COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION
Non-personal annual life raft inspection services, base and 4 option years, for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL) Lake Michigan Field Station (LMFS).
(i) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice and in accordance with the simplified acquisition procedures authorized in FAR Part 13. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.
(ii) This solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). Submit written quotes on RFQ Number 1305M326Q0035.
(iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (1/15/2026).
(iv) This solicitation is being issued as a total Small Business Set-Aside. The associated NAICS code is 811310. The small business size standard is $12.5M.
(v) This combined solicitation/synopsis is for purchase of the following commercial services:
CLIN 0001 – Base Year
Services, non-personal, to provide all labor, equipment and materials (unless otherwise provided herein) necessary for conducting annual life raft inspection services at the contractor’s location, in accordance with the Statement of Work. Period of Performance Award through 12/31/2026 with services to be completed by 04/01/2026.
CLIN 1001 – Option Year 1
Services, non-personal, to provide all labor, equipment and materials (unless otherwise provided herein) necessary for conducting annual life raft inspection services at the contractor’s location, in accordance with the Statement of Work. Period of Performance 01/01/2027 through 12/31/2027 with services to be completed by 03/01/2027.
CLIN 2001 – Option Year 2
Services, non-personal, to provide all labor, equipment and materials (unless otherwise provided herein) necessary for conducting annual life raft inspection services at the contractor’s location, in accordance with the Statement of Work. Period of Performance 01/01/2028 through 12/31/2028 with services to be completed by 03/01/2028.
CLIN 3001 – Option Year 3
Services, non-personal, to provide all labor, equipment and materials (unless otherwise provided herein) necessary for conducting annual life raft inspection services at the contractor’s location, in accordance with the Statement of Work. Period of Performance 01/01/2029 through 12/31/2029 with services to be completed by 03/01/2029.
CLIN 4001 – Option Year 4
Services, non-personal, to provide all labor, equipment and materials (unless otherwise provided herein) necessary for conducting annual life raft inspection services at the contractor’s location, in accordance with the Statement of Work. Period of Performance 01/01/2030 through 12/31/2030 with services to be completed by 03/01/2030.
(vi) Description of requirements is as follows:
See attached Statement of Work which applies to Base Year and all Option Years 1 – 4.
INVOICES TO BE BILLED MONTHLY IN ARREARS. QUOTE PRICING MAY BE PROVIDED ON ATTACHED SF18 FORM OR ON COMPANY LETTERHEAD.
(vii) Date(s) and place(s) of delivery and acceptance:
Delivery Information:
Delivery shall be FOB Origin, shipping between GLERL LMFS at 1431 Beach Street, Muskegon, MI 49441 and the contractor’s facility.
Life rafts shall be stagger shipped for service beginning upon the Date of Award to allow the Government to retain sufficient enough safety raft(s) for vessel operations in the event weather permits mission operations. All rafts shall be returned to LMFS no later than March 1st of each performance period of the option years and by April 1 for the base year only.
Period of performance shall be:
Base Year for a twelve month period Award through 12/31/2026 with services performed from award to 04/01/2026.
Option Period 1 for a twelve month period 01/01/2027 through 12/31/2027 with services to be performed 01/01/2027 through 03/01/2027.
Option Period 2 for a twelve month period 01/01/2028 through 12/31/2028 with services to be performed 01/01/2028 through 03/01/2028.
Option Period 3 for a twelve month period 01/01/2029 through 12/31/2029 with services to be performed 01/01/2029 through 03/01/2029.
Option Period 4 for a twelve month period 01/01/2030 through 12/31/2030 with services to be performed 01/01/2030 through 03/01/2030.
The start date is an estimate and is subject to new funding approval processes. If there is a significant delay in awarding this contract, a shortened base year Period of Performance may be utilized or an updated quote may be requested with a new 12-month base year and corresponding option years.
Place of Performance is:
Contractor’s facility
(viii) FAR provision 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Sept 2023) (Deviation Jan 2026), applies to this acquisition and can be found on the Request for Quote form SF18 attachment.
(ix) FAR provision 52.212-2 , Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2021) (Deviation Jan 2026), applies to this acquisition and can be found on the Request for Quote form SF18 attachment.
Per Deviation 2025-02/03: System updates may lag policy updates. The System for Award Management (SAM) may continue to require entities to complete representations based on provisions that are not included in agency solicitations, including 52.223-22, Public Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Reduction Goals—Representation, and paragraph (t) of 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Products and Commercial Services.
(ix) FAR clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2023) (Deviation Jan 2026), applies to this acquisition and can be found on the Request for Quote form SF18 attachment.
(x) Any additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions that apply can be found on the Request for Quote form SF18 attachment.
(xi) Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) and assigned rating does not apply.
(xii) Quotes are required to be received in the contracting office no later than 12:00PM MST on 02/02/2026. All quotes must be submitted electronically via email to Kirsten.keen@noaa.gov.
(xiii) Any questions regarding this solicitation should be submitted electronically via email to Kirsten.keen@noaa.gov.
UTILIZATION OF FEDCONNECT® FOR CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION
The Department of Commerce will utilize the FedConnect® web portal in administering this award. The contractor must be registered in FedConnect® and have access to the FedConnect® website located at https://www.fedconnect.net/Fedconnect/. For assistance in registering or for other FedConnect® questions please call the FedConnect® Help Desk at (800) 899-6665 or email at support@fedconnect.net. There is no charge for registration in or use of FedConnect®.
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1352.215-72 Inquiries (Apr 2010)
OFFERORS MUST SUBMIT ALL QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS SOLICITATION IN WRITING VIA EMAIL TO KIRSTEN.KEEN@NOAA.GOV. QUESTIONS SHOULD BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN 10am MST on 01/28/2026. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract.
(End of clause)
FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Sep 2023) (Deviation Jan 2026)
NOTICE TO OFFERORS: Instructions for submitting quotations under this request for quote must be followed. Failure to provide all information to aid in the evaluation may be considered non-responsive. Offers that are non-responsive may be excluded from further evaluation and rejected without further notification to the offeror.
1. Submit PDF or Microsoft Word format quotations to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the time specified in the solicitation. Quote documents shall include signed copies of the SF 18 and SF 30(s) to acknowledge the solicitation and any applicable amendments. Email quotes are required and can be sent to Kirsten.keen@noaa.gov.
2. Offeror shall have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM found at https://sam.gov/content/home) in order to provide a quote and be eligible for award. Must provide their UEID/CAGE CODE with their quote.
3. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of them or their capability.
4. Offerors must provide all evaluation criteria in accordance with FAR 52.212-2. Offerors who do not provide all evaluation criteria may not be considered.
1. Technical Acceptability/Capability.
2. Past Performance.
3. Price.
4. Certifications.
5. Turn-around time.
THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR NON-RECEIPT OF QUOTES. IT IS THE CONTRACTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY TO REQUEST AND RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION OF THE QUOTE RECEIPT.
FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation- Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2021) (Deviation Jan 2026)
Offers will be evaluated based on price and the factors set forth in paragraph (a).
The evaluation will consider the Non-Price Technical Solution (Technical Approach and Past Performance) to be significantly more important than price. However, as quotes are determined to be more equal in the non-price evaluation factor, price becomes more important and may become the determining factor for award. If, at any stage of the evaluation, all vendors are determined to have submitted equal, or virtually equal, Non-Price Technical Solutions, price could become the factor in determining which vendor will receive the award.
The Government intends to evaluate the quotes and award a purchase order based on the Offeror’s initial quote; therefore, the Offeror’s initial quote should contain the Offeror’s best terms from a Non-Price Technical Solution and price standpoint.
The Government reserves the right not to award a purchase order depending on the quality of the quote(s) submitted and the availability of funds. Furthermore, the Government may waive informalities and minor irregularities or omissions in quotes received.
The Government may make award to other than the lowest-priced Offeror or the Offeror with the highest technical rating if the Contracting Officer determines that to do so would result in the best value to the Government. The Government will not make an award at a significantly higher overall price to achieve only slightly superior performance capability.
(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered.
Paragraph (a) is hereby completed as follows: Evaluation will be based on the following:
1. Technical Approach and Capability.
The Offeror’s overall technical approach will be evaluated to assess the Government's level of confidence in the Offeror’s understanding of, approach to, and ability to successfully perform the requirements as described in the Statement of Work. Provide a detailed description of the company’s experience performing similar services. A detailed technical approach write-up describing how the Offeror will perform this service is required to be submitted with the quote regardless of whether a site visit was made or not. The technical approach write-up must not be a reiteration of the Statement of Work, but how your company plans on performing the tasks listed in the attached Statement of Work. (i.e. performance checklists, anticipated number of employees, anticipated hours at the facility and/or confirmation of supplies being provided, etc.)
2. Past Performance.
Quote shall include at least two references from at least two separate contracts for similar and relevant recent services within the past two years including the name, phone number, full address, and e-mail address of the reference to demonstrate the offeror’s capability to successfully perform the services listed in the Statement of Work.
The offeror is required to fill out blocks 1-4 and send the attached Past Performance Questionnaire to the references provided by the offeror in their submission. The references should complete the Past Performance Questionnaire and then email it directly to (CS/CO email) by the closing date and time of this solicitation. The Government reserves the right to consider past performance report forms received after the due date and time of the solicitation, past performance questionnaires submitted from previous solicitations, and to contact references for verification or additional information.
The Offeror's past performance on related contracts will be evaluated to determine, as appropriate, successful performance of contract requirements, quality and timeliness of delivery of goods and services, cost management, communications between contracting parties, proactive management and customer satisfaction. The Government will use its discretion to determine the sources of past performance information used in the evaluation, and the information may be obtained from references provided by the Offeror, the agency’s knowledge of Offeror performance, other government agencies or commercial entities, or past performance databases, and will be based on responsiveness, quality, and customer services.
Offerors lacking relevant past performance history, or for whom past performance information is either not available or has not been submitted to the Government, will receive a neutral rating for past performance. A good past performance rating provides higher confidence than a neutral or satisfactory rating.
3. Price.
The Government will evaluate the price quote for completeness and reasonableness in relation to the RFQ requirements. Quoted prices must be entirely compatible with the Non-Price Technical Solution.
4. Certifications.
The offeror must be certified to provide the services described in the Statement of Work by each of the raft manufacturers.
5. Timeframe
Offeror must be able to meet the tight turn-around timeframe for the services. Offerors will need to confirm on their quote that they can meet this, quotes that do not state this will not be acceptable.
The Government intends to award a trade-off, single firm fixed-price purchase order on an all or none basis with payment terms of Net 30.
(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).
(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.
(End of provision)
