NORTEK AQUADOPP CURRENT METERS

***NOAA'S PACIFIC MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY (PMEL) INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), WITH NORTEKUSA INC OUT OF BOSTON, MA FOR THE NORTEK AQUADOPP CURRENT METERS AND BATTERIES.

******THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON COMPATIBILITY TO EXISTING SYSTEMS OR EQUIPMENT – THE REQUIRED SUPPLIES OR SERVICE MUST BE COMPATIBLE IN ALL ASPECTS (FORM, FIT, AND FUNCTION) WITH EXISTING SYSTEMS OR EQUIPMENT AND THE SOURCE IS UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO MEET NOAA’S REQUIREMENT FOR SENSORS THAT MEASURE OCEAN CURRENTS ON NOAA-DESIGNED MOORED FLEX AND TELOS MOORINGS. THESE MOORINGS ARE PART OF A LARGER INTERNATIONAL EFFORT TO MONITOR OCEAN CONDITIONS IN THE TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE REGIONS OF THE ATLANTIC, PACIFIC, AND INDIAN OCEANS FOR THE RESEARCH MOORED ARRAY (RAMA), PREDICATION AND RESEARCH MOORED ARRAY IN THE TROPICAL ATLANTIC (PIRATA), OCEAN STATION PAPA (PAPA), AND KUROSHIO EXTENSION OBSERVATORY (KEO) PROJECTS TO STUDY GLOBAL WEATHER AND CLIMATE PROCESSES. NOAA’S PMEL SUBSURFACE AND SURFACE MOORING SYSTEMS, HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ARE DESIGNED AROUND THE USE OF NORTEK CURRENT METERS UTILIZING THE SEA-BIRD INDUCTIVE MODEM PROTOCOL. IF THE PROJECT WAS REQURIED TO USE ANOTHER CURRENT MEASURING INSTRUMENT, AN EXTENSIVE ANALYSIS EFFORT WOULD HAVE TO BE CONDUCTED TO ASSURE THAT THE DATA ACQUIRED WAS ADEQUATE FOR THE SCIENTIFIC GOALS OF THE PROJECT. THIS EFFORT WOULD TAKE MANY MONTHS TO YEARS OF ENGINEERING, PROGRAMMING, AND SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL TIME WITHOUT THE GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS. A CHANGE TO ANOTHER INSTRUMENT TYPE WOULD ALSO REQUIRE THE PURCHASE AND REDESIGN OF OUR MOORING SYSTEM ADDING EXTENSIVE COSTS TO THE PROJECT. SINCE A NEW SYSTEM CANNOT BE USED WITHOUT INTENSIVE ENGINEERING AND ANALYSIS IT WOULD ALSO REQUIRE THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SOFTWARE PROGRAMS AND PERSONNEL TRAINING FOR DATA REDUCTION AND ANALYSIS AND WOULD FAR EXCEED THE FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR THIS PROGRAM. THE USE OF OTHER INSTRUMENTS COULD, AND HAS IN OTHER APPLICATIONS BIASED THE COLLECTED TIME SERIES DATA OVER THE LIFE OF THE EXPERIMENT. THE INABILITY TO OBTAIN THE HIGH-QUALITY, REAL-TIME DATA PROVIDED BY THE NORTEK INSTRUMENTS WOULD JEOPARDIZE PMEL SCIENTISTS IN PROVIDING THE SCIENTIFIC DATA AND ANALYSIS TO THEIR INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS AS OUTLINED IN FUNDED PROJECT PROPOSALS.

THE PMEL GLOGAL TROPICAL MOORED BUOY ARRAY (GTMBA) PROGRAM AND OCEAN CLIMATE STATIONS (OCS) PROGRAM WORKED WITH NORTEK TO DEVELOP A SINGLE-POINT ACOUSTIC CURRENT METER TO BE USED WITH THE FLEX MOORINGS AND TO BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE NEWER TELOS MOORING ELECTRONIC DATA-ACQUISITION SYSTEMS. NORTEK ENGINEERS HAVE SPECIFICALLY INTEGRATED THE SEA-BIRD INDUCTIVE MODEM FOR REAL-TIME COMMUNICATIONS WITH PMEL’S FLEX AND TELOS DATA LOGGING SYSTEMS. NORTEK AND PMEL’S ENGINNERING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION (EDD) HAVE ALSO SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED THE MECHANICAL CLAMPING MECHANISM FOR PMEL’S BUOY MOORING WIRE. THE GTMBA AND EDD DESIGN PARAMETERS WERE A SIGNIFICANT CRITERION FOR A DESIGN OF A CURRENT METER THAT COULD MEET REA-TIME DATA DELIVERY AND ADDITIONALY MEET THE PROGRAMS’ NECESSARY AND CRITICAL DEPLOYMENT DURATION REQUIREMENT OF 400 DAYS WHILE SAMPLING ONCE EVERY TEN MINUTES WHILE DEPOLOYED IN A HARSH REMOTE ENVIRONMENT AT SEA.

NOAA/PMEL ENGINEERS DESIGNED THE FLEX SOFTWARE INTERFACE SPECIFICALLY FOR THE NORTEK AQUDOPP AND ITS INTEGRATED SEA-BIRD INDUCTIVE MODEM. ADDITONAL TESTING VALIDATED THE FINAL DESIGN, AND NOW THE AQUADOPP IS THE ONLY CURRENT METER THAT CAN COMMUNICATE AND BE USED WITH THE FLEX SYSTEM. THE USE OF A DIFFERENT CURRENT METER WOULD REQUIRE THE EXPENSE OF A RE-DESIGN OF THE FLEX SYSTEM (SOFTWARE, HARDWARE) AND A TESTING EVALUATION PERIOD WHICH WOULD PRECLUDE THE GTMBA PROGRAM FROM MEETING ITS OBLIGATIONS FOR CRUISE DEPLOYMENTS AND TEREFORE LIMIT OUR ABILITY TO MEET NOAA’S MISSION. THE USE OF ANOTHER MANUFACTURER WOULD REQUIRE A COMPLETE REDESIGN OF THE FLEX SYSTEM AT A SIGNIFICANT COST TO THE GOVERNMENT.

THE REQUIRED DELIVERY DATE IS BY 09/30/2025.

***THIS NOTICE OF INTENT 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 IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS SYNOPSIS. SUCH 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.