FMVSS 141 - Draft SOW.pdf

Contract: XXXXXXXXXX FMVSS No. 141

Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

SECTION C - DESCRIPTION / SPECIFICATIONS / STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 ACRONYMS

C.1.1 Acronyms

ACOR Alternate Contracting Officer’s Representative COR Contracting Officer’s Representative DO Delivery Order DOT Department of Transportation FMVSS Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards ISO International Organization for Standardization NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology OVSC Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance QA/QC Quality Assurance/Quality Control TP Test Procedure VIN Vehicle Identification Number

C.1.2 Definitions

• “Day”: Refers to calendar day, unless otherwise specified.

• “Government Furnished Property” – Refers to test items (e.g., vehicles or B&K acoustic sound measurement system) owned or acquired by the Government and subsequently provided to the Contractor for use in the performance of the contract. For the purpose of this contract, Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Government Furnished Property (or “GFP”) mean the same thing. The government is the owner of all GFP.

• “Contractor Acquired Property”: – Refers to test items purchased by the Contractor for use in the performance of the contract. Title to Contractor Acquired Property (or “CAP”) vests with the government except for test items acquired by the contractor following a Non-Conforming Test (refer to Section H.2).

• “Test Failure”: Refers to testing that the Contractor conducted correctly, but the vehicle being tested failed to meet the standards prescribed in FMVSS 141. Refer to Section F.11 for instructions on how test failures are to be handled.

• “Test Passed”: Refers to testing that the Contractor conducted correctly and the vehicle being tested met the standards prescribed in FMVSS 141.

• “Non-Conforming Test”: Refers to a Contractor-performed test that does not comply with applicable Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OSVC) test procedure (TP) and/or contract requirements applicable to that test. Refer to Section H.2 for instructions on how non-conforming tests are to be handled.

C.2 BACKGROUND

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is an operating administration of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) and its mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce economic costs associated with motor vehicle crashes. As part of its mission to reduce fatalities and injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes, NHTSA promulgates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Manufacturers of motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment are required to certify that each product they sell in the United States meets the requirements of all applicable safety standards. NHTSA’s Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) is charged with determining whether manufacturers meet the applicable safety standards.

This contract effort will enable the agency to meet its mission by testing vehicles to determine compliance with FMVSS No. 141, Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles.

C.3 PURPOSE

The Contractor shall furnish qualified technical personnel, facilities and equipment to perform inspection, compliance testing, and reporting services to determine conformance of motor vehicles to the requirements of the FMVSS No. 141, Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. At the time of award, the Contractor shall have all necessary personnel, facilities and equipment unless stated otherwise in Section H.3 “Government Furnished Property” or H.13 “Contractor Acquired Property.” The Contractor shall perform and complete testing and associated inspections within the time specified in the Delivery Schedule, Section F.4, and shall submit deliverables as required by the Schedule.

C.4 KICK OFF MEETING

Immediately upon receiving award, the Contractor shall contact the NHTSA Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) to plan for the kickoff meeting.

Within two (2) weeks of the effective date of the contract award, the Contractor shall participate in a Kickoff meeting with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), Contracting Officer (CO), and other NHTSA staff. The Kickoff meeting may take place via teleconference. This meeting will be approximately two hours in length. The Contractor shall make a brief presentation of their understanding of the contract requirements. After the presentation, the parties shall discuss basic contract requirements, including the schedule for testing and test procedures.

C.5 SPECIFIC CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

C.5.1 Test Procedures

The Contractor shall perform all applicable work in accordance with the testing requirements of the FMVSS and the applicable OVSC Test Procedure (TP). The applicable TP is listed in Section J and is incorporated into this contract. Specific contract requirements supersede all requirements in the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance Test Procedure (TP) incorporated by reference in Section J.

If there is a conflict between the OVSC TP and the requirements of the contract, the contract shall prevail.

Detailed “in-house” check-off-sheet style test procedures created by the Contractor will be referred to hereinafter as “Contractor’s in-house Laboratory Test Procedures.” Contractor’s in-house Laboratory Test Procedures are subject to the COR approval.

In addition to meeting the requirements of the Test Procedure, the Contractor shall follow its internal Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) management plans addressed in Section F.6 of this contract.

C.5.2 Test Vehicles

Ordinarily, the Government will provide test vehicles. In certain instances, at the option of the Government, the Contractor shall acquire leased test vehicles. The Government will specify in the issuance of a delivery order whether the Contractor should lease the required vehicle. The Contractor shall inspect GFP vehicles for condition and completeness immediately upon delivery at the Contractor’s point of receipt. The Contractor shall be responsible for the storage and security of all vehicles from receipt until sale or transfer from its facility as instructed by the COR.

The Contractor is responsible for accepting test vehicles from automobile dealers/distributors or vehicle transporters, including government-contracted transporters.

If a vehicle is delivered by a dealer/distributor or a vehicle transporter (other than a government-contracted transporter), the Contractor shall verify the following:

• Tires and wheel rims are new.

• There are no dents or other interior or exterior flaws in the vehicle body.

• The vehicle has been properly prepared and is in running condition.

• The glove box contains an owner’s manual, warranty document, consumer information, and extra set of keys.

• Proper fuel filler cap is supplied on the vehicle.

• All options listed on the “window sticker” are present on the test vehicle.

• The VIN (vehicle identification number) on the vehicle condition report matches the VIN on the vehicle.

If a vehicle is delivered by a Government-contracted transporter, the Contractor shall check for damage which may have occurred during transit and verify the VIN on the vehicle condition report matches the VIN on the vehicle. A “Vehicle Condition” form will be supplied to the Contractor by the COR for each test vehicle transferred from the dealer/distributor, test facility, or between

NHTSA test contracts. The upper half of the form describes the vehicle in detail, and is to be completed at the time of vehicle receipt. The lower half provides space for a detailed description of the post- test condition, and is to be completed at the conclusion of the test. Vehicle Condition forms must be returned to the COR in accordance with Section F.4 and F.13, with copies of the Final Test Report. Failure to submit the required vehicle condition form will result in rejection of the Final Test Report.

The Contractor shall notify the COR via email within 24 hours of receipt of a test vehicle.

The Government will determine the sequence in which vehicles are to be tested and the sequence for each specific procedure and will not be bound by any plans, lists, matrices, or other preliminary data submitted to the Contractor prior to delivery of the vehicles. Prior to testing, the Contractor shall provide the test schedule required in Section C.5.6 and verify with the COR the proper sequence and procedures for the test vehicles.

The tested vehicles shall be stored in a secure location that provides protection against theft and adverse weather. The Contractor also shall store the vehicle until disposition instructions are provided by the COR.

GFP vehicle(s) shall not be driven by the Contractor on public roadways, unless written permission is provided by the NHTSA COR.

C.5.3 Measurement and Test Equipment

The Contractor shall implement and maintain a calibration system in accordance with this contract and applicable TP.

Before the Contractor initiates the safety compliance test program, a test instrumentation calibration system shall be implemented and maintained in accordance with established calibration practices.

The calibration system shall be set up and maintained as follows:

• Standards for calibrating the measuring and test equipment shall be stored and used under appropriate environmental conditions to assure their accuracy and stability.

• All measuring instruments and standards shall be calibrated by the Contractor, or a commercial facility, against a higher order standard at intervals not exceeding 12 months for instruments and 12 months for calibration standards. Records, showing the calibration traceability to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), shall be maintained for all measuring and test equipment.

• All measuring and test equipment and measuring standards shall be labeled with the following information:

(1) Date of calibration

(2) Date of next scheduled calibration

(3) Name of the technician who calibrated the equipment

• A written calibration procedure shall be provided by the Contractor including, as a minimum, the following information for all measurement and test equipment:

(1) Type of equipment, manufacturer, model number, etc.

(2) Measurement range

(3) Accuracy

(4) Calibration interval

(5) Type of standard used to calibrate the equipment (calibration traceability of the standard must be evident)

(6) The actual procedures and forms used to perform the calibrations.

• Records of calibration for all test instrumentation shall be kept by the Contractor in a manner that assures the maintenance of established calibration schedules. All such records shall be readily available for inspection when requested by the COR. The calibration system procedures shall be accepted by the COR before the test program commences.

• Test equipment shall receive a calibration check immediately prior to a test and a calibration check after the test. This check shall be recorded by the test technician(s) and submitted with the final report.

• The COR may require the Contractor to evaluate its data acquisition system to demonstrate ability to meet procedural requirements.

Further guidance is provided in the International Standard ISO 10012-1, “Quality Assurance Requirements for Measuring Equipment” and American National Standard ANSI/NCSL Z540-1, “Calibration Laboratories and Measuring and Test Equipment - General Requirements.”

NOTE:

At the request of the COR, the Contractor shall calibrate the government furnished Brüel & Kjaer (B&K) acoustic sound measurement system. All costs associated with calibration and repairs, as required for the system, will be reimbursed at actual costs under CLINs 0004, 1004, 2004, 3004, 4004, and 5004.

In the event of a failure of a test item to meet the standard’s minimum performance requirements, as outlined in the TP found under Section J (List of Attachments), the COR may require the Contractor to perform additional calibration checks of critically sensitive test equipment and instrumentation to verify accuracy. The necessity for the calibration will be at the COR’s discretion and shall be performed without additional cost.

The Contractor shall make all vehicle preliminary compliance test data available to the COR within one

(1) hour after the test. Final test data, including digital printouts and computer generated plots, shall be furnished to the COR within five (5) working days of test completion. Additionally, the Contractor shall analyze the preliminary test results as directed by the COR in the event of a test anomaly.

All backup data sheets, recordings, plots, technicians’ notes, etc., shall be either sent to the COR or destroyed at the conclusion of each delivery order as directed by the COR.

The Contractor shall protect and segregate the data that evolves from compliance testing before and after each vehicle test.

C.5.3.1 Test Site Requirement

The Contractor shall have access to and utilize a test surface meeting the requirements of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 10844:2014, ISO 10844:2011, or ISO 10844:1994 “Acoustics — Specification of test tracks for measuring noise emitted by road vehicles and their tires” for assuring that motor vehicles meet the requirements in FMVSS No. 141, Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles.

C.5.3.2 Acoustic Software and Test Equipment

The Contractor shall utilize NHTSA provided compliance tools to analyze collected sound files for compliance to the FMVSS. The compliance tools include MATLAB codes, graphical user interface and instruction manuals.

The Contractor shall utilize the government furnished Brüel & Kjaer (B&K) acoustic sound measurement system. This system is a commercial off-the-shelf system used for collecting sound files.

C.5.4 Deviation from OVSC Test Procedures

The Contractor shall conduct testing only in accordance with the OVSC Test Procedure, the applicable FMVSS and the Contractor’s approved in-house Test Procedure, and shall notify the COR if any deviations from applicable test procedures or standards is necessary. The Contractor shall receive approval from the COR prior to initiating any deviations from the applicable test procedures or standards. The COR is authorized to approve such deviations as long as that deviation does not affect the prices stated in this contract.

C.5.5 Storage of test vehicles, items, parts, components, and equipment

Test vehicles that have been tested and also any untested test vehicles shall be stored by the Contractor at no additional cost until receipt of disposition instructions from the Government. (Refer to Section H.14.)

The final determination of “passed” or “failed” will be made by the COR upon acceptance of the Final Test Report. Therefore, no test items shall be destroyed or disposed of until authorized by the

COR.

If storage on an on-going basis requires any vehicle lease to be renewed, the Contractor shall consult with the COR prior to renewing any lease.

C.5.6 Test Schedule

The Contractor shall submit a test schedule to the COR prior to testing. Tests shall be completed as required in the contract. Test schedules shall be adjusted to permit motor vehicles to be tested to other FMVSS and to allow attendance by other interested parties as may be required by the Government.

All testing shall be coordinated to allow monitoring by the COR. (Refer to Section F.9)

C.5.7 Test Access

No individuals, other than Contractor personnel directly involved in the compliance testing program, shall be allowed to witness any vehicle compliance test unless specifically authorized by the COR. The Contractor shall secure the test site area immediately before, during and immediately after a test and to shield the test area from public view by the use of canvas or other blocking devices.

No individuals, other than Contractor personnel directly involved in the compliance testing program, shall be allowed to inspect NHTSA test vehicles or witness vehicle preparation without prior written permission from the COR.

All communications with vehicle manufacturers shall be referred to the COR. The Contractor shall not release test data without the prior permission of the COR. Any release of information without approval by the Contracting Officer is considered a material breach of this contract.

(End of Section C)