ISO 9001:2015 QMS Auditing Services

Background: The Fire Control Systems and Technology Directorate (FCSTD), Benet Laboratories, and Quality Engineering and System Assurance (QE&SA) within the DEVCOM Armaments Center (AC) structure provide Program Executive Offices (PEOs), Program Managers (PMs) and other internal and external customers with software engineering, product development, and acquisition support throughout the lifecycle of their systems. This life cycle support includes supporting the system throughout the development process and maintaining it following transition to Government control. To accomplish the mission, these Directorates require contractor support to provide high quality independent auditing services, including insightful reporting of corrective action needs, that lead to certification of our labs in accordance with International Standard for Organization (ISO) 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS).

Scope: The Government requires contract support in auditing selected laboratories' strengths and weaknesses relative to the ISO 9001:2015 QMS and determining whether current performance has achieved ISO 9001 compliance to the extent necessary for ISO 9001 certification.

These DEVCOM AC Directorates require support to execute the following:

1. benchmark process audit ratings relative to the current ISO 9001 standard or a superseding standard using auditing methods meeting accreditation body standards;
2. gain insight into their engineering capability by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of its current processes;
3. relate these strengths and weaknesses to the ISO 9001 standard; and
4. derive ISO 9001 compliance ratings and evaluation as well as an ISO 9001 certification.
5. Contractor must be accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) or equivalent organization and capable of issuing system registration to ISO 9001.
6. Contractor must adhere to ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) or equivalent organization standards and procedures.

Note that consulting services to prepare for certification are not sought except in the context of identifying and clearly communicating necessary corrective actions during the ANAB accredited audit process towards a goal of certification.

REQUIREMENTS: In accordance with ISO 9001: 2015 (or more current standard) accreditation body requirements, the contractor shall perform, for the selected laboratories, documentation, product, and process review, issue any needed corrective action requests, followed by review of corrected documentation and processes; plan for and conduct ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS) appraisal; and conduct Certification Appraisals in accordance with accreditation authority requirements and methodology; and issue ISO 9001:2015 registrations and certifications including any relevant notifications and documentation. The contractor shall provide personnel that have current ISO accreditation authority and approved auditor and certifier credentials. The appraisals shall cover all ISO 9001:2015 clauses and relevant requirements necessary to evaluate certifiable compliance with the most current version of the ISO 9001 standard for the designated laboratories. The Government currently uses MS Office 365 software applications for process documentation. The contractor shall use the same MS version or compatible software the Government is using at the time of audit and certification.

DISCLAIMER

THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) TO BE SUBMITTED. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. RESPONSES WILL NOT BE RETURNED TO THE RESPONDER. NOT RESPONDING TO THIS NOTICE DOES NOT PRECLUDE PARTICIPATION IN ANY FUTURE REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ) OR INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) OR RFP, IF ANY ISSUED. IF A SOLICITATION IS RELEASED, IT WILL BE SYNOPSIZED ON THE GOVERNMENT-WIDE POINT OF ENTRY (GPE). IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF POTENTIAL OFFERORS TO MONITOR THE GPE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THIS REQUIREMENT.

BACKGROUND:

The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 541690. The Product Service Code is R420. Businesses of all sizes are encouraged to respond; however, each respondent must clearly identify their business size (to include any socioeconomic subcategories) in their capabilities statement.

SUBMISSION DETAILS: Each potential source is requested to provide the contract number(s), dollar value(s) and brief description of work previously or currently being performed, which specifically demonstrates the contractor's ability to successfully satisfy the requirements of ISO 9001 Evaluation and Certification Support.

If the firm has an existing federal contract that DEVCOM AC can utilize for this work, it should be noted in the response (ie federal supply schedule, existing multi agency contracts).

Firms shall also provide point of contact information, where available, for the efforts cited above. In addition, please provide the firm's name and address, point of contact with telephone number and email address, CAGE Code and DUNS number, and size of business (i.e. large, small, disadvantaged, veteran owned, woman owned, etc.). All data should be sent at no cost to the US Government by 2/11/2024 to the US Army DEVCOM AC. ATTN: cynthia.l.mack4.civ@army.mil

Parties are encouraged to provide responses AFTER the 2/11 cutoff date should they be interested in doing so for future consideration.

This is a market survey for information only and shall not be construed as a request for a proposal or as an obligation on the part of the US Government. The US Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this market survey or otherwise pay for information solicited. Phone inquiries will not be addressed; all requests should be submitted in writing via email. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the survey.