Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), Research and Special Programs Administration HQ, 400 7th Street, SW, Room 7108, Washington, DC, 20590

A -- OPERATOR FATIGUE MANAGEMENT ANALYTIC SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES TO FORECAST AND MANAGE FATIGUE AND ENSURE ALERTNESS FOR COMMERCIAL TRANSPORTATION OPERATORS SOL DTRS56-00-BAA-0007 DUE 092900 POC Cynthia Barzey, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-366-6986, Fax 202-366-7974, Email cynthia.barzey@rspa.dot.gov -- Tom Scott, Contracting Officer, Phone (202) 366-4538, Fax (202) 366-7974, Email WEB: Visit this URL for the latest information about this, http://www.eps.gov/cgi-bin/WebObjects/EPS?ACode=P&ProjID=DTRS56-00-BAA-0007&LocID=137. E-MAIL: Cynthia Barzey, cynthia.barzey@rspa.dot.gov. U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), Office of Contracts and Procurement, DMA-30, Room 7108, 400 7th St., SW, Washington, DC 20590. Support of the Department of Transportation's Program on Human Centered Transportation Research. BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT soliciting proposals on the development and implementation of methods, technologies, processes and systems to detect and manage fatigue, and ensure operator alertness to minimize incidents. The proposals are part of a $ 25 Million (combined funding from all sources, such as, industry, state, local governments, federal laboratories and the Department of Transportation (DOT)), four-year DOT partnership program with transportation operators, service providers and other users, on a Human Centered Transportation Research Initiative. The initiative includes short and long-term research to develop and implement products and results to significantly reduce transportation incidents and fatalities. DOT is soliciting proposals from all individuals, businesses, academic and research institutions and research centers for short-term (12 months) or long-term (12 months to 36 months) projects in one or more of the three broad project areas. The findings or products from short-term projects should have the potential for application to manage operator fatigue. The long-term projects should develop and verify results by applying the findings to operational settings and/or by implementation. This initiative also includes performing research on human factor issues to improve safety and performance of commercial transportation operators. Unique and different approaches may be required for each transportation mode to achieve these results. DOT plans to invest about $12 Million in the partnership program during the four -- year period. The program will consist of the following two complementary program parts: Part 1) Fatigue Management and Part 2) Advanced Instructional Technologies. DOT anticipates releasing Broad Agency Announcements annually for each of these program parts. This BAA relates to Part 1 of the program on Fatigue Management. Updates to the requirements will be posted in the Commerce Business Daily and the RSPA website. The primary objective of the Operator Fatigue Management (OFM) is to develop, implement, and validate in operational settings the knowledge base, strategies, tools, and analytic systems to forecast and manage operator fatigue in transportation systems. The secondary objective of the OFM is to develop a methodology for evaluating the overall effectiveness of OFM programs. Field tests are also envisioned for a range of transportation industries because the specifics of fatigue management can differ widely based upon the characteristics of the industry involved. The field tests will focus on high risk groups, organizations or job categories that require irregular schedules, extended working hours, work under extreme environmental conditions, and or work with little opportunity for time off. The researchfor the first cycle of awards will focus on three broad project areas for the first year (FY 2001) of the partnership program: 1) Fatigue Management Reference (FMR): Develop a reference document, similar to a Physicians Desk Reference, for use by operators and managers of commercial transportation systems to proactively manage fatigue-induced decrements in safety and performance. This document will identify current and emerging "best practices" for fatigue management in operational settings especially commercial transportation operations. Only "best practices" with empirical data on efficacy will be included in the reference document. The document will identify the "best practice", describe how to implement the practice, discuss conditions that may limit the use of the practice (e.g., can not use light therapy if you need night vision adaptation), and provide procedures to evaluate and measure the efficacy of the practice. Finally, the FMR will be tested using select transportation systems to demonstrate effective application in field settings. 2) Fatigue Management Analytical Systems: Investigate existing fatigue management analytical systems for commercial transportation systems and field-test the analytical system(s) in selected commercial transportation settings. This requires a comprehensive assessment of current and promising analytic tools that are capable of profiling a transportation operation and forecasting periods of fatigue-induced decrements in alertness. It also requires automated scheduling and staffing analysis systems capable of evaluating the ergonomic aspects of work schedules, determining minimum staffing levels from objective criteria, and optimizing employee work/rest schedules to minimize fatigue and alertness problems. The assessment will be limited to analytical tools and automated systems that have empirical evidence of efficacy in field settings and have direct application to commercial transportation systems. 3) OFM Program Evaluation Tools and Methods. Develop program evaluation methods, tools, and technology for capturing and collecting long-term data on fatigue and measuring its impact on the safety, mobility and other business/economic factors in the transportation industry. Much of the fatigue and alertness research has focused on relatively short-term effects. However, organizations with poorly designed work schedules and inadequate staffing levels that do not provide for proper rest are likely to experience long-term health and safety effects that are profound and extensive. They are also likely to experience hidden costs such as liability for personal injury, absenteeism, turnover and other broad economic impacts. Better evaluation tools and methodology are needed to identify both the safety and business/economic factors impacted by fatigued employees. New methods and baseline measurements are required to accurately assess these effects and evaluate the overall impact of OFM programs for their feasibility, utility, validity and economic viability in the transportation industry. Although this BAA focuses on three major areas, other innovative areas that have the potential to achieve specific and stated FMR objectives may be considered for inclusion by the evaluation team. Proposals may be submitted to address any of the three (3) major research areas addressed above. A separate proposal must be submitted for each proposed project in each research area. GENERAL INFORMATION: BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT DTRS56-00-BAA-0007 can be downloaded via the Internet at: http://www.rspa.dot.gov under Procurement Opportunities. In all correspondence to the RSPA Office of Contracts and Procurement, reference BAA DTRS56-00-BAA-0007. Early submission of proposals is strongly encouraged. All proposals shall be submitted to Ms. Cynthia D. Barzey, Contract Specialist, Research and Special Programs Administration, ATTN: DMA-30, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 7108, Washington, D.C. 20590, not later than 4:00 PM, Eastern Time, 9/29/00. BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT: This Commerce Business Daily (CBD) notice, in conjunction with further announcement details available from the internet address identified above, constitutes the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated by FAR 6.102(d)(2). A formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement will not be issued. DOT plans to organize a "national meeting" on the program initiative in Washington DC on August 29 and 30, 2000. The meeting will provide an opportunity to clarify any questions on the BAA. The DOT/RSPA Office of Contracts and DOT Human Factors Team will be present at this meeting to answer any questions on the BAA and the technical projects. Anyone wishing to attend the meeting must notify the contracting officer by telephone, e-mail or by sending a letter note with information on his or her affiliation and subject area of interest on or before August 28, 2000. NOTHING IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY RSPA TO AWARD ANY OF THE PROJECT AREAS IDENTIFIED ABOVE. Evaluation and selection of proposals for award will be made to those offerors whose proposal is considered most advantageous to the Government. Proposal evaluation will be based on the following criteria, each having equal importance: 1) Comprehensiveness of proposed technical approach, 2) Anticipated results and potential impact to operator fatigue management, 3) Technical capabilities of investigators and institutional facilities available to perform research, and 4) Cost sharing contributions and partnerships with user groups. Each proposal shall not exceed thirty pages (30) in length including all enclosures. Offerors are encouraged to access the following website http://www.rspa.dot.gov/dra/ to review the two program planning documents that provide the background on Human Factors System and the planning for the DOT program initiative on Operator Performance -Enhancing Technologies to Improve Safety. A paper copy of the document may also be obtained by contacting the DOT/RSPA contracts office by voice (Tel: (202) 366-6986) or email: (cynthia.barzey@rspa.dot.gov). The funding for the first year (FY 2001) of the partnership program will be contingent upon annual Fiscal Year appropriations of the DOT program. The government share of cost for each project shall be in the range of about $100,000-500,000 and will vary on a project by project basis dependent upon the extent of technical investigations and funds needed to complete the project for transportation applications. All projects shall have cost sharing from the offeror(s) through direct or indirect matching resources/funding. A fifty (50) percent total cost sharing is desired on each project by direct or indirect contributions including investigator time, equipment and facilities. The percentage and type of cost sharing presented in the proposal is a criterion in the evaluation and selection of the proposal for an award. All projects shall be completed within a time frame from 12 to 36 months. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. The Government reserves the option to invite selected offerors for a pre-award negotiation to negotiate costs, technical scope and the work plan. The DOT anticipates that Other Transaction Agreements will be used for the awarding of these projects. Posted 06/21/00 (D-SN466972). (0173)

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