THIS IS NOT A SYNOPSIS TO ADVERTISE A SOLICITATION THAT IS READY FOR RELEASE, rather the purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to (a) determine whether there are a sufficient number of responsible sources and (b) conduct market research regarding a potential five-year, Cost Plus Fixed-Fee (CPFF) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with the capability to provide Analytical Support For Automatic Identification System (AIS) Technologies. It is estimated that 14,500 of labor hours per year will be required. It is anticipated that 90% of the work will be on-site in New London, CT. With regard to this potential five-year contract, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Research and Development Center (R&DC) is seeking information on companies that have the capability to detect, analyze, and document Very High Frequency (VHF) Data Link (VDL) signal performance and interference issues; perform analysis of AIS vessel traffic data to support deepwater port risk assessments for proposed Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) terminal sites; apply the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) 0183 v4.00 Interface Standard for AIS Shore Networks, including use of the NMEA 0183 v4.00 Transport Annotate and Group (TAG) Block methodologies; administer SUSE Enterprise Servers, Mail Servers, Mail List Servers, Web Servers, and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Servers; develop complex Mathworks MATLAB models and solutions; to develop sophisticated automated analysis and web publishing applications for unattended operation, without intervention, running continuously 24x7, and the capability to develop and implement real-time research network capabilities and network applications for multiple platforms in both Java and C++ on Windows, Linux, and Apple operating systems. Of critical importance is the capability to understand the AIS development and architecture in order to modify, and efficiently adapt existing real-time AIS research network and it’s components; to study and publish AIS reception site performance and AIS reception network operation; to perform real-time and historical AIS data processing and analyses directly applicable to supporting vessel incident investigations; to analyze and produce key data elements describing vessel traffic patterns, including volume and frequency of voyages near a deepwater port LNG site, and associated impact energy (kinetic force generated in the event of an allision/collision) for all vessel traffic, based upon 12 months of prerecorded AIS data; to administer automated system and data backups across the USCG R&DC AIS research network; to maintain an AIS multi-year data repository; to perform System Operation Center functions for, and research client management within, the R&DC AIS research network; to extend and operate the USCG R&DC AIS VDL performance simulation; to extend the existing R&DC AIS research network; and to support advanced AIS reception research. Responses to this market research shall include the following: (1) Describe company experience or history of the past three years and how your experience was obtained or developed relevant to the scope of this RFI including your business size status under NAICS Code 541511 (limit 3 pages); and (2) Describe the current capabilities that you have to meet the tasking requirements described in this RFI (limit 3 pages). Again, the only purpose of this RFI is to collect market research information. This announcement is not a research or development project. The purpose of this announcement is NOT to develop or evaluate potential new products, services or facilities, or to improve existing facilities for the purpose of meeting the specific performance capabilities or objectives. At this stage, the Government has no intention to further develop or produce any equipment from the information received. Information collected through this announcement will be reviewed by individuals from the USCG. Responses to this market survey shall be sent directly to:
[email protected] with a copy to
[email protected]. Only electronic responses will be accepted and shall be submitted no later than 22 December 2008. NOTE: Proposals are not being solicited at this time. PHONE CALLS MAY NOT BE ACCEPTED, VOICEMAIL MESSAGES WILL NOT BE RETURNED, MAIL AND EMAILS RECEIVED WILL NOT BE RESPONDED TO.