SPECIAL NOTICE
T -- Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Services - Attachment #1
- Notice Date
- 10/30/2015
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- U.S. Forest Service, Contracting, Owyhee Building - MS 1100, 3833 S. Development Avenue, Boise, Idaho, 83705-5354, United States
- ZIP Code
- 83705-5354
- Solicitation Number
- SN-2016-03
- Archive Date
- 11/20/2015
- Point of Contact
- Matthew D. Olson, Phone: 208-387-5835
- E-Mail Address
-
mdolson@fs.fed.us
(mdolson@fs.fed.us)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- MAP USDA Forest Service Forest Health Protection and Forest Management Unmanned Aircraft System THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INTEND TO AWARD A CONTRACT ON THE BASIS OF THIS RFI OR TO OTHERWISE PAY FOR THE INFORMATION SOLICITED. This RFI does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this contemplated effort. This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as a request for proposal or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission of responses to this RFI or the Government's use of such information. The Government reserves the right to reject, in whole or in part, any contractor's input resulting from this RFI. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. Whatever information is provided in response to this RFI may be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for future needs. The information provided may be utilized by the US Forest Service in developing its acquisition strategy and in its Statement of Objective, Statement of Work, and/or Performance Specifications. The information resulting from this RFI may be included or combined with other submissions in one or more options considered in the analysis of alternatives. Any proprietary information that is submitted may be used in establishing requirements of the future services but specific information will be safeguarded as proprietary. 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND The FS, along with its partners, conduct annual aerial surveillance of our Nation's Forests over approximately 500 million acres. This effort, typically employed utilizing manned aircraft, serves to characterize the health and vitality of our natural resources and is used for planning forest health treatments nationally. Further, the FS is currently developing UAS integration policy and operational procedures. This RFI is being used to inform future FS contract development and policy, to ensure that the FS has the best available compliment of appropriate tools and technology, maximizing the safety of its employees, partners and the public to fulfill our Agency mission. The full range of responses to this RFI will be considered as the FS moves forward to safely and effectively integrate UAS technology where appropriate. 2. PURPOSE The US Forest Service (FS), Washington Office (WO detached) Forest Management (FM) and Forest Health Protection (FHP) is conducting a market analysis with this RFI to determine the most suitable approach for developing an aviation services contract to utilize UAS for acquisition of forest health conditions and biomass data within an approximate 200 acre pilot project in the Southwestern Region. 1.Demonstrate that the FS can successfully and economically contract for UAS services with a current provider having a Section 333 exemption from the FAA (https://www.faa.gov/uas/legislative_programs/section_333/ ). 2.Determine whether UAS acquired aerial imagery and data products can be used to cost-effectively estimate woody biomass. 3.Determine whether UAS acquired aerial imagery and data products can be used to cost-effectively detect and monitor a Spruce Aphid (Elatobium abietinum) and/or Spruce Engraver Beetle (Ips hunteri) outbreaks in Arizona. Responding to this RFI does not automatically include the responder on any bidders list, if such a list is developed. Depending on the quantity and quality of the responses received, the criteria may serve to generate the initial pool of potential contractors to be invited to respond to a resulting solicitation. 3. REQUESTED INFORMATION WO FHP & FM is interested in collecting information on industry capabilities, a range of rough cost and production rates estimates pertaining to the contracting of public use UAS operation including specifications for operation, sensor(s) and data output products based on the following: • Area of interest is located in FS Region 3, the Southwest Region, within the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) area in vicinity of Hannigan Meadow area on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona (Figures 1 & 2). All operations shall be over U.S. Forest Service Lands, outside of federally designated Wilderness and in class G airspace. The precise location will be provided prior to operations, based on forest pest activity and ongoing vegetation management activities. The FS will provide Contracting Officers Representative and Flight Manager to coordinate timing and provide contractual oversight on the project. Scope of contract would be confined to aerial acquisition and delivery of remotely sensed data to facilitate subsequent FS analyses of those data (see Technical Details). • UAS operator will be responsible for all necessary certifications and approvals (FAA 333 commercial operator, FAA Certificate of Authorization, aircraft registration, pilot with FAA airman certificate, National Telecommunications & Information Administration approval), timing of flight, data acquisition and delivery in accordance with FS specialist input and the contract. The UAS operation is planned to optimize gathering of forest biometrics and health conditions data within the biological window from June -July, 2016. • UAS pilot is expected to comply with FAA policy, conditions of the COA and FS policy for operation. Respondees should consider line of site and alternatives to line of site that, based on their experience and current policy, would be approved in a COA for this project. Approximately 1/3 of the project area will not likely provide line of site visibility from ground-based pilot locations. Additional field reconnaissance will be done by the FS prior to advertisement and operation. Sample COAs approved by the FAA for similar projects conducted by the company shall be provided in response to this RFI. • Responses should include past company experience with UAS, a description of pilot and airworthiness standards, FAA operator specifications for the company, safety record/accident history, spectrum management and communication capabilities relevant to project area, and the company's Safety Management Systems and/or Safety Plan. • Technical Details within responses should address the feasibility of and/or reasonable alternatives to meeting the following: •Small UAS 55 lbs or less, fixed-wing or rotor (describe advantages/disadvantages) •A listing with number of and position titles of all company personnel that would be necessary in the operations and oversite of the project. •Sensor type(s) that would be deployed to acquire current imagery at or near peak signature for the primary pest, four-band (visible and near-infrared) •2cm ground resolution, •Digital format with 8-bit or greater dynamic range and georeferenced to within 1 foot RMSE •Collected for stereo continuous coverage with 60% overlap (wall-to-wall) •Operational altitudes above ground, airspeed and environmental limitations •Product delivery will be at or near real time •Flight time endurance per battery charge or fuel tank load Imagery will be processed to create large scale digital orthophotography, stereo pairs, block files and other appropriate products from Imagine Photogrammetry. In order to reference plots accurately between photos products and field sampling, the images need to be georeferenced to less than one meter, if possible. Processing and analysis of these data shall be accomplished by the FS. Additionally, if this sample project proves out, FHP may employ this technology elsewhere and reduce or augment conventional manned aerial detection survey and management response. • Company Information Requested: Vendors/contractors who respond to this Request for Information (RFI) are requested to provide all of the following information in writing and in accordance with the directions below: COMPANY INFORMATION: 1.Company name 2.Company mailing address 3.Company point of contact (name & title) 4.Point of contact's telephone numbers (office & fax) 5.Company's size standard for the NAICS code listed 6.Any qualified business categories (Service Disabled Veteran Owned, Woman owned, 8(a), etc.) Your responses and capability statements are requested by 16 November 2015 4PM MST Note: You may provide any other pertinent information that may contribute to efficiencies related to this RFI that will assist the Government in developing specifications for future solicitations. Thank you for your interest. -----------------------------------------END-----------------------------------
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USDA/FS/024B/SN-2016-03/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Springerville, Arizona, 85938, United States
- Zip Code: 85938
- Zip Code: 85938
- Record
- SN03934553-W 20151101/151030234216-fd75888305f2946c92477b5d10514216 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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