2023 Broad Agency Announcement: Development and Demonstration of Mine Safety and Health Technology

2023 Broad Agency Announcement: Development and Demonstration of Mine Safety and Health Technology INTRODUCTION This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) by the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2). A formal Request for Proposals (RFP), solicitation, and/or additional information regarding this announcement will not be issued. This announcement will remain open until January 13, 2023 or until replaced by a successor BAA. Concept papers must be submitted by January 13, 2023 for funding consideration during fiscal year 2023. NIOSH will not issue paper copies of this announcement and reserves the right to select for award, all, some or none of the proposals in response to this announcement. NIOSH provides no funding for direct reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and cost proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this BAA will not be returned. It is the policy of NIOSH to treat all proposals as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation. Awards under this BAA will consist of firm fixed price contracts. Therefore, proposals submitted as a result of this announcement will fall under the purview of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). I. GENERAL INFORMATION Agency Name: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Office of Mine Safety and Health Research 626 Cochrans Mill Road Pittsburgh, PA 15236 Research Opportunity Title: Development and Demonstration of Mine Safety and Health Technology Program Name: Office of Mine Safety and Health Research Research Opportunity Number: 75D301-23-R-71617 Response Date: This announcement will remain open until January 13, 2023. Concept papers will be accepted from the release of the solicitation through January 13, 2023, 3:00PM ET. CONCEPT PAPERS SUBMITTED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Full proposals for concept papers that are found to be technically acceptable will be due within 30 days after notification by the Contracting Officer. Inquiries and Additional Information: Information and specific questions of a technical business nature only will be accepted via email sent to Contract Specialist Stephanie Reid, at the following address: SReid@cdc.gov . Include your name and email address on the message. Responses to the email questions will be handled on a first-come basis and generally will be answered within 10 business days. PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Additional information is also available online at the following address: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/researchprogram/fundingops.html Research Opportunity Description The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) permanently established the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research under the direction of an Associate Director, within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. One purpose of this office is to enhance the development of new technology and technological applications, and to expedite the commercial availability and implementation of such technology in mining environments. The MINER Act grants the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research the authority to (1) award competitive contracts and grants to institutions and private entities to encourage the development and manufacture of mine safety equipment and (2) award contracts to education institutions or private laboratories for the performance of product testing or related work with respect to new mine technology or equipment. This announcement is an opportunity for the award of contracts for enhancing safety in mines. The primary goal of the MINER Act technology mandate is to improve/increase the use of technology in mines to improve mineworker safety and health, and the intent of this broad agency announcement is to support enabling activities such as technology identification, validation, demonstration, adaptation, and/or commercialization. The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research of NIOSH is soliciting concept papers to conduct research, exploratory development, testing, or evaluations of new technologies to improve mine safety, or to adapt technologies from other industries for application in mining environments. The primary interest of this broad agency announcement is to promote the modification or final development of practical technologies or systems that can be adopted by the mining community in a short period of time. Under this specific solicitation, proposals to conduct theoretical or basic research will not be considered. NIOSH strongly encourages proposals that include collaboration with mining industry partners who understand the reality of the mining environment and can provide insight into mine design requirements and potential commercialization of the technology. The following examples are presented to further illustrate appropriate submissions under this solicitation beyond the more general guidance listed previously. 1. A safety and/or health technology that is currently in a prototype stage, which will require funding for final development and adaptation to the mining environment. This could include modification of prototypes to account for operation in the challenging underground coal environment, modification to meet permissibility requirements, and/or demonstration of the technology at actual mine sites. 2. A safety and/or health technology that is currently being used in another industry and requires modification to be adapted for mining applications. This could include system redesign, modification to meet permissibility requirements, in-mine testing to establish the efficacy of the technology, and/or demonstration of the technology at mine sites. 3. Analysis of candidate technologies to establish their potential to improve safety and/or health, and/or analyses of barriers to technology application or means of overcoming such barriers. 4. A safety and/or health technology that is fully developed and available for use but is not being adopted by the industry for reasons that require further analysis. This could include developing an initial operational capability by installing the technology in one or more mines for evaluation and/or market analysis to determine the reasons the technology is not being adopted and the changes that would be necessary to make it acceptable to the industry. 5. Analysis of safety and health information in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry. Since 2007, 143 contracts have been issued in response to these solicitations. Summaries of each contract are provided at CDC - Mining Contracts - NIOSH and are illustrative of the types of work that have been chosen for funding previously. Fatality and injury data continue to highlight the need to develop new or improve existing technologies or adapt technologies from other industries to address safety and health issues in surface, and underground mines related to the coal, metal, non-metal, and stone, sand, and gravel mining sectors. NIOSH has typically provided a number of topical areas of importance to guide responders in addressing its highest priorities; this solicitation continues that practice as described below. However, NIOSH strongly encourages responders to propose solutions to other health and safety issues that are responsive to our guidelines; these proposals are evaluated under the same criteria as submittals under the focus area and receive equal consideration for funding. Twenty-six percent of the contracts funded under this program have come from this category of submittals and, in some fiscal years, have made up fifty to seventy percent of the funded proposals. FOCUS AREAS 1.Permissible Borehole Camera/Audio/Gas Sensor Develop a field permissible (MSHA approved) borehole camera with microphone, gas sensor and possibly robotic controller. The device will utilize a fiber link to move data to the surface from 3000 feet below ground. The device should fit dimensions to allow lowering it 3000 through a borehole. In the post-incident search for missing miners cut off from communications, responders drill bore holes at likely rally sites where stranded miners may assemble. Responders drop cameras down the borehole to determine mine conditions and check for signs of life. The Responders will use the audio capability to establish two-way communications if miners are found. Additionally, responders will use gas readings as additional data points in their decisions during rescue operations. 2. Permissible Realtime Wireless Camera Provide a permissible, wearable, wireless camera that can source a real-time video stream/captured image from exploring mine rescue teams through a wireless network or tether back to the fresh air base or command center. It is anticipated that the mine rescue team will leave the fresh air base to conduct post-incident exploration wearing the permissible wireless cameras. These cameras may use wireless network infrastructure devices (nodes) to transport the real-time video streams/captured images back to the fresh air base and if linked, the command center. Wireless network capabilities should be compatible with the MSHA mine rescue operations system. Other options for video transmission may include digital storage for video streams to be downloaded later, and/or fiber optic tether to transmit the real-time video streams to the fresh air base. The fresh air base and/or command center staff can then view the streams/images and record them to review later. 3. Large format lithium-ion battery fire detection and suppression A large format lithium-ion battery pack can contain many battery modules consisting of thousands of cells. To prevent a potential lithium-ion fire from a battery pack, it is important to detect thermal runaway and activate a fire suppression system to suppress and control the fire as the first line of fire prevention and suppression. This fire suppression technique should be compatible with an explosion proof lithium-ion battery enclosure required for underground gassy mines. Because the available space inside a battery pack is limited, new technologies for a thermal runaway detection system and battery fire suppression system should be developed. Water-based fire suppression systems may not be practical due to the large amount of liquid required for fire suppression. This new system needs to be compact, automatic, and effective in suppressing a fire. An appropriate detection method is also needed to activate the suppression system. The system and/or systems developed should result in a prototype that is proven to be effective. Additionally, the prototype should be able to obtain MSHA permissibility approval. 4. Develop methodologies and calibration mechanisms for field scale testing of active seismic monitoring systems as pillar failure precursory. Literature suggests that the fractures initiated and propagated before a catastrophic rock failure in the lab can be captured by receiving seismic waves emitted from the propagating fractures by an active seismic source in the vicinity of the rock sample. However, further research is needed to evaluate the applicability of this technique as an early warning system for underground mines. This focus area requests proposals to develop prototype field instrumentation that can be utilized in yield pillars in an active underground mine to measure the seismic waves of propagating fractures from an active seismic source which lead to failure of yield pillars. Included will be the ability to distinguish between background noise in the mine can and signs of failure in the yield pillar. An example of an application can be in detecting the onset of caving in excessively suspended roof strata behind longwall shields. The sudden caving of roof strata behind longwall shields can cause potentially catastrophic consequences. The ability to detect when the roof is beginning to cave would allow operators to withdraw personnel from the working face and other affected areas before a significant collapse event. In the absence of such a technology or accurate methodology, operators are faced with the need to continue mining until the roof falls, generally without warning. 5. Develop and prototype in-situ stress measurement tools applicable to deep underground coal mines. Develop prototype stress measurement methods for measuring in-situ stress that are practical, accurate, cost effective and have the ability to obtain MSHA permissibility approval. These prototypes would be used in operating mine sites; therefore, they should be durable with ease of use. One example is mini-frac tools. The mini-frac tests can be used for measuring the orientation of max horizontal stress and the magnitudes of min horizontal stress but most commercially available tools are limited in max packer pressure or permissibility for use in gaseous underground coal mines. Research and development are needed to find the most practical techniques for use in underground coal mines. H. Instrument Type(s) and Period of Performance - Awards will take the form of contracts. Work that will be completed in 36 months or less is desired under this solicitation, but this is not a firm requirement; projects requiring up to 48 months will be considered. II. AWARD INFORMATION NIOSH plans to make awards that represent the best value to the Government in accordance with the evaluation criteria. NIOSH is seeking participants for this program that are capable of developing and demonstrating the technologies required to achieve the goals described in this announcement 1. Total amount of funding the program office expects to award through the announcement: Approximately $2M to $5M for the duration of this BAA. 2. Anticipated number and estimated value of awards: NIOSH estimates that the typical contract award under this solicitation will be between $200,000 to $300,000, although proposals will be considered up to a ceiling of $650,000. Proposals submitted in excess of the $650,000 ceiling will not be evaluated nor considered for funding. It is estimated that approximately 6 to 10 awards will be made. 3. Anticipated award types: The contracts will be Firm Fixed Price. NIOSH will not issue grants, cooperative agreements, or other transaction agreements under this BAA. III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION All potential applicants that meet the requirements of the application and submission deadlines are eligible. IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION A. Application and Submission Process Offerors must submit a Concept Paper prior to submitting a Full Proposal. NIOSH will evaluate the Concept Papers and the CDC Contracting Officer will provide feedback via email to the Offerors for those Concept Papers that will move forward to a Full Proposal. Full Proposals will be solicited from Concept Papers that are of - particular value in fulfilling the goals of the Broad Agency Announcement. However, any such request for a Full Proposal submission does not assure a subsequent contract award. The Full Proposal must provide detailed technical and cost information as outlined herein to support the scope of the proposed effort. Full Proposals will be evaluated, and a determination made for contract awards. B. Content and Format of Concept Papers and Full Proposals The proposal submissions will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 15.207, applicable law, and regulations. Offerors are expected to appropriately mark each page of their submission that contains proprietary drawings, information or data. General Formatting Requirements (Concept Papers and Full Proposals) 1. Paper Size - 8.5 x 11-inch paper 2. Margins - 1 inch, all 3. Spacing - 1.15 spacing 4. Font - Times New Roman, 12 point 5. Electronic file submission - Files must be submitted as a MS Word document with the exception of the cover page (concept paper) or pages for the Technical and Cost Proposals (Full Proposal), which may be submitted as a MS Word or pdf format document containing the required signature. Concept Paper Content (not to exceed 10 pages excluding the cover page, concept papers exceeding the 10 page limit may not be evaluated) 1. Cover Page: A separate cover page shall be labeled "CONCEPT PAPER," and shall include the BAA number, proposed title, Offeror's administrative and technical points of contact, with telephone numbers, fax numbers, mailing and email addresses, total cost of the concept, period of performance, and corresponding focus area (if applicable) that is listed in the solicitation, and shall be signed by an authorized officer. 2. Abbreviated Statement of Work: The abbreviated SOW must be provided that clearly describes the objectives, scope of work, and the technical approach. The following SOW format shall be used: a. Title of Project: Provide descriptive title that reflects the proposed effort. b. Synopsis of the Technical Approach. This section shall include the Problem Statement or Focus Area and identify specifically what mine safety issue or focus area this proposed technology development is attempting to address. Background (no more than one page): The background section should provide a clear and brief description of the relevance of the proposed effort and discuss the technology that will be proposed in general, non-technical terms. The background section should address four specific areas: (1) provide an assessment of the current body of knowledge, (2) the status of related industry product developments, and (3) the remaining steps that are needed to facilitate a commercially viable and available solution for the safety and health issue identified in the proposal; this should include (4) supporting evidence that the proposed work represents the next logical step in arriving at a solution. Briefly describe the enabling technology that is being proposed and how this technology will be used to solve the issue designated in the problem statement. Define the state of readiness of the enabling technology and what is needed to bring the proposed technology to the level of development necessary to solve the designated problem. Identify any known or perceived barriers to the implementation of this technology due to the uniqueness of the mining environment or statutory regulations. c. Objective: A brief and succinct statement of what will be done relevant to the problem statement and the expected outcome. d. Scope of Work (no more than five pages): The scope of work should provide a brief and clear description in non-technical terms as much as possible and should identify the major steps that will be undertaken to achieve the proposed outcome. The scope of work should address the following areas: Briefly describe the current state of the technology. Address the issues expressed in the background section and how the proposed technology will be developed to solve the problem. Briefly describe the specific tasks and phases of the work. Specify the period of performance for the total effort and each task or phase. Milestones, schedule and decision points regarding the development of the technology including rough estimates of cost for each year, task and phase of the effort and total cost. Briefly identify the required steps to overcome the perceived barriers to the implantation of this technology. e. Deliverables (no more than two pages): Provide a summary of the deliverables including: Monthly or quarterly technical reports. Monthly or quarterly financial progress reports. Milestone reports. Draft Final and Final report. (Note: Time must be included in the schedule for the Government to review the Draft Final report, typically 30 days) All data collection and analysis protocols as applicable. f. Key Personnel (no more than two pages): A brief summary of the key personnel including: a listing of key personnel with a short summary of qualifications. All personnel necessary for performance of the work need in place within 1-2 months of contract award. Full Proposal Content Volume 1: Technical Proposal - Each section of the Technical Proposal must start on a new page. DO NOT PROVIDE COMMERCIAL PRODUCT ADVERTISING BROCHURES. Cover Page: A separate cover page must include the words "TECHNICAL PROPOSAL" and the following: BAA number; Title of Proposal; Identity of prime Offeror and complete list of collaborators and subcontractors, if applicable; Technical contact (name, address, phone/fax, email and mailing address); Administrative/business contact (name, address, phone/fax, email and mailing address), and; Period of performance. Table of Contents Statement of Work (not to exceed 15 pages): A SOW must be provided that clearly describes the objectives, scope of work, and the technical approach. Proposals must include a severable, unclassified, self-standing SOW without any proprietary restrictions, since it is anticipated that the proposed SOW may be incorporated as an attachment to the resultant award instrument. DO NOT INCLUDE ANY PROPRIETARY DATA OR MARKINGS IN THE STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW); if necessary to support the Full Proposal, this data may be included in an Appendix as a supplement to the SOW, with each page containing proprietary drawings, information or data appropriately marked. The Government also reserves the right to modify the proposed SOW based on clarification sessions with the Offer prior to the agreement award. The following SOW format shall be used: Title of Project: Provide descriptive title that reflects the proposed effort. Problem Statement or Focus Area: Identify specifically what mine safety issue or focus area this proposal is attempting to address. Background: The background section should provide a clear indication of the relevance of the proposed effort and discuss the technology that will be proposed in general, non-technical terms. The background section should address four specific areas: Provide an assessment of the current body of knowledge, the status of related industry product developments, and the remaining steps that are needed to facilitate a commercially viable and available solution for the safety and health issue identified in the proposal. This should include supporting evidence that the proposed work represents the next logical step in arriving at a solution. Identify the enabling technology that is being proposed and how this technology will be used to solve the issue designated in the problem statement. Identify the state of readiness of the enabling technology and what is needed to bring the proposed technology to the level of development necessary to solve the designated problem. Identify any known or perceived barriers to the implementation of this technology due to the uniqueness of the mining environment or statutory regulations. Objective: A succinct statement of what will be done relevant to the problem statement and the expected outcome if this effort is funded. Scope of Work: The scope of work should provide a clear description in non-technical terms as much as possible and should also expand on the project objectives and of the major steps that will be undertaken to achieve the proposed outcome. The scope of work should address the following areas: Current state of the technology. Specific information addressing the issues expressed in the background section pertaining to how the technology will be developed to solve the problem. Describes the specific tasks and phases of the work. When optional tasks or phases are offered beyond the base proposal, they must be separately and clearly identified as optional tasks and phases. Specify the period of performance for the total effort and each task or phase (including optional tasks or phases). Milestones and schedule of events that can be used as progress metrics and decision points regarding the development of the technology. Identify the required steps to overcome the perceived barriers to the implantation of this technology. Potential paths or avenues to commercialization. References: Describes any reference materials that may be relevant to the work being performed. Deliverables and Reporting Schedule: Detailed summary of deliverables to be provided under the contract. Describe any reporting requirements including content and format, including Delivery and ownership of products hardware produced under this effort. Also required is delineation of documentation including but not limited to the following: Monthly or quarterly technical reports. Milestone reports. Draft Final and Final Report (Note: Time must be included in the schedule for the Government to review the Draft Final report, typically 30 days. Electronic format (MS Word and PDF) and one (1) hard bound copy of the final report is required. All data collection and analysis protocols as applicable. A prototype of the developed product (optional). At a minimum, a final technical report is required and is to be delivered in electronic (Word and PDF) format. The final electronic formatted report must be 508 compliant. If the final report contains proprietary information, a second version of the report must be prepared in electronic format that is suitable for public release. The contractor shall submit a completed HHS Section 508 Checklist to assist the Government in determining that the Final Report is Section 508 compliant. In addition, the contractor shall submit the result of running the accessibility self-check in either Word or PDF format. Additional information is available on the HHS Section 508 websites (https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/index.html Special Considerations: Information that does not fit neatly or logically into one of the other sections. Government Furnished Property: Document any government furnished property that is required to complete the Scope of Work. Assertion of Data Rights (not to exceed 1 page): Include here a summary of any proprietary rights to preexisting results, prototypes, or systems supporting and/or necessary for the use of the research, results, and/or prototype. Any rights made in other parts of the proposal that would impact the rights in this section must be cross-referenced. If there are proprietary rights, the Offeror must explain how these affect its ability to deliver subsystems and toolkits for integration. Additionally, Offerors must explain how the program goals are achievable in light of these proprietary and/or restrictive limitations. If there are no claims of proprietary rights in preexisting data, this section shall consist of a statement to that effect. Resource Sharing Plan(s) HHS/CDC policy requires that recipients of contract awards make research resources and data readily available for research purposes to qualified individuals within the scientific community after publication. CDC requires awardees for projects and programs that involve the collection or generation of data with federal funds to develop, submit and comply with a Data Management Plan (DMP) for each collection or generation of public health data undertaken as part of the award and, to the extent appropriate, provide access to and archiving/long-term preservation of collected or generated data. Data Management Plan Consistent with the terms of and activities expected under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA), as applicable, awardees must develop and submit a DMP generally during the project planning phase, but in any event, prior to the initiation of generating or collecting public health data. Accordingly, the DMP may be evaluated during the application, study proposal, or project review process or during other times in the project period. For FOAs that involve already defined projects which include data collection or generation at the time of application, applications submitted without the required DMP may be deemed non-responsive for award. For FOAs where CDC specifies that submission of the DMP is deferred to a later period, funding restrictions may be imposed pending submission and evaluation of the DMP. For awards where data collection or generation activities may become necessary during the project period, DMPs will be required to be submitted and evaluated during the project period of the award. In all instances described above, the reviewing officials have to approve an acceptable DMP. Costs associated with developing and implementing a DMP, including costs of sharing, archiving and long-term preservation, may be included in the cost proposal. A DMP for each collection and/or generation of public health data funded by this award, as applicable, should include the following information: - A description of the data to be collected or generated in the proposed project; - Standards to be used for the collected or generated data; - Mechanisms for or limitations to providing access to and sharing of the data (include a description of provisions for the protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights). This section should address access to identifiable and de-identified data (see below for additional information about access); - Statement of the use of data standards that ensure all released data have appropriate documentation that describes the method of collection, what the data represent, and potential limitations for use; and - Plans for archiving and long-term preservation of the data, or explaining why long-term preservation and access are not justified. This section should address archiving and preservation of identifiable and de-identified data (see below for additional information regarding archiving). Access to and Archiving of the Data Awardees whose terms of award do not include submitting data to CDC are expected to plan and prepare for access to and archiving/long-term preservation of collected and/or generated data within the funding period, as set forth below. The final version of a collected and/or generated data set intended for release or sharing should be made available within thirty (30) months after the end of the data collection or generation, except surveillance data which should be made accessible within a year of the end of a collection cycle. In addition, awardees should ensure the quality of data they make accessible and seek to provide the data in a nonproprietary format. Awardees who fail to release public health data in a timely fashion may be subject to procedures normally used to address lack of compliance consistent with applicable authorities, regulations, policies or terms of their award. For public use de-identified (removal of sensitive identifiable or potentially identifiable information) datasets, an accompanying data dictionary, and other documentation relevant to use of the data set should be deposited in a sustainable repository to provide access to the data. Data that cannot be de-identified can be provided on request under a data-use agreement. Awardees will be required to inform the appropriate CDC point-of-contact identified in the award via an update to their DMP of the location of the deposited data. The DMP is a living document that should be updated throughout the life cycle of data. For data underlying scientific publication, awardee should make the data available coincident with publication of the paper, unless the data set is already available via a release or sharing mechanism. At a minimum, release of the data set should consist of a machine-readable version of the data tables shown in the paper. Requirements set forth in this policy are not intended to conflict with or supersede applicable contract regulations related to agency access to awardee data and records. Offerors should include a detailed DMP in their technical pr...