SAM #141014-26-0063

NOAA Sole Source Procurement: Custom Whale Entanglement Response Telemetry Toolkit

NOAA's National Ocean Service, through its Eastern Acquisition Division-Norfolk, is seeking a custom whale entanglement response telemetry toolkit for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. - Government Buyer: - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - National Ocean Service (NOS) - Eastern Acquisition Division-Norfolk - Sole source procurement from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) - Required OEM components: - Scout Rescue/Response Telemetry Tags - Wildlife Computers SPOT-363C Transmitters - Advanced Telemetry Systems (ATS) F-1840B Transmitters - Products/Services Requested: - 1 custom integrated humpback telemetry response package - Includes the above OEM components - Custom assembly and integration to fit the sanctuary's deployment hardware and data systems - Unique Requirements: - Equipment must be engineered for long-term, tethered whale tracking in challenging marine environments - Custom integration is required to ensure compatibility with existing sanctuary systems - The Nature Conservancy is the only vendor with the proprietary methods and operational knowledge to deliver this solution - No alternative vendors or products can meet the mission-critical requirements for this application

Description

***THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION’S (NOAA) ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, EASTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-NORFOLK, ON BEHALF OF NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS), HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HUMPBACK WHALE NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY (HIHWNMS), INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE AND AWARD A PURCHASE ORDER, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF RFO FAR 6.103-1, WITH THE NATURE CONSERVANCY (TNC) FOR THE PURCHASE OF AN ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE TOOLKIT TO SUPPORT THE SANCTUARY'S LARGE WHALE ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE MISSION. THIS PROJECT REQUIRES THE PROCUREMENT OF A LONG-TERM, TETHERED RESPONSE TELEMETRY PACKAGE AND ASSOCIATED TRANSMITTERS, WHICH ARE CRITICAL FOR TRACKING ENTANGLED WHALES UNTIL CONDITIONS AND RESOURCES ALLOW ENGAGEMENT.

NO SET ASIDE IS TO BE USED FOR THIS SOLE SOURCE REQUIREMENT. THE ASSOCIATED NAICS CODE IS 334519, OTHER MEASURING AND CONTROLLING DEVICE MANUFACTURING.

***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON NOAA’S REQUIREMENT THAT TNC IS THE ONLY VENDOR THAT CAN PROVIDE THIS SERVICE.

THE SANCTUARY REQUIRES A CUSTOM INTEGRATED HUMPBACK TELEMETRY RESPONSE PACKAGE THAT IS EXPLICITLY BUILT USING THE FOLLOWING BRAND NAME COMPONENTS: SCOUT RESCUE/RESPONSE TELEMETRY TAGS, WILDLIFE COMPUTERS SPOT-363C TRANSMITTERS, AND ADVANCED TELEMETRY SYSTEMS (ATS) F-1840B TRANSMITTERS. MARKET RESEARCH INDICATES THAT SIMILAR PRODUCTS CANNOT MEET OR BE MODIFIED TO MEET THE AGENCY'S NEEDS. THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT—PARTICULARLY THE HYDRODYNAMIC STRESS OF BEING DRAGGED BY AN ENTANGLED 40-TON HUMPBACK WHALE—IS UNIQUELY DESTRUCTIVE. THE PROPRIETARY 3-LAY INLINE POTTING OF THE SPOT TAG AND THE 3-STAGE TRANSMISSION OF THE ATS TAG ARE THE ONLY PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES CAPABLE OF SURVIVING THESE SPECIFIC PRESSURES. SUBSTITUTING THESE PROVEN COMPONENTS INTRODUCES AN UNACCEPTABLE RISK OF CATASTROPHIC TAG FAILURE, RESULTING IN COMPLETE DATA LOSS. THIS SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT USES PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY AND IS CUSTOMIZED TO MEET HIHWNMS' ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE MISSION. THE VENDOR MUST HAVE IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF HIHWNMS SYSTEMS AND OPERATIONAL STANDARDS FOR FOLLOW-UP AND SUPPORT AFTER EQUIPMENT IS ORDERED. THE INTEGRATED PACKAGE ASSEMBLED BY TNC IS UNIQUELY ENGINEERED IN FORM AND FIT TO BE DEPLOYED USING THE SANCTUARY'S EXISTING CUSTOM GRAPPLING, TETHERING, AND DART-DEPLOYMENT SYSTEMS. FURTHERMORE, THE SANCTUARY’S SATELLITE DATA PIPELINES AND ON-BOARD VESSEL TRACKING HARDWARE (VHF RECEIVERS) ARE SPECIFICALLY PRE-CALIBRATED TO DECODE THE DATA STRINGS AND PULSE-RATE INTERVALS OF THE WILDLIFE COMPUTERS AND ATS HARDWARE INSIDE THE RIG. IF ANOTHER COMPANY ATTEMPTED TO ASSEMBLE SIMILAR PRODUCTS OR USE SUBSTITUTE HARDWARE, IT WOULD ALTER THE WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION AND STRUCTURAL PROFILE OF THE PACKAGE, RENDERING IT PHYSICALLY INCOMPATIBLE WITH OUR DEPLOYMENT HARDWARE AND ELECTRONICALLY INCOMPATIBLE WITH OUR DATA INFRASTRUCTURE. TNC POSSESSES THE PROPRIETARY OPERATIONAL BLUEPRINTS, HYDRODYNAMIC BALANCING FORMULAS, AND SPECIFIC MARINE EPOXY POTTING TECHNIQUES REQUIRED TO BUILD THIS INTEGRATED RIG. WHILE THE INDIVIDUAL HARDWARE COMPONENTS ARE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE, THE PROCESS OF ASSEMBLING THEM INTO A FUNCTIONAL WHALE ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE PACKAGE IS UNIQUE TO TNC'S DOMAIN EXPERTISE. A STANDARD COMMERCIAL VENDOR OR MARINE ELECTRONICS DISTRIBUTOR DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS TO TNC’S PROPRIETARY ASSEMBLY METHODS, WHICH INCLUDE SPECIALIZED ANTENNA ALIGNMENT FOR SURFACE-INTERVAL BURSTS AND STRUCTURAL REINFORCEMENT TECHNIQUES THAT PREVENT HYDRODYNAMIC SHEARING.

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY (TNC) IS THE ONLY SOURCE UNIQUELY QUALIFIED AND CAPABLE OF PERFORMING THE HIGHLY SPECIALIZED CUSTOM ASSEMBLY, BALANCING, AND INTEGRATION OF THESE TELEMETRY COMPONENTS AT THE LEVEL OF QUALITY REQUIRED. TAGGING AN ENTANGLED LARGE WHALE IS A HIGH-RISK, ZERO-MARGIN-FOR-ERROR OPERATION. OTHER SOURCES WOULD LACK THE SANCTUARY-SPECIFIC OPERATIONAL KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED TO ASSEMBLE THE RIG CORRECTLY. AN IMPROPERLY INTEGRATED PACKAGE WOULD LIKELY SUFFER CATASTROPHIC FAILURE UPON DEPLOYMENT—SUCH AS ANTENNA SNAPPING, WATER INTRUSION, OR STRUCTURAL DETACHMENT. THIS WOULD RESULT IN TOTAL DATA LOSS, A WASTED HIGH-RISK DEPLOYMENT EFFORT BY SANCTUARY STAFF, AND THE POTENTIAL LOSS OF AN ENDANGERED MARINE MAMMAL. TNC’S PROVEN CUSTOM ASSEMBLY METHODOLOGY IS THE ONLY VIABLE OPTION TO PREVENT SEVERE MISSION FAILURE.

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MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED FOUND NO ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM ON THE MARKET THAT MEETS HIHWNMS’S REQUIREMENTS.

DELIVERY: WITHIN 180 DAYS AFTER AWARD.

***THIS PRESOLICITATION NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION OR A REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE. SUCH REQUESTS AND DOCUMENTATION WILL BE EVALUATED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO CONDUCT THIS PROCUREMENT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS. A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.

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