Footwear traction testing in support of the Army Combat Boot-Improvement Effort

This Sources Sought Announcement is to assist the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) to identify potential sources to provide footwear traction testing in support of the Army Combat Boot-Improvement Effort.The Government requests that responses be submitted electronically to mary.k.prebensen.civ@mail.mil and anita.a.perkins.civ@mail.milby July 20, 2018 by 5pm EST.Background: Army Combat Boots must provide Soldiers with durable protection to the feet, ankles, and legs without limiting his/her physical performance and capabilities. While commercial off the shelf (COTS) combat boots are often redesigned or upgraded to incorporate new technologies and/or materials on an often annual basis, the current generation of Army Combat Boots (ACBs) have not undergone any technical or material changes, aside from color, since 2010.

New materials and manufacturing methods designed since that time may provide increased protection and/or improve Soldier physical performance compared to the current ACBs. The Army Combat Boot-Improvement (ACB-I) Effort will benchmark the current state of the art in combat footwear design, materials, and construction methods, as well as identifying and documenting performance gaps within the current ACBs.One area of focus for this benchmarking will be the outsole. The outsole is the bottom layer of the boot, which provides traction, slip resistance, and protection from the environment. The ACB-I Effort will evaluate outsole performance by comparing the Coefficients of Friction (COF) of the outsoles of current Army issued combat boots against those of the most popular COTS combat boots. This data will aid in determining the ideal outsole compounds and tread patterns to be used for future footwear.Requirements: The Contractor shall conduct footwear traction testing in support of the Army Combat Boot-Improvement Effort.a. General Requirements. The contractor's primary focus shall be to complete heel traction testing on nine (9) boot items over a series of four (4) floor-contaminant combinations to represent actual environmental conditions. The contractor shall have skills in the evaluation of footwear tractions, shoe-floor angles, and horizontal sliding speed and their relationship to incidences of slip injury, as demonstrated though peer-reviewed journal publication.b. Specific Requirements: The contractor shall:(1) Conduct slip resistance testing on nine (9) models of Government furnished commercial off the shelf (COTS) boots and Army issued boots. All boots shall be size 10R.Test six (6) models of COTS and three (3) different models of Army issued right boots.a. Conduct slip resistance testing using the Portable Slip Simulator and as defined by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) method B101.7: Standard Test Method for Lab Measurement of Footwear Heel Outsole Material Slip Resistance on Liquid-Contaminated Floor Surfaces: a downward force of 250 N; a toe up shoe angle of 17° from the floor; and a velocity of 0.5 m/s.b. Conduct testing for all boot styles on two (2) floor surfaces: steel and quarry tile. Testing shall be completed using two (2) contaminant conditions: water and no liquid (i.e. dry), on each surface.(2) Write a report outlining test methodology, raw test data, summarized test data (e.g. means and standard deviations), analysis of the results and recommendations for future outsole designs and testing conditions.Deliverables: A formal report shall be provided upon completion of testing. The report shall include an outline of test methodology, raw test data, summarized test data (e.g. means and standard deviations), analysis of the results and recommendations for future outsole designs and testing conditions. This report shall account for all test conditions listed in Requirements section B.Delivery Date: The estimated period of performance is 6 months from time of award.Government Furnished Property (Equipment/Materials/Information/Computer Utilization): The Government shall provide nine (9) combat right boots, including both COTS and Army issued styles that may be destroyed during contractor performance of testing.Interested parties are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Announcement. THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY.This Sources Sought Announcement is issued solely for information and planning purposes and to identify interested sources. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. No contract will be awarded from this announcement. This Sources Sought does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. It is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Further, unsolicited proposals will not be accepted. Funding is not available at this time. The United States Army has not made a commitment to procure any of the items/services discussed, and release of this Sources Sought Announcement should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. Response to this Sources Sought Announcement is voluntary and no reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this and any follow-on information requests. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.Not responding to this Sources Sought Announcement does not preclude participation in any future RFP if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized in the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential responders to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this subject.RESPONSES:Interested parties may identify their interest and capability by sending responses regarding this requirement to the NSRDEC via e-mail ONLY to mary.k.prebensen.civ@mail.mil and anita.a.perkins.civ@mail.mil no later than July 20, 2018 by 5:00 p.m. EST. The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this Notice. All costs associated with responding to this Notice will be solely at the expense of the interested party.Please provide business size (indicate your socioeconomic status), applicable NAICS code, and CAGE code. If you hold a GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract, please identify your contract number.QUESTIONS:Any questions for clarification may be emailed to mary.k.prebensen.civ@mail.mil and anita.a.perkins.civ@mail.mil no later than July 16, 2018 by 5:00 p.m. EST. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. An unattributed list of questions and answers will be published at the same web location of this Sources Sought Announcement.