R -- ENGINEERING SUPPORT SERVICES

This is a Source Sought notice to assist the Government in determining the extent of the business size and socio-economic market for the type of work described herein. This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. No Solicitation is currently available, and no unsolicited proposals will be entertained as a result of this Sources Sought Notice. Background/General Description of the Requirement The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) owns and operates a heavy water moderated nuclear test reactor and adjacent neutron beam research facility. The neutron beam facility is used to perform a broad array of state-of-the-art Biology, Materials, Chemistry, and Physics research. Some of the research performed at the NCNR is fundamental in nature, while other research is directly applicable to problems of immediate societal interest. Examples of recent NCNR research results can be found at the home page of the NCNR: www.ncnr.nist.gov. The NCNR?s reactor is licensed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) under the name National Bureau of Standards Reactor (NBSR). With respect to the NBSR as well as the neutron research facility, a large variety of engineering projects are being undertaken. These projects range from the design and planning of regularly scheduled maintenance of the NBSR to the design and planning of new and/or improved neutron beam research instrumentation. Constant improvements in design and configuration management techniques necessitates that the engineering procedures of the NCNR are under regular internal review, so that the NCNR can maintain a state-of-the art capability and operate as a modern research facility for the next 20 years. The following is a draft Statement of Work for any contract and may be used as guidance for the type of work which may be required. B. Purpose of the Requirement The purpose of any contract would be to acquire the services of a Contractor to provide all of the necessary personnel, material, equipment, services and facilities (except as otherwise specified) for the services described herein. Contractor support may be required to provide engineering services to accommodate the needs of the NCNR facility while the facility undergoes this expansion project. The expansion of the facility, which includes a new guide hall, is a required improvement necessary for the facility to serve the nation as a whole in the capacity of the sole U.S. steady state neutron source available to the international scientific and engineering communities. C. Objective The objective is to provide the NCNR access to world class engineering services to assist in engineering needs that may arise during the expansion project. Examples of engineering projects may include, but not be limited to, the following: 1. Improved procedures for regularly scheduled maintenance of the NBSR. 2. Improvements in designs of NBSR components. 3. Upgrades of key reactor systems and peripheral systems. 4. Upgrades of existing scientific instrumentation. 5. New design and/or building of prototypes of Neutron Scattering Spectrometers and Neutron Guide Systems. 6. Improvements in design tools and configuration management systems. D. Task Requirements Tasks may include, but are not limited to, the referenced items listed below. 1. CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT AND REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS Services required involve abstract or concept studies and analysis, requirements definition, preliminary planning, the evaluation of alternative technical approaches and associated costs for the development or enhancement of high level general performance specifications of a system, project, mission or activity. 1.1 Requirements Analysis 1.2 Cost/cost-performance trade-off analysis 1.3 Feasibility analysis 1.4 Regulatory compliance support 1.5 Technology conceptual designs 1.6 Training 1.7 Privatization 1.8 Outsourcing. 2. SYSTEM DESIGN, ENGINEERING AND INTEGRATION Services required involve the translation of a system (or subsystem, program, project, activity) concept into a preliminary and detailed design (engineering plans and specifications), performing risk identification/analysis/ mitigation, traceability, 2.1 Computer-aided design 2.2 Design studies and analysis 2.3 High level detailed specification preparation 2.4 Life cycle cost analysis 2.5 Configuration management 2.6 Document control 2.7 Fabrication 2.8 Assembly 2.9 Simulation 2.10 Modeling 2.11 Training 2.12 Privatization 2.13 Outsourcing. 3. BUILDING OF A PROTOTYPE OR FIRST ARTICLE Services required involve the application of various management techniques allowing the contractor (or a subcontractor) to integrate various components to produce a working prototype or model of the system. 3.1 Building of a prototype or first article. 3.2 (Sub-)Contracting for the building of a prototype or first article. 3.3 Assembly of a prototype or first article. 3.4 Fabrication of a prototype of first article. 3.5 Training 3.6 Privatization 3.7 Outsourcing 4. TEST AND EVALUATION Services required involve the application of various techniques demonstrating that a prototype system (subsystem, program, project or activity) performs in accordance with the objectives outlined in the original design 4.1 Testing of a prototype or first article 4.2 Environmental testing 4.3 Independent verification and validation 4.4 Reverse engineering 4.5 Simulation and modeling (to test the feasibility of a concept) 4.6 System safety 4.7 Quality assurance 4.8 Physical testing of the product or system 4.9 Training 4.10 Privatization 4.11 Outsourcing A typical task order under the proposed contract will consist of a well defined ?input?. For example: a) A top-level-specification for a reactor (sub-) system; or b) A three dimensional description of a mechanical part; or c) A mechanical part (or drawing thereof) to be reverse-engineered, because it can no longer be procured. This input is itself the product (i.e. the ?output?) of a prior engineering process. For example, and respectively: a) A technical negotiation between Reactor Operators and Reactor Engineers leading to a functional top level specification. b) A design process leading to the 3 dimensional definition of a mechanical part. c) A previously procured part (or drawing thereof) that can no longer be procured, because the market place no longer offers it. The input thus defined is followed by a list of engineering tasks that ? according to the present view of the Government ? will lead to a satisfactory output. For example and respectively: a) A fully functional and tested scientific instrument b) Two dimensional manufacturing drawings of the part design. c) Three dimensional graphic description of the obsolete part E. Government Furnished Equipment/Items All equipment necessary and incidental to provide the required services outlined in the statement of work shall be furnished by the contractor (except those specified herein). The Government will provide access to the NCNR facilities for meetings and or observation of the circumstances that generated a particular requirement (i.e. existing instrumentation, floor surveys, existing technologies and specifications, etc. The Government will provide digital photographs of its facilities that may be used for orientation and/or photogrammetric purposes. The Government will provide a seat at its Computer Aided Design System, which is tied to NCNR office space, if determined to be in the best interest of the Government. F. Exhibits and Attachments There are no exhibits or attachments. G. Period of Performance Any contact awarded would have a base period of one year with four one year option periods. K. HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE IF YOUR COMPANY HAS RECENT EXPERIENCE WITH PROJECTS THAT ARE SIMILAR IN SCOPE TO WHAT MAY BE REQUIRED FOR THE ENSURING MARKET RESEARCH AND WORK RELATED TO THE NIST CENTER FOR NEUTRON RESEARCH (NCNR)ENGINEERING SERVICES PROCUREMENT, THEN PLEASE PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION BY EMAIL to [email protected] NO LATER THAN October 29,2007. 1. Description of each similar project completed by your company as a prime Contractor or as a significant subcontractor within the past three (3) years, including as much of the following information as possible: (a) dollar amount of the contract; (b) brief description of the technical requirements of that project; (c) specific information on your company?s previous experience in concept development and requirements analysis, system design, engineering and integration, building of a prototype or first article and test and evaluation that involve the application of various techniques demonstrating that a prototype system performs in accordance with the original design; (d) contract type used on that project (e.g., firm-fixed-price, labor-hour, time-and-materials, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-award-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, etc.); (e) indication of how long the project took to complete from start to finish; (f) how many Contractor and, if applicable, subcontractor full time equivalents were required to complete the job; and (g) name, address, point of contact and phone number of customer organization for which the work was done. 2. Current socioeconomic status of your company as it relates to NAICS 541330 with a size standard of $4.5M (see NAICS table at http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_sstd_tablepdf.pdf). 3. Indication of whether your company currently has an active registration in the Central Contractor Registration at www.ccr.gov. PLEASE DIRECT ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE BY EMAIL TO [email protected]. TELEPHONE REQUESTS WILL NOT BE HONORED.