Revised_RFP_693JJ319R000018.pdf

RFP No. 693JJ319R000018

SECTION B – Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs

B.1 CONTRACT SUMMARY

The Contractor shall furnish all equipment, materials and personnel necessary to provide the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Office of Highway Policy Information with non-personal services for the “Non-Traditional Methods to Obtain Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) Evaluation and Analysis” as described in Section C below.

B.2 CONTRACT PRICING

The Government anticipates award of a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) Contract with Cost Reimbursable Travel.

The maximum total potential value of this Contract, including travel is: $[To be filled in at award].

Schedule of Services

CLIN Description Type Firm Fixed Price

00001 Task 1: Project Management FFP

00002 Task 2: Draft Report, Draft Final Report and Final Report FFP

00003 Task 3: Technical Checklist, Worksheet and Flow Diagrams and Final Report FFP

00004 Task 4: Deliver TAC Meetings (8) FFP

00005 Travel and ODC (Other Direct Costs) NTE Cost $63,500.00

TOTAL PRICE

SECTION C – Description/Specifications/Statement of Work

C.1 BACKGROUND

Pavement embedded sensors such as loops and axle sensors, along with roadside-based radar/light devices and other fix point installed detection systems offer the most reliable traffic volume and classification data. However, it is also known that such point based traditional detection systems are typically expensive to install and operate. Over the last decade, new technologies and data, seemingly unrelated to vehicle travel, have been explored with limited success to characterize vehicle travel. It has been proven that such new passively collected data can characterize traffic patterns under limited circumstances. One of the most successful initiatives is the National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS). The NPMRDS data, which is based on a wide range of non-traditional data, offers vehicle travel time on all the national highway systems in a timely manner and with good reliability, accuracy and precision.

Recent research has shown the potential success of using passive data to decipher traffic volumes along with other movement data such as origin destination data and modal share data. To promote further development and deployment of such advancements, the Federal Highway Administration has organized a pooled fund effort with the objective of developing and deploying methods to provide vehicle volume data and classification data through the use of passively collected probe and other non-traditionally available data. The term of “passively collected data” means data are not collected through traditional roadway point based sensor detections but instead use vehicle stream sources such as probe based data from smart phones, vehicle transponders, vehicle tracking devices and other sources that this research will uncover.

Passive data-based non-traditional methods, when validated, could reduce costs and improve efficiency for State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), and local agencies when collecting traffic data for AADT’s and AADT’s by vehicle class.

Because of the need for public agencies to have available AADT data for all paved roads in the US, it could also reduce risks to employees and contractors who place sensor devices in and on the roadways by dramatically reducing the number of field based traffic counts that need to take place.

C.2 OBJECTIVE

The key objective of this pooled fund research project is to evaluate the technical and statistical validity of traffic data derived from passively collected data from various sources.

Note: For the AADT method research initiative, there will be two projects, competed separately.

The first is the “Non-Traditional Methods to Obtain Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) Evaluation and Analysis” as specified in this Request for Proposal (RFP). The second is the “Validation of Non-Traditional Methods to Obtain Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT).”

Accordingly, the contractor selected for award of the first project shall not be able to compete for the second project to prevent conflict of interest and maintain impartiality.

C.3 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, input data, equipment, supplies, facilities, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform the work

Delination of Tasks

Task 1 – Project Management

The contractor shall prepare and submit a draft work plan describing the overall sequence, schedules, milestones, deadlines, quality assurance and control, deliverables, technical and administrative requirements relevant for the successful completion of each task. The work plan shall demonstrate that the contractor shall complete the work within the specified timeframe and within budget. The contractor shall provide the draft work plan five (5) days prior to the project kick-off meeting which will be held within 30 days of contract award. The contractor shall revise the work plan based upon the discussion at the kick-off meeting, and comments provided by the FHWA. The contractor shall submit the final plan to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) within 2 weeks of receiving comments from the FHWA.

The contractor shall submit monthly progress reports. Each report shall discuss the work completed under each task during the reporting period, share concerns and issues, and plans for the next reporting period. The report shall include a technical memorandum of work performed under each task during the reporting period. It will also include the work plan for the next reporting period, and discussion of any problems encountered and solutions for those problems.

The contractor shall participate in regularly scheduled team meetings and teleconferences (anticipated bi-weekly) with the FHWA staff to keep them apprised of the progress of each task and discuss any issues that may arise. The contractor shall prepare meeting agendas and presentation materials and deliver to the COR two (2) days prior to each meeting. The meeting agenda will lay out the issues that will be discussed and the goals to be accomplished at the meeting. The contractor shall prepare meeting notes. The meeting notes shall include a summary of the topics discussed, the important decisions made and tasks accomplished during the meeting. The meeting notes shall be submitted no more than a week after the meeting.

Draft Report (draft FHWA only) -- The contractor shall deliver draft reports under Task 2 and Task 3 for FHWA review that will include all necessary flow/block diagrams and tables, indices and attachments 12 weeks before end of contract.

Draft Final Report (draft TAC and FHWA) -- The contractor shall deliver draft final reports for FHWA and TAC (Technical Advisory Committee) review that will include all necessary flow/block diagrams and tables and attachments and corrections per FHWA’s initial report 8 weeks before end of contract

Final Report -- The contractor shall deliver all final reports for FHWA and TAC review that will include all final material, flow/block diagrams, tables, indices, and attachments 4 weeks before end of contract. Final reports shall be in the format of MS Word, PDF, and HTML 508 compliance formats.

Deliverables for Task 1

The contractor shall review and edit all deliverables prior to submission.

Work Plan -- The contractor shall submit a draft work plan for the contract shall present the work plan at the kick-off meeting. With two (2) weeks of receiving comments from the FHWA, contractor shall submit the final work plan.

Monthly Progress Reports -- The contractor shall submit monthly progress reports

Team Meetings and Teleconferences -- The contractor shall participate in regularly scheduled meetings and teleconferences (anticipated to be bi-weekly). The contractor shall prepare and submit meeting agendas two (2) days in advance of meeting dates. The contractor shall submit meeting notes not more than a week after each meeting and teleconference.

Task 2 – AADT Estimation from Passive Data Evaluation

Passive data refers to data and information generated through usage of navigational devices (e.g., Global Positioning Service (GPS) devices or Automatic Vehicle Locators ( AVL) electronic logs), cellular communication devices (e.g., cell phones), location based service activities (e.g., various apps), and other non-traditional data gained through utilizing non-traditional pavement or roadside based data capture means (e.g., roadway based loop and piezo sensors).

This task evaluates the statistical and technical validity and reliability of using passive data to derive annual average daily traffic for all roadway FHWA functional classes one (1) to seven (7) with “special emphasis” on FHWA functional classes of five (5), six (6), and seven (7) (minor arterial, major collector, minor collectors, locals and ramps).

The “special emphasis” with FHWA functional classes (FC) of five (5), six (6) and seven (7) means such FC roads shall be selected from States such as Virginia (VA), North Dakota (ND), Idaho (ID), Ohio (OH), California (CA), Texas (TX) et al where five (5), six (6) and seven (7) (both rural and urban) travel patterns are likely different.

The selection of roadway functional classes for the study and validation shall cover rural, urban, and suburban areas and different climate conditions (e.g., regions such as ND, Minnesota (MN) where 4 seasons are obvious with significant winter weather as contrasted with warm regions such as Florida (FL) and TX, and regions in between).

Statistical and technical validity study means a comparison and contrast of both precision and accuracy of AADT data derived from various passive data methods to AADT results derived from: a) the traditional continuous count approach; b) factoring up methods based on 48 hour counts: and c) other methods used or deployed by State highway agencies.

The statistical validity shall identify any statistical significance regarding differences through mean, variance, or both mean and variance testing. Contractors are encouraged to propose suitable statistical tests to be performed. This shall include paired testing between: a)“passive data result” and continuous counting methods; b) “passive data results” and short term factor methods; and c) “passive data results” and other AADT methods. In addition, all analysis shall include but not limited to:

margin of errors at 95%, 90%, and 85% confidence levels.

This evaluation shall also include stability evaluation of AADT derived regarding the timing of when such computation is conducted. The evaluation shall answer questions as to the need of raw input data, the cost of the data and limitations raw data may pose to the data quality. For example, do such methods require 360 days of passive data? Do such methods require data from every day of week, every month of year? How does the day of week or month of year data availability and usage affect the AADT quality and stability? When can such AADT estimations be performed for a given calendar year? For example, if we are currently in month of September of 2018, when can the AADT for year 2018 be estimated? Any time during 2018? Any time past June 2018?

The evaluation shall also cover detailed algorithms and theoretical basis on AADT derivation. Such coverage shall be sufficient in detail to facilitate Federal, State and local transportation agencies to fully understand the processes and enable research communities to continue to explore approaches to deliver more effective methods and models. Flow diagrams detailing how the process of obtaining AADT from probe based data sources shall be provided: starting with input and ending with AADT output.

Additionally, other traffic data items which may be obtained from passive data methods as listed below shall be explored and answered, and shall be provided to include future research needs if current data and methods are not there yet. Other traffic data items include:

1) Factors such as day of week (DOW) and month of year (MOY);

2) Directional AADT – volume only;

3) Ramp AADT;

4) Work Zone ADTs (hourly if possible);

5) K Factors (Design Hour Volumes) and or D Factors (Percentage of traffic moving in the peak travel direction) K and/or D factors;

6) Peak hour truck data;

7) Special events or unusual weather conditions ADT;

8) Method to deploy the new AADT data – is a phased approach necessary; and

9) AADT by vehicle type – 3 classification groups (FHWA classes:1-3, 4-7, and 8-13)

Task 2 - Deliverables

The contractor shall deliver complete technical documents detailing the following items:

1. AADT methods evaluated – theory, algorithm, input, output with detailed flow diagrams on how the process works and how to effectively implement/use such data;

2. Passive data quantity, availability, and timing effects (day of week, week of the month, month of the year) on AADT quality and stability impacts;

3. Statistical analysis with regard to differences among AADTs derived from passive data, continuous count and short term counts (e.g., means and variance analysis, margin of error analysis) under various confidence levels, and other statistical measures for all roadway functional classes, geography and climate conditions;

4. Additional traffic data items detailed with analysis and statistics of their viability for determining factors (DOW and MOY), directional AADTs, ramp AADTs, work zone ADTs, special event ADTs, unusual weather event ADTs, phased or nonphased deployment methods, and AADT by vehicle type; and

5. Conclusions- a precise and comprehensive summary shall be provided with all methods studied detailed. This shall include what additional steps and focus may be needed, how private and public agencies can work together to further the technology and methods. This conclusion shall include all items listed in item 4 above (including any limitations).

Draft Report for Task 2 - A draft reportfor Task 2 isdue to FHWA by the 8th month from contract award. FHWA will review and provide feedback within 2 weeks of receiving the draft report.

Final Report for Task 2-- The contractor shall deliver a final report for task 2 for FHWA and TAC review that will include all final material, flow/block diagrams, tables, indices, and attachments 4 weeks before contract ending. The final report shall be in the format of MS Word, PDF, and HTML 508 compliance formats

Task 3 - Establish a Technical Checklist and Develop Appropriate Data Quality Criteria and

Final Report

The goal of this task is to develop a comprehensive technical checklist and data quality acceptance criteria for Federal, state and local highway agencies to use when considering acquiring private AADT and other relevant traffic data and complete the Final Report.

Issues and items to be considered shall include, but not be limited to the following:

• What is the theoretical basis of the method where such traffic data (e.g., AADT, AADT by vehicle type, ramp AADT, directional AADT, factors, …) are derived?

• What are the input data for successful use by methods studied and any limitations of the input data? Will any of this input data need to be supplied by the associated DOT?

• Is there a direct relationship between the input data and what are being produced?

• Is source input data consistent from year to year? (historical trending)

• What data are used to calibrate the result (permanent, portable and/or others) and how much of this data is required?

• What are the margin of errors for FHWA functional classes one (1) to seven (7) (urban and rural) with a confidence level of 95%?

• What are the margin of errors for FHWA functional classes one (1) to seven (7) (urban and rural) with a confidence level of 85%?

• What is the percentage mean AADT error as compared with the continuous count data method?

• What is the earliest date in the year such derived AADT data might be available and the accuracy of passive data based AADT?

• What are any of the limitations of the method(s)?

• What are any of the limitations or restictions of the traffic data to its public release?

• Is there documentation of the method(s) available by a public agency for release to the public?

• Is the provided data on the Geographic Information System network the same or similar to the LRS provided by HPMS?

The contractor shall prepare a FHWA only draft of the final report that will include all appendices, tables, figures and results for FHWA review. Upon review of the FHWA comments the contractor shall then deliver a revised draft final report for both FHWA and the Pooled Fund Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) review and allow for 2 weeks for TAC and FHWA review/comment. This second draft shall include all tables, flow/block diagrams and appendices.

Deliverables for Task 3

The contractor shall deliver : a) complete document detailing the proposed checklist, proposed data quality criteria, rational and analysis on such items as listed above including specifications, and b) worksheet where it can be used conveniently by both private businesses and public agencies to submit information and assist with the decision making. This shall includebut not limited to any costs, data input requirements, data process limitations, data release limitations, criteria to utilize when using this method. This is due 14 months from contract award.

Draft Report for Task 3 - The contractor shall prepare a FHWA only draft report that will include all appendices, tables, figures and results for FHWA review. Upon FHWA review and subsequent corrective action by the contractor, the contractor shall then deliver a revised draft final report to both the FHWA and the Pooled Fund Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)

The FHWA only draft reports is due to FHWA 15 months from task order award. FHWA will review and provide feedback within 2 weeks of receiving draft reports. The contractor shall deliver a revised draft final report to the FHWA and TAC within 2 weeks of receiving the FHWA comments.

Final Report for Task 3 -- The contractor shall deliver a final report for Task 3 for FHWA and TAC review that will include all final material, flow/block diagrams, tables, indices, and attachments 4 weeks before the end of contract. The final report shall be in the format of MS Word, PDF, and HTML 508 compliance formats.

Task 4 – Delivering TAC Meetings

The TAC consists of 14 representatives from these state highway agencies: Alaska ( AK), CA, Colorado (CO), ID, Illinois (IL), Maryland (MD), MN, North Carolina (NC), ND, OH, Pennsylvania (PA), South Carolina (SC), TX and VA. The TAC is to review contractor work and advise the contractor on the research and development efforts. The contractor shall support and offer all needed material to the TAC in a timely and cooperative manner.

It is anticipated that there will be eight TAC meetings with two of the meetings conducted in person.

The virtual FHWA monthly update meetings can be held in combination with the eight meetings specified here and don’t need to be an independent meeting.

The contractor is responsible to organize all TAC meetings (virtual or in person) including agenda, discussion material, note taking, and event actions in coordination with FHWA staff.

For the two in person meetings, the contractor shall provide all necessary travel arrangements and reimbursement to the 14 state travelers per Federal GSA per diem rates in affect at time of contract award, if available.

The first in person meeting will be held in the lower 48 states in a state facility or federal agency facility where no fees will be charged. This meeting shall take place within 8 weeks of contract award.

The second will be held at the 2020 National Travel Monitoring Exhibition ad Conference (NaTMEC) (likely in North Carolina). This will take place around June 2020.

Deliverables for Task 4:

The contractor shall arrange for and deliver eight meetings for the TAC with two of them being in person. For all meetings, the contractor shall provide an agenda for FHWA to review and approve before distributing to the TAC members at least 3 days in advance of each meeting. Agenda material shall include: goals for the meeting, advance reading requirements and materials, all slides to be utilized during the meeting, meeting location and meeting start/end times. After each meeting whether in person or held remotely, a summary of the findings and discussion notes along with any action items shall be provided.

Two in person meetings: for each of the two in person meetings the contractor shall provide all travel arrangements for the 14 Pooled Fund TAC state representatives. This shall include all airfare, hotel, rental cars (when needed) or other incidental travel costs per federal GSA per diem rates at time of contract award. The contractor shall manage and provide for all on-site arrangements such as printed handouts, agenda, slides, break supplies and meeting room arrangements.

Summary totals for all costs for each individual traveler shall be provided in a table for each representative attending the in-person meeting.

C.4 MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORTS

The Contractor shall submit progress reports to the COR and the Contract Specialist (CS). These reports shall be submitted on a monthly basis by the 15th of the month. The reports shall include the following items as a minimum:

a) A description of the work performed under each Task during the reporting period.

b) A description of the work to be accomplished under each Task during the next reporting period.

c) A description of any problem encountered or anticipated that will affect the completion of any work within the timeframe set, together with recommended solutions to such problems; or, a statement that no problems were encountered.

d) A financial summary of costs incurred by Contract Line Item Number (CLIN), for both the reporting period and cumulative, compared to the budgeted amount for the reporting period and cumulative. The financial summary shall include a delineation of cost elements such as labor, travel, subcontractor costs, and indirect costs as applicable.

C.5 REQUIREMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTING SECTION 508 STANDARDS

The following applies to all FHWA Contracts issued on or after January 18, 2018 containing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a deliverable. In addition to the work requirements specified in this statement of work, vendors must ensure that all ICT that they prepare will meet the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Final Standards and Guidelines (508 Refresh) at 36 CFR Part 1194.

As defined in the 508 Refresh, at 36 CFR Part 1194, Appendix A, E103.4, ICT is “Information technology and other equipment, systems, technologies, or processes, for which the principal function is the creation, manipulation, storage, display, receipt, or transmission of electronic data and information, as well as any associated content. Examples of ICT include, but are not limited to: computers and peripheral equipment; information kiosks and transaction machines;

telecommunications equipment; customer premises equipment; multifunction office machines;

software; applications; Web sites; videos; and, electronic documents.”

Section 508 requires that all electronic products prepared for the Federal Government be accessible to persons with disabilities, including those with vision, hearing, cognitive, and mobility impairments.

Applicable Standards:

• Appendix A to Part 1194 – Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Application and Scoping Requirements

• Appendix B to Part 1194 – Section 255 of the Communications Act: Application and Scoping Requirements https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-a https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-a https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-b https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-b

• Appendix C to Part 1194 – Functional Performance Criteria and Technical Requirements

Section 508 Refresh standards are available at https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh.

Before final acceptance of any ICT item, including updates and replacements, if the contractor claims its products or services satisfy the applicable Revised 508 Standards specified in the statement of work, and the contracting officer’s representative, in coordination with the contracting officer, determines that any furnished ICT item is not in compliance with such requirements, the contracting officer will promptly inform the contractor in writing of the noncompliance. The contractor shall, at no cost to the agency, repair or replace the non-compliant products or services within the period specified by the contracting officer.

C.6 PUBLICATION AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS

Unless otherwise authorized by the CO, final reports shall be prepared in accordance with the latest version of the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center Research, Development, and Technology Communications Reference Guide available online at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/general/03074/, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Publications and Printer Handbook, and the latest version of the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual.

(End of Section C) https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-c https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines#appendix-c https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh

SECTION D - Packaging and Marking

D.1 PACKAGING

Preservation, packing, and packaging of items for shipment shall be in accordance with best commercial practices and adequate for acceptance by common carrier for safe transportation at the most economical rates.

The Contractor shall clearly mark each shipment with the Contractor name, the contract number, and as appropriate, the item identification, quantity of items, and notice of partial or final delivery.

(End of Section D)

SECTION E - Inspection and Acceptance

E.1 ACCEPTANCE

All work hereunder shall be subject to review by the Government. The COR is responsible for inspection and acceptance of all incoming shipments, documents, and services. Acceptance of the final deliverables shall be made in writing by the COR.

E.2 GOVERNMENT ACCEPTANCE PERIOD

Unless otherwise stated, the COR will have 30 calendar days to review draft deliverables and make comments. The Contractor shall have seven calendar days to make corrections and return the corrected deliverable to the Government. Upon receipt of the final deliverables, the COR will have 10 calendar days for final review prior to acceptance or providing documented reasons for non-acceptance.

52.246-4 Inspection of Services – Fixed-Price (AUG 1996)

52.246-6 Inspection - Time-and-Material and Labor-Hour (MAY 2001)

52.246-9 Inspection of Research and Development (Short Form) (APR 1984)

(End of Section E)

SECTION F - Deliveries or Performance

F.1 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

All work and services required under this contract shall be completed on or before 18 months from the effective date of the contract. The total contract performance period shall not exceed 18 months without written authorization of the Contracting Officer (CO).

F.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The work to be performed under this contract shall be performed at the Contractor’s facility or other Contractor-approved location.

F.3 PLACE OF DELIVERY

The Contractor shall submit all interim and final deliverables, progress reports and documents in electronic format by email, referencing the contract number, to the following email addresses. In the event a shipment is necessary for delivery, the Contractor shall use the following mailing addresses.

Ship to:

US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Office of Policy and Governmental Affairs 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590 Attn: [Name and Email address to be filled in at award]

F.4 METHOD OF DELIVERY

Electronic copies shall be delivered using Microsoft (MS) Office suite tools (for example, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Project, or MS Access format) version 2016 or later, unless otherwise specified by the COR. Electronic submission shall be made via email, unless otherwise agreed to by the COR.

F.5 DELIVERABLE/DELIVERY SUMMARY

TASK

DELIVERABLE

DUE DATE

Task 1 - Project Management

Kick-Off Meeting 30 Days From Contract Award Draft Work Plan 25 Days From Contract Award

Final Work Plan 2 Weeks After Receiving FHWA Comments

Quarterly Progress Report Quarterly

Team Meeting and Teleconference Regularly Scheduled: bi-monthly

Meeting Agendas 3 Days Prior To Each Meeting

Meeting Notes Within A Week After Each Meeting

Task 2 – AADT Estimation from Passive Data Evaluation

1 - AADT Methods Evaluated 8 Months From Contract Award

2 - Passive data quantity, timing effec and limitations on AADT

8 Months From Contract Award

3 - Statistical analysis of AADTs 8 Months From Contract Award

4 – Additional traffic data items 8 Months From Contract Award

5 – Conclusions 8 Months From Contract Award

Final Draft Report Results – FHWA t

FHWA/TAC

8 Months From Contract Award

Task 3 –Technical Checklist, Data Quality Criteria and Final Report

Checklist

14 Months From Contract Award

Spreadsheet 14 Months From Contract Award

Block Diagrams and Statistical Resul Tables - Including Limitations and Tolerances

15 Months From Contract Award

Final Draft Report Results – FHWA t

FHWA/TAC

16 Months From Contract Award

Final Report

17 Months From Contract Award

TASK

DELIVERABLE

DUE DATE

Task 4 – TAC Meetings and TAC Travel

First TAC Meeting

Within 8 weeks of Contract Award

Agenda Meeting Material 3 days Prior to Each Meeting

Remote Meetings (up to 8) Every 2 Months

Second TAC Meeting June 2020

Travel Cost Summary Spreadsheet 17 Months After Contract Award

NOTE: Final technical deliverables shall be Section 508 Compliant unless otherwise directed by the COR. See Section C for Section 508 compliance information.

52.242-15 Stop-Work Order (AUG 1989)

52.242-17 Government Delay of Work (APR 1984)

52.247-34 F.O.B. Destination (NOV 1991)

(End of Section F)

SECTION G – Contract Administration Data

G.1 PAYMENT

For each FFP CLIN, the Government shall pay the Contractor for the prices delineated in the contract.

Proportional payments may be made based on an established Milestone Payment Schedule for work performed and accepted. Payment shall be made upon review and written acceptance of the FFP deliverable(s) by the Government.

G.2 TRAVEL AND PER DIEM

The Contractor shall be responsible for coordination of travel in support of Government requirements.

The Contractor shall be required to invoice in accordance with FAR 31.205-46, Travel Costs, and Federal Travel Regulations, and must submit documentation of all travel costs. The Government will specify the travel dates and location for required local, domestic, and international travel. The Contractor shall not travel unless adequate funds have been delegated for travel.

Travel (other than local) may be expected to occur throughout the duration of the contract. The COR will issue the written request for travel if required (excluding local travel).

Travel and Per Diem authorized under this contract shall be reimbursed at cost in accordance with the Government Travel Regulations currently in effect. The total travel costs shall not exceed the amounts indicated without express written approval of the CO. Inclusion of fee is not authorized for Travel and Per Diem expenses.

Travel requirements under this contract shall be met using the most economical form of transportation available. All travel shall be scheduled sufficiently in advance to take advantage of offered discount rates, unless authorized by the Contracting Officer. If economy class transportation is not available, the Contractor shall make a request to the Contracting Officer for use of higher class travel in advance of booking the travel. The CO will approve the request in writing.

Additionally, the request for payment voucher must be submitted with the justification for use of higher class travel indicating dates, times, and flight numbers, as well as the CO’s approval of the travel.

The following website provides information on current Per Diem rates:

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100120.

G.3 INVOICES

Submit all invoices to one of the following invoice addresses:

All invoices and required supporting documents shall be sent via e-mail to the following e-mail address: 9-AMC-AMZ-FHWA-Invoices@faa.gov.

(a) Include the invoice as an attached PDF document http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100120

(b) Include in the e-mail subject line the following:

(1) Invoice No.

(2) Contract Number

(3) Name of your Company/Organization

(4) Attention: [Insert Contract Specialist Name]

Example: Invoice No. 35 – 693JJ319C000XX – Contractor Name – Attention: [Insert Contract Specialist Name]

If the invoice and supporting documents exceed 8 MB as an e-mail attachment, the Contractor must select one of the other submission options presented below:

Invoices submitted via an overnight service must use the following physical address:

MMAC

FHWA/AMZ-150

6500 S. MacArthur Blvd Oklahoma City, OK 73169 Attention: [Insert Contract Specialist Name] Express Delivery Point of Contact: Lead Accounting Technician, 405-954-8252

Invoices may be submitted via regular U.S. Postal Service to the following address:

Federal Highway Administration Invoice Processing P.O. Box 268865 Oklahoma City OK 73126-8865 Attention: [Insert Contract Specialist Name]

An invoice submitted to an address other than those identified will be returned to the vendor as non-conforming.

G.4 SUBCONTRACTS – ADVANCE NOTIFICATION AND CONSENT

Under this contract, the requirement of FAR 44.2, Consent to Subcontracts, has been fulfilled for the following subcontracts:

[APPROVED SUBCONTRACTOR NAME – to be completed by CO at award]

Any future change or revision to the Statement of Work (SOW) or other applicable aspects of this contract shall include the subcontract(s) only to the extent that performance of the subcontract(s) is directly affected by the change or revision.

G.5 TECHNICAL DIRECTION

Performance of the work under this contract is subject to the Technical Direction of the COR. The term “Technical Direction” is defined to include, without limitation, the following:

(a) Direction to the Contractor which redirects the efforts, shifts work emphasis between work areas, requires pursuit of certain lines of inquiry, fills in details or otherwise serves to accomplish the SOW;

(b) Provision of information to the Contractor that assists in the interpretation of drawings, specifications or technical portions of the work description; and,

(c) Review and approval/rejection of technical reports, drawings, specifications and technical information to be delivered by the Contractor.

All Technical Direction must be within the general scope of work stated in the contract. The COR does not have the authority to and may not issue any Technical Direction that:

(a) constitutes an assignment of additional work outside the general scope of the base contract;

(b) constitutes a change as defines in the base contract clause entitled “Changes”;

(c) in any manner causes an increase or decrease in prices set forth in Section B; or

(d) changes any of the expressed terms, conditions or specifications of the contract.

All Technical Direction must be issued in writing, or shall be confirmed in writing by the COR within 3 working days after issuance. The Contractor shall proceed promptly with the performance of duly issued Technical Directions. However, if in the opinion of the Contractor, the direction issued but the COR is within one of the prescribed categories in (i) through (vi) above, the Contractor shall not proceed, but shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing, within 3 working days after receipt of any such direction. The Contracting Officer will determine if the Technical Direction is proper, or if a contract modification would be required to properly implement the direction. Failure of the parties to agree upon the nature of the direction or upon the contract action to be taken with respect thereto shall be subject to the clause included in Section I entitled “Disputes.”

G.6 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE

a) The Contracting Officer is the only individual authorized to enter into or terminate this contract, modify any term or condition of this contract, waive any requirement of this contract, or accept nonconforming work delivered under this contract.

b) The Contracting Officer shall designate a COR by written notice to the Contractor.

The COR’s responsibilities shall include technical monitoring of the Contractor’s performance on the overall contract award and inspecting and accepting deliveries under the contract. The COR shall be appointed in writing, at which time ALL the responsibilities of the COR shall be detailed, and a copy of the appointment memorandum shall be furnished to the Contractor. Any changes to the COR delegation shall be made in writing, either by changes to the existing memorandum, or by issuance of a new appointment memorandum. Copies of any changes shall be provided to the Contractor.

c) The COR is not authorized to perform, formally or informally, any of the following actions:

(1) Promise award, agree to award, or execute any contract, contract modification, or notice of intent that changes or may change this contract;

(2) Waive or agree to any modification of the delivery schedule;

(3) Make any final decision on any contract matter subject to the Disputes

Clause;

(4) Terminate, for any reason, the Contractor’s right to proceed, or issue any order

(5) causing the Contractor to stop work; or

(6) Obligate in any way, the payment of money by the Government.

d) The Contractor shall comply with the written or oral direction of the Contracting

Officer or authorized representative(s) acting within the scope and authority of the appointment memorandum. The Contractor need not proceed with direction that it considers to have been issued without proper authority. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing, with as much detail as possible, when the COR has taken an action or has issued direction (written or oral) that the Contractor considers to exceed the COR appointment, within 3 days of the occurrence. Unless otherwise provided in this contract, the Contractor assumes all costs, risks, liabilities, and consequences of performing any work it is directed to perform that falls within any of the categories defined in paragraph (c) prior to receipt of the Contracting Officer’s response issued under paragraph (e) of this clause.

e) The Contracting Officer shall respond in writing within 30 days to any notice made under paragraph (d) of this clause. A failure of the parties to agree upon the nature of a direction, or upon the contract action to be taken with respect thereto, shall be subject to the provisions of the Disputes clause of this contract.

f) The Contractor shall provide copies of all correspondence to the Contracting

Officer and the COR.

g) Any action(s) taken by the Contractor, in response to any direction given by any person acting on behalf of the Government or any Government official other than the Contracting Officer or the COR acting within his or her appointment, shall be at the Contractor’s risk.

G.7 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S AUTHORITY

The CO is the only person authorized to make or approve any changes in any of the requirements of this contract, and, notwithstanding any provisions contained elsewhere in this contract, the said authority remains solely in the CO. In the event the Contractor makes any changes at the direction of any person other than the CO, the change will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made in the contract terms and conditions, including price.

G.8 CONTRACTOR SUPERVISION

The Contractor shall provide total supervision of its staff. Government personnel are not authorized or permitted to supervise any Contractor personnel. The Contractor's Project Manager (PM) for this contract shall communicate with the COR to determine the Government's work requirements as set forth in the Statement of Work and shall assure that these requirements are fulfilled. In the event the designated PM is incapacitated due to illness or injury or otherwise is to be removed by the Contractor during the contract performance, replacement of the incumbent Project Manager shall be subject to the approval of the CO.

(End of Section G)

SECTION H - Special Contract Requirements

H.1 PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY

The Federal Highway Administration, Office of Acquisition and Grants Management (HCFA), is the only agency that is authorized to modify, suspend, or terminate performance under this Contract. The Contracting Officer is the only individual authorized to perform these functions.

H.2 NON-PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACT

This contract is a non-personal services contract as defined in the FAR at subpart 37.101. It is understood and agreed that the Contractor and/or Contractor’s employees and Subcontractors:

(1) shall perform the services specified herein as independent Contractors, not as employees of the government;

(2) shall be responsible for their own management and administration of the work required and bear sole responsibility for complying with all technical, schedule, or financial requirements or constraints attendant to the performance of this contract;

(3) shall be free from supervision or control by any government employee with respect to the manner or method of performance of the services specified; but

(4) shall, pursuant to the government’s right and obligation to inspect, accept or reject the work, comply with such general direction of the Contracting Officer, or the duly authorized representative of the Contracting Officer, as is necessary to ensure accomplishment of the contract objectives.

H.3 POST AWARD EVALUATION OF CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE

Contractor Performance Evaluations

(a) Interim and final evaluations of Contractor performance will be prepared on this contract in accordance with FAR 42.1502 and TAM 1242.1502. The final performance evaluations will be prepared at the time of completion of work.

(b) The Contractor can elect to review the evaluation and submit additional information or a rebuttal statement. The Contractor will be permitted 60 calendar days to respond. Contractor response is voluntary. If the Contractor does not respond within 60 days, the Government will presume that the Contractor has no comment. Any disagreement between the parties regarding evaluation will be referred to an individual at a level above the Contracting Officer, whose decision is final.

(c) Copies of the evaluations, Contractor responses, and review comments, if any, will be r etained as part of the contract file, and may be used to support future award decisions.

The Federal Highway Administration utilizes the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) to record and maintain past performance information. CPARS is used to document Contractor performance information that is required by Federal Regulations.

CPARS reference material can be accessed at http://www.cpars.gov/.

The registration process requires the Contractor to identify an individual that will serve as a primary contact. This individual will be authorized access to the evaluation for review and comment. In addition, the Contractor is encouraged to identify a secondary contact in the event the primary contact is unavailable to process the evaluation within the required 60-day time period. After the FHWA Contract Specialist registers the contract in CPARS, the Contractor will receive a system generated e-mail notifying him/her that the contract is registered. A system generated e- mail will also provide the Contractor with a User ID if the person does not already have a CPARS User ID.

Once a performance evaluation has been prepared and is ready for comment, the Contractor representative will receive a system generated e-mail notification that the performance evaluation is electronically available for review and comment. The Contractor representative will receive an automated e-mail whenever an assessment is completed and can subsequently retrieve the completed assessment from CPARS.

Contractors may access evaluations at http://www.cpars.gov/ for review and comment in

CPARS.

H.4 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED OR CONTRACTOR ACQUIRED PROPERTY

Equipment provided by the Government or acquired by the Contractor for the performance of work under this contract shall be maintained and accounted for in accordance with the provisions of FAR Part 45. At the conclusion of the contract, all equipment provided by the Government to the Contractor shall be returned to the Government in the same condition as when provided to the Contractor, less normal wear and tear. The Contractor is responsible for transporting all equipment to FHWA, F.O.B Destination, at the conclusion of the contract.

H.5 PROTECTION OF INFORMATION

a) It is anticipated that in performance of this contract, the Contractor through its employees may have access to, or be in receipt of, certain confidential and proprietary information of Government Contractors, and/or data relating to FHWA's plans, programs, technical requirements, budgetary matters, and such other information, the disclosure of which may give the Contractor a competitive advantage or be adverse to the interests of the Government. The Contractor shall not disclose such information acquired to anyone, other than the Government, including Contractor’s other employees, without the prior written consent of the Contracting Officer.

b) To the extent that the work under this contract requires access to proprietary, business confidential, or financial data of other companies, and provided such data is marked “Proprietary and Confidential,” the Contractor shall protect such information from unauthorized use and disclosure and agrees not to use it to compete against such companies.

http://www.cpars.gov/ http://www.cpars.gov/

c) For these purposes, “Proprietary and Confidential” information shall mean any information reasonably so designated that is not generally available to the public; but not information that becomes available on a non-confidential basis from another source, or was known to Contractor on a non-confidential basis prior to its disclosure to Contractor in the performance of this contract.

d) The Contractor shall include the substance of this confidentiality agreement in all subcontracts and Consultant agreements for performance of work under this contract unless excused in writing by the Contracting Officer.

H.6 CONTRACTOR LIABILITY

The Contractor shall protect, defend, indemnify, save, and hold harmless the United States Government and its employees or agents, from and against any and all claims, demands, expenses, causes of action, judgments and liability arising out of, or in connection with, any negligent acts or omissions of the Contractor, its agents, Subcontractors, employees, assignees, or anyone for whom the Contractor may be responsible. The Contractor shall also be liable for any and all costs, expenses and attorney’s fees incurred as a result of any such claim, demand, cause of action, judgment or liability, including those costs, expenses, and attorneys’ fees incurred by the United States Government and its employees or agents. The Contractor’s liability shall not be limited by any provision or limits of insurance set forth in the resulting contract.

H.7 DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

It is the Department of Transportation's (DOT) policy to award contracts to only those Offerors whose objectivity is not impaired because of any related past, present, or planned interest, financial or otherwise, in organizations regulated by DOT or in organizations whose interests may be substantially affected by Departmental activities. Based on this policy:

The Offerors shall provide a statement in its proposal that describes in a concise manner all past, present or planned organizational, financial, contractual or other interest(s) with an organization regulated by DOT, or with an organization whose interests may be substantially affected by Departmental activities, and which is related to the work under this solicitation. The interest(s) described shall include those of the proposer, its affiliates, proposed consultants, proposed subcontractors and key personnel of any of the above. Past interest shall be limited to within one year of the date of the Offerors technical proposal. Key personnel shall include any person owning more than 20% interest in the Offerors, and the Offerors corporate officers, its senior managers and any employee who is responsible for making a decision or taking an action on this contract where the decision or action can have an economic or other impact on the interests of a regulated or affected organization.

The Offerors shall describe in detail why it believes, in light of the interest(s) identified in (a) above, that performance of the proposed contract can be accomplished in an impartial and objective manner.

In the absence of any relevant interest identified in (a) above, the Offerors shall submit in its proposal a statement certifying that to its best knowledge and belief no affiliation exists relevant to possible conflicts of interest.