Description
This is a sources sought for the National Institutes of Health, NIH. The purpose of this sources sought notice is to find qualified, certified, and interested Service Disabled Veteran Owned Disabled, HUBZone 8(a) companies who can provide critical services to support the mission of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOHS), ORS, OD. Examples of these services are: microbiological assessment and services; disease and injury control and consultation; applied biosafety and biosecurity research and consulting in support of the NIH and the national effort in response to bioterrorism. These services are required for a period of one year with two one-year option periods. Closing date will be approximately 15 calendar days from date of this notice. Interested contractors are invited to submit a statement of capability addressing the ability to satisfy the above requirements to National Institutes of Health, Attn: Terita Stevenson, Contract Specialist, 6011 Executive Blvd., Room 539C, Rockville, MD 20892, to be received no later than 12 July 2005. The statement of capabilities should be limited to two (2) pages and include the following information: Contact Name; Contact Address; Voice Telephone Number; Fax Telephone Number; Internet e-mail address (if any); Company Name; Company Address; Attn: (Name, Telephone Number and Fax Number); Statement of Intent to submit a proposal signed by responsible company official; and short overview of related experience, qualifications, and capability. A Request for Proposal is anticipated to be released in the future. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a formal solicitation. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this synopsis or to otherwise pay for the information solicited herein. After Government issuance of the RFP, all responsible sources may submit an offer which will be considered. This Sources Sought Synopsis is in support of market research being conducted by the NIH to identify potential Service Disabled Veteran Owned Disabled or Hubzone 8(a) sources that are capable of performing this requirement. Below is a draft copy of the statement of work: Part I - The Schedule Section C - Description/Specifications/Work Statement Biosafety and Biosecurity Support Contract Statement of Work (SOW) T6 I. Background As the largest biomedical research institution in the world, the NIH has an extensive occupational health and safety program which supports the complex needs of the intramural research program, NIH patients, visitors, and contractors. In addition to providing direct occupational health and safety technical support to the research programs, many other clients are supported as well, including the Office of Research Facilities Development and Operation, Office of Animal Care and Use, the Office of Intramural Research and IC Scientific Directors, to name a few. The occupational health and safety program must keep up with rapidly increasing and changing program demands. In addition, the NIH occupational health and safety program is often called upon to provide innovative leadership and technical guidance on critical, emerging issues in areas such as biodefense, maximum containment laboratory design, training and education, etc. Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the contractor shall furnish all necessary labor, materials, supplies, equipment, analytical support, transportation and supervision, not otherwise provided by the Government, necessary to provide biosecurity and biosafety support services to the NIH, Division of Occupational Health and Safety (DOHS), ORS. II. Location of Services Work shall be performed on the NIH campus, Bethesda, Maryland; the NIH Animal Center, Poolesville, Maryland; the National Institute of Aging, Gerontology Research Center, Baltimore, Maryland; and other NIH owned and leased facilities located in the suburban Maryland metropolitan area. In addition, work may required to be performed at the NIAID Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana and Ft. Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. III. General Requirements Services shall include, but not be limited to, services critical to supporting the mission of the DOHS, the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services. Examples of those types of services follows: • Microbiological Services and Assessments • Disease and Injury Control Consulting • Applied Biosafety and Biocontainment Research and Consulting These projects at NIH range in duration from one day to months until completion. Some projects are phased and will require multiple deliverables over an established period of time. Oversight of all projects shall be performed by NIH personnel. Examples of the type of oversight and direction by the NIH Project Officer are as follows: o Review, comment upon, and approve in writing, proposed procedures, methods, submittals and project plans o Monitor the overall execution of the projects to assure compliance with the project specifications and protection of NIH interests o Determine the adequacy of the deliverable with respect to the requirements for each task o Inspect and approve project equipment and materials selected for use by the contractor to perform the assigned task(s) The contractor shall be a firm regularly engaged in the professional practice of biosafety and biosecurity. The contractor shall perform the following biosafety support services on an “as-needed basis” as directed by the NIH Project Officer: A) Microbiological Services and Assessments Provide appropriate project staff and certified/licensed professionals to conceive, implement, direct, and evaluate microbiology services and assessments including but not limited to the disciplines of: o Applied Statisticians and Mathematicians o Biosafety Professionals o Biosecurity Specialists o Certified Industrial Hygienists o Certified Safety Professional o Environmental Health Scientists Specializing in Disease and Injury Control o Epidemiologists o General Security Specialists o Infection Control Practioners o Laboratory Support o Microbiologists o Risk Managers o Administrative Support B) Disease and Injury Control Consulting Provide biosafety, and environmental health professionals for the purpose of managing all aspects of disease and injury control. The contractor will apply its considerable scientific, biosafety, industrial hygiene, and environmental health expert resources to complete any subtasks related to this IDC regarding consultation in disease and injury control. Such tasks may include but are not limited tasks in the following functional areas. Tasks including but not limited to: o Needlestick injury surveillance and prevention o Medical device safety o Infectious waste management o JCAHO preparation and training o Biosafety and biosecurity training o Hazardous waste management and training o Hospital safety o Regulatory/OSHA compliance o Training delivery C) Applied Biosafety and Biocontainment Research and Consulting The contractor will provide onsite consulting and research services as defined in subtasks under this IDC. Examples of these sub-tasks are: o Provide on-site consulting and research services regarding issues related to biosafety and biocontainment. o Risk assessments o Threat assessments o Advanced decontamination/sterilization research applied to lab biosafety o Applied research for understanding the roles of stress and various psychological parameters in operational safety and human performance under extended periods of work in BSL-4 laboratory conditions. o Method and apparatus for bioweapon decontamination of mail deliberately enhanced biological indicators and method of use o Quantitative hazard, threat, and risk assessment software tool for biocontainment laboratories o Support for international collaborations in training and research D) Special Projects Special projects may include the following: o Development and presentation of seminars, training or instructional programs in occupational safety and health topics o Development of databases to manage survey results IV) Technical Requirements Only qualified personnel with adequate and verifiable experience in the required areas of specialization shall be assigned to this contract. The PO will review the credentials (C.V., resume of experience and references) and approve all personnel assigned to projects by the contractor. The substitution of personnel on ongoing or proposed project must be requested in writing and approved by the PO prior to any changes being implemented. A) Biosafety Program Manager (BPM) Personnel Requirements 1) Specialized and unique experience o Prior work experience with Select Agents o Work experience in BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories, including “suit” work o Risk Assessment, Threat Assessment, and Specialty Security Assessment for BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories o Facility design and operational safety design for BSL-3 and BLS-4 laboratories o Demonstrated experience in control of nosocomial infections o Demonstrated experience in control of occupationally transmitted infection. Demonstrated experience in community liaison, NEPA requirements and Hazard Communications o Demonstrated experience in national and international regulations regarding laboratory safety and infectious disease control o Professional Engineering with extensive experience in the area of BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories 2) Academic Qualifications o Ph.D. in Public Health, Microbiology, Infectious Disease Control or Environmental Health o Teaching experience in both academic degree and continuing education programs. Active research in biocontainment, infectious disease control, occupational safety and health, and/or engineering. 3) Professional Credentials o Certification/licensure in industrial hygiene, safety, biosafety (CIH, CBSP, CSP) o Publications/presentations or similar demonstration of recognized leadership in biocontainment, infectious disease control, and/or occupational safety and health B) Technical Personnel Requirements 1) The offeror shall provide only fully qualified personnel who are employees of the offeror and who have verifiable education, training, certifications, and experience in the filed of biosafety and biosecurity. 2) All contract work shall be conducted by, or under the direction of a certified biosafety professional, certified industrial hygienist, or certified safety professional who shall be responsible for the quality control and oversight of the work performed under the contract. C) Approvals, Licensing and Certification 1) The contractor shall maintain all appropriate licenses required to provide the services specified in this requirement. The contractor shall be able meet all current and future requirements of this contract regarding personnel, time commitments, and logistical and technical support. 2) All recommendations, assessments, evaluations will be in accordance with the most recent approved procedures, processes and professional standards applicable to the specific area of inquiry. 3) Any changes in approved project completion schedule(s), approved personnel or quality control processes must be requested in writing by the contractor, and receive the concurrence of the PO, prior to enacting the change(s). 4) All forms for collecting data or other information, i.e., monitoring forms, report formats, database structures and quality assurance inspection forms, shall be approved by the PO prior to use. All data, reports, recommendations, studies, etc. produced for, or as a result, of this requirement shall remain the sole property of the DOHS, ORS and shall not be used, presented, or published without the written authorization of the PO and the Director, DOHS. All information shall be maintained on a secure server, accessible only to personnel approved by the PO. D) Safety and Identification 1) The contractor shall observe all proper and appropriate safety precautions in the conduct of this program as required or recommended by the PO. Some areas or facilities may require special procedures to be followed for entry. Any restrictions associated with these special areas will be explained to the contractor. These restrictions shall be adhered to at all times. 2) All contractor personnel shall wear an identification card, issued by the NIH, in a clearly visible manner during the performance of their duties. 3) The contractor may be issued an NIH parking permit for each of the vehicles used at NIH. It is the contractor's responsibility to obtain parking permits and contact the NIH Police to identify approved parking areas. 4) The contractor shall be responsible for reporting all work related injuries and illnesses to the Occupational Medical Service (OMS), Building 10, Room 6C306. 5) Substitute or replacement personnel for those cited in the offeror's proposal will be approved by the NIH Project Officer prior to being assigned to work at NIH. NIH reserves the right to reject personnel whom the NIH Project Officer does not consider fully qualified. E) Laboratory Support Laboratory support services shall be provided and field sampling shall be conducted and analyzed in accordance with established procedures approved by the DOHS PO. F) Project Data and Reports 1) All data generated by this contract will be the sole property of NIH. 2) The contractor shall prepare and submit project reports to the NIH Project Officer within 20 working days of completion of the field work or within a timeframe agreed upon and established in the specific assigned task. Additionally, the contractor shall report any incident that may impact the completion of the task within the established timeframe and develop an amended schedule to be review and accepted/rejected by the PO. 3) The format, content, and number of copies of project reports will be determined by the DOHS PO. G) Service of Schedules 1) Routine services are typically scheduled 2-3 days in advance, involve 1-5 days of field work, and may require several weeks of report preparation to complete the project. Services may also be of an emergency nature requiring an immediate response (i.e., support services on-site in less than four hours) or may involve an in-depth, detailed study taking several weeks to plan and several months to complete. 2) Regular services, and in particular emergency response, maybe required outside of normal working hours (i.e., evening and night shifts, weekends, and federal holidays). 3) Laboratory and administrative support may be needed during all regular working hours and on an emergency basis. H) Reporting and Monthly Progress Meetings 1) The PO and contractor shall meet at least monthly, or more often if needed, to discuss new issues, review projects and reports, and resolve ongoing or special problems. In addition, the contractor should provide the PO a schedule of planned activities for the up-coming month(s). This meeting can be conducted either in person or telephonically, at the discretion of the PO. 2) A monthly report and invoice shall be submitted to PO by the contractor. The report and invoice are due within 14 days following the end of each month. Invoices and reports shall be kept separate. The invoice shall describe all services, materials, and labor billed. The monthly report shall summarize the status of ongoing projects and evaluate the previous month’s service activities and provide written plans and goals for the upcoming month. The purpose of this report is to provide means of evaluating the overall OHS effort in various facilities/projects. The service report shall include, but not be limited to the following: o Projects that were completed in the past month o Projects that are currently in process o Estimated and actual labor hours for each completed project o Estimated and actual labor hours for each ongoing project o Total amount billed against the contract for the current contract year o Status of invoices submitted for payment o Recommendations for resolving program related issues and improving the program o Anecdotal information related to ongoing or completed projects o Man-hours must be broken down by job title or labor category for each project. 3) The contractor shall enter all program related data and information, including billing information, into a secure database. All software used in the program must be approved by the PO. The contractor shall be responsible for keeping all databases current, compiling and producing all reports, and performing information and data queries, as requested by the PO. All vendors/prospective contractors must be registered with the Central Contractor's Registration (www.ccr.gov) prior to award. If not registered or active by that date, vendor proposals will be considered non-responsive.