Attach 1 - RFI PPE Industry Day.docx

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

U.S. DOMESTIC CONTENT

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

RFI # DLA-MIA-23-0001

DISCLAIMER:

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. The information being requested is to assist with planning a U.S. domestic content Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Industry Exchange Day (Industry Day). This is not a solicitation, invitation for bid, request for quote, or a request for proposal, nor is it a commitment by the U.S. Government (Government) to procure services or supplies. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI.

The Government will not pay for any information requested or demonstrated. All costs incurred responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested partys expense. All submissions become Federal Government property and will not be returned. Failure to respond to this RFI will not preclude participation in any future solicitation.

All responses that include business confidential or proprietary information should be clearly marked. Do not include any classified information. Submissions are subject to the Freedom of Information Act once posted on https://sam.gov/.

All comments received will be searchable by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the Privacy Act Statement of the Defense Logistics Agency at https://www.dla.mil/Privacy-Act-Of-1974/.

Responses will be shared between the Made in America Office (MIAO), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Information submitted in response to this RFI may also be shared with other federal agencies interested in the results.

BACKGROUND:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that Government agencies and commercial manufactures could not meet the required demand for PPE. Therefore, the Government is interested in gathering information on purchasing U.S. domestic content PPE to foster a robust, secure, and wholly domestic PPE supply chain to safeguard public health and national security.

PURPOSE:

This purpose of this RFI is for information and planning purposes to gather market research for an upcoming industry day event where the Government shares anticipated requirements and demand/consumption estimates to assist industry partners with planning information needed towards supplying the government with U.S. domestic content.

HHS, DHS, and VA seek information on sources of domestic PPE in order to ensure a robust, secure, supply chain to safeguard public health and national security. U.S. domestic production of PPE is defined, for the purpose of this RFI only, to mean that all components and materials used in the production of PPE items were garnered from resources that were grown, reprocessed, reused, produced, or manufactured in the U.S. Additionally, the Government is interested in the promotion of efficiencies and cost saving innovations.

PPE is defined, for the purpose of this RFI only, as the following items:

Surgical masks, respirator masks, powered air purifying respirators, and required filters;

Face shields and Protective eyewear;

Gloves;

Disposable and reusable surgical and isolation gowns;

Head and foot coverings; and

Other gear or clothing used to protect an individual from the transmission of disease.

The Government anticipates that Industry Day will focus on the following PPE items:

A. Masks:

Surgical

Procedural

Occupational;

B. Gloves

Nitrile

Other;

C. Gowns

Surgical (disposable and/or reusable)

Isolation (disposable and/or reusable);

D. Face Shields

Goggles

Protective Eyewear

Others;

E. Respirators

Filtering facepiece respirators

Elastomeric half mask respirators

Powered air purifying respirators;

F. Head Coverings;

G. Foot Coverings;

H. Other gear or clothing used to protect an individual from transmission of disease; and

I. Innovative Items (products, services, and processes).

STATEMENT OF NEED:

The Government is seeking to identify sources and manufacturers that are capable of maintaining capabilities that allow for the establishment and uninterrupted replenishment of U.S. domestic content PPE inventory. The establishment of this capability will facilitate a timely and effective response in confronting future pandemics. Additionally, the Government will aim to promote innovation among industry that leads to products with improved performance, efficiencies in production and manufacturing, timeliness in production and deliveries, and cost savings associated with long term logistical needs of the Government. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, alternate material development, production and manufacturing procedures and processes, and logistics efficiencies.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION:

The Government requests that industry respond to the RFI with information that allows for an assessment of capability to manufacture, provide stock requirements, and meet rapid replenishment requirements during pandemic situations. Additionally, the Government requests that interested vendors present innovative ideas that address manufacturing and surge processing of PPE that may lead to improved product performance, cost savings, timeliness of delivery, and efficiencies in manufacturing of the PPE items listed above.

COMPANY INFORMATION (see submission details below):

A. Company Name

B. Company Address

C. Point of Contact (POC) name

D. POC telephone number

E. POC email address

F. Company Business Size

G. List of current PPE item you provide with NAICS and PSC Codes

I. List of current contract vehicles where you sell PPE

J. Provide an overview of company, including qualifications and capability to provide U.S. domestic content for critical PPE.

K. If you are not currently meeting U.S. domestic content for critical PPE, please summarize your current efforts toward meeting the percentage for U.S. domestic content.

QUESTIONS TO INDUSTRY:

Please provide detailed responses to the following questions as they relate to the domestic PPE items listed above that your company currently or plans to manufacture. All responses to these questions must be submitted in the Excel spreadsheet format provided.

Of the PPE items listed, what PPE item(s) does your company currently manufacture and supply (both domestically and overseas)?

To what extent has federal procurement (including, but not limited to, specifications and standards, requirements setting, agency-specific acquisition practices, and contracting norms) encouraged or discouraged your firm and its supply chain from investing in innovations across PPE design, materials, and advanced manufacturing practices?

For your current manufactured PPE items, what is the shelf-life of each item?

For your current manufactured PPE items, what is the average delivery time (from initial production to point of destination delivery)?

What is the current capability of the production lines for each PPE item manufactured?

In case of surge, what is the current ramp up capability of the production lines (in terms of capacity and time)?

How quickly could you surge capacity, say to 2x or 10x your steady-state production levels? What kinds of changes would you need to undertake to increase volume in this way, and what would be the impact on per-unit costs?

Have you implemented or considered other practices that would increase your firms responsiveness in an emergency, such as supply chain mapping, purchase of flexible equipment, cross-training of workers, digital twins, or other types of data analytics?

In order to make your current product content completely domestic, what percentage increase in price is anticipated? For example: Surgical Masks would increase 20%.

What steps are you currently taking or planning to onshore production to meet the U.S. domestic content requirements?

To what extent is your current manufacturing capacity able to support U.S. domestic content? If you are not currently producing with U.S. domestic content, what would be required and how long would it take to transition the supply chain? What steps are you currently taking (if any) to achieve domestic compliance?

Please describe any challenges associated with producing U.S. domestic content products, including but not limited to constraints on a domestic supply of cost-effective materials or chemical inputs (please specify what types), a dearth of manufacturing capacity, lack of trained workers (of what types) and/or unclear federal demand signals. Please also describe any innovative products, processes, or services you are considering that could help overcome these challenges, such as experimenting with novel manufacturing practices (e.g., 3D printing) or sourcing new materials (e.g., microporous polymeric film or other types of innovative man-made fibers; bio-derived chemical inputs instead of petroleum-derived).

What can the Government do to assist industry in achieving the required U.S. domestic content for PPE requirements?

What information can the Government share with your company during an Industry Day that would be helpful?

INNOVATION:

If your company is interested in providing additional innovation information for the PPE items and would be interested in working with a separate innovation industry workgroup, please provide contact information.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Each electronic submission shall be provided in an editable document:

Reference this RFI number in the subject line of the email and on all enclosed documents submitted.

Please provide a response using the following criteria for each request:

Company Information: The maximum number of pages for responses for A-K of your company information shall be limited to no more than 5