Upper Air Observations at Oakland, CA

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION. The National Weather Service (NWS) conducts weather observation programs at the Weather Service Contract Meteorological Observatory (WSCMO) at Oakland, CA, which meet a variety of needs and serve a variety of users. Upper Air observations are taken and coded for the operational use of meteorologists and hydrologists, as well as for international dissemination. Authority. The Organic Act of 1890 charges the organization, now known as the NWS, with responsibility for forecasting the weather and issuing warnings for the benefit of agriculture, commerce, and navigation. The Act also requires the taking of meteorological observations to define the climatology of the United States. The Air Commerce Act of 1926 added responsibility for furnishing weather reports, forecasts, warnings, and advice as may be required to promote safety and efficiency of air navigation. This responsibility was broadened in 1958 by the Federal Aviation Act. Objectives. The objective of this contract is to continue the Upper Air observation program currently being conducted at the WSCMO at Oakland, CA, in such a manner that the highest possible quality data is available to the program's many users. OVERVIEW General. The Contractor shall provide at least three personnel that are certified by the NWS to take, document, and disseminate upper air radiosonde, Rawin-Rabal comparative observations, at Oakland California. All services conducted in connection with the performance of this contract shall be in accordance with the Federal Meteorological Handbook (FMH) Numbers 3 and National Weather Service Manual 10-1401 and all revisions including those which take effect during the course of the contract. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS REQUIREMENTS Upper Air Radiosonde Observations. General. The Contractor shall take, document, and disseminate upper air radiosonde observation soundings in accordance with the most recent revisions of FMH Number 3 and National Weather Service Manual 10-1401 and all revisions including those which take effect during the course of the contract. The minimum performance standard for this requirement is: all scheduled observations shall be taken and disseminated in accordance with the provisions of this solicitation. During equipment outages the contractor is still responsible for the transmission of the appropriate 101XX groups to document the outage. Time Schedules and Personnel Requirements for Taking Radiosonde Observations. Soundings shall be taken two times daily, each and every day of the contract period. Observations shall have a standard time of 0000 and 1200 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Whenever, for any reason, a scheduled sounding is not taken, the cause shall be documented in detail by the Contractor and sent to the COR via email. Normally, the completion of one radiosonde observation using the Radiosonde Replacement System (RRS) software interfaces requires the attention of one certified observer for a period of about 3 and a half (3.5) hours. The contractor is required to have an observer on duty at the observing facility from 1000 to 1400 and 2200 to 0200 UTC each day of the contract period. Additional time may be required when second releases are needed or other problems arise. Reduction of Raw Data. Raw radiosonde data will be reduced to usable sounding data by use of an on-site computer system furnished by the Government. Balloon Inflation. Sounding balloons used in taking radiosonde observations shall be inflated with hydrogen or helium gas. Bottled hydrogen or helium gas will be furnished by the Government. Hydrogen is ordered in accordance with instructions contained in the current contract for hydrogen procurement. The Contractor shall coordinate with WFO Monterey to insure an adequate supply of helium is maintained and delivery charges are avoided. All operating instructions and applicable safety equipment will be supplied by the NWS. The Contractor shall take the necessary steps to insure that appropriate safety measures are followed when working with helium gas. Special Radiosonde Soundings. General. The Contractor shall be prepared to take up to twelve (12) special radiosonde soundings per year at no additional cost to the government. Special radiosonde soundings are defined as those soundings requested by the NWS in addition to those specified in Paragraph 4.1.2. The minimum performance standard for this requirement is: all special soundings requested by the NWS shall be taken. Taking a special radiosonde sounding, using computer reduction, normally requires the attention of one certified observer for a period of approximately four hours. Notification Procedures for Special Radiosonde Soundings. Whenever possible, the NWS will provide at least twelve (12) hours advance notice before a special sounding is required. However, during a weather emergency, this amount of advance notification may not be possible. The Contractor is expected to make every effort to take the requested sounding during weather emergencies with a lesser advance notification time. Special soundings may require special dissemination and handling procedures. The Contractor will be instructed with regard to special dissemination and handling requirements when the request for a special radiosonde sounding is made. Authorized NWS Offices. Personnel from the NWS Offices listed below are authorized to request the Contractor take the special radiosonde soundings at the Oakland observatory. NWS, Western Region Headquarters, Salt Lake City, Utah. NWS Weather Forecast Office, Monterey, California. PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS Certification Requirements. All Contractor personnel who are assigned the duties of taking observations must be certified by the NWS. The procedures for certification are described in NWSI 10-1304, Section 5.3. Certification consists of passing a closed-book examination for each type of certification desired (i.e. (upper air) by answering correctly 80 percent of the questions and demonstrating that the observer can accomplish a correct observation and meet all transmission schedules. Uncertified Contractor personnel may take observations in a training capacity only under the immediate direct supervision of a certified observer who will be responsible for the observation. Use of Personnel. The Contractor may move a certified observer from one observatory to another, provided the observer obtains a re-validation of the certification for the new location. Re-validation is accomplished when the observer has been thoroughly checked out in the routine of the new office and the station manager requests re-validation in writing from the COR. Re validation must be accomplished prior to the observer taking observations at the new location without supervision. Qualification of Initial Staff. At least two members of the proposed staff, including the Supervisory Meteorological Technician (SMT), must be currently certified for Upper Air Observations by the NWS. All other employees must be certified by the end of the phase-in period. It should be noted that observers not certified by the NWS must be directly supervised by a certified observer until they are certified. All proposed staff must be named in the Contractor's staffing plan. Staffing Requirements. Normally the completion of an upper air observation using computer data reduction requires the attention of one certified observer from the time of instrument preflight through the final transmission of data (approximately 4.0 hours). Supervisory Meteorological Technician. The Contractor shall assign one on-site employee as a Supervisory Meteorological Technician (SMT). In addition to his/her routine observational duties, the SMT shall be responsible for circulating instructions and information to other Contractor employees, developing quality control techniques and maintaining established quality control procedures, preparing the reports and inventories required by this solicitation and National Weather Service Manual 10-1401 and submitting them within the allowable time frame, filing revisions to the instruction manuals, reviewing staff performance, providing training, and performing other supervisory duties required for the successful accomplishment of the Statement of Work. The SMT should be available during normal day shift hours at least two week days each week to facilitate contact with the SMT by Contractor, COR, Property Officer, and maintenance personnel. promulgate CONTINUITY OF SERVICES General. Weather observation services are currently being performed at the Oakland observatory by a private company under contract with the Government. These services must continue to be performed with the utmost proficiency and without interruption. To this end, this contract provides for a Phase-In Period and a Phase-Out Period. The Phase-In Period shall provide for an orderly transition of duties from those personnel of the present Contractor, hereinafter referred to as PREVIOUS CONTRACTOR, to personnel of the Contractor selected as a result of this solicitation, hereinafter referred to as CURRENT CONTRACTOR. The Phase-Out Period will provide for a transition of duties at the time of contract completion, from CURRENT CONTRACTOR personnel to successor Contractor's personnel. The procedures to be followed during the Phase-In and Phase-Out Periods are described in detail in Sub-paragraph 7.2. and 7.3 below. Phase-In Period. The Phase-In Period shall begin up to 30 days prior to the completion of current contract. During the Phase-In Period, the PREVIOUS CONTRACTOR shall conduct on-site training in all phases of the services required to be performed under this contract. The PREVIOUS CONTRACTOR shall retain full responsibility for all observations and other contract requirements during the Phase-In Period. The training will be for the initial contingent of CURRENT CONTRACTOR employees. Training of additional or replacement employees shall be the responsibility of the CURRENT CONTRACTOR. Determination of necessity of Phase-In and amount of days will be made by the Contracting Officer based on Contractor input. The NAICS code for this requirement is 541990 and the small-business size standard is $15M. The Government anticipates awarding a fixed-price service contract for Upper Air Observations at Oakland, CA. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the submission of contractor's information. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. Please submit information to include: 1) Your firm's DUNS number & CAGE code; 2) Your firm's SBA certified small business concern status. Specifically identify if your firm is HUBZone-certified, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, or SBA 8(a) program certified; 3) A brief description of your firm's recent past experience (within past 3 years) performing upper air observations of a similar magnitude to the work described above; 4) Your firm's facility capabilities; 5) Identify from the list of major work components above those that your firm would likely subcontract out. Any subsequent contract will contain the mandatory FAR clause 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting, which limits subcontracting costs to 50% of the price of the contract. Information must be received by the Contract Specialist, Mandy Mercado, at Amanda.j.mercado@noaa.gov by close-of-business on Friday, October 14, 2015. Do not call regarding this sources sought notice. Any questions or responses regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via e-mail to the above e-mail address. Firms that are interested in sub-contracting opportunities related to this project should contact interested parties directly with inquiries, not the Contracting Officer.