DOT, Fed Hwy Admin, Office Of Acquisition Management, 400 7th St, SW, Room 4410, Washington, DC 20590

A -- OFFICE OF MOTOR CARRIER FISCAL YEAR 97 BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT SOL DTFH61-97-R-00072 DUE 072997 POC Rick Murray, Contract Specialist, HAM-40, (202) 366-4250 E-MAIL: Click here to contact Rick Murray via e-mail., rick.murray@fhwa.dot.gov. A. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES. This BAA identifies the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) intent to provide funding in FY 1997 for a number of technology-related research projects. The purpose of this BAA is to provide proposers with the opportunity to submit proposals for one or more of the following studies in the various areas of interest to FHWA's Office of Motor Carriers (OMC). THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS THE SOLICITATION -- NO RFP WILL BE ISSUED. Potential offerors should monitor the CBD for potential changes. B. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS. In a document not to exceed a total of 12 PAGES, proposers shall identify, for each study in which they are interested: 1. Proposed technical approach, including any suggested technologies; 2. Proposed statistical analysis methodologies; 3. Staffing and facilities; 4. Up to 10 relevant Past Performance references; and 5. Estimated costs necessary to perform the work. Written proposals may be incorporated into the Statement of Work of any resulting contract. Based on these submissions, the FHWA will ask some respondents to submit more detailed information about their proposals through an oral presentation as part of the subsequent process of negotiation and submission of best-and-final offers, during which respondents will be asked to elaborate on their written proposals. FHWA requires that the oral presentation be performed by the proposed key personnel. NOTHING IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE FHWA TO AWARD ANY OF THE STUDIES IDENTIFIED BELOW. Submissions which include proposals for cost-sharing and teaming arrangements are encouraged. The following is a list of the OMC research studies that have been identified for potential award in FY 1997; following each is the estimated FY97 funding currently available, and the estimated maximum funding for each project (as applicable): 1. Hazardous Materials Data System. This study seeks the research, design and development of a hazardous materials data system which will: (1) integrate relevant hazardous material (HM) data fields from existing databases (e.g., the Hazardous Materials Information System, Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute's report on Trucks in Fatal Accidents, etc.) and the Commodity Flow Survey into a single database structure; and (2) organize them in a manner which will permit both data analysis and the identification of problems (e.g., cargo tank failures) by Federal, State and local officials/program managers. The contractor's proposal shall describe how it intends to: (1) survey the motor carrier industry, FHWA staff, Research and Special Programs Administration staff, and other relevant parties to determine what information must be contained in the database to ensure the system allows for problem identification; (2) develop a plan to create and implement the data system; and (3) design and implement the system using available off-the-shelf or customized data systems, which must be able to be periodically updated as information is added to the parent databases. The contractor shall include in this project, a provision for FHWA review and approval at each stage and a provision for periodic peer reviews during the course of the research. ($80,000 has been allocated for this study area.) 2. Hazardous Materials Risk Assessment. This research seeks to assess the additional hazards posed by the transportation of hazardous materials (HM) by highway, when compared to non-hazardous shipments, and the comparable hazards of transporting different classes of HM. Currently, the OMC has no effective way of measuring the effects of HM incidents, or of even quantifying the presumably higher inherent risk in transporting HM. To address this need, the contractor shall undertake a two-phased effort. In Phase I, the contractor shall review available literature and statistics on the risks and consequences of HM transportation, summarizing current knowledge. As part of this effort, the contractor shall assess available crash and incident data, along with other sources which the OMC and contractor together identify as critical to laying the groundwork for this assessment. The contractor shall measure the effects of hazardous material accidents and incidents for one calendar year in terms of deaths, injuries, property damage, environmental damage, economic costs due to closed roadways and evacuations, and any other harm caused by an HM spill. At the conclusion of Phase I, the contractor shall report to the OMC on the hazard posed by HM shipments, describing the cost (both direct and indirect) of HM incidents, and present a plan which: (1) assesses the feasibility of undertaking a risk assessment on HM movements, including recommended methodology(ies) for conducting one; and (2) includes provision for periodic peer reviews during the course of the research. Based on Phase I findings, the OMC shall determine if Phase II, a risk assessment comparing HM transportation with other commercial motor vehicle transportation movements, shall be undertaken. Contingent upon the OMC's approval of Phase II and availability of funds, the contractor shall undertake a risk assessment that compares the effects of HM accidents and incidents over time with the effects of commercial vehicle transportation accidents and incidents which do not involve HM. Using the comparisons, the contractor shall a final report on both phases of work which: (1) documents the methods and procedures for assessing the effects of HM transportation; (2) documents the methods and procedures for assessing the relative risks between classes of HM, as well as their relative risk to non-hazardous shipments; and (3) quantifies the relative risk of HM transportation based on these effects and the relative exposure for each class of HM. ($150,000 has been allocated to this project in FY 1997 for Phase I; additional funding in FY 1998/1999 for Phase II work shall be contingent upon availability of funds and OMC approval of the Phase II effort. The total estimate for this study area is $550,000) 3. Impact Of Compensation Practices On Number Of Citations & Recordable Accidents Incurred. The present compensation systems associated with commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operators has remained almost unchanged during the past sixty years. The majority of CMV drivers are compensated by: (1) the mileage driven; (2) the hours driven; or (3) receipt of some percentage of the revenue generated by the load transported. This research would seek to determine how pay compensation may influence the safety of CMV driver practices. The study shall be conducted in two phases, with Phase I focusing on the feasibility of assessing the industry's pay compensation practices for this purpose. The feasibility phase shall include a literature review, and present to the FHWA a study plan that describes an effective analytical approach to obtaining significant data on pay compensation from the motor carrier industry and other involved parties. The study plan shall be able to examine and assess the significant relationship(s) between the way CMV drivers are compensated and the various indicators of road safety, such as crash rates, driver citations, and other indicators associated with the safe operation of CMV's. Subsequent Phase II contractor collection and analysis of pay compensation data shall be contingent upon the approval of the literature review and study plan by the FHWA. ($60,000 has been allocated in FY 1997 for Phase I of this research; subsequent funding in FY 1998/1999 shall be subject to availability and contingent upon the outcome of the Phase I of this initiative. The total estimate for this study is $310,000.) 4. Application of Risk anagement within the OMC. Risk management is the process of deciding what to do about the risk associated with the operation of a system. Risk can be expressed as the likelihood of an event occurring, multiplied by the severity or the consequence. The goal of risk management is to set priorities which will help guide the application of finite resources to reduce risk. The Federal ighway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Motor Carriers (OMC) is interested in new approaches that might more effectively evaluate the risk of commercial motor vehicle crashes and focus the OMC's safety resources on those areas with the greatest potential for improving safety. Risk management will allow the OMC to identify alternative strategies for addressing an identified risk and then select the best alternative. To accomplish these activities, the contractor shall: (1) assess the feasibility of applying risk management techniques to OMC management policies and procedures, and to the task of analyzing, assessing and controlling risks in order to reduce commercial motor vehicle crashes; and (2) ecommend a methodology to guide OMC in applying risk management techniques to developing countermeasures and budget and personnel resource allocation decisions. The contractor's plan shall identify the degree to which a risk management program will provide a basis for demonstratingequal or greater levels of overall commercial motor vehicle safety. Based on a determination of feasibility and the acceptance of the contractor's plan by the OMC, the OMC may subsequently authorize the contractor, using an approved methodology, to review and conduct analyses of OMC programs and regulatory requirements that are used to reduce commercial motor vehicle crashes. Based on this assessment, the contractor shall then produce a final report that describes the findings of the analysis, offers recommendations for implementing a risk management approach, and evaluates and monitors the implemented risk management approach to assess its effectiveness. OMC will used the results of this study to implement a risk-based management plan. ($60,000 has been allocated in FY 1997 to finance the feasibility study and plan development; subsequent funding in FY 1998/1999 shall be subject to availability and the decision of the OMC to proceed with the additional risk management activities described above. The totalestimate for this study area is $198,000.) 5. Determination Of Effective Commercial Motor Vehicle Regulation Violation Sanctions. This research seeks to identify and assess sanctions to determine those which are most effective in promoting compliance with regulations by motor carriers and commercial motor vehicle drivers. Such research shall require an inventory and analysis of sanctions currently used by States and local entities leading to an evaluation of the behavior modification effectiveness of various sanction techniques. Assuring the application of appropriate and uniform sanctions involves two major elements: determining or defining effective sanctions (fine levels, penalty conditions, costs associated with compliance) and ensuring those appropriate sanctions are applied throughout the State enforcement-court-licensing process. Sanctions to be analyzed include: fines, penalties, costs associated with compliance such as court fees, cost of repair/driver disqualification, industry down time, rating impacts, etc. The ultimate goal is the promotion of vehicle component repair and behavior modification by drivers and carriers before olations are discovered during the roadside inspection. The contractor's proposal shall describe how they will initiate and pursue this research. Initial research may be accomplished through literature searches and/or the use of focus groups and expert panels consisting of (at least): representatives of the motor carrier industry; Federal and State enforcement officials; and udicial, prosecutorial and departments of motor vehicle representatives. Needed surveys and statistical analyses shall be identified. The proposal shall include appropriate tools for identifying and evaluating the effectiveness of sanction techniques, and describe how those tools will be employed in the course of this research. The results of the research shall be included in a judicial reference handbook produced by the contractor. It shall recommend effective sanction and uniform adjudication procedures for violations of commercial motor vehicle safety and hazardous materials regulations in all States. Also included in the handbook shall be tools or methods for the State to evaluate the effectiveness of sanctions used in their particular enforcement-court-licensing process. The handbook could also provide guidance and information for prosecutorial and law enforcement officials on effective types and levels of sanctions for violations of commercial vehicle safety laws and regulations. ($75,000 has been allocated in FY 1997 for initial work on this study; dditional funding in FY 1998/1999 shall be subject to availability and results to date. The total estimate for this study area is $300,000.) 6. Study on Unsafe Driving Practices of Cars in the Vicinity of Trucks ("Enforcement Cues"). The FHWA is aware that there are unsafe driving practices engaged in by automobile operators in the vicinity of larger commercial vehicles which are not clearly defined in the Uniform Vehicle Code and Model Traffic Ordinance (UDA). Therefore, an enforcement officer, when witnessing one of these actions, does not know which code to cite if he wished to write a citation for the behavior. For example, a car pulling in front of another car may not be a UDA violation. However, that same car pulling in front of a truck may not allow for sufficient stopping distance and could cause an accident. To provide another example, a passenger car may pull alongside a truck which is attempting to turn right at an intersection, leaving the truck no room to complete the turn without colliding with the car. There may be other UDA violations specific to cars driving in close proximity to trucks. Identifying, verifying and publicizing them could have a significant effect on highway safety. Although such behaviors may be implied in the existing Uniform Vehicle Code and Model Traffic Ordinance, the code does not reflect the difference between cars and trucks. There is a "real" gap between how one would interpret the code in the case of cars traveling in the vicinity of cars, and cars traveling in the vicinity of trucks. With this project, there is an opportunity to close this gap and make the UVCMTO spell-out (define) unsafe driving practices for cars as well as trucks. This would allow the enforcement officer to recognize and cite unsafe driving practices. We also know that almost 3/4 of two-vehicle fatal crashes involving a large truck and another type of vehicle in 1994 were attributed to unsafe practices by the driver of the other vehicle. This indicates that drivers of cars and other small vehicle may not be aware of the operating limitations of larger commercial vehicles (trucks and buses) and/or may be committing offenses which contribute to the occurrence of multi-vehicle accidents. This research requires a ontractor to: (1) identify and quantify specific, unsafe driving practices which are unique to automobile drivers operating in the vicinity of a truck and their relative contribution to crashes; (2) develop means for enforcement ersonnel to measure and define specific violations; (3) recommend changes to the UDA, based on the results of this study; and (4) recommend a training package to the OMC for enforcement personnel, based on these newly defined "enforcement cues". Ultimately, this would enable enforcement officers to recognize and cite unsafe driving practices by automobile operators in the vicinity of larger vehicles. The contractor shall demonstrate a knowledge of, and describe how it will employ, existing motor carrier crash data sources (e.g., FARS, GES), along with data collected in the FY 1996 Law Enforcement and Truckers for Safety (LETS) campaign, in this effort. These data sources shall be applied, using appropriate analytical methods, to identify unsafe driving practices unique to cars traveling in the vicinity of larger commercial vehicles and demonstrate the relationship between these automobile actions and multi-vehicle crashes nvolving cars and these larger commercial vehicles. The contractor shall also propose an appropriate method for developing the training package needed to assist enforcement officials in their apprehension of errant automobile operators. ($80,000 has been allocated for this study area.) C. CONTRACT PERIOD. The preferred period of performance for these research studies shall be no less than 9 months and no more than 36 months. D. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS. Offeror's proposals must be received by 4:00 pm on 072997, addressed to Rick Murray, Contracting Specialist, Federal Highway Administration, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 4410, Washington D.C. 20590. Late proposals will not be evaluated. Submit one (1) original and nine (9) copies of the proposal with an accompanying copy on 3.5" diskette in WordPerfect 6.1 (documents) and Lotus 1-2-3 Version 5 (spreadsheets) format or equivalent. Submit a proposal (separately bound) for each study area you are interested in. E. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS AND AWARD. A government panel will evaluate each proposal, based on the following equal factors: (1) Technical Merit; (2) Past Performance; and (3) Cost Realism. After submission of proposals, the Government will evaluate the proposals in accordance with the evaluation factors to establish a competitive range for oral presentations and further discussions. The FHWA contemplates making a single award for each study areas listed under "B," based upon the evaluation factors. The FHWA anticipates that all awards will be made by the end of the Federal fiscal year (September 30, 1997). (0160)

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