ATON BATTERY PACKS

***THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION’S (NOAA) ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, EASTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-NORFOLK, NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS) CENTER FOR OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (CO-OPS), INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE AND AWARD A PURCHASE ORDER, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF RFO FAR 6.103-1, WITH WAREHOUSE BATTERY OUTLET, INC. FOR ATON BATTERY PACKS. NO SET ASIDE IS TO BE USED FOR THIS SOLE SOURCE REQUIREMENT. THE ASSOCIATED NAICS CODE IS 335910.

***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON NOAA’S REQUIREMENT THAT WAREHOUSE BATTERY OUTLET INC. IS THE MANUFACTURER AND SOLE DISTRIBUTOR OF ATON BATTERY PACKS IN THE UNITED STATES. WAREHOUSE BATTERY OUTLET INC. DOES NOT HAVE ANY AUTHORIZED PARTNERS OR RESELLERS WHO CAN PROVIDE THESE PRODUCTS.

THE ATON, IATON, AND IATON V-2 ARE REAL-TIME OCEAN CURRENT MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS THAT AFFIX TO U.S. COAST GUARD (USCG) AIDS-TO-NAVIGATION (ATON) BUOYS. THESE SYSTEMS EMPLOY AN ACOUSTIC DOPPLER CURRENT PROFILER (ADCP) SENSOR TO MEASURE OCEAN CURRENTS. MOTIVATION FOR THE ATON AND IATON DESIGNS AND DEVELOPMENT CAME FROM THE NEED TO FULFILL PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHIC REAL-TIME SYSTEMS (PORTS®) USERS’ REQUESTS FOR REAL TIME VERTICAL CURRENT PROFILE INFORMATION IN OR NEAR SHIPPING CHANNELS. THE ATON VERSION OF THIS SYSTEM USES A RADIO TO COMMUNICATE WITH A SHORE STATION THAT TRANSMITS THE DATA BACK TO CO-OPS THROUGH NOAA’S GEOSTATIONARY OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITES (GOES). THE IATON AND IATON V-2 VERSIONS OF THE SYSTEM UTILIZES IRIDIUM SHORT BURST DATA MODEMS TO TRANSMIT DATA DIRECTLY TO COOPS. THE 26 MN1300D BATTERY PACK MADE BY BATTERY WAREHOUSE OUTLET HAS BEEN THE STANDARD BATTERY PACK USED BY CO-OPS FOR THE ATON AND IATON SYSTEMS FOR OVER 20 YEARS. SINCE THE SYSTEMS ARE INSTALLED USCG ATON BUOYS THERE IS A REQUIREMENT FOR THE SYSTEM TO HAVE A LOW PROFILE THAT DOES NOT VISUALLY ALTER THE SHAPE OF THE BUOY. AS A RESULT, THERE IS LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE AND THE BATTERY COMPARTMENTS OF THE SYSTEMS ARE DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE THESE BATTERY PACKS. THESE BATTERY PACKS WERE TESTED BY CO-OPS TO ENSURE THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO POWER THE SYSTEMS THROUGH A FULL DEPLOYMENT AND WOULD NOT BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY THE HARSH ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS THEY ARE EXPOSED TO. THIS PURCHASE IS FOR BATTERY PACKS TO SUPPORT EXISTING STATIONS IN CO-OPS’ NETWORK OF ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING STATIONS. SIGNIFICANT ENGINEERING EFFORT WAS UTILIZED TO ENSURE ALL INTERIOR COMPONENTS FIT IN THE SPACE AVAILABLE AND ARE OF APPROPRIATE MATERIALS AND QUALITY AND ARE ELECTRICALLY COMPATIBLE WITH THE GAUGES THEY ARE TO BE INTEGRATED INTO. IMPLEMENTING DIFFERENT COMPONENTS WILL RESULT IN ADDITIONAL COST AND RESOURCES. ALSO, THERE WILL BE RESULTING DELAY FOR TESTING, TRAINING, AND PURCHASE OF SUPPORT EQUIPMENT.

UNDER THE CURRENT CO-OPS OPERATING SYSTEM ANY ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING EQUIPMENT THAT HAS NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN APPROVED MUST BE SUBJECTED TO A SERIES OF TESTS TO ENSURE THE QUALITY OF THE DATA AND THE DURABILITY OF THE EQUIPMENT FOR THE INTENDED USE. THESE TESTS USUALLY INCLUDE BENCH TESTING USING CONTROLLED CONDITIONS AND PHYSICAL MEASUREMENT, CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING TO CHECK THE EQUIPMENT’S RELIABILITY UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS, AND LONG-TERM COMPARISON TESTING WITH ACCEPTED EQUIPMENT AT MULTIPLE REAL-WORLD LOCATIONS. THESE TESTS AND THE ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTING DATA TAKE A LARGE AMOUNT OF TIME, MONEY, AND RESOURCES TO CONDUCT.

CURRENTLY CO-OPS FIELD PERSONAL AND CONTRACTORS ARE TRAINED IN THE USE AND MAINTENANCE OF THE ITEMS IN THIS PURCHASE. ADDITIONAL COST WILL INCUR FROM HAVING TO TRAIN FIELD PERSONAL AND CONTRACTORS ON THE USE AND MAINTENANCE OF NEW EQUIPMENT. CO-OPS ALSO HAS THE ABILITY AND EQUIPMENT TO TEST AND MONITOR THE EQUIPMENT IN THIS PURCHASE. IF NEW EQUIPMENT IS PURCHASED ADDITIONAL PARTS AND EQUIPMENT WILL NEED TO BE PURCHASED TO SUPPORT THE NEW EQUIPMENT.

DELIVERY DATE: 115 DAYS FROM DATE OF 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