NIOSH BAA - Ground Control 2011.pdf

NIOSH BAA Announcement 01/03/2011

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA)

INTRODUCTION:

This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) by the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2). A formal Request for Proposals (RFP), solicitation, and/or additional information regarding this announcement will not be issued. This announcement will remain open until April 30, 2011 or until replaced by a successor BAA. However, proposals must be submitted between January 4, 2011 and April 30, 2011 for funding consideration during fiscal year 2011.

NIOSH will not issue paper copies of this announcement and reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals in response to this announcement and further reserves the right to fund all, some or none of the proposals received under this BAA. NIOSH provides no funding for direct reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and cost proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this BAA will not be returned. It is the policy of NIOSH to treat all proposals as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation.

Awards under this BAA will consist of contracts. Therefore, proposals submitted as a result of this announcement will fall under the purview of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Agency Name –

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Office of Mine Safety and Health Research Post Office Box 18070 626 Cochrans Mill Road Pittsburgh, PA 15236

2. Research Opportunity Title –

Capacity Building and Ground Control Research for the Mining Industry

3. Program Name –

Office of Mine Safety and Health Research

4. Research Opportunity Number – 2011-N-13060

5. Response Date –

This announcement will remain open until April 30, 2011. Proposals may be submitted any time during this period. There will be two review periods during this time period. The first technical and scientific review will occur early-March 2011. This review will include all proposals received prior to February 28, 2011. The second review will occur early May 2011. This review will include proposals received between March 1, 2011 and April 30, 2011.

6. Research Opportunity Description -

The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) permanently established the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research under the direction of an Associate Director, within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. One purpose of this office is to enhance the development of new technology and technological applications and to ensure adequate capacity in important research areas. The MINER Act grants the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research the authority to award competitive contracts and grants to institutions and private entities to improve mine safety and health in general, and specifically to encourage the development and manufacture of mine safety equipment and to award contracts to education institutions or private laboratories for the performance of product testing or related work with respect to new mine technology or equipment.

Background and Need: Stable mine openings and highwalls are fundamental to ensuring the safety of miners and providing a zero-harm work environment. Underground mining has one of the highest fatal injury rates of any U.S. industry, more than five times the national average for worker fatalities, and ground failures are the single largest source of those fatalities. During the past decade, approximately 40% of underground mining fatalities were caused by roof falls, rib collapses, or bumps/bursts. In addition, approximately 600 miners are non-fatally injured every year by rock falls in coal mines, and these injuries tend to be severe. Yet, the number of mining professionals with expertise in mine ground control engineering has declined significantly over the past few decades because of retirements, a declining number of graduates, and a lack of research funds to support training of professionals in this critical area.

The underground coal mine disasters of this decade involving roof collapses have brought this deficiency of talent to the forefront. In 2007 six coal miners and three rescue workers perished in two coal bumps at Utah’s Crandall Canyon Mine and a roof collapse also help trigger a methane explosion in Alabama at the Jim Walter Resources No. 5 Mine in 2001, which claimed 13 lives. NIOSH is committed to rebuilding capacity in the area of mine ground control.

This announcement is directly related to the NIOSH OMSHR strategic goal to:

• Eliminate ground failure fatalities and injuries in the mining industry.

Objective:

1. Identification of conditions and mechanisms that lead to mine instability;

The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research, NIOSH, is soliciting proposals to conduct research, exploratory development, testing, or evaluations of new innovations and technologies to improve mine health and/or safety.

The objective of this BAA is to address important mine ground control safety issues and to develop a new cohort of mine ground control experts through graduate education. Applicants are given significant flexibility in defining proposed research areas. As such, all basic or applied mine ground control research topics that have an impact on safety will be considered. Topics can be applicable to all types of surface or underground mining or can be pertinent to only a specific mining method or mineral commodity. Sample research areas include but are not limited to:

2. Controlling ground failures in underground mines;

3. Controlling highwall collapses in surface mines;

4. Improved rock support, including roof bolting technology and supplemental support;

5. Mine design guidelines;

6. Advances in geotechnical numerical analysis;

7. Improved backfilling technology;

8. Innovative mine stability monitoring; and ,

9. Advanced in situ rock mass characterization.

A parallel intent is to provide an adequate supply of qualified geotechnical engineers and professors specializing in mine stability to ensure the future health and safety of our nation’s mine workers.

Contract awardees are expected to produce graduates with doctoral and/or masters degrees in mining engineering or a related field in an engineering discipline with a specialization in mine ground control.

7. Additional Information –

Only information and specific questions of a technical nature or of a business nature shall be handled by submitting the requests via email to the following address:

minesbaa@cdc.gov

Include your name and email address on the message. PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

AND ALL COMMUNICATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR QUESTIONS WILL BE

HANDLED ONLY BY EMAIL.

mailto:minesbaa@cdc.gov�

Responses to the email questions will be handled on a first-come basis and generally will be answered within 10 business days.

All interested parties are encouraged to visit the NIOSH Mining Website for additional information on the mining research program at:

www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining

8. Instrument Type(s) –

It is anticipated that awards will take the form of contracts.

9. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers – N/A

10. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Titles – N/A

11. Other Information – N/A

II. AWARD INFORMATION

NIOSH plans to make awards that represent the best value to the Government in accordance with the evaluation criteria. NIOSH is seeking participants for this program that are capable of performing mine ground control safety research and producing masters and doctoral graduates in mining engineering or a related field in an engineering discipline with a specialization in mine ground control.

Total Amount of Funding the Program Office expects to Award through the Announcement Up to $10,000,000 over 5 years

Anticipated Number and Estimated Amount of Awards Each contract is limited to a maximum of $250,000 per year for a maximum of five (5) years.

Total value of each contract may be up to $1,250,000.

NIOSH anticipates funding up to eight (8) contracts.

Anticipated Award Types Firm Fixed Price

Funding Restrictions Funding may be used for the following:

• Graduate-student tuition and stipends

• Two (2) months of summer salary (maximum) for the PI

• Ten percent (10%) academic year salary (maximum) for the PI

• One (1) month of summer salary (maximum) for a Co-PI, if applicable http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining�

• Five percent (5%) academic year salary (maximum) for a Co-PI, if applicable

• Equipment necessary for the proposed research

• Equipment for building rock mechanics laboratory infrastructure, if a $1-for-$1 match is obtained from the academic institution

• Travel required for conducting research

• Travel for students and PI to a national conference, annually, if a paper is presented on research results

• Travel for the PI and at least one student to an annual review meeting. The location and dates of the meeting will be determined by NIOSH, but it is expected the meeting will be held in conjunction with the annual SME meeting. For planning purposes, the PI should budget for 2 round trip air fares, 3 days per diem and a rental car

• Special supplies that are not normally considered as part of overhead

NIOSH will review contracts annually prior to the continuation of funding for the following year.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

• The Principal Investigator (PI) must hold a full-time, tenured or tenure track academic position at the rank of Assistant Professor or higher at an academic institution within the U.S.;

• The PI must be employed by an academic department that offers an ABET accredited undergraduate degree in engineering. In addition, the department must offer graduate degrees (doctoral and/or masters) in engineering;

• The PI must have taught an undergraduate or graduate course in mine ground control or conducted mine ground control research;

• The participation of a Co-PI with related expertise outside of mining engineering is permitted and even encouraged; and,

• Funded graduate students must possess an undergraduate degree in mining engineering or a related engineering/sciences field.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Content and Format of Proposals –

The proposal submissions will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 15.207, applicable law, and regulations.

Proposal Format: Volume 1 - Technical and Volume 2 - Cost Proposal

• Paper Size - 8.5 x 11 inch paper

• Margins - 1 inch, all

• Spacing – single

• Font - Times New Roman, 12 point

• Number of Pages - Volume 1 and Volume 2 are both unlimited as to the number of pages.

Limitations within sections of the proposal are indicated in the individual descriptions shown below. Proposals exceeding the page limit may not be evaluated.

• Copies - one (1) original, two (2) additional hard copies

Proposal Content:

Volume 1: Technical Proposal

Each section of the Technical Proposal must start on a new page.

• Cover Page: This must include the words "TECHNICAL PROPOSAL" and the following:

1. BAA number;

2. Title of Proposal;

3. Identity of Offeror;

4. Technical contact (name, address, phone/fax, electronic mail address);

5. Administrative/business contact (name, address, phone/fax, electronic mail address), and;

6. Duration of research tasks.

• Table of Contents

• Statement of Work: (10 pages maximum) A Statement of Work (SOW) clearly detailing the scope and objectives of the effort and the technical approach. Include a detailed listing of the technical tasks/subtasks organized by year. It is anticipated that the proposed SOW will be incorporated as an attachment to the resultant award instrument. To this end, such proposals must include a severable unclassified self-standing SOW without any proprietary restrictions, which can be attached to the contract or agreement award. Include a detailed listing of the technical tasks/subtasks organized by year. The following SOW format must be used:

TEMPLATE FOR PREPARATION OF A STATEMENT OF WORK

Title of Project:

C.1 Background and Need – (Describes the requirements in general, non-technical terms. This section should explain why the acquisition is being pursued and how it relates to past, current, or future projects. Include a summary of statutory program authority and any regulations that are applicable. If any of the techniques have been found to be tried and been found to be effective, they should be included here.)

C.2 Project Objective – (A succinct statement of the purpose of the acquisition. It should outline results that the Government expects and may also identify the benefits to the program that is contemplated.)

C.3 Scope of Work – (An overall, non-technical description of the work to be performed. It expands on the projected objectives, but does not attempt to detail all of the work required. It must be consistent with the detailed requirements.)

C.4 Technical Requirements – (Spells out precisely what is expected of the contractor in the performance of the work)

• Describes the specific tasks and phases of the work

• Deliverables to be generated from the described tasks must be clearly defined

• Specifies the total effort each task or phase is to receive

• Considerations that may guide the contractor in its analysis, design, or experimentation on the designated problems

• Identifies the requirements and indicates the scope of each

C.5 Reporting Schedule – (Describes any reporting requirements including content and format)

C.6 Special Considerations – (Information that does not fit neatly or logically into one of the other sections. For example, it may be used to explain any special relationships between the contractor and other contractors working for the government)

C.7 Government Furnished Property

C.8 References – (Describes any reference materials that may be relevant to the work being performed)

C.9 Deliverables – (Defines and describes the deliverables)

*DO NOT INCLUDE THE OFFEROR’S NAME, OR ANY PROPRIETARY DATA OR MARKINGS IN THE

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW).*

• Project Schedule and Milestones: (2 pages max) A graphical summary of the work schedule of tasks/subtasks and milestones.

• Assertion of Data Rights: (1 page) Include here a summary of any proprietary rights to pre-existing results, prototypes, or systems supporting and/or necessary for the use of the research, results, and/or prototype. Any rights made in other parts of the proposal that would impact the rights in this section must be cross-referenced. If there are proprietary rights, the Offeror must explain how these affect its ability to deliver subsystems and toolkits for integration. Additionally, Offerors must explain how the program goals are achievable in light of these proprietary and/or restrictive limitations. If there are no claims of proprietary rights in pre-existing data, this section shall consist of a statement to that effect.

• Deliverables: A detailed annual report for each year of the project and a detailed final report that summarizes the work and results for the entire project.

• Qualifications: (2 pages maximum) A discussion of previous accomplishments and work in this, or closely related areas, and the qualifications of the investigator(s). Key personnel résumés shall be attached to the proposal and will not count toward the 2-page limitation.

• Management Approach: N/A

Volume 2: Cost Proposal

The Cost Proposal shall consist of a cover page and two parts. Part 1 will provide a detailed cost breakdown of all costs by cost category and by calendar/fiscal year, and Part 2 will provide a cost breakdown by task/subtask using the same task numbers in the Statement of Work.

Options must be separately priced.

• Cover Page: The use of the SF 1411 is optional. The words "Cost Proposal" should appear on the cover page in addition to the following information:

1. BAA number;

2. Title of Proposal;

3. Identity of prime Offeror;

4. Technical contact (name, address, phone/fax, and electronic mail address);

5. Administrative/business contact (name, address, phone/fax, and electronic mail address);

6. Duration of research and demonstration tasks, and;

7. Summary statement of proposed costs.

8. Cognizant DCAA and DCMA point of contact, address, phone/fax/ and e-mail if available.

Part 1: For proposal pricing purposes, Offerors should assume a contract start date of 90 days after submission of the proposal – subject to availability of funds. A detailed breakdown of all costs by cost category and by calendar/fiscal year (when options are contemplated, options must be separately identified and priced by task/sub-task corresponding to the same task numbers in the Statement of Work) must be submitted as follows:

• Direct Labor - Individual labor category or person, with associated labor hours and unburdened direct labor rates;

• Indirect Costs - Fringe Benefits, Overhead, G&A, COM, etc. (Must show base amount and rate);

• Proposed contractor acquired equipment such as computer hardware for proposed research projects should be specifically itemized with costs or estimated costs. An explanation of any estimating factors, including their derivation and application, shall be provided. Please include a brief description of the Offeror's procurement method to be used;

• Travel - Number of trips, number of days per trip, departure and arrival destinations, number of people, etc;

• Subcontract - A cost proposal as detailed as the Offeror's cost proposal will be required to be submitted by the subcontractor. The subcontractor's cost proposal can be provided in a sealed envelope with the Offeror's cost proposal or will be requested from the subcontractor at a later date;

• Consultant - Provide consultant agreement or other document which verifies the proposed loaded daily/hourly rate;

• Materials should be specifically itemized with costs or estimated costs. An explanation of any estimating factors, including their derivation and application, shall be provided. Please include a brief description of the Offeror's procurement method to be used;

• Other Directs Costs, and;

• Fee/Profit including fee percentage.

Offerors are to provide any current Forward Pricing Rate Agreements in effect at the time of the proposal submission.

Part 2: Cost breakdown by task/subtask using the same task numbers in the Statement of Work. When options are contemplated, options must be separately identified and priced by task/sub-task corresponding to the same task numbers in the Statement of Work.

** Subcontracting Plan - For all full proposals that exceed $550,000, the Offeror must submit an acceptable subcontracting plan (see FAR 52.219-9) or demonstrate that no subcontracting opportunities exist. (Note: This requirement does not apply to small business concerns).

Offerors should complete the Small Business Subcontracting Plan found at the HHS Office of Small Business Utilization, http://www.hhs.gov/osdbu/forms.html.

2. Significant Dates and Times –

Submission: No later than April 30, 2011 First technical/scientific review: Mid-February 2011 Second technical/scientific review: Early May 2011 Notification of awards: Anticipated no later than August 1, 2011 Project start date: September 1, 2011

3. Address for the Submission of Proposals –

Ruben Cruz NIOSH Bldg. 140 626 Cochrans Mill Road P.O. Box 18070 Pittsburgh, PA 15236

(412) 386-6724

V. EVALUATION INFORMATION

1. Evaluation Criteria –

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria, which are listed in descending order of importance:

• Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal and effectiveness in training graduate students in the field of mine ground control engineering (30 points)

• The department’s success as it relates recruiting and graduating Ph.D. and M.S. students;

the evidence of this success should be listed in a table format and should include number of graduate students recruited, number of M.S. and Ph.D. students produced, average years for graduation for the students. For each of the above categories, the data should be provided for each of the past 5 years. (25 points)

• The qualifications, capabilities, and experience of the proposed Principal Investigator and Co- Principal Investigator, if applicable, based on the criteria specified in the QUALIFICATIONS portion of this solicitation (20 points)

• Number of proposed graduate students with respect to requested funding (15 points)

• Realism of the proposed budgetary costs (10 points)

Past Performance – As required by FAR 15.305, past performance will be evaluated as part of the contract award process. The Government intends to perform a past performance evaluation only on those Offerors who have been recommended for award. This evaluation may require some additional relevant performance information from the Offeror if it is not readily available from prior submissions.

Industry-Academia Partnering – NIOSH highly encourages partnering among industry and academia with a view toward speeding the incorporation of new science and technology into practice.

2. Evaluation Panel –

Technical and cost proposals submitted under this BAA will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 3.104-5 and 15.207. The cognizant program officer and other Government scientific experts will perform the evaluation of technical proposals.

Government business professionals will evaluate cost proposals. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, one or more support contractors may be utilized as subject-matter-expert technical consultants. Similarly, support contractors may be utilized to evaluate cost proposals.

However, proposal selection and award decisions are solely the responsibility of Government personnel. Each support contractor's employee having access to technical and cost proposals submitted in response to this BAA will be required to sign a non-disclosure statement prior to receipt of any proposal submissions.

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1. Administrative Requirements –

• The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code - The North American

Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this announcement is 541710 with a small business size standard of 500 employees.

• CCR - Successful Offerors not already registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) will be required to register in CCR prior to award of any grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or other transaction agreement. Information on CCR registration is available at http://www.ccr.gov/

• Certifications – Full Proposals should be accompanied by an ORCA certification package in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause FAR 4.1201. The certification package should be completed online with ORCA at https://orca.bpn.gov/login.aspx. For contract proposals, the certification package is entitled, "Representations and Certifications for Contracts."

2. Reporting –

The following is a sample of deliverables that could be required under a typical research effort:

• Technical and Financial Progress Reports;

• Presentation Material;

• Other Documents or Reports; and/or,

• Final Report.

At a minimum, a detailed annual report for each year of the project and a final technical report are required and are to be delivered in both hard copy and electronic format. The final report must be 508 compliant. If the final report contains proprietary information, a second version of the report must be prepared and submitted that is suitable for public release.

However, please note that specific deliverables (that may include software and hardware deliverables) may be proposed by each Offeror and finalized during negotiations.

3. Continuation of Funding –

NIOSH will review contract performance annually prior to the continuation of funding for the following year.

http://www.ccr.gov/�

VII. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Government Property/Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Facilities –

Each proposer must provide a very specific description of any equipment/hardware that it needs to acquire to perform the work. This description should indicate whether or not each particular piece of equipment/hardware will be included as part of a deliverable item under the resulting award. Also, this description should identify the component, nomenclature, and configuration of the equipment/hardware that it proposes to purchase for this effort. It is the Government’s desire to have the contractor purchase the equipment/hardware for deliverable items under their contract. The purchase on a direct reimbursement basis of special test equipment or other equipment that is not included in a deliverable item will be evaluated for allowability on a case-by-case basis. Maximum use of Government integration, test, and experiment facilities is encouraged in each of the Offeror’s proposals.

Government research facilities may be available and could potentially be considered government furnished equipment/facilities. These facilities and resources are of high value and some are in constant demand by multiple programs. The use of these facilities and resources will be negotiated as the program unfolds. Offerors should not assume that Government owned facilities, including Lake Lynn Lab, the Safety Research Coal or the Experimental Mine, are available for research ideas submitted under this announcement. If these facilities are essential to the research proposal, the Offeror needs to clearly identify the reasons for using these facilities. If the facilities are not available during the proposed time frame for the research described in the Concept paper and there are no other field site options listed, the Concept paper will be rejected.