Consulting Services for MSHA Part 18 Rulemaking

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Senior Procurement Executive (OSPE), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM), Washington, DC is seeking information on behalf of Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for consulting services. CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS: U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of the Senior Procurement Executive (OSPE), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM) located at 200 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20210. INTRODUCTION: The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) develops and enforces safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents; to reduce the frequency and severity of nonfatal accidents; to minimize health hazards; and to promote improved safety and health conditions in the Nation's mines. As a regulatory organization, MSHA's jurisdiction includes the Nation's mining industry, which consists of coal, metal, and nonmetal mines, including both underground and surface operations. MSHA's Approval and Certification Center (A&CC), located in Triadelphia, West Virginia approves and certifies certain mining products and equipment for use in underground coal and gassy underground metal mines. Technical experts evaluate and test equipment, instruments, and materials for compliance with Federal Regulations. Products evaluated and tested range from extremely small electronic devices to very large mining systems. Following successful completion of evaluation and testing of a product, a license is issued authorizing a manufacturer to produce and distribute products for use in mines. The MSHA approval issued by the A&CC is internationally recognized. REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION: MSHA is engaged in a number of rulemakings, including the proposed rule to revise 30 CFR part 18 that sets out the testing, evaluation, and approval requirements for electric motor-driven mine equipment and accessories intended for use in gassy mines, Federal Register: Testing, Evaluation, and Approval of Electric Motor-Driven Mine Equipment and Accessories. Under this proposed rule, MSHA would accept voluntary consensus standards deemed suitable to serve as Intrinsic Safety (IS) approval requirements in 30 CFR part 18. This proposed rule is intended to promote the use of innovative and advanced technologies that lead to improvements in mine safety and health. The comment period for the proposed rule closed on December 21, 2020. The objectives of this PWS are to acquire assistance to support the A&CC's Electrical Safety Division (ESD) with the implementation of the proposed Subpart F rule. The contractor must have the technical, statistical, and editorial expertise to assist MSHA in analyzing policy, procedures, standard testing procedures (STPs), etc. for the proposed rule. In order to meet these objectives, the contractor must have expert knowledge of the MSHA approval process, with an emphasis on MSHA IS approvals, along with expert knowledge of 30 CFR, A&CC quality assurance processes, and the voluntary consensus standards suitable for serving as MSHA's approval requirements for IS approvals. This expertise can be demonstrated by describing the specific approvals for which they have investigated, or have applied for and been issued, or a resume documenting their work in this area. The contractor will be expected to: - Draft and revise ESD's STPs, Standard Application Procedures (SAPs), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and IS criteria in accordance with the final rule, thereby implementing the voluntary consensus standards into MSHA's IS approval program. - Prepare an outline and draft content for training that ESD investigators will need to investigate approvals under the voluntary consensus standards considered in the final rule. - Prepare an outline and draft content for the outreach program that ESD will do for Stakeholders to instruct them on the changes to ESD's approval programs. The contractor's experience must clearly document the required expertise. All analyses provided must be accurate, consistent with governing statutes and executive orders, and drafted using plain language. ATTENTION: Please complete and return the below questionnaire with your response. INDUSTRY FEEDBACK: This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to obtain industry's feedback on the anticipated scope of work, potential cost, and performance risks as well as any other related considerations for the required services. Attachment 1: Market Research Questionnaire: Please review and respond to the following questions regarding business size. Please indicate your business classification for NAICS code 541690 - Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (Size Standard of $19 Million) below: Small Business Other Than Small Business If your business classification is Small Business, do you qualify under any of the following certification programs and socio-economic categories? HUBZone Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) 8(a) Do you provide consulting services via a GSA Schedule? If so, please provide your GSA Schedule number, the contract expiration date, and the possible ultimate completion date: GSA Schedule # _____________________ Contract Expiration: _____________________ Ultimate Completion Date: ____________________ Please respond to the following questions: For these particular services, please describe the experience you have in performing the required consulting services and the specific MSHA knowledge and experience that is required. Within the common contracts you currently have for these services, what are some of the standard performance measures utilized (i.e., tracking of hours worked and ensuring timeliness of deliveries, etc.) Are there any potential risks related to performance or cost given this scope of work? If so, please identify and provide recommendations for risk mitigation. What are the key cost drivers? The Government has determined NAICS Code 541690 - Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services - to be the most appropriate for this requirement. If there is another NAICS code that your company would recommend as appropriate for this type of work, please provide it. Please provide details regarding potential joint ventures, teaming arrangements, strategic alliances, or other business arrangements to satisfy requirements. Offerors are encouraged to identify teams, indicating each team member's size based upon the NAICS code of the work that the team member may be doing and provide size status information. Is your company anticipating subcontracting to satisfy requirements? If so, identify the anticipated subcontracting efforts and the types of the work the subcontractor would be performing. If your company is a large business, how successful have you been in meeting small business subcontracting goals? What, if any, recommendations can your company provide that are innovative and cost saving on these types of projects? SUBMISSION DETAILS: Submissions shall reference RFI - MSHA Consulting Services in the subject line. Interested parties who wish to respond to this RFI should send responses via email no later than Friday, December 27, 2024, 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) to Contract Specialist Rhonda Sizemore at Sizemore.Rhonda@dol.gov. Interested parties should respond to the areas of concerns cited under the - INDUSTRY FEEDBACK section of this document. No page limitations for responses. Questions and comments regarding this requirement will be accepted and reviewed. The Government will provide answers if the Government determines responses are warranted. Submissions must include: Company Capabilities Statement Responses to all questions cited in - Industry Feedback section of this RFI Business name and address Name of company representative and their business title Type of Business Business Size Socio-economic Status; and UEI Number PROPRIETARY INFORMATION: Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. All government personnel reviewing the RFI responses understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information as described 41 USC 423. The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified. DISCLAIMER: THIS RFI IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTES/PROPOSALS. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS POSTING. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS POSTING. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY.