Geotechnical NCST Investigation Co-Lead Support Services

Amendment 0001: The purpose of this amendment is to change the name and address of the university discussed in the notice of intent to sole source. No other changes to the notice are made. The applicable name and address are changed to the following:

University of Illinois
506 S. Wright St.
Urbana, Illinois 61801-3620 U.S.

This is the same entity originally contemplated; the contractor simply uses a different Unique Identity ID, which has slightly different name and address information, as now provided above, than was known when the notice was initially posted. 

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NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE
Geotechnical NCST Investigation Co-Lead Support Services

Announcement Type: Special Notice
Announcement Number: NIST-NOI-22-01694
PSC Code: R425
Subject: Geotechnical NCST Investigation Support Services
 

Introduction
This is a notice of intent, not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued and quotations will not be requested.

Purpose
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to negotiate a firm-fixed priced purchase order on a sole source basis with the University of Illinois located at 506 S. Wright Street, Champaign, IL, 61801-3620. The purchase order will be for geotechnical support services pertaining to the National Construction Safety Team Act investigation of the Champlain Towers Building Collapse in Surfside, Florida. The purchase order will be for a base period from date of award through September 30, 2023 followed by six subsequent six-month option periods.

Authority
This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of FAR Subpart 13.501 allowing the Contracting Officer (CO) to solicit from one source. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541715 – Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) with a size standard of 1,000 Employees.

Background and Description
The National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act (“Act”), Pub. L. 107-231, codified at 15 U.S.C. 7301 et seq., was enacted to provide for the establishment of investigative teams (“Teams”) to assess building performance and emergency response and evacuation procedures in the wake of any building failure that has resulted in substantial loss of life or that posed significant potential for substantial loss of life. The purpose of investigations by Teams is to improve the safety and structural integrity of buildings in the United States. As stated in the statute, a Team shall (1) establish the likely technical cause or causes of the building failure; (2) evaluate the technical aspects of evacuation and emergency response procedures; (3) recommend, as necessary, specific improvements to building standards, codes, and practices based on the findings made pursuant to (1) and (2); and (4) recommend any research and other appropriate actions needed to improve the structural safety of buildings, and improve evacuation and emergency response procedures, based on the findings of the investigation. In addition, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has promulgated regulations implementing the Act. The regulations are found at 15 CFR part 270.

NIST sent a preliminary reconnaissance team to collect information and data related to the collapse of the Champlain Towers South Condominium in Surfside, FL that occurred on June 24, 2021. Based on the recommendations of the preliminary reconnaissance team and evaluation of the criteria listed in the regulations implementing the Act, specifically in 15 CFR § 270.102, on June 30, 2021, the Director of the NIST, United States Department of Commerce, established a Team to study the collapse of the Champlain Towers South (CTS) Condominium in Surfside, FL. The Team may include members who are Federal employees and members who are not Federal employees. Team members who are Federal employees are governed by the Federal conflict of interest laws. Team members who are not Federal employees will be Federal government contractors.

The purpose of this requirement is to obtain contractor support services to co-lead the Geotechnical Project of the NCST investigation into the collapse of the Champlain Towers South building that occurred in Surfside, Florida and participate in analysis and report writing for the investigation. The contractor shall support the NCST Team in assessing the geotechnical, foundation, soil, and groundwater conditions, as well as the interaction(s) between these features of the Champlain Towers South building by providing technical input and leadership support in understanding the building’s design, construction, permitting, code adherence, site conditions, and renovations and maintenance. 
 

Sole Source Determination
The sole source determination is based on the following:
 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Engineering Laboratory (EL) Materials and Structural Systems Division (MSSD), under the authority of the National Construction Safety Team Act (NCSTA), is conducting an investigation of the June 24, 2021 partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South (CTS) condominium building in Surfside, FL – one of the worst life-taking structural disasters in US history.

One of the primary technical issues in the investigation is understanding the subsurface geotechnical conditions to determine their contribution, if any, to the collapse. Under the NCSTA the NCST Investigation Team must be composed of individuals selected/appointed by the NIST Director and led by an individual appointed by the NIST Director. The NIST Director named Dr. Youssef Hashash as a member of the Team, and specifically as the co-leader for the geotechnical engineering project in the investigation, because of his previous experience and high prestige in this technical field. This appointment is made in accordance with the language in Public Law 107-231, codified at 15 U.S.C. 7301 et seq. Dr. Hashash is employed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Therefore, this university is the only capable source who can provide access to the Director's named Team member, Dr. Hashash, who can meet the liability requirements associated with this high-profile investigation of national importance.
 

Information for Interested Parties
Interested parties that believe they could satisfy the requirements listed above for NIST may clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing by or before the response date for this notice. This notice of intent is not a solicitation.

Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at Lauren.Roller@nist.gov. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted via email to Lauren.Roller@nist.gov so that they are received no later than May 25, 2022 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time.

Each response should include the following Business Information:

1. Contractor Name, Address,
2. Point of Contact Name, Phone Number, and Email address
3. Contractor DUNS
4. Contractor Business Classification (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, hubZone, veteran owned, etc.) as validated in System for Award Management (SAM). All offerors must register in the SAM located at http://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1
5. Capability Statement