Lab Safety Design Manual Update

The University of California, Office of the President (UCOP) has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the comprehensive update and development of a Laboratory Safety Design Manual (LSDM) that was last updated in 2007. The procurement seeks a qualified laboratory design and construction professional to collaborate with UC subject matter experts in fire protection, radiation safety, biosafety, industrial hygiene, laser safety, and hazardous materials compliance to create an updated manual incorporating current codes, regulatory requirements, industry best practices, and new content areas including academic teaching laboratories, vivarium spaces, and chemical storage requirements. Required qualifications include demonstrated experience developing laboratory design guidelines for organizations with multiple complex facilities, relevant licenses and certifications, expertise in laboratory design standards and building codes specific to California regulations, familiarity with complex facility types including BSL-3 laboratories and animal care facilities, and documentation of three similar projects completed within the past five years with client references. The deliverables include an initial LSDM draft by June 2027 and a finalized manual by August 2027, with project initiation scheduled for mid-August 2026; the manual must comply with WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards, align with UCOP brand guidelines, and be provided in both Word and PDF formats with URL links to all references. The submission schedule requires interested parties to register by May 11, 2026, submit technical questions by May 12, 2026, and submit qualifications statements by the May 22, 2026 deadline. Evaluation criteria emphasize company history and core business areas, detailed project team composition with resumes, knowledge of applicable California codes and regulations, and differentiation strategies for serving large universities and health centers with diverse research operations. The contract will be awarded on a fixed-price basis following evaluation of qualifications and cost negotiations with selected teams, with meetings to be conducted remotely and potentially requiring in-person visits to UC locations.

The RFQ does not specify set-aside designations or restrictions limiting the types of organizations that can respond based on disadvantaged enterprise classifications. No incumbent contractor information has been identified or disclosed in this solicitation. Prospective bidders must acknowledge the University of California Terms and Conditions of Purchase, which establish comprehensive contractual requirements including UC's right to terminate for convenience or cause, intellectual property ownership vesting in the UC Regents, strict controls on supplier access to institutional information, insurance requirements, compliance with federal and state laws, and prevailing wage requirements for applicable services. Suppliers must also comply with the Data Security Appendix, which requires documented information security plans conforming to recognized cybersecurity frameworks such as NIST CSF or ISO 27000 series, with annual reviews and mandatory updates within fifteen days of major changes; breach notification must occur within seventy-two hours, and suppliers must remediate CVE High or Critical vulnerabilities within twenty business days. All work and data generated under the contract will be the property of the UC Regents, and suppliers must utilize the UCOP Box system for document sharing and editing. The RFQ does not specify an award value or budget range, as costs will be negotiated on a fixed-price basis following the evaluation of qualifications submitted by interested consultants and professional firms.