Inactive

The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) permanently established the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research under the direction of an Associate Director, within the N... The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) permanently established the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research under the direction of an Associate Director, within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. One purpose of this office is to enhance the development of new technology and technological applications, and to expedite the commercial availability and implementation of such technology in mining environments. The MINER Act grants the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research the authority to (1) award competitive contracts and grants to institutions and private entities to encourage the development and manufacture of mine safety equipment and (2) award contracts to education institutions or private laboratories for the performance of product testing or related work with respect to new mine technology or equipment. This announcement is an opportunity for the award of contracts for enhancing safety in mines. The primary goal of the MINER Act technology mandate is to improve/increase the use of technology in mines to improve mineworker safety and health, and the intent of this broad agency announcement is to support enabling activities such as technology identification, validation, demonstration, adaptation, and/or commercialization. The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research of NIOSH is soliciting concept papers to conduct research, exploratory development, testing, or evaluations of new technologies to improve mine safety, or to adapt technologies from other industries for application in mining environments. The primary interest of this broad agency announcement is to promote the modification or final development of practical technologies or systems that can be adopted by the mining community in a short period of time. Under this specific solicitation, proposals to conduct theoretical or basic research will not be considered. NIOSH strongly encourages proposals that include collaboration with mining industry partners who understand the reality of the mining environment and can provide insight into mine design requirements and potential commercialization of the technology. The following examples are presented to further illustrate appropriate submissions under this solicitation beyond the more general guidance listed previously. 1. A safety and/or health technology that is currently in a prototype stage, which will require funding for final development and adaptation to the mining environment. This could include modification of prototypes to account for operation in the challenging underground coal environment, modification to meet permissibility requirements, and/or demonstration of the technology at actual mine sites. 2. A safety and/or health technology that is currently being used in another industry and requires modification to be adapted for mining applications. This could include system redesign, modification to meet permissibility requirements, in-mine testing to establish the efficacy of the technology, and/or demonstration of the technology at mine sites. 3. Analysis of candidate technologies to establish their potential to improve safety and/or health, and/or analyses of barriers to technology application or means of overcoming such barriers. 4. A safety and/or health technology that is fully developed and available for use but is not being adopted by the industry for reasons that require further analysis. This could include developing an initial operational capability by installing the technology in one or more mines for evaluation and/or market analysis to determine the reasons the technology is not being adopted and the changes that would be necessary to make it acceptable to the industry. 5. Analysis of safety and health information in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction of predictive information that could produce useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry. Fatality and injury data continue to highlight the need to develop new or improve existing technologies or adapt technologies from other industries to address safety and health issues in surface and underground mines related to the coal, metal, non-metal, and stone, sand, and gravel mining sectors. NIOSH has typically provided a number of topical areas of importance to guide responders in addressing its highest priorities, this solicitation continues that practice as described below. However, NIOSH encourages responders to propose solutions to other health and safety issues that are responsive to our guidelines; these proposals are evaluated under the same criteria as submittals under the focus area and receive equal consideration for funding. Thirty percent of the contracts funded under this program have come from this category of submittals and, in some fiscal years, have made up fifty to seventy percent of the funded proposals. Concept papers will be accepted from the release of the solicitation through January 13, 2023. Full proposals for concept papers that are found to be technically acceptable will be due within 30 days after notification by the Contracting Officer. Work that will be completed in 36 months or less is desired but is not a requirement; projects requiring up to 48 months will be considered. NIOSH estimates that the typical project under this solicitation will require between $200,000 and $300,000, although proposals for amounts up to $650,000 will be considered. Proposals submitted in excess of the $650,000 ceiling will not be evaluated nor considered for funding. It is estimated that about 6 to 10 awards will be made with approximately $2M to $5M available for this BAA. Topical Area of Importance NIOSH welcomes proposals in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction of predictive information that could produce useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry. As noted above, NIOSH also encourages proposals addressing health and safety issues outside of these focus areas: Permissible Borehole Camera/Audio/Gas Sensor Develop a field permissible (MSHA approved) borehole camera with microphone, gas sensor and possibly robotic controller. The device will utilize a fiber link to move data to the surface from 3000’ feet below ground. The device should fit dimensions to allow lowering it 3000’ through a borehole. In the post-incident search for missing miners cut off from communications, responders drill bore holes at likely rally sites where stranded miners may assemble. Responders drop cameras down the borehole to determine mine conditions and check for signs of life. The Responders will use the audio capability to establish two-way communications if miners are found. Additionally, responders will use gas readings as additional data points in their decisions during rescue operations. Permissible Realtime Wireless Camera Provide a permissible, wearable, wireless camera that can source a real-time video stream/captured image from exploring mine rescue teams through a wireless network or tether back to the fresh air base or command center. It is anticipated that the mine rescue team will leave the fresh air base to conduct post-incident exploration wearing the permissible wireless cameras. These cameras may use wireless network infrastructure devices (nodes) to transport the real-time video streams/captured images back to the fresh air base and if linked, the command center. Wireless network capabilities should be compatible with the MSHA mine rescue operations system. Other options for video transmission may include digital storage for video streams to be downloaded later, and/or fiber optic tether to transmit the real-time video streams to the fresh air base. The fresh air base and/or command center staff can then view the streams/images and record them to review later. Large format lithium-ion battery fire detection and suppression A large format lithium-ion battery pack can contain many battery modules consisting of thousands of cells. To prevent a potential lithium-ion fire from a battery pack, it is important to detect thermal runaway and activate a fire suppression system to suppress and control the fire as the first line of fire prevention and suppression. This fire suppression technique should be compatible with an explosion proof lithium-ion battery enclosure required for underground gassy mines. Because the available space inside a battery pack is limited, new technologies for a thermal runaway detection system and battery fire suppression system should be developed. Water-based fire suppression systems may not be practical due to the large amount of liquid required for fire suppression. This new system needs to be compact, automatic, and effective in suppressing a fire. An appropriate detection method is also needed to activate the suppression system. The system and/or systems developed should result in a prototype that is proven to be effective. Additionally, the prototype should be able to obtain MSHA permissibility approval. Develop methodologies and calibration mechanisms for field scale testing of active seismic monitoring systems as pillar failure precursory. Literature suggests that the fractures initiated and propagated before a catastrophic rock failure in the lab can be captured by receiving seismic waves emitted from the propagating fractures by an active seismic source in the vicinity of the rock sample. However, further research is needed to evaluate the applicability of this technique as an early warning system for underground mines. This focus area requests proposals to develop prototype field instrumentation that can be utilized in yield pillars in an active underground mine to measure the seismic waves of propagating fractures from an active seismic source which lead to failure of yield pillars. Included will be the ability to distinguish between background noise in the mine can and signs of failure in the yield pillar. An example of an application can be in detecting the onset of caving in excessively suspended roof strata behind longwall shields. The sudden caving of roof strata behind longwall shields can cause potentially catastrophic consequences. The ability to detect when the roof is beginning to cave would allow operators to withdraw personnel from the working face and other affected areas before a significant collapse event. In the absence of such a technology or accurate methodology, operators are faced with the need to continue mining until the roof falls, generally without warning. Develop and prototype in-situ stress measurement tools applicable to deep underground coal mines. Develop prototype stress measurement methods for measuring in-situ stress that are practical, accurate, cost effective and have the ability to obtain MSHA permissibility approval. These prototypes would be used in operating mine sites, therefore, they should be durable with ease of use. One example is mini-frac tools. The mini-frac tests can be used for measuring the orientation of max horizontal stress and the magnitudes of min horizontal stress but most commercially available tools are limited in max packer pressure or permissibility for use in gaseous underground coal mines. Research and development are needed to find the most practical techniques for use in underground coal mines. Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility (a) Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board Electronic and Information (EIT) Accessibility Standards (36 CFR part 1194), require that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. (b) Accordingly, any offeror responding to this solicitation must comply with established HHS EIT accessibility standards. Information about Section 508 is available at http://www.hhs.gov/web/508. The complete text of the Section 508 Final Provisions can be accessed at http://www.access-aboard.gov/sec508/standards.htm. (c) The Section 508 accessibility standards applicable to this contract are: 1194. 205 WCAG 2.0 Level A & AA Success Criteria 302 Functional Performance Criteria 502 Inoperability with Assistive Technology 504 Authoring Tools 602 Support Documentation 603 Support Services? In order to facilitate the Government's determination whether proposed EIT supplies meet applicable Section 508 accessibility standards, offerors must submit an HHS Section 508 Product Assessment Template, in accordance with its completion instructions. The purpose of the template is to assist HHS acquisition and program officials in determining whether proposed EIT supplies conform to applicable Section 508 accessibility standards. The template allows offerors or developers to self-evaluate their supplies and documentation detail - whether they conform to a specific Section 508 accessibility standard, and any underway remediation efforts addressing conformance issues. Instructions for preparing the HHS Section 508 Evaluation Template are available under Section 508 policy on the HHS Web site http://hhs.gov/web/508. In order to facilitate the Government's determination whether proposed EIT services meet applicable Section 508 accessibility standards, offerors must provide enough information to assist the Government in determining that the EIT services conform to Section 508 accessibility standards, including any underway remediation efforts addressing conformance issues. ? (d) Respondents to this solicitation must identify any exception to Section 508 requirements. If a offeror claims its supplies or services meet applicable Section 508 accessibility standards, and it is later determined by the Government, i.e., after award of a contract or order, that supplies or services delivered do not conform to the accessibility standards, remediation of the supplies or services to the level of conformance specified in the contract will be the responsibility of the Contractor at its expense. (e) Electronic content must be accessible to HHS acceptance criteria. Checklist for various formats are available at http://508.hhs.gov/, or from the Section 508 Coordinator listed at https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/additional-resources/section-508-contacts/index.html. Materials that are final items for delivery should be accompanied by the appropriate checklist, except upon approval of the Contracting Officer or Representative.