The USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspections Service (APHIS), Plant and Protection Quarantine (PPQ), A&E Operations in Edinburg, TX intends to procure the materials and labor needed to fabricate Sterile Fruit Fly Storage and Dispersal Equipment as described below. The USDA intends to award a firm fixed-price contract for the entire cost of all materials and labor necessary to fabricate the fly containment and dispersal equipment. This is a best value procurement and First Article testing will be required. It is anticipated that the formal solicitation, Request for Proposal (RFP) 029-M-APHIS-04, will be released on or about May 20, 2004 and posted on this FEDBIZOPPS website. Please download the RFP from this website. ALL INTERESTED PARTIES SHOULD E-MAIL THE CONTRACTING OFFICER IN ORDER TO BE PUT ON THE SOLICITATION LIST TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATIONS OF ANY AMENDMENTS ISSUED TO THE SOLICITATION. IN THEIR E-MAIL MESSAGE, PARTIES SHOULD INCLUDE THE SOLICITATION NUMBER AS WEELL AS THEIR NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER, AND E-MAIL ADDRESS. A hard (printed) copy of the solicitation will not otherwise be available. Any questions or inquiries must be mailed or faxed to the Contracting Office, to the attention of the point of contact listed in this notice. Requests by telephone will not be honored. Point of contact: Larry Nelson, Contracting Officer, (612) 336-3225, FAX: (612) 370-2106, E-mail:
[email protected] SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES BACKGROUND The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), intends to award a contract for the fabrication of four refrigerated insect release machines with double insect containment boxes to include the fabrication of 16 insect containment boxes. This equipment is necessary to support the Mexican fruit fly eradication programs in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and other Mexican fruit fly infestations in the United States. TECHNICAL INFORMATION FOR CHILLED STERILE FLY CONTAINMENT/DISPERSAL EQUIPMENT FOR MEXICAN FRUIT FLY CONTROL The fly containment and dispersal machine developed by USDA, APHIS, PPQ, Aircraft and Equipment Operations (AEO), is a 28-volt DC electro-mechanical assembly comprised of an aircraft grade extrusions and alclad sheet metal housing configured in the form of an “L” fitted with one fly containment box. The vertical section and short side of the “L” contains all of the electrical controls, air conditioning components, and connectors for aircraft and external electrical power sources. The uppermost compartment of the vertical section supports the condenser and blower assembly. The center section houses a two-cylinder (6 cubic inch) piston type compressor which is driven by an electrical 28-volt DC motor. The center compartment houses the evaporator blower, motor, and the received-drier assembly. The lower compartment houses the evaporator, blower assembly, and pressure regulator assembly. The lower compartments also serve as the refrigerated air supply and return plenum. The horizontal base section contains the fly ejection systems which is made up of three nylon augers, longitudinally mounted and equally spaced in parallel. The augers are driven by one 28 volt electrical stepping motor which is equipped with a High Torque Drive (HTD) pulley and three HTD belts. The base serves as the main refrigerated and return air duct assembly, and is the main support for both the fly containment box and the dispersal machine-to-aircraft mount. The auger system provides the method of the extraction of the flies from the base of the containment box to the transition duct through the fly ejection gate. This fly ejection gate is an electrical servo operated rectangular nylon plate which slides open for fly release and is closed for fly retention. The fly containment/dispersal equipment described above has the capacity for holding approximately 2.5 million Mexican fruit fly adults. The equipment is capable of maintaining an internal temperature of 39 degrees Fahrenheit (plus or minus two degrees) at all times while the equipment is loaded with flies and for the duration of each dispersal mission. Temperature control is extremely vital to the success of each dispersal mission. Temperatures above the specified range result in physical damage to the flies due to movement of the flies at the higher temperature, and also makes dispersal of the flies difficult because they cling together at the higher temperatures. Temperatures below the specified range cause damage to the flies due to hypothermia. Configuration and construction of the containment equipment provides for constant and equal air circulation throughout the containment compartment for the duration of each dispersal flight. The dispersal mechanism is capable of dispersing flies from the containment compartment to the outside of the aircraft at variable rates. The equipment also has the capability for rapid evacuation of the total amount of flies from the containment compartment to the outside of the aircraft in the event of an aborted mission in order to prevent the return of the flies to the base of operations. CONSTRUCTION AND SPECIAL SPECIFICATIONS The equipment shall be constructed based on the above description and attached drawings with the following specifics. 1. The unit shall include two fly containment boxes rather than one described above. 2. Dual flight augers, 3 ½” diameter, 3” pitch. 3. Thermal insulation for machine and insect containment boxes. 4. Four each independent adjustable potentiometers to provide four independent adjustable auger speed selections at the remote control. Auger speeds: Minimum 0.8 RPM Maximum 21 RPM. 5. Pre-chill lids for the release machine auger base assembly. 6. Evaporator coil blower capacity to be at least 600 CFM (FASCO double outlet blower, single speed, 24 VDC, 600 CFM, Model 2898-092-003, or equivalent.)