INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of the Senior Procurement Executive (OSPE), is issuing this Sources Sought Notice - Request for Information for information on behalf of the Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) to improve its understanding of the market and identify qualified vendors capable of providing diesel particulate matter (DPM) cassettes. II. BACKGROUND The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration works to prevent death, illness, and injury from mining and promote safe and healthful workplaces for U.S. miners. MSHA administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce the frequency and severity of nonfatal accidents, to minimize health hazards, and to promote improved safety and health conditions in the nation's mines. MSHA carries out the mandates of the Mine Act at all mining and mineral processing operations in the United States, regardless of size, number of employees, commodity mined, or method of extraction. III. OBJECTIVE The objective of this procurement is to obtain the services of vendors who can provide diesel particulate matter (DPM) cassettes in accordance with NIOSH specifications. IV. PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS and DELIVERY INFORMATION: A cassette is needed that can differentiate diesel particulate matter (DPM) from other respirable dust in an underground mine atmosphere based on a particle size. It must be able to be used with sampling pumps capable of producing a flow rate of 1.7 lpm for sampling of sub-micron particles. The cassettes must also be tamper proof to ensure integrity of the sample collected. In accordance with 30 CFR § 57.5061, NIOSH must approve cassettes prior to use as a method of collection. The cassettes must be produced in accordance with National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 5040 specification. The cassettes must be for single use and tamper proof to ensure sample integrity. Cassettes should be made of plastic and comprise of an impactor with precision sapphire orifice, impaction substrate, and two heat-treated quartz filters. The impactor screens out respirable particles ≥ 1.0 μm. Particles less than 1.0 μm are collected on the filter. The DPM cassettes must be no larger than 37 mm. The current cassette being acquired by MSHA is the SKC Diesel Particulate Matter Cassette Part # 225-317. The end product must be the same as or equal to part # 225-317. Delivery will be to various locations throughout the United States. V. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS 1. The following information is to be provided in response to this Request for Information: a. Vendor's name b. Vendor's address c. Point of contact name, telephone number, and e-mail address d. DUNS number e. Identification of business size (small business, small disadvantaged, Small Woman-Owned Business, Small Veteran-Owned Business, Small Disabiled Veteran-Owned Business, Small/Disadvantaged Business SBA 8(a) Program, HUB-Zone small business); f. Identification of any Best-In-Class vehicle that the product is available through (GSA, etc.); g. Capability to provide the product to the specifications h. Any exceptions to the Buy American Act (see below paragraph) The Buy American Act is applicable to this requirement. FAR Part 25.101 requires agencies to acquire only domestic end products for public use inside the United States. Domestic end products are: (1) an unmanufactured end product mined or produced in the United States OR (2) an end product manufactured in the United States AND the cost of components mined, produced or manufactured in the United States exceeds 50 percent of the costs of all components, FAR 25.101. However, if the product is manufactured in the United States and is a COTS item (commercially available off-the-shelf), then the component test is waived and the product is deemed to be a domestic end product, FAR 12.505(a). There are certain exceptions under which a contracting officer may purchase a non-domestic end product. See FAR Parts 25.103 and 25.202 to understand exceptions. 2. Responses must be submitted in writing according to the requirements outlined in this document and received via e-mail by Rhonda Sizemore at
[email protected] no later than 3:00 p.m. EST on Monday, January 11, 2021 . Late responses may not be considered or evaluated. When responding, please use “Response to DPM Cassette Sources Sought Notice” in the subject line of the email. VI. AGENCY POINT OF CONTACT Rhonda Sizemore Contract Specialist/Contracting Officer 1301 Airport Road Beaver, West Virginia 25813
[email protected] Office Phone: (304)256-3538 VII. OTHER INFORMATION All interested and qualified businesses are encouraged to respond to this notice in accordance with the instructions found herein. Responding to this RFI does not guarantee an award of a contract nor does the Government guarantee that a solicitation will be issued as a result of the RFI. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this request or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to this request. This request is issued only to locate vendors interesting in becoming an approved supplier of the subject product . Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted, or competition-sensitive information contained in their response.