Notice of Intent to Sole Source to West Virginia University

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Office of Acquisition Services (OAS) on behalf of NIOSH, intends to award a sole source firm fixed priced simplified purchase order to obtain services to Aid in the Measurements and Dissemination of the Coefficient of Friction (CF) of Footwear on Slope Roof Surface. The main objective is to develop interchangeable walking pathways of various roof coverings that can be rapidly exchanged during a human subject testing session for measuring the in-situ coefficient of friction (CF) of footwear on roofing surfaces. Coupled with the development and deployment of the interchangeable walkway, the vendor will also offer consultation for project refinement as well as data interpretation and liaison services with local construction companies. Scope of Work is to develop, build and deploy interchangeable walkways. Each walkway will need to be able to be affixed to the sloped roofing simulator located in the biomechanics lab (H3608) at NIOSH Morgantown. The interchangeable walkways will be used in testing the effect different roofing covers have on walking and posture while on a sloped roofing environment in various footwear. The specially designed interchangeable walkway system should satisfy seven requirements: (1) walkways should be able to be changed in less than 5 minutes; (2) the walkways should function at each of the sloped roofing simulator's positions (slope 0, 15, and 30); (3) the walkways should allow for both cross slope and up/down slope walking; (4) the width of each walkway should be three feet; (5) the length for the cross slope portion should be sixteen feet and for the up/down slope portion, the length should be eight feet; (5) the total number of walkway materials to be constructed will be six (Tyvek no slip underlayment, Tyvek underlayment, Felt Roof Deck Protection underlayment, Owens Corning Oakridge Laminated Architectural Roof Shingles, and American Slate roof tiles); (6) the walkways must be exchangeable without assistance from mechanical devices to ensure quick set-up times; (7) the walkways must incorporate the force plates in a seamless manner to guarantee accurate ground reaction force collection. In addition, the vendor will offer consultation for project refinement and data interpretation. Furthermore, the vendor will provide liaison services with local construction companies and NIOSH given the technical requirements outlined in section C.4. At no time will the vendor interact with subjects nor partake in data collection. The researchers should provide the required liaison services and they should meet the following technical requirements: (1) They have good knowledge and experiences in the measurements and analyses of the biomechanical and mechanical analyses. (2) They have conducted some experimental studies on the ergonomics of roofing workers, which may also be proved from their publications or their graduate students theses. (3) They should be able to provide direct guidance on the study by participating in the preparation and experiments in our motion analysis lab. (4) They have prior relationships with local roofing construction companies. (5) They will provide a technical report on the scientific evaluation of the effectiveness of the device. This contract action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b) (SAP) and 41 U.S.C. 3304(c)(1). Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit proposals. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, all quotations/responses received within seven (7) days of the issuance of this notice will be considered by the government. A determination by the government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Any quotation /response should be emailed to the Contracting Specialist at contact@example.gov by COB 06-19-2020. No telephonic quotes shall be considered.