National Institute of Standards & Technology, Acquisition & Assistance Div., Bldg. 301, Rm B117, Gaithersburg, MD 20899

B -- UNSOLICITED PROPOSAL -- ENGINEERING ANALYSIS OF HANDCUFFS AND HANDCUFF COMPONENTS POC Teresa A. Reefe, Contract Specialist (301) 975-6364 WEB: NIST Contracts Homepage, http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/contract.htm. E-MAIL: NIST Contracts Office, Contract@nist.gov. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to award a contract to Touchstone Research Laboratory, Ltd., Triadelphia, WV as the result of an unsolicited proposal. Touchstone will perform an engineering analysis of handcuff and handcuff components. The study will include: 1) examining the state of the art in handcuff manufacturing and gaining insight as to the performance/problems associated with various handcuff models currently in use and their components; 2) Assessing the shortcomings of particular handcuff components, with particular focus on the ratchet pivot, the locking mechanism and the swivel/chain mechanism; 3) Establish limits of performance in existing handcuffs; 4) Perform engineering analysis of other components; and 5) Describe potential handcuff improvements. No solicitation will be issued (0063)

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