to 2 knots. Wind direction shall be reported to the nearest degree. The wind direction sensor shall meet the requirements for range, accuracy, and resolution over the range of reportable wind speeds specified in the wind speed requirements. Performance Considerations: The ultrasonic wind sensor will operate in the natural environment. Accordingly, the sensor shall be designed to be immune to detrimental effects in performance due to dust, smoke, insects, and spiders. The mechanical design shall include appropriate deterrents to discourage perching and nesting birds. Sensor Data Averaging: The ultrasonic wind sensor shall be designed with sampling rates sufficient to provide a user-selectable range of wind speed, peak wind speed, and wind direction averaging intervals from one (1) to thirty (30) seconds, in one (1) second increments. The averaging intervals shall be configured through software commands and shall be stored in nonvolatile memory. The wind speed reports shall be computed as independent, arithmetic averages, and shall be based on the most recent data samples available when the request for data is received by the sensor. The wind direction reports shall also be computed as independent averages based on the most recent data samples, with an algorithm to resolve discontinuities in wind directions over the transition from 359 to 0 degrees.. Peak wind speed, direction, and peaks reports shall be computed as running arithmetic averages, updated once each second. The maximum peak wind speed and associated direction observed since the last request for data shall be reported in response to the latest request for data. Data Link to ASOS: The ultrasonic wind sensor shall contain sensor firmware or software that is upgradable. Submission of Information: Interested parties are encouraged to submit a response which supports the company's claim that it presently has the qualifications and experience to provide an Ultrasonic Wind Sensor that will satisfy the requirements above. If there are areas of the requirement that your company and/or perspective team cannot meet, please identify those areas in your response along with amplifying information as to why your team cannot meet the government's request. Specifically, any interested parties are requested to provide the following information: 1. Name of Company, address, and DUNS number 2. Point of contact name, email, and phone number 3. Size of Business according to NAICS Code: 334519- Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing; size standard, 500 employees. 4. Any General Service Administration (GSA) schedule, Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) or Multiple Award Contract numbers and information that allow for the ordering of wind sensors. 5. Positive statement of your interest in this procurement as a prime contractor. 6. Description of your capabilities, qualifications, and experiences that might fill this requirement: a. Organized by the requirements areas listed above b. What ultrasonic wind sensor has your company provided within the last three (3) years? c. Do you currently have a contract with any other Federal Agency for this type of requirement? d. Do you have a commercial catalog for a related ultrasonic wind sensors? e. What new ultrasonic wind sensors do you plan to offer in the future that might affect this requirement? f. What experience does your company have as a prime contractor managing the efforts of one or more sub-contractors supporting a Federal Agency? g. Do you offer discounts to your customers? h. Describe your capabilities, knowledge and expertise in wind sensors and meteorological monitoring. i. Describe your capabilities, knowledge and expertise in meteorological requirements j. Identify any risks or impediments to successful performance of the requirements that you anticipate. k. Describe your testing process to ensure the accuracy and durability of your sensor. l. Describe your process to ensure the traceability of wind measurements to national and international standards. m. What is the life expectancy of your wind sensor? n. How many years of logistical support do you plan for your sensor? o. Do you offer a maintenance contract for repairs or sensor upgrades? p. Do you give the end user the ability to update the firmware and/ or software? q. What warranty do you provide for the wind sensor? Please state the terms. r. In what country is your wind sensor manufactured? s. Provide a price list of your wind sensors and if they are on GSA schedule. Responses are to be submitted electronically (not to exceed 25 pages; including appendices, diagrams, and examples using one inch margins, and pages numbered consecutively). Submit responses electronically (using PDF or Microsoft Word) no later than 1:00 pm eastern, February 22, 2018 to the Contract Specialist, Heather.Saunders@noaa.gov. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. All data received in response to this RFI notice that are marked or designated as corporate or proprietary information will be fully protected from release outside the Government. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified. At this time no solicitation exists. Therefore, DO NOT REQUEST A COPY OF THE SOLICITATION. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation notice and solicitation may be published on Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website, FBO.gov. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor FedBizOpps for release of any future solicitation that may result from this Sources Sought Notice. However, responses to this RFI will not be considered adequate responses to any resultant solicitation.