SOURCES SOUGHT
D -- Next Generation Web-Based Hurricane Evacuation Decision Support Platform
- Notice Date
- 3/29/2017
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 518210
— Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USACE District, Baltimore, 10 South Howard Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203, United States
- ZIP Code
- 21203
- Solicitation Number
- W912DR-17-S-0009
- Archive Date
- 4/21/2017
- Point of Contact
- Ian Weiss, Phone: 4109624978
- E-Mail Address
-
Ian.Weiss@usace.army.mil
(Ian.Weiss@usace.army.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE. This announcement seeks information from industry, which will be used for preliminary Market Research purposes. No proposals are being requested or accepted with this notice. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS AND NO CONTRACT SHALL BE AWARDED FROM THIS NOTICE. This is for Market Research only. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this notice. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, requests capability statements from all qualified businesses concerning the potential project described below. Responses to this sources sought announcement will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. Description/Scope of Work The solicitation will be for a Firm Fixed Price contract (Base and 04 Option Years) and it will be advertised as a Full and Open Competition Request for Proposal (RFP). The next generation Hurricane Evacuation Decision Support Platform, currently referred to as the Hurrevac Extended (HVX) prototype, is a restricted-use web-based software program funded by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Directorate, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for government emergency managers to plan, train and execute tropical cyclone decisions and evacuations. The software, access to which is available free of charge to government emergency managers, supports the ability to view and interpret tropical cyclone observations and forecasts, track hurricanes, support evacuation decision making, and provides data and information to support hurricane emergency management planning, training, and decision making. This real-time data analysis tool allows state and local emergency management officials to make prudent and informed decisions based on information developed during the National Hurricane Program (NHP) Hurricane Evacuation Studies (HES) process and real-time forecast data. The goal of the NHP Technology Modernization effort with respect to the integrated HVX prototype platform is to create a flexible system with new and updated technology that enables Emergency Managers (EMs) to make timely and accurate evacuation related decisions. The new system will be applicable in a variety of contexts, including evacuation studies, planning, training, and operational response and evacuation decision support. The ability to utilize HVX as a multi-purpose tool allows users to become more familiar with the interface, reducing the need for training on multiple tools and processes. Here are some of the key architecture and programmatic features of the HVX prototype: Utilization of a Web-based thin client architecture built with open-source software components; increasing ease of use, data collaboration and deployment and allowing for operation on mobile devices. Offline capabilities that enable the EM to utilize some decision support capabilities when the system does not have connectivity to the internet. Features that will be available include: o The last downloaded set of hurricane tracks and forecasts (and related products such as wind rings, wind swath, watches/warnings, etc.) o The ability to display storm surge Maximum of Maximums (MOM)/ Maximum Envelope of Water (MEOW) risk mapping products/data o The ability to see the most recent downloaded data for their base location that allows the EM to see the potential storm surge (if produced by NHC), radar, satellite, flood outlook, rain/river/tide gages, etc. Creation of open-source geospatial data sharing services to maximize the available data sources and minimize the overhead of integrating new data. Utilization of open-source third party applications for common GUI and algorithmic processes (Ext.js, D3.js, etc.). A sample listing is given at the end of this document. Institution of a series of navigation aids that assist the user in seamlessly accessing, analyzing and viewing data temporally and spatially. Incorporation of decision analytics to enable users to better assess impacts and uncertainty. Creation of a storm surge explorer for viewing both planning and operational storm surge flood risk data, including the ability to view storm surge risk areas for applicable combinations of Maximum Envelopes of Water, which allows for improved understanding of storm surge risk from an approaching hurricane prior to the availability of probabilistic storm surge data and products. Integration with a modular HES process that will allow not only integration of the HES components, but also the ability to utilize sub-modules of HES within the decision-making and training processes. Integration of serious gaming capabilities into the HVX platform, including automated simulation capabilities, decision-focused training modules and feedback mechanisms for improved decision-making. Creation of a simplified storm track simulation and advisory generator to enable EMs to create new training and scenarios on their desktop. A repository of HES Reports and other NHP Documents and a file sharing system to enable collaboration between users. The work includes: a. Project Management The Contractor is responsible for providing the project management oversight, up to and including contractual deliverables and financial controls. The Contractor's Project Manager is one of the primary points of contact with USACE. The Contractor's Project Manager shall establish and maintain close coordination with the USACE points of contact for this SOW. Coordination may be in the form of in-person meetings, written correspondence, webinars, or telephone calls. Coordination will include a monthly In Progress Review (IPR) teleconference meeting to discuss the status of all tasks. A kickoff meeting will be held between the USACE and the Contractor within 2 weeks of the Date of Award. The Contractor shall maintain a record of all project coordination actions and shall provide copies of this record to the USACE POCs, upon request. b. Transferring HVX prototype system to vendor's servers The Contractor shall obtain the HVX code-base provided by USACE and stand-up that software on a new set of hardware in the Contractor's environment. The contractor shall verify that the embedded unit tests pass and that external Selenium-based test procedures also pass. Once all tests pass, this verifies that the USACE HVX prototype functions as-is. c. Testing HVX At Scale The HVX prototype operated in an environment of up to 50 concurrent users with limited lag or database issues. However, as noted in the introduction the total user base is expected to exceed 18,000 users. The Contractor shall ensure that the operational HVX platform is able to handle a potential user base in excess of 25,000 and a concurrent user experience of at least 5,000 users. While the HVX prototype did not have the full user base, the software has been integrated with Amazon Web Services, which should allow the system to be scaled readily. During the initial transition year, the contractor will be required to add beta users (names to be provided by USACE) who will test the system and functionality, and provide feedback for the contractor and USACE to address. The contractor will also be required to provide technical user support to these beta testers. Nine months after the award of the base tasks, the contractor will be required to have an operational HVX platform that can support 5,000 concurrent users. d. Continual Verification of Input Data Sources HVX utilizes a wide variety of input data streams. The nature of real-time streaming data and the rapidly changing dissemination techniques, formats and accessibility is such that the sources of specific data may need to be modified over time. In this initial transfer phase, the Contractor will be responsible for verifying that any web-based input data is still providing the expected service and that the data is injecting properly into HVX. If services or products have changed or are unavailable the Contractor will be required to find alternatives. e. System Control, Monitoring & Recovery The HVX prototype is outfitted with limited capabilities to monitor and recover instantaneously from server, algorithmic or other unexpected errors. The contractor shall build a monitoring system that allows USACE and the O&M operator to detect, alert, and recover from unexpected failures. This includes monitoring of all data feeds to ensure that the injected data is being received and processed in a timely manner. The system requirement for uptime during hurricane season is 99% with a recovery buffer of 5 minutes. f. OpenAM for user authentication OpenAM is an open source access management, entitlements and federation server platform. It is sponsored by ForgeRock (https://forgerock.org/openam/ ). HVX has a current set of credentials for existing users, including levels of authorization to allow restricted access to some portions of HVX. The Contractor will be provided the current database of users that are managed in OpenAM and be expected to transition the current user database into their HVX operational system. While the Contractor is strongly recommended to continue OpenAM, it may propose an alternative that USACE would have to evaluate and approve. g. OpenStreetMaps server/configuration OpenStreetMaps (OSM) is an open-source effort that builds editable maps and an API to access map tiles for display (https://www.openstreetmap.org/about ). The HVX prototype utilized the OSM server as a way to provide highly detailed and modern maps as a base layer for the HVX map. However, the operational HVX platform will require a dedicated server in order to allow HVX to have control over the reliability, stability and customization of the maps provided. The Contractor shall stand-up an OSM dedicated server for HVX and configure the map options to meet the requirements specified by USACE/FEMA. h. Readiness for Transition to Operational Status By 12 months after the award of the base tasks, the contractor must demonstrate that the HVX prototype has been successfully transitioned from MIT-LL (the developer) to the contractor, that Tasks 1-7 have been successfully completed, and that the system is ready to be fully operational and made available to the full user base of 18,000 users. This task includes a requirement that the contractor will develop a plan, approved by USACE, to efficiently provide access to registered HURREVAC users who do already have access through the beta system. MIT-LL will be available to provide technical guidance and support to assist the contractor with the execution of tasks 1-7 and will assist the USACE in the evaluation of whether Task 8 can be considered complete. The contractor must ensure full functionality within the following internet browsers: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. NAICS Code: 518210 Product Service Code: D305 Interested qualified firms should submit a concise narrative and specific project examples of similar size and scope that demonstrate their experience. Comments will be shared with the Government and the project design team, but otherwise will be held in strict confidence. Email responses only. Responses must include: Capability Statements; the Offerors' name, POC phone number, SAM information and email address. Contracting Office Address: USACE District, Baltimore, 10 South Howard Street, Baltimore, MD 21203 Contracting Point of Contact(s): Ian Weiss, Ian.Weiss@usace.army.mil
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USA/COE/DACA31/W912DR-17-S-0009 /listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 10 S. Howard St, Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States
- Zip Code: 21201
- Zip Code: 21201
- Record
- SN04452946-W 20170331/170330000110-d8f59577597b91b049666a0c9764c87e (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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