SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- Mine Rescue Ensembles for Underground Coal Mining
- Notice Date
- 5/9/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541380
— Testing Laboratories
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Acquisition and Assistance Field Branch (Pittsburgh), Post Office Box 18070, Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15236-0070
- ZIP Code
- 15236-0070
- Solicitation Number
- 000HCCLG-2011-97948
- Archive Date
- 6/15/2011
- Point of Contact
- Margaret L Mooney,
- E-Mail Address
-
mmooney@cdc.gov
(mmooney@cdc.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Contracting Office Address Centers for Disease Control/ Procurement and Grants Office 626 Cochrans Mill Road PO Biox 18070- MS POS Pittsburgh, PA 15236 Description This is a Sources Sought Notice to determine the availability of potential small business (e.g., 8(a), service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, veteran-owned small business, and women-owned small business) to examine use the best practices learned from the fire services sector and examine mine rescue ensembles to identify existing limitation and current best practices. The objective is to provide the basis for and to recommend appropriate minimum design and performance requirements for mine rescue ensembles. CDC/PGO is looking for, but not limiting to, small businesses that have the ability meet the requirements set forth in the attached sample Statement of Work (SOW). Contractors who believe that they posses the expertise and experience to fulfill all of these requirements in the SOW are invited to submit technical and management capabilities addressing each of the areas in writing. Interested contractors should also address whether they can fulfill the requirements via GSA schedules. Please send responses via e-mail to mmooney@cdc.gov by close of business on 24 May 2011. Please limit your response to no more than five (5) pages (size: 8.5"x 11" pages, with 1" margins), using Times New Roman 12 pt font or equivalent, and submitted in Microsoft Word 2003 or Adobe PDF formats. Also include information such as: Company name, address, email, telephone number, points of contact, CAGE code, size of business pursuant to North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) and respond to the following questions: (1) Is your business a large or small business (2) If small, does your firm qualify as a small, emergent business, or a small, disadvantaged business (3) If disadvantaged, specify under which disadvantaged group and whether your firm is certified under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act. (4) Is your firm a certified HUBZone firm (5) Is your firm a woman-owned or operated business (6) Is your firm a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned. All offerors must register on the CCR located at http://www.ccr.gov/index.asp. To the maximum extent possible, please submit non-proprietary information. All information received in this RFI that is marked "Proprietary" will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responses must be submitted not later than 24 May 2011. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. The maximum number of pages for submission is 5 pages. This Sources Sought Notice is being used for informational and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. This is not a solicitation announcement for proposals and no contract will be awarded from this Notice. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this Notice. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this evaluation. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. Attachment #2 DRAFT Statement of Work TITLE: Mine Rescue Ensembles for Underground Coal Mining I. BACKGROUND Mine rescue operations are a high risk activity in underground coal mining. Mine rescue team members must be prepared to respond when an emergency occurs and take the necessary precautions required to ensure worker safety. It is vital that members of the teams have the capability and proper protection to immediately respond to a wide range of hazardous situations. Their ensembles need to protect them from hazards that they may encounter. In addition, mine rescue team members must know the limitations of their personal protective ensembles. The ultimate goal of this project is to protect mine rescuers from the hazards that they may face. In the aftermath of an underground coal mine fire, explosion or water inundation, specially equipped and trained teams are sent underground to investigate the causes of the disaster, fight fires, rescue entrapped miners or recover the dead. Mine rescue and recovery operations are conducted under high threat, high risk conditions. The function of the mine rescue ensemble is to improve a team member's protection against the hazards of mine rescue and recovery. The primary objective of this project is to provide the basis for and recommend appropriate minimum design and performance requirements for mine rescue ensembles. This goal will be achieved by evaluating the mine rescue environment and ensembles used currently by mine rescue teams and improving personal protective technology for use during rescue. The implementation of this project will establish the guidelines for certifying protective clothing and equipment for use during mine rescue, mine emergency and recovery, resulting in more uniform and appropriate levels of protection than currently provided. The results of the project will broaden the acceptance of mine rescue protective clothing and equipment and possibly lead to new standards. Expected project end outcomes are a better equipped workforce that can respond to mine emergencies in a safe and proficient manner and thus reduce the risk of injury, illness and death. The overall project end outcomes will include: an improvement in the safety, effectiveness, confidence of mine rescue teams during emergency operations and the widespread use of improved technologies for response to mine emergencies. II. PURPOSE This research project will use the best practices learned from the fire services sector and examine mine rescue ensembles to identify existing limitations and current best practices. The primary objective of this project is to provide the basis for and to recommend appropriate minimum design and performance requirements for mine rescue ensembles. Other objectives include: 1. Identifying the specific hazards and use conditions related to mine rescue ensembles through literature review and meetings with mine rescue teams, trainers, and stakeholders 2. Determining the performance properties needed to demonstrate protective clothing effectiveness for mine rescuers during emergency operations 3. Communicating recommended criteria to the industry, stakeholders, standard development committees and other government agencies During the initial development of the project, meetings were held with mine rescue teams, trainers, stakeholders to further define the project and assess current practices. It was found that personal protective equipment (PPE) practices for mine rescue teams differ by the type of operations (firefighting, rescue, and recovery) and by the type of organization (federal, state, and private). It was observed that there was no consistency in mine rescue ensembles worn by different teams. In other words, different teams choose different levels of protection from regular cotton/polyester work clothes to firefighter gear and different elements including, helmets, hoods, cap lamps, gloves and boots. Currently, there are no minimum requirements or nationally recognized consensus standards for personal protective clothing worn by mine rescue teams. The lack of requirements results in the potential for the individual teams to enter an emergency situation while wearing significantly different levels of protection. In addition, a single mine emergency frequently involves a mine rescue response of a mix of federal, state and local teams. The experimental portion of this study will be conducted in three phases. Phase I testing will be bench-scale testing which is covered in this statement of work. • Phase I - The performance of the most commonly used elements of mine rescue ensembles will be tested using test methods specified in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), ASTM International (ASTM), and American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) standards. In this phase, a range of mine rescue ensemble elements (garments, gloves, hoods, and helmets) which are currently used by U.S. underground coal mine rescue teams will be evaluated using bench-scale standardized testing that is used in the certification of PPE for firefighting and technical rescue. III. SCOPE OF WORK The contractor will provide all labor and equipment required to complete the four tasks outlined below. Testing materials will be provided by NIOSH. IV. TASKS TO BE PERFORMED The contractor shall perform the following tasks to evaluate the performance of mine rescue elements. The following elements of the mine rescue ensemble will be tested individually using the relevant NFPA Standards (Table 1). These elements were selected from our stakeholders based on their common use. Three NFPA standards, NFPA 1971 "Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting, 2007 Edition", NFPA 1977 "Standard on Protective Clothing and Equipment for Wildland Fire Fighting, 2011 Edition" and NFPA 1951 "Standard on Protective Ensembles for Technical Rescue Incidents, 2007 Edition" will be primarily used for evaluating the elements and element materials. In addition, applicable ASTM and AATCC standards will be used. These standards were chosen since the type and levels of the hazards, environmental conditions, activities, and protection needs of wildland firefighters (NFPA 1977) and technical rescuers (NFPA 1951) are found similar to underground coal mine rescuers based on the information collected through the literature review, field observations, and stakeholder meetings.   Table 1. Mine rescue ensemble elements which will be tested in Phase I (*) Component Type-I Type-II Type-III Type-IV Garments (Task 1) 6.0 oz/yd2 (65/35) Polyester/Cotton 9.0 oz/yd2 FR Cotton 6.0 oz/yd2 Nomex®IIIA Gloves (Task 2) Regular leather miner glove Nylon glove palms dipped in nitrile Technical worker glove (non FR) (96/4 Polyester/Spandex gloves with nylon coating on palms, fourchettes & fingers) Firefighter glove (NFPA1971-2007 certified) Hoods (Task 3) 6.0 oz/yd2 Nomex® 4.0 oz/yd2 Nomex® 6.0 oz/yd2 80/20 FR Rayon/Nomex® Helmets (Task 4) Low Profile Miner Helmet Regular Miner Helmet (ANSI/ISEA Z89.1-2009) (*) Testing will be conducted on the most commonly used materials by mine rescue workers in the U.S. underground coal mining, which were identified through stakeholder meetings, n=1 for each type. Preconditioning: Samples of garment textile fabrics will be tested both before and after being subjected to 25 laundering and drying cycles using AATCC Test Method 135-2004 Dimensional Changes of Fabrics after Home Laundering if the test procedure specifies any laundering or drying preconditioning in the standard other than flame resistance. For the flame resistance test, samples will be tested both before and after being subjected to 100 laundering and drying cycles using AATCC Test Method 135-2004. Task 1: Garment Testing: The following performance characteristics will be obtained for fabrics and/or other materials utilized in construction of mine rescue clothing using bench-scale testing. The standard which will be used is listed in parenthesis: - Flame Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Total Heat Loss (THL) (NFPA 1951) - Thermal Protective Performance (TPP) (NFPA 1951) - Radiant Protective Performance (RPP) (NFPA 1977) - Heat and Thermal Shrinkage Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Tear Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Breaking Strength (NFPA 1951) - Cleaning Shrinkage Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Seam Breaking Strength (NFPA 1951) - Abrasion Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Water Absorption Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Liquid Penetration Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Viral Penetration Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Trim Retroreflectivity and Fluorescence (NFPA 1977) Task 2: Glove Testing: The following characteristics will be obtained for gloves and/or other materials utilized in construction of gloves. The standard which will be used is listed in parenthesis: - Heat and Thermal Shrinkage Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Flame Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Conductive Heat Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Thermal Protective Performance (NFPA 1951) - Cut Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Puncture Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Grip (NFPA 1951) - Abrasion Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Hand Function (NFPA 1951) - Glove Donning (NFPA 1951) - Liquid Penetration Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Overall Liquid Integrity (NFPA 1951) - Viral Penetration Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Glove Knit Wristlet Material Burst Strength (NFPA 1951) Task 3: Hood Testing: The following characteristics will be obtained for hoods and/or other materials utilized in construction of hoods. The standard which will be used is listed in parenthesis: - Flame Resistance (NFPA 1971) - Heat and Thermal Shrinkage Resistance (NFPA 1971) - Burst Strength (NFPA 1971) - Cleaning Shrinkage Resistance (NFPA 1971) - Seam Burst Strength (NFPA 1971) Task 4: Helmet Testing: The following characteristics will be obtained for helmets and/or other materials utilized in construction of helmets. The standard which will be used is listed in parenthesis: - Helmet Resistance to Top Impact (NFPA 1951) - Helmet Physical Penetration Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Helmet Flame Resistance Procedure B (NFPA 1951) - Helmet Heat and Thermal Shrinkage Resistance (NFPA 1951) - Electrical Insulation (NFPA 1951) - Helmet Suspension System Retention (NFPA 1951) - Helmet Trim Retroreflectivity and Fluorescence (NFPA 1977) - Helmet Retention System (NFPA 1951) V. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED MATERIALS The testing materials used for the study will be provided by the government. VI. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE June 2011- October 2011 VII. DELIVERABLES F.1 Period of Performance: The Contractor shall complete the technical effort specified under Section IV (TASKS TO BE PERFORMED), within three (3) months after the effective date of the contract. The anticipated term of the contract, including time allowed for draft approval and submission of the approved final report, is five (5) months after the effective date of the contract.   F.2 Deliverable Documentation: (a) Documentation (1) Monthly Technical Letter Report (i) Quantity: Three (3) hard copies and One (1) electronic copy. (ii) Due Date: On or before the last day of the calendar month. (2) Draft of Final Report (i) Quantity: Three (3) hard copies and One (1) electronic copy. (ii) Due Date: On or before three (3) months after the effective date of the contract. (3) Final Report (i) Quantity: Three (3) hard copies and One (1) reproducible electronic master copy. (ii) Due Date: On or before thirty (30) days after receipt of draft final report comments and approval. (b) Report Content (1) Monthly Technical Report The Contractor shall prepare and submit monthly technical progress reports in narrative form which shall contain technical results of the work accomplished during the reporting period. This report shall be in sufficient detail to disclose all work started and results achieved during the reporting period, an indication of any current problems which may impede performance, the proposed corrective action, and the work forecast for the next period. (2) Draft Final Report Upon completion of all work under the contract, the Contractor shall prepare and submit to the Government a final report covering in detail all the work accomplished under the contract. The final report shall document and summarize the entire contract work test results obtained including those specified previously in Section IV, (TASKS TO BE PERFORMED) and shall include:  One (1) electronic copy of all M.S. Office Excel® Spread Sheets for each individual specimen  Test data including Pass/Fail results for each sample for the identified standard The final report shall include sufficient detail to comprehensively explain the results achieved under the contract. The report shall also include any guidance or recommendations deemed pertinent for future consideration by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The Government shall be allowed Thirty (30) days to review the draft and notify the Contractor in writing of approval or of recommended changes to be made in the final copy. If the Government does not approve or recommend changes within Thirty (30) days of receipt of the draft final report, the report shall be deemed approved. (3) Final Report Within Thirty (30) days of receipt of a notice of approval from the Contracting Officer, the Contractor shall furnish the Government with a reproducible master and the required number of copies of the final report in final form. The reproducible master shall be prepared in accordance with the guidelines referenced under DRAFT FINAL REPORT. (c) Reporting Period All monthly reporting period shall end on the last day of a calendar month. (1) For contracts awarded (i.e., effective date) on or before the fifteenth (15th) of a calendar month, the initial reporting period shall be the last day of the calendar month during which the contract became effective. (2) For contracts awarded (i.e., effective date) after the sixteenth (16th) of a calendar month, the initial reporting period shall be the last day of the month immediately following the month during which the contract became effective. (d) Delivery of Reports One copy of each report, in draft and/or final form as required by the contract, shall be delivered prepaid to: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acquisition and Assistance Field Branch Post Office Box 18070 626 Cochrans Mills Road Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0070 Attn: Contract Officer ____________________ Contract No.: _________________ All remaining copies (and reproducible masters) of reports shall be delivered prepaid to the Government Technical Project Officer designated by the Contracting Officer. VIII. PAYMENT TERMS (note if and how partial payments are authorized). Payment will be made in accordance with the line items established herein and in accordance with FAR 52.232-25, Prompt Payment, which states that the due date for making invoice payments shall be the 30th day after the designated billing office has received a proper invoice from the vendor or the 30th day after Government acceptance of the services performed by the vendor, whichever is later. Payment will be made after each Task is completed in the agreement with this contract. IX. MINIMUM VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS • Contractor must have current certified products for NFPA 1951, NFPA 1971, NFPA 1977, and demonstrated experience conducting testing for certifications according to NFPA 1951-2007, NFPA 1971- 2007, NFPA 1977-2005. • The testing laboratory must be accredited in accordance with the requirements of ISO 17025, General requirements for the competence of calibration and testing laboratories. • The accreditation of the testing laboratory must be issued by an accreditation body operating in accordance with ISO 17011, General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies. • Contractor must have demonstrated experience conducting testing for in accordance with AATCC 135.
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-
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- Place of Performance
- Address: TBD, United States
- Record
- SN02443053-W 20110511/110509234357-3e4bf3bc56facdb8890a31e0d904fb32 (fbodaily.com)
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