Calibration, Certification and Verification of Transverse Pavement Profile Measurements

This is a Pre-Solicitation notice (synopsis) for a full and open competition. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has a new requirement for a Contractor to develop calibration, certification and verification methods and procedures to evaluate the precision and accuracy of transverse pavement profile measurements that are collected at the prevailing speed limit. The objective of this project is to develop calibration/certification/verification methods and procedures to evaluate the precision and accuracy of transverse pavement profile measurements that are collected at the prevailing speed limit. These methods and procedures may involve subsystem components as well as system level assessments. The process of calibrating/certifying/verifying these measurements can usually be put into two categories: 1) using a device/method to survey the dimensions of a known object, or 2) performing a transverse profile measurement using a reference device and comparing the reference measurements with measurements from the survey device. The intent is to provide transportation agencies with the information necessary to monitor and evaluate pavement testing programs that include transverse pavement profile. At a minimum, the methods and procedures should provide the transportation agency with the ability to: - Determine the precision and accuracy of (highway speed) transverse pavement profile measurements, and evaluate if the precision and accuracy are within recommended guidelines and reasonable operating parameters. - Determine if two or more measurement systems are providing results within tolerances (e.g., if multiple pieces of equipment are performing a survey, are they all providing the same results, and how often should the results be compared). - Determine if measurements taken at different points in time are providing consistent results within tolerances, and how often should the results be evaluated. The methods and procedures developed need to be traceable, objective, practical, and transparent. The methods shall also be consistent with the concepts of AASHTO PP 70-10 Collecting the Transverse Pavement Profile, and PP 69-10 Determining Pavement Deformation Parameters and Cross Slope from Collected Transverse Profiles. The Contractor shall collect information on data requirements for all practical applications of transverse pavement profile for pavement engineering and/or management, evaluate past efforts to calibrate/certify/verify transverse pavement profile measurements, recommend transverse pavement profile data requirements to be performed under the contract if authorized. Planned DRAFT tasks are: Task 1: Kickoff Meeting; Task 2: Perform literature review and interviews with state highway agencies participating in TPF-5(299) pooled fund study, international road management organizations, and industry on applications of transverse pavement profile for pavement engineering/management decision making, data requirements for transverse pavement profiles for all practical applications, comparison of data requirements with data collection technologies, efforts to calibrate/certify/verify transverse pavement profiles, current and expected near term (within 10 years) technologies to collect transverse pavement profiles at highway speeds; Task 3: Recommend the transverse pavement profile data requirements to pursue if authorized; Task 4: Final Report and Plan for Optional Tasks; Task 5 Option: If authorized, conduct the work to develop calibration/certification/verification methods and procedures to evaluate the precision and accuracy of identified transverse pavement profile data that are collected at or near the prevailing speed limit. Submit report on results of experiments and identify data identified that requires further investigation if authorized; Task 6 Option: If authorized, conduct the work to develop methods and procedures to evaluate the precision and accuracy of transverse pavement profile data identified as requiring further investigation. Submit report on results of experiments and recommend calibration/certification/verification protocols for the identified transverse pavement profile data; and Task 7 Option: If authorized, prepare and submit recommended calibration/certification/verification protocols to allow transportation agencies to implement the protocols to evaluate the accuracy of transverse pavement profile measurements in the appropriate format for AASHTO, ASTM or other standards organizations. The NAICS code for this requirement is 541330 with a small business size standard of $15 million. This competition is unrestricted. FHWA anticipates making one award as a result of this RFP. The RFP will be released and available electronically at www.fbo.gov, on or about 2/21/2017 with an estimated proposal due date of on or about 3/24/2017. Estimated award date is on or about 5/1/2017. This planned contract is a new requirement and is not a follow-on to any existing contract. A Sources Sought Notice was issued on 2/26/2016 to gather market data in support of this procurement. The estimated contract period of performance will be 36 months from the date of the executed award. Interested parties may register at www.fbo.gov to receive a variety of procurement announcements/notifications. It is the responsibility of interested parties to monitor the FedBizOpps website for any amendments to this RFP package. NO OTHER PROCUREMENT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.