U.S. ARMY SOLDIER SYSTEMS COMMAND, ACQUISITION CENTER, AMSSC-AD, NATICK MA 01760-5011

84 -- GLOVE INSERTS, IMPROVED (US MARINE CORPS) SOL w13g07-8180-6001 POC Contract Specialist -- Jeff Baldwin E-mail: jbaldwin@natick-amed02.army.mil (Site Code DAAN02) U.S. MARINE CORPS (USMC) IMPROVED GLOVE INSERTS -- This is a combined synopsis and solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 and 13.1, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation for the subject items; offers are hereby formally being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The Request for Proposal (RFP) number is DAAN02-98-R-2030. This document incorporated provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-06. This requirement is one hundred percent set aside for small business. The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code for this procurement is 2389 and the small business standard is 500 employees. CLIN 0001 -- 1,250 pairs (will be ordered at contract award), CLIN 0002 -- 10,000-150,000 (1st option year), CLIN 0003 -- 10,000-150,000 (2nd option year), CLIN 0004 -- 10,000-150,000 (3rd option year), and CLIN 0005 -- 10,000-150,000 (4th option year). The ordering periods for the options (CLINs 0002-0005) shall be 12 months each. CLIN 0001 -- Medium weight glove insert (Manzella Productions Model TS-40, OR EQUAL). Color: Olive Drab Green 483. Estimated required quantity: 1,250 pairs in the base ordering period, and four option years with a minimum quantity of 10,000 and a maximum of 150,000 pairs each. The U.S. Army Soldier Systems Command (SSCOM), on behalf of the USMC, anticipates the award an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for the Improved Glove Inserts as a result of this RFP. All units required in the first delivery order, approximately 1,250 pairs, shall be delivered within seventy (70) days after issue of that delivery order. Additional units, if any are ordered, shall be delivered at a rate of not less than 10,000 and not more than 30,000 units per month, starting one month after exercise of the option and issue of the delivery order. All deliveries under all delivery orders shall be completed no later than 30 March 2003. This represents the period of performance for the contract. Except for the initial order of 1,250 pairs, all following orders may only be placed in minimum quantities of 10,000 pairs. Each delivery period shall be no more than 12 months in duration from date of the order. Offerors shall propose the delivery period and unit prices for the following step ladder quantities -- 10,000 units; 10,001 to 29,999 units; 30,000 to 49,999 units; 50,000 to 99,999 units; and 100,000 to 150,000 units. All deliveries shall be F.O.B. destination; shipping costs will be borne by the contractor. Inspection and acceptance shall be at Destination by the cognizant receiving authority. The contractor shall assume that shipping destinations (and approximate percentages) will include Camp Lejeune, NC (35); Camp Pendleton, CA (40); Okinawa, Japan (15), Hawaii (10) and possibly other CONUS destinations. A small portion of these items may be required for delivery to other OCONUS destinations. As indicated above this is a brand name OR EQUAL requirement. This does not mean that the Government intends to award the contract to the company named, but rather that the Government recognizes the characteristics of the specified item offered by the company are the characteristics consistent with those required by the Government. As a result, indicating that we require a particular product OR EQUAL provides a solid basis against which offerors can measure their current products, or develop new ones. With this said, the Improved Glove Inserts shall be Manzella TS-40 Medium weight OR EQUAL with the following salient characteristics: optimum balance of these fabric characteristics (moisture wicking ability, warmth, durability, quick drying time, comfort, breathability, and elasticity), construction which maximizes protection from cold weather, and offers superior comfort in terms of softness and ability to dry quickly during highly active levels of use. Grip enhancement shall be provided on palm and finger front surfaces. There shall be no melt-through to the interior surface facing the skin when subjected to a 10 second exposure against a hot surface at .5 psi contact, temp of 500 plus or minus 5 degrees F, using apparatus described in ASTM F 1060 Thermal Protective Performance of Materials for Protective Clothing. The Improved Glove Inserts shall have a cuff length of 4 inches (plus or minus 1/4 inch). The Improved Glove Insert shall adequately fit 90 percent of the USMC initially and after 5 home launderings (machine wash: delicate knit cycle 80 degrees F, and dry delicate cycle). Five sizes are desired. Bare hand dimensions (length and circumference) are available upon request for sizing guidance. The Glove Inserts shall be constructed to prevent runs, snags, and abrasion wear-out especially at the fingertip, thumb-tip, and at the base of the fingers and thumbs. Innovative approaches for reinforcing these wear-out areas are desired for slight commercial modification and are encouraged for submission along with Technical Proposal requirements. Thickness of the Improved Glove Inserts shall be between 0.18 to 0.19 inches per pair using a 1 inch presser foot at 0.6 psi as described in ASTM D 1777 Measuring Thickness of Textile Materials. Drying time shall not exceed 8 hours when tested in acccordance with FTMS 191 A, Method 5502 with the following modifications: Prior to initial weighing, the glove inserts shall be conditioned for 24 hours at 70 plus or minus 2 degrees F, 50 plus or minus 2 percent relative humidity. The entire glove insert shall be weighed, immersed in distilled water for twenty minutes, removed from water and hung vertically for 5 minutes, then placed horizontally between two pieces of white AATCC textile blotting paper, and covered with a glass plate under 10 pounds of pressure for twenty minutes. After blotting, the specimen shall be weighed and the value compared to its original weight. The specimen shall then be hung in a 70 plus or minus 2 degrees F, 50 plus or minus 2 percent relative humidity and the time required to return to within 1 percent of the original dry weight shall be measured. The dyed Improved Glove Insert shall show fastness after 3 launderings and perspiration equal to or better than a 3-4 rating on AATCC Gray Scale for Color Change and Staining when tested in accordance to AATCC-61 (TEST 1A) and AATCC-15 respectively. The Government may, or may not, conduct this test as part of the evaluation of offers. Offerors shall provide a signed proposal to include: (1) one Glove insert sample in each size of the item proposed (exact color not required), (2) offered prices of the unit, in step ladder quantity and increments (1,250 pair for the first order), and the total quantity price (3) description of the proposed fabric content and construction, (4) any performance data supporting the above salient characteristic requirements, (5) description of the offeror's approach to meeting the USMC's delivery schedule including information on facility/production capability (6) a sample piece of cloth/yarn/paper of the color that the offeror's production glove inserts will be produced from, and (7) description of past performance under contracts for same or similar products, (8) quality assurance inspection plan they intend to use throughout this contract, (9) repairs and replacement procedures, (10) and warranty commitment. Failure to submit any of this required information may result in rejection of the offeror's entire proposal as non-responsive. The offeror's proposals shall be evaluated with respect to (in descending order of importance) -- Technical and Cost (both having equal weight), Management, and Past Performance. Technical will evaluated through examination of the samples' (glove insert and color swatch) compliance with the aforementioned performance requirements as well as written information provided by the contractor. This will also entail the review of existing documentation on the textile properties of the materials proposed, lab tests of the submitted samples (if deemed necessary), and/oruser feedback. Management will be evaluated by examining the offeror's approach to meeting the required delivery schedule, the offeror's quality assurance plan, and the offeror's repair and replacement (warranty) commitment and procedures. Past performance shall be evaluated through the review of information provided by the contractor and other past performance information that might be available to the Government from other sources. The resulting contract will be awarded based on a best value basis; the Government reserves the right to award a contract to other than the lowest priced offeror if the other parts of that offeror's proposal warrant it. In addition to the proposal information above, offerors must provide a completed copy of the provision at FAR 52.213-3 with their offer. The FAR clauses at 52.212-4, 52.212-5 (the following clauses thereunder are applicable: 1,3 and 5-9), 52.216-18, 52.216-19, 52.216-22, 52.217-9, 52.222-24, 52.233-1, 52.247-34, and DFARS 252.205-7000, 252.206-7000, 252.211-7003,252.212-7001, 252.225-7012, 252.227-7015, 252.243-7002, and 252.247-7024 apply to this acquisition. All comments and questions regarding this announcement/RFP must be provided in writing (i.e. letter, facsimile, or E-mail) to the acquisition directorate, SSCOM, no later than 24 August 1998. No telephonic responses will be accepted. Comments and questions provided after this date will not be considered. All proposals are due by 2:00PM on 14 September 1998, at: U.S. Army Soldier Systems Command, Attn: AMSSC-AD (Baldwin), Kansas Street, Natick, MA 01760-5011. The point of contact for this solicitation is Jeffrey M. Baldwin, at telephone (508) 233-5920 or facsimile (508) 233-5286. Only offers for Improved Glove Inserts produced domestically will be considered. The Government reserves the right to award multiple contracts if, at the time of proposal evaluation, it is determined to be in the Government's best interest. In no event will more than two (2) contracts be awarded. If more than one contract is awarded, the Government will divide all orders equally between the two contractors. However, should either of the contractors prove unable to deliver quality products in accordance with the required delivery schedules, or if the quantities required are so low that multiple orders do not make any sense, the Government reserves the right to issue an order to only one of the contractors. Posted 08/13/98 (I-SN236727). (0225)

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