REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL (CB) PROTECTIVE GLOVES DESCRIPTION THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NOR DOES THE GOVERNMENT INTEND TO PAY FOR ANY INFORMATION RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO THIS RFI. The purpose of this RFI is to obtain information and product samples for CB protective handwear items that exhibit improved human factors performance over the military 7 mil butyl chemical protective glove (MIL-G-43976) and also provide flame-resistance (F R). Responses to this solicitation may involve material or products that are in any stage of development. Information and samples may include any of the following: (1) Comfort Liners - for sweat absorption (novel ideas are encouraged, e.g., liners without fingertips); (2) CB Protective Liners - intended for wear under the Summer Flyers Glove (SFG) or similar outer duty glove; (3) Stand-Alone Gloves - that provide both CB and FR protection; (4) FR Over-Glove - with the same wear concept as the SFG; and (5) Glove Systems a multi-piece system that provides both CB and FR protection. Please note that glove concepts 1 and 4 do not require CB protection. Product samples obtained by this RFI shall be examined and tested with results being used for developing future CB glove requirements and/or acquisition strategies. Performance areas o f particular interest that may be tested on samples submitted include, but are not limited to: tactility, dexterity, melting, grip, comfort, heat stress, durability, safety, and integration with CB ensembles. This is an open search, and not limited to cur rent CB glove solutions in the Department of Defense (DoD) inventory. Submissions to the previous JB2GU Request for Proposal (RFP) should not be submitted to this RFI unless size, fit, or construction has been altered to further improve tactility and dext erity. While CB protection is required, this RFI primarily seeks glove products that demonstrate the ability to provide improved human factors performance; subsequently, CB protection threshold and objective challenge levels shall not be defined. Vendors are req uired, however, to specify the level of protection afforded by their CB glove submissions. CB protective glove products sought by this RFI are intended for use across multiple DoD operational areas to include aviation, ground, and shipboard, combat service support, peacekeeping, special operations, logistical functions, and CB warfare training. Especially desirable are CB protective glove products that demonstrate improved fine finger tactility and dexterity performance applicable to use of standard computer keyboards, palm pilot-type computers, flight panel operations in fixed-wing and rotary a ircraft, and handling and manipulating small items. In general, the requirements outlined for the JB2GU (Type I) FR (excluding the CB threshold challenge level) can be used as guidance; however, the following Human Factors requirements are emphasized: Tactility, Dexterity, and Comfort. Threshold Requirements: greater than 7 mil butyl worn under SFG. Comfort liners, CB protective liners, stand-alone gloves, FR over-gloves, and glove systems must have improved fine-finger tactility and dexterity. Tacti lity is herein defined as the ability to feel with fingers to perform tasks. Dexterity is herein defined as ability to move/manipulate hands and fingers and grasp items to perform tasks. Glove products shall not exhibit slippage of glove materials agains t the skin. Glove liner products shall not significantly degrade the tactility and dexterity of over-gloves they are worn with. Glove products shall also exhibit improved physical comfort, thermal comfort, and sweat management. Fit. Threshold Requirements: Glove products should be provided in a sufficient number of sizes to fit over the range of hand sizes falling within the 5th percentile female through the 99th percentile male ha nd dimensions critical to hand fit, such as hand length and hand breadth. While there is no limit to number of sizes, improved tactility and dexterity with a minimum number of sizes is desired. Compatibility. Threshold Requirements: defined in the following table. In addition, comfort liners, CB protective liners, stand-alone gloves, FR over-gloves, and glove systems should also be compatible with the Joint Protective Aircrew Ensemble (JPACE) and the Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST) ensemble with regard to cuff and sleeve interface. With the exception of comfort liners, all other glove products should have sufficient gauntlet length to achieve acceptable interface. Glove Submission Type Compatible with: 1. Comfort Liner " Worn under 7 mil butyl glove which is worn under SFG " Worn under the JB1GU/JB2GU CB glove system " Potentially worn under other Glove submissions (submission #s 2, 3, 5) 1 2. CB Protective Liner " If found to be necessary, worn over Comfort Liner for sweat absorption (submission #1) 1,2 " Worn under SFG or similar outer duty glove (e.g., JB1GU/JB2GUs outer duty glove) " Worn under FR Over-Glove submissions (#4) 1 3. Stand-Alone Glove " If found to be necessary, worn over Comfort Liner for sweat absorption (submission #1) 1,2 4. FR Over-Glove " Worn over current CB protective glove liners, such as the 7 mil butyl glove or the JB1GU CB liners " Worn over CB Protective Liner gloves (submission #2) 1 5. Glove System " If found to be necessary, worn over Comfort Liner for sweat absorption (submission #1) 1,2 Notes: 1. This configuration may be examined, at the discretion of the Government 2. It is the intention that Glove Submissions 2, 3 and 5 should consider/include comfort/sweat absorption; however, if necessary, other comfort liners (submission #1) submitted by other vendors may be integrated with these submissions to achieve optimal c omfort and improved tactility/dexterity. This request seeks information from manufacturers of gloves and materials both foreign and domestic, for products that are able meet the requirements described above. Each product should be noted as to its potential as a Comfort Liner, a CB Protective Lin er, a Stand-Alone Glove, an FR Over-Glove, or a Glove System. Cost estimates should be provided per pair and may include step-ladder pricing to demonstrate price breaks that could be realized from large scale production. Product samples (commercial gloves or examples of modified commercial gloves) and candidate materials submitted should be accompanied by test data supporting product claims. Information on product performance and physical properties should include: any chemical warfare agent permeation r ates and breakthrough times, melt and flame resistance, material stiffness, tear strengths, stretch ratio, thickness, moisture vapor transmission rates, air permeability, seam strengths, bursting strengths, weight of materials, petroleum/oil/lubricant resi stance, etc. Responders should include a description of all their technologies, commercialized or in development, which address CB protective handwear. Responders are invited and encouraged to submit product samples for evaluation at no cost to the Government. If a p roduct of the nature described is already available, we request submittal of a sample size of six (6) pairs per size in the number of sizes of the product that are proposed in your submission to fit the male and female hand size range specified in the Fit Section, above. Preliminary evaluations will be conducted at the Governments discretion. Samples should be accompanied by a size prediction chart b ased on standard anthropometric hand dimensions such as hand length and hand breadth. For Comfort Liner submissions or any other submission that features a sweat absorption liner, vendors are requested to submit 18 pairs of sweat absorption liners per siz e to enable hygienic testing across multiple test subjects. Technical submission packages should include an inventory of the number of boxes shipped and the total contents shipped, including specific quantities of each item type and the quantity per size of all items shipped. To the extent possible, product samples should be accompanied by the appropriate Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), Safety Assessment Report in accordance with DI-SAFT-80102B, and a Health Hazard Analysis Report in accordance with DI-SAFT-80106B. These i tems will allow the Government to readily obtain, if necessary, a toxicity clearance and safety release prior to testing. For samples lacking this specific documentation, information on safety of the product must be provided to include test results from F R testing or other destructive testing that could create by-products. The glove products shall be constructed of non-toxic materials that are non-toxic to skin contact, open wounds, and inhalation if burned. The glove products should not contain or produ ce any hazardous waste. Technical submissions should address this issue. Any additional information deemed beneficial to providing the Government a better understanding of your companys capabilities or uniqueness as related to CB and FR protective handw ear with improved human factors performance should also be provided. DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for market research, information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. No solicitation exists at this time. The information received in response to this RFI may be used for developing an acquisition strategy and any resultant solicitation that may occur. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. It is noted, however, that the information submitted may be made available to non-competing , other-than-Government personnel (Battelle, Sverdrup, and Kalman & Company, Inc.) to assist in the review process. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Submission of material, samples or information in response to this RFI shall not be construed a s a commitment by the Government to procure any items/services, or for the Government to pay for the information or samples received. LABELING OF SAMPLES AND SHIPPING BOXES 1. All samples shall be clearly labeled as being submitted in response to this RFI. 2. All samples should be clearly identified by type of glove product in accordance with the five types specified in the first paragraph of this document. 3. Each item in a glove product pair should be marked with the size and marked as Left or Right, if not clearly obvious. If glove products are individually packaged, indicate on each package the type product (e.g., comfort liner, CB protective liner, etc. ), and the size of the pair. 4. Shipping boxes should be marked on the outside with the RFI number, the type of product (e.g., comfort liner, protective liner, etc.), and the number of pairs in each size contained within the box. 5. Shipping boxes should contain a box inventory on the inside specifying the RFI number, the type of the product (e.g., comfort liner, protective liner, etc.), and the number of pairs in each size contained within the box. 6. Each shipped box should contain a copy of the size prediction chart for the glove submission. CONTACT INFORMATION Please submit all information and product samples to: US Army Research Development & Engineering Command Natick Soldier Center 55 Kansas Street Natick, MA 01760-5020 Attn: AMSRD-NSC-SS-E (K. Allan) Two copies of all information provided - with the exception of product samples is requested. Product samples are req uested in a sample size of six (6) pairs per size and should adhere to the guidelines stated in the Fit Section of this RFI. Inquiries and questions regarding the technical description contained in this RFI may be directed to Karla Allen at Karla.Allan@us .army.mil and Ruzena Rok at
[email protected]. RESPONSES TO THIS RFI SHOULD BE RECEIVED BY 2:00 PM ON TUESDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 2006. A WORD VERSION COPY OF THIS NOTICE IS LOCATED AT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE: https://www3.natick.army.mil, go to Business Opportunities, then to Upcoming Acquisitions, and then to Reference # Aviation Glove.