Production_Oversight_CAAS_SOO_UPDATE_07.22.15.pdf

Advisory and Assistance Services

Manufactured Homes Quality Monitoring

Statement of Objectives (SOO)

Part 1: Overview

FEMA is seeking the Advisory and Assistance Services of a contractor to support its Manufactured

Housing Unit (MHU) Program by providing quality control during the MHU design and manufacturing process. The MHU Program supports FEMA in all legal missions where the MHUs are required which includes providing assistance to disaster survivors by placing them in temporary housing until the survivor is able to transition back to a long term or permanent housing solution.

This contract will support the MHU Program by providing the following services:

1. Review MHU designs providing expert opinion as to the design’s compliance with FEMA’s contract requirements including HUD Standards, FEMA Rugged Based Requirements and

NFPA 501, NFPA 501A and NFPA 13D;

2. Review Residential Fire Sprinkler System designs to ensure that the recommended method of installation does not conflict with and are in compliance with HUD regulations;

3. Review Residential Fire Sprinkler System designs to ensure that the designs are in compliance with NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency) and FEMA requirements;

4. Review FEMA’s Rugged Based MHU Sprinkler system requirements and provide suggestions which could enhance the requirements and/or make the MHU sprinkler system easier to manufacture to help improve current and future solicitations;

5. Perform In-Plant Inspections and Monitoring of the MHU manufacturing process to include

HUD compliance; applicable NFPA standards compliance; and, compliance with FEMA requirements;

6. Review FEMA’s MHU requirements and provide suggestions which could enhance the requirements and/or make the MHUs easier to manufacture to help improve current and future solicitations;

The contractor shall develop a Performance Work Statement (PWS) which will describe how the contractor will perform the required services. The contractor’s efforts shall be independent of the In-Plant

Production Primary Inspection Agencies (IPIAs) and Design-Approval Primary Inspection Agencies

(DAPIAs), other entities who are permitted under HUD Regulations to monitor the manufacturing of

MHUs as well as the manufacturer’s quality process.

Part 2: Purpose

PURPOSE: FEMA is seeking contractors to provide Advisory and Assistance Technical Support to the

Agency to ensure that manufactured homes that FEMA purchases are delivered in compliance with HUD standards; FEMA contract requirements; and NFPA standards. When FEMA receives manufactured homes to be used as manufactured housing units (MHUs) FEMA wants to ensure that the MHUs are

Ready for Deployment (RFD). RFD is the term that is used by FEMA for manufactured homes and pieces of manufactured homes in FEMA’s inventory that are ready to be shipped to a Disaster

Response/Recovery Area of Operation or other legal requirement that FEMA has.

This task includes ensuring that the MHUs are designed and constructed properly so that when they are received and stored by FEMA they will be RFD. A key component of ensuring RFD is to perform In-

Plant Inspections and Monitoring of the manufacturing process and conduct the review of FEMA, HUD and NFPA requirements. The contractor shall not provide direction to anyone as part of this contract;

however, the contractor shall inform FEMA of any concerns identified during the review or inspection process. The Agency desire is having these services will lead to a better end product. FEMA will provide contractors RFD Checklists for which to review compliance.

Part 3: Scope and Mission

This contract will encompass the following phases of the MHU life cycle: Design and Production of

MHUs. During any of these phases, the contractor may be called upon to review designs, production facilities or MHUs in production to ensure that the homes adhere to established industry standards, meet

FEMA requirements, and are in compliance with applicable regulations. The contractor shall provide all labor, materials, tools, and equipment (unless specified as government provided property).

Part 4: Place and Period of Performance

The place of performance shall be at one of the following locations: the contractor’s facility; MHU manufacturing facilities; FEMA’s Manufactured Housing Storage Site (MHSS); or FEMA’s

Manufactured Housing Staging Area (MHSA); or other locations within the continental United States.

FEMA may require the contractor to perform some or all of these tasks simultaneously at multiple locations.

The Period of Performance shall be for one Base Period of 12 months and two (2) 12-month Option

Periods.

Part 5: Background

FEMA provides MHUs under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended (Stafford Act) and related authorities as well as through the Economy Act and other legal authorities. The primary use of MHUs is under the Stafford Act. The Stafford Act authorizes FEMA to provide MHUs acquired by purchase or lease, directly to individuals or households who, because a lack of available housing would be unable to make use of financial assistance.

FEMA agency policy requires (except in the case of a catastrophic disaster) that MHUs used by FEMA are built to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) standards as set forth in 24 CFR

3280 (Manufactured Home Construction Safety Standards, et. seq.).

Additionally, FEMA is required by law to ensure that there are MHUs that meet the Uniform Federal

Access Standards (UFAS) which are the Federal government’s implementation to meet the Architectural

Barriers Act, as amended, (ABA), 42 U.S.C. 4151-4157 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of

1973, (Rehab Act) as amended (29 U.S.C. § 794). The ABA requires that facilities designed, built, altered, or leased with funds supplied by the United States Federal Government are accessible to people with disabilities. The Rehab Act mandates equal access to federal programs and services for people with disabilities. UFAS must be applied during the design, construction, and alteration of buildings and facilities so that Federal and federally-funded facilities are accessible to people with disabilities to the extent required by the ABA. As UFAS is a key requirement for FEMA MHU production the contractor must have an understanding of the UFAS requirements that as implemented in FEMA MHUs.

FEMA also has an internal policy that requires MHUs to include Residential Fire Sprinkler Systems.

FEMA has chosen to implement the Residential Fire Sprinkler Systems by implementing the following

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards:

NFPA 501 – Standard on Manufactured Housing;

NFPA 501A – Standard for Fire Safety Criteria for Manufactured Home Installations, Sites, and

Communities; and, NFPA 13D – Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family

Dwellings and Manufactured Homes.

In addition, FEMA has developed performance requirements to meet FEMA’s operational needs. The operations requirements are found in contracts awarded to manufacture MHUs which include FEMA’s

Rugged Based Requirements.

To effectively execute FEMA’s missions, FEMA seeks to have high quality MHUs ready for deployment when an event occurs. Oversight of the design and production processes will help to ensure FEMA receives high quality MHUs.

Vendors may be required to consult with HUD approved IPIAs and DAPIAs State agencies and other private third party agencies that inspect a manufactured home at various stages of production. Some of the third party agencies also approve the manufacturer's designs to ensure that plans are consistent with

HUD standards. Information regarding the DAPIAs can be found at 24 CFR 3282.361 and IPIAs can be found at 24 CFR 3282.

Part 6: Performance Objectives, Goals and Outcomes

Overall Objectives:

Personnel - The contractor shall provide qualified personnel with the proper skill mix and experience, and the required number of personnel to accomplish the performance objectives.

Materials – The contractor shall provide all necessary supplies, spares, tools, and test equipment, consumables, hardware, software, automatic data processing equipment, documentation, and other applicable properties (Unless otherwise directed by FEMA).

Facilities – No facilities are required in this solicitation.

Organizational processes - The contractor shall provide internal controls, management oversight, and supply support.

Contract Objectives:

The Government is seeking services to:

1. Perform reviews of MHU designs submitted by manufacturers;

2. Develop recommended Checklists and Perform In-Plant Inspections and Monitoring of the manufacturing process;

3. Perform In-Plant Inspections and Monitoring of the manufacturing process to include

HUD compliance, NFPA 13D compliance and FEMA requirements from the contract;

4. Review FEMA’s MHU requirements and provide suggestions which could enhance the requirements and/or make the MHUs easier to manufacture to help improve current and future solicitations.

As part of their proposal the contractor shall provide a Performance Work Statement (PWS) which shall propose how they will perform the design review, monitoring and inspections services for the following:

A) Review MHU designs

The contractor PWS shall propose services to ensure that the design of the manufactured homes meets FEMA’s requirements, applicable regulations and obtain all required certifications.

At a minimum, the contractor shall:

Develop a comprehensive checklist of design review and quality assurance elements to be evaluated for compliance with the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety

Standards and FEMA requirements (including Residential Fire Sprinkler System);

Verify conformance with the standards, regulations and requirements during the design and construction process;

Identify areas of improvement in the requirements of the MHU designs;

Identify potential deficiencies in the MHU designs submitted to FEMA;

Prepare reports of findings (issues, deviations, etc.) and provide reports to the government representative;

Evaluate changes proposed by the manufacturers for their designs and identify where the proposed changes will impact the quality, cost, schedule, and risk for MHUs;

Maintain a log for disputes and unresolved issues;

Attend meetings and generate reports and/or minutes;

Provide technical support (SMEs, etc.); According to the US Government Office of

Personnel Management – “A subject matter expert, or SME, is a "person with bona fide expert knowledge about what it takes to do a particular job.”

Refer all issues of non-compliance to the government representative;

Coordinate with other FEMA personnel to solve compliance issues of the MHU design; and

Review MHU design to ensure compliance with UFAS.

B) Perform In-Plant Inspections and Monitoring of the manufacturing process to include HUD compliance, NFPA 13D compliance and FEMA requirements from the contract and provide review and suggestions for improvement of FEMA’s storage and staging practices;

The contractor PWS shall propose services to ensure that the manufactured home production plant/facility and manufacturing processes are adequate, meet applicable regulations and have obtained all required certifications. Also, the contractor shall provide services to ensure that when in production, the MHU meets all applicable FEMA Rugged

Based Requirements.

Develop uniform monitoring/auditing procedures;

Develop recommended quality monitoring checklists;

Schedule audits;

Conduct audits of manufactured homes while they are in production;

Conduct on-going audits of manufactured home while they are awaiting deployment;

Prepare and analyze in-plant audit reports;

Recommend audit frequency based on quality data;

Ensure that inspections are occurring in accordance with FEMA’s quality procedures and the manufacturer’s Quality Control Plan;

Review and evaluate the MHU factory processes;

Review and evaluate the MHU production line;

Perform inspections of the factory to ensure the manufacturers have adequate quality control;

Identify any issues that could impact the manufacturer capacity of production;

Identify any issues that could lead to quality issues;

Provide recommendations for changes and enhancements;

Carry out inspections and other investigations reporting all results to the COR and other designated government officials;

Monitor compliance with regulations , NFPA 13-D, HUD, and the FEMA Rugged

Based Performance Requirements;

Refer all issues of non-compliance to the government representative;

Evaluate and analyze if the manufacturer is continuously following all provisions and aspects of its approved quality assurance manual;

Evaluate and ensure any and all parts of the manufactured home conform with the

FEMA Rugged Based Performance Requirements;

While in production, evaluate manufactured homes that fail to conform with the design or standard, ensure that the failure to conform is corrected before the manufactured home leaves the manufacturing plant;

Perform inspections in accordance with the offeror’s written procedures;

Ensure the inspections are effective.

C) Review FEMA’s MHU requirements and provide suggestions which could enhance the requirements and/or make the MHU easier to manufacture to help improve current and future solicitations;

The contractor PWS shall propose advisory and assistance services to enhance current requirements to obtain high quality, cost-effective units.

Review FEMA Rugged Performance Based Requirements;

Develop recommendations for new requirements for future use consideration based on findings of monitoring and inspection activities;

Document lessons learned and propose new requirements;

Develop recommendations for new requirements based on new technology;

Review existing storage and installation methods and develop improved requirements to ensure that units will perform as designed and expected;

Monitor the storage and installation of MHUs to ensure compliance with established requirements;

Recommend areas of improvement in the requirements and develop new requirements that will lead to a better, more cost- effective solution;

Research issues, using existing information to the greatest extent possible, involving acceptance or new technologies, products, components, and designs to determine conformance to existing standards; and

Prepare and provide recommendations, draft correspondence, and position papers to improve performance requirements.

Technical objectives:

The contractor PWS shall propose services to accomplish the technical objectives of the project, which are to:

Reduce cost of the units;

Improve the quality of the manufactured homes;

Enhance FEMA requirements;

Propose new requirements for future FEMA procurements;

Recommend areas of improvement;

Perform inspections;

Achieve improved performance, reliability, and reduced cost of the delivered service throughout the life of this effort. FEMA anticipates a potential cost reduction after the base year.

Ensure work is performed without impacting FEMA milestones;

Develop and document procedures for managing the contract including a Quality Control

Plan;

Recommend process improvements; and

Ensure manufacturers meet or exceed FEMA Rugged Based Requirements.

Program objectives:

The contractor PWS shall propose advisory and assistance services to accomplish the program objectives of the project to include:

Assisting FEMA’s goal of providing high quality manufactured homes to disaster survivors;

Assisting FEMA’s goal of ensuring that manufacturers meet the contract requirements;

Assisting FEMA with monitoring contract quality;

Reducing manufacturing and production cost; and, Improving performance.

Part 7: Constraints

The services identified in this SOO will adhere to the rules, regulations, laws, standards and conventions identified by FEMA as well as within the Federal Government. Constraints may include but are not limited to those listed below:

HUD generally implements the monitoring portion of its program through two sets of regulations: (1)

24 CFR 3280, Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards (the Standards) which is a nationally preemptive set of standards for the design and construction of these homes (commonly known as HUD Code); and (2) 24 CFR 3282, Manufactured Housing Procedural and Enforcement

Regulations (the Regulations), which generally govern the enforcement of the HUD Code.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is the standards development organization which produces the National Fire Codes and the National Electric Code among others.

NFPA 501: Standard on Manufactured Housing

NFPA 501A: Standard for Fire Safety Criteria for Manufactured Home Installations, Sites, and

Communities;

NFPA 13D: Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family

Dwellings and Manufactured Homes are also applicable

NFPA 70: National Electrical Code ®

Due to the nature of the requirement, the contractor shall expect changes in the industry that may occur during the course of performance, such as, but not limited to:

The quality, number of plants, and production totals of manufactured homes;

The number of design packages and drawings generated;

The type and numbers of post-design or post-production problems experienced in the field;

The frequency and extent of natural disasters;

Problems with the quality control operations, which could require increased or shifted monitoring and audits;

Special factory, retailer, transport, installation, or site inspection issues and;

New regulations or statutory requirements.

Part 8: Additional Details

Award Overview

FEMA anticipates that this solicitation will result in a single award Requirements Type Contract for the services required for Manufacturing Oversight. FEMA will issue task orders under these contracts as required to meet the needs of the Agency’s disaster response/recovery operations. There is no minimum guarantee under this contract.

Part 9: Quality Assurance Surveillance Plans (QASP)

Offerors shall include their Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) as part of their proposal.

These plans shall focus specifically on two areas:

a. How the contractor will ensure quality of design and production in the MHU manufacturing processes and;

b. How the contractor will ensure quality in the level of services they are providing.

Part 10: Organizational and Personal Conflicts of Interest (OCI / PCI) Plan

Contractors shall provide a written code of business ethics and conduct applicable to Contractor personnel working on this advisory and assistance services contract to:

Prohibit contractor personnel from participating in a government contract in which they have a personal conflict of interest;

Require contractor personnel to avoid the appearance of loss of impartiality in performing contracted duties for FEMA;

Require contractor personnel to disclose personal conflicts of interest to their employer prior to beginning work on this contract;

Require the contractor to review and address any personal conflicts of interest its employees might have before assigning them to deliver contracted services;

Prohibit contractor personnel from using non-public government information obtained while performing work under the contract for personal gain;

Prohibit contractor employees providing procurement support services from having future employment contact involving a bidder in an ongoing procurement;

Impose limits on the ability of contractor organization and their employees on accepting gifts

(defined as almost anything of monetary value, such as cash, meals, trips, or services) in connection with contracted duties; and

Prohibit misuse of FEMA contract duties to provide preferential treatment to a private interest.

Report any contractor personnel conflict of interest violations to the applicable contracting officer or contracting officer’s representative as soon they are identified.

Maintain effective oversight to verify compliance with personal conflict of interest safeguards, and have procedures in place to screen for potential conflicts of interest for all employees in a position to make or materially influence findings, recommendations, and decisions regarding FEMA contracts and other advisory and assistance functions. This screening can be done on a task-by-task basis or on an annual basis, such as a financial disclosure statement.

Part 11: Non-personal Services

a. In performance of this contract, the contractor will provide services as required by program offices to support management of their overall mission. This will be based upon the task order's performance work statement for the specific effort. Orders will be formally issued to the contract awardee as opposed to individual contractor awardee employees.

b. The services required under the contract constitute professional and management services within the definition provided by FAR 37.201. Under this contract, the Government will obtain professional services, which are essential to the Federal Emergency Management Agency mission but not otherwise available within Federal Emergency Management Agency.

c. The Government will neither supervise contract employees nor control the method by which the contractor performs the required tasks. Under no circumstances shall the Government assign tasks to, or prepare work schedules for, individual contract employees. It shall be the responsibility of the contractor to manage their employees and to guard against any actions that are of the nature of personal services, or give the perception of personal services (See FAR 37.104). If the contractor feels that any actions constitute, or are perceived to constitute personal services, it shall be the contractor’s further responsibility to notify the Contracting Officer immediately.

d. These services shall not be used to perform work of a policy/ decision making or management nature.

All decisions relative to programs supported by the contractor will be the sole responsibility of the

Government.

Certifications

All employees conducting system analysis and compliance assurance shall possess and maintain current professional certifications in accordance with ASTM E-541 during the execution of this contract.

All compliance assurance auditors are to be certified as quality auditors by the American Society of

Quality (ASQ) or equivalent.