SOO_for_Standard_Floorplan_Design.pdf

Standard Floorplan Design

Statement of Objectives

Requirement Type

FEMA understands that there are different approaches to meeting its requirements. In order to ensure that FEMA gets the most appropriate solution to this requirement the agency will allow the contractor to determine the best approach to meeting FEMA’s requirements. SOOs require that the contractor propose their approach to meeting the agency’s requirements by offering a proposal to develop a Performance

Work Statement (PWS) identifying how the contractor shall meet the government’s requirements through the contractor’s approach to the work. It also allows the contractor to propose tasks that the contractor deems relevant to performing the work. Integral to the PWS is a work schedule, list of deliverables; and method to measure the contractor’s performance in meeting the government’s requirements. As part of this SOO, the contractor is responsible for all of these elements.

Background

FEMA uses homes manufactured under 24 CRF 3280, the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety

Standards (the Standards) to house survivors after disasters and other activities permitted under the

Economy Act. In the spring of 2015, FEMA conducted an inventory of Manufactured Housing Units

(MHU) in the agency’s inventory and discovered that the agency had more than 80 different floor plans.

The large number of floor plans causes issues for the agency.

The agency has four (4) basic MHU types which are based on the number of bedrooms:

3 bedroom, 1¾ baths with dimensions of 60 feet by 14 feet;

2 bedroom, 1 bath with dimensions left up to the manufacturer;

1 bedroom, 1 bath with dimensions left up to the manufacturer; and, 1 bedroom, 1 bath “Express” with dimensions of 8 ½ feet by 48 feet.

In addition to the basic MHU types, FEMA procures MHUs in two accessibility variants which are the

Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) and what FEMA calls standard (non-UFAS) MHUs which have some accessibility accommodations but do not fully meet UFAS requirements.

In addition, FEMA provides MHUs to all areas within the contiguous United States. Historically, in order to provide for the variations in weather conditions, FEMA has procured what the agency calls northern and southern MHUs. FEMA northern MHUs meet the thermal requirements in the Standards for in subpart F –Thermal Protection Uo value zone 3. FEMA southern MHUs meet the thermal requirements in the Standards for in subpart F –Thermal Protection Uo value zone 2. In an attempt to eventually reduce the number of MHU types in the agency’s inventory, in 2014 FEMA requested that

MHU production contractors offer what FEMA has termed “CONUS” MHUs. The intent of a FEMA

CONUS MHU is to have an MHU that can be deployed to any location within the contiguous United

States.

While some of FEMA’s decisions have led to an increase in the total number of MHU types, the biggest contributing factor is that FEMA allows each MHU manufacturer to use their own company’s floor plan.

Multiple MHU contractors per contract as well as a number of generations of contracts (2009, 2012 and

2014) have led to a wide variety of floor plans.

The variety of floor plans effects operations and how disaster survivors perceive the differences between

MHUs. Operational effects include variation in installation requirements, difficulty in standardizing

FEMA group site (purpose built manufactured home parks for disaster survivors) design with the location of utility connections and different performance of HVAC systems. From the disaster survivors perspective, occupants have expressed concern regarding anything from the kitchen layout to bedroom size when compared to the MHU that their neighbor received.

Contract Goal

The goal of this contract is to have standardized floor plans and utility connection layouts for each of the four basic MHU types. Further FEMA would like to ensure that the floor plans have a variant that meets applicable UFAS requirements and examines issues related to the production of CONUS MHUs. If possible, FEMA would prefer to procure CONUS units exclusively. If all of these requirements are met

FEMA will, in the future, limit the number of MHU types to eight (8).

Additional goals include ensuring that the layout is easy to build, allowing all potential manufactured home producers equal opportunity to propose and win future MHU production contracts; examining issues related to HVAC, energy usage and energy efficiency ; MHU durability for storage and transportation; MHU functionality; and, equipping all MHUs with residential fire sprinkler systems.

There are additional requirements defined in the Standards and FEMA’s most recent solicitation for

MHU production solicited in 2014 with an award made in late September 2014.

FEMA is not looking for this contract to produce specification such as those which would be called

"MIL-STD" or "MIL-SPEC." According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), military specifications "describe the physical and/or operational characteristics of a product", while military standards "detail the processes and materials to be used to make the product." The GAO acknowledges, however, that the terms are often used interchangeably. FEMA is looking for requirements for future

MHU procurements.

PERIOD AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: The period of performance is for 18 to 24 months after the contract is awarded. The place of performance will be at the contractor’s facility.

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 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:

Review FEMA’s current and historic requirements to understand FEMA’s needs for

MHUs to house disaster survivors;

Work collaboratively with the manufactured home industry to develop standardized floor plans, utility connections and other requirements for future FEMA MHU procurements;

Review and incorporate, as prudent, recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of FEMA’s MHUs;

Review and incorporate, as prudent, recommendations to improve the manufacturability of FEMA MHUs with an eye toward allowing manufactured home producers to provide better MHUs and produce them more easily;

Provide FEMA with a draft requirements package for FEMA’s final review and approval that will allow FEMA to clearly convey requirements for future MHU procurements; and

Provide FEMA with briefing material explaining the requirements as well as the benefits to the agency, disaster survivors and the manufactured home industry.

Contract Effort and Requirements

FEMA does not anticipate that a contractor will work full time on these tasks. However, FEMA does anticipate that this effort will involve not just the contractor but will involve Subject Matter Experts

(SMEs) who are noted for their knowledge and practical experience in the manufactured home industry as defined by the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 and regulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and codified in the

Standards. The contractor shall not form a Federal Advisory Committee as defined in the Federal

Advisory Committee Act (FACA) Public Law PL 92–463, 6 October 1972. Any meeting held with the

SMEs shall be for purposes of the contractor gathering information similar to the government conducting market research and shall not be for the purpose of advising the government. All SMEs working as part of this contract shall be informed and reminded that they are not providing the government with suggestions or recommendations that will lead to the development of policy and government regulations.

The contractor and SMEs who work on this contract shall:

Have extensive experience in working with the manufactured home industry including in the design, production, operation or research areas;

Have significant experience in overseeing designs that are in compliance with the Standards;

Have developed requirements for manufactured homes that are in compliance with the Standards;

The contractor shall:

Have significant experience in preparing material for publication;

Have experience and knowledge of the manufactured home industry so that they can bring together a group of subject matter experts to support the design effort;

Demonstrate how they are either not currently working for any manufacturers in the manufactured home industry or how they would be able to avoid personal and organizational conflicts of interest in assisting FEMA with this project;

Be willing to not participate in any capacity in FEMA’s next round of MHU procurement which will replace the contract awarded in September 2014;

Have experience working with government agencies regarding manufactured homes (e.g. FEMA, Department of Housing and Urban Development; Department of Energy);

Can clearly demonstrate an understanding of the differences between FEMA’s use of manufactured homes and the commercial use of manufactured homes; and, Provide the government with a Performance Work Statement and Quality Assurance Plan that will meet the requirements of this SOO.

Glossary

Statement of Work (SOW) and Performance Work Statement (PWS) Listing

Statement of Work - The portion of a contract which establishes and defines all non-specification requirements for contractor's efforts either directly or with the use of specific cited documents.

Performance Work Statement - A statement of work for performance-based acquisitions that describes the required results in clear, specific and objective terms with measurable outcomes.

Statement of Objectives - A government-prepared document incorporated into the solicitation that states the overall performance objectives. It is used in solicitations when the Government intends to provide the maximum flexibility to each offeror to propose an innovative approach. That portion of a contract that establishes a broad description of the government’s required performance objectives.

Quality Assurance Plan – Describes the strategy and methods the contractor will deploy to ensure that the contract is being managed, developed and deployed in a sound, reasonable way and that the deliverables are of acceptable quality before they are delivered to the government.