RFP_Jan_30_Final.pdf

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STANDARD FORM 33 (REV. 9-97)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR {48 CFR} 53.214(c)

SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD 1. THIS CONTRACT IS NOT A RATED ORDER

UNDER DPAS (15 CFR 700)

RATING

PAGE OF PAGES

1 | 79

2. CONTRACT NUMBER

3. SOLICITATION NUMBER

DTFH61-14-R-00005

4. TYPE OF SOLICITATION

SEALED BID (IFB)

X NEGOTIATED (RFP)

5. DATE ISSUED

1/30/2014

6. REQUISITION/PURCHASE NO.

TBD

7. ISSUED BY CODE HCFA-23 8. ADDRESS OFFER TO (If other than Item 7) Federal Highway Administration Office of Acquisition and Grants Management 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E., Room E65-101 Washington, DC 20590

Federal Highway Administration Office of Acquisition and Grants Management 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E., Rm. E65-101, Washington, DC 20590 ATTN: Sarah Tarpgaard, HCFA-23

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations “offer” and “offeror” mean “bid” and “bidder”

SOLICITATION

9. Sealed offers in original and 6* copies for furnishing the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in Item 8, or if hand carried, in the depository located in 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, E65-101 until 2:30 pm_ local time _3/6/14__. (*See Section L for Proposal Instructions)

CAUTION LATE Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals: See Section L, Provision No. 52.214-7 or 52.215-1. All offers are subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation. THIS SOLICITATION IS OPEN TO ALL SOURCES (FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION).

10. FOR A. NAME B. TELEPHONE (NO COLLECT CALLS) C. E-MAIL ADDRESS

INFORMATION

CALL:

Primary Contact: Sarah Tarpgaard Secondary Contact: Sarah Berman

AREA CODE

NUMBER

366-5750 366-4233

EXT.

sarah.tarpgaard@dot.gov sarah.berman@dot.gov

11. TABLE OF CONTENTS

() SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S) () SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S)

PART I - THE SCHEDULE PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES

X A SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM 1 X I CONTRACT CLAUSES 48

X B SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COST 2 PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACH.

X C DESCRIPTION/SPECS./WORK STATEMENT 5 X J LIST OF ATTACHMENTS 57

X D PACKAGING AND MARKING 24 PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

X E INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE 25 X K REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS 58

X F DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE 26 AND OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

X G CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA 28 X L INSTRS., CONDS., AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS 64

X H SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS 34 X M EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD 76

OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror) NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period.

12. In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted within _120_ calendar days (60 calendar days unless a different period is inserted by the offeror) from the date for receipt of offers specified above, to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item, delivered at the designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule.

13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

(See Section I, Clause No. 52.232-8)

10 CALENDAR DAYS

20 CALENDAR DAYS

30 CALENDAR DAYS

CALENDAR DAYS

14. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS AMENDMENT NO. DATE AMENDMENT NO. DATE

(The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the SOLICITATION for offerors and related documents numbered and dated):

15A. NAME CODE FACILITY 16. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN

AND OFFER (Type or print)

ADDRESS

OF

OFFEROR

15B. TELEPHONE NUMBER 15C. CHECK IF REMITTANCE 17. SIGNATURE 18. OFFER DATE

AREA CODE

NUMBER

EXT.

ADDRESS IS DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE -

ENTER SUCH ADDRESS IN SCHEDULE.

AWARD (To be completed by Government)

19. ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS NUMBERED

20. AMOUNT

21. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION

22. AUTHORITY FOR USING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

10 U.S.C. 2304(c) ( ) 41 U.S.C. 253(c)( )

23. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN

IN (4 copies unless otherwise specified)

ITEM

24. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 7) CODE 25. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY CODE

26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

27. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

28. AWARD DATE

IMPORTANT – Award will be made on this Form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice.

mailto:sarah.tarpgaard@dot.gov mailto:sarah.berman@dot.gov

SECTION B

SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

B-1 MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM CONTRACT AMOUNTS (IDIQ)

This is an Indefinite-Delivery-Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract utilizing Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) and Time & Materials (T&M) task orders in accordance with FAR 16.500.

During the term of the contract, the Government shall place orders totaling a minimum of $100,000.00. The maximum amount of all task orders issued against all contracts awarded as a result of this acquisition shall not exceed a ceiling of $8,000,000.00.

(End of clause)

B-2 SCHEDULE OF RATES

Labor skill sets and rate ceilings governing this contract shall conform to the descriptions herein and be listed in the Microsoft Excel format found at Section J.1 and apply for each of the described categories for each of the five contract years. The unit of issue (rates) is the fully burdened fixed price hourly rate.

All labor categories listed are anticipated to perform work activities offsite unless otherwise noted.

1) Principal Investigator – The Principal Investigator (PI) shall be responsible for overall technical direction and supervision of the Sr. Research Scientist/Technical Experts and staff on all tasks under the contract. The PI shall have, as a minimum, a Master’s degree in a field applicable to highway and/or vehicle safety, infrastructure security, or advanced crash analysis techniques and approximately 15 years of progressively responsible experience in highway and vehicle safety and advanced crash analyses related contract management and research. This experience shall include technical leadership of significant work in safety and advanced analyses. The PI shall have demonstrated success in keeping programs involving multiple subcontractors on schedule and within budget, and in providing high quality products meeting the sponsor’s expectations.

2) Sr. Research Scientist/Technical Expert – The Sr. Research Scientist/Technical Expert shall be responsible for management of task orders, including quality assurance for all products delivered to the Government and availability of resources to complete all task orders. The Sr. Research Scientist/Technical Expert shall have experience in successfully managing projects similar to the activities described in Section C Statement of Work. The Sr. Research Scientists/Technical Experts shall have, as a minimum, a Master’s degree in a subject area that is directly related to the performance of the contract and have approximately 15 years of experience in transportation related contract management, and research and development.

3) Research Scientists/Technical Expert – The term Research Scientist/Technical Expert includes engineers (i.e., civil, mechanical, biomedical, computer, automotive, electrical, systems, computer hardware and software specialists, instrumentation specialists, data analysts, occupant risk analysts, etc.). The Research Scientists/Technical Expert shall have, as a minimum, a Master’s degree in a subject area that is directly related to the performance of the contract and have approximately 10 years of experience. The experience shall be in a technical field relevant to the work required under this contract that reflects national recognition of expertise and technical accomplishments in the subject area.

4) Junior Research Scientists/Technical Expert – The term Research Scientist/Technical Expert includes engineers (i.e., civil, mechanical, biomedical, computer, automotive, electrical, systems, computer hardware and software specialists, instrumentation specialists, data analysts, occupant risk analysts, etc.). The Research Scientists/Technical Expert shall have, as a minimum, a Master’s degree in a subject area that is directly related to the performance of the contract and have approximately 5 years of experience. The experience shall be in a technical field relevant to the work required under this contract that reflects national recognition of expertise and technical accomplishments in the subject area.

5) Statistician – The Statistician shall be capable of identifying appropriate statistical techniques to be applied in the various types of research anticipated under this contract and assisting in conducting analyses and interpreting results. The Statistician shall have experience in analyzing crash data from Federal and State sources, analyzing engineering measurements from tests and simulation runs, and effectively documenting results.

6) Lab Manager/Sr. Lab Technician – The Lab Manager/Sr. Lab Technician shall have approximately five years of experience in developing test plans, preparing vehicles and/or test articles, installing and verifying test instrumentation including high-speed digital video inputs, executing and documenting tests, as well as maintaining the lab and appropriate credentials or warranties associated with its equipment. The Lab Manager/Sr. Lab Technician will be responsible for providing information to the PI and formulating plans for effective use of the lab facilities. Specialized experience is needed for the vehicle modeling, crash and impacts, and high performance computing labs.

7) Lab Technician – The Lab Technician shall be capable of performing mechanical, electrical, electronic, construction, video, instrumentation, and related skills for the set-up and execution of tests, the teardown of vehicles, the installation of test articles, the clean- up after tests, and the general maintenance of the labs.

8) Software/Computer Engineer – Advanced crash analyses involve the use of sophisticated software tools and high-end graphics processing tools. The Software/Computer Engineer shall provide direct support in these areas and manage a high-performance computing facility. The Software/Computer Engineer shall have approximately 5 years of experience in operating and/or managing high performance computers and supporting advanced software.

9) Technical Writer/Editor - The Technical Writer/Editor shall have, as a minimum, a Bachelor’s degree plus approximately 2 years of experience in writing and editing technical material, preferably in the highway-engineering field (6 years of writing/editing experience may be substituted for the Bachelor’s degree). The Technical Writer/Editor must be skilled in writing and editing documents of various lengths from 1 page to more than 100 pages, ensuring technical accuracy, proper grammar, consistency of style, and proper format.

10) Technology Transfer Specialist - The Technology Transfer (T2) Specialist shall have approximately 5 years of experience in professional information sharing efforts that include coordination of research product development, workshop set-up and management, development of topical publications, website management, multi-media program development and research implementation or knowledge management. The T2 Specialists may be assigned the webmaster role to use the Internet as a means to share data and findings and shall have experience with video, multimedia, graphic arts, and distance learning.

11) Administrative Personnel – Administrative Personnel will have a range of responsibilities at senior and junior levels including the following: typist; receptionist;

financial analyst; meeting planner; personnel manager; etc. Administrative personnel shall possess a college degree and/or four to five years of work experience in word processing, spreadsheet analysis, preparation of presentation materials, making logistical arrangements including travel, recording costs and expenditures, generating basis progress reports, coordinating staff activities, etc. Junior level administrative personnel may have only a subset of these skills.

12) Researcher/Graduate Student/Intern (Junior) – The Researcher/Graduate Student/Intern

(Junior) shall be capable of undertaking the basic research tasks to assist in the completion of the tasks outlined in the Statement of Work under Section C. The Researcher/Graduate Student/Intern shall be capable of literature reviews, model building, data analysis, conducting lab tests, and drafting reports and other documentation. Generally the Researcher/Graduate Student/Intern (Junior) is actively pursuing an undergraduate degree in a field related to the subject work.

13) Researcher/Graduate Student/Intern (Senior) – The Researcher/Graduate Student/Intern

(Senior) shall be capable of undertaking the basic research tasks to assist in the completion of the tasks outlined in the Statement of Work under Section C. The Researcher/Graduate Student/Intern (Senior) shall be capable of literature reviews, model building, data analysis, conducting lab tests, and drafting reports and other documentation. Generally the Researcher/Graduate Student/Intern (Senior) is actively pursuing a graduate degree in a field related to the subject work.

SECTION C –DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF

WORK

C.1 BACKGROUND

The Advanced Crash Analysis Program primarily supports the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) strategic goal to reduce fatalities and injuries on the Nation’s roadways, but also serves to enhance efforts to improve safety worldwide. The missions of the Advanced Crash Analysis Program include:

• improving safety by expanding researchers’ knowledge about crashes;

• developing and sharing the detailed vehicle and hardware models; and

• leading efforts to apply computer simulation tools to enable researchers to study the complex interactions associated with crashes.

The resources at the Advanced Crash Analysis Program help researchers quantify and understand the crash performance of vehicles, the effects of a vehicle’s performance on drivers and passengers, and the compatibility of vehicles with each other and with roadside hardware during crashes. Using the data and information collected by the Advanced Crash Analysis Program, researchers can optimize the safety of vehicle and hardware designs, formulate guidelines for more effective deployment of safety features, and develop innovative safety treatments to avoid crashes or minimize the impact of crashes. Similarly, the Advanced Crash Analysis Program serves to apply advanced crash analysis technologies to improve the physical security of facilities, particularly related to threats posed by vehicle impacts.

The Advanced Crash Analysis Program’s mission supports the USDOT goals by expanding the knowledge of the causes of crashes, advancing the use of crash simulations for the analysis of problems, and applying these to develop novel solutions. This may involve efforts to adapt approaches used in other fields or forming new partnerships to expand the capabilities in the application of advanced crash analyses.

The Advanced Crash Analysis Program has compiled a long list of achievements. These include:

• The development of detailed finite elements (FE) models for more than a dozen passenger cars, SUVs, or pick-up trucks. These can all be used for simulation of frontal crashes and many can be used for side-impact analyses;

• The development of FE models to single-unit trucks and a tractor-trailer combination;

• The development of FE models for guardrails, concrete safety shapes, transitions, end treatments, sign supports, breakaway devices, cable barriers, mailboxes, and other roadside hardware;

• The application of the FE models in crash simulation software for the analyses of vehicle to barriers or roadside hardware crashes as well as vehicle-to-vehicle crashes;

• The establishment of a website for convenient dissemination of these models to other researchers. Much of the crash simulation work around the world use models developed under contract for FHWA/NHTSA;

• The improvement of the techniques and internal material models for crash simulations using LS DYNA;

• The establishment of protocols for model validation using full scale crash tests;

• The operation of the FHWA Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) located in McLean, VA to capture crash performance measures to enhance models or validate them;

• Addressing security needs by using models to develop various anti-ram barriers; and

• Conducting numerous workshops and seminars to exchange ideas and develop consensus on crash analysis methods.

Acronyms:

AASHTO: American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials ACAP: Advanced Crash Analysis Program CDC: Center for Disease Control COE: Centers of Excellence CO: Contracting Officer COR: Contacting Officers Representative DOS: Department of State FE: Finite Element FOIL: Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory LS Dyna: General-purpose finite element program capable of simulating complex real world problems. It is used by the automobile, aerospace, construction, military, manufacturing, and bioengineering industries.

NASS: National Accident Sampling System NCAC: Prior to about 2008, FHWA research activities in the subject research areas were conducted under the name NCAC. Since then the activities have been conducted as part of the “Advanced Crash Analysis Program” (ACAP) program. This change resulted from an increase in the breadth of the program with revised emphasis on certain areas and new approaches to managing the program.

NHTSA: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration TFHRC: Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center TRB: Transportation Research Board

C.2 OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this contract are:

• To provide non-personal technical support services on an as needed basis; and

• To develop and promote knowledge and technologies for advanced crash analyses to improve highway and vehicle safety and infrastructure security.

Achieving these objectives will involve the following activities:

o Conducting advanced crash research to assist researchers and engineers in resolving transportation safety and security issues;

o Applying advanced research methods and techniques for the development and evaluation of vehicles, road features and hardware, and infrastructure protection systems to improve safety and security;

o Advancing the state-of-the-art in crash analysis methods and technologies;

o Analyze crash and impact testing results to validate computer models and produce relevant data for crash analysis to improve highway and vehicle safety and physical security;

o Disseminating the findings of the research and the applications of the advanced technologies to foster increases in data and knowledge and the application of improved tools for addressing safety and security issues; and o Supporting multifaceted information sharing and educational opportunities to practitioners, students, decision makers and others to enhance awareness of safety and security issues and advanced means to develop and deploy means to mitigate them.

C.3 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall furnish non-personal technical support services to perform the activities described herein under this contract entitled, “Advanced Crash Analysis Technical Support Services.”

The Contractor shall furnish technical crash analysis and transportation engineering research support services in support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Office of Safety, Research and Development (HRDS), Roadway Departure Team, at the Turner- Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC).

The scope of this contract includes the following:

• The Contractor shall conduct fundamental and applied research in support of the missions of the FHWA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of State (DOS), and potentially other Government agencies.

• The Contractor shall analyze technical, deployment, logistical, and administrative issues and provide technical advice, recommendations, and technical support to the FHWA.

• The Contractor shall develop and apply modeling and other analytical techniques, which may involve considerations of all types of vehicles, different roadway and roadside conditions, varying impact conditions (e.g., speed and angle of crash), and various occupants.

• The Contractor shall support and coordinate programs and activities related to the following:

o Developing Finite Element (FE) models, crash simulations, and other simulation techniques to analyze the potentials for new design concepts for safety hardware;

o Product engineering;

o Conducting field tests and evaluations;

o Marketing; and o Delivering safety products and technologies.

C.4 TASK AREA REQUIREMENTS

C.4.1 TASK ORDER SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

When ordered, the Contractor shall provide the necessary personnel, material, equipment, services and facilities to perform the requirements in this work statement, as ordered in task orders. Individual task orders will be managed, monitored and evaluated by the federal employee assigned by the office requiring support services.

Task areas are summarized below:

Task Area A: Crash Modeling and Simulation A-1: Develop, Validate, and Maintain Finite Element (FE) Models of Vehicles and Hardware A-2: Advancement of Modeling and Analysis Strategies and Techniques A-3: Research Reporting, Information Sharing, and Collaboration

Task Area B: Modeling/Simulation of Vehicle and Occupant Safety

B-1: Apply Models & Simulation for the Analyzing Vehicle Safety B-2: Conduct Investigations into Occupant Risks

Task Area C: Analyze and Develop Systems for Physical Protection and

Security

Task Area D: Crash Data Analysis

D-1: Conduct Detailed Analyses of Highway & Roadside Crashes D-2: Detailed Analyses of Crash Data

C.4.2 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL CONDUCT CRASH MODELING AND

SIMULATION (TASK AREA A).

C.4.2.1 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL DEVELOP, VALIDATE, AND MAINTAIN

FINITE ELEMENT (FE) MODELS OF VEHICLES AND HARDWARE

(TASK AREA A-1).

The Contractor shall develop, validate, and maintain FE models of vehicles, roadside hardware, testing equipment, other roadway elements, and various physical security barriers.

These efforts shall involve building increasingly more detailed models, i.e., recent FE vehicle models have had from 800,000 to one million elements. These will include effective representations of active components (e.g., steering and suspension systems) with appropriate characterizations of the material properties and contact surface interactions for all elements.

The Contractor shall build FE models for use with LS Dyna software to facilitate comparison with previously generated results. The Contractor shall undertake model building in a manner that will provide the opportunities for varied applications of the models over time. This implies a strong need for effective documentation of the models and a process for continual improvement of the models. The Contractor shall support an on-line database (i.e., website) to make all Government-furnished models (developed under previous awards) as well as new models available to potential users.

The following lists examples of the type of work related to this task area. The list is not all inclusive:

1. Model Development - The Contractor shall develop several new vehicle and hardware FE models. The Contractor shall provide solid capabilities in reverse engineering of vehicles using methods that allow accurate but rapid capture of element geometries and connection details. The Contractor shall implement strategies that will allow the reverse engineering process to support various applications of the models (e.g., frontal and side impacts with other vehicles and oblique impacts into roadside barriers). The Contractor shall conduct material testing of samples from the reverse engineering process, component testing, non-destructive tests, comparisons of results from full-scale crash tests, and other efforts to validate the models.

2. Model Verification & Validation – The Contractor shall validate the FE models to the levels required in task order(s). This validation is essential to the credibility of the crash simulation results derived from the application of the FE models. The Contractor shall update FE models to ensure that they are in compliance with any FHWA procedures that may be adopted during this contract.

3. Strategic Reduction of Models – Efforts to develop detailed vehicle models have been shown to increase the breadth of applications of the models. The Contractor shall undertake efforts to create strategically reduced models for special applications. These models shall be created by merging elements from areas of detailed models in a manner that will reduce the number of elements the computer has to process for each time steps while leaving sufficient detail for the type of crash being analyzed (e.g., for oblique impacts into roadside barriers only the front right quadrant of the vehicle needs to be represented by small elements while the rest can be merged to form larger elements).

4. Model Documentation – The Contractor shall provide complete documentation of the structure, element characteristics, contacts, materials properties, specification of the LS Dyna functions used, and modeling assumptions for each newly developed model.

5. Model Maintenance and Support - The Contractor shall provide on-going maintenance for those previously developed models as well as any new models developed under this or other FHWA/NHTSA/DOS contracts. The support shall include effort, as directed by the COR, toward resolving problems discovered in new applications or enhancing models.

The Contractor shall update documentation and post revised versions of the models as needed.

Notes to Offerors:

• Currently, available FE models and the associated documentation can be downloaded from the NCAC website (www.ncac.gwu.edu). Several other models are under final development and/or exist in archives.

• A Faro Laser Scanning device procured by the FHWA used in recent model development efforts will be made available to the Contractor upon request and availability.

C.4.2.2 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL CONDUCT ADVANCEMENT OF MODELING

AND ANALYSIS STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES (TASK AREA A-2).

The Contractor shall conduct research and technical support activities to support advancement of modeling and analysis strategies.

Note: Recent industry examples of advancements made by automotive manufactures and academia are listed below. These recent advancements provided useful insights on the safety performance in crash events and demonstrated new approaches that could be used by researchers and practitioners, but these approaches have yet to be widely applied.

• Apply “mesh-less modeling” methods to enhance the computer representation of soil materials;

• Use vehicle dynamics analysis to provide new insights on vehicle-to-barrier interfaces;

• Promote non-destructive tests of new FE models (e.g., bump and terrain response of vehicle suspension systems) for improved validation of model representation of these suspension systems;

• Analyze fluid movements in fuel tank to understand the potentials for failures in impacts; and

• Material testing to understand the effects of cracks or tears in guardrails to understand their performance in secondary crashes.

The Contractor shall conduct activities as needed to continue advancement of modeling, simulation, and analysis such as, for example, formulate viable modeling verification and validations procedures, test and analyze for the development of improved tire models (including side wall friction and response), develop applications of tractor-trailer models in crash investigations, perform investigations to establish a generic means to assess vehicle-to-hardware compatibility, develop new materials models, enhance material failure models (e.g., crack propagation), develop applications of motorcycle models, and formulate methods to incorporate optimization into crash analyses.

1. Undertaking studies to formulate or validate new modeling or analysis techniques;

2. Testing new versions of software and/or features of software packages to determine their usefulness to advanced crash analyses;

3. Assessing the feasibility of new applications of modeling, crash simulation, and other analyses techniques through benchmark and other tests;

4. Investigating the sensitivity of various model formulations for realism, accuracy, run times, and other measures to develop improved analyses strategies;

5. Documenting efforts in research papers for critical peer review and promotion of new approaches; and

6. Conducting FOIL tests to provide data to support efforts to develop sophisticated models with failure modes, to include novel types of dynamic tests.

C.4.2.3 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PERFORM RESEARCH REPORTING,

INFORMATION SHARING, AND COLLABORATION (TASK AREA A-3).

The Contractor shall perform research reporting, information sharing, and collaboration. The Contractor shall document the advanced crash analysis efforts under this contract. The Contractor shall disseminate findings to a broad audience to increase awareness and understanding of crash events.

1. Preparation of technical reports with appropriate documentation of background, approach, assumptions, analysis plans, instrumentations, data gathered, interpretations, conclusions, and references. The Contractor shall make use of the web for distribution of materials, as well as the application of emerging technologies.

2. Generation of technical and executive summaries, topical articles, program summaries, presentations, and research papers associated with each of the research efforts undertaken.

3. Maintenance of a website for sharing data and providing access to the materials generated under this contract.

4. Formulation and delivery of information sharing programs including those to support AASHTO, TRB, and other groups.

5. Provision of support for Pooled Fund Studies and other efforts aimed at reducing the number and severity of road departure crashes.

6. Provision of support for visiting scholars, industry information sharing, workshops, and other programs aimed at promoting both the results from advanced crash analyses and the increased application of the methods and models in both private and public sectors (e.g., increased efforts to publish within the Society of Automotive Engineers).

7. Provision of support for interaction in international forums, support for visiting scholars, and conduct of demonstration projects to advance the state-of-the-art.

• All reports, presentation materials, and other documents produced under this contract must be Section 508 compliant. The website must also conform with Section 508 requirements.

• Given the nature of the work and the tools used, the efforts will involve the extensive incorporation of videos and animations.

• All websites created under this award must conform to DOT and FHWA standards.

IT resources used are subject to periodic security reviews including vulnerability scanning by the DOT.

C.4.3 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL CONDUCT MODELING/SIMULATION OF

VEHICLE AND OCCUPANT SAFETY (TASK AREA B).

C.4.3.1 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL APPLY MODELS AND SIMULATION FOR

ANALYZING VEHICLE SAFETY (TASK AREA B-1).

In the past, NHTSA and FHWA have supported research that has addressed a range of issues related to vehicle and occupant safety using advanced crash analysis. These efforts have included studies of vehicle-to-vehicle crash compatibility, developing protocols for testing under the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), the analysis of crash forces on occupants, and the assessment of the effectiveness of air bags and child safety seats. The Contractor shall conduct activities to continue to address these and similar issues.

1. Synthesis of past research - New research efforts shall start with an effort to synthesize past efforts and findings to serve as a basis for approaching the problem, providing validation data, and focusing on critical aspects.

2. Development of analysis and testing plans - A plan shall be generated that will describe the scope of each research effort, the factors to be considered, the associated measures, and the planned approach. This plan shall ensure a systematic effort that leads to useful results. Revisions to the plan may be appropriate when preliminary results differ from expectations.

3. Analyses using appropriate methods and software tools-Perform vehicle crash analysis applying FE models and crash simulation software to provide a detailed representation of a crash event. The FE models can be applies in many ways and, based upon the nature of crash evaluation needed, varying types of measurement and analyses may be needed. An example of this is recent work that has involved efforts to understand the vehicle to barrier interface on sloped terrain to assess its effectiveness in catching an errant vehicle. This required adding accelerometers to measure vertical displacement of the vehicle’s suspension (on both test vehicles and the modeled versions) as well as the use of special formulations of graphics software to generate traces of the vertical displacements of suspension components and the bumper relative to the barrier.

Measurements of yaw, pitch, and roll are common in the analyses, but new crashworthiness standards may require other measurements. The Contractor shall have the ability to conduct required measures needed for any type of crash analysis;

4. Data analysis and interpretation - The Contractor shall weigh effectiveness against Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), or other measures.

5. Documentation - The Contractor shall provide documentation of efforts and information sharing materials.

• Past NHTSA efforts in this area have involved working with the auto industry, other academic institutions, and hospital trauma centers in the analyses of occupant trauma resulting from crashes.

• Efforts to analyze the compatibility between vehicles and roadside hardware and to improve the evaluation of occupant risk to highway and roadside crashes are expected.

C.4.3.2 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS INTO

OCCUPANT RISKS (TASK AREA B-2).

The Contractor shall provide biomechanical and vehicle systems engineering services in support of medical injury research teams designated by the FHWA and NHTSA. The work shall include crash simulation modeling, accident data and film analysis, and the creation of reports summarizing crash injury investigations from the files of the hospital based studies, the NASS/CDS and the NHTSA special accident investigation studies.

The Contractor shall undertake occupant risk analyses of vehicle designs, restraint systems, and/or highway safety improvements. In addition, the Contractor shall provide studies to explore vehicle safety performance (e.g., crush zone functionality, restraint system deployment) and the resulting injuries that occur in the elements of the fleet as specified.

1. Synthesizing past efforts and findings - New research efforts shall start with an effort to synthesize past efforts and findings to serve as a basis for approaching the problem, providing validation data, and focusing on critical aspects;

2. Developing analysis and testing plans - A plan shall be generated that shall describe the scope of each research effort, the factors to be considered, the associated measures, and the planned approach. This plan shall ensure a systematic effort that leads to useful results. Revisions to the plan may be appropriate when preliminary results differ from expectations;

3. Applying multi-body models and crash simulation software to quantify forces imposed on vehicle occupants in crashes;

4. Generating data and summaries reflecting the findings; and

5. Documenting efforts and the preparation of information sharing materials.

Notes to Offerors:

• The current FE models library includes models of anthropomorphic dummies and the human body and specific parts from past crash analyses.

• Some of the vehicle models in the array include details for interiors elements making them particularly suitable for occupant risk analyses.

• Recent efforts have led to the development of models for various test sleds and test protocols for using them (e.g., Takata sled) that will be available for future occupant risk analyses.

C.4.4 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL ANALYZE AND DEVELOP SYSTEMS FOR

PHYSICAL PROTECTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY (TASK AREA C).

Note: Past projects have involved developing various types of anti-ram barriers for the DOS. The process involved the use of FE models and crash simulation to evaluate existing barrier designs, evaluate improvement options, develop and assess new concepts, plan validation tests, and/or determine feasibility in specific applications. Past efforts have looked at bollards, knee walls, super fences, street planters, cable fences, and other types of barriers. The use of advanced analyses techniques is seen as a powerful means to determine the effectiveness of security measures under a broad range of conditions. Impact testing of barrier components has played an integral part of past evaluations.

The Contractor shall undertake analyses and testing to develop and evaluate systems for physical protection and security of the infrastructure. The Contractor shall conduct tests as necessary to validate the results of the advanced analysis. The tests shall be conducted in conformance with DOS and American Standards for Testing & Materials (ASTM) [www.astm.org] standards. The Contractor shall support or perform impact tests with trucks at various speeds. The Contractor shall oversee the construction of barriers for the tests.

1. Synthesizing past efforts and findings - New research efforts shall start with an effort to synthesize past efforts and findings to serve as a basis for approaching the problem, providing validation data, and focusing on critical aspects;

2. Developing analysis and testing plans that reflect the range of conditions that infrastructure protection must function to provide strong assurances of effectiveness;

3. Applying FE models, crash simulation and/or vehicle dynamics software; to evaluate existing forms of infrastructure protection, and/or developing concepts for innovative designs;

4. Generating data and summaries reflecting the findings; and

5. Documenting efforts.

• It is likely that future efforts may involve other agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security or local and regional agencies.

http://www.astm.org/

• Documentation in the form of a report shall be submitted upon completion of each research effort.

C.4.5 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL CONDUCT CRASH DATA ANALYSIS (TASK

AREA D).

C.4.5.1 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL CONDUCT DETAILED ANALYSES OF

HIGHWAY & ROADSIDE CRASHES (TASK AREA D-1).

The application of crash analysis models and software has been shown to be useful in the analysis of roadside crashes and the development of improved roadside features. These models range from the early impact tools (e.g., Guard, Barrier VII) to modern, detailed analytic methods and commercially available software (e.g., LS Dyna, CarSim). Over the last five years FHWA-supported research has made use of LS Dyna (from LSTC Corporation, Livermore, CA), HVE vehicle dynamics software (from Engineering Dynamics Corporation, Beaverton, OR), and other software to study the safety performance of portable concrete barriers, sign supports, breakaway poles and structures, mailboxes, w-beam guardrails, cable median barriers, and other common roadside hardware. These efforts have been geared towards developing deeper insight into the performance of these devices, recommending modifications to improve the performance, and/or assessing criteria for evaluating them. These have led to the compilation of an archive of hardware models, considerable amounts of performance data, improvements in hardware design, and better guidance for the design and placement of roadside safety hardware.

The Contractor shall apply these various analytical tools or variations of them (e.g., crash simulation, vehicle dynamics) or new tools for the analysis of roadside crashes. The Contractor may be tasked to conduct analyses by the State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to analyze difficult roadside crash issues they face (e.g., a past effort used models to analyze rear-end impacts of w-beam guardrail in search of explanations for an unusual multi-fatality crash.) Directives to conduct any such analyses will be provided by the COR.

The following lists examples of the type of work related to this task area. The list is not all inclusive:

1. Synthesis of past research – New research efforts should start with an effort to synthesize past efforts and findings to serve as a basis for approaching the problem, providing validation data, and focusing on critical aspects.

2. Development of analysis and testing plans – A plan shall be generated that will describe the scope of each research effort, the factors to be considered, the associated measures, and the planned approach. This plan shall ensure a systematic effort that leads to useful results. Revisions to the plan may be appropriate when preliminary results differ from expectations.

3. Conducting analyses using appropriate methods and software tools. A considerable amount of the roadside crash analysis involves applying FE models and crash simulation software to provide a detailed representation of a crash event. Other software, such as vehicle dynamics tools, have been shown to provide important insights in less time. The Contractor shall propose the tools and the manner in which they will be applied and then prepare the necessary inputs to execute them.

4. Data analysis and interpretation – Various software tools can be useful for generating data for the crash scenarios being analyzed, but summarizing the data and effectively presenting and comparing data are a challenge that must be addressed by the Contractor.

Assessments made under this task area shall be consistent with accepted crashworthiness practices and use appropriate measures of performance.

5. Documentation – The Contractor shall provide documentation of efforts and information sharing materials.

• The models and data used in past analysis efforts are considered to provide a basis for future applications. For example, the model of w-beam guard rails was initially developed to show that it was possible to study specific design features (e.g., routed vs.

non-routed block-outs), but it has served as the basis for studies of backside hits, guardrail height issues, and the development of new forms of guardrail.

• The FHWA has a vision that the application of the crash simulation can expand the evaluation of crashworthiness over a greater range of vehicle types, placement, terrain, and impact conditions.

• It is expected that analyses will make use of available knowledge of roadside safety hardware and its evolution including the crashworthiness standards and crash testing requirements that were used to assess performance.

• Interaction with the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and other groups addressing roadside safety issues should be considered a vital part of these efforts to disseminate findings and solicit feedback.

C.4.5.2 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL CONDUCT DETAILED ANALYSES OF CRASH

DATA (TASK AREA D-2).

The collection and analysis of detailed crash data from police reports, DOT highway inventories, maintenance records, hospital records, and other sources is an important aspect in understanding crash events and finding effective means to mitigate them. Prior analyses have included investigations of motorcycle crashes into barriers, low-velocity change, oblique angle vehicle-to-vehicle crashes, trauma to child occupants by seating position, and correlations of vehicle frontal stiffness to crash severity. These efforts have involved in-depth, clinical analysis of the data, as well as the linkages to results from modeling of similar crashes. The Contractor shall provide the capabilities to undertake such studies as the needs are identified.

The Contractor shall undertake various longitudinal and clinical analyses to expand the insights on crashes, and to enhance the familiarity with these resources. Other such data sets or analyses may be defined in task orders issued under this contract

The following lists examples of the type of work related to this task area. The list is not all inclusive:

Task Orders issued under Task Area D-2 may involve effort related to:

1. Synthesizing past efforts and findings for the topic under study - New research efforts should start with an effort to synthesize past efforts and findings to serve as a basis for approaching the problem, providing validation data, and focusing on critical aspects.

2. Developing hypotheses, data acquisition and linkage, and analysis plans; such plans shall reflect the findings of past efforts and the needs of the study.

3. Conduct research through the use of various data sources including Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), General Estimates System (GES), National Accident Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS), police crash reports, Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC), Minimum Inventory of roadway Elements (MIRE), Crash Outcomes Data Evaluation System (CODES), and other collected data may be used in these efforts.

4. Applying appropriate statistical methods to determine correlations; trends, and/or significance with appropriate controls.

5. Generating data and summaries reflecting the findings; and

6. Documenting of efforts and the preparation of information sharing materials.

• Efforts under this task area may involve efforts to collect data from sources outside and/or in the field.

• Past efforts have involved linking empirical data to the data generated by crash simulations.

C.5 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

C.5.1 EMPLOYEE STANDARDS

All Contractor employees shall meet the highest standards of professionalism and personal integrity. Standards of professionalism include competency, training, appearance, and behavior.

The Contractor shall perform pre-employment suitability checks for all employees and prospective employees. The Contractor shall take disciplinary action against employees who disregard those standards.

The Contractor shall ensure all personnel complete all annual security awareness training. The Contractor shall ensure all required personnel complete all annual specialized security training.

Upon request, the Contractor shall submit all course certificates to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) within 24 hours of request.

NOTE: The security training referenced in C.5.1 is the same Information Security System Awareness (ISSA) training required by the clause at Section H. The training is online and is required for those employees that will perform their work activities assigned to an onsite location at FHWA. The time spent for the employees to take the online training may be an allowable cost in those task orders requiring onsite Contractor personnel.

C.5.2 EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION

All Contractor personnel must be recognizable as such while on any activity or work effort performed under this contract. This shall be accomplished by issuing badges and/or name tags that contain the Contractor’s company name and employee’s full name when interacting with Federal employees as part of the activities under this contract. The Contractor shall furnish such badges or nametags for his/her employee at the Contractor’s expense prior to contract performance. All employees shall wear the identification in a conspicuous place on exterior clothing. The Contractor shall ensure that Contractor personnel identify themselves as Contractors when attending meetings, answering Government telephones if applicable, providing any type of written correspondence, or working in situations where their actions could be construed as official Government acts.

To ensure the requirements of FIPS 201, Personal Identity Verification (PIV) of Federal Employees and Contractors, are met, refer to Section H of this solicitation for more information on HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE-12 (HSPD-12).

C.5.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Specific location information will be provided in each individual task order. FHWA does not anticipate any work activities will be required to be performed on-site at FHWA, with the exception of occasional visits for meetings and briefings. FHWA anticipates all work to be performed at the Contractor’s facilities or other Contractor-approved location.

C.5.4 CONTRACTOR REQUIRED LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS

Any required licenses and certifications will be specified in the individual task orders issued under this contract. The Contractor shall be responsible for providing appropriately qualified personnel.

C.5.5 TRAINING

The Contractor shall be responsible for any special training, licensing and certifications of Contractor personnel necessary to provide the necessary expertise in specialized scientific or data analysis topics to meet Government requirements.

C.5.6 DIRECT LABOR RATES

Direct labor rates under this contract include Contractor employee labor, subcontractor employee labor and consultant labor. The direct labor rates are fully burdened with all proportional overhead, fringe, profit/fee, G&A, etc. Maximum direct labor rates are identified in Section J.1.

C.6 REQUIREMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTING SECTION 508 STANDARDS

All Information Technology deliverables shall conform to the Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Standards. See http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm for more information.

Preparation of Technical Reports or other documents that FHWA plans to post on a website.

In addition to the work requirements specified in this statement of work, vendors must ensure that all electronic documents that they prepare will meet the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The act requires that all electronic products prepared for the Federal http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm

Government be accessible to persons with disabilities, including those with vision, hearing, cognitive, and mobility impairments.