QUALIFIED PRODUCTS

(a) Except as provided in (d) below, whenever qualified products are to be procured by the Government as end items, only bids or proposals offering products which are qualified or which have been qualified for listing on the applicable Qualified Products List at the time set for opening of bids or award of negotiated contracts shall be considered in making awards.

(b) Whenever a qualified product is to be procured by a prime contractor as a component of an end item, the prime contractor shall be required to furnish a product which has been tested and qualified for inclusion in the applicable Qualified Products List by the time of award of the subcontract. Delay resulting from the prime contractor awaiting qualification approval by the Government of a component shall not constitute excusable delay when a previously qualified component could have been procured in time to meet the end item delivery schedule.

(c) Procurements involving qualified products shall be governed by (1) through (4) below.

(1) Synopses of proposed procurements shall be published in accordance with 1.1003, promptly upon receipt of purchase requests.

(2) The maximum time consistent with delivery requirements shall be allowed between issuance of the solicitation and the opening of bids or the award of a negotiated contract. As a minimum, however, contracting officers shall allow 30 calendar days between the date of issuance and opening (award, in the case of negotiated contracts), provided that periods of less than 30 days may be set in cases of urgency when the justification for a shorter period is set forth in writing and made a part of the procurement file. In appropriate cases, advance notice of procurement involving qualified products may be given suppliers through the use of pre-invitation notices. Such notices shall identify the specification requiring qualification.

(3) In procuring qualified products by formal advertising, invitation for bids will be distributed to suppliers in the same manner as if a qualified product were not involved, and will not be restricted to suppliers whose products have been qualified.

(4) Contracting officers shall forward requests from suppliers concerning qualification of products and certification of manufacturing lines, when required to the NASA installation which prepared the specification. (d) Where a small business, otherwise eligible for award, has been placed in a special status on a QPL (See NHB 5300.4(3F)) established as a part of the NASA Microelectronics Reliability Program, and the contracting officer has determined that the small business does not appear to have the capacity to perform, the certificate of competency procedures in 1.705-4 are applicable and referral to SBA must be made.

1.1107-2 Contract Provisions.

(a) When qualified end products are to be procured by the Government, insert the following provision in the solicitation:

NOTICE-QUALIFIED END PRODUCTS (JUNE 1972)

Awards for any end items which are required to be qualified products will be made only when such items have been tested and are qualified for inclusion in a Qualified Products List identified below (whether or not actually included in the list) at the time set for opening of bids, or the time of award in the case of negotiated contracts.

The offeror shall insert the item name and the test number (if known) of each qualified product in the blank spaces below.

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1.1107-2

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Item Name

Test No....

Offerors offering products which have been tested and qualified, but which are not yet listed, are requested to submit evidence of such qualification with their bids or proposals, so that they may be given consideration. If this is a formally advertised procurement, any bid which does not identify the qualified product being offered, either above or elsewhere in the bid, will be rejected. If this is a negotiated procurement, the evidence of qualification shall be submitted prior to award.

Any change in location or ownership of the plant, at which a previously approved product is, or was, manufactured requires re-evaluation of the qualification. Any changes in product design, material, processes, control, equipment, or quality control documentation shall require re-evaluation if required by relevant specifications. Such re-evaluation must be accomplished prior to the bid opening date in the case of advertised procurements and prior to the date of award in the case of negotiated procurements. Failure of offerors to arrange for such re-evaluation shall preclude consideration of their offers.

Contracting officers shall identify, following the above notice, each Qualified Products List involved and give the name and address of the office, as identified in the specification, with which manufacturers should communicate.

(b) When qualified products are to be procured as components of end items, insert the following provision in the solicitation and the resulting

contract.

QUALIFIED PRODUCTS-COMPONENTS (JUNE 1972)

When any of the end items which are to be supplied to the Government by the Contractor will contain one or more components which are required by the applicable specification to be qualified products, such components shall have been tested and shall be qualified for inclusion in the Qualified Products Lists (whether or not actually included in the List) at the time of award of any subcontract by the Contractor for such components, or, in the event the Contractor plans to manufacture such components himself, shall have been so tested and have so qualified before the Contractor begins to manufacture such components for performance of this contract (not before manufacture of the prototype, preproduction model, or first article, for qualification testing). Unless required for interchangeability or compatibility, the Contractor shall not cite brand names from any Qualified Products List in any subcontract solicitation, but shall refer to the pertinent Government specification so that optimum competition may be obtained. Delay resulting from the Contractor awaiting qualification approval by the Government of a component shall not constitute excusable delay when a previously qualified component could have been procured in time to meet the end item delivery schedule.

Any change in location or ownership of the plant at which a previously approved product is, or was, manufactured requires re-evaluation of the qualification. Any changes in product design, material, processes, control, equipment, or quality control documentation shall require re-evaluation if required by relevant specifications. Such re-evaluation must be accomplished prior to the award of any subcontract by the Contractor for such components or prior to the beginning of manufacture if the Contractor manufactures such components himself.

(c) When qualified products are to be procured, insert the following provision in the invitation for bids or solicitation and the resulting contract:

1.1107-2

CFR TITLE 41 CHAPTER 18

QUALIFIED PRODUCTS

PRODUCT REMOVAL FROM QUALIFIED PRODUCTS LIST (JUNE 1972) If, during the performance of this contract, the product being furnished is, for any reason, removed from the Qualified Products List, the Government may terminate this contract for default pursuant to the clause of this contract entitled, "Default," in the case of fixed price contracts, or “Termination" in the case of cost-reimbursement type contracts.

1.1107-3 Effect of Debarment or Suspension. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Subpart, the inclusion of a product on the qualified lists may be denied, and the qualification of a listed product may be withdrawn, by the NASA installation concerned, without notification to the manufacturer, if the name of the manufacturer appears on the lists of debarred or ineligible bidders which are maintained pursuant to Part 1, Subpart 6. With reference to Type B listings, the provisions of this paragraph shall be applicable only if the qualified product is in the category prescribed by the Secretary of Labor (See 1.603).

1.1108 Waiver of Qualification Requirements. When procuring a product under a specification which includes qualification requirements either for the end item or for components of the end item, such qualification requirements can be waived by the NASA installation making the procurement. A notice, issued by the NASA installation conducting the procurement, directing a waiver of the qualification requirement, constitutes adequate authorization for waiver of product qualification requirements. Where waivers have been granted, solicitations shall specifically indicate that the qualification requirement is inapplicable. Such information shall also be included in any synopsis of the procure

ment.

1.1109 Inadequate Competition.

(a) Presolicitation. In connection with procurement of a qualified product as an end item, the contracting officer shall review the applicable Qualified Products List prior to solicitation to ascertain whether the number of sources is adequate for competition. If, in the opinion of the contracting officer, the number of sources is inadequate, action shall be taken as prescribed below unless he already has the necessary information.

(1) The contracting officer shall request the NASA installation that prepared the specification to provide information concerning the status of tests on additional products, including the anticipated dates when such tests will be completed so that opening of bids or submission of proposals may be so scheduled as to allow completion of the tests.

(2) If no qualification tests are being conducted or contemplated, the contracting officer shall further request the NASA installation that prepared the specification to advise whether a means of quality assurance other than qualification approval may be substituted in the procurement. (b) Post-Solicitation.The contracting officer shall advise the NASA installation preparing the specification of the name and address of any concern which requested copies of the solicitation but was not included on the Qualified Products List. The NASA installation preparing the specification may then attempt to interest such concerns in becoming qualified. 1.1110 Reporting Nonconformance with Specification Requirements. If a supplier on the Qualified Products List repeatedly submits products not meeting specification requirements for inspection, resubmits products previously rejected without correcting the defects, or is other

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1.1110

GENERAL PROVISIONS

wise unsatisfactory in the performance of contracts, he shall be reported to the NASA installation that prepared the specification for a determination as to whether the supplier's product shall be removed from the lists.

1.1111 Misuse of Qualified Products List Information.Misuse of qualified products list information, such as for advertising or publicity purposes contrary to that permitted in 1.1104(v), shall be reported promptly to the preparing activity.

1.1111

CFR TITLE 41 CHAPTER 18

Subpart 12-Specifications, Plans, and Drawings

1.1201 General.

(a) Plans, drawings, specifications or purchase descriptions for procurements shall state only the actual minimum needs of the Government and describe the supplies and services in a manner which will encourage maximum competition and eliminate, insofar as is possible, any restrictive features which might limit acceptable offers to one supplier's product, or the products of a relatively few suppliers. Items to be procured shall be described by reference to the applicable specifications or by a description containing the necessary requirements. When specifications are cited, all amendments or revisions thereof, applicable to the procurement, should be identified and the identification shall include the dates thereof. Drawings and data furnished with solicitations shall be clear and legible. (b) Many specifications cover several grades or types, and provide for several options in methods of inspection, etc. When such specifications are used, the solicitation shall state specifically the grade, type, or method of inspection, etc., on which bids or offers are to be based. 1.1202 Mandatory Specifications.

(a) Except as provided in (b) below, Federal specifications are mandatory for use by NASA in the procurement of supplies and services covered by such specifications, unless determined by NASA to be inapplicable for its use.

(b) Federal specifications need not be used for the following unless required by agency instructions:

(i) purchase incident to research and development;

(ii) purchase of items for test or evaluation;

(iii) purchase of laboratory test equipment for use by Government laboratories;

(iv) purchase of items in an amount not to exceed $10,000 (multiple small purchases of less than $10,000 of the same item shall not be made for the purpose of avoiding the use of Federal specifications);

(v) purchase of one-time procurement items;

(vi) purchase of items for which it is impracticable or uneconomical to prepare a specification (repetitive use of a purchase description containing the essential characteristics of a specification will be construed as evidence of improper use of this exception).

(c) Whenever a specification is found to be inadequate, immediate action shall be taken to effect the issuance of an amendment or a revision in accordance with established procedures to obviate the necessity for repeated departures from the specification.

1.1203 Availability of Specifications, Standards, Plans, and Drawings. Each solicitation shall be accompanied by the applicable specifications, standards, plans, drawings, and other pertinent documents, or shall state where such documents may be obtained or examined, in accordance with this paragraph. In the case of specifications and drawings available from the purchasing office, the solicitation should identify as precisely as possible the responsible individual's name and title, address and room number, office symbol, and telephone number for purposes of facilitating and expediting requirements for documents or for examination of such documents. If the applicable specifications, standards, plans, drawings, and other pertinent documents are not furnished, the solicitation shall include a provision substantially similar to (a) or (b) below, as appropriate.

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80-137 0-81-17

1.1203