Brand Name Only: FLIR Thermal Camera Bundle

This is a request for a Firm Fixed Price quotation for commercial products. This solicitation is issued in accordance with the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) Part 12 - Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services as supplemented with additional information included in this notice.

This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the RFO.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing. The small business size standard of 1,000 employees. This is a total small business set-aside competition. Only small businesses under the applicable NAICS code are eligible to respond.

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS

Non-Competitive (Single-sole Source (Including Brand-Name)) Determination:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Fire Research Division within the Engineering Laboratory (EL), requires multiple FLIR thermal imaging cameras to enhance the visualization and thermal imaging of rapidly evolving fire experiments. High-resolution infrared imaging is essential to accurately capture transient fire behavior and improve the characterization and analysis of dynamic fire scenarios beyond the capabilities of the Division's existing equipment.

The Fire Research Division's current thermal imaging infrastructure is built around FLIR technology. Existing thermal imaging software, data processing workflows, and archived datasets are designed specifically for FLIR camera systems. To maintain interoperability and ensure continuity of ongoing research, the new cameras must be fully compatible with the Division's existing FLIR-based hardware and software environment. The acquisition of a different manufacturer's thermal imaging cameras would require replacement or modification of existing software, redevelopment and validation of data processing procedures, recalibration of equipment, retraining of personnel, and potential revalidation of research methodologies. These efforts would result in substantial duplication of costs and schedule delays that are not expected to be recovered through competition and would adversely affect the Fire Research Division's ability to conduct ongoing and future fire research.

FLIR manufactures the proprietary thermal imaging technology required to maintain compatibility with the Government's existing infrastructure. Although FLIR does not sell directly to the Government, it authorizes multiple resellers to distribute its products. Accordingly, competition is available among authorized FLIR resellers for the required brand-name products. For these reasons, only FLIR-brand thermal imaging cameras will satisfy the Government's minimum needs while preserving compatibility with the existing research infrastructure and avoiding substantial duplication of cost and disruption to ongoing research.

The purpose of this procurement is to enhance the visualization and thermal scene visualization of rapidly dynamic fire experiments with multiple FLIR thermal cameras.