R&D Contracting Directorate, Bldg 7, 2530 C Street, WPAFB, OH 45433-7607

A -- LEAN VALUE CHAIN FOR CRITICAL PART PROCUREMENT SOL BAA No., 98-25-MLKT DUE 072098 POC Chris Lay, Contract Negotiator, AFRL/MLKT, (937) 255-7143 or Patrice Nickell, Contracting Officer, AFRL/MLKT, (937) 255-3506 WEB: click here to view the R&D Contracting Home Page, http://www.wrs.afrl.af.mil/contract/. INTRODUCTION: Air Force Research Laboratory, Manufacturing Technology Division (AFRL/MLM) is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost) on the technical effort described below. Proposals in response to this Broad Area Announcement (BAA) shall be received by 20 Jul 98, 1500 hours Eastern Daylight Time, addressed to R&D Contracting Office, Building 7, 2530 C Street, Area B, Attn: Ms. Chris Lay, AFRL/MLKT, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7607. This is an unrestricted solicitation. Small businesses are encouraged to propose on all or any part of this solicitation. Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this announcement. Proposal receipt after the cutoff date specified herein shall be treated in accordance with restrictions of FAR 52.215-1(c)(3). A copy of this provision may be obtained from the contracting point of contact. No other solicitation is anticipated in regard to this requirement. Offerors should be alert for any BAA amendments that may be published including those which permit a subsequent proposal submission date. Offerors should consult the "PRDA and BAA Guide for Industry". This guide was specifically designed to assist offerors in understanding the PRDA/BAA proposal process. Copies may be obtained from the contracting point of contact stated herein or on the Wright Research Site Contracting Office Web Page (http://www.wrs.afrl.af.mil/contract/). Potential offerors are notified that effective 01 Jun 98, in order to be eligible to receive any DoD award, you must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) Database. On-line registration instructions can be accessed from the Wright Research Site Contracting Office home page at http://www.wrs.afrl.af.mil/contract/ or the DISA CCR home page at http://ccr.edi.disa.mil/. B -- REQUIREMENTS: (1) Technical Description: This BAA was initiated from ideas generated through the Lean Forum IV process. Lean concepts present the US military aircraft industry with an opportunity to address the challenges presented by both reductions in DoD procurements and world wide-competition. The adoption of lean principles and practices allows the industry to meet customer requirements for affordability without sacrificing performance. This effort is targeted to use these Lean Concepts for defining and executing a program to enhance the process for critical component part procurement and production supporting weapon system maintenance, repair and overhaul activities managed within the Air Logistics Centers. The objective of this program is to reduce the time an existing weapons systems spends undergoing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in an "awaiting parts" (AWP) status. The goal is to reduce time in AWP status by one-half through a reduction in the time required to identify critical part need, acquire, manufacture and deliver replacement components. A value stream analysis shall be conducted to analyze the critical part acquisition processes and then select the targets of opportunity that will significantly reduce the cycle time and/or cost associated with the processes. Value Stream activities will include all processes from need identification of a critical part through acquisition, manufacturing and delivery of the part. While this project is intended for broad use within depot repair facilities (public and/or private) across the Department of Defense, the initial implementation site will be a contractor proposed facility (referred to as the implementation site). At the implementation site, methods will be tested using critical spare parts from qualified suppliers. The program shall consist of two phases. Phase I shall be a value stream analysis conducted to investigate, capture and analyze: (1) current processes and capabilities for the critical part procurement process; (2) the interaction of the implementation site, suppliers and the supply chain; and (3) the major functions performed during this process that shall be addressed to reduce cycle time and/or cost of the critical part procurement processes. High payoff areas identified during the value stream analysis will be used to establish the sequencing of work to be conducted during Phase II. Authorization to proceed to Phase II shall be issued by the Contracting Officer based on the government's analysis of the results of Phase I. Phase II shall incorporate incremental implementation of process and practice changes, management tools and advanced technologies to improve the overall value stream. Identification of and coordination with related initiatives addressing pieces of this process will be central to the development coordination activities of this project. The tools and technologies used in this project will be compliant with national and/or international standards to the maximum extent practicable. In instances where software driven solutions are required, Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) tools will be used to the maximum extent practicable. During Phase II, the contractor will establish a demonstration capability on the implementation site to: 1) showcase the capabilities of tools and technologies either in use or in planning to be inserted for target users and interested organizations; 2) familiarize users on the operation of tools and technologies being planned for insertion; and, 3) test the tools and technologies prior to final implementation. (2) Deliverable Items: The following deliverable data items shall be proposed: (a) Status Report, DI-MGMT-80368/T, monthly; (b) Funds and Man-hour Expenditure Report, DI-FNCL-80331/T monthly; (c) Project Planning Chart, DI-MGMT-80507A/T quarterly; (d) Contract Funds Status Report (CFSR), DI-MGMT-81468/T, quarterly; (e) Presentation Material, DI- ADMN-81373/T, as required; (f) Scientific and Technical Reports, Contractor's Billing Voucher, DI-MISC-80711/T, monthly; and (g) Scientific and Technical Reports, DI-MISC-80711/T, (Draft and Reproducible Final). (3) Security Requirements: It is not anticipated that work performed on this effort will require access to classified information. (4) Other Special Requirements: None. C -- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (1) Anticipated Period of Performance: The total length of the technical effort is estimated to be 36-51 months. It is estimated that Phase I will consist of 6-9 months and Phase II will consist of approximately 30-42 months. An additional 4 months will be required for processing/completing the final report. (2) Expected Award Date: September 1998. (3) Government Estimate: Total program value estimate is $4,000,000. This funding is an estimate only and is not a promise for funding as all funding is subject to change due to Government discretion and availability. (4) Type of award instrument: Cost share contract, Cooperative Agreement, or Other Transaction. Based upon Section 256 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 (Public Law 103-337), the use of a cost share contract, an Other Transaction or Cooperative Agreement containing cost sharing, is required. It is noted that FAR part 31 sets forth the principles for allowable cost share pertaining to contracts while OMB Circular A-110 defines allowable cost sharing for cooperative agreements. The OMB Circular A-110 may be located at hhtp://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OMB or a paper copy may be obtained upon request by calling 202-395-7332. (5) Government Furnished Property: Determination of the specific needs for GFP will be negotiable dependent upon proposals. (6) Size Status: For the purpose of this acquisition, the size standard is 500 employees Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 8731. (7) Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Such firms are asked to immediately notify the contracting point of contact cited below upon deciding to respond to this announcement. Foreign contractors should be aware that restrictions might apply which could preclude their participation in this acquisition. D-PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: (1) General Instructions: Offerors should apply the restrictive notice prescribed in the provision at FAR 52.215-1(e) Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data, to trade secrets or privileged commercial and financial information contained in their proposals. Proposal questions should be directed to one of the points of contact listed elsewhere herein. Offerors should consider instructions contained in the PRDA and BAA Guide for Industry referenced in Section A of this announcement. Technical and cost proposals, submitted in separate volumes, are required and must be valid for 180 days. Proposals must reference the above BAA number. Proposals shall be submitted either in hard copy with an original and three copies or via electronic means, on either a 3-1/2 inch DOS-formatted floppy disks or CD-ROM in either Microsoft Word Version 7.0 or Rich Text Format (.rtf). If proposals are submitted by electronic means, submit two (2) paper copies and two (2) electronic copies. All responsible sources may submit a proposal, which shall be considered against the criteria set forth herein. Offerors are advised that only contracting officers are legally authorized to contractually bind or otherwise commit the government. (2) CostProposal: Adequate price competition is anticipated; therefore, offerors are not required to submit certified cost or pricing data. Offerors must submit cost or pricing information only to the extent necessary to permit the government the ability to determine the reasonableness and realism of the cost and/or price. The offeror's format for submitting such information is acceptable. Cost proposals should be organized to include three sections for both phases in the following order: total project cost, cost sharing and in-kind contributions, and cost to the government. Section l -- Total Project Cost -- will give a detailed breakdown of the total project costs, and also broken down by task for each task appearing in the Statement of Work (SOW). This should include all of the proposed cost to the government. The total cost of each major cost element and the make-up of those costs should be presented in the offerors' proposals. Sufficient information should be provided in supporting documents to allow the government to evaluate the reasonableness of these proposed costs, including salaries, overhead, material purchases, fair market rental value of leased items and the method used for making such valuations. Profit/Fee are not applicable under Cost Share contracts or Assistance Instruments (Cooperative Agreement and Other Transactions). Section 2 -- Cost Sharing and In-Kind Contributions proposed under a Cooperative Agreement or Other Transaction will include: (1) the sources of cash and amounts to be used for matching requirements; (2) the specific in-kind contributions proposed, their value in monetary terms, and the methodology used to derive their values; and (3) evidence of the existence of adequate cash or commitments to provide sufficient cash in the future. Signed commitments are required from outside sources of cash. Proposals should contain sufficient information regarding the sources of the offerors' cost share so that a determination regarding availability, timeliness and control of the resourcesmay be made by the government. (3) Technical Proposal: The technical proposal shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the technical approach. Additional information such as synopses of prior work in this area, descriptions of available equipment, data and facilities, and resumes of personnel who will be participating in this effort should also be included in the technical proposal and will be included in the page limit. The technical proposal shall include the SOW separately addressing both phases detailing the technical tasks to be accomplished under the proposed effort and suitable for contract incorporation. Offerors should refer to the PRDA/BAA Guide referenced in Section A to assist in SOW preparation. Any questions concerning the technical proposal or SOW preparation shall be referred to the technical point of contact cited in this announcement. A breakout of person hours for each major task for both phases in the SOW; the names and qualifications of subcontractors; and the level of effort to be subcontracted shall be included. Offerors are notified that the SOW, or any part thereof, may be incorporated by reference, in any resulting award; therefore, no proprietary information is to be included in the SOW. The paragraph numbering used in the technical proposal for the technical approach discussion, the SOW tasks, and the cost proposal shall correlate. (4) Page Limitations: The technical proposal shall be limited to 50 pages (12 pitch or larger type), double-spaced, single-sided, 8.5 by 11 inches. Margins shall not be less than 1.25". If electronic means are used to submit the proposal, it shall be readable by Microsoft Office products. The double spacing requirement shall be satisfied by Microsoft's Word's double spacing method and the 12 pitch or larger requirement shall be satisfied by setting the Microsoft Word For Windows type size (point) at 10 or larger. The page limitation includes all information, i.e. photographs, foldouts, appendices, etc. The government will not consider pages in excess of the 50 page limitation. Cost proposals have no page count limitations; however, offerors are requested to keep cost proposals to 50 pages as a goal. (5) Preparation Cost: This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit the government to pay for any response preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting or any other contract. However, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as specified in FAR 31.205-18. If selected for negotiations, qualifying offerors will be required to submit a small business subcontracting plan. E -- BASIS FOR AWARD: The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on an integrated evaluation of an offeror's response (both technical and cost aspects) of both phases to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to the announcement. The technical aspect, which is ranked as the first order of priority, shall be evaluated based on the following criteria which are in descending order of importance: (a) new and creative solutions; (b) the offeror's understanding of the scope of the technical effort; (c) soundness of the offeror's technical approach, commercialization approach and proposed SOW; (d) compliance with the requirements; and, (e) the offeror's past experience and the availability of qualified technical personnel. Cost and/or price, which includes consideration of proposed budgets and funding profiles, is a substantial factor, but is ranked as the second order of priority. No other evaluation criteria will be used. The technical and cost information will be evaluated concurrently. The Air Force reserves the right to select for award of a contract or other assistance instrument, any, all, part, or none of the proposals received. F-POINTS OF CONTACT: (1) Technical Points of Contact: Engineer: Mr. John H. Barnes, AFRL/MLMS, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH 45433-7739, telephone (937) 255-7371, email: barnesjh@ml.wpafb.af.mil. Contracting/Cost Point of Contact: Contract Negotiator, Ms Chris Lay, AFRL/MLKT, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH 45433-7607, telephone (937) 255-7143, email Chris.Lay@wl.wpafb.af.mil. (2) An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from offerors and potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition. The purpose of the Ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the Contracting Officer, but to communicate contractor concerns, issues, disagreements and recommendations to the appropriate government personnel. When requested, the Ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the selection decision. Interested parties are invited to contact the Ombudsman, Lt Col James P. Bixler, Det 1 AFRL/PK, Building 7, 2530 C Street Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7607, Telephone 937-255-4813, email bixlerjp@wl.wpafb.af.mil. See Note 26. (0155)

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