Hydrographic Surveying

Revision made to the RFI information. The following statement has been removed: "state the amount of time needed to complete specific tasks". All other information remains unchanged. This Sources Sought Notice is not a Request for Proposal and does not constitute a commitment by the Government. The Government is currently conducting market research in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Part 10, to identify potential sources to fulfill the requirement and gather information on current capabilities of businesses within the market. All information submitted in response to the Sources Sought Notice is voluntary and the Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the Government. Proprietary information submitted should be marked appropriately. All submitted information shall remain with the U.S. Government and will not be returned. The potential offeror should demonstrate that they have the capability to meet the following NOAA program requirements. NOAA has a requirement for Hydrographic Surveying Services to support nautical charting and related products for the coastal and adjacent ocean areas of the United States (including possessions and territories), the Great Lakes and other inland navigable waters. Task orders under this contract will consist of, but are not limited to: 1) Acquiring multibeam sounding data 2) Acquiring side scan sonar data 3) Capability to produce Ellipsoidally Referenced Surveys (ERS) 4) Acquiring and processing time series acoustic backscatter data 5) Investigating shoreline and other charted features 6) Installing, operating, and removing water level (tide) stations and Global Positioning System (GPS) stations for establishing vertical and horizontal control 7) Acquiring related supporting data (e.g. water level correctors, secchi depth readings, sound speed through the water, etc.) 8) Processing the hydrographic and auxiliary data 9) Performing quality control during data acquisition and processing 10) Delivery of the data and reports to NOAA for application to the nautical charts and associated hydrographic products 11) Acquiring airborne hydrographic Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) sounding data All work shall be performed to NOAA specifications and the data provided in NOAA specified formats. See http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsd/specs/specs.htm for typical technical specifications and a description of the deliverables. The final statement of work provided by NOAA will tailor these specifications for each task order issued. A quality control plan will be a contract requirement. Potential vendors are encouraged to review the technical specifications and a description of the deliverables before responding to this announcement. This contract will permit a Government Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) or government appointed observer to be present during survey and/or aircraft operations. The potential offeror must provide evidence of the following characteristics, which are considered mandatory evaluation criteria: Evaluation criteria, in order of importance, are: 1) Professional qualifications necessary for satisfactory performance of required services 2) Specialized experience and technical competence in the type of work required 3) Capacity to accomplish the work in the required time (personnel and equipment) 4) Past performance on contracts with Government agencies and private industry in terms of cost control, quality of work and compliance with performance schedules within the last six years 5) Location and knowledge showing capability to work in diverse types of localities in the U.S. 6) Proposed plans to provide meaningful subcontracting opportunities on this project to small, small?disadvantaged, and/or women?owned small business concerns. Evaluation criteria 6) will not apply to small business firms because subcontracting plans are not required from those concerns pursuant to FAR 19.702(b). To be considered for selection, a firm must demonstrate surveying experience in the types of surveys stated above and have at least two certified hydrographers. The two certified hydrographers must each have a minimum of three years experience in hydrographic data acquisition and quality control. A firm must show the availability (via self ownership or lease) of the following: seaworthy vessel that complies with applicable International SOLAS certificate requirements and other applicable state and federal regulations and hydrographic data acquisition and processing systems capable of meeting the requirements described in NOAA's Hydrographic Surveys Specifications and Deliverables (HSSD). Additional questions for potential offers are listed below and must be answered in response to this notice: 1) If a firm does not own a vessel capable of working offshore for more than 72 hours at a time or a lidar capable aircraft, has the company leased such a vessel/aircraft for the purposes of hydrographic data acquisition in the past three years that can? Please describe the vessel/aircraft and project it conducted. 2) What are the most linear nautical miles for hydrographic survey task orders completed in a year out of the past six years. 3) Out of the US Government task orders from the past six years, have any been returned for further work? 4) Has your company received any negative feedback from those task orders? If so, please summarize the received feedback. 5) Out of the task orders from the past three years, has your company been capable of completing 100% of the required work. If not, please summarize the circumstances that led to the work being left incomplete. 6) Were any required products delivered beyond the period of performance stated in a task order? If so, what was the reason for the delay and how long did the delay extend past the period of performance. In regards to lidar operations, two certified hydrographers must each have a minimum of three years of experience in surveying using airborne hydrographic lidar systems and interpreting the data. A firm must show the availability of the following: suitable aircraft that complies with applicable Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and other applicable state and federal regulations, hydrographic data acquisition and processing systems capable of meeting the requirements described in NOAA's HSSD. Respondents to this Sources Sought Notice may identify their interest by submitting a capability statement, including how they plan to meet the program requirements, the mandatory evaluation criteria, answer the questions and address all other items stated as required to be considered for selection. Capability of fulfilling the end-to-end requirement as described herein is necessary. Should a firm not have full capability in house they must demonstrate teaming arrangements to be considered fully capable of meeting the end-to-end requirement. Respondents should also provide the primary contact information at the organization (name, email, address and telephone number) handling this Sources Sought Notice, in the event NOAA has additional questions or requires clarification of the submitted information. Responses are limited to 15 pages. Potential respondents are also requested to include whether or not they are a large or small business under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541370. The size standard for this NAICS code is $15.0M. All respondents and comments to this Sources Sought Notice shall be submitted via email to Emily Clark, Emily.Clark@noaa.gov by 3:00 PM EDT, May 22, 2017.