DHS Creating Strategic Sourcing Initiative for ETDs
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says the next Qualified Products List (QPL) for explosives trace detector (ETD) systems will be a strategic sourcing ordering vehicle for the department, marking a turn toward an enterprise approach for testing and qualifying the systems, which are frequently used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to screen for explosives at the nation’s airports.
The QPL will be managed by TSA and will allow for the qualification of two kinds of ETDs, desktops systems, which are those frequently used at airports, and handheld systems to screen for explosives and drugs. TSA is the largest consumer of ETDs within DHS having about 6,600 systems in its inventory.
The windows for the desktop and handheld tracks are expected to open in June and remain open for three to six months to allow vendors to submit data packages for consideration. Requirements for the desktop and handheld systems will be made available when the track windows open.
DHS is leaving open the option for potential future ETD QPL tracks in the areas of portable systems for TSA and new trace technology, according to briefing slides DHS used to describe its new strategic sourcing initiative.
The strategic sourcing initiative is only for testing and qualification and manufacturers won’t have the procurement vehicle of an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract and insteal will have to bid every year against a Request for Proposal released by one the DHS components such as TSA, Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service, according to an industry official.
This means the companies are in a “procurement holding pattern” until the new requirements are release in June, the official says. The change to a strategic sourcing model means companies have to get back into the testing cycle, which typically runs at least 18 to 20 months even though the DHS presentation suggests 12 months, the official adds.
The DHS briefing slides show that DHS component expect to begin purchasing ETD systems under the new initiative in FY ’16. TSA anticipates purchasing systems in the first quarter of FY ’18, they show.
The companies that currently supply TSA with ETDs include Safran Group’s Morpho Detection business and Smiths Detection. Implant Sciences [IMSC], a smaller competitor, in November received a potential $162 million from the TSA to provide the agency with ETDs. However, Morpho protested the award and the Government Accountability Office is expected to rule by March 5.
DHS has established an Integrated Product Team (IPT) for its ETD strategic sourcing effort with TSA and the DHS Strategic Sourcing office serving as co-leads and TSA as the executive agent. Member components include TSA, CBP, Coast Guard, Secret Service, and the Science and Technology branch.
The IPT is “responsible for developing a coordinated approach for the acquisition and management of ETDs across DHS in order to achieve efficiencies, eliminate duplication, reduce costs and facilitate standardization,” the DHS briefing slides say.
Interested vendors will have the opportunity to submit their technology to S&T’s Transportation Security Laboratory for initial testing and feedback before entering the QPL process, provding companies with “more candid feedback on their products earlier in the life cycle, allowing them to develop equipment that better meets DHS/TSA’s requirements,” DHS says.
DHS hosted an Industry Day this month on the new initiative and is planning to issue a Request for Information in early February for DHS Illicit Drugs Handheld Systems and an Industry Day in mid-February regarding TSA’s desktop functional requirements document.
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