RFI_-_7000_Series_Railcar_Cab_Simulator.pdf

WASHINGTON

METROPOLITAN AREA

TRANSIT AUTHORITY

(WMATA)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

WMATA 7000 SERIES RAILCAR CAB SIMULATOR

DUE DATE: March 25, 2019 AT 2:00 P.M. EST

DISCLAIMER:

This is not a solicitation. This is not a Request for Quote (RFQ), Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Proposal (RFP), or an announcement of a solicitation and does not assume

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will award a contract or proceed with any of the above solicitations.. The information requested herein is for information purposes and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued or awarded.

SYNOPSIS: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Vendor’s response to this RFI is not an offer. This Request for Information does not commit

WMATA to any incurred costs in preparation of any submissions to this notice, or to contract for services and it is issued for WMATA Market Research purposes only. No cost(s) associated with your response shall be charged to WMATA for any reason. This document shall not be construed as a request or authorization to perform work at WMATA’s expense. Any work performed by a vendor will be at the vendor’s own discretion and expense. This RFI does not represent a commitment to purchase nor does it obligate WMATA in any manner. Submission of a response constitutes an acknowledgement that the vendor has read and agrees to be bound by such terms.

WMATA may submit a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for the services described in this document. There is no guarantee that WMATA will publish an RFP. If published, the RFP will be sent to vendors that demonstrate adequate capabilities in response to this RFI. The information contained in this RFI is provided based upon the information gathered and/or known now. There are no guarantees as to the accuracy of this information.

Participation in this RFI is voluntary and WMATA will not pay for the preparation of any information submitted by a respondent or for WMATA’s use of that information.

Interested offerors shall provide a capability statement of their experience in successfully providing similar solutions to other transit agencies or railroads. The capability statement shall include the name and address of the transit agency or railroad, a brief description of the equipment provided, and a contact’s name and telephone number from the transit agency or railroad.

Please forward the above information along with your company’s name, address, point of contact, telephone number, and e-mail address no later than 3/25/19 to the Primary Contact Person:

Robert Jones, Procurement, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. For questions please email rjones5@wmata.com or call 301-955-5492.

Information submitted will be reviewed by WMATA engineering staff. WMATA may meet with individual offerors to discuss and review the information provided. If WMATA decides to proceed with procurement of the services or products offered, a formal solicitation will be issued.

This RFI is issued to conduct market research and information gathering on a 7000 Series Railcar

Cab Simulator for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and to solicit information that will enable WMATA to determine industry participation in response to the release of a possible future solicitation and as a means of technical discovery and information gathering.

This RFI is for planning purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation nor should it be construed as an obligation on the part of the WMATA to make any purchases. WMATA may utilize the results of this RFI in drafting a specification that will allow for development of a competitive solicitation (RFP) for the subject services/products/equipment. Any future contract that may be awarded must comply with WMATA’s procurement requirements.

Based on the information provided by the respondents to this RFI, a determination will be made regarding any actual contracting through a procurement process at WMATA’s discretion.

Below are our current Scope of Work and Technical Specifications. Please review and provide comments.

INTRODUCTION:

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is seeking feedback from suppliers, vendors, and manufacturers to determine if a commercially available product can meet our needs or if a component design and specifications may be provided for a full cab train simulation system for the 7000 series Railcar Program

Background

WMATA is seeking to improve the 7000 Series Railcars operators training process. WMATA currently does not have a 7000 Series Railcars Cab Simulator.

The 7000 series cars are built as married pairs. The A-cars contain a full operator’s cab, with the

B-cars having a hostler panel, capable of making low-speed yard moves.

Trains have two operating modes, Manual, where the operator controls all motion and door functions, and Automatic, where the train’s onboard control system controls movement between stations and, if enabled, door open and close commands. The train also employs an Automatic

Train Protection (ATP) system, which protects the train from speeding over authorized/ design limits, over speed, running signals, rollback, etc., regardless of operating mode.

The current WMATA rail system is made up of 6 lines with 118 miles of double track, 91 stations, and eight rail yards. Tunnel and above ground service are almost evenly split. An extension of the

Silver Line to Dulles International Airport is currently under development. The simulator must emulate the real environment specific to the current rail system with functionality to include additional expansions to the rail system.

Scope of Work

The following sections describe the functional and technical considerations that WMATA seeks in a new 7000 Series Railcar Cab Simulator. They are presented as high-level business needs and as questions or statements for soliciting information.

Equipment delivered will include:

1. 2 each – Full cab simulator stations including full scale mock-up of the 7000 series cab and hostler panel.

2. 15 each – Desktop simulators including mock-ups of basic controls and displays but compact enough to fit onto a desk [insert dimensions] and not exceed the space requirements outlined in section C.1.1.

3. 4 each – Instructor console where an instructor can monitor progress and control training scenarios.

A. The simulator must include all the hardware and software necessary to emulate a (Computer

Generated Imagery (CGI)) mock-up of the entire WMATA system including all running tracks, side tracks, switches, yards, and storage tracks and must be able to simulate work crews or other operational anomalies that may be present during revenue service.

B. The successful Contractor shall provide realistic training scenarios specific to the current rail system, so that a train operator will have a clear understanding of train operating procedures and troubleshooting.

C. The Contractor shall include minimum technical site requirements, such as electrical power, location/size, any specific ventilation needs, etc., for operating the simulator and desk top systems.

Technical Specifications

A Railcar Simulator Project Goals and Objectives

A.1 The Contractor shall provide all necessary equipment (hardware, software, etc.) to operate the pertinent functions as specified

A.2 The railcar cab simulators must be purpose-built to simulate the 7000 Series railcars cab. The cab simulator must be a full-scale mock-up of the 7000 series cab area including all controls and displays. The mockup must be of sufficient detail to enable training on all standard operating procedures (i.e. working cab window to simulate operator sticking their head out to check for passengers or door obstructions).

A.3 The railcar desktop simulators must be purpose-built to simulate the 7000 Series railcars. The desktop simulator must be a representation of the 7000 series railcars operator console including all controls and displays. The desktop simulator must be of sufficient detail to enable training on all standard operating procedures.

A.4 All simulators must have the capability to record operator performance and allow video playback for review of performance.

A.5 All simulators must have the ability to pause the simulation and after a review period be restarted from a selected point in time.

A.6 All instructor consoles must be capable of providing interactive training to multiple students at one time.

A.7 All simulators are required to provide or assist in the following:

a) General rules and regulations knowledge and application

b) Vehicle operation in normal train operations and in adverse conditions

c) Track & switch knowledge and signal adherence

d) Derail knowledge and recognition skills

e) Following stop-and-proceed procedures

f) Fault isolation, diagnosis and corrective action

g) Radio communication procedures

h) Platform stopping and passenger loading and unloading

i) Operational procedures in complex situations (interaction with vehicles, animals, cyclists, and pedestrians)

j) Emergency or degraded situations and response procedures

k) Safety critical procedures and response implementation

l) Train flagging and procedures for workers on Right of Way

m) Manual coupling and uncoupling procedures

n) Facilitating safe and reliable service

o) Assessing and documenting drivers' competency in a realistic setting

p) Producing documented evidence of employee performance

q) Reproduction of collision scenarios to allow coaching and recreation of specific real-life events

B Functional Requirements

B.1 Simulation

B.1.1 The simulator must be of sufficient detail to instruct the operator in the following:

B.1.1.1 Train Operations including, but not limited to:

a) Operating Cab Operator’s Console including auxiliary control panel.

b) Understanding function of the Train Control Display (TCD) and Aspect Display Unit

(ADU).

c) Operating left console controls (in the full cab simulator).

d) Operating Hostler panel (in full cab simulator).

B.1.1.2 Yard Procedures including, but not limited to:

a) Coupling/uncoupling to another railcar, including visual verification of coupler alignment.

b) Perform rolling and braking test.

c) Perform Daily Safety Test (DST).

d) Moving a train on a storage track off of the bump post and stopping 10 feet from the signal.

e) Moving the train around a loop track up to the signal.

f) The proper way to enter/exit a shop with the assistance of maintenance personnel.

g) The proper way to enter/exit a car wash.

h) The proper way to enter a yard and lay-up on a storage track.

i) Proper procedure for making safety stops.

j) Proper procedure for how to perform a recovery from the recovery train operator’s position.

k) Proper procedure for how to perform operations from a non-lead car.

B.1.1.3 Mainline Procedures including, but not limited to:

a) Communicating with the terminal supervisor before entering mainline.

b) Communications with Rail Operation Central Control (ROCC) when the train loses speed readouts.

c) Manual vs. Automatic Train Operation.

d) Manual vs. Automatic Door Operation.

e) Proper speed to enter/exit a station.

f) Reaction to a person jumping-off of the platform into the train path as the operator enters the station.

g) Operator’s reaction and communication with ROCC when facing a red or dark signal.

h) Operator’s understanding of reading rail alignment.

i) Communication with a terminal supervisor before entering station platform.

j) Communicating with the interlocking operator before entering a rail yard.

k) Proper procedures when entering an active work zone including communication with

Advance Mobile Flagger (AMF).

l) Stop and Proceed operation.

B.1.1.4 Troubleshooting Procedures including, but not limited to:

a) Brakes On fails to illuminate.

b) Brakes Off fails to illuminate.

c) Brakes in Emergency occurs.

d) All Doors Closed and Locked fails to illuminate.

e) Road horn fails to activate.

f) Passenger intercom fails to activate.

g) Public address (PA) audio fails to activate.

h) Cab radio transmit/receive errors.

i) Train will not take power.

j) Loss of third rail power including load shedding condition.

k) Master controller inoperable condition.

l) Resetting low voltage circuit breakers in accordance with ROCC’s command.

m) Dead tow condition.

n) Proper procedures for train recovery of 7000 series with 7000 series and 7000 series with legacy vehicles and train self-recovery.

o) Station overrun procedure.

p) Unable to open doors.

B.1.2 The simulator must visually simulate the acceleration and deceleration performance of the

7000-series vehicles including response in gradients and curves.

B.1.3 The simulator must be capable of simulating severe weather scenarios and must include simulation of the slip-slide system activation and flooding in underground tunnels.

B.1.4 The simulator must be capable of replicating operating conditions at different times of day including but not limited to:

a) Number of trains on the line.

b) Number of passengers on platforms.

c) Vehicle brake rate and response based on passenger load weight (AW0-AW4).

B.2 Cab

B.2.1 The simulator cab will accurately replicate the 7000-series operator's cab including all controls, indicators, display screens, switches, etc.

B.2.2 The simulator cab must accurately replicate the interior lighting of the 7000 series vehicles.

B.2.3 The simulator cab must replicate the function of the 7000-series radio unit and will replicate function of all communication functions including radio communication, public address, passenger emergency intercom and cab-to-cab communication. All two-way communications will connect to the instructor’s station.

B.2.4 The simulator cab must accurately replicate the 7000-series operator's seat including, pivoting and all seat adjustments.

B.2.5 The simulator cab must have fully functioning sliding cab windows and must replicate exterior door open/closed indicator lights.

B.2.6 The simulator cab must include closed circuit cameras which feed to the instructor’s station to monitor trainee performance.

B.2.7 The simulator cab must include a fully functioning bulkhead door.

B.3 Visual

B.3.1 The simulator will exactly replicate, in CGI technology, the entire WMATA system including all running tracks, side tracks, switches, stations, yards, and storage tracks, bridges, tunnels and surrounding scenery (buildings, trees, roads etc.).

B.3.2 The simulator must be able to simulate work crews or other operational anomalies that may be present during revenue service.

B.3.3 The simulator CGI must be seamless and smooth without image splitting and/or flickering.

B.3.4 The simulator will accurately replicate the view from the operator’s position in the cab.

B.3.5 The simulator must be capable of replicating lighting conditions at different times of day including shadows and sun glare.

B.3.6 The simulator must be capable of accurately showing both forward and reverse motion.

B.3.7 The simulator must accurately replicate headlight function including high beam function and tail light function.

B.4 Sound System

B.4.1 The simulator must accurately simulate sounds to replicate a transit environment including but not limited to vehicle operation, environmental conditions and other visual cues in the simulation.

B.4.2 The simulator must replicate the following sounds at minimum:

a) Speed dependent vehicle sounds including wheel-rail contact, wind movement, and moving over joints or switches

b) Passenger noise inside train

c) Passengers outside train including passenger banging on doors

d) Radio sounds

e) Horn and yard buzzer

f) Opening and closing of doors

g) Warning/alert noises from operator’s console

h) Announcements

i) Propulsion/braking including emergency brake

j) Entry into tunnels and stations

k) Crossing over bridges

l) Collisions

m) HVAC noise

B.5 Instructor Stations

B.5.1 The system must include instructor stations which will allow an instructor to control training scenarios and monitor performance of the trainee(s) on all simulators simultaneously.

B.5.2 The simulator must include an easy to use interface which will allow the instructor to program custom scenarios and monitor trainee performance including the ability to insert comments at a specific location for later review.

B.5.3 The instructor stations must contain a display which will allow the instructor to monitor the trainee in real time including but not limited to operator’s view, view of the operator, speed, propulsion/braking, active faults, and door status.

B.5.4 The instructor stations must be capable of direct communication with trainee in the simulator.

B.5.5 The instructor’s interface must include a means of scoring the trainee’s performance and must provide a printed and digital report to be stored in trainee’s file.

B.5.6 The instructor stations must include debriefing tools to assist in reviewing trainee performance such as performance graphs over duration of the run, recorded video, and recorded sound.

B.5.7 The instructor stations must be capable of programming a mode for unsupervised trainees where no instructor is present.

C Non-Functional Requirements

C.1 General

C.1.1 Simulators must be of such a size so that the 2 full cab simulators, 15 desktop units, 4 instructor stations, and any additional required equipment can fit into a room with dimensions to be determined, located at the WMATA Carmen Turner facility.

C.1.2 All units must be sufficiently protected so no damage to the units will occur in the event of sudden power spikes or loss of power.

C.2 Training

C.2.1 Training must be provided to ensure that WMATA employees have the ability to:

a) Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot the simulator

b) Conduct training sessions using the simulator

c) Assess student performance on the simulator

d) Use the authoring software to develop and modify training exercises and to adjust operating characteristics

e) Ensure the simulator is in the correct state to allow software upgrades to occur

f) Change out defective components with minimal vendor support

C.2.2 The Contractor shall, with Authority staff assistance, formulate training exercises, as well as step-by-step procedures, for the design, preparation and installation of training exercises.

In addition, free form exercise development shall be available to Authority trainers.

C.2.2.1 Implementation of training shall be in two session types:

a) In depth, detailed content specific training for an Authority focus group consisting of 4 persons.

b) Based on feedback from the focus group a revised train-the-trainer course shall be provided for a maximum of 20 people.

C.2.2.2 The following areas of training shall be included in both session types but not limited to:

a) Overview of general systems descriptions, functionality and capabilities.

b) Operating procedures, terminology and practices.

c) Detailed review of all functions and operations.

d) Detailed presentation of exercise development and student performance criteria.

e) Additional training modules as suggested by the Contractor.

f) Creation of at least one custom scenario.

C.2.2.3 The Contractor shall submit all training material to the Authority for review and approval.

C.3 Manuals

C.3.1 The Contractor must provide comprehensive user guides, hard copy and digital, detailing all functions and capabilities of the simulator and any options/configurations included in the simulator implementation, for multiple user groups, including, but not limited to:

a) Student

b) Instructor

c) Maintenance Technician

d) System Administrator

C.3.2 Instructor user guides must include details to create custom scenarios.

C.3.3 The Contractor must provide an Illustrated Parts Catalogue (IPC) which includes the manufacturer, manufacturer part number, description, and illustration of all replaceable parts on the simulator system.

C.4 Technical Documentation

C.4.1 Installation specifications documentation must be provided to the Authority during the design review process with all system and environmental power requirements, including, but not limited to:

a) Wiring

b) Electrical Panel

c) Power Requirements

d) Wall Connections

e) Lighting Connections

f) HVAC requirements

g) Crossover Panels

h) Light Switches

C.4.2 Schematics must be provided to the Authority showing the as-built drawings during the design review process of the electrical, communication, and HVAC systems. A 2D drawing of the layout and finished installation including dimensions must be provided.

D Information & Communication Technology

D.1 The Contractor shall use an implementation that complies with the current applicable interoperability and security standards (e.g., NIST 800 series, ISA/IEC 62443, IEEE 1613, IEEE 1588, and NERC CIP).

D.2 The Contractor must ensure that the solution is protected by unique account identifier and password. The Contractor’s solution must be able to enforce strong alpha-numeric passwords.

D.3 The Contractor shall describe its proposed patch management program and update process (including third-party hardware, software, and firmware). This documentation shall include resources and technical capabilities to sustain this program and process. This includes the Contractor’s method or recommendation for how the integrity of the patch is validated by the Acquirer. This documentation shall also include the Contractor’s approach and capability to remediate newly reported zero-day vulnerabilities.

D.4 All solution application components must enable implementation of access control, i.e. rule-based user access defined within specific user groups.

D.5 Submission of data to the Authority for induction into the Authority’s asset management, configuration management, maintenance, and procurement systems will follow the Authority’s guidelines. There are general standards pertaining to all submitted data. There are specific standards pertaining to specific types of data. Specific data types including:

a) Maintenance Information

b) Procurement Information

c) Part Definition

d) Illustrated Parts Catalogue (IPC) Configuration

e) Bill of Materials (BOM) Configuration

f) Software Configuration

g) Software Definition

h) 2-D Drawing Definition

i) 3-D Modelling Definition

j) Telemetry

D.6 The Contractor’s solution must provide capability to offload data such as scenarios, performance records, and other custom or generated data into easily accessible, machine readable and, where appropriate, human readable form.

D.7 The proposed solution must be able to operate in a stand-alone configuration with limited internet connectivity.

D.8 The simulator system must support the following interfaces and protocols:

a) 100-baseT Ethernet

b) Gigabit Ethernet

c) 48VDC power

d) 120/240V AC power

e) IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac

f) IPV4 addressing

D.9 The simulator system must adhere to standard enterprise hardware, with capabilities of ICMP and SNMP monitoring and adhere to minimum operating systems such as Server 2016, Windows 10, Red Hat Linux 7.5, and AIX 7.2.

E Contractor and Program Requirements

E.1 Experience

E.1.1 The Contractor shall provide a profile and relevant company history including the length of time the contractor has been in business, number of contracts completed in the previous 3 years, and dollar value of 3 most recent contracts completed.

E.1.2 The Contractor shall provide the name, address, phone number and email address of a company contact person

E.2 Approach and Methodology

E.2.1 The Contractor shall include and describe an organizational chart indicating a clear reporting structure and escalation process. This should include key personnel.

E.2.2 The Contractor shall develop and deliver a specific Risk Management Plan for this project, to include but not limited to tolerance identification, assessment, mitigation, avoidance, and review. The Contractor shall describe potential risks (perceived, actual, etc.) along with strategies for each risk.

E.2.3 The Contractor shall develop a quality assurance program. The program will at a minimum detail policies and practices applicable implementation of this project. Preferences will be to have a vendor with an ISO 9001 certification.

E.2.4 The Contractor shall develop a plan and system to transition knowledge (developed during all phases of this project) to the Authority, for all aspects of the project.

E.2.5 The Contractor shall provide a list of all document deliverables applicable to the 7000-series simulator project, describing content, format and audience (e.g. training material, installation specifications documents, schematics, drawings etc.). Electronic copies of all project information must be provided to the Authority. All project deliverables to be provided must be in a format compatible with the Microsoft Office 2010 suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project and Visio.

E.2.6 The Contractor is encouraged to propose innovative approaches to the completion of the implementation. The Contractor must describe how the approach provides added value to the program.

E.3 Schedule

E.3.1 The Contractor shall provide a schedule (milestones, predecessors, dependencies, etc.) and outline the details and procedures for the following:

a) Preliminary Design Review (PDR)

b) Final Design Review (FDR)

c) Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT)

d) Delivery and Setup

e) Testing and Commissioning

f) Training

g) Simulator maintenance requirements

E.3.2 The Contractor shall track all project milestones as described in section E.3.1 in a WMATA approved program (i.e. Microsoft Project). This document must be continuously updated and stored in a location which WMATA has full read access to.

F Cybersecurity

F.1 The Proposer shall provide summary documentation of its secure product development life cycle including the standards, practices (including continuous improvement) and development environment (including the use of secure coding practices) used to create or modify Proposer-provided 7000-series Railcar Cab Simulator system hardware, software, and firmware. If applicable, the Proposer shall document how the most critical application security weaknesses (including OWASP Top 10 or SANS Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Errors) are addressed in the Proposer’s SDLC.

F.2 The Proposer shall provide a tentative system diagram along with a proposed list of hardware and software required to implement and operate the proposed solution.

F.2.1 As specified by The Authority, the Proposer shall identify the country (or countries) of origin of the procured product and its components (including hardware, software, and firmware). The Supplier shall identify the countries where the development, manufacturing, maintenance, and service for the product are provided.

F.3 The proposer shall describe their Quality Assurance program and how they plan to validate that the software and firmware of the procured product have undergone Quality Control testing to identify and correct potential cybersecurity weaknesses and vulnerabilities. This testing regimen should include zero fuzz testing, static testing, dynamic testing, and penetration testing. This testing may be done by the Proposer or an independent entity.

F.3.1 The Authority shall have the right to request documentation of the Proposer’s implemented cybersecurity program, including recent assessment results or conduct periodic on-site security assessments at the Proposer’s facilities. These on-site security assessments may be conducted by and independent third party, at the discretion of the Authority.

F.4 The Proposer shall provide summary documentation to attest to its workforce receiving position-appropriate cybersecurity training and awareness. This includes specialized training for those involved in the design, development, manufacture, testing, shipping, installation, operation, and maintenance of products procured by the Authority, as part of the Proposer’s cybersecurity program.

F.5 The Proposer shall describe its risk management practices for ICT supply chain of delivery of hardware, software, and firmware. The Supplier shall provide documentation on its:

a) Chain-of-custody practices

b) Inventory management program (including location and protection of spare parts)

c) Information protection practices

d) Integrity management program for components provided by sub-suppliers

e) Instructions on how to request replacement parts

f) Maintenance commitment to ensure that for a specified time into the future, spare parts shall be made available by the Supplier.

Questions for Potential Contractors

WMATA requests that potential contractor’s provided responses to the following questions in addition to commenting on the provided scope of work.

1. What are the space requirements for the quantity of simulator equipment outlined in Scope of Work?

2. What is the approximate time requirement to achieve the training objectives outlined in section C.2?

3. Is the technical specification clearly defined?

4. What additional information can we provide to encourage a proposal response?

APPENDIX C: Template for RFI Responses

Please use the template below to provide comments, questions, or additional information relevant to sections within the technical specification. Please identify the Technical Specification

Section in the left-hand column below, e.g.C.3.3. Please feel free to provide additional comments that be will be helpful to WMATA.

Technical

Specification

Section

Comments, Questions, or Additional information

Rights and Obligations of WMATA

WMATA reserves all rights (which rights shall be exercisable by WMATA in its sole discretion) available to it under applicable law, including without limitation, the following, with or without cause and with or without notice:

• The right to cancel, withdraw, postpone or extend the RFI in whole or in part at any time, without incurring any obligations or liabilities;

• The right to issue a new RFI;

• The right to reject any submittals and responses received at any time;

• The right to modify all dates set or projected in this RFI;

• The right to terminate evaluations of responses received at any time;

• The right to suspend and terminate this RFI at any time;

• The right to waive or permit corrections to data submitted with any response to this RFI;

• The right to issue addenda, supplements, and modifications to this RFI;

• The right to permit the submittal of addenda and supplements to data previously provided with any response to this RFI;

• The right to hold meetings, conduct discussions and draft correspondence with one or more of the Respondents responding to this RFI to seek an improved understanding of the responses to the RFI.

• The information and responses received in response to this RFI may be shared with other

• CONFIDENTIALITY & RFI OWNERSHIP

All responses to the RFI will become the property of WMATA and will not be returned.

WMATA shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any identified proprietary information. Properly identified proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with WMATA regulations. The purpose of this announcement is solely to gather information from the market place and any responses received will not be considered an offer by the responding party and cannot be returned.

No requests for solicitation packages will not be granted, as no solicitation has been prepared .