FMVSS No. 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles"

Action Code: Sources Sought Classification Code: H223 Solicitation: DTNH2217RQ00673 Agency/Office: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Location: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration HQ NAICS Code: 541380, Testing Laboratories, $15.0 M. Point of Contract: Vincent Lynch, Contracting Officer, ph(202) 366-9568 Title: FMVSS No. 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles" Description(s): The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is issuing this Sources Sought Notice to identify potential qualified Small Business (SB), Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), 8(a) Certified SDB, HUBZone SB, SDVOSB, or WOSB concerns that may be interested in and capable of performing the work described herein to perform inspection and compliance testing services to determine conformance of motor vehicles to the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). The data generated in these studies will provide the results of testing to FMVSS No. 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles" which sets forth the minimum to sound requirements to determine conformance of hybrid and electric vehicles. NHTSA welcomes all qualified Small Business concerns, with the appropriate NAICS Code and past experience to submit their Corporate Capability Statements that demonstrate their ability to successfully accomplish the goals of the project as listed below. NHTSA does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses to this notice or otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Acknowledgement of receipt of responses will not be made; no formal evaluation of the information received will be conducted by NHTSA. NHTSA may; however later on issue a Request for Proposals (RFP). However, should such a requirement fail to materialize, no basis for claims against NHTSA shall arise as a result of a response to this notice. Background: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce traffic-related health care and other economic costs. The agency develops, promotes, and implements effective educational, engineering, and enforcement programs with the goal of ending vehicle crash tragedies and reducing economic costs associated with vehicle use and highway travel. The Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance conducts extensive research, development, testing, crash investigation, and data collection and analysis activities to provide the scientific basis needed to support the Agency's motor vehicle and traffic safety goals. In addition to supporting internal NHTSA efforts, NHTSA-sponsored research provides high-quality publicly-accessible data that serves as the basis for countless other research endeavors. As part of its mission to reduce fatalities and injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration promulgates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Manufacturers of motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment are required to certify that each product they sell in the United States meets the requirements of all applicable safety standards. NHTSA's Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) is charged with determining whether manufacturers meet the applicable safety standards. This contract effort will enable the agency to meet its mission by assuring that motor vehicles meet the requirements in FMVSS No. 141, Minimum sound requirements for hybrid and electric vehicles. Objective: The objective is to procure inspection and compliance testing services to perform inspection and compliance testing services to determine conformance of motor vehicles to the requirements of the FMVSS No. 141, Minimum sound requirements for hybrid and electric vehicles. Capabilities: The Contractor shall perform all applicable work in accordance with the testing requirements of the FMVSS and the applicable OVSC Test Procedure (TP) outlined above as well as the additional tasks and characteristics given below: B.l SUPPLIES/SERVICES The Contractor shall provide the necessary qualified personnel, facilities, materials, supplies, equipment, and services as identified in the SOW, which are necessary to perform the Compliance Test Program for the following Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and Federal Motor Vehicle Regulations (FMVR): FMVSS No. 141, "Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles" Detailed "in-house" check-off-sheet style test procedures created by the Contractor will be referred to hereinafter as "Contractor Test Procedures." Contractor Test Procedures are subject to the COR approval. In addition to meeting the requirements of the Test Procedure, the Contractor shall follow its internal Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) management plans addressed in Section F.6 of this contract. C.5.2 Test Vehicles The Government will provide test vehicles. In certain instances, at the option of the Government, the Contractor shall acquire leased test vehicles. The government will specify in the issuance of a delivery order its desire for the Contractor to lease a vehicle. The Contractor shall inspect GFP vehicles for condition and completeness immediately upon delivery at the Contractor's point of receipt. The Contractor shall be responsible for the storage and security of all vehicles from receipt until sale or transfer from its facility. The Contractor has the responsibility of accepting test vehicles from new dealers/distributors or transporters, including government-contracted transporters. In each instance, the Contractor acts on behalf of OVSC when signing to accept test vehicles. If a vehicle is delivered by a dealer/distributor, the Contractor shall verify the following: A. Tires and wheel rims are new. B. There are no dents or other interior or exterior flaws in the vehicle body. C. The vehicle has been properly prepared and is in running condition. D. The glove box contains an owner's manual, warranty document, consumer information, and extra set of keys. E. Proper fuel filler cap is supplied on the vehicle. F. All options listed on the "window sticker" are present on the test vehicle. G. The VIN (vehicle identification number) on the vehicle condition report matches the VIN on the vehicle. If the test vehicle is delivered by a Government-contracted transporter, the Contractor shall check for damage which may have occurred during transit and verify the VIN on the vehicle condition report matches the VIN on the vehicle. A "Vehicle Condition" form will be supplied to the Contractor by the COR when the test vehicle is transferred from the dealer/distributor, test facility, or between NHTSA test contracts. The upper half of the form describes the vehicle in detail, and is to be completed at the time of vehicle receipt. The lower half provides space for a detailed description of the post- test condition, and is to be completed at the conclusion of the test. Vehicle Condition forms must be returned to the COR with the copies of the Final Test Report or the reports will NOT be accepted. C.5.3 Measurement and Test Equipment The Contractor shall implement and maintain a calibration system in accordance with this contract and applicable TP. Before the Contractor initiates the safety compliance test program, a test instrumentation calibration system shall be implemented and maintained in accordance with established calibration practices. The calibration system shall be set up and maintained as follows: A. Standards for calibrating the measuring and test equipment shall be stored and used under appropriate environmental conditions to assure their accuracy and stability. B. All measuring instruments and standards shall be calibrated by the Contractor, or a commercial facility, against a higher order standard at intervals NOT EXCEEDING 12 MONTHS FOR INSTRUMENTS AND 12 MONTHS FOR CALIBRATION STANDARDS. Records, showing the calibration traceability to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), shall be maintained for all measuring and test equipment. C. All measuring and test equipment and measuring standards shall be labeled with the following information: (1) Date of calibration (2) Date of next scheduled calibration (3) Name of the technician who calibrated the equipment D. A written calibration procedure shall be provided by the Contractor including, as a minimum, the following information for all measurement and test equipment: (1) Type of equipment, manufacturer, model number, etc. (2) Measurement range (3) Accuracy (4) Calibration interval (5) Type of standard used to calibrate the equipment (calibration traceability of the standard must be evident) (6) The actual procedures and forms used to perform the calibrations. E. Records of calibration for all test instrumentation shall be kept by the Contractor in a manner that assures the maintenance of established calibration schedules. All such records shall be readily available for inspection when requested by the COR. The calibration system procedures shall be accepted by the COR before the test program commences. F. Test equipment shall receive a calibration check immediately prior to a test and a calibration check after the test. This check shall be recorded by the test technician(s) and submitted with the final report. G. The COR may require the Contractor to evaluate its data acquisition system to demonstrate ability to meet procedural requirements. Further guidance is provided in the International Standard ISO 10012-1, "Quality Assurance Requirements for Measuring Equipment" and American National Standard ANSI/NCSL Z540-1, "Calibration Laboratories and Measuring and Test Equipment - General Requirements." C5.3.1 Test Site Requirement The Contractor shall have access to and utilize a test surface meeting the requirements of ISO 10844:2014, ISO 10844:2011, or ISO 10844:1994 "Acoustics - Specification of test tracks for measuring noise emitted by road vehicles and their tyres" for assuring that motor vehicles meet the requirements in FMVSS No. 141, Minimum sound requirements for hybrid and electric vehicles. C5.3.2 Acoustic Software and Test Equipment The Contractor shall utilize NHTSA provided compliance tool to analyze collected sounds files for compliance to the FMVSS. The compliance tool includes the MATLAB code, graphical user interface and instructions manual. The contractor shall utilize the government furnished Br'el & Kjaer (B&K) acoustic sound measurement system. This system is a commercial off-the-shelf system used for collecting sound files. C.5.4 Deviation from OVSC Test Procedures The Contractor shall conduct testing only in accordance with the OVSC Test Procedure and applicable FMVSS or FMVR and shall notify the COR if any deviation from the OVSC Test Procedure is necessary. The Contractor shall receive approval from the COR prior to initiating any deviations from the OVSC Test Procedure or the approved Contractor Test Procedure. The COR is authorized to approve such deviations as long as that deviation does not affect the prices stated in this contract. (see attached Draft SOW for more information) Format of Corporate Capabilities Statement: Any interested qualified Small Business firms, Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), 8(a) Certified SDB, HUBZone SB, SDVOSB, or WOSB concerns should submit their Corporate Capability Statement, which demonstrates the firm's ability and past experience in no more than 10 pages to perform the key requirements described above to the identified NHTSA point of contact listed herein. Any proprietary information should be marked as such. All respondents are asked to certify the type and size of their business organization is in-line with the requirements of this Sources Sought Notice, and must be received no later than 10 calendar days from the date of publication of this notice.