B01_08_-_Sources_Sought_1.pdf

Sources Sought Synopsis

The Bureau of Reclamation is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support this requirement for advancing the understanding of the relationship between liquefiable material and the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) through the development of the Instrumented Standard

Penetration Test (ISPT). The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement. The applicable North American Industry Classification System

(NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 541715.

There is no solicitation at this time. This request for capability information does not constitute a request for proposals; submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred.

If your organization has the potential capacity to provide these contract services, please provide the following information:

1) Organization name, address, and Point of Contact information

2) UEI number and size for the organization

3) Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements.

The government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity:

1) Provide services consistent in scope and scale with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated.

2) Secure and apply the full range of corporate financial, human capital, and technical resources required to successfully perform similar requirements.

3) Implement a successful project management plan that includes: compliance with program schedules; cost containment; meeting and tracking performance; hiring and retention of key personnel and risk mitigation.

4) Provide services under a performance based service acquisition contract.

Based on the responses to this sources sought notice/market research, this requirement may be set-aside for small businesses or procured through full and open competition, and multiple awards may be made. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.

Submission Instructions: Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the listed services below are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by 12:00 PM

MST, Thursday June 27, 2024. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be emailed to Mike Garloch at mgarloch@usbr.gov.

All responses will be used to determine the appropriate acquisition strategy for a potential future acquisition. Response is strictly voluntary; no reimbursement will be made for any costs mailto:mgarloch@usbr.gov associated with providing information in response to this synopsis or any follow-up information requests.

Inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.

APPENDIX 1: Purpose and Objectives

1) Draft PWS

Instrumented Standard Penetration Test

Performance Work Statement

1.0 Background

This project looks to advance the understanding of the relationship between liquefiable material and the Standard Penetration Test (SPT) through the development of the Instrumented Standard

Penetration Test (ISPT). Currently SPT testing is completed on almost every Reclamation project during any kind of geologic investigation. The development of the ISPT will allow for a more complete understanding of test results under a variety of testing environments and situations.

2.0 Scope

Through a partnership, Reclamation expects the production of a testable prototype for the purpose of measuring energy transfer from the SPT hammer into the SPT string, the measurement of energy the SPT sampler experiences at the bottom of the SPT string, and the amount of penetration that occurs due to the energy input.

From the data collected from this prototype, a study of current SPT systems, procedures, and deployment environments should conducted. These studies should attempt to answer questions such as: are current practices sufficient and meet reclamations needs, are deep SPT’s an accurate tool for prediction of liquefiable material, are SPT’s conducted through sonic boreholes accurate, is there grounds for revisiting past projects where decisions were made based off SPT blow counts?

3.0 Objectives

Through the completion of the scope Reclamation intends to re-define the standards of SPT analysis. The results of the multiple lines of study will be reviewed and interpreted in order to make operational changes and recommendations to future explorations. If the research proves successful the potential development of an Off-The-Shelf model of the ISPT unit intended for industry use and wide spread dissemination throughout all of Reclamation is possible.

4.0 Tasks

The contractor shall perform the following tasks as a part of a team with Reclamation team members:

Task

Number

Task Name FYB FYE Task Description

Task-1 Redevelop Research

ISPT Hardware by

Leveraging Past Work on the ISPT

2024 2024 • Design and modify hardware.

• Code acquisition software

• Commission system for field use

Task-2 Implement on

Reclamation Project to QA/QC ISPT and

Obtain Initial Data

2024 2024 - Implement and obtain data at 3-4 Reclamation sites in Year 1

• Train project team how to acquire ISPT data

Task-3 Refine ISPT System and Establish Data

Analysis Procedures

2024 2024 - refine and complete ISPT system development

- Finalize data analysis procedures

Task-4 Expand

Implementation on

Reclamation Site

Characterization

Projects

2025 2026 - - perform ISPT on at least 15 borings distributed across three projects in project

Years 2 and 3.

Task-5 Examine and Define

Energy Loss Trends from ISPT Data

2024 2026 - perform data analysis on all tests performed

(estimated to be ~35 borings & 200+ ISPTs by project end)

- Build database

Analyze database for trends as function of boring depth and other parameters

Task-6 Develop and

Recommend Best

Practices for Energy

Loss Corrections and

Use of ISPT

2024 2027 - Develop best practices for future site investigation work on Reclamation and broader industry projects

- Develop best practices for re-evaluation of past data obtained through conventional SPT testing

Task-7 Develop Commercial

Off- the-shelf ISPT

2026 2027 - - Design, fabricate, and test off-the-shelf ISPT prototype system that could used routinely on projects

Task-8 Dissemination of

Results

2026 2027 - Results presented at Reclamation geology and construction conference in Denver.

- Report/memo for Reclamation drilling manual

- Conference papers and presentations at USSD and/or ASDSO conferences

- Papers in ASCE JGGE

5.0 Delivery

The contractor shall provide the following data and reports as follows:

Item

No.

Description

Content

Format

Medium

Delivery

1 Full report on the development of the computer

This report will fully describe the operating system

Format will be

Microsoft word, and adobe or similar PDF are

Project Manager and CPN Regional

Geologist are the system used to collect data requirements, program language, developmental steps, user interface, and a user manual.

contractor’s choice.

acceptable for written documentation.

Video formats must be compatible with

Windows media

Player.

primary recipients of this data. They have the right to distribute or authorize distribution by the contractor as necessary.

2 Full description of developed hardware.

This report can be included in Item 1 or be a stand-alone report. Must contain all information such as manufacturer and model number. For material developed for this project, all necessary specifications in order to duplicate.

Format will be contractor’s choice.

Microsoft word, and adobe or similar PDF are acceptable for written documentation.

Project Manager and CPN Regional

Geologist are the primary recipients of this data. They have the right to distribute or authorize distribution by the contractor as necessary.

3 Data collected during field work.

This report should contain all raw data, processed data, conclusions drawn from data, and the processes used to form the conclusions.

Format will be contractor’s choice.

Microsoft word, and adobe or similar PDF are acceptable for written documentation.

Microsoft Excel should be used for data tables.

Project Manager and CPN Regional

Geologist are the primary recipients of this data. They have the right to distribute or authorize distribution by the contractor as necessary.

4 Design of commercial tooling

This report should contain all the data, tests, results, and specifications of the design of the commercially available tooling this project plans on producing.

Format will be contractor’s choice.

Microsoft word, and adobe or similar PDF are acceptable for written documentation.

Microsoft Excel should be used for data tables.

Project Manager and CPN Regional

Geologist are the primary recipients of this data. They have the right to distribute or authorize distribution by the contractor as necessary.

5 Presentations for academic work and Industry interest.

This section is to cover posters, reports, or presentations by the contractor.

Reclamation retains the right to review, edit or sensor all presentations or info graphics planned by the contractor before public presentation.

Format will be contractor’s choice.

No required format.

Project Manager and CPN Regional

Geologist are the primary recipients of this data. They have the right to distribute or authorize distribution by the contractor as necessary.

All materials and hardware developed through the research process will remain the physical property of Reclamation.

6.0 Government-Furnished Property

The government will furnish certain items necessary for the development of the instrumentation.

Currently known items the government will provide are: SPT drill stem sections and SPT drill stem instrumentation.

Due to the nature of research the possibility of “unknown” needs is high. Items that are currently

“unknown” will need to be formally requested by the contractor. This formal request will be presented to the Lead Researcher. The research team (Reclamation and Contractor) will review the need for the “unknown” items and decide if it is necessary or if another supply option is available.

All government furnished property will remain the property of the government unless written approval is provided by Reclamation management.

7.0 Security

The contractor must be able to provide proof of security risk analysis of all persons involved in the project.

Site access will be based on a site-by-site bases and the Reclamation will provide access permissions. Site access will only be granted on a “supervised” bases, where all contractors may only be onsite while accompanied by a Reclamation employee.

8.0 Place of Performance

Due to the nature of the research project, individual locations of field work are currently unknown. The locations for field work will be reviewed and agreed upon before field work is allowed to occur.

Non-field work may occur at the discretion of the contractor.

9.0 Period of Performance

The contractor shall perform the following tasks as a part of a team with Reclamation team members during the listed fiscal years.

Task

Number

Task Name FYB FYE Task Description

Task-1 Redevelop Research

ISPT Hardware by

Leveraging Past Work on the ISPT

2024 2024 • Design and modify hardware.

• Code acquisition software

• Commission system for field use

Task-2 Implement on

Reclamation Project to QA/QC ISPT and

Obtain Initial Data

2024 2024 - Implement and obtain data at 3-4 Reclamation sites in Year 1

• Train project team how to acquire ISPT data

Task-3 Refine ISPT System and Establish Data

Analysis Procedures

2024 2024 - refine and complete ISPT system development

- Finalize data analysis procedures

Task-4 Expand

Implementation on

Reclamation Site

Characterization

Projects

2025 2026 - - perform ISPT on at least 15 borings distributed across three projects in project

Years 2 and 3.

Task-5 Examine and Define

Energy Loss Trends from ISPT Data

2024 2026 - perform data analysis on all tests performed

(estimated to be ~35 borings & 200+ ISPTs by project end)

- Build database

Analyze database for trends as function of boring depth and other parameters

Task-6 Develop and

Recommend Best

Practices for Energy

Loss Corrections and

Use of ISPT

2024 2027 - Develop best practices for future site investigation work on Reclamation and broader industry projects

- Develop best practices for re-evaluation of past data obtained through conventional SPT testing

Task-7 Develop Commercial

Off- the-shelf ISPT

2026 2027 - - Design, fabricate, and test off-the-shelf ISPT prototype system that could used routinely on projects

Task-8 Dissemination of

Results

2026 2027 - Results presented at Reclamation geology and construction conference in Denver.

- Report/memo for Reclamation drilling manual

- Conference papers and presentations at USSD and/or ASDSO conferences

- Papers in ASCE JGGE