28463 Basic Compliance Auditing Training PWS April 2024 .pdf

Federal Aviation Administration

Performance Work Statement

Basic Compliance Auditing for AVS Personnel Training For the FAA

April 2024

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

A. PROJECT/TITLE

Basic Compliance Auditing for AVS Personnel Training (FAA28463) for Aerospace Engineers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

If the low offeror is an accredited college, the FAA desires college credits be offered to trainees who successfully complete the proposed training. This is not a mandatory requirement and will not be used as an evaluation factor.

B. BACKGROUND

Under Title 49 of the United States Code (49 U.S.C.), the FAA is authorized to train employees as necessary in the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of the Administrator. The interests of the public, the safety of the workforce, and the credibility of the organization are best served by having qualified, proficient, and current engineers evaluating potential unsafe conditions, performing risk assessment, and selecting appropriate corrective action.

C. SCOPE

The contractor must provide Basic Compliance Auditing for AVS Personnel Training to FAA Aerospace Engineers. This course is an aircraft certification course designed primarily for engineers involved in the review of analysis submitted by applicants which may involve probability studies or statistical analysis.

The contractor may provide this training through their commercial training offered to the public, other Government agencies or by submitting courses solely intended for FAA engineers.

The FAA estimates this course must be a minimum of 24 hours of instruction and class size should not exceed a maximum of 20 students.

Student quotas will be determined by Aircraft Certification Service – Enterprise Operation Division (AIR-900). FAA formal training consists of training courses with agency level course numbers that will be officially recorded in the employee’s personnel records.

The tuition cost should be based on a per class basis. All student travel and per diem costs will be the responsibility of the FAA.

D. QUALITY ASSURANCE

The FAA requests that a current copy of the course student materials, be provided to the FAA annually, for the purposes of validating training content against identified training requirements. If the course objectives change, or significant content updates are made, an updated copy of the course will need to be provided, with a summary of the changes.

The FAA will sign NDAs as required and will not use the materials for any other purposes beyond validating requirements. This is required to ensure the FAA remains in compliance with congressional requirements set forth in the FAAs Authorization to operate. More specifically, Public Law (current

Consolidated Appropriations Act) requires that all technical training meet the requirements of the Current Consolidated Appropriations Act. None of the funds made available in this Act may be obligated or expended for any employee training that:

a. Does not meet identified needs for knowledge, skills, and abilities bearing directly upon the performance of official duties.

b. Contains elements likely to induce high levels of emotional response or psychological stress in some learners.

c. Does not require prior learner notification of the content and methods to be used in the training and written end-of-course evaluation.

d. Contains any methods or content associated with religious or quasi-religious belief systems or ‘‘new age’’ belief systems as defined in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Notice N–915.022, dated September 2, 1988.

e. Is offensive to, or designed to change, learners’ personal values or lifestyle outside the workplace.

E. DEFINITIONS

The following definitions are used to define the terminology contained herein:

1. Contracting Officer (CO): The person authorized to act on behalf of the Government to negotiate and award contracts and modifications thereto, and to administer contracts through completion or termination.

Except for certain limited authority delegated by the Contracting Officer to a technical representative, the Contracting Officer is the only individual with the authority to direct the work of the Contractor.

2. Contracting Officer's Representative (COR): The authorized Government representative(s) acting within the limits of their delegated authority for management of specific projects or functional activities.

3. DOT: Department of Transportation

4. FAA: Federal Aviation Administration

F. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

Title 14 of the Code of Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR), Parts 91, 121, and 135. The applicable regulations are available for download, in pdf format, from www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/faa_regulations/

Title 49 of the United States Code available at http://uscode.house.gov/download/download.shtml

G. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Daily Sessions: Begin when the student shows at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, OK for training each day and runs a maximum of 10 hours to include breaks.

2. Level of Training: FAA personnel are expected to perform at a level compatible with the highest standards of the specialty. Accordingly, each course of instruction must adhere to the adult learning http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/faa_regulations/ http://uscode.house.gov/download/download.shtml principles, which include but are not limited to:

a. Focus the training on "Real World" situations and applications.

b. Emphasize how the training can be applied.

c. Relate the training to the instructional objectives.

d. If possible, relate the training materials to the FAA employees past experience.

e. Allow reasonable debate and challenge of ideas.

f. Encourage FAA employees to be resources to one another.

3. To the maximum extent possible, training should not commence during a scheduled federal holiday or the day the holiday, nor be conducted on a weekend. Training shall be conducted Monday through Friday and is to be continuous during these days except for federally established holidays, Local or sate holidays must not interrupt the training period. Normal hours of training should not begin later than 9:00 a.m. local time. Should a requirement exist to change either the hours or days of training indicated, the change must be coordinated in advance with the FAA COR.

4. Training Facilities: The Contractor must provide Instructor Led Training (ILT) in a Brick-and- Mortar Training Facility located in the United States and preferably within 25 miles of a major airport serviced by at least one major US air carrier. In addition, training facilities much comply with the following:

a. Classrooms must be large enough to accommodate at least the entire class plus one observer, with either desks or tables large enough to allow the students to be able to take notes and still have space for them to keep their reference books open during lecture periods. Student chairs must be ergonomically appropriate for 8-hour occupancy.

b. Sufficient presentation boards for effective teaching must be provided.

c. The classroom must be well lighted. There must be not less than 30 foot-candles of illumination at the student's desk or table.

d. The classroom must be cleaned not less than two times each week of instruction.

e. Sanitary restroom facilities must be available within convenient distance of the classroom.

f. The classroom facilities must be adequately ventilated; heated in winter and cooled in summer.

Temperature range must not exceed 68 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

g. Ambient noise must be below the distraction point. At any position in the classroom, normal instructor voice levels should exceed the ambient noise level by 20 decibels.

h. Contractor must comply with safety standards specified by the National Electrical Code, the

National Fire Code, and the United States of America Standards Institute in conducting contract training. Each class must receive a briefing on safety and security procedures to ensure proper egress in the event of any foreseeable emergency.

i. Local environmental distraction adversely affecting student learning must be eliminated.

j. Adequate free student parking must be available near the training site.

k. Visual aids used in the classroom to describe specific aircraft system or aircraft components must be legible, visible from each student station, and color enhanced as necessary to show each system operating mode.

l. Classrooms must have at least one computer with internet access and printer available for student use.

5. Instructor Requirements: The contractor shall provide professional instructors to deliver the courses and shall at a minimum include the following:

a. A minimum of five (5) years of experience delivering training in a classroom environment; AND

b. A minimum of five (5) years performing auditing procedures.

6. All instruction must be presented by a qualified instructor in an instructor-led classroom environment (in-person) as the preferred method of training unless there is a natural disaster or pandemic. If the training cannot be conducted in a brick-and-mortar environment, Computer-Based Instruction (CBI) or Virtual Training is allowed at the discretion of the Government and with concurrence of the vendor.

If CBI or Virtual Training is used to accomplish training, then the following requirements must be met:

a. Prior to training, provide information to the COR on the computer-based platform being utilized for approval to include number of hours and the number of training days.

b. Students shall receive a thorough briefing on the operation and use of the software prior to start of first date of course for accessing the virtual platform. If workbook materials is required for CBI training, students must receive material 10 days prior to training.

c. Provide Time Zone training will be conducted.

d. At least one instructor shall be present or readily accessible by electronic means to resolve any problems or questions that the FAA may have regarding the material presented in the course.

e. All material presented by CBI shall be reviewed and reinforced by a qualified instructor in classroom discussion or one-on-one with the engineer.

7. Training Requirements

a. At least two weeks prior to any course, provide each registered student with the training site address, map and/or directions to the training site, a local point of contact and telephone number, and commercially available lodging near the training site.

b. Provide a copy of the syllabus, training schedule and course description, course reference book and any other needed course materials to each engineer on the first training day of each training course.

8. Student Reports and Grade

a. The FAA will provide a final roster prior to beginning of class. Notify the COR of any non-attendance on the first day of training and throughout the course. In the event the FAA engineer fails to report for training as scheduled, or should become ill, injured, or incapacitated during the training period the contractor shall promptly notify the COR and the engineer emergency contact, if known.

b. Upon successful completion of all training the contractor shall issue a Certificate of Completion (PDF) for each attendee identifying the type of training provided, specific dates, and the duration of such training. One copy must be submitted to the COR and the student prior to invoice processing.

c. The contractor shall, within two weeks after class completion, furnish a report to the COR reflecting the student's final grades, attendance records, and any additional comments deemed necessary concerning his/her attitude and ability. Each student shall receive a certificate of graduation, pending completion of required performance or knowledge testing if applicable. When applicable, testing may be conducted with open textbook for reference.

H. TRAINING OUTCOMES

The course shall emphasize the basic audit skills common to all compliance auditing without regard to any specific quality standard. Assume the student is new to auditing and comes from any office of the FAA working in an administrative, clerical, technical, or medical position assigned to their first audit. The applicable standard could range from Title 14 Code of the Federal Regulations (CFR), ISO, or any other quality management standard.

The participant will be able to describe in their own words:

• The purpose of auditing

• Basic audit methods and processes

• How to plan their portion of an audit as assigned with regard to time management, document gathering, review, etc.

• The preparation for an audit such as reading applicable standards and other information provided by the team leader

• The elements of an efficient and effective audit

• At least three quality management systems commonly found in aerospace organizations in general terms

• Auditor roles and responsibilities

• A review of audit reports

• A review of post-audit activities

• Follow-up and verification of audit corrective action (From the auditor’s perspective)

• Audit tools and techniques

• Audit documentation

NOTE: Approximately 75% of the allotted time should be dedicated to audit methods, audit tools and techniques, and audit documentation.

The participants are to be given opportunities to practice the basic auditor skill set to the maximum extent practicable within the allotted time.