RFI for CIDER_FINAL.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Crash Investigation & Data Event Recovery Software

1.0 Description

1.1 The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Office of Research and Engineering’s Vehicle Recorder Division (RE-40) is seeking information on how an interested party could provide software solutions to replace its existing Crash Investigation & Data Event Recovery (CIDER) software with a commercial off-the-shelf product. Specifically, NTSB RE-40 is interested in finding a product that can meet its needs with only limited customizations. The agency also will need to migrate all the data and files from its legacy system to the new system.

1.2 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the NTSB is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.

Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the System for Award Management (www.sam.gov) webpage. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

BACKGROUND:

The NTSB is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in other modes of transportation—railroad, transit, highway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space.

We determine the probable cause of the accidents and crashes we investigate, and issue safety recommendations aimed at preventing future occurrences of accidents.

The Office of Research and Engineering is an investigative office providing scientific and technical expertise for NTSB accident investigations in all modes of transportation.

The office includes four divisions, and the Vehicle Recorder Division is one of them.

The Vehicle Recorder Division extracts, formats, and analyzes data from aircraft flight data recorders (FDR) and cockpit voice recorders (CVR), and from recorders installed in locomotives, large ships, and some highway vehicles. Engineers also examine recorded electronic audio and video information captured by aircraft, ship, train, and support communication systems, as well as perform forensic examination and extract information from personal electronic devices and other computer hardware.

http://www.sam.gov/

1.3 NTSB is conducting market research through this RFI to capture information from the vendor community on the marketplace of potential solutions. This RFI seeks input regarding:

a. Industry’s general comments on the NTSB’s business needs and possible solutions including proposals of alternate methods of meeting business needs;

b. Industry’s capability to perform the work (including perceived risks and level of customization required);

c. Industry’s estimate of the approximate cost to acquire and implement the proposed solution;

d. Industry’s ability to demonstrate a proposed solution; and,

e. Industry’s ability to propose innovative strategies for meeting NTSB’s needs, including multi-vendor collaborative solutions, solutions that leverage open source tools, and enhancements that will bring value.

The desired outcomes of this RFI are for NTSB to:

a. Learn more about what needs can and cannot be met with existing market offerings;

b. Determine the approximate cost of acquiring, implementing, and maintaining the solution(s);

c. Learn about the technology and staff resources that may be required to implement and support the solution; and,

d. Inform future budget planning.

2.0 Statement of Objectives

RE-40 requires a Commercial Off-The-Shell (COTS) data readout, recovery and analysis tool for Flight Data Recorders (FDR) and other modal recorders and electronic devices.

The proposed solution should be Software as a Service (SaaS) or solution hosted in an environment that meets the FedRamp authorization.

Scope of Work

1. The solution shall include a FDR readout and data processing module that imports raw binary data downloaded from a FDR in both flight recorder formats ARINC-717 and ARINC-767 which include but not limited to unpacked binary, packed binary, raw bit stream, Honeywell DLU/FDF/SDF, raw 767 format, and GE RDF.

2. The solution shall allow bit level recovery and editing of FDR data and comprehensive control of engineering unit conversion.

3. The solution shall allow customizable plotting and listing of parameter data based on the engineering data conversions and exporting and printing the data in both plots and tabular data views.

4. The solution shall provide a Graphic User Interface (GUI) to allow the user to correlate recorder parameter definitions to aircraft manufacturer and operator documentation and store the correlation information in a server system for future reuse.

5. The solution shall also store the raw data files, the data recovery and analysis information as well as the recorder and the incident information in a file/data storage system to operate in a collaborative multi-user environment. Data shall be stored on a server that allows simultaneous access by multiple clients through a secured network.

6. The solution shall have the capability to interpret and import and export Flight Recorder Electronic Documentation (FRED) files in ARINC-647 and ARINC_647A- 1 formats.

7. The solution shall include a CSV (comma separated values) File Import Module that provides the capability to import one or multiple CSV data files from electronic devices and convert them into ARINC-767 data format to allow data analysis and plotting.

8. The solution shall include a Tape Recovery Module that recovers FDR data directly from various models of magnetic tape FDRs. The program shall consist of control and processing functions as follows:

a. The direct acquisition of tape based analog signals directly into the software.

This direct import shall be controllable through multiple GUI interfaces and shall provide the operator with near-real-time feedback, both graphical and tabular, on the state of the acquisition process.

b. The program shall be capable of decoding all the magnetic tape encoding schemes typically found in tape based FDR systems such as Harvard-bi-phase and GCR tape formats.

c. The program shall allow waveform file viewing and editing.

9. The solution shall include an Animation Module that provides means to:

a. Create a track file from within the system using FDR frame and/or CSV data.

b. Visualize and adjust the track file.

c. Output the track file in a format that can be easily plotted/overlaid on Google

Earth or can be used to drive 3rd party animation programs such as X-Plane and Appareo-Vision.

10. The solution shall include an Image Processing Module that provides an automated means of acquiring parametric data directly from accident cockpit images.

11. The solution shall include a Chip Level Recovery Module that provides a flexible GUI interface to permit the import of binary chip image data directly into the system for further processing.

12. The solution shall include a module that facilitates the processing and correlation of multi-source data associated with train recorders, train motion dynamics, and rail operations.

13. The solution shall implement user authentication and access control to ensure security of the system and the data.

14. The solution shall afford version control for all the data and analysis pertinent to the incident investigation.

15. The solution shall allow future data mining of the data stored in the system, such as searching across multiple events to determine if a specified set of conditions or patterns occurred.

16. The solution shall provide offline access to core functionalities and shall allow the user to compare the differences and sync all updates to ensure consistency across platforms upon re-establishing connectivity to the server system.

The solution shall also include migration of all legacy data and files from NTSB’s current CIDER application to the solution’s own data storage system.

Price is obviously an issue with any customer. We anticipate a small user base (approximately 15-20 people). We would like to understand your pricing model (per user/per case, etc.). Additionally, we would like to understand what annual ongoing expenses will be incurred in future years including customization, maintenance or licenses.

As part of this effort, the NTSB requires that the contractor shall:

• Identify project scope/plan, requirements (functional and nonfunctional), and risks.

• Deliver a working architecture that mitigates the top risks and fulfills the identified requirements.

• Coordinate and validate the collected requirements with key NTSB stakeholders.

• Incrementally/iteratively fill in the architecture with production-ready code produced by analyzing, designing, implementing, and testing the functional requirements.

• Deliver the application into the production operating environment.

• Train Office of the Chief Information Officer, and other NTSB staff, on how to use the application; and

• Develop test cases and material for user-acceptance testing.

The proposed applications shall support the government’s obligation to provide accessible technologies to its citizens with disabilities as required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974, and its state law counterparts.

3.0 Responses

3.1 Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI.

3.2 Written responses in a PDF compatible format are due no later than July 9, 2025.

Responses shall be submitted via e-mail only to bryan.moy@ntsb.gov. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

3.3. Section 1 of the response shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following as a minimum:

3.3.1. Organization Name, mailing address, physical address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact.

3.3.2. Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements.

3.3.3. Business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business), GSA schedule contract number if applicable, based upon North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 513210 or 511210 Software Publishers. Please refer to Federal mailto:bryan.moy@ntsb.gov

Acquisition Regulation FAR 19 for additional detailed information on Small Business Size Standards.

There is no page limit for Section 1 of the response above, and the number of pages in Section 1 shall not be included in the 10-page limitation below. The 10-page limitation applies only to Section 2 of the response.

3.4 Section 2 of the response shall answer the question below and shall be limited to 10 pages:

a. Within the Section 2.0 Statement of Objectives, is there any information that is not clear, or could otherwise be improved upon in order to perform the requirements of the contract to industry standards?

4.0 Questions

Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to the Contract Specialist at bryan.moy@ntsb.gov. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted.

Questions will be answered by posting answers to the selected government point of entry; accordingly, questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information.

The Government does not guarantee that questions received after July 3, 2025 at 4:00 PM/ET will be answered.

5.0 Summary

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to identify parties that can provide new case management software that meets the needs of the NTSB. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. NTSB has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

http://www.arnet.gov/far/current/html/FARTOCP19.html mailto:bryan.moy@ntsb.gov