Specialized Scientific Testing Services in Support of Hazmat Safety Enforcement Activities

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is issuing this Sources Sought Notice as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support this requirement for Specialized Scientific Services. The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (size standard: $14 million). THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AT THIS TIME. This request for capability information does not constitute a request for proposals. Submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. Any information provided by the Government at this time is preliminary and may be updated or changed prior to release of a formal solicitation. BACKGROUND: PHMSA's primary mission under Federal Hazardous Materials law is to protect people and the environment from the risks inherent in the transportation of hazardous materials. To accomplish this mission, safety regulations must be developed and enforced. This mission is delegated to the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS) with investigatory and inspection authority further delegated to the Field Operations component of OHMS. It is the task of OHMS's investigators to determine compliance with safety standards by inspecting commercial entities that offer hazardous materials for transportation; manufacture, rebuild, repair, recondition, or retest packaging used to transport hazardous materials; and handle inter-modal transfers of hazardous materials. To accomplish this, it is often necessary to obtain scientific services that are not available within PHMSA. These services include chemical analysis to determine chemical components, hazard class, or packing group and metallurgical testing to identify chemical constituents, fractographic analysis, tensile and hardness testing, or safety valve functionality. Because OHMS inspectors operate throughout the country, PHMSA is seeking multiple sources that can conduct chemical and/or metallurgical testing to reduce transportation requirements. See the attached draft Statement of Work (SOW) for more details on the requirement. If your organization has the potential capacity to perform these contract services, please provide the following information via email to the Primary and Secondary POCs listed above. RESPONSES MUST NOT EXCEED A TOTAL OF TEN (10) PAGES. 1) Basic Information: Organization name; address; website address; POC email address and telephone number; type of ownership for the organization; business size under NAICS code 541990; and applicable small business socioeconomic categories (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, etc.). 2) Technical Capabilities: Tailored capability statement addressing the organization's capability to perform this effort (including the information requested in the last section of the SOW, "Additional Information for Sources Sought Responses"). If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. 3) Experience/Past Performance: Evidence of experience in similar projects/services to include contract numbers, project titles, dollar amounts, and points of contact and telephone numbers. At least two references are requested, but more are desirable. 4) Pricing Information: Description of the company's price structure, including salient factors that affect pricing. Also, commercial pricing for services of a similar nature to that described in the Statement of Work. DISCLAIMER AND IMPORTANT NOTES: Regardless of the information obtained from this Sources Sought Notice, the Government reserves the right to consider any acquisition approach deemed appropriate for this requirement. PHMSA recognizes that your submittal may include proprietary data; if this is the case, clearly mark such restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non-restricted/non-proprietary information. PHMSA reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will not be considered adequate responses to any resultant solicitation. BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION, and multiple awards MAY be made. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. Submission Instructions: Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the aforementioned services are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 4, 2013. All responses must be emailed to Jackie Naranjo at jackie.naranjo@dot.gov.