Non-Destructive Evaluation Technolgies

THIS IS A Sources Sought Notice. This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP or Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). The notice does not commit the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to contract for any supply or service. The FHWA is not at this time seeking proposals. Responders are advised that the FHWA will not pay any cost incurred in response to this notice. All costs associated with responding to this notice will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future RFP or BAA. The information provided in this notice is subject to change and is not binding on the FHWA. All submissions become the property of the FHWA and will not be returned. Additionally, it should be noted that the FHWA is requesting information on this topic to identify the availability, feasibility, and reliability of available NDE technologies to locate buried utilities, to identify promising NDE technologies and to develop a suite of innovative applications for existing NDE technologies that can address the complexity of varying utilities, site soil, geology, environmental conditions, pipes sizes and depths, and operation beneath either paved streets or roadways or soils or backfilled utility trenches. BACKGROUND An extensive array of utility networks is buried underneath the ground surface, which are vital to society's daily life. Highway renewal projects and expanding or replacing sections of a road-network depend on the availability of accurate buried utility records and information to support effective planning, design, and delivery of renewal work. In addition, buried utilities have a limited service life and it is crucial to assess their condition throughout their life cycles to avoid potential catastrophic failure due to their deterioration. Thousands of excavations are carried out within the U.S. road network each year to relocate, install or repair buried utility pipes and cables. Additionally, utilities are often exposed as roadway construction occurs in their vicinity. The precise location of existing buried utilities is mostly unknown to highway agencies. Not knowing the location of buried assets causes practical problems that increase costs and delay projects, but more importantly, it increases the risk of injury to project personnel and damage to, utilities which can have ripple effects far beyond the project boundaries. The problems associated with inaccurate location of buried pipes and cables are serious and are rapidly worsening due to the increasing density of underground infrastructure in major urban areas. Buried utility conflicts and relocations are one of the largest contributors for project delays during road construction. Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technologies have great potential in detecting, locating, characterizing and assessing the condition of subsurface utilities to reduce the construction cost, improve the delivery time, increase safety of the construction, and assist with overall management of a construction project. The second Strategic Highway Renewal Program (SHRP 2) Project R01B, Encouraging Innovation in Locating and Characterizing Underground Utilities, focused on geophysical tools and accompanying software for locating and mapping buried utilities. Existing GPR equipment and software systems was used as a platform in this project. However, the reliability of detection in certain environment or on certain material types (i.e., plastic pipes) have been poor, and it requires extensive expertise to operate the equipment and accurately analyzing data. In addition, the SHRP2 project used an innovative shear wave imaging system to provide detection capabilities similar to GPR for soils where GPR is not an effective tool. However, a practical prototype that incorporates seismic technology has not been fully developed. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) conducted research to document issues associated with State transportation departments asserting their responsibility to manage utility installations within the highway right-of-way. Among other topics, the research addressed benefits of having reliable, accurate utility data available during project delivery, and barriers to collecting and managing utility location data as well as strategies to overcome those barriers. The links to the TechBrief and final report from this project are: - TechBrief: Feasibility of Mapping and Marking Underground Utilities by State Transportation Departments, FHWA-HRT-18-070 - Report: Feasibility of Mapping and Marking Underground Utilities by State Transportation Departments, FHWA-HRT-16-019 INDUSTRY RESPONSE The FHWA is seeking capability statements from industry in regards to the Nondestructive Evaluation Technologies requirement. Submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter which identifies the company name, address, DUNS number, Point of Contact(s) (Name, title, email, and phone number), and socio - economic status, i.e. small disadvantaged, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged, HUBZone small, woman-owned small, veteran-owned small, service-disabled veteran-owned small - based upon NAICS Code 541360 " Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services" with a size standard of $15.0M. Classified/Proprietary Information Classified/Proprietary information shall not be submitted. Please be advised that all submissions become the property of the Federal Government, and will not be returned. Response Responses (limited to a 10-page capability statement) double -spaced, Times New Roman, no smaller than 12 pitch font. Drawings, diagrams and/or captions to pictures are limited to no smaller than 8 pitch font. All submissions must be made electronically (as described below), and be in either Adobe PDF or Microsoft Office Word. Responders are to describe in clear and concise language their capabilities to meet the Government's requirements set forth in this notice. Responses shall be submitted by e-mail to matthew.gilliard@dot.gov , no later than 1:00 pm ET on February 13, 2019 with the following text in the subject line: Response to Sources Sought Notice: Nondestructive Evaluation Technologies (693JJ3-19-SS-0015).