Real-Time Fatigue Detection in Heavy Vehicle Operations

Solicitation Number: 2021-Q-57080 Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Synopsis: Added: June 10, 2021 This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Requirements (FAR) Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number for this requirement is 2021-Q-57080 and is hereby issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ) using FAR Subpart 13.1 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The NAICS Code for this synopsis/solicitation is 541990, Size Standard 500 employees. Solicitation/ Purchase Request issued as a Request for Quotes (RFQ) number 2021-Q-57250. This document incorporates provisions and clauses that are in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2021-04, Effective 19 Jan 2021. A Firm-Fixed Price purchase order will be issued in writing to the sole source identified vendor. The Government contemplates award of a firm-fixed price contract resulting from this solicitation for the following Contract Line Item Number (CLIN): The requirement is for Real-Time Fatigue Detection in Heavy Vehicle Operations The final deliverables are to be delivered to Division of Safety Research, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV CLIN 0001 : Real-Time Fatigue Detection in Heavy Vehicle Operations : Qty: 1 JOB Statement of Work Real-Time Fatigue Detection in Heavy Vehicle Operations BACKGROUND Drowsy driving is common among truck drivers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) National Survey of U.S. Long-Haul Truck Driver (LHTD) Injury and Health (OMB No. 0920-0865, exp. 9/30/2011) revealed that: LHTDs work an average of 60 hours a week (Sieber et al., 2014) compared to the average of 42 hours per week for full-time workers in the U.S.; 74% of LHTDs (18% often and 56% sometimes) perceived their delivery schedules as unrealistically tight; 65% reported driving while drowsy at least once a month; 8% reported drowsy driving almost every day; 36% reported having fallen asleep or nodded off while driving their truck; and 3% reported falling asleep at the wheel at least once per week in the previous three months. Main causes of drowsiness for workers behind the wheel include: the time of day of operating a vehicle (e.g., such as circadian lows in the early morning and mid-afternoon), a long duration of wakefulness without rest, inadequate sleep, and prolonged work hours. There are three major areas in which a fatigue management program (FMP) can be beneficial to an organization. These include safety benefits, improved driver health and well-being, and economic benefits. (1) Safety benefits include reduced fatigue-related risks, reduced crashes and near-crashes, and improved alertness. Successful countermeasures to manage fatigue will reduce these risks while also decreasing the number of crashes and near-crashes associated with fatigue. (2) Health and wellness benefits of a FMP include increased job and life satisfaction, fewer health complications, and weight loss. Fatigue may contribute to drivers experiencing less satisfaction with their jobs and lives. Therefore, a FMP may promote increased job and life satisfaction by helping drivers attain adequate sleep. (3) Lastly, a FMP may include financial benefits such as reduced legal burden and costs of crashes, lower healthcare and workers’ compensation costs, and lower costs associated with missed workdays, turnover, and delivery errors. A FMP can help carriers proactively prevent fatigue-related crashes. The proposed project will be a collaborative effort between NIOSH and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-benefit of the North American Fatigue Management Program (NAFMP) using a prospective observational before-and-after study design. A convenience sample of 180 (90 regional and 90 long-haul) truck drivers will be observed for 8 months (three months before and five months after the implementation of the NAFMP). Carrier management, truck drivers, and other personnel will complete their respective training modules. Primary study outcomes focus on drivers’ sleep and driving performance. Information relevant to these outcomes will be collected during a 3-month baseline observation period followed by drivers’ completion of NAFMP Modules 3 and 8, and additional data collection during a 5-month post-training observation period. Drivers will self-report information about their satisfaction with the training, sleep patterns, and behaviors and attitudes that correlate with fatigue. Each driver will report information to the study team primarily using a dedicated Smartphone with pre-installed apps (study-specific questionnaires). The study team will also collect objective information about drivers’ anthropometric measurements, as well as real-time data about driver fatigue and safety-critical events (SCEs) (i.e., crashes, near crashes, and other safety-related events) while driving, sleep patterns, hours on duty, and driving performance. The majority of objective data will be sourced from an actigraph (a device worn by the driver); from specialized equipment installed on the driver’s vehicle (a standard electronic log device, real-time fatigue detection system); and from safety, crash, and administrative data reports obtained from the carrier. Finally, the study team will collect information from carriers about management practices relevant to fatigue reduction, and the costs of implementing the NAFMP. PURPOSE To identify a vendor that can lease 180 real-time fatigue detection systems for 8-months for use in heavy vehicle operations. This project is a scientific experiment. Therefore, the real-time fatigue technology that will be selected needs to be scientifically valid, precise and accurate. Bidders are therefore encouraged to provide, as much as possible, relevant information that will enable us to appreciate the scientific validity of their fatigue measurement system. This could for example include a high-level description of what the system measures and how it was validated across other valid fatigue measures (e.g., behavioral, physiological, subjective scales). Ideally, validation data would be summarized in the narrative of the proposal or by referring to relevant reports, proceedings or scientific publications. Fatigue is a movement on the continuum of alertness, from more to less alert. Although the risks of acute drowsiness, microsleeps and falling asleep episodes are well known and understood, fatigue-related safety risks in transport operations are also significant in the early stages of fatigue, before acute drowsiness is actually felt. According to Dinges (1995), the most robust effect of fatigue is the early impact it has on operator’s vigilance (sustained attention). This phenomena, which relates to fatigue-related inattention, is known as the vigilance decrement or hypovigilance . It is associated with lower detection rates of task-related signals, increased reaction time, passive task-environment monitoring and lower situational awareness, all of which present well-documented safety risks and explain a significant portion of the contribution of fatigue to safety incidents in transportation. Note that contrary to distraction - which is explained by a dual-task paradigm - fatigue-related inattention (the vigilance decrement or hypovigilance) does not imply that operators are doing two things at the same time. As such, the capacity of a real-time fatigue monitoring system to capture hypovigilance as well as more acute drowsiness and microsleep episodes present a clear advantage. Ideally, the system would also be able to differentiate hypovigilance from distraction. SCOPE OF WORK The vendor shall provide all labor, materials, and equipment required to complete the tasks outlined below. TASKS TO BE PERFORMED The vendor shall perform the following tasks to identify real-time driver fatigue and safety critical events while driving a heavy vehicle: Recruit at least two heavy vehicle fleets that are willing to install real-time fatigue detection systems and provide data on real-time fatigue triggers and safety critical events for an 8-month data collection period for a NIOSH/FMCSA research study: Majority of operations include regional and/or long-haul routes. Participating drivers are required to spend at least two nights per week away from home. Private fleets are desired, but not required. Terminal location(s) should have at least 100 drivers. Drivers are married to trucks. U.S. or Canadian locations. No prior use of real-time fatigue detection systems is desired, but not required. Fleet must be willing to adhere to study protocols for the 8-month data collection period. Provide training to project staff and employees from the participating fleets who are responsible for fleet maintenance or equipment installation on how to install real-time fatigue systems in vehicles. Provide training to project staff on how to obtain data collected during the study from real-time fatigue detection system. Lease 180 real-time fatigue detection systems and associated cables and mounting brackets for the 8-month data collection period (due to a staggered installation of the system, data collection may run up to 12 months. However, monthly service will only be needed for 8 months for each device). Although project staff or employees from the participating fleets will be responsible for installing the real-time fatigue detection system, vendor will project support with trouble shooting during the installation process. Disable any alerts and/or warnings from the real-time fatigue detection system during the baseline phase (at least 3 months). Auditory/visual alerts and warnings for inattention triggers, safety critical events, and other driver behaviors shall be disabled during the baseline phase. Enable any alerts and/or warnings from the real-time fatigue detection system during the intervention phase (at least 5 months) Provide behavioral and environmental annotations of real-time fatigue triggers and SCEs during data collection (8 months). For example, the annotations, performed manually or automatically, shall describe the environment and driver behavior(s) surrounding the inattention trigger and/or SCE. Examples include: Crash type (e.g., rear-end truck striking) Driver behavior (seat belt use, distractions, following distance, drowsy, asleep, etc.) Environment (posted speed limit, road type, night, etc.) Provide project staff with near real-time access to the data collected by the real-time fatigue detection system during data collection (8 months). Data shall include: Video Kinematic and time series variables Annotations from the event Provide training to the participating fleet (management and supervisors) on how to coach drivers to react to auditory/visual alerts and warnings for inattention triggers to reduce inattentiveness and fatigue and use the back-office data portal. Provide training to fleet management, supervisors, and drivers on the most effective means to react to auditory alerts and warnings in real-time to reduce the risk of fatigued driving. Provide the participating fleets with access to the near real-time access to the data collected by the real-time fatigue detection system (but, only during the intervention phase, 5 months). Provide training on how to de-install real-time fatigue detection systems (if necessary). GOVERNMENT FURNISHED MATERIALS N/A PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The period of performance shall commence upon award of a purchase order and shall continue through the next 12 months, estimated POP 8/1/2021-7/31/2023. DELIVERABLES The vendor shall provide the following deliverables to the Project Officer by the dates reflected below. Deliverables Date Required Provide a written summary of how fatigue detection system works (for public consumption, excluding any confidential business information). 09/1/2021 Identify at least two heavy vehicle fleets that are willing to install real-time fatigue detection systems and provide data on real-time fatigue triggers and safety critical events for an 8-month data collection period as part of a NIOSH/FMCSA research study. 01/01/2022 Lease 180 real-time fatigue detection systems (and associated cables and brackets). 02/01/2022 Provide training on how to install real-time fatigue detection systems. 03/01/2022 Provide training on how to use back-office data portal. 03/01/2022 Provide standard services (i.e., data transmission, data storage, access to data via an online portal, and annotation of safety-critical events) for 180 real-time fatigue detection systems for 8 consecutive months. 03/31/2023 Provide training to participating fleets on how to coach drivers to reduce safety-critical events and inattentive and fatigued driving. 09/01/2022 Provide training on how to de-install the real-time fatigue detection systems (if necessary). 04/01/2023 Vendor will confirm all deliverables have been received and project close out meeting completed. 07/31/2023 PROJECT OFFICER The Project Officer for this procurement is: Guang Chen, M.D. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Safety Research 1095 Willowdale Road MS/H1811 Morgantown, WV USA 26505 [email protected] PAYMENT TERMS 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 (see block 21 of the order) 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. MINIMUM VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS Real-time fatigue detection system shall: Include at least 2 video cameras (driver facing and forward roadway) that capture high-definition video. Data storge for duration of data collection (~8 months). Ability to tap into vehicle’s Jbus. Ability to detect and record real-time fatigue while driving, including post processing to validate fatigue. Ability to detect and record SCEs using trigger thresholds for x, y, and z accelerometers and speed (e.g., vehicle speed compared to posted speed). Ability to record and store video and vehicle kinematic data during the real-time fatigue and other SCE triggers. Ability to disable warnings and/or alerts. Ability to share, in near real-time, data collected by the real-time fatigue detection system. Selected vendor shall work with project staff and be available to address trouble shooting and questions. Vendor may be able to reduce the price of their bid if they can identify carriers that are able to cost-share the lease. The goal being the participating carriers take over the lease after the research study is completed. Evaluation criteria The vendors will be evaluated based on the following four aspects: Scientific validity, sensitivity and reliability (40 points or score 0 ) High-level description of the system dynamics for the real-time fatigue measurement/monitoring system; Presentation of analyses/data to validate data collected by the system; Fatigue measurement sensitivity and specificity (emphases will be given to fatigue and hypovigilance measurement rather than distraction measurement); Published reports, proceedings or scientific publications describing the utilization of the system; Availability of field test report; Years of the fatigue detection product that has been commercially used by fleets. Customer/client feedback. Number of units that are currently used by fleets. Relevant experience with fleets. Competency (20 points) Relevant experience of the vendor collaborating with research institutes or federal governmental agencies Qualification and experience of the staff in the vendor’s research and development department Market share. Participating trucking company and driver selection (20 points) Size of companies (at least two, each with over 100 drivers at a terminal location) Truck operation: regional and long haul that meet the requirement of the project, Geographic area of operation includes U.S. and Canada, (preference will be given to companies that cover a broad geographic area) Overnight drivers (spending at least two nights per week away from home) Trucking company management willingness to implement all modules of the NAFMP and willingness to share their safety data (e.g., crashes, electronic logging devices, and data on costs) that are requested by the project. The ability of the vendor to equip 180 Class 8 trucks with real-time fatigue measurement technology that will be included in the study population. Reasonableness of Cost (20 points) Or we use the scores of 0 – Unacceptable, 1 – Poor, 2 – Acceptable, 3 – Good, 4 – Excellent for each of the above 4 aspects Acquisition Only Involve in Hardware, Software, Software design, Development or Support Standard Language The language is typically inserted as the Information and Information Security section or for larger contracts inserted as an appendix. Complete the highlighted sections ensuring they match the IT Security Checklist. Hardware Card Readers. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall include Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201-compliant smart card readers (referred to as LACS Transparent Readers) with the purchase of servers, printers, desktops, and laptops. Mobile Devices . The contractor shall follow NIST 800-124, Rev. 1, Guidelines for Managing the Security of Mobile Devices in the Enterprise when using mobile devices that process or store HHS data. Contracts for information systems, components, or services must meet the privacy requirements. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall Include privacy controls in the security testing and evaluation and minimize the use of live data in development and testing. The Contractor shall produce a design specification and security architecture that accurately and completely describes the privacy requirements, and the allocation of security and privacy controls among physical and logical components for any developed information system, system component, or information system service. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall apply the Multifunction Device and Network Printers (MFD) STIG Version 2 to MFDs and printers to secure implementation as these devices are subject to network and physical security concerns. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall mark and display a notice indicating appropriate usage of Printers and Copier. Banners & markings shall include: Sensitive Data/Information : Information that has a degree of confidentiality such that its loss, misuse, unauthorized access, or modification could compromise the element of confidentiality and thereby adversely affect national health interests, the conduct of HHS programs, or the privacy of individuals’ information protected by The Privacy Act or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Information technology (IT) security personnel and system owners can equate this definition of sensitive information with data that has a FIPS 199 security impact level of moderate or high for the Confidentiality security objective. This definition of sensitive information is media neutral, applying to information as it appears in either electronic or hardcopy format (HHS Memo - Updated Departmental Standard for the Definition of Sensitive Information). Personally Identifiable Information (PII) : means information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual (OMB M-17-12). Non-Public Information : Information that the employee gains by reason of Federal employment and that he knows or reasonably should know has not been made available to the general public. It includes information that he knows or reasonably should know: (a) Is routinely exempt from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552 or otherwise protected from disclosure by statute, Executive order or regulation; (b) Is designated as confidential by an agency; or (c) Has not actually been disseminated to the general public and is not authorized to be made available to the public on request (5 CFR 2635.703). Public Information : Any information, regardless of form or format, that an agency discloses, disseminates, or makes available to the public. (OMB Circular A-130). Information Technology Application Design, Development, or Support Computer programs that comprise a series of instructions, rules, routines, or statements, regardless of the media in which recorded, that allow or cause a computer to perform a specific operation or series of operations; and Recorded information comprising source code listings, design details, algorithms, processes, flow charts, formulas, and related material that would enable the computer program to be produced, created, or compiled. “Computer software” does not include computer databases or computer software documentation. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall ensure IT applications designed and developed for CDC/NIOSH must not require elevated or administrative privileges running in any context. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall ensure non-interactive applications and the associated accounts running on servers (e.g., server applications, application servers, system applications, middleware, databases, containers, etc.) do not run with or require full administrative or elevated privileges. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall follow secure coding best practice requirements, as directed by United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) specified standards and the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), that will limit system software vulnerability exploits. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall ensure that computer software developed on behalf of HHS or tailored from an open-source product, is fully functional and operates correctly on systems configured in accordance with government policy and federal configuration standards. The contractor shall test applicable products and versions with all relevant and current updates and patches updated prior to installing in the HHS environment. No sensitive data shall be used during software testing. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall protect information that is deemed sensitive from unauthorized disclosure to persons, organizations or subcontractors who do not have a need to know the information. Information which, either alone or when compared with other reasonably-available information, is deemed sensitive or proprietary by HHS shall be protected as instructed in accordance with the magnitude of the loss or harm that could result from inadvertent or deliberate disclosure, alteration, or destruction of the data. This language also applies to all subcontractors that are performing under this contract. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall remediate all risks or vulnerabilities immediately after the risks or vulnerabilities have been identified in the software. When transferring information between different security domains, the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall examine for the presence of unsanctioned information for malicious code and prohibits the transfer of such information. Unsanctioned information (information not authorized to be stored, processed or transmitted by the system) is any information not owned by the Institute nor covered by an existing DUA, DSA, MOU or other authorization. When trust relationships are established with external information systems (systems that are outside of the authorization boundary to access, process, store, or transmit PII), the Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall limit access to PII from external information systems with a binding agreement to terms and conditions of the privacy requirements. The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall review of user privileges to ensure privileges are revoked for those who no longer require access to PII or PHI and limit the following: limit maximum number of concurrent sessions for system accounts globally, by account type, by account, or a combination thereof Limit access to PII from mobile devices, if applicable Non-Commercial and Open Source Computer Software Procurements The Contractor (and/or any subcontractor) shall follow secure coding best practice requirements, as directed by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) specified standards and the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) that will limit system software vulnerability exploits. Special Considerations The SOW/PWS is cleared for Section 508 with this change. 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-board.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. Your quote shall include the following: • Total Price for CLIN 0001 The quote format is at the discretion of the offeror. It is the offeror's responsibility to be familiar with the applicable clauses and provisions. Clauses and provisions may be accessed via the Internet at website http://farsite.hill.af.mil. To be eligible to receive an award resulting from this solicitation, contractor must be registered in the System for Award Management. To register apply via the Internet at http://www.sam.gov. For questions on registration contact Federal Service Desk at 866-606-8220. **Include FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications with Offer or indicate if it is available online at SAM.gov. In accordance with the FAR 13.106-1(a)(2), offerors are notified that award will be made on the basis of lowest price technically acceptable. Technical acceptability is determined by conformance to all details described for each CLIN. Offerors will be evaluated in accordance with FAR 13.106-2. A Firm-Fixed Price purchase order will be issued in writing to the successful offeror. No telephonic quotes will be processed. All responses must be received no later than 12:00 P.M., Eastern Standard Time on July 2, 2021. Please send any questions and quotes to Dwight Favors at [email protected].