MODIFICATION
63 -- Personal Radiation Detectors
- Notice Date
- 9/17/2004
- Notice Type
- Modification
- NAICS
- 334519
— Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- DHS - Border and Transportation Security, Customs and Border Protection, Procurement Division, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Room 1310 NP, Washington, DC, 20229
- ZIP Code
- 20229
- Solicitation Number
- RFPHSBP1004R0177
- Response Due
- 9/24/2004
- Archive Date
- 10/9/2004
- Description
- A number of written questions have been asked about the U. S. Customs and Border Protection specifications applicable to its acquisition of Personal Radiation Detectors as described in the September 2, 2004, FedBizOps notice for solicitation RFPHSBP1004R0177. The questions, exactly as received, and answers are provided below for the information of all interested parties. 1) Question: ?Will it be acceptable if the delivery is after September 24 but on or before October 22, 2004?? Answer: No, the September 24 due date and time are firm. 2) Question: ?Section 5.1 states that the PRD unit of type (i) shall detect gamma ray photons with energies as low as 45 keV and as high as 5 MeV. If the proposed PRD has a lower photon energy limit of 60 KeV will it be disqualified?? Answer: A unit with a lower limit of 60 KeV photon energy would not be acceptable. 3) Question: ?In Section 5.5.1on Page 7 it states that the temperature requirements are: -20C to +50C then it says in the PRD SPECIFICATION TABLE that the temperature needs to be between -30C to +50C. If our PRD has a temperature range -10C to +40C, will this it be disqualified?? Answer: The correct temperature range is ?20C to+50C. It will not be disqualified based on the manufacturer's rated optimum temperature. However, it shall be tested at the temperatures indicated in the requirements document and scored on its performance. The results of this test may be cause for the instrument to be disqualified. 4) Question: ?BATTERY LIFE & POWER CONSUMPTION: In terms of Batteries, in Section 4.1.16 is states Standard COTS rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries shall power the PRD It also states that Battery life, based on usage 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, shall be indicated in the vendor's proposal. Our question is: What is the minimum required battery life?? Answer: There is no established minimum time for battery consumption/life. 5) Question: ?SMALL BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS: If the small business buys equipment from a large business, does this qualify for the small business set-aside?? Answer: If step two is set aside for small businesses, in whole or in part, eligibility for participation in the set aside is limited to small businesses providing their own product or that of another domestic small business manufacturing or processing concern. This answer is based on FAR 19.001 Nonmanufacturer rule copied below for ready reference as follows: ??Nonmanufacturer rule? means that a contractor under a small business set-aside or 8(a) contract shall be a small business under the applicable size standard and shall provide either its own product or that of another domestic small business manufacturing or processing concern (see 13 CFR 121.406). ? 6) Question: ?What % maximum "foreign content" is acceptable in the end PRD product?? Answer: Again, for a small business set aside, articles must be manufactured in the United States and the cost of domestic components must exceed 50 percent of the cost of all the components as provided in FAR 25.101 (a) and (b) as follows: ?25.101 General (a) The Buy American Act restricts the purchase of supplies that are not domestic end products. For manufactured end products, the Buy American Act uses a two-part test to define a domestic end product. (1) The article must be manufactured in the United States; and (2) The cost of domestic components must exceed 50 percent of the cost of all the components. (b) The Buy American Act applies to small business set-asides. A manufactured product of a small business concern is a U.S.-made end product, but is not a domestic end product unless it meets the component test in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.? 7) Question: ?Can the PRD be manufactured overseas and distributed by a large business here in the U.S. and still be acceptable?? Answer: As indicated in the answers to questions 5 and 6, this would not be acceptable under a small business set aside. However, if the procurement is not set aside for small business, the price of a foreign product would be evaluated as provided by the Buy American Act and any applicable trade agreements through FAR 25.105 Determining reasonableness of cost as follows: ?25.105 Determining reasonableness of cost. (a) The contracting officer- (1) Must use the evaluation factors in paragraph (b) of this section unless the head of the agency makes a written determination that the use of higher factors is more appropriate. If the determination applies to all agency acquisitions, the agency evaluation factors must be published in agency regulations; and (2) Must not apply evaluation factors to offers of eligible products if the acquisition is subject to a trade agreement under Subpart 25.4. (b) If there is a domestic offer that is not the low offer, and the restrictions of the Buy American Act apply to the low offer, the contracting officer must determine the reasonableness of the cost of the domestic offer by adding to the price of the low offer, inclusive of duty- (1) 6 percent, if the lowest domestic offer is from a large business concern; or (2) 12 percent, if the lowest domestic offer is from a small business concern. The contracting officer must use this factor, or another factor established in agency regulations, in small business set-asides if the low offer is from a small business concern offering the product of a small business concern that is not a domestic end product (see Subpart 19.5). (c) The price of the domestic offer is reasonable if it does not exceed the evaluated price of the low offer after addition of the appropriate evaluation factor in accordance with paragraph (a) or (b) of this section. (See evaluation procedures at Subpart 25.5.) ? 8)Question: ?The PRD shall detect radiation equal to or greater than 1.5 counts per second per microrem/hour calibrated for 662 keV gamma photons due to 137Cs. PRDs that detect neutrons, shall have a sensitivity 0.5 counts/sec per neutron/sec/cm2. We suspect that "equal to or greater than" was accidentally left out of the second sentence relating to neutron sensitivity. Could you please check on this for us.? Answer: The writer is correct. The second sentence of specification paragraph 5.2 is changed to read: PRDs that detect neutrons shall have a sensitivity "equal to or greater than" 0.5 counts/second per neutron/sec/cm2. 9)Question: ?Do only US resident vendors and manufacturers may participate in this procurement?? Answer: See answers to questions 5, 6 and 7. We add that should there be a small business set aside for step 2, the answer to this question about residency lies in the FAR Part 19 Small Business programs definition of a ?Concern?. FAR 19.001 defines ?Concern? as follows: "?Concern? means any business entity organized for profit (even if its ownership is in the hands of a nonprofit entity) with a place of business located in the United States or its outlying areas and that makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes and/or use of American products, material and/or labor, etc. "Concern" includes but is not limited to an individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, association, or cooperative. For the purpose of making affiliation findings (see 19.101), include any business entity, whether organized for profit or not, and any foreign business entity, i.e., any entity located outside the United States and its outlying areas.? 10)Question: ?Do we understand correctly, that measuring of the ambient dose in the range from 10 to 3600 microrem/hour is done using Cs-137 source (p.4.1.9.)?? Answer: Paragraph 4.1.9 clearly states that the ambient radiation levels from 10 to 3600 microrem/hr will be measured by using the 662 keV photons from Cs-137. 11) Question: ?Instruments can have identical sensitivity (p.5.2) and identical threshold (4.1.13), but will detect the same sources during different interval of time. Will this parameter tested and if yes what is the methodology of tests of detection capabilities under 4.1.9?? Answer: The time to alarm (the interval or duration of time required by the radiation pager to give a full indication of the radiation level) will be measured by increasing the radiation level of the Cs-137 from background to 50 microrem/hr by using a fast opening shutter. The shutter will open fully within 0.5 seconds. A stop watch will be used to measure the time to alarm. The time to alarm for gamma rays should not be more than 2 seconds. 12) Question: ?What radiation source will be used for test of neutron channel? Is it Cf-252 as of ANSI N42.32? Will be phantom used during test of sensitivity of the unit to the neutron radiation as of ANSI N42.32?? Answer: A Cf-252 source and a 30 cm x 30 cm x 15 cm polymethylacrylate phantom will be used to measure the detection of neutrons. 13) Question: ?According to p.4.1.13, neutron threshold of PRD should be set to 2 neutron/cm2/sec. If this threshold is exceeded, during what period of time alarm shall start?? Answer: The time to alarm, as described for the gamma rays above, should not be greater than 2 seconds. 14)Question: ?After studying specifications, we found several models which have perfect fit. However in the documents there are no restrictions on the number of the PRD models that should be provided for testing. Is it acceptable that two PRD models will be provided for each type by one offeror? For example, two models of gamma or gamma/neutron type.? Answer: The solicitation specified two units for each test which the responding company wants to offer. This means two (gamma only) units for the gamma only tests and two (Gamma/Neutron) units for the gamma neutron test, providing the responding company offers both products. For companies that make more than one model of the Gamma only or the Gamma/Neutron units and wish to have said units tested they should provide two units of each model. 15)Question: ?At present we produce the gamma only and gamma/neutron pagers in original housings of the same size. The housings have conventionalized local bulge in the upper part for convenience of use when taking PRD out from its holder. See the picture in the attachment. The housing dimension in the place of the local bulge slightly exceed the dimension indicated in specifications for gamma only pager but considerably smaller than dimensions for gamma/neutron pager. The specifications specify "the optimum dimensions" for gamma only pager 1"x 3" x 5"(+/-10%). Do we understand correctly that this is not a strict requirement and the presence of extension parts on the housing which exceed the size by 0.17" in one direction will not cause rejection of the offer? Or is it possible to revise the specifications and increase this size, for example, up to 1,2" We can submit for testing the same gamma only pager made in another standard rectangular housing which would formally meet the requirements 1"x3"x5" (+/-10%). However, we think that it would be more convenient for CBP to have gamma only and gamma/neutron PRDs in unified housings - it would simplify training procedures, maintenance, repair, interchangeability of accessories.? Answer: The specification describes the OPTIMUM size for the product not to specify any particular "must have" dimensions. All products submitted shall be considered if not grossly outside these parameters. 16)Question: ?Do you require the battery power saving search button on both the gamma and gamma neutron units, or is a battery power saving search button only required on the gamma-only unit ? (See section 4.1.10)? Answer: The ability to search for the greatest intensity of an emitting source(s) shall be designed into both types of PRDs. 17)Question: ?Do you require an exposure rate reading in uR/hour or is a number equivalency chart sufficient (see section 4.1.9)?? Answer: An equivalency chart, that delineates the exposure rate equivalence of the LED display is acceptable.
- Place of Performance
- Address: Deliveries to:, , 10720-N Richmond Highway, Lorton, VA
- Zip Code: 22079
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 22079
- Record
- SN00675561-W 20040919/040917211518 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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