Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF JUNE 14, 2006 FBO #1661
SOURCES SOUGHT

A -- Sources Sought Notice for Research Leading to Revised NIJ Standard-0104.02, Riot Helmets and Face Shields

Notice Date

6/12/2006
 

Notice Type

Sources Sought
 

NAICS

541690 — Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-1640
 

ZIP Code

20899-1640
 

Solicitation Number

Reference-Number-06-810-Sources-Sought-1
 

Response Due

6/21/2006
 

Archive Date

8/30/2006
 

Description

This is a sources sought notice to assist NIST in completing market research for a procurement that will soon be conducted for which the scope will be research leading to a revised draft of National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Standard-0104.02, Riot Helmets and Face Shields that reflects new threats and performance requirements. BACKGROUND OF PROPOSED ACQUISITION The Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducts a number of projects under its Weapons & Protective Systems program. These projects focus on the establishment of improved performance standards and test methodologies for various types of equipment used by law enforcement, corrections, and criminal justice agencies. This specific requirement addresses a need to revise NIJ Standard?0104.02. DESCRIPTION/PURPOSE OF SERRVICES TO BE ACQUIRED Protective clothing and equipment for use in potentially violent situations is intended to prevent or reduce the severity of injuries that would be caused by blunt trauma, slashes, bites, splashes of burning liquid, and exposure to certain chemicals. Trauma can arise as the result of impact from airborne missiles (bricks, bottles, including "petrol bombs", metal bars, pieces of timber, fragments of wood and/or glass, skimmed roofing slates, etc.), from hand-swung threats (baseball bats, clubs, pipes, etc.), and from violent body-to-body contact (kicking, punching, etc.). Other injuries can occur due to exposure to burning liquids and caustic substances. Experience has shown that all parts of the body are at risk in the attack and training simulation scenarios described above. A unique piece of equipment intended to protect the head and neck region from these injuries is the riot helmet with attached face shield. In the U.S., practitioners and the equipment manufacturing industry sometimes rely on NIJ Standard?0104.02, Riot Helmets and Face Shields, but that standard was last revised in October 1984. There are no commercial alternatives, and a review of the standard by OLES has led to a determination that it should be updated to reflect current understanding bodily injury mechanisms and injury thresholds. Additionally, improvements to existing performance criteria described in the standard, and the addition of new ones, are warranted based on a number of expressed needs from practitioners. By contracting for this research and draft performance standard, the Government will benefit by being able to obtain this information in a timely manner, resulting from the dedicated effort by the contractor. The primary objective of this procurement will be to develop a revised draft of the NIJ Riot Helmet and Face Shield performance standard. To accomplish this, research is necessary to characterize the threat environment likely to be encountered by law enforcement and corrections officers when riot gear is deemed necessary. Research is also necessary to identify injury mechanisms and human injury thresholds, which will be used to establish the minimum performance requirements of the protective gear. Engineering improvement in the test methods and consistency with other standards, where appropriate, is also necessary. Controlled laboratory tests must be specified to confirm that the protective equipment meets the performance requirements identified, which are expected to include blunt force impacts, retention, flammability, and optical quality. Additionally, with the more frequent use of communications gear and respiratory protection equipment (to protect against pepper spray and other irritant compounds), the performance tests must anticipate the interaction of the riot helmet and/or face shield with this additional equipment. Comparative studies of representative commercially available riot helmets is necessary to confirm the applicability of the test methods and to determine that the safety margins incorporated into the performance requirements are appropriate. All of this information will be used by NIST to make final recommendations to NIJ regarding an improved riot helmet and face shield performance standard. The deliverables for this procurement will be a report summarizing the research activities and a draft version of the improved Riot Helmet and Face Shield standard in a format consistent with NIJ Standard?0104.02. These deliverables will be reviewed and used by the NIST TIC in support of the project requirements. HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE Sources that currently possess capability to perform the aforementioned research are encouraged to respond to this notice and provide the following information: 1. Detailed narrative describing the company/organization?s current capabilities that are directly relevant to the aforementioned type of requirements; 2. Description of each similar project completed by your company/organization has completed as a prime Contractor or as a significant subcontractor within the past three (3) years, including as much of the following information as possible: (a) dollar amount of the contract; (b) brief description of the technical requirements of that project; (c) contract type used on that project (e.g., firm-fixed-price, labor-hour, time-and-materials, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-award-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, etc.); (d) indication of how long the project took to complete from start to finish; and (e) name, address, point of contact and phone number of customer organization for which the work was done; 3. Current socioeconomic status of your company as it relates to North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 541690, Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services, for which to size standard is $6.5M; 4. Indication of whether your company currently has an active registration in the Central Contractor Registration at www.ccr.gov. All responses to this notice shall be submitted by email only to sherri.miller@nist.gov no later than Wednesday, June 21, 2006.
 

Place of Performance

Address: Gaithersburg, MD

Zip Code: 20899

Country: USA
 

Record

SN01067694-W 20060614/060612220209 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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