REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL STATEMENT OF WORK for ICAO COMPLIANT PASSPORT, ISSUING SYSTEM AND RELATED SUB-SYSTEMS A. PURPOSE, BACKGROUND, WORKFLOW PURPOSE: The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq on behalf of the Ministry of Interior (MOI), Department of Border Enforcement, Bureau of Nationality and Civil Affairs, Passport Division, is seeking to procure an integrated, turn-key passport issuance system to design and produce an ICAO compliant, computerized, machine-readable, highly secure passport including bidder’s plans for passport agency staff training for approximately 150 employees, equipment maintenance prevention, equipment repair and replacement, and internal controls. BACKGROUND: The Iraqi passport issuance infrastructure, together with its largely handwritten passport, has been severely damaged. As a result, bidders are being asked to build an issuance system literally from the ground up. This is an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for blank passport books and issuance system with IT infrastructure, scanners, digital printers, printer consumable materials and related materials, and other equipment. Location of the first passport issuing facility will be in Baghdad to be tested, acceptable to CPA and MOI, and fully operational within a maximum of (4) months of the contract award. The proposed system must be able to accommodate the secure, hardcopy transfer of passport applications adjudicated at in-country acceptance facilities and at posts abroad to the Baghdad Passport Office for issuance and secure transfer of issued passports back for distribution to applicants as well as issuing applications presented in person at the Baghdad issuing facilities. Projecting total volume for a “one person per passport” is difficult, which underscores the importance of systemic scalability. Bids should be based on an estimate of 750,000 annual issuances. . WORKFLOW: Adjudication/Name Check and Processing Components 1. Adjudication/Approval/Name check Component: Adjudication, i.e., the approval of a passport application for issuance, is an off-line professional judgment decision making process involving a personal interview. After the personal interview step is the Approval step which is a traceable computerized “permission to issue” granted by an Adjudicator on each passport application. The Approval step in turn triggers the Name Check step which involves an automated computer check of each applicant against the current, in-process database and other databases. Vendor must provide an integrated name check system with associated hardware. MOI will provide lookout data to populate database. Vendor shall provide a method for searching the database for near and exact matches. 2. Processing Component a. Cashiering – Vendor must provide computerized cash register system. b. Image Capture – The applicant’s color photograph is scanned at a resolution of at least 300 ppi and digitized while attached to the passport application and then stored on a special server. c. Data Entry – Information from the application is data-entered. d. Document Scanning – The application and supporting documents are scanned. Vendor must provide image capture/document scanner with document retrieval/printing capability. e. Book-Print – Once the Adjudicator has approved the application, a book can be electronically printed. The stored image and stored text, linked by barcodes, are sent to the printer. f. Quality Control –The passport’s machine readability is determined by inserting the finished book into a book-reader and scanning the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ.) g. Distribution – After the MRZ is successfully read, a distribution label indicating method of delivery is automatically printed. B. REQUIREMENTS 1. Requirements - Overall This RFP for a new Iraqi passport book and issuance system with electronic cash registers and with Image Capture/Document Scanning sub-system, book-printing sub-system, and integrated Name-Check system, together with other related equipment and software, represents the functional and technical requirements for successful implementation. 2. Requirements – Scope The CPA requires information technology support for passport issuance operations. Blank passport books shall be printed according to ICAO specifications and in Arabic and English. The personalized information of the passport bearer on data page shall be printed in Arabic and English, which shall be the one exception to compliance with current ICAO specifications. The Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) on the data page shall be printed in English. The passport printer shall print digitized color photographs and true carbon black text data in the passport and negate the need for further assembly. 3. Requirements – Passport Book The cover design shall be approved by the Minister of Interior and/or the Governing Council. The passport book must meet the most recently published standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization, as set forth in ICAO Document 9303, Machine Readable Passports. As of this writing, the most recent is the 5th Edition, 2003. (Visit HYPERLINK "http://www.icao.int" www.icao.int.) If a more recent edition is published before the due date of this Request for Proposal, it should be used. The passport must contain a combination of reliable, anti-forgery/counterfeiting security features including but not limited to the following: Watermarks, Guilloche, Holograms or other equivalent optical variable devices, Intaglio printing (if it will not delay delivery of first passports, and it also requires Latent Images,) Split-fountain printing, Digital images, Micro text. The bidder shall present a security plan for controlling the manufacture, storage, and distribution of the blank passports and all related materials, including destruction of waste material generated during the manufacturing process. The data page shall have a security background pattern using chemically fugitive security inks and other inks which react to light energy and other external agents. The page opening of the book shall conform to Arabic, opening on the left side, as opposed to the Western right-hand opening, for printing and layout purposes. 4. Requirements – Issuance system and sub-systems This RFP requires the development and implementation of an issuance system including document/image scanning and retrieval subsystem, name check subsystem, book printing system, and non-integrated cashiering sub-system. The Baghdad site shall be comprised of computer and related issuance equipment linked together on a Local Area Network (LAN) with capacity for WAN connectivity with future additional issuing facilities. Currently, the CPA is using Windows 2000, built on NT Technology. 5. Requirements – Limitations and Restrictions The issuance system, sub-systems, and hardware shall be capable of an issuance capacity of 750,000 passports annually with capacity to meet increased demands during initial months of operation and during traditional peak demand season such as the weeks preceding Hajj. The selected bidder shall participate in scheduled progress reviews with the CPA Contracting Officer (CO) and/or Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) and other MOI representatives on a regular basis to be established by the CO. The document/image scanning sub-system shall be integrated into the issuance system and shall ensure that under no circumstances can scanned documents or data be accessible for altering or editing by any person. . The issuance system and the document/image scanning sub-system shall have the capability to print images upon request. 6. Requirements – System Administration and Maintenance Bidders shall provide necessary written system and operational documentation and training manuals in English and Arabic that will support the ongoing operations of systems, software, equipment and all functions of the offered systems and networks. During the development, implementation, and throughout the life of the contract, the bidder shall be responsible for all system administration and maintenance. A data-securing plan for protecting and backing up data for both on-site and an offsite additional safe, protected facility shall be provided. A brief disaster recovery plan shall be provided as part of the response. Bidders shall provide a schedule and maintenance approach and documentation for anticipated up and down time on all respective hardware, together with all planned maintenance intervals and designated maintenance requirements and procedures. At the conclusion of the project, all plans, schedules and procedures developed by the selected bidder shall be transferred to the MOI at no additional cost. The bidder shall provide a detailed book inventory/accountability/tracking control and spoilage plan. The internal control aspects that are offered shall include methods of controlling issuance and unauthorized access to systems. They shall also include controlling and accounting for passport books, applications, data, and supporting documents at all steps in the issuance process. 7. Requirements – Passport printer The passport printer shall produce the passport data page with its fixed and variable text data and color photograph in a single process within 120 seconds or less. The printer shall be currently available for purchase for the purpose of producing passports. A statement of current availability of proposed printer shall be made at the time of submission of the proposal. The bidder shall guarantee, and provide a plan for, an acceptably secure process for the manufacture, storage, and shipment of printers and consumable materials. The bidder shall provide written certification that sale of the printer and associated supplies for the production of passports shall be restricted to national Governments, for the sole purpose of producing passports for official purposes. For those unique products and materials produced for the MOI, which make the passport uniquely identified for the Government of Iraq’s passport under this pro- curement, those unique products and materials shall not be sold, given or trans- ferred to any other Government or entity or person except as exemplars with the permission of the MOI. The printer shall be capable of printing/processing 24 or 48 page passport books, opening left-to- right, and printing data page in both Arabic and English, with the MRZ in English only. The printer shall produce identical ICAO compliant passports in terms of format, coloration, and appearance at Baghdad and each future Passport office. The passport printer personalization process shall incorporate all printing, assembly, and bonding steps associated with the production of a finished passport into a single step. The proposal shall address the numbers of printers which can efficiently and comfortably be operated by a single operator. The interface to the issuance system shall be provided through a personal computer. 8. Requirements – Printer Driver The printer driver shall be compatible with the operating system and must be capable of handling multiple printers from a single personal computer if a multiple printer configuration is offered. 9. Requirements – Printed Color Photo Image Passport photos submitted by applicants will be color. Color images of photos shall be printed in full color, with 64 continuous tones for each color, with a resolution of 300 ppi. 10. Requirements - UL and Emission Standards Conforms to UL standard 1950, or equivalent for Iraq, and international emissions standards such as FCC Class A emissions standards. 11. Requirement – Printer meter/counter For internal controls purposes the printer shall have a meter/counter that measures the number of print cycles completed by the operator during the workday. 12. Requirement – Controlled access to printer consumables The printer shall have a secure locking device that prevents unauthorized access to any controlled materials which may remain in the printer at the end of the work day. 13. Requirement – Power All equipment shall operate dependably in the Iraqi electrical power environment. This shall include, but not be limited to, protection from surges (e.g., line conditioners) and outages. 14. Requirement - Verification The passport shall meet all ICAO requirements for readability and durability as specified in Document 9303, with the exception of bilingual Arabic-English printing for visible printing on the data page and English-only in the MRZ portion of the data page. 15. Requirement – Book Integration The basic blank passport book is to be made using existing or commercial off the shelf (COTS) available printing or processing technology. 16. Requirement - Installation The vendor shall install all equipment, hardware, software, and networks (LANand WAN) in Baghdad and perform sufficient testing to ensure, to the satisfaction CPA, MOI, and Passport Office management, that the issuance system is ready for implementation. 17. Requirement - Training The vendor shall provide, to the satisfaction of CPA, MOI, and Passport Office management, all training required to facilitate the smooth implementation and operation of the new issuance system. This shall include how to use and maintain all equipment and software for maximum efficiency and programmatic effectiveness. 18. Requirement – Product Support and Equipment maintenance The vendor shall provide product support in terms of equipment maintenance (pre-ventive and responsive) and software support. This shall include replacement equipment/parts readily available in Iraq. C. DELIVERABLES Vendor shall produce a machine readable, highly secure passport meeting the specifications as outlined by the Interna tional Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Document 9303, Part 1, Machine Readable Passports, 5th Edition with the exception of bilingual Arabic-English printing of actual information on the data page, with English-only in the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ. Visit HYPERLINK "http://www.icao.int" www.icao.int. Vendor shall provide an issuance system that produces a passport with security against counterfeiting, forgery, alteration, and misuse by international criminals, narcotics traffickers, and illegal immigrants. Vendor shall provide an issuance system that is a personal computer-based Local Area Network (LAN) system with Wide Area Network (WAN) connectivity for issuing photodigitized passports and ensuring prevention of multiple issuances at differing locations. Vendor shall provide a computerized cash register system. Vendor shall provide an automated name check system and associated hardware integrated into the issuance system. Vendor shall provide a document/image scanning sub-system with document retrieval and printing capability integrated into the issuance system. D. INCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS The technical proposal shall provide a complete, integrated, turn-key operation from secure, blank passport books and related materials, cashiering, through issued, digital passports and document/image scanning. It shall include all equipment, software, connectivity, networking, and supplies. PASSPORT BOOK DEVELOPMENT 1. Passport book requirement analysis. 2. Project plan. 3. Functional design specifications. 4. Technical design specifications. 5. Physical document development. 6. User testing and acceptance. 7. Implementation. ISSUANCE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT 1.Business and system requirement analysis. 2. Project plan. 3. Functional design specifications. 4. Technical design specifications. 5. Physical system development. 6. User testing and acceptance. Implementation. INTEGRATION OF DOCUMENT/IMAGE SCANNING SUB-SYSTEMS WITH ISSUANCE SYSTEM 1. Project plan. 2. Technical design specifications. 3. Physical integration development. 4. User testing and acceptance. 5. Implementation. INTEGRATION OF BOOK PRINTING SUB-SYSTEM WITH ISSUANCE SYSTEM 1. Project plan. 2. Technical design specifications. 3. Physical integration development. 4. User testing and acceptance. 5. Implementation. INTEGRATION OF NAME-CHECK SUB-SYSTEM WITH ISSUANCE SYSTEM 1. Project plan. 2. Technical design specifications. 3. Physical integration development. 4. User testing and acceptance. 5. Implementation. SUPPLY ENTIRE SOLUTION Acquisition of all hardware, software, communication (LAN and WAN) components, related equipment (e.g., desktop personal computers, barcode readers, cash registers), and supplies (controlled and non-controlled). Importation of all of the preceding. Installation, deployment, and interconnection of all of the preceding. Commissioning and testing of entire system, providing Help Desk support, a Disaster recovery plan, a Quality assurance plan, and a Training plan. INDEFINITE DELIVERY/INDEFINITE QUANTITY This is an indefinite quantity contract with minimum delivery orders for passport books and a complete Issuance System to include all related hardware and software, controlled and uncontrolled consumables. It encompasses complete system design and infrastructure support, as well as all related equipment, e.g., cash registers, scanners, personal computers, digital printers, barcode readers, and label printers. The issuance system shall have the capacity to print passports varying in page numbers and cover design and/or color. This procurement also requires the technical support of the vendor throughout the life of the contract - from office infrastructure support analysis through system design and deployment for production and security to quality assurance and issuance. This procurement also includes Passport Office staff training on use and preventive maintenance for the equipment, ongoing Help Desk software support, as well as hardware support, including replacement parts pre-positioned in Iraq. PRICE The CPA, on behalf of the end-user, is interested in a fixed price for the entire passport book, issuance system and sub-systems implementation and ongoing support throughout the life of the contract in Baghdad with WAN connectivity for future issuance site. The bidder shall describe how it will satisfy these requirements by providing cost and terms. PAGE PAGE 4 CAP-MOI-BEgs11/03/03 PAGE 3 CAP/MOI/BEgs11/03/03