Mass Rescue Operations Broad Agency Announcement

This is a synopsis of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Call 70RSAT21RB00000003.

The requirement to be solicited is entitled “Lifesaving Device for Mass Rescue Operations”. The NAICS is 541715 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (Except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology). The Product Service Code is AS33 Transportation R&D Services; Water Transportation; Experimental Development.

The solicitation will not be a small business set-aside. It will be available for full and open competition. The Government anticipates awarding multiple stand-alone contracts as a result of the solicitation. The Government is not utilizing a General Services Administration Schedule or any sort of Government-wide or multiple-award contract to issue an order.

No response to this synopsis is requested. A solicitation will be posted on SAM.gov. Once a solicitation is released, all responsible sources may submit one or more white papers which shall be considered by the agency.

Offerors submitting white papers will be notified of white paper evaluation results and may be invited to submit full proposals. (Submission of a white paper will be required in order to submit a full proposal.) Notification of selection for an award is anticipated in late fiscal year 2021 or early fiscal year 2022. The DHS S&T BAA portal found at https://baa2.st.dhs.gov/ will be utilized for white paper and full proposal submissions.

The following is a summary of the requirement:

Mass Rescue Operations (MRO) at sea are Search and Rescue (SAR) operations characterized by the need to provide immediate assistance to large numbers of persons in distress in a situation that exceeds the capabilities normally available to SAR authorities. An MRO example is a catastrophic passenger vessel emergency in a remote area which requires personnel to leave the vessel with no or limited access to the vessel’s inherent lifesaving apparatus. Mass rescue response options in off-shore scenarios are limited to vessels, which could have a response time of hours to days depending on the location, or fixed wing aircraft, which have limited capability to relieve an off-shore MRO event. (This could be exacerbated should the MRO occur in polar regions.)

Mass rescue scenarios are low probability, high consequence events. These incidents are considered low probability because passenger vessels and aircraft are equipped with redundant safety features which have, to a large extent, prevented MRO scenarios. MRO events are, however, high consequence events and thus demand conscientious investment of time and effort in advance planning to mitigate loss of life.

This procurement is the first step in the process of developing a non-standard, innovative, large capacity, ultra-lightweight floating device that could be deployed from air and surface assets during mass rescue operations. The desired large capacity floating devices are not required to meet standard Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requirements for life saving apparatus or domestic life saving apparatus requirements under 46 Code of Federal Regulation. The device should be able to be safely handled, transported and deployed by crewmembers aboard U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) aircraft or vessels with minimal risk (e.g., inadvertent activation, durable during handling, etc.). The purpose of a large capacity floating device is to solely keep survivors out of the water during a mass rescue operation. The Government will consider scalable designs, where more than one device can be linked/tethered together to meet or surpass the requirements. (e.g., two 50-person devices for a total of 100 lbs.).

The desired large capacity floating device will differ from existing off-the-shelf USCG/SOLAS compliant "life saving devices" by its lighter weight, increased portability and limited functionality (e.g., only keeping people out of the water for a limited time, no survival supplies or equipment, etc.).

The scope of this BAA includes a base period for Phase I (Design Concept, Prototype Development and Controlled Environment Testing of Prototype) and an option period for Phase II (Final Design Selection and Open Water Testing).