SOW_FINAL.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

I. BACKGROUND

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has four (4) drums of bituminous coal [approximately 500kg (1100 lb.)] that require air drying, crushing, pulverization, screening, and subsequent spin-riffling into bottles for a renewal coal Standard Reference Material (SRM). New coal material is required for this renewal SRM (SRM 2693a) because all reserve material for the replacement SRM has run out. The renewal coal material comes from a similar source as SRM 2693 (Nominal 0. 5 % S from Line Creek Mine, British Columbia, CA).

II. SCOPE OF WORK

The goal of this project is to package the coal material so that it is ready for delivery to the NIST customer. The intention is to issue the coal material as a NIST SRM, and preparation of a bottled material with negligible heterogeneity (within the inherent limitations of heterogeneity in the processed coal matrix) is an important consideration. The specific objectives of this project require the entire lot of coal material to be air-dried, crushed, pulverized, screened and then spin-riffled into eight (8) equal portions. Several of the eight (8) portions shall be combined and then split (by spin riffling) into sublots that shall be spin-riffled into a minimum of 2500 bottles and not-to-exceed 4500 bottles. The remaining portions that are not bottled shall be placed in separate drums with liner and shall be readied for shipment to NIST. The shipping of the drums, packaged bottles, and requested residual material will be paid for by NIST.

III. SPECIFIC TASKS

· Take one (1) grab sample of approximately 25 g from each of the eight (8) splits and perform duplicate moisture (mass loss at 107 C), sulfur (as received and dry-mass basis), and ash (as received and dry-mass basis) measurements on test portions of each grab sample in accordance with ASTM standard procedures.

· Record the determined ash values to the nearest 0.01 % and the moisture and sulfur values to the nearest 0.001 %.

· Test portions taken for moisture shall be taken at the same time as analytical test portions that need to be corrected to a dry mass basis using that moisture measurement.

· Report the mass of each of the eight (8) splits (before removal of the grab samples) and the measurement data for each grab sample duplicate test portion (8 X 2 = 16 total measurements for each constituent measured), including its initial mass (to the nearest 1 g), to the NIST TPOC. The NIST TPOC will have three (3) business days to review the measurement results to assess if the initial homogenization of the material is acceptable. This assessment will be based on a statistical test for differences between the splits using a hypothesis test done at the 5 % significance level. If the test does not detect differences between the splits, the initial homogenization will be deemed acceptable; otherwise, it will be deemed to be not acceptable.

7. If the NIST TPOC determines that the initial homogenization of the material is not acceptable, NIST may require that the Contractor either:

A. Bottle specific splits or B. Re-blend the material and then repeat the spin riffling, measurements, and reporting stated in TASK 6.

NIST will have three (3) business days to review the new measurement results to assess if the homogenization of the material is acceptable, based on the same type of statistical evaluation previously used. If the NIST TPOC determines that the homogenization of the material is still not acceptable, the Contractor and NIST TPOC shall reach an agreement on the acceptability of bottling of specific splits.

8. After the NIST TPOC has made a determination regarding the acceptability of the homogenization of the material, the Contractor shall identify the splits to be bottled and report the masses of each split (to the nearest 1 g) to the NIST TPOC. The Contractor shall determine if the total mass of the splits is suitable for providing the exact number of bottles specified in the contract. Once the Contractor makes this determination, it must stop all processing of the material and report on this determination of suitability to the NIST TPOC. This report shall include the total mass of material to be bottled, the number of sublots, the number of runs of the spin riffler, the number of bottles in each sublot and run (which shall be the same for each sublot and run), and the estimated average mass that the bottles shall contain.

Processing of the material shall not resume until a written bottle production and measurement plan (hereafter referred to as the “bottling plan”) to produce the bottles and perform measurements for acceptability testing is agreed to between the Contractor and NIST TPOC. The Contactor shall be responsible for writing this bottling plan in consultation with the NIST TPOC. The plan shall conform to the conditions specified in TASK 9. The NIST TPOC will have three (3) business days after receipt of the written bottling plan from the Contractor to approve the written bottling plan or request changes. If the NIST TPOC requests changes to the bottling plan, the Contractor shall have two (2) business days to approve the NIST requested bottling plan or request additional changes. If the Contractor requests additional changes, the Contractor and the NIST TPOC shall agree on a final bottling plan for producing the specified number of bottles within two (2) business days.

Note: The Contractor needs to take precautions such that the label will not be smeared, smudged, or removed by the alcohol wipe of the filled bottle, as specified in TASK 13 below.

This documentation shall include:

i. The constituents to be measured, which shall be moisture (mass loss at 107 C), sulfur (as received and dry-mass basis), and ash (as received and dry-mass basis).

ii. The ASTM standard method(s) that shall be used to perform the measurements.

iii. The nominal mass of the test portion for each constituent.

iv. The number of bottles that shall be removed for measurement (NIST will specify at least 24 and no more than 50, depending on the number of bottles, sublots, and runs) and the sublot, run, and position in that run for each bottle (selected by a random sampling approved by NIST).

v. The number of replicate test portions to be taken from each bottle (NIST will specify at least 2 and no more than 4, depending on the number of bottles, sublots, and runs).

vi. The total number of measurements to be performed for each constituent, which shall be calculated from the number of bottles measured and the number of replicates taken from each bottle (NIST will specify at least 48 and no more than 100, depending on the number of bottles, sublots, and runs).

vii. Assignment of each specific measurement of a test portion to an analytical run and the position in that run (e.g., sublot 4, run 2, bottle 95, replicate 2, sulfur run 2, position 6), as specified by NIST.

viii. A statement regarding whether each analysis is performed in one continuous run or multiple runs and how drift during the analysis is to be monitored and quantified. Ideally, all analyses for a particular analyte should be performed in one continuous run. For homogeneity analyses, the calibration of the instrumentation is not critical; however, controls need to be in place to monitor any instrument drift.

ix. A description of how the Contractor will apply corrections to a dry-basis.

10. After a bottling plan to produce the specified number of bottles has been agreed to and any additional splits (if any) required by that plan have been completed, the Contractor shall separate the material that it will bottle from the material that it will not bottle. The Contractor shall place each of the spin-riffled splits of material that will not be bottled into double-lined bags (each liner must be ≥ 4mm thickness). The Contractor shall secure each liner with zip-ties or another bag closure that minimizes any air within the bag and place the liner in a lined drum (liner must be ≥ 4mm thickness). The coal material shall not be exposed directly to the drum.

Option Line Item 0003: The Offeror shall package the splits of material that will not be bottled using an alternative to the packaging specified in TASK 10, as long as the coal material is packaged in a primary liner of Mylar or plastic that is ≥ 4 mm thickness and the secondary liner is ≥ 4 mm thickness.

An alternative that includes packaging of non-bottled splits as nominal 20 lb. to 30 lb. (10 kg to 15 kg) units in sealed containers shall be considered by NIST to be technically acceptable. Furthermore, an alternative that includes sealing the non-bottled splits under argon inside sealed aluminized bags (e.g., Mylar) is preferable to NIST, however other packaging methods will be considered. Additional costs, if any, for implementation of these alternatives, shall be factored into the fully burdened unit price for CLIN 0003.

The Contractor shall report to the NIST TPOC how the splits that were not bottled were packaged and the net mass of coal material, to the nearest gram, in each of the packaged splits.

A. the number of bottles filled, the number of sublots, the number of runs in each sublot, the number of bottles in each run, and the number of containers of bottles that the Contractor shall ship, and B. all of the measurement data, for each test portion, as specified in the bottling plan.

The NIST TPOC will provide the Contractor with a list of the exact bottles (noted by sublot number, run number, and fill order in the run) that NIST is requesting that the Contractor pull for special shipment. The number of bottles requested for special shipment shall not exceed 300. NIST may request that the bottles be shipped to NIST and another location, as noted in TASK 19.

IV. DELIVERABLES

Please note that if NIST fails to provide material(s) necessary to perform a required task by the contractually-stated timeframes, the deliverable due date may be extended accordingly (without a contract modification) to allow additional time equivalent to the Government delay. In the event of a dispute between the contractor and the NIST TPOC regarding the cause of a delay, the Contracting Officer will provide a written determination as to the accurate deadlines.

A. Initial and air-dried gross mass (TASK 4).

B. Gross sample mass remaining after sieving (TASK 4).

C. Mass of each of the eight (8) spin-riffled splits (TASK 6).

D. Mass loss, sulfur, and ash for test portions taken from grab samples (TASK 6).

E. Mass of packaged splits not bottled (TASK 10).

F. Mass of each empty capped bottle that has been marked with identification (TASK 11).

G. Mass of each capped bottle filled with coal material and net mass of coal in each bottle with its corresponding label identification of sublot number, run number, and order in run (TASKs 13 and 14).

H. Screen test results for four (4) bottles (TASK 16).

I. Mass loss, sulfur, and ash for test portions taken from bottles so that NIST can determine if the material has statistically significant degree of heterogeneity (TASK 17).

V. DELIVERABLE DUE DATES AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

NIST will deliver the coal within 10 business days after award. Delivery of all coal material to NIST shall be 19 weeks after receipt of drums of bituminous coal from NIST.

All work shall take place at the Contractor’s (or subcontractor’s) facility. Any work not performed at the Contractor’s facility must be documented, including identification of the facility and the work performed.

The attached timeline summarizes the deliverable due dates.

VI. STANDARDS FOR ACCEPTANCE OF DELIVERABLES

In addition to the inspection and acceptance terms articulated in 52.212-4, the Government reserves the right to perform such performance tests and evaluations as defined below to verify specified system performance. Such tests and evaluations, if performed, shall be conducted within the environment that the system is to be operated. The Contractor has the right to be present during the tests and evaluations, if performed, at the Contractor’s expense.

Inspection and Acceptance Prior to final acceptance and complete payment by NIST, all of the following requirements shall be met:

Partial payments (up to 3 total payments) are authorized for completion of tasks as accepted by the Government in accordance with the acceptance criteria and established CLIN pricing. If requested by the Contractor, the Government will make partial payments for completing tasks as follows:

1. Partial payment of 20 % of the total award with completion up through TASK 6 (All crushed and pulverized coal has been blended into eight splits and first set of analytical measurements reported to NIST).

2. Additional payment of 20 % of the total award with completion up through TASK 17 (All coal has been bottled but final analytical measurements have not yet been made).

3. Final payment (remaining 60 %) upon final acceptance.

VII. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

As stated in section III, Task1, the Government will provide the following item(s) of Government property to the Contractor.

All property, data, and information provided by the Government in the performance of this contract remain the property of the Government and shall be surrendered to the Government upon completion or termination of this requirement. Likewise, all deliverables generated under this requirement remain the property of the Government.

VIII. DELIVERY

Delivery shall be FOB ORIGIN, and be completed in accordance with the due date stated in Section IV, Deliverables, above.

Delivery Address:

National Institute of Standards and Technology Shipping and Receiving Building 301 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8391

IX. SHIPPING

The Contractor shall refer to TASKS 19, 20, and 21 above for shipping instructions. The Contractor will arrange for pick-up and pay shipping costs.