SOURCES SOUGHT
73 -- The U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center, Product Manager, Force Sustainment Systems (PM FSS), Natick, MA is conducting Market Research regarding industry's interest and capability in providing a Battlefield Kitchen.
- Notice Date
- 6/17/2015
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 332999
— All Other Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- ACC-APG - Natick (SPS), ATTN: AMSRD-ACC-N, Natick Contracting Division (R and BaseOPS), Building 1, Kansas Street, Natick, MA 01760-5011
- ZIP Code
- 01760-5011
- Solicitation Number
- PM-FSS-BK-RFI
- Response Due
- 8/1/2015
- Archive Date
- 8/31/2015
- Point of Contact
- Sean Auld, 508-233-6183
- E-Mail Address
-
ACC-APG - Natick (SPS)
(sean.g.auld.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center, Product Manager, Force Sustainment Systems (PM FSS), Natick, MA is conducting Market Research regarding industry's interest and capability in providing a replacement for the Mobile Kitchen Trailer (MKT), first fielded in 1975. This Sources Sought Request for Information is part of that market research, which may assist the Government in developing future procurement strategies. The MKT replacement system shall be called the Battlefield Kitchen (BK). Like the MKT, the BK will be a trailer based kitchen, sized to feed up to 300 personnel at remote field sites. It will be towed by the Light Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV) and prepare the full range of military rations. The BK will have the same basic capabilities as the current MKT with significant improvements in key areas. The BK will be a mobile trailer based system capable of being transported overland (road and cross country). It will also be transported by rail and air, by both helicopter sling load and fixed wing aircraft (C-130 and larger). Basic improvements expected from the BK are in the areas of kitchen work area efficiency, appliance efficiency, kitchen air quality, work area lighting, kitchen noise reduction, appliance temperature control, and kitchen environmental control. The MKT utilizes the Modern Burner Unit (MBU) as the heat source for its appliances. These are 'open flame' burners that operate on JP-8 and a small amount of electrical power (75 watts) required for ignition, controls, air pumps, etc. Significant improvements over the MKT appliances are required of the BK appliances. The BK appliances are being designed around two basic principles: 1) the appliances will adhere to a standardized footprint of 22 inches wide by 27 inches deep. This will allow for complete interchangeability between appliances in any given layout, and 2) the ability to collect and expel cooking and combustion effluent from the kitchen. This ability must be downloadable into alternate structures/shelters with the appliances. Once downloaded the system can be reassembled into a fully functional, ventilated kitchen. The appliances must also be download for individual stand-alone applications. The goal is to provide a safe and productive work environment regardless of the ventilation properties of the site chosen. The government has been developing designs of the BK modular appliances, their heat source burner, and the BK platform. The intent is for the Government to provide the technical data developed to date to the BK contractor. The Government has done much of the conceptual and developmental work on the BK and components to reduce risk and fulfill its intention to have Government purpose rights and configuration control of the BK, modular appliances, and burner. These data rights will be used for full and open competition in future follow-on contracts for BK production and support. The drawing package will not be complete at the time of this upcoming contract. The intent of the contract is to have the BK contract awardee complete the developmental work and technical data package. Subsequent production and support contracts will be fully competed using the technical data completed and obtained during this first contract. Status of current efforts is as follows: BK appliance burner: The appliance burner is in near production ready condition. Following performance verification this year it is expected that a complete and verified drawing package will be available at the time of the developmental contract award. Modular Appliances: The government is currently in possession of technical data and prototypes that function at about 80% of the desired performance. A design upgrade is in progress to reduce weight and cost, and increase performance to the project threshold levels as a minimum. The technical data along with prototype equipment, and all test data will be made available to the BK developer to complete the development to include producability. If the Contractor prefers to present their own design, government purpose rights to all technical data will be sought and taken into consideration during proposal evaluation. BK platform: The BK platform design is mostly conceptual at this time. The government has developed and possesses a solid model of components in various stages of development. It is anticipated that some of the design features will be proven through prototyping and demonstration in FY2015. All technical data and test data will be made available to contractors at the time of the release of the Request for Proposals (RFP). It will be the prospective Contractor's responsibility to review the government data presented and determine the suitability of the design and data for this effort. The contractor will be responsible for meeting all of the performance requirements of the BK regardless of the extent to which they use the government technical data unless adherence to the technical data in whole or part is expressly required by the government. BK Trailer: Use of a standard Army trailer for the BK is highly desired, and the leading candidate is the M1061. This is a 16,000 lb. capacity lunette trailer with a 38 inch deck height.(The maximum height of the BK configured for transport cannot exceed 96 inches to meet the C-130 transportability requirements.) Testing of the M1061 is scheduled this year to evaluate its suitability for the BK. Some modifications of the trailer may be necessary to meet the BK application. It is likely that the M1061 or other standard Army trailer (with minimal modifications) will be specified. Key BK requirements: C-130 and larger air transportability (maximum height 96 inches in transportation mode) Erectable by 4 persons in no greater than 30 minutes (not including site prep and leveling of platform) 2-4 man portable appliance modules Cross country as well as highway transportability LMTV compatible (maximum rated towing capacity 12,000 pounds) Cooking capacity of 3 UGR-A meals of 300 servings 3 times per day Food prep and cook time - maximum of 4 hours for all UGR-A menus. On board refrigeration (size maximized to fit within one 22 quote mark x27 quote mark module position but no specific cavity capacity specified) Modular Hand wash sink and separate food preparation sink Minimum 4 well serving line with accommodations for an internal serving line All components including generator transported on board kitchen platform Active cooking and combustion product exhaust system that is downloadable with appliances Food holding capability Kitchen noise levels not to exceed 85 dBA, steady state average not to exceed 70 dBA Fully functional in environmental conditions from -25 F to +120 F. Ability to complex with a minimum of 1 additional BK back to back or multiple BKs daisy chained (current government concept only allows for back to back) Minimum appliance heat transfer efficiencies of: o 30% for oven o 36% for griddle and skillets Lighting meeting the requirements of MIL-STD-810 Will utilize an Army standard 3 kW generator that will be transported on the BK trailer. There will be a parasitic requirement of 700 watts to power the Food Sanitation Center (FSC). Designed for low cost and ease of maintenance Less than $150,000 manufactured cost desirable All interested firms and manufacturers, regardless of size, are encouraged to respond to this request for information. Information submissions should include available technology, product literature and illustrations, relevant company background/experience, experience designing systems to meet performance specifications and configuration control, experience developing technical manuals, existing quality assurance program, recent unit prices of the products presented in the vendor's response to include proposed costs for 1, 10, 50 and 100 systems, NAICS Code and whether or not vendor is a small business (include number of employees). Information submissions must be received NLT 5:00 p.m. EST on August 1st 2015. Responses to this notice should be directed to: U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center, Product Manager Force Sustainment Systems, Food Service Equipment Team, ATTN: SFAE-CSS-E2 FS (Glenn Doucet), Natick MA 01760-5057, or email to glenn.a.doucet.civ@mail.mil. Any questions regarding this notice may be sent to glenn.a.doucet.civ@mail.mil. The subject line of any emails should include the words quote mark BK Sources Sought Notice quote mark. All information supplied will be considered confidential, unless otherwise specified or available from other sources without restriction. This Request for Information is for information and planning purposes only. This is not an Invitation for Bid (IFB) or a Request for Proposal (RFP) and is not to be taken as a commitment by U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/9134d10de5717593b3faa0c62c406620)
- Place of Performance
- Address: ACC-APG - Natick (SPS) ATTN: AMSRD-ACC-N, Natick Contracting Division (R and BaseOPS), Building 1, Kansas Street Natick MA
- Zip Code: 01760-5011
- Zip Code: 01760-5011
- Record
- SN03766777-W 20150619/150617234517-9134d10de5717593b3faa0c62c406620 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |