Request for Information (RFI) Communications Shelter including alternative power solution

Rsponses due 1200 (EST) on December 07, 2011. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR) - Atlantics (SSC-A) Request for Information (RFI) is for a shelter to house communications equipment to support the Afghanistan security and police forces. SSC-A has been tasked to provide an emergency communication capability for up to twenty - three (23) districts within Afghanistan. The phase one (1) capability is for six (6) INITIAL (start up) sites with an expansion to seventeen (17) sites making it a total of twenty three (23) sites. The intent of this RFI is to obtain COTS product information that can support the power requirements, heating and cooling of electronics, and housing/protection of the electronics year round. This system will need to operate 24 hour x seven days per week (24 x 7). The purpose of this document is to request information for shelter and solar/power product providers to support Afghanistan emergency communication mission. SSC-A will eventually provide sheltered communication systems and services to the Afghan National Security Forces Police and Afghan Local Police (ALP). The Afghan National Police (ANP) and ALP forces were created under the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistans (GIRoA) Ministry of Interior (MoI) in order to protect its citizens. Due to limited traditional communications infrastructure, this communications project will facilitate host country security through services that provide ANP/ALP with a means to complete field police work and contributes to providing law enforcement services to the local populace. SSC-A will be procuring communications equipment separately. Power/space/heating requirements for this equipment are as follows: Vendor will supply equipment racks inside the shelter for mounting communications equipment. Equipment racks must be standard size (19 inches wide, 1.75 inch Rack units) and steel construction. The communications equipment that needs to go in the shelter is approximately 8 rack units high, no more than 24 inches deep. Communications equipment weighs 60 lbs total. Communications equipment requires 900W of continuous power (24/7), 1100W surge. Vendor will supply power via ten BS-1363 receptacles, 240VAC single phase, 50Hz. IEC 320 C13 receptacles may also be used. Communications equipment in the shelter will emit roughly 1300 BTU/hr. For the purpose of this RFI, vendors will assume that half of the communications shelters will be placed in Kabul, and half will be placed in Kandahar. The operating temperature range of the communications equipment is from 10C to 35C. The system will be capable of being powered 100% by green power such as solar. A small backup diesel generator will be provided by the vendor for use when batteries are depleted due to extended inclement weather. The green power system and batteries shall be capable of providing power to the system for 24 hours with no sunlight, assuming a full charge. The generator and fuel tank provided shall be capable of powering the shelter for a minimum of 36 hours without being refueled. Solar panels must be capable of being placed on the ground with little to no site preparation or infrastructure. The recipient of the equipment has no heavy machinery to perform site construction, lay concrete pads, etc. However, for purposes of this RFI, the vendors may assume the ground is level. The solar panels will be placed in a secure location, but may not require more than one (1) acre of land. The entire system, solar panels and shelters, will be placed in a non-shaded area. To minimize risk of theft of power components, vendor is encouraged to use alternative DC voltages for batteries and inverters. To minimize risk of theft of generators, vendor is required to place the generator and fuel tank inside the primary shelter, or in a separate shelter/skid plate that does not allow direct access to controls and components. To minimize fuel consumption and reduce real estate needs, vendor is encouraged to minimize sizing of system HVAC and shelter. Vendor will provide Automatic Transfer Switch to facilitate switching from green power source to diesel generator. AC service must be continuous through load switches to and from the generator. All outdoor equipment such as solar panels must be able to fit in standard ISO containers for shipping. The shelter may be any size up to a thirty foot ISO container. The shelter will not be manned, and no provisions for human occupation are desired. Vendor is encouraged to evaluate smaller than standard size ISO (8 ft wide, 8 ft tall) containers, but also encouraged to minimize cost. Design of shelter must allow/facilitate movement via standard military and commercial shipping methods. HVAC system, generator, and solar panels must be able to work in the harsh environment (especially dust particles) of Afghanistan. Vendor will supply grounding rods and associated cabling. No other external dependencies will exist. Each of the 23 systems will be going to separate district locations eventually, therefore each system must be packaged separately. All information received will be used by the SSC-A Afghanistan Communications product team to support our technical solution for integration purposes. It will not be shared outside the government Communications Product Team and will be utilized to support our technical solution. SSC-A request for information (RFI) is focused on evaluating shelter and power providers to support its mission. This RFI is for a shelter, power supply/distribution, HVAC only as selected by SSC-A. Please include the following with your technical submission: (1) Administrative Information; (2) Technical Submission; (3) Cost information; and (4) Lead time on equipment ordering. Please provide Administrative Information below: Company information, main staff point of contact (POC) info, including name, address, phone number, and website link (as available). Whether the company is a product provider, technical consultant, manufacturer, and/or distributor. Please address all items and design drivers below as part of your Technical Submission (include Cost and lead time ordering information) 1. Product name and a brief description (no more than one page per product). 2. Product solution shall require minimum real estate. Provide physical size of system and each component including the shelter. 3. The communications equipment will be integrated into the shelter by the government. Currently our requirements are to provide a green power solution therefore power consumption is considered important. a. Identify total power consumed by the shelter, including HVAC, any power monitoring/control system, etc. b. Power interface options to support ease of communication system integration, such as BS-1363 and/or IEC 320 C13. c. Identify HVAC system capacity and describe how HVAC system will withstand harsh climates. d. Identify number of batteries and DC voltage of battery system. e. Identify number of solar panels required for each site and size of each. Identify total footprint required for solar panel field. f. Identify shipping requirements (for example, a single 20 foot ISO container) for solar equipment and any other equipment going outside such as grounding rods. g. Identify capacity of diesel generator and identify which fuel types are supported. h. Identify size and capacity of diesel tank and estimated run time based on full tank. i. Identify capacity of solar battery bank and estimated equipment run time based on full charge. j. Identify which components will be located inside the shelter and which will be outside. The vendor is encouraged to provide a high level graphic depiction. k. Identify maturity of solar power solution proposed. l. Identify how design of shelter allows movement via standard military and commercial shipping methods m. Identify color(s) of the outside of the shelter. Additional System Design Drivers 4. Operations and Maintenance (O&M) - a.Mean time to Repair; b. Mean time between Failures; c. Operational Availability (Uptime) 5. Solar/Battery Power System documentation and training. a. CONUS technical staff training available (please price separately); b. OEM documentation; 6. Detailed price and/or cost schedules for products should be outlined as followed: a. Product price and bulk price (itemized by component); b. Responders are asked to identify any SSC-A and/or GSA Contract Schedules . The submitted information will be evaluated for inclusion in the Afghanistan Communications System Selection by SSC-A. Consequently, follow-up requests for feedback should not be made through Federal Business Opportunities posting agency. Vendors may be contacted following submission for more detailed product information. Submittals Respondents are requested to address the items above provided by SSC-A. All material is to be provided to SSC-A within 10 calendar days from published date of release. The shelter/power system provider or vendor submission should not exceed 10 pages total. Technical requirement questions can be satisfied by Michael Massenet, Communications Systems Engineer, at [email protected] or (843) 218-5702. 1. Respondents are requested to provide feedback in the following format: a. MS Office Products The information received shall be reviewed to conduct objective, comparative assessments and validation of available equipment and/or systems. This RFI is for information gathering and planning purposes only, and should not be construed as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or solicitation of an offer. The Government DOES NOT intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or otherwise pay for the information solicited. A Word document is attached and available at the e-commerce website listed at the bottom of this announcement. E-mail your non-technical contract related questions and submissions to the Contract Specialist, Paula Somers at [email protected].