SOLICITATION NOTICE
99 -- Alaska Flight Service Modernization
- Notice Date
- 3/7/2008
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, AJA-48 FAA Headquarters (ASU)
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- 6487
- Response Due
- 4/7/2008
- Archive Date
- 5/7/2008
- Point of Contact
- Vickie Gordon, 202-385-7010
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to vickie.gordon@faa.gov
(vickie.gordon@faa.gov)
- Description
- This announcement is a Market Survey/Request for Information (RFI). The responses to this market survey will be used for information purposes only. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP). THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR OFFER. THIS IS NOT A SCREENING INFORMATION REQUEST (SIR). The FAA is not seeking or accepting unsolicited proposals. INTRODUCTION This RFI is the second announcement regarding the Alaska Flight Service Modernization (AFSM) Program. It follows an initial Market Survey conducted in 2006 that was based upon earlier strategies and a later implementation schedule. The purpose of this RFI is to post the Requirements Document and elicit specific information regarding potential commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions that will meet AFSM requirements. Flight Services in Alaska are currently provided by government employees using a leased automation system called the Operational and Supportability Implementation System (OASIS). OASIS was installed on an interim basis following the unscheduled decommissioning of the predecessor systems (DAWN/AAWBS/ M1FC). In addition to the automation system, this RFI addresses the replacement of the Alaska Voice Communications System presently used for radio and telephone communication at the three AFSSs in Alaska. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has determined that the best interest of the government will be served by replacing the OASIS and the voice system through a full and open competition. The FAA is especially interested in cost saving recommendations based on industry experience with previously developed flight service automation and voice systems. Of particular interest at this time are readily deployable systems. Based upon the findings of this RFI, the FAA plans to release either a draft SIR for Industry comment or a formal SIR for Industry response. INDUSTRY DAY To provide interested vendors an opportunity to learn more about the AFSM Program, the FAA plans to host an Industry Day at the FAA Headquarters, 800 Independence SW, Washington, DC. The date for the Industry Day will be announced on the FAA Contracting Opportunities Website. Industry Day will provide a forum for open discussion on the AFSM Program and give vendors an opportunity to ask questions about requirements, acquisition strategy, and other related issues. Questions are not required in advance however, vendors may submit questions or topics for discussion not later than ten days prior to Industry Day to the Contracting Officer via email at Vickie.Gordon@faa.gov. Additionally, the FAA is willing to conduct one-on-one information meetings with interested vendors upon vendor request. These meetings will be limited to 60 minutes and no more than five (5) representatives from each vendor may participate in the sessions with the AFSM Team. Note: The one-on-one meetings are not mandatory, and are not being requested by the FAA. The meetings are being offered because some potential offerors may be reluctant to ask questions or express their acquisition ideas in a public forum. The FAA will not reveal or discuss information that has not been made available to all interested vendors. No vendors should expect to gain a competitive advantage as a result of this alternative information exchange. Vendors should request a one-on-one meeting only if absolutely necessary. All vendors planning to participate in Industry Day must submit a list of the names and titles of their company representatives to the FAA Contracting Officer not later than 12:00 noon Eastern Time 2 business days prior to the scheduled meeting. Vendors with foreign national employees planning to attend should complete FAA Form 1600-78 "Request For Visit By Foreign National", and submit the form with the list of names. The list of names and FAA Forms, if any, can be sent via email to Vickie Gordon at Vickie.Gordon@faa.gov. In addition, any vendor desiring to participate in a one-on-one meeting with members of the FAA AFSM team must provide a company point of contact and the names of the individuals who will be representing their company at the meeting. The FAA CO will provide each interested vendor with the location and time for the exclusive meeting. All interested parties are advised that the FAA will not pay for any information or costs incurred or relating to submissions in response to this Market Survey or Industry Day. BACKGROUND Alaska, with the highest per capita number of general aviation airplanes and pilots in the United States, is critically dependent on reliable, timely and accurate flight planning, weather and aeronautical information, and voice communications to promote air safety. Air travel is the prime mode of transportation between locations within the state and the combination of many pilots and extreme flying conditions contributes to hazardous flying conditions. Alaskan pilots depend on the weather and flight planning information provided by Flight Services. Currently, flight services are provided through 17 facilities in Alaska. Hub facilities, known as Automated Flight Service Stations (AFSS), are located at Juneau, Kenai, and Fairbanks and fourteen (14) smaller, but functionally-identical, Flight Service Stations (FSSs) are located at strategic but less-populated areas in Alaska. Several of the FSSs are in remote locations where the only access is by air and some operate seasonally or part-time. The flight services workload varies throughout the year. Alaska's rugged terrain and vast distances has limited development of Alaska's transportation and communications infrastructure. Consequently the flight services system has a unique set of requirements. Principal among these is the need to overcome the limited availability of broadband communications within the state. To help deal with this issue the FAA emplaced the Alaskan National Airspace System (NAS) Interfacility Communications System (ANICS), now known as the Alaskan Satellite Telecommunications Infrastructure (ASTI). ASTI routes data using two geostationary satellites, which provide high availability and path diversity, but still result in constrained bandwidth and propagation delays. The following is a list of high level requirements for the Alaska Flight Service Modernization (AFSM) program: The system is to be operated and maintained by FAA employees, Services must be provided from the 17 existing facility locations, Equipment must fit within the confines of the existing buildings and floor space, Equipment must be operable on existing power sources, and The system must interface with existent FAA National Air Space (NAS) operational systems such as: WMSCR, USNSR, NADIN-II, FTI, ASTI, etc. STRATEGY The FAA plans to purchase a Non-Developmental Item (NDI) or a Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) system to replace the current OASIS system. To replace the OASIS system, the FAA intends to conduct a Full and Open Competition Procurement and award a single contract for the AFSM automation system. The initial phase of the automation contract will require sustainment of the current level of services. The new system should be implemented and ready for operations no later than January 2010. Any requirements that require software development may be phased in later during performance of the contract. The degree of integration between the voice switch and the flight service automation system and whether the voice switch is included with the automation contract are dependent upon marketplace capabilities. The FAA may or may not include the voice switch with the automation contract. If the voice switch is not part of the automation contract, a second contract for the voice switch may be awarded at a later date. INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS This announcement is a Request for Information only. Interested vendors are invited to respond in accordance with the guidelines in the following sections. All responses become the property of the US Government, and will be kept in Government confidence This IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) of any kind. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR OFFER. THIS IS NOT A SCREENING INFORMATION REQUEST (SIR). The FAA is not seeking or accepting unsolicited proposals. This IS NOT A TENDER DOCUMENT of any kind. The government assumes no obligation to purchase any goods or services described in responses to this RFI. This is NOT A DOWNSELECT of any kind, and none of the information submitted will disqualify vendors from subsequent consideration. Responses to this RFI will be used to validate marketplace capabilities and FAA flight service concepts. TIMING AND FORM OF RESPONSES Responses must be in common electronic readable format (e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel, Visio, PowerPoint, etc.) and e-mailed (with confirmation receipt requested) to vickie.gordon@faa.gov and Barbara.jackson@faa.gov. The vendor must complete FAA Form 1600-78 if applicable and the Business Declaration Form. All responses must be received no later than April 7, 2008. Printed (paper) responses are neither requested nor desired. All responses received by the FAA will be treated as Proprietary Information, unless otherwise requested by the individual submitter. Proprietary information must be marked accordingly. All costs incurred by a vendor in response to this Market Survey and Industry Day will be the sole responsibility of the vendor. The FAA is not liable for any costs associated with responses to this announcement or Industry Day. Interested vendors are invited to respond describing their respective capability to deliver a Non- Developmental Item (NDI) or commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) system which, at a minimum, sustains current Alaska Flight Services level of service. Responses to this market survey should identify which requirements in the Requirements Document can be met now and which requirements will require development. The responses should also provide a schedule of when those requirements, which cannot be met upon contract award, can be met. For the system(s) proposed, please provide the following information: Name of the system/application Feature summary Special requirements Number of commercial holders/users, references Time in service Major problems Support infrastructure, lifecycle plans Catalog pricing If your proposed solution is comprised of multiple applications, please indicate which application satisfies the requirement. For requirements not satisfied at the present time, please indicate when (or if) your solution might comply with that requirement. Please challenge or question any requirements that seem impractical. VENDOR PROCESSES Please describe your capabilities to support multiple (customer-specific) variations of your NDI or COTS product offering. Describe your processes for assuring that the system is appropriately managed, controlled, tested and supportable. COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS Please provide comments or recommendations on the following: Capabilities requested in the Requirements Document (how appropriate/feasible) Describe your proposed system and list current capabilities that exist to comply with the Requirements Document Timeframe to have the remaining requirements ready for operational use Proposed Maintenance Strategy Acquisition Strategy as proposed Performance Metrics relevant to the AFSM program Data Rights Telecommunications needed to achieve business continuity, service availability, failover and foldback Functional limitations imposed by the satellite-based backbone of point-to-point circuits Potential for optimizing the service architecture while limiting the cost of additional bandwidth Needed Government Furnished Equipment or Government Furnished Property Special interfaces needed Other important considerations not described in the market survey
- Web Link
-
FAA Contract Opportunities
(http://faaco.faa.gov/?ref=6487)
- Record
- SN01526909-W 20080309/080307223719 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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