Statement_of_Work_Eng_Tech_GS_7.pdf

Statement of Work for Non Personal Services of Engineering Tech Position for NRCS/NWCC SCAN Installation and Maintenance, and EMF Support

We would like to utilize one (1) GS 7 Engineer Technician contractor for continued maintenance and development of the NRCS SCAN network and electronic assistance at the NWCC EMF facility. It would also be used to fund assistance at the NWCC EMF facility on a semi regular basis.

Duties of the contractor would be to assist in all aspect of the project outline as follows. Work schedules would be as needed and may include work details of a few days up to three weeks in length.

Project Outline

SCAN Maintenance and Installation

Project description: The USDA-NRCS National Water and Climate Center (NWCC) maintains 183 Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) stations across the US, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. These sites are data collection stations that incorporate climate and soil conditions into assessment of local conditions and are used for agricultural practices and climate analysis. Each station consists of a tower (typically 20 ft high), electronics box and soil probes. The sites utilize sensors for data collection for precipitation, air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, barometric pressure and other climate parameters, soil moisture, soil temperature, and in some cases, snow water equivalent. Data are transmitted hourly using mainly meteorburst radios, but in some cases, satellite or cellular phone telemetry. Sites are powered by 12-volt batteries that are charged by solar panels. Each site requires annual maintenance, usually just to change out certain sensors and make minor repairs, but many sites now require significant repairs that would require significant experience and expertise related to electronics and the physical ability to climb towers and handle heavy loads (batteries, antennas and solar panels). Over the next five years, NWCC also will be maintaining and installing a over 200 SCAN stations nationwide. Field personnel would need to be able to mix concrete, excavate holes, install towers and equipment, and generally contribute to hard manual labor. There is significant travel involved, including often over weekends. NWCC operates an Electronics Maintenance Facility (EMF) in Portland, Oregon and requires additional assistance in this site to help maintain electronic equipment.

Position requirements GS 7 - The SCAN maintenance and installation project will need to have 1 technician to assist field work over the next 12 months (potentially renewed on an annual basis for four years) to both assist NWCC staff and to work independently of NWCC staff (once trained). The technicians would need to have familiarity of electronics, preferably with background in Campbell Scientific dataloggers, radios, and scientific instrumentation. They will work under direct supervision for most tasks and not expected to make key decisions on their own and while in the field .They would need to be able to do heavy manual labor, climb towers (additional safety training), and work in extreme environments (mainly hot and humid conditions, but some sites and seasons may be on the cold extreme. Work continues in rainy and windy conditions if not unsafe). The work requires travel most weeks and many situations of working straight through 8-10 days (over weekends) so to visit all sites in a region on a single trip. The EMF support positions will need be based in Portland and to work during the normal business hours. The work will consist of assisting in electronic testing of equipment, shipping supplies, and various other tasks as assigned. Contractors work will be done under the supervision of NWCC personnel and will be required to complete as outlined by the NWCC supervisor for each project.

We recommend that 1 technicians be retained for approximately 285 hours of time at the GS 7 base pay.

About $15,000 will be used to cover travel expenses at the GSA perdiem rate of the area they work in.

The contract for this work needs to include salary at the GS 7 rate and benefits for employees, any required training for climbing towers, self-insurance for any personal injury or liability, and travel costs (transport, vehicle rentals, meals, hotels, extras). The contracting company will submit cost reports to NWCC every 2 weeks. The contract will continue until funds are depleted.

*Implementation of this contract is subject to the requirement of the Anti-Deficiency Act and the availability of appropriated funds. Nothing in this contract will be construed by the parties to require the obligation, appropriation or expenditure of any fund from the US Treasury.