SOLICITATION NOTICE
H -- Dismounted Soldier Cooling Studies
- Notice Date
- 3/30/2009
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541380
— Testing Laboratories
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Army, U. S. Army Materiel Command, RDECOM Acquisition Center - Aberdeen, RDECOM Acquisition Center - Aberdeen, ATTN: AMSSB-ACC-A, 4118 Susquehanna Avenue, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005-3013
- ZIP Code
- 21005-3013
- Solicitation Number
- W91CRB09RXXXX
- Response Due
- 4/16/2009
- Archive Date
- 6/15/2009
- Point of Contact
- Daniel Woppert, 410-306-2661<br />
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- PM Soldier Equipment is responsible for the development and fielding of all clothing and individual equipment worn by the Soldier. There is an immediate need for personal cooling systems (PCS) that can mitigate heat stress for Soldiers deployed in the Middle East particularly during the summer months when the high air temperatures and radiant load from the sun and hot surfaces can cause the body to gain heat. These environmental conditions, combined with the use of heavy protective clothing and carrying a load of supplies and equipment, can put a thermal strain on Soldiers, especially when they are working and their metabolic heat production increases. In extremely hot environments and/or at high activity levels, the only way the body can lose excess heat is by the evaporation of sweat from the body surface. The rate of evaporative cooling is dependent upon the vapor between clothing layers. Unfortunately, protective clothing such as body armor and helmets can inhibit the evaporations of sweat. In addition, the weight, rigidness, and design of protective garments may increase the energy cost associated with wearing them during activity. Consequently, Soldiers operating in hot environments often experience heat stress symptoms that effect performance on extended operations. To overcome these limitations, the Army has been searching for new technological advances in personal cooling systems (PCS) that have been developed by manufacturers and has been evaluating their effectiveness for military use. These systems are designed to enhance the performance and comfort of people working in hot environments. Active cooling has been successfully applied in many HAZMAT situations where the user is completely sealed in a protective suit. This protective suit often requires supplemental air supply, and it is impermeable to the transport of evaporated sweat to the environment, thus severely limiting evaporative cooling of the body. In these work applications, the wearer can be tethered to a system (e.g., PCS circulating chilled water in tubes over the body torso so that the cooling never stops. Alternatively, the worker may have direct access to replacement cooling components (e.g., frozen gel packs). The Soldier on the other hand is not completely isolated from the surroundings, however, he is often working at high metabolic rates, carrying a load, and moving from one place to another. This creates a unique set of operational and technical requirements for the successful application of an active cooling system in the field. The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Acquisition Center intends to release request for proposal W91CRB-09-R-XXXX on or about 20 April 2009 for procurement of Dismounted Soldier Cooling Studies. The solicitation will be issued on an unrestricted basis. The solicitation will result in award of one (1) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with firm fixed price and/or time and materials delivery orders for a total of five (5) years. The minimum guarantee will be one (1) base year of services/testing. The official release of the Request for Proposal (RFP) will be posted on the internet at the Army Single Face to Industry (ASFI) web site located at the following address: https://acquisition.army.mil/asfi/default.cfm. The on-line version of the RFP includes all documents of the solicitation package. No hard copy of this RFP will be issued. Amendments, if any, will be posted at the same location as the solicitation. The complete solicitation package, including amendments, should be received and reviewed prior to submitting a response. It is the responsibility of those responding to the solicitation to obtain all amendments and/or other applicable documents. Dan Woppert is the point of contract for this action, telephone 410-306-2661, fax 410-306-3872 or email: dan.woppert@us.army.mil. All questions and/or comments in response to this solicitation shall be submitted in writing and emailed to dan.woppert@us.army.mil. It is the potential offerors responsibility to monitor the Army Single Face to Industry website on a regular basis for any updates to these documents. Other documents, as necessary, will be posted when available.
- Web Link
-
FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=ae8daf90eefba21bbcba6f42150475d7&tab=core&_cview=1)
- Place of Performance
- Address: RDECOM Acquisition Center - Aberdeen ATTN: AMSSB-ACC-A, 4118 Susquehanna Avenue Aberdeen Proving Ground MD<br />
- Zip Code: 21005-3013<br />
- Zip Code: 21005-3013<br />
- Record
- SN01781215-W 20090401/090330215857-ae8daf90eefba21bbcba6f42150475d7 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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