M -- OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF OHMSETT:THE NATIONAL OIL SPILL RESPONSE TEST FACILITY

Notice Date

September 7, 2001

Contracting Office

Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Procurement Operations Branch, MS2500, 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817

ZIP Code

20170-4817

Solicitation Number

1435-01-01-31188

Response Due

September 28, 2001

Point of Contact

Betty M. Estey 703-787-1352

E-Mail Address

The contracting officer's email address (Betty.Estey@mms.gov)

Description

The Department of Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS), intends to competitively award a five year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract for the operation and maintenance of Ohmsett: The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility. Ohmsett, is located in Leonardo, New Jersey, on the grounds of Naval Weapons Station Earle (NWSE). Ohmsett is the only facility in the world where clients can conduct full-scale oil-spill response equipment tests with a variety of crude oils and refined petroleum products. The tests are conducted under controlled, reproducible conditions using standard test protocols that are already or soon will be accepted and published by the American Society for Testing and Materials. Ohmsett provides a unique facility to conduct tests and develop new devices and techniques that detect, map, contain, and clean up oil spills. Ohmsett is also a training facility. Ohmsett offers "hands on" training classes up to six times a year in oil spill response, confined space entry and viscous oil pumping techniques. Ohmsett also has specialized testing equipment/systems to: (1) evaluate fire resistant containment boom using a propane burner system; (2) test dispersant effectiveness; (3) simulate broken ice conditions for oil in ice clean up systems and cold water training exercises. Further information on the facility and recent activities can be found at www.ohmsett.com. The primary feature of the facility is a pile-supported, concrete wave tank that is 203 meters (667 feet) long by 20 meters (65 feet) wide and with a depth of 2.4 meters (8 feet). The tank is filled with 9.84 million liters (2.6 million gallons) of crystal clear water maintained at open ocean salinity through periodic addition of salt. The tank has a movable, cable-drawn tow bridge operated by large electric motors. The tow bridge moves on rails along the length of the tank and is capable of towing floating test equipment at graduated speeds up to 3.3 meters/second (6.5 knots) for at least 40 seconds. The tow bridge is equipped to lay oil on the surface of the water several meters ahead of the equipment being tested, so that reproducible thickness and widths of test oils are achievable with minimum wind interference. Underwater viewing of tests is accomplished through view ports on the side of the tank as well as underwater video cameras. The principle systems of the tank include a wave generator, an artificial beach to dampen waves, an oil water separator, a chlorination system and a filter system. The wave generator and an artificial beach at one end of the tank have the capability to produce regular waves up to 0.6 meters (2 feet) high and up to 45 meters (147 feet) long, as well as a series of 0.7 meter (2.3 feet) high reflected waves. The purpose and objectives of this facility maintenance contract are to: (1) operate and maintain Ohmsett as an environmentally and physically safe and secure facility; (2) conduct detailed research and development tests and evaluations of oil-spill response equipment and technology as required by the MMS or outside clients; (3) conduct oil spill response, confined space entry and viscous oil pumping system training as required for MMS and outside clients (training sessions will occur a minimum of six times a year); (4) give presentations and prepare technical papers on the results of testing and training activities at Ohmsett in a variety of forums such as professional meetings and conferences as well as publications in the meeting proceedings and/or technical journals; (5) evaluate the performance of oil spill response equipment and recommend engineering design changes to improve performance and make necessary changes as required by the MMS or outside clients; (6) maintain and repair oil spill response equipment stored at the Ohmsett facility as required by MMS or the U.S. Coast Guard or other similar equipment identified by MMS or outside clients (including the U.S. Coast Guard); (7) produce high quality technical reports on the results of the tests and evaluations for a variety of clients in a timely fashion (these reports should be submitted to MMS or the outside client as appropriate in electronic format via e-mail to the maximum extent practicable); (8) actively participate in marketing efforts to attract and retain clients who make regular use of Ohmsett. Marketing efforts include: (1) the preparation of a newsletter twice a year; (2) operation and maintenance of a web site similar to the one at www.ohmsett.com; (3) preparation of marketing letters and follow up on marketing leads from various sources with brochures and videos; (4) attendance at up to three professional conferences a year and operation of the Ohmsett display booth in the exhibitor area, including reserving space and maintenance of the display booth and acquiring marketing supplies and promotional items. Past examples of such professional conferences include: Clean Gulf, the International Oil Spill Conference, Society of Petroleum Engineers Health, Safety and Environment Conference (last one in Stavanger, Norway); and Interspill 2000 (Brighton, UK). In addition, the Contractor shall work with a marketing consulting firm (currently Osborn and Barr) to help develop a marketing plan on an annual basis and provide technical copy and other support for marketing brochures, flyers, and updating mailing lists. To accomplish the preceding tasks, the contractor shall provide a core staff of individuals professionally qualified in testing and evaluating oil-spill response equipment, technical report writing, instrumentation and microcomputers, health & safety, technical editing, photography and video systems, welding and craftsmanship, design engineering, analytical chemistry, oil-water separation and large water filtration systems, project management and detailed financial accounting of project budgets, scuba diving, and other matters related to cleaning up oil spills and maintaining Ohmsett. The contractor will perform general operation and facility maintenance tasks to keep Ohmsett fully operational and capable of performing routine testing and training on a year round basis. In addition, specific testing projects, training projects, facility upgrades and major unbudgeted repairs will be authorized by a specific work order or change order as appropriate. The delivery order request will originate from MMS or an outside client and will specify the general scope of work required, the general approach, the deliverables and schedule, and the approximate level of effort. To Respond: In order to compete for this contract, interested parties must demonstrate that they are qualified to perform work by providing Capabilities Statements on September 28, 2001 by 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time detailing: (1) your key personnel, scientific and technical, (those who would have the primary responsibility for performing and/or managing the project) with their qualifications and specific expertise and experience. Particularly relevant is their expertise in: facility management; subcontractor management for major repair and renovation projects; oil spill response technology testing and evaluation; industrial test facility operations; hazardous waste removal; obtaining operating licenses for discharge of contaminated water under a permit; scientific and technical report writing; testing protocol development; marketing of scientific, training, as well as research and development consulting services; testing quality control/quality assurance procedures; industrial facility health and safety assessment and health and safety plan development; (2) your organization's experience with this type of work and a description of your facilities as well as any facilities that you manage; and (3) specific references (including project identifier/contract number and description, period of performance, dollar amount, client name, and current telephone number) for work of this nature that your personnel or organization is currently performing or has completed within the last three years. Also, please include any negative references and your rebuttal explaining your side of the story. All references will be checked to validate the information provided. Offerors shall submit an original and seven (7) copies of the Capabilities Statement to Ms. Betty Estey, Contracting Officer, Minerals Management Service, Procurement Operations Branch, 381 Elden St., MS 2510, Herndon, VA 20170-4817. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to ensure that the Capabilities Statements are received by the dates and time set forth above. Timeliness of receipt of submissions will be determined by the time received in the Procurement Operations Branch, Herndon, Virginia. Your capabilities statement will be evaluated based on: (1) past performance which includes: adherence to schedules and budgets, effectiveness of cost control, evidence of effective subcontractor management, the acceptability of previous products delivered, effectiveness of program management, the Offeror's strong commitment to good customer service and good communication with customers, and the Offeror's willingness to cooperate with the customer in both routine matters and when confronted by unexpected difficulties; (2) the degree of comparability of past projects to the current project, including number, complexity, and size; (3) the experience and expertise of all scientific and technical Key Personnel (evaluation factors include the length and quality of experience for each person assigned to perform specific tasks, their experience and expertise in the fields applicable to the performance of this study); and (4) the proposed Project Manager's demonstrated leadership ability and experience with managing a multi-disciplinary team required for this effort, and ability to control costs and to keep project performance and document preparation on schedule. Following Step (1) which is the review and evaluation of all Capabilities Statements, only those determined from the evaluation factors described above to be most qualified to successfully perform the effort will be invited to Step (2) and provided a detailed Request for Proposal. A site to the Ohmsett facility will be scheduled in October. All offerors will be contacted after Step (1) by telephone. Offerors are strongly discouraged to use the telephone numbers submitted below to receive answers to their questions but written, E-mail or faxed inquires are strongly encouraged. Please send questions as soon as possible to Betty.Estey@mms.gov and send a cc to Linda Richards@mms.gov and James.Lane@mms.gov. Please include your RFP Number 1435-0101-RP-31188 as well as your full name, organization name, address, phone and FAX numbers. If it is necessary to call for information contact Betty M. Estey or Linda Richards between the hours of 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. EST Monday-Friday at (703) 787-1354 or by FAX on 703-787-1387. Please note this is not a set-aside but for information purposes this applies: SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS (SDB) REGULATORY CHANGE NOTICE: the Federal Acquisition Regulation authorizes the use of price and evaluation credits in industries where SDB prime contractors and subcontractors have been underutilized. We ask that you inform your SDB subcontractors that they should contact SBA's Office of Certification and Eligibility at 800-558-0884 to obtain an application, or to log on to SBA's web site (http://www.sba.gov/sdb). Prime contractors must use SDB-certified SDB subcontractors in order to be eligible for evaluation credits. NAICS Code 562910

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010911/MSOL001.HTM (W-250 SN50X162)