ACE Sources Sought Notice.pdf

Sources Sought Notice: ACE PROGRAM TESTING AND DEMONSTRATION ACTIVITIES

Requisition Number:

MC-RRT-20-312-0043

Notice Type:

Sources Sought Notice

Title:

Automated Commercial Motor Vehicles Evaluation (ACE) Program Testing and Demonstration Activities

NAICS Code

541380

Synopsis:

Objective

The Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) established will provide research support to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)’s rulemaking and program evaluation activities to explore, clarify or resolve issues related to the FMCSA ACE Program. The contractor will be expected to conduct vehicle testing and/or provide transportation, storage, and maintenance of these trucks. Periodically, support for small scale tests and demonstrations may be required as well. It is expected that testing will be completed in a test-track environment (i.e., not “on road” testing).

Call Orders against this BPA will include services such as test tracks, drivers, mechanics, test officers and safety personnel. Test track time may be exclusive to the call order or shared as needed to satisfactorily fulfill the orders. These details will be included in individual call orders when competed. The contractor shall provide planning, execution and reporting services submitted for Testing and Evaluation for the following technologies;

a. Connected Vehicles (CV)

b. Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAV)

c. Autonomous Vehicles (AV)

d. Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I)

It should be emphasized that no single organization is expected to have expertise in all relevant subject areas. The work will integrate expertise from researchers and evaluators in multiple disciplines in a collaborative effort to advance transportation safety knowledge and technology.

However, designated staff should have the basic skills and experience to address the diverse set of problems they will encounter. Additional expertise required to perform the work could be made available through subcontracts and in this regard a team approach is encouraged.

Scope

The information and data collected in this effort may relate to the following issues and subject areas in vehicle automation: vehicle handling and braking; vehicle dynamics; vehicle maintenance and operating condition(s), and other vehicle characteristics that may influence vehicle safety and the safety of other roadway users; driver performance, driver fatigue, driver training, driver impairment; driver distraction; driver vehicle interface. Driver behavior, performance and response patterns, including possible synergistic effects associated with combinations of advanced automation technologies and implications for systems design; motor carrier safety practices and how to foster adoption of a safety culture. Other, related areas may be added as required.

Research may also incorporate various survey, testing, and experimental approaches which can provide information within a short period of time and with an acceptable degree of accuracy.

Methods to be used for studies may or may not be specified by FMCSA. However, when methodologies are not specified by FMCSA, the contractor will make recommendations subject to the approval of FMCSA. When methodologies are specified by FMCSA the contractor is expected to provide an independent assessment of the proposed approach(es). Projects to be contracted will be of variable scope and duration and will likely require concurrent efforts on different Call Orders.

The contractor will be expected to utilize the provided testing and evaluation procedures to conduct on-track (or simulator) research related to the operation of automated Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMV)s. Various human factors test procedures (e.g., evaluation protocols) or systems (e.g., Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) devices) will also be included as part of the Call Orders. Demonstration to FMCSA staff and other designated personnel will also be required. This BPA will also include call orders that can be issued to various testing facilities depending on the needs of specific testing events utilizing FMCSA’s automated research trucks.

Technical Support

In order to support Call Order requests, the contractor should have access to the following categories of personnel:

− Senior Program Manager

− Senior Technical Program Manager

− Test Engineer

− Experimental Psychologist/Human Factors Engineer

− Statistician

− Computer Programmer/Software Engineer

− Research Assistant

− Research Associate

− Technical Writer

− Subject Matter Expert

− Clerical

− Truck Driver, Tractor-Trailer

Support for the various types of experimental and human factors studies to be conducted under this contract will require designated staff, as appropriate, to have proficiency and capability in such areas as:

− Experimental design

− Statistical analysis

− Data reduction

− Conducting tests and experiments in laboratory, test track, off-road, on-road and simulator settings

− Measuring driver and carrier behavior and performance

− Reporting study progress and results

− Literature searches and critical reviews

− Computerized/automated data collection techniques

− Design and construction of driver behavior/performance measurement instrumentation

− Software development to support data collection, analysis and presentation

− Selecting, testing and recruiting subjects for testing

− Preparing analyses and reports to obtain approval to use subjects in experiments

− Operating tractor trailers in a test and evaluation environment

− Operating tractor trailers that include advanced experimental driving assist technologies

− Operating tractor trailers that have automated technologies installed (i.e. equipment that supports automated driving: radar, lidar, Global Positioning System (GPS), cameras, etc…)

− Knowledge of the technologies that are included in Advanced Diver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Automated Driving Systems (ADS) systems, their operation, functions, and limitations.

Access to the above and additional labor categories and other areas of expertise and knowledge may be necessary through subcontractors to support specific categories of research where unique capabilities are required. In addition to the capability of gathering data to support the analyses, the soundness of the approach to a given project is important, as is the usefulness of the research results for predicting and/or estimating the relationships that may exist between the presence of various advanced vehicle technologies, and the safe operation of vehicles on the nation's highways.

The contractor must comply with all Office of Management and Budget (OMB) paperwork reduction requirements for the collection of survey information, which may require preparation of requests for approval from OMB to collect data from the public.

Personnel Qualifications

Labor Categories and Qualifications: To support Call Order requests, the contractor shall provide personnel within the following categories and having the minimum levels of professional and technical experience described. More than one person can be included in each general labor category and these individuals may differ in levels of education and experience. It is anticipated that a range of education and experience will be required for each category across the broad range of problem areas to be addressed under this BPA. While the minimum qualifications are the baseline for determining technical acceptability in the personnel area, personnel with higher levels of education and experience may be necessary for specific tasks associated with this BPA:

a. Senior Program Manager: A Bachelor’s degree at least 10 years demonstrated program management experience in conducting and managing experiments and tests with human subjects. At least five years of recent experience shall have been as program manager in the conduct of driver, vehicle, carrier or program performance measurement and analysis studies.

b. Senior Technical Program Manager: Ph.D. or M.S. in experimental psychology or human factors engineering or similar training for their area of expertise and at least 5 years demonstrated experience in conducting and managing experiments and tests with human subjects. At least three years of recent experience shall have been as a principal investigator in the conduct of driver, vehicle, carrier or program performance measurement and analysis studies.

c. Test Engineer: Experience in the coordination and execution of test events in accordance with approved test plans, procedures and scripts. Must have knowledge and skills to ensure that test environments are set up accurately. Researches and analyzes data such as customer design proposals, specifications, and manuals to determine feasibility of design or application; designs products or systems; plans and directs engineering personnel in fabrication of test control apparatus and equipment; directs and coordinates fabrication and installation activates; and evaluates field installations and recommends design modifications to eliminate machine or system malfunctions. Must be able to create test reports. Incumbent performs duties with a high level of independence.

d. Experimental Psychologist / Human Factors Engineer: M.S. in experimental or engineering psychology with at least 3 years of experience in conducting applied human factors research. A person with these credentials must have demonstrated experience and capabilities in using various statistical techniques to analyze experimental data, in performing literature searches and in critically reviewing previous research methodologies and findings.

e. Statistician: Master’s degree in statistics and at least 2 years of experience applying statistical techniques to analyze experimental performance data. Experience in the use of various statistical computer programs, such as SAS®, SUDAAN®, or R. Experience in interpreting experimental designs, verifying reduced data, and managing large or multiple data sets.

f. Computer Programmer/software engineer: Bachelor’s degree in computer engineering/computer science, and experience in developing and testing of software for reduction, analysis and presentation of research data. Fluency in computer languages and familiarity with computer hardware and software, including that associated with data acquisition and remote sensing.

g. Research Assistant: At least one year experience in collecting human factors or other comparably complex experimental or test data under direction of senior staff.

h. Research Associate: Bachelor's degree with at least 2 years of experience assisting in the conduct of experiments, performing literature searches, developing and using experimental equipment, and performing computer programming in support of human factors or other comparably complex research.

i. Technical Writers: Bachelor’s degree with both strong writing and technical knowledge and inexperience in developing and editing research briefs, memos, and/or publications.

j. Subject Matter Experts: Drivers and functional experts from the motor carrier safety industry.

k. Clerical: A combination of clerical office experience and undergraduate college level coursework, or post high-school secretarial training equivalent to 4 years of full-time employment. They must have experience composing correspondence, collecting information, compiling reports, maintaining filing systems, and organizing meetings

l. Truck Driver / Tractor Trailer: An over-the-road driver regularly drives a truck over such a distance that the worker does not return to the departure point in the same workday, or is a worker who is paid on a mileage or mileage plus load factor basis, and may be compensated for or provided meals or lodging or both. Driver(s) shall be familiar and have an understanding of the technologies that are included in ADAS and ADS systems, their operation, functions, and limitations.

Instructions:

Interested parties are invited to submit a technical capability statement which clearly demonstrates their ability to meet the government’s requirement as summarized above.

Contractors should include General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule, Special Identification Number (SIN), and Contract Number, if applicable. Also, please submit your firm’s business size, and socio-economic status, if applicable. There is a 10-page limit.

Responses must be submitted via email to Steve.Fuller@dot.gov . Reference in the subject line of the email: ACE PROGRAM TESTING AND DEMONSTRATION ACTIVITIES.

Responses must be received by 2:00 p.m. ET on August 10, 2020.

mailto:Steve.Fuller@dot.gov