RFI_TTHU Lifecycle Management System.pdf

Request for Information

Transportable Temporary Housing Unit (TTHU)

Lifecycle Management System

Federal Emergency Management Agency Logistics Management Directorate

May 05, 2020

1 Synopsis The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Logistics Management Directorate (LMD) is conducting market research on available solutions that will provide efficient, transparent, and flexible logistics capabilities required for improved lifecycle management of the Transportable Temporary Housing Units (TTHU) that are provided to the eligible disaster survivors. As part of the research, FEMA is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to gather vendor information pertaining to availability of existing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software to address the lifecycle management of TTHUs. FEMA is reaching out to industry to identify product offerings that may support the agency in achieving its modernization objective.

Section 4: Requirements for the TTHU Lifecycle Management System, provides the solution functionality being sought.

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 10.002(b)(2)(i) this notice is issued for the purpose of market research. This request is for planning purposes only, and does not constitute a solicitation or an indication the government will contract for the items contained in this notice. This notice is not to be construed as an acquisition Request for Proposal (RFP), nor is any commitment on the part of the government to award a contract implied, nor does the government intend to pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. The government does not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with submission of the information being requested or reimburse expenses incurred to interested parties for responses to this notice. Any response received will not be used as a proposal. FEMA is not, at this time, seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.

2 Background FEMA is authorized under Section 408 of the Stafford Act1, to provide financial and direct assistance for disaster-caused housing needs not covered by insurance or provided by any other source. Direct Temporary Housing Assistance (DTHA) provides temporary housing units to eligible disaster survivors, which may be provided in the form of TTHUs. These include Manufactured Housing Units (MHUs) and Travel Trailers (TTs).

FEMA’s mission to provide TTHUs requires the ability to track the lifecycle of the TTHUs which includes the procurement of units, storage, staging, installation, maintenance, deactivation, and disposition of units. The Logistics Operations Division (LOD) within the LMD is responsible for handling all lifecycle management activities.

Throughout the lifecycle, multiple teams of people are responsible for inspecting and maintaining the unit to ensure operational readiness. Currently, these functions are primarily executed using manual data entry via Microsoft Excel documents and/or hand-written forms.

1 Stafford Act § 408, 42 U.S.C. § 5174.

Any software that is currently deployed provides limited functionality that does not meet the complex logistical operations required to maintain TTHUs.

As each team in the lifecycle conducts their duties, data is produced about the state of the TTHUs. FEMA needs the ability to utilize TTHU data to identify trends in cost, defects, and work associated with units to improve decision-making regarding mission readiness and execution. For successful TTHU mission support, LOD requires lifecycle management capabilities that will help minimize delays, reduce duplication, improve communication, and increase transparency across the TTHU lifecycle.

3 Scope In the context of market research, FEMA is requesting information about the availability of COTS solutions that will provide FEMA better lifecycle management capabilities and close the capability gaps that cause delays in the provision of TTHUs to disaster survivors. The primary focus of the solutions should be on improving FEMA’s ability to inspect and maintain units, manage work orders (WOs), and analyze data generated throughout the lifecycle. The solutions should also allow for FEMA personnel and contractors to be able to perform tasks more easily, quickly, accurately, and securely through a digitized system.

Be advised that these responses will be utilized by FEMA to gain an understanding of the products, capabilities and options available within the market. No feedback will be provided to vendors on their individual responses to this notice.

4 Requirements for the TTHU Lifecycle Management System The LMD conducted a research effort that discovered the following gaps in capabilities needed to support the TTHU mission:

• Lack of standardized processes for managing, capturing, and retrieving data

• Need for digital transformation of TTHU activities to eliminate manual data management

• Lack of centralized data repository that stores historical data for units and WOs

• Lack of integration with other systems related to the TTHU lifecycle

• Lack of data parameters and metrics for informed decision making about mission(s)

To mitigate above gaps, the LMD is seeking solutions that can satisfy below required capabilities for the TTHU Lifecycle Management System.

Capability Description

Work Offline The solution shall provide field personnel with the ability to complete or log inspection, installation, and maintenance work while offline.

This will include the ability to perform guided inspections, take notes, fill out required forms, take and store images, and any other action required while working in a disaster area. Any information entered into the system while offline shall be stored on the device until it regains connection and shall be synchronized with the server.

View Unit Information

The solution shall provide a single source for unit information— including data from previous disaster missions—to create a unified set of TTHU data for FEMA. It shall provide the ability to track and view unit details (e.g. type, manufacturer, etc.), location, and history throughout each stage of the unit lifecycle. This will include tracking of units through procurement/manufacturing, storage, staging, installation, occupancy and maintenance, deactivation, and disposition.

Inspect Units

The solution shall provide FEMA and contractor personnel with the ability to conduct unit inspections and track the condition of each unit. Throughout the TTHU lifecycle, FEMA conducts different types of inspections, each of which will have to be covered by the system, to identify any issues with the unit and conduct repairs if needed.

Inspect Installation Sites

The solution shall provide the ability to inspect sites to determine if it is feasible to install a TTHU. When an applicant is approved to receive a TTHU, an inspector must visit the proposed installation location and identify any impediments for transporting in and out of the location, placing, and installing the TTHU. This includes verifying that all utilities (i.e. electric, water, sewer, and gas) are in working order. The system shall allow the inspector to complete this process by guiding them through the inspection process.

Dispatch Units

The solution shall integrate with the existing/legacy systems to manage the dispatch of units. As the logistics system for transportation, Logistics Supply Chain Management System (LSCMS) manages all supply chain and unit distribution requests.

Sunflower Asset Management System (SAMS) is responsible for managing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inventory. The system will need to integrate with each system to provide access to transport and inventory management data.

Install Units

The solution shall provide the ability to track the installation process so FEMA can manage and track installation WOs. For each TTHU installation, a WO is generated by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and issued to the installation contractor for them to execute. The solution shall allow contractors to log the work they complete each day.

Conduct Repairs

The solution shall manage the repair and maintenance work throughout the TTHU lifecycle. The system shall also allow repair technicians to log work completed on a unit. This includes the ability to track what actions have been taken and materials used, along with attaching photos or videos of the repair to verify completion and assist with any future work needed.

Dispose of Units

The solution shall track the disposition of units that have been deactivated and decommissioned. The solution shall track the sale or donation of units to ensure that units are no longer tracked as a DHS asset.

Analyze Data

The solution shall provide the ability to analyze data to improve decision-making. The solution shall allow FEMA analysts to cross-reference issues found throughout the lifecycle with the manufacturer, location, repair, and other available TTHU data to determine if the issues are abnormal or part of a trend. In addition, the solution shall provide flexible reporting capabilities so the users can create shareable reports and make them accessible to other users that have been invited to view them.

View Contractor Information

The solution shall track contractor data as it relates to work done on TTHUs. The solution shall provide a single repository for FEMA to track contractor performance to improve decision-making on future contract awards.

Integrate with FEMA Systems and Migrate Historical Data

The solution shall become a point of entry and reservoir for TTHU-related data. Therefore, the solution shall integrate and/or feed data to both future and legacy FEMA systems to minimize the need for data reentry.

5 Specific Questions

1. Please provide following company profile information:

a. Point of Contact Name

b. Address

c. Telephone Number

d. Email Address

e. Company’s Business Size

f. Contract Vehicles

2. Please identify the software products and the specifications of those products that your company believe would meet FEMA’s needs listed in Section 4.

3. Regarding functionality:

a. Per the capabilities listed in Section 4, please indicate if the product offers functionalities to satisfy them. If Yes, please explain for each capability.

b. Can the product be natively deployed on mobile devices? Please explain.

c. What offline capabilities does the product provide? Does it provide a local database or storage?

d. Does the product provide both Android and iOS deployment capabilities? Please explain.

e. What out-of-the-box and customizable reporting capabilities does the product provide?

f. Does the product provide barcode and Quick Response (QR) scanning capabilities? Please explain.

g. Does the product have a Role-based Access Control (RBAC) system integrated into the platform? Please explain.

4. Regarding architectural compliance:

a. Has the product been integrated with other DHS or FEMA architectures? Please explain.

b. Does the platform provide a cloud solution to deploy application layer? Please explain.

5. Regarding security:

a. Is the product Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) compliant? If so, at what impact level is it authorized? (e.g. high, moderate, etc.)

b. How does the product protect from introducing vulnerabilities to an existing security infrastructure?

c. How does the product manage instances requiring use both behind and in-front of a firewall?

6. Regarding integration/interoperability:

a. How does the product integrate with other COTS solutions?

b. Does the product integrate with other common architecture tools (e.g. Amazon

Web Services, Azure, etc.)? Please explain.

7. Regarding performance:

a. Are there any known issues related to memory leaks or excessive demands on Central Processing Unit (CPU)? Please explain.

8. Regarding scalability:

a. Are there any current limitations to the number of users or processing that the platform can handle? Please explain.

b. How does your company handle requests to modify or extend platform to meet client demands?

9. Regarding reliability, maintenance, and availability:

a. Does the product have metrics to prove reliability in a deployed environment?

Please explain.

b. What do you consider an acceptable minimal downtime?

10. Regarding vendor support:

a. What is your company’s availability for service and support?

b. What is your company’s availability for training?

c. Is your company able to supply references or past performances with similar government agencies? Please explain.

11. Regarding 508 compliance:

a. Does your company have compliance documentation for accessibility standards?

Please explain.

6 RFI Response Instructions

6.1 Response Format Requested

Your answers must be provided in narrative or tabular format.

Please answer the questions in Section 5 above. As applicable, provide any additional information on products that your company provides along with a brief description of the approach your organization would take in providing the products contemplated in this RFI.

Responses are to be a maximum of 10 pages.

The responses to this RFI will be reviewed by staff from the FEMA LMD Integrated Project Team (IPT) and potentially used to develop requirements for future acquisitions. After reviewing responses to this RFI, it is at FEMA’s discretion to receive demos from all, some, or none of the responders for the purpose of market research.

6.2 Information for the Response

The release of this RFI does not guarantee that the government will complete an acquisition. This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation for bids, proposals, or quotes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the government to issue a request for proposal/quote or award of a contract as a result of this request. This announcement is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a Request for Quote (RFQ). The government will not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with information submitted in response to this request.

Small and 8(a) businesses are strongly encouraged to provide responses to this RFI, in order to assist FEMA in determining the potential levels of interest, competition, and technical capability within the Small Business community.

6.3 How to Deliver the Response

Response packages can be sent by email to Michael Dingle at Michael.Dingle@fema.dhs.gov.

Response Due Date: Responses should be submitted no later than 5:00 PM EST, June 22, 2020.