Human Factors and Accident Investigation Training

****This is a Sources Sought Notice only.  

This is not a request for proposal, but a survey to locate potential sources. This Sources Sought Notice does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, Request for Proposals, or a Request for Quotations, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue an order or otherwise pay for the information solicited, nor is it a guarantee of a forthcoming solicitation or contract. It is for market research purposes only. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to gain knowledge of interest, capabilities, and qualifications of various small businesses in advance of a planned solicitation for developing and delivering human factors accident investigation training courses. 

Objective: To find sources that are qualified to meet the requirements in the below draft Statement Work Statement (SOW). Note that the specific requirements are subject to change prior to the release of any solicitation. 

Requirements: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is conducting market research in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10. The purpose of this Market Research is to identify all business concerns that have the skills, experience, knowledge, and capabilities necessary to complete the work outlined below. This Sources Sought Notice is open to all business concerns and is issued to communicate FRA’s upcoming requirement to industry. FRA intends to use information gathered from these responses to gain awareness of capabilities, determine interested parties, and to support formulation of an acquisition strategy.  

Responses/Submissions: Responses/Submissions are due by 9:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Friday, December 20, 2024, and should be e-mailed to the Contracting Officer, Brittany.Alvarenga@dot.gov, with the subject line appearing as “SS -Human Factors and Accident Investigation Training.”  

The response/submission shall include:  

a. Company Name, Address, CAGE Code and UEI Number, Point of Contact 

b. Business Size (Small, SDVOSB, Woman-Owned, Disadvantaged, Hub-Zone, Large, Non- Profit, etc) 

c. To what extent each of the specifications can be met (i.e. capabilities statement) 

d. Past experience/performance through the description of completed projects relative to similar requirements and/or company’s ability to meet the requirement. 

e. A not-to-exceed three (3) page capability statement including answers to the following questions: 

1.           Do you have direct railroad training and/or accident investigation experience?   Yes or no. 

2.           Describe your experience in the railroad arena. Please provide brief examples along with any existing tech specs sheets or website links illustrating these capabilities.  

3.           Describe your railroad accident investigation & human factors experience Please provide brief examples along with any existing tech specs sheets or website links illustrating these capabilities.  

4.           Describe your experience developing and implementing a railroad specific human factors training course. Please provide existing tech specs sheets or website links illustrating these capabilities.  

5.           What Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC)s and Multiple Award Contracts (MAC)s do you participate in? 

6.           Please provide commercial pricing information, including a breakdown between goods and services, regarding the aforementioned items and the information provided in the below DRAFT SOW, for one base year and two option years. You may provide up to one page of pricing information. 

Draft Statement of Work  

Human Factors (HF) Accident/Incident Investigation Training 

Background  

This document describes the required work for a project developing and delivering human factors accident investigation training courses, including live investigation support, for approximately 20 FRA Office of Railroad Safety accident investigation staff.  

Scope  

To improve our accident investigation process, it is crucial that we address the underlying causes of rail-related accidents and incidents, as outlined by the FRA’s safety regulations. These regulations focus on identifying and mitigating historical causal factors to prevent their recurrence, ultimately reducing the risk of future accidents and employee injuries. In line with this goal, the FRA recognizes the importance of having a highly trained and qualified workforce capable of accurately identifying both contributing and causal factors in rail accidents.  

To enhance our ability to conduct thorough and effective investigations, the FRA is actively training new Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in human factors accident investigation. This targeted training will provide these SMEs with the specialized expertise needed to conduct meaningful investigations, focusing particularly on the human elements that often play a critical role in accidents. By strengthening our investigators’ capabilities in basic human factors analysis, we are improving their ability to identify key issues that might otherwise be overlooked.  

The investment in developing these new experts will not only increase the technical proficiency of our investigators but will also foster a deeper understanding of how human behavior, decision-making, and environmental factors contribute to accidents. This improvement will ultimately lead to more accurate conclusions, actionable insights, and, most importantly, more effective preventive measures to reduce future incidents and enhance safety across the rail industry.  

The intended audience is 20 accident investigation personnel.  

Objectives  

• Perform needs analysis and training customization to provide training of the correct scope and depth to be most valuable to the intended audience. Develop training scope, objectives, content and materials to meet the needs of the agency.  

• Provide the skills and knowledge necessary for accident investigators to lead meaningful investigations through increasing their capability in basic human factors investigation skills during in-classroom instructor-led training.  

• Provide real-time, on the job support during live accident investigations to coach and guide accident investigators in the proper application of the HF accident/incident investigation skills and techniques taught in the classroom.  

Tasks  

The selected contractor shall show that they are highly experienced in human factors accident/incident investigations and have demonstrated skills, expertise, and knowledge in the subject matter for which FRA is seeking to train its accident investigator workforce.  

Task 1: Training Needs Analysis and Program Development  

The contractor shall evaluate current FRA training processes, programs, techniques, and procedures to evaluate our current state and identify the appropriate training needs and objectives for the deliverables of this contract. This should include examining roles and responsibilities of various parties and performing a gap analysis to ensure objectives are designed to address actual training needs. The training program, content, and materials will then be developed and revised to meet these objectives.  

Task 2: Live Instructor-Led Courses  

The contractor shall deliver during two, 3-day classes (6 total days of instruction, 10 employees per class) training covering the following subjects:  

• Human factors accident/incident investigation basics including training on the phases of an investigation, investigation planning, investigation management, collecting and handling evidence, witness statements, and interviewing.  

• Human factors analysis and reporting, including utilizing FRA’s new accident taxonomy/HFACS.  

• Apollo Root Cause Analysis methodology  

Task 3: Live Investigation Support   

The contractor shall provide 60 hours of real-time, on-the-job support during live accident investigations to coach and guide accident investigators in the proper application of the human factors accident/incident investigation skills and techniques taught in the classroom. This may include being present on the accident scene or other relevant location. These locations may be remote and include the dangers to be expected of a train derailment or other train accident. The contractor will assess the competency of the investigator(s) in root cause analysis and human factors analysis and mentor the investigators as necessary. The contractor will be notified on short notice, less than 24 hours, when support is requested. FRA and the contractor will work together in open dialogue to determine when support may best meet the needs of FRA and the constraints of the FRA and the contractor.  

Deliverables  

The deliverables associated with this Contract can be found listed under Attachments/Links as Attachment A. The contractor must achieve these deliverables to receive payment and for the project to be considered complete. 

Schedule  

The tentative schedule that can be modified as mutually agreed upon by the contractor and FRA can be found listed under Attachments/Links as Attachment B.

Data Rights   

The Government shall have unlimited rights to all information and materials furnished by the Contractor performing work under this SOW. This shall include documentation thereof, reports and listings, and all other items pertaining to the work and services pursuant to this agreement. The Government has the right to inspect the work and will have access to, and the right to make copies of, the above-mentioned items. All digital files, data, and other items generated in performance of this effort, shall become the property of the Government.  

Period of Performance  

Fifteen months after contract award.      

Place of Delivery  

The instructor-led training is to be held in Pueblo, CO, Birmingham, AL, or other mutually agreed upon locations to meet the project needs and schedule.  

All other deliverables delivered electronically to:  

US Department of Transportation  

1200 New Jersey Ave SE  

Washington, DC 20590