ISO_Participation_PWS_v3.docx

CONTRACTOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES

TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION’S DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

FOR THE

U.S. COAST GUARD OFFICE OF

STANDARDS EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT (CG-REG)

1.0 GENERAL.

1.1 SCOPE.

The purpose of this Performance Work Statement (PWS) is to obtain technical support services needed to assist the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to participate in the process for developing and maintaining technical standards. The USCG complies with Executive Orders (EO) 12866 and 13563, for Regulatory Planning and Review, with EO 13609 for Promoting International Regulatory Cooperation, with OMB circular A-119, Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities and is guided by USCG Commandant Instruction 5420.32 (series), Standards Program for Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection Programs (COMDTINST 5420.32). These requirements and policies include the use of voluntary consensus standards and accepting internationally and nationally agreed standards as equivalent to regulations where feasible, as a means to improve maritime safety and marine environmental protection; and to promote an internationally competitive U.S. maritime industry.

This performance work statement focuses on the development of international standards for ship design, shipbuilding, ship systems engineering, ship operation, marine environmental protection, and maritime security for adoption in USCG regulations, particularly those of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical committee TC 8/ Ship design. This also includes the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The Contractor will accomplish the following to support international standards development and maintenance by the USCG:

(1) Provide expert technical advice for the development and evaluation of standards for USCG submittal to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

(2) Represent the USCG by serving as a ballot collection manager for ISO votes

(3) Prepare newsletter and other correspondence for the USCG

1.2 BACKGROUND.

Standards are an effective way of promoting improvements in marine safety and security, environmental protection, and assuring the consistent application of national and international requirements. Further, establishment of standards can open new markets for high quality marine suppliers, thus expanding the use of products that enhance safety.

The USCG participates actively in more than 60 standards- making committees of at least 12 different non-government organizations and technical professional societies. Adopting standards by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) keeps the regulations on the leading edge of technological advancement and incorporates flexibility into the CFR which facilitates both compliance and maintenance. Adopted standards also help promote competitiveness by ensuring that products are produced to a certain minimum quality and will perform to expectations.

Promoting the development of standards can maximize USCG resources and increase the knowledge base through active participation and cooperative exchanges of information with industry leaders. USCG COMDTINST 5420.32 establishes policy and guidance for the development and use of international standards for the USCG marine safety, security, and environmental protection program. Specific goals include development of a comprehensive set of international standards through active participation in organizations such as the American Standards for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Further direction is given by OMB Circular A-l19, issued in 1982. It directs the Federal Government in its Regulatory activities, to rely on voluntary consensus standards whenever feasible and consistent with law. The circular specifically recognized the existing and long standing proactive role the USCG has taken.

Subsequent to OMB Circular A-119, the USCG issued Commandant Instruction 16703.1, "Regulatory Project Planning" providing guidance on self-certification, and identifying eight methods of regulation, or Innovation Regulatory Techniques, which could be used as a means of reducing the burdens and expense of regulation on the public.

EO 12866 of September 30, 1993, "Regulatory Planning and Review", initiated a new program to reform and make the regulatory process more efficient. It reconfirmed the need for, and validity of, the innovative regulatory techniques. Also, in 1993, President Clinton, in his report "Strengthening America's Shipyards: A plan for Competing in the International Market," directs the Secretary of Transportation and the USCG to "...continue working with the International Maritime Organization to upgrade critical international standards and with U.S. carriers and standards bodies to delete or revise regulations that add costs unnecessarily."

Most recently, on May 1, 2012, EO 13609 for Promoting International Regulatory Cooperation was issued. It calls for comparing regulatory approaches of U.S. agencies to identify those differences that might impair the ability of American businesses to export and compete internationally. It also directs agencies to look for areas where international regulatory cooperation can reduce, eliminate, or prevent unnecessary differences in regulatory requirements.

To achieve these goals and objectives, the USCG is the U.S. voting member to the ISO Technical Committee on Shipbuilding (TC-8) and participates as Secretariat on three of its subcommittees. In addition, the USCG participates on the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO TC-8.

1.3 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL

1.3.1 PROJECT MANAGER. The Contractor shall provide a Project Manager (PM), who shall be responsible for all work performed under this PWS. The PM is further designated as Key by the Government (See PWS 1.4).

1.3.1.1 The PM shall be a single point of contact for the Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and Technical Project Manager (s) (TPM). It is anticipated that PM shall be one of the senior level employees provided by the Contractor for this work effort. During any absence of the PM, only one (1) alternate shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all matters relating to work performed under this PWS. The PM and all designated alternates shall be able to read, write, speak and understand English. The Contractor shall not replace the PM without prior written acknowledgement from the Contracting Officer.

1.3.1.2 The PM shall be available to the Contracting Officer, COR and TPM via telephone between the hours of 0800 and 1700 Eastern Standard Time (EST), Monday through Friday.

1.3.2 QUALIFIED PERSONNEL. The Contractor shall provide qualified personnel to perform all required tasks specified in this PWS. All Contractor employees supporting this task order shall be citizens of the United States of America (USA).

1.3.3 EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION. Contractor employees visiting Government facilities shall wear an identification badge that, at minimum, displays the name of the organization, employee’s photo, name, clearance-level, and badge expiration date. Visiting employees shall comply with Government escort rules and requirements and shall identify themselves as Contractor employees when their status is not readily apparent and display all identification and visitor badges in plain view at all times. The Contractor shall be responsible for all costs related to obtaining required identification and shall not be reimbursed by the Government for said costs.

1.3.4 EMPLOYEE CONDUCT. The Contractor’s employees shall comply with all applicable Government regulations, policies and procedures (e.g., fire, safety, sanitation, environmental protection, security, “off limits” areas, wearing of parts of military uniforms, and possession of weapons) when visiting or working at Government facilities. Contractor employees shall present a professional appearance and their conduct shall not reflect discredit upon the USA, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and USCG.

1.3.5 REMOVING EMPLOYEES FOR MISCONDUCT OR SECURITY REASONS. Government may, at its sole discretion, direct the Contractor to remove any Contractor employee from USCG facilities for misconduct or security reasons. Removal does not relieve the Contractor of responsibility to continue providing services required under this task order. The Contracting Officer will provide the Contractor with a written explanation to support any request to remove an employee.

1.3.6 CONFLICT OF INTEREST. The Contractor shall not employ any person who is an employee of the U.S. Government, if that employment would, or would appear to cause, a conflict of interest. The Contractor shall take precautions appropriate under the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) to preclude actual or apparent conflicts of interest.

1.4 KEY PERSONNEL. Before replacing any individual designated as Key by the Government, the Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer no less than fifteen (15) business days in advance, submit written justification for replacement, and provide name(s) and qualifications of any proposed substitute(s). Proposed substitute(s) shall possess qualifications equal to or superior to those of Key person being replaced. The Contractor shall not replace Key Contractor personnel without prior written acknowledgment from the Contracting Officer. The Government may designate additional Contractor personnel as Key at time of award (See HSAR Clause 3052.215-70).

1.5 SECURITY. Contractor access to classified information is not required under this PWS. Access to information protected under the Privacy Act may be required under this Contract. The Contractor shall safeguard this information and any proprietary information against unauthorized disclosure or dissemination in accordance with the law and Government policy and regulation.

1.6 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE. The period of performance for this task order is twelve (12) months from the date of award, with two (2) twelve month option periods.

1.7 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE. The primary place of performance shall be the Contractor’s facilities.

1.8 HOURS OF OPERATION. Contractor employees shall generally perform all work between the hours of 0700 and 1700 Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except Federal Holidays), unless otherwise required to meet the deliverable schedule or travel requirements.

1.9 TRAVEL. Visits to USCG facilities located in the Washington DC Metro Area are anticipated to support this PWS. All travel required by Government outside the primary place of performance local commuting area will be reimbursed to the Contractor in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR). The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining COR approval (electronic mail is acceptable) for all reimbursable travel in advance of each travel event.

Local commuting area is defined as travel outside of the primary place of performance, but within a minimum driving distance of less than fifty (50) miles, by the most direct route. Such local travel is not reimbursable under this task order.

1.9.1 SITE VISIT TRAVEL. The task will require national and international travel in order to participate in relevant meetings of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

1.10 KICK-OFF MEETING. The Contractor shall participate in a Kick-Off Meeting with the Contracting Officer, COR and TPM not later than (NLT) five (5) business days after date of award, unless the Contracting Officer, COR and TPM schedules require an alternate date. The purpose of Kick-Off Meeting, which will be chaired by the Contracting Officer, is to discuss technical and contracting objectives of this tasking and review requirements, including invoicing and payment, and the Contractor's project plan. The Kick-Off Meeting will be held at the Government’s facility or by teleconference call.

1.11 STATUS REPORTS. The PM shall provide status reports NLT 15th of each following month to the COR and Contracting Officer via electronic mail. The newsletters and other correspondence specified in section 5.3 may serve as the status report. This report shall include a summary of Contractor work performed, including:

a. Assessment of technical progress;

b. Travel conducted (if applicable);

c. Contractor concerns or recommendations.

1.12 STATUS MEETINGS. The PM shall be available to meet with the COR and TPM as necessary to present deliverables, discuss progress, collaborate on tasks, exchange information or resolve emergent technical matters. Contractual matters will be resolved by the Contracting Officer, whose attendance at meeting can be requested by the COR, TPM or Contractor in advance.

Meetings shall take place at the Government's facility or by teleconference call as agreed between both parties.

1.13 GENERAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS. The Contractor shall provide all written reports in electronic format with read/write capability using applications that are compatible with USCG Standard Workstation (Windows XP, VISTA and compatible Microsoft Office Applications).

1.13.1 Due to USCG Internet restrictions, electronic mail attachments over 5 MB in size will not be accepted. The Contractor shall provide any electronic deliverable exceeding the 5 MB size on CD-ROM or government furnished equipment.

1.14 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. Contractor developed processes and procedures and other forms of intellectual property developed by the Contractor under this tasking shall be considered Government property. Electronic data shall be properly catalogued, and shall be in both Adobe (.pdf) and manipulable form in Microsoft Word (.doc), Excel (.xls), or as appropriate.

Intellectual property developed under this PWS is intended for internal USCG use only. The Contractor shall not use any collected information or intellectual property outside of the intended purpose as developed under this PWS without written explicit consent from the USCG.

1.16 PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.

1.16.1 Contractor access to information protected under the Privacy Act may be required for task orders under this task order. Contractor employees shall safeguard this information against unauthorized disclosure or dissemination in accordance with the law and Government policy and regulation.

1.16.2 Contractor access to unclassified, but Security Sensitive Information may be required under this task order. Contractor employees shall safeguard this information against unauthorized disclosure or dissemination.

1.16.3 Contractor access to proprietary information may be required under this contract. Contractor employees shall safeguard this information against unauthorized disclosure or dissemination in accordance with DHS Management Directive MD 11042.1, Safeguarding Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) Information. SBU includes information categorized by DHS or other government agencies as: For Official Use Only (FOUO); Official Use Only (OUO); Sensitive Homeland Security Information (SHSI); Limited Official Use (LOU); Law Enforcement Sensitive (LES); Safeguarding Information (SGI); Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information (UCNI); and any other identifier used by other government agencies to categorize information as sensitive but unclassified. The Contractor shall ensure that all Contractor personnel having access to business or procurement sensitive information sign a non-disclosure agreement (DHS Form 11000-6).

The Contractor shall continue to ensure employees safeguard this information when the new Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) framework replaces the sensitive but unclassified (SBU) categorization.

1.17 SECTION 508 COMPLIANCE. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S. Code 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-220), August 7, 1998, requires that when Federal Agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology (EIT), they must ensure that it is accessible to people with disabilities, unless it would pose an undue burden to do so. Federal employees and members of the public who have disabilities must have access to and use of information and services that is comparable to the access and use available to non-disabled Federal employees and members of the public. For additional information, please refer to FAR 39.2 or http://www.section508.gov.

All Electronic Information Technology (EIT) deliverables within this work statement shall comply with the applicable technical and functional performance criteria of Section 508 unless exempt. Specifically, the following applicable standards have been identified:

36 CFR 1194.22 – Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications, applies to all Web-based deliverables, including documentation and reports procured or developed under this work statement. When any Web application uses a dynamic (non-static) interface, embeds custom user control(s), embeds video or multimedia, uses proprietary or technical approaches such as, but not limited to, Flash or Asynchronous Javascript and XML then “36 CFR 1194.21 Software” standards also apply to fulfill functional performance criteria.

36 CFR 1194.31 – Functional Performance Criteria, applies to all EIT deliverables regardless of delivery method. All EIT deliverables shall use technical standards, regardless of technology, to fulfill the functional performance criteria.

36 CFR 1194.41 – Information Documentation and Support, applies to all documents, reports, as well as help and support services. To ensure that documents and reports fulfill the required “36 CFR 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria”, they shall comply with the technical standard associated with Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications at a minimum. In addition, any help or support provided in this work statement that offer telephone support, such as, but not limited to, a help desk shall have the ability to transmit and receive messages using Text Telephone.

2.0 GOVERNMENT TERMS & DEFINITIONS.

2.1 CFR – Code of Federal Regulations

2.2 CG-REG – Coast Guard Office of Standards Evaluation and Development

2.3 COR – Contracting Officer’s Representative

2.4 DHS Department of Homeland Security

2.5 FAR – Federal Acquisition Regulations

2.6 HSAR - Homeland Security Acquisition Regulation

2.7 NLT – Not Later Than

2.8 PM – Project Manager

2.9 PRS – Performance Requirements Summary

2.10 PWS – Performance Work Statement

2.11 SME – Subject Matter Expert

2.12 TPM – Technical Project Manager

2.13 USCG – United States Coast Guard

3.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED RESOURCES. The Government will provide to the Contractor copies of references applicable to this task order cited in PWS paragraph 6.0, References, at the Kick-Off Meeting.

4.0 CONTRACTOR FURNISHED PROPERTY. The Contractor shall furnish all facilities, materials, equipment and services necessary to fulfill the requirements of this PWS, except for the Government Furnished Property specified in the PWS paragraph 3.0.

5.0 REQUIREMENTS. The Contractor shall support the USCG in the process for developing and maintaining technical standards for adoption in USCG regulations. Specifically, the Contractor shall support the development of international standards for ship design, shipbuilding, ship systems engineering, ship operation, marine environmental protection, and maritime security through direct participation in the process of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical committee TC 8/ Ship design.

The Contractor shall accomplish the following task elements:

5.1. Standards Development: Provide expert technical advice for the development and evaluation of standards for submittal to ISO, particularly the Technical committee TC 8/ Ship design.

5.2. ISO Ballot Management: Serve as a ballot collection manager for ISO votes. This shall include:

a. Dissemination of ISO ballots for comments to ISO Technical Advisory Group (TAG) members and relevant public and industry parties;

b. Collecting and collating ballot comment results;

c. Analyzing and presenting ballot comments results to the voting US ISO representative;

d. Clarifying issues to ISO TAG members and;

e. Resolving conflicts if necessary.

f. Reporting on the accomplishment of items a. – e. above.

5.3. Newsletter Preparation and Other Correspondence: Prepare newsletters and other correspondence to report on the activities of the ISO. The content of the newsletters will serve to augment communication of ISO activities relating to the development of international standards for the maritime industry.

6.0 REFERENCES. References will be made available to the Contractor upon request and as needed to fulfill the requirements of this PWS.

6.1 USCG Commandant Instruction 5420.32(series), “Standards Program for Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection Programs”

6.2 USCG Commandant Instruction 16703.1(series), "Regulatory Project Planning"

6.3 USCG Headquarters Commercial Regulations and Standards Directorate (CG-52) Strategic Business Plan FY 2009 – 2014

6.4 USCG Headquarters Office of Standards Evaluation and Development (CG-REG) Strategic Business Plan FY 2011 - 2015

6.5 USCG Regulatory Development Program (RDP) Mission Management System (MMS)

*Note: PWS 7.0 begins on the next page.

7.0 DELIVERABLES.

The Contractor shall consider items in BOLD as having mandatory due dates.

ISO Ballot Management Report

NLT one (1) month following an applicable ISO ballot event .

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

HSCG23-13-R-MSR053

*Note: PWS 0 begins on the next page.

8.0 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS).

The PRS table below reflects deliverables considered by the USCG to be most important for successful performance of this PWS. This includes the expected standards of performance and Positive and Negative Incentives for not meeting those standards. Government may establish a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) that is not part of this PWS, in order, to monitor PRS items described in the table below.

CONTRACTOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES TO UPDATE AND EXPAND THE CAPABILITIES

OF THE CASUALTY TRACKING AND AUDIT DATABASE, FOR THE

U.S. COAST GUARD OFFICE OF STANDARDS EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT (CG-REG)

Contractor shall be responsible for furnishing prompt responses for informational and clarification requests of submitted reports on an ongoing basis (Task Order 5.0) 100% on time delivery of documents.

All requests acknowledged immediately.

Positive incentives for meeting or exceeding expected standards of performance may result in an above average rating in Contractor’s past performance evaluation at the end of contract performance period.

If a deliverable is late, results will be reflected in Contractor’s past performance evaluation for contract

(PWS 5.0)

Submitted reports shall be professionally written and in a consistent format, with a minimum of typographical errors and misspellings.

Information presented shall be correct and present all findings and recommendations in a clear and logical order using comprehensible language.

Positive incentives for meeting or exceeding the expected standards of performance may result in an above average rating in the Contractor’s past performance evaluation at the end of contract performance period.

Contractor failure to exercise due diligence, evidenced by project delays and incidents of significant rework due to poor planning may result in negative comments in the Contractor's performance evaluation (as verified by the COR).