CBD<A> MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY FOR AFFORDABLE LASER SHOCK PEENING

[Commerce Business Daily]

From Commerce Business Daily, February 20, 1998 PSA-2036

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY FOR AFFORDABLE LASER SHOCK PEENING

Category : <A> (Research and Development)
Address : R&D Contracting Directorate, Bldg 7, 2530 C Street, WPAFB, OH
45433-7607
Sol. no. : PRDA
Contact : Contact William O Beeman, Contract Negotiator, 937-255-3506 or Mr
Bruce J. Miller, Contracting Officer, 937-255-7143
Due : 00 , 0

SOL PRDA 98-12-MLKT POC Contact William O Beeman, Contract Negotiator,
937-255-3506 or Mr Bruce J. Miller, Contracting Officer, 937-255-7143
Introduction: Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing
Directorate, Manufacturing Technology Division (AFRL/MLM), is interested
in receiving proposals (technical and cost) for the program entitled,
"Manufacturing Technology for Affordable Laser Shock Peening." The
solicitation number is PRDA-98-12 MLKT. Proposals in response to this
PRDA shall be received by 1500 Eastern Standard Time, April 7,1998,
addressed to Air Force Research Laboratory, Det 1 R&D Contracting Office
(AFRL/MLKT) ATTN: Mr. William O. Beeman, Building 7, 2530 C Street,
Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7607. This is an unrestricted
solicitation. Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this
announcement. Proposals received 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. There will be no other solicitation issued in regard to this
requirement. Offerors should be alert for any amendments that may revise
the proposal submission date. Offerors may request a copy of the WL
Guide entitled, "BAA and PRDA Guide for Industry." This guide was
specifically designed to assist offerors in understanding the BAA/PRDA
proposal process. Copies may be requested from AFRL/MLKT,
Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7607, telephone (937) 255-3506. This guide
is also available at the following web-site:
www.wrs.afrl.af.mil/contract/hp.htm. B -- REQUIREMENTS: (1) Technical
Description: The overall objective of this effort is to design, develop
and implement a production capable laser shock peening manufacturing cell
for applications to gas turbine engine blades and other fatigue critical
components. It is anticipated that two cells will be implemented, one
within a "system" builders facility (to be used for follow-on development
and industry sector service) and the other within an aerospace gas
turbine engine manufacturers facility. The focus of this effort is to (a)
develop a robust, factory floor laser shock peening system flexible
enough to accommodate various component geometries; (b) incorporate
advanced monitoring and control techniques to this laser system
increasing process reliability and repeatability; (c) incorporate
automated processing subsystems to this laser system to increase
throughput; (d) develop and execute an effective business strategy to
commercialize this laser system within and without the aerospace industry
by making available laser peening manufacturing cells to those parties
interested in obtaining the technology and by providing an industry
service capability; and (e) validation of this laser system's performance
at an aerospace user's facility. To date, the primary focus for laser
shock peening has been on processing turbine blades with sub-optimized
equipment at low production rates. Under this program, all aspects of
laser shock peening will be addressed through a systematic approach to
increase workload flexibility, increase production throughput, and reduce
processing cost and time while simultaneously developing the business
case required to transition laser shock peening to other industry
sectors. Teaming arrangements between the offeror and the user community
(both aerospace and nonaerospace) is required. Offerors are encouraged
to construct the proposed effort around a phased approach. Phase I would
be divided into three areas of investigation: (a) design and fabricate
the required laser controls and monitors promoting reliability and
repeatability of the laser system process and performance. The offeror is
required to provide a strategy for risk mitigation associated with the
selected laser controls and monitors to ensure feasibility of the
proposed concepts; (b) design and fabricate automated processing
subsystems to increase the throughput of components within the
manufacturing cell. The offeror is required to provide a strategy for
risk mitigation associated with the selection of automated processing
subsystems to ensure feasibility of the proposed concepts; and (c)
develop the commercialization plan to transition this technology to other
applications within the aerospace community as well as applications in
other industry sectors. Phase II would design, fabricate and validate two
(2) laser shock peening manufacturing cells integrating both the laser
controls and monitors as well as the automated processing subsystems
identified and proven feasible under Phase I to both cells. The cell
design must be flexible enough to accommodate a variety of workload
geometries for processing (other than a gas turbine engine airfoil, i.e.,
disks, blisks, gears, etc.). At the conclusion of this effort, one laser
shock peening manufacturing cell would be validated and implemented at
a "system" builders facility establishing an industry service capability
for affordable laser shock peening. The other laser shock peening
manufacturing cell would be validated and implemented at an aerospace gas
turbine engine manufacturing facility for use on the production line.
Phase III would be the execution of the commercialization plan developed
and agreed upon by the Air Force and the offeror under Phase I. (2)
Deliverable Items: The following deliverable data items shall be
proposed: (a) R&D 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, monthly; (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; (g) Technical
Videotape, DI-MISC-81275/T, (as required); (h) Scientific and Technical
Reports (Critical Issues Resolution Report), DI-MISC-80711/T, Quarterly;
(i) Scientific and Technical Reports (Detailed Business
Commercialization Plan), DI-MISC-80711/T, one time at completion of Phase
I; and (j) Scientific and Technical Reports (Final Report),
DI-MISC-80711/T, draft and camera ready copy, one time, upon completion
of effort.(3) Security Requirements: It is anticipated that work
performed as a result of this PRDA will be unclassified. (4) Other
Special Requirements: Any resultant contract data are export sensitive
and should be controlled in accordance with Public Law 98-94. This data
is on the Militarily Critical Technology List. The technologies involved
with this program are subject to the International Traffic in Arms
Regulations (ITAR). C -- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (1) Anticipated Period
of Performance: The total length of the technical effort is estimated to
be 44 months. The contractor shall also provide for an additional 4
months for processing/completion of the final report. (2) Expected Award
Date: June 1998. (3) Government Estimate: The Government anticipates 1
award for a total Government funding no greater than $4.65M. This effort
will be incrementally funded as follows: FY98 -- $350K, FY99 -- $650K,
FY00 -- $1750K, FY01 -- $1750K, FY02 -- $150K. This funding profile 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
Contract: Based upon section 256 of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal year 1995 (Public Law 103-337), cost sharing is required.
Cost shared contracts or cooperative agreements are anticipated. 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. A copy of OMB Circular A-110 may be
obtained upon request by calling 202-395-4660. (5) Government Furnished
Property: It is anticipated the Government will supply test articles to
demonstrate system performance and capability in the form of fan blades
and possibly blisks. (6) Size Status: Firms responding should indicate
their size status as well as indicating whether they are or are not a
socially and economically disadvantaged business or a woman owned
business. For this award, small businesses are considered to employ 500
or fewer employees (SIC 8731). (7) Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Such
firms are asked to notify the Air Force point of contact cited below upon
deciding to respond to this announcement. Foreign contractors should be
aware that restrictions may apply which could preclude their
participation in this acquisition. D -- PROPOSAL PREPARATION
INSTRUCTIONS: (1) General: Offerors should apply the restrictive notice
prescribed in the provision of FAR 52.215-1 ( e), "Restriction on
Disclosure and Use of Data," to trade secrets or privileged commercial
and financial information contained in their submittals. Proposal
questions should be directed to one of the points of contact listed
elsewhere herein. Offerors should consider instructions contained in the
"WL BAA and PRDA Guide for Industry" referenced in Section A of this
announcement. Proposals shall be submitted in separate volumes, technical
and cost; the cost proposal shall be valid for 180 days. Proposals shall
reference the above PRDA number. Proposals shall be submitted in an
original and four 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) Cost Proposal:
Adequate price competition is anticipated. The accompanying cost
proposal/price breakdown shall be furnished with supporting schedules and
shall contain a personhour breakdown per phase and task. An analysis of
each major subcontractor must be performed by the offeror in accordance
with FAR 15.404-3 and included in the cost proposal. Details of the cost
sharing to be undertaken and the rationale for the cost share percentage
should be included in the cost proposal. (3) Technical Proposal: The
technical proposal shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of
the research and technical approach, as well as a discussion of the
business strategy and implementation methodology. Additional information
on 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 as attachments to the technical
proposal and are not included in the page limit. The technical proposal
shall include: (a) a Statement of Work (SOW) detailing the technical
tasks proposed to be accomplished under the proposed effort and suitable
for contract incorporation. Any questions concerning the technical
proposal or SOW preparation shall be referred to the Technical Point of
Contact cited in this announcement. Offerors should also refer to the WL
Guide referenced in Section A to assist in SOW preparation; (b) a
statement of intention, if any, to use foreign nationals; (c) a break out
of person hours for each phase and major task in the SOW; and (d) the
names and qualifications of subcontractors and consultants, and the level
of effort to be subcontracted or consulted. Offerors are notified that
the SOW, or any part thereof, may be incorporated by reference, in any
resulting award. The paragraph numbering used in the Technical Proposal
for the technical approach discussion, the SOW tasks, and the Cost
Proposal shall correlate. Travel is projected to include, but not be
limited to: Contract Kick-off Meeting, Design Reviews, Semiannual,
Quarterly and End of Contract Reviews at locations selected by the
Government. (4) Page Limitations: Technical proposals shall not exceed
100 pages, double spaced, single-sided on 8.5" x 11" paper using 12 pitch
or larger type with 1.0" minimum margins. The page limitation includes
all information, i.e., indexes, photographs, foldouts, and appendices.
Pages in excess of this limitation will not be considered by the
Government. Cost proposals have no limitations, however, offerors are
requested to keep Cost Proposals to 50 pages as a goal. (5) Preparation
Costs: This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not
commit the Government to pay for any proposal preparation cost. The cost
of preparing proposals in response to this PRDA is not an allowable
direct charge to any resulting contract or any other contract. It may be,
however, an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect
cost as specified in FAR 31.205-18. If selected for negotiations,
qualifying offerors may be required to submit a subcontracting plan. E --
BASIS FOR AWARD: The selection for award will be based on a complete
evaluation of offerors' response (both technical and cost) to determine
the overall merit of the proposal in response to this announcement. The
technical aspect, which is ranked first in order of priority, shall be
evaluated based upon the following criteria in descending order as shown:
(a) soundness of technical approach including new or unique concepts,
ideas or approaches; (b) business strategy to commercialize this
technology within and without the aerospace sector through equipment
sales and industry services; (c) understanding of the problem; and (d)
special technical factors including personnel qualifications, facilities
available and equipment. Cost and/or price, which includes consideration
of proposed budgets and funding profiles, is a substantial factor, but
ranked as the second order of priority to the technical criteria. No
other evaluation criteria will be used. The technical and cost
information will be evaluated at the same time. The Government reserves
the right to select for award of a contract, cooperative agreements, or
a grant (for universities and non-profit institutions), any, all, part or
none of the proposals received. Award of a grant to universities or
non-profit institutions or cooperative agreement, in lieu of a contract,
will be considered and will be subject to the mutual agreement of the
parties. The Government reserves the right to award any resulting
contract pursuant to the Research and Development Standard Contract
format in DFARS 235.70. F -- POINTS OF CONTACT: Technical point of
contact is Mr. Timothy Swigart, (937) 255-3612/2413, fax (937) 656-4420,
or e-mail: swig...@ml.wpafb.af.mil. Contractual point of contact is Mr.
William O. Beeman, (937) 255-3506/7143, fax (937) 255-4434, or e-mail:
beem...@wl.wpafb.af.mil. (2) An ombudsman had 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. All potential
offerors should use established channels to voice concerns before
resorting to use of the Ombudsman. 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 should direct all routine
communication concerning this acquisition to Mr. William O. Beeman,
Contract Negotiator, WL/MLKT, Bldg. 7, 2530 C Street, Wright-Patterson
AFB OH 45433-7607, telephone (937) 255-3506.. These serious concerns only
may be directed to the Ombudsman, Lt Col James P. Bixler, Deputy Chief,
R&D Contracting Office, Det 1 AFRL/PK, Building 7, 2530 C Street,
Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7607, e-mail: bixl...@wl.wpafb.af.mil,
telephone (937) 255-4813. See Note 26 (0049)