Technical Assistance for New Reactor Construction inspection

Sources Sought Synopsis This is a sources sought synopsis. This is not a Request for Proposals. The NRC is conducting a market survey and analysis to determine the range of available contractors that exists and assess their capabilities to assist the NRC with project work described below. The NRC does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this request or to otherwise pay for the information solicited. The purpose of this announcement is to provide potential sources the opportunity to submit information regarding their capabilities to perform work for the NRC free of Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCOI). For information on NRC OCOI regulations, visit NRC Acquisition Regulation Subpart 2009.5, entitled "Organizational Conflicts of Interest" (http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/contracting/48cfr-ch20.html). All interested parties, including all categories of small businesses (small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, 8(a) firms, women-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and HUBZone small businesses) are invited to submit a response to the market research questions below and submit the capability information as described below. Submission of additional materials such as glossy brochures or videos is discouraged. Responses are due no later than August 9, 2010. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with submission of the requested information. Telephone inquiries or responses are not acceptable. Facsimile (301-492-3437) or email (Jerry.Purcell@nrc.gov) responses are acceptable or responses may be mailed to: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attn: Jerry Purcell, Division of Contracts, MS TWB - 01-B10M, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Background The NRC is responsible for the licensing and regulatory oversight of civilian nuclear power reactors in the United States. The NRC implements regulations and develops and implements policies, programs, and procedures pertaining to all aspects of licensing and inspection of these facilities. Capability Sought The NRC is seeking to identify commercial organizations capable of providing technical assistance for new nuclear reactor construction inspection support. The commercial organization should have staff that has knowledge and/or practical experience with the technical skills required in the attachment. The commercial organization should also have staff that has knowledge and/or practical experience with all of the processes in 10 CFR Part 52, "Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants", as well as the guidance and acceptance pertaining to new nuclear reactor construction. NRC's regulations and guidance documents are available on the NRC's public website at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/regs-guides-comm.html . Commercial organizations that are interested in supporting our technical assistance requirements, please address the market research questions below and provide capability information on your staff's qualifications and your firm's corporate experiences and qualifications on similar contracts or efforts. In addition, to provide an overview of your company's capabilities please complete the attached spreadsheet for those categories of nuclear reactor construction inspection activities for which your firm has expertise. When completing the spreadsheets, please provide specific entries for potentially available qualified candidates. In each of the technical areas of expertise, education and computer proficiency, if it applies, enter the candidates' relevant years of experience. Market Research Questions 1. How long has your business been in operation? 2. What type of business is your company (i.e. 8(a), large, etc.)? 3. What is the size of your company in terms of employees and consultants? Provide a breakdown of the mix between the two categories. 4. Which GSA FSS contracts, if any, do you possess? When do they expire? 5. Has your company worked for any of the combined license applicant's in the past year? (Combined license applicants are listed below: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col.html) 6. Has your company previously faced organizational conflict of interest issues with NRC? How were they resolved? 7. Describe any other information your company deems relevant in supporting new reactor construction inspection support. 8. Describe your methodology for identifying qualified candidates. 9. Keyword search your database for the skills categories shown on the Capabilities chart below. Job Duty Description Supplemental Onsite Inspections - Contractors performing this activity will provide technical assistance to the NRC staff performing inspections of nuclear facilities under construction to assure compliance with design specifications, the conditions of the construction permit or operating license, provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the NRC. Therefore, the contractor should have a thorough understanding of the applicable aforementioned rules and regulations. Contractors must possess a thorough knowledge of a range of engineering disciplines, such as civil, mechanical, nuclear, and electrical engineering equivalent to that gained through the completion of a baccalaureate degree supplemented with a minimum 10 years of experience in the inspection and licensing of nuclear facility systems, with particular emphasis on quality assurance, safety and design, and construction. They must also possess a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles of structural fabrication and construction techniques in the areas of, but not limited to, concrete, welding, electrical, instrumentation, nondestructive examination testing and evaluation practices, and codes and standards, as applicable to nuclear power reactors or fuel cycle facilities. The contractor will analyze and understand potential safety hazards; evaluate specific types of facilities; and observe, review, assess, and report on construction activities, engineering, maintenance, equipment testing, radiological controls, emergency preparedness, and facility management, such as quality assurance, corrective action programs and administrative controls. The contractor must have proficient skill in clearly presenting technical information (oral and written) sufficient to communicate effectively with NRC staff, licensees, and others, and to prepare inspection report input in a timely manner. The contractor assures that inspection procedures are completed in accordance with the Inspection Manual or other official documents. The NRC reserves the right to edit and disposition any findings made during an inspection by the contractor. The contractor must maintain composure in stressful situations. Most of the working time is spent engaged in field inspection work, which involves exposure to plant construction conditions including open trenches, excavations, heights, construction equipment, falling objects, rotating machinery, elevated temperature, as well as inclement weather. The contractor may be subject to extensive walking, standing, climbing, bending, and lifting of moderately heavy items. He/she is required to wear protective clothing and safety devices/equipment as applicable. Administrative work is performed in a typical office environment. Occasionally, the contractor will be required to report to the construction site during evening, night, or weekend hours. Scheduling - Contractors performing scheduling activities will provide support to the scheduling team. He/she must be proficient with the conversion of Primavera schedules to the Microsoft Project software and the use of Microsoft Project server. The contractor will be responsible for managing the daily updates and publishing of the construction site inspection schedules. The contractors may either be assigned to a specific project/site or may support the scheduling team with generic issues for all the construction sites. The contractor will report any schedule discrepancies to the scheduling team leader. The contractor will ensure that all confirmed schedule changes are incorporated into the inspection schedule prior to the planning and scheduling meeting. The contractor will also participate in recurring planning and scheduling meetings. Upon notification of completion of an inspection task, the contractor is responsible for updating the status of the inspection task on the inspection schedule. Periodic interface (i.e., meetings or conference calls) with licensees/applicants will be required. The contractor may be required to travel to his/her assigned site to assist the NRC site personnel with managing the site inspection schedule and ensuring the interface with the licensee's scheduling software is functional. On-site attendance may be required on a temporary full-time basis during peak construction activity. Special Testing Methods/Non-Destructive Examination/Independent Testing - Contractors performing these activities will provide assistance to NRC inspectors when specific problems arise at construction sites beyond the NRC inspectors' expertise, or when current scheduling and resource loads cannot support the specific issue. The contractors are considered supplemental support to the NRC inspector staff. The contractors will augment the available staff resources and provide expertise with competencies, accrued knowledge, and highly specialized skills in the areas listed on, but not limited to, the applicable skill set matrix attached. The contractors should be technical experts in their field, with sufficient experience and knowledge to identify, assess, and evaluate issues. The contractors should be certified or qualified technical specialists, as applicable, with extensive expertise in the technical areas. The contractors should also be technically creditable to respond to questions regarding the specific issues. Preoperational and Start-up Testing Inspections - Contractors performing these activities will supplement NRC inspectors with verifying that 1) systems and components important to the safety of the plant are fully tested to demonstrate that they satisfy their design requirements, and 2) management controls and procedures, including quality assurance programs, necessary for operation of the facility have been documented and implemented. Some examples include initial calibration of instrumentation necessary to prepare a system for operation, containment integrity and hydrostatic testing of piping systems necessary to demonstrate component, system or structure design and construction adequacy, and containment leak rate tests. Similarly, the contractors will support NRC inspectors with inspection activities to verify that the licensee is meeting the requirements and conditions of the facility license for pre-critical tests, initial fuel loading, initial criticality, low-power testing, and power ascension tests. The contractor may verify through reviewing procedures and records, direct observation, witnessing tests, reviewing test data, meeting with site personnel, and evaluating test results. The contractor will provide input into the inspection reports in a timely manner. The NRC reserves the right to edit and disposition any findings made during an inspection by the contractor. Contractors must possess a thorough knowledge of a range of engineering disciplines, such as civil, mechanical, nuclear, and electrical engineering equivalent to that gained through the completion of a baccalaureate degree supplemented by several years of experience in the inspection and licensing of nuclear facility systems, with particular emphasis on quality assurance, safety and design, and construction and/or operation of power reactors or fuel cycle facilities, sufficient to assist with inspections of nuclear facility preoperational and start-up testing activities. The contractor must maintain knowledge of the availability and usefulness of new or improved procedures, instruments, and equipment related to construction inspection and testing work. He/she must also be able to maintain a technical proficiency and understanding of the latest technical developments for construction testing techniques and standards. Operator Licensing Examiner - Contractors will provide additional technical expertise to the NRC Regional Offices in the preparation, administration, grading, and review of written and operating tests to applicants for commercial reactor operator (RO) and senior operator (SRO) licenses for a temporary period of time. It is expected that contractors will be utilized during the licensing of ROs and SROs for the first set of plants built for a design center. Contractors will assist NRC region-based examiners in the preparation, administration, grading, and review of written and operating tests to applicants for commercial reactor operator (RO) and senior operator (SRO) licenses. Operating under the current operator licensing process, contractors will exercise minimal discretionary authority and make limited value judgments when preparing recommendations to NRC employees who decide whether to grant operator licenses. Contractors will report to the NRC Chief Examiner for the licensing in which they are participating. Contractors are required to certify as an NRC operator licensing examiner. To be considered for certification, contractors shall be currently or previously licensed by the NRC as a SRO at a commercial power reactor; or significant operational experience at a military or Department of Energy reactor at a supervisory level; or previously certified by the NRC as an operator licensing examiner. Contractors will prepare, administer, grade, and review written and operating tests. They will require contractor familiarization with facility-supplied procedures, lesson plans, and other training materials. Contractors will incorporate into the written exam, comments based on quality reviews. Contractors are expected to develop simulator scenarios and job performance measures as part of the operating test. Contractors will provide input to the operator licensing exam report through the Chief Examiner. Contractors will provide input into NRC licensing decisions. Contractors will not make any independent licensing decisions. Design Acceptance Criteria (DAC) and Inspection, Testing, Analysis, Acceptance Criteria (ITAAC) Inspections - A special set of Instrumentation and Control (I&C) skill will be needed for a temporary time period to support inspection efforts, whether they be ITAAC (including DAC) inspections or engineering design verification inspections. Specifically, I&C expertise in digital technology (e.g., software development, data communications, electronic equipment qualification) will be needed to verify I&C design attributes. The following are specialized expertise that contractors could provide: (1) software design, coding, and testing; (2) seismic, environmental, and electromagnetic qualification testing; and (3) data communication implementation. The staff would provide general knowledge of the design, I&C architecture, and regulations/guidance. Contractors will review the detailed design reports, analysis, and equipment and interview licensee/vendor personnel as necessary. They will also provide input to ITAAC inspection reports pertaining to their review items. The NRC reserves the right to edit and disposition any findings made during an inspection by the contractor. Contractors cannot lead the team inspections or inspect as a single person. Vendor Inspections - Contractors with specific technical expertise may be needed to support the staff in conducting vendor inspections. Specifically, specialists in the following fields may be needed to support vendor inspection activities: welding; nondestructive examination; digital instrumentation and control; mechanical engineering; civil/structural engineering; and electrical engineering. The staff has already let contracts for technical support during vendor inspections. It is anticipated that NRC technical staff will continue to support inspections, although it is expected that due to the projected increase in the construction of new nuclear power plants, their efforts will need to be supplemented with contract specialists. Contractors will review detailed design reports and/or analysis. They will interview licensee/vendor personnel as necessary. They may provide input to vendor inspection reports pertaining to their review scope. The NRC reserves the right to edit and disposition any findings made during an inspection by the contractor. Sample of Vendor Inspection Qualifications: Candidate (by initials) Person 1 Person 2, etc. Consultant (C) or Employee (E) Total Relevant Professional Experience (yrs) Approximate % Time Available for NRC Welding (yrs) Nondestructive Examination (yrs) Digital Instrumentation and Control (yrs) Civil/Structural Engineering (yrs) Mechanical Engineering (yrs) Electrical Engineering (yrs) Education BS-degree title(s) MS-degree title(s) PhD-degree title(s) END.