Notice of Intent to Sole Source - User friendly FEM program for mine design in jointed rock

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE. This is not a request for competitive proposals/quotes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), hereby announces its intent to issue a sole source order/contract to William Pariseau. The NAICS code for this acquisition is 541330, Engineering Services with a size standard of $16.5 million.The NIOSH research project, “Unconventional monitoring and design for mine stability” has as one of its research objectives, to further and optimize existing technology and methods that may be applicable to ground condition monitoring. All of this is toward better mine design. Unconventional monitoring methods that can detect various changes in conditions are useful, but analyses of how the conditions affect opening stability are still necessary. Changing conditions often have to do with a change in conditions of joints and planes of weakness. NIOSH, in the past, has supported development of

UT3PC, finite element design software that puts a powerful tool in the hands of mine engineers who are not expert modelers to evaluate mine design of seven common problems. However, at present one needs to be an expert at scaling a rock mass to account for the influence of joint sets. Changing conditions further complicate design analysis. Development of a tool for mine engineers to easily assess ranges of conditions of joint sets for common mine design problems would be a great tool that would impact mine safety and help accomplish the end objective of significant reduction of injuries and fatalities resulting from ground falls.This work package supports the project by providing an enhanced and expanded method for assessing safety and stability of underground strata-bound mines, shafts and tunnels as affected by numerous rock joint systems that are almost always present in mine rock masses.This project will require expansion of the previously developed finite element code, UT3PC, that solves seven common mine design problems, namely1. Main entry safety,2. Barrier pillar size for defending main entries as adjacent panels are mined3. Safe design of bleeder entries that provide for a secondary escape-way,4. Interpanel barrier pillar design for deep mines,5. Safe room and pillar design in strata-bound room and pillar mines,6. Mine shaft design including raises and winzes, and7. Design of “tunnels” including adits, drifts and crosscuts.See Sole Source Justification and draft Statement of Work.A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action will be based on responses to this notice and is solely in the discretion of the Contracting Officer. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.All vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.govThis action is for services which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b) and 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit quotations.This is not a request for competitive quotations; however, the Government will review any/all product, capabilities, and pricing information submitted prior to the closure of this notice. 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 responses should be emailed to Stephanie Reid at qsi5@cdc.gov by JUL 21, 2022 at 1:00 P.M. ET.