for the
Thin Secondary Shell
1. Introduction
2. Statement of Work
3. Specimen Contract
4. Pre-Proposal Communication
5. Proposal Preparation
6. Alternate Proposals
7. Proposal Submittal/Acceptance
8. Proposal Evaluation
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The Large Binocular Telescope Project Office (LBTPO), the authorized representative for the LBT Corporation (LBTC), invites proposals for the manufacture of a Thin Secondary Shell for the Adaptive Secondary Units of the Large Binocular Telescope.
A description of the work to be performed is provided under Attachment A (Statement of Work). Two very specific aspects of the thin secondary shell are that:
• It will require polishing a highly aspherical (ellipsoidal) optical surface of nearly 1 m diameter
• It will require reducing the substrate thickness to a very unusual value (~1.6 mm), with implications on fabrication (thinning), handling and delivering aspects.
To provide insight into the elements of the formal agreement that will be negotiated with the organization that submits the successful proposal, a specimen contract has been prepared and included as Attachment B. The contract awarded pursuant to this RFP is likely to be substantially in this format, however, LBTC reserves the right to negotiate the final terms and conditions with the selected supplier.
A traditional pre-proposal conference is not planned and/or scheduled. This solicitation has been sent to several qualified manufacturers in Europe and the United States. The LBTPO plans to utilize preferentially Electronic Mail to receive and respond to inquiries regarding this solicitation. Inquiries by FAX will also be addressed. The source of the inquiries will remain confidential, but the response to an inquiry will be distributed to each recipient of this Request for Proposal. Since the LBTPO will be handling several different RFPs in parallel, any request must identify the RFP name and date. Technical clarifications or supplementary explanations will be issued promptly, so that all recipients are fully informed.
Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation should be presented in a form similar to the Proposal Format that has been provided as Attachment C. The format is free, but it will be appreciated if it reflects, at least in the itemization and order, the items listed in Attachment C.
5.1 Cost
A fixed total price must be unambiguously defined. The total fixed price should be broken down according to the main categories of the work (i.e. shell fabrication, metrology, coating, transportation box, delivery). In case the proposal offers for different technical and/or delivery options, the above total fixed price must be reported for all the options.
We prefer a full proposal for the "Thin Shell + Backside Coating + Transportation Box + Delivery to Lecco, Italy". However, LBTPO reserves the right to consider also partial proposals for only the production of the "Thin Shell".
5.2 Delivery Date
LBTPO aims for delivery in summer 2007. Delivery dates earlier than July 2nd, 2007 are not considered as an advantage, but are certainly acceptable.
The firm delivery date stated in the proposal will be one of the important criteria for the evaluation of the proposals and, for this reason there will be a penalty associated with a delivery happening after the stated date. The penalty will consist of three percent (3%) of the total fixed cost per each month of delay; up to a maximum of ten percent (10%).
A firm delivery date is required for each of the options offered in the proposal.
The proposal should include a complete plan of the activities foreseen from the signing of the contract (assume 1 June 2006) to final delivery. The plan should include descriptions of the workpackages and the related Gantt diagram (or equivalent schedule presentation).
The level of detail must be sufficient to estimate the duration of all the main activities in the field of
and to distinguish activities that will be on the critical path to delivery from those that will not be.
Milestones suitable to track progress of the activities must be clearly identified in all the above areas. Contractual duties associated with milestones (progress reports, acceptances, meetings, payments …) must be clearly defined.
5.3 Managing and quality assurance
The proposal must contain a section describing the organizational structure proposed for this activity, including a description of the skills and roles of the key persons and of methods to be adopted to reduce the technical risks and/or the risks of delays. Significant subcontractor activities should also be described.
An alternate technical proposal would be considered if your organization has proprietary capability, resources or innovative design that could result in the reduction of the overall manufacturing cost, make an improvement in the delivery schedule, or yield superior performance. It will be mandatory that an alternate proposal be identified as such, since it cannot be evaluated on the same basis as the others. The Proposal Format should still be followed, but the Proposal's Title Page must clearly state "this is an Alternate Proposal to RFP name."
Proposals must be
submitted so that they are assured to arrive prior to the deadline. Each
proposal, consisting of two paper copies plus a digital version (PDF
preferred), shall be received/accepted by the LBTPO in Tucson, Arizona no later
than April 5, 2006 at 3 p.m.
All proposals will be opened privately at owner's discretion, and evaluated
according to the predetermined criteria approved by the LBTC Board of
Directors.
All proposals should be addressed to:
LBT Project Office
The University of Arizona
933 N Cherry Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85721-0065 USA
Telephone: +1 (520) 626-5231
Fax: +1 (520) 626-9333
e-mail: cevans@as.arizona.edu (Carol Evans)
Proposals in response to this request will be evaluated by a limited number of LBTO staff bound to a non-disclosure agreement. Proposals will be evaluated according to the criteria listed in qualitative order in the table below.
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LBT Proposal Evaluation Criteria |
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Technical Proposal |
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Technical Capability |
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Quality Assurance, Safety, Reliability |
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Delivery Schedule |
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Cost |
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Management Capability |
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Financial Stability |
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The LBTC reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive irregularities in any proposal, or to withhold the award for any reason it may determine, and also reserves the right to hold any or all proposals for a period of (90) days after the date of opening.