Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

Update: This souces sought notice is revised, per the updated text below, to revise anticipated requirements and extend the response deadline. INTRODUCTION This is a Small Business Sources Sought noti... Update: This souces sought notice is revised, per the updated text below, to revise anticipated requirements and extend the response deadline. INTRODUCTION This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified small business sources. This notice is strictly for market research and information purposes only. Your responses will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible small business concerns. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences – Except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology), as those domestic sources having no more than 1,000 employees. Background: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sent a preliminary reconnaissance team to collect information and data related to the collapse of the Champlain Towers South (CTS) Condominium in Surfside, FL that occurred on June 24, 2021. Based on the recommendations of the preliminary reconnaissance team and evaluation of the criteria listed in the regulations implementing the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act (Act), a Team was established to study the collapse of the Champlain Towers South Condominium in Surfside, FL. Scope of Requirement: The objective of this acquisition is to procure technical assistance in evaluating geotechnical aspects of the Champlain Towers South (CTS) site. In particular, support is needed to assess the foundation’s design, its as-built construction, and its condition at the time of collapse. Key areas for inquiry include assessment of geotechnical and soil factors that can affect the foundation behavior, including ground movements, water intrusion effects, loading distress, vibration-induced effects and liquefaction. The project requires expertise across a number of disciplines to collect and create datasets, evaluate and assess site properties via physical testing and modeling, and also to conduct specialized analyses to produce results related to scenario and hypotheses testing. This project is expected to be critical for analyzing the relationship and interactions between the structure and the subsurface of the site. Companies responding to this request must be experienced in evaluation of large residential buildings of the type represented by the CTS structure and in structures of the type constructed in coastal Florida in the 1970’s and 1980’s. This is essential to ensure complete and accurate evaluation is performed; completeness and accuracy is critical as this effort may impact public safety and building code requirements in the future. Key Requirement Tasks: The required work includes the following key task areas: Foundation System Characterization: This task area will require development of: (i) detailed information of the design, construction, and testing of the foundation system of the CTS building including data collected by the Government and historic information of similar systems and construction and foundation-relevant codes and state of practice in coastal Florida region in the late 1970s and early 1980s, local project reports, and similar foundation types in similar subsurface conditions; (ii) type, geometry, materials, and capacity of the foundation system below and surrounding the CTS and detailed input for a location plan and extent of the system in depth, along with sketches that explain the load transfer from the superstructure and the connection of the foundation to the superstructure elements; (iii) likely condition, stiffness, and strength of foundations at the time of collapse; (iv) foundation retrofit, strengthening, or modification made during the lifetime of the CTS building; (v) effects of the local subsurface environment on performance of the foundation system, referencing literature and case studies relevant to local conditions; (vi) construction errors and other significant effects that could undermine the performance of the foundation system. Geotechnical Uncertainties: This task area will require assessment of uncertainties related to: (i) nature of soils and rocks that are beneath and around the CTS site; (ii) foundation system; (iii) loads or movements that could affect the foundation and subsurface performance; (iv) investigative methods used to obtain field and laboratory data; (v) empirical/analytical methods applied to evaluate up to six hypotheses that involve geotechnical and foundation aspects; (vi) integration and propagation of uncertainty with other projects under the CTS investigation. The Contractor shall develop a core conceptual framework for the analysis, interpretation, and integration of disparate data sets (described herein as items 2i to 2vi) and shall make recommendations for the treatment and quantification of the identified uncertainties and the propagation of those to the other projects of the investigation. Evaluation of NCST Hypotheses: This task area will require evaluation of the contribution or causal effects that the CTS geotechnical aspects may have in up to six failure hypotheses (to be provided by NIST), in two phases: (i) conceptual/feasibility phase: the Contractor shall perform analyses using simplified/empirical methods and/or numerical tools that will reflect laboratory and in-situ testing, and post-collapse field observations. The Contractor shall develop a detailed technical and schematic description of the mechanism and methods to evaluate each hypothesis and shall identify needs for further detailed analyses or evaluations; (ii) detailed phase: the Contractor shall address needs for detailed studies using numerical modeling to investigate soil-structure interaction (SSI) under various loading scenarios throughout the building’s history, including environmental and human-induced changes. The models shall be validated with results of the first phase and field data, following a detailed plan with modeling aspects including input, geometric configurations, and software type, and a matrix of analyses and a framework for evaluating the output that shall be developed by the Contractor. The models are expected to be able to be integrated with the structural model of CTS (prepared by the structural project). The Contractor shall provide an SSI report with details of the analyses and associated uncertainties (see Task 2), digital input/output files, calibration parameters, graphics, data synthesis of multiple analyses, and interpretation of results including limitations of the studies. Companies responding to this request must be experienced in evaluation of large residential buildings of the type represented by the CTS structure and in structures of the type constructed in coastal Florida in the 1970’s and 1980’s. This is essential to ensure complete and accurate evaluation is performed; completeness and accuracy is critical as this effort may impact public safety and building code requirements in the future. QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE Questions regarding this sources sought notice may be submitted via email to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at Lauren.Roller@nist.gov. Questions are due by or before 11:00 AM ET on August 2, 2022. Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline. RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS All responsible small business sources able to provide the services described above are asked to email a response to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at Lauren.Roller@nist.gov by or before 11:00 AM ET on August 8, 2022. Please include the following information in the response: Name of company authorized to provide services, along with their address and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, and email address). The company’s primary NAICS, size classification, and socio-economic status (i.e., Small Business, Woman Owned Small Business, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, etc.). Specific description of capabilities in relation to the three key task areas identified in this sources sought notice. Information on any GSA Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) or other Government-wide contracts through which the company offers these services, if applicable. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider. Responses are limited to a maximum total of ten (10) pages in MS Word or searchable PDF format. IMPORTANT NOTES This notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response; however, NIST will recognize as restricted or proprietary data which is clearly marked such.