U.S. Department Of Transportation (RSPA) Office of Contracts and Procurement (DMA-30), 400 7th Street, Room 8321, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590

A -- RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT -- NATIONAL PIPELINE MAPPING SYSTEM SOL DTRS56-97-Q-0014 DUE 081197 POC Thomas H. Scott, III, (202) 366-4538 E-MAIL: Click here to contact the Contracting Officer via e-mail, tom.scott@rspa.dot.gov. The U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) is issuing a Request for Quotations for services to which RSPA intends to award up to six (6), firm fixed price, purchase orders using the Simplified Acquisition Procedures of FAR Part 13. Note, OPS intends to issue a subsequent Request for Quotations from State agencies for Pilot Testing at a later date, quotations from State agencies are not being solicited at this time. Any contractor able to meet this requirement must demonstrate in writing by the closing date. All responsible sources may submit a written quotation which will be considered by the Agency. This notice is intended for competitive purposes. You may E-mail the contracting officer at tom.scott@rspa.dot.gov. Please include the following: Company name; address; phone number, and E-mail address. NO PHONE CALLS ACCEPTED. Faxed requests are acceptable. The fax number is (202) 366-7974. All questions must be addressed in writing and will be answered in writing. Awards will be made to the firm(s) whose offer provides the greatest value to the Government, price, and demonstrated past performance. Award(s) may be based on other than lowest overall evaluated cost. Two copies of all proposals, for the following statement of work, should be delivered to the following address, (fax/E-mail copies will not be accepted): U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration, Office of Contracts and Procurement (DMA-30, Rm. 8321), 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590; Attn: Tom Scott. Due date: August 11, 1997; -- 2:30 pm EST. BACKGROUND-STATEMENT OF WORK: The Research and Special Programs Administration's Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) has a requirement for the pilot testing of the creation, operation, and maintenance of a national repository for the National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS). The OPS is responsible for administering a national regulatory program to assure the safe and environmentallysound transportation of natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and hazardous liquids by pipeline. 49 U.S.C. Section 60102 requires interstate gas pipeline facility owners or operators to provide maps of their facilities to the governing body of each municipality in which the pipeline is located. In addition, Section 60109 requires the OPS to adopt rules requiring hazardous liquid pipeline operators to identify facilities located in a high-density population area or an area that is unusually sensitive to environmental damage if there is a hazardous liquid pipeline accident, to maintain maps and an inventory of information about that pipeline, and to make that information available to federal and state officials upon request. A team, the Mapping Quality Action Team (MQAT) II, representing OPS, Federal and State Agencies, and private industry was formed to analyze various mapping alternatives and determine a cost-effective strategy for creating a reasonably accurate mechanism for depicting the transportation of natural gas and hazardous liquids via pipeline and liquefied natural gas facilities. The mapping system being developed is the NPMS. A national repository will be created to house and manage the NPMS. The national repository will work in conjunction with state repositories in compiling and managing the data. The MQAT team has developed draft standards for the submission of data by operators and standards for the national repository. The draft standard's documents include: 1) STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC DATA SUBMISSIONS, 2) STANDARDS FOR PAPER DATA SUBMISSIONS, and 3) STANDARDS FOR THE NATIONAL PIPELINE MAPPING SYSTEM REPOSITORY. Therefore, OPS is requesting proposals, including a written statement of experience, from all parties interested in pilot testing the national repository for the NPMS. There will be up to six (6) contractors selected to pilot as a national repository. The pilot national repositories will receive data from operators and participating pilot state repositories and will complete tasks in accordance with the draft standards. Each pilot national repository will receive data submissions from two (2) participating pilot state repositories and (3) pipeline operators. Each submission, to the pilot national repository, will include approximately ten (10) to twenty (20) miles of pipeline and/or liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, attribute data, and metadata. It is anticipated that each pilot national repository will receive both hard copy and digital data to process. Each pilot national repository will be required to complete the steps listed in Task 1, Task 2, and Task 3. The contractor will: Submit a work plan, within ten working days of receipt of this order, that includes a detailed description of how each task (listed below) will be performed, a detailed budget (breakout of labor hours and other direct costs), and views on potential problems. Task Descriptions: Task 1 "Repository: Electronic Data" -- Check the electronic media, that contains the files, for viruses. If a virus is detected, contact the operator. Determine if the Data Transmittal Form is complete and meets the Standards for Electronic Data Submissions. If incomplete or if there are questions, contact the operator. The information from the Data Transmittal Form will have to be entered into an electronic file, ie. Word, WordPefect, Excel, Lotus 1-2-3. The data will have to be stored in an electronic format compliant with the Federal Geographic Data Commission (FGDC) standards for metadata. The format will be provided by OPS. If the operator submits hard copy attribute data, determine if the data content meets the Standards for Electronic Data Submissions. If not, contact the operator. The attribute data will have to be entered into an electronic file, ie. Excel, Lotus 1-2-3. The data will have to be stored in relational database management system (RDBMS) tables as defined in the Repository Standards. Download the data from the electronic media. Determine if the submitted graphical data meets the Standards for Electronic Data Submissions for format. If not, determine if the graphical file can be easily modified to meet the standards. If not, contact the operator. Determine if the submitted digital attribute file meets the Standards for Electronic Data Submissions for format and content. If not, contact the operator. Construct the attribute tables according to the Repository Standard. Import the graphical file, the attribute file, and the metadata file. Depending on the format of the submitted data and the software used, different procedures will be needed to accomplish this process. Review the metadata file and compare for accuracy with the graphical file. Conduct a quality control (QC) process. Check the digital file for projection, latitude/longitude, and North American Datum (NAD). If the file does not meet the Standards for Electronic Data Submissions, can the file be easily modified and used? If not or if there are other discrepancies, contact the operator. If required, project the graphical file to NAD83, using NADCON software, and geographic coordinates. Link the graphical, attribute, and metadata files according to the Repository Standards. QC that the linking worked properly between the files. Set up the relates between the graphical and attribute files. Query on lines and/or points to ensure that all the data displayed from the related tables is the correct attribute data for the selected features. Create line or point topology if needed. Create a check plot, for each graphical file, for the operator to QC. The plot is to include the pipelines and/or LNG facilities overlaid with a digital line graph (DLG) file that will be supplied by the OPS. The check plot should also include the Facility ID for each line and/or point. Send to the operator for comments and corrections. Incorporate operator modifications to either the graphical data or Facility ID attribute values. Edit the contact data in the metadata file according to the Repository Standards. Warehouse the operator contact data in a related RDBMS table. If required, edgematch pipeline segments, by Facility Name, with adjacent pipeline segments provided by other pilot repositories. If required append the individual graphical files, by Facility Name, into one graphical file. Create a final plot of each pipeline, by Facility Name, overlaid with a digital DLG file that will be supplied by the OPS. Task 1 "Deliverables" -- Document all processes performed on the graphical data, attribute data, and metadata. Document the time required to perform each of the steps. Document the problems encountered and how they were resolved. Document the strengths and weaknesses of the Standards for Electronic Data Submissions and the Repository Standards. Recommend modifications to the documents. Provide to the OPS a report on the process documentation and recommendations. Provide to the OPS copies of the original source data and an electronic and hardcopy of the graphical data, attribute data, and metadata processed. Task 2 "Repository: Paper Data" -- Determine if the submitted hard copy map meets the Standards for Paper Data Submissions. If it does not meet the standard, determine why. If the format is correct but there are questions regarding the identification of the pipeline(s) or LNG facility, then contact the operator for clarification. If the format is other than 7.5' quad, is the map usable? Are there at least four geo-referenced control points on the map? If so, an attempt should be made to use the submitted map(s). If there are no geo-referenced control points or less than four control points, notify the operator that the submission does not meet the Standards for Paper Data Submissions. Check the electronic media that contains the attribute table(s) for viruses. If a virus is detected, contact the operator. Determine if the Data Transmittal Form is complete and meets the Standards for Paper Data Submissions. If incomplete or if there are questions, contact the operator. The information from the Data Transmittal Form will have to be entered into an electronic file, ie. Word, WordPefect, Excel, Lotus 1-2-3. The data will have to be stored in an electronic format compliant with the Federal Geographic Data Commission (FGDC) standards for metadata. The format will be provided by OPS. If the operator submits hard copy attribute data, determine if the data content meets the Standards for Paper Data Submissions. If not, contact the operator. The attribute data will have to be entered into an electronic file, ie. Excel, Lotus 1-2-3. The data will have to be stored in relational database management system (RDBMS) tables as defined in the Repository Standards. Determine if the submitted digital attribute file meets the Standards for Paper Data Submissions for format and content. If not, determine if the attribute file can be easily modified to meet the standards. If not, contact the operator. Prior to setup and digitizing, review the metadata file and compare for accuracy with the hard copy map. Conduct a quality control (QC) process. If working with a copy of a 7.5' quad, validate that the scale of the map is intact. QC the accuracy of the submitted metadata with the hard copy map. Check the NAD. If the submitted map is other than 7.5' quad, check for control points in latitude/longitude, scale, NAD, and projection. If there are any discrepancies, contact the operator. Digitize the paper maps. Setup the computer system and secure the map on the digitizing board. Register the map, trying to minimize the root mean square (RMS) error. Record the RMS error attained for each map digitized. If, on the first attempt at registering, the RMS error is greater than 25 feet (ground units), re-register and attempt to attain a lower RMS error. If the error remains high, digitize and record the RMS error. Digitize the lines or points. In order to accurately capture the drafted line, the digitizer should digitize the centerline of the drafted line and capture the maximum number of shape points along the line. Coincident digital lines are not allowed. For the point data, the digitizer should capture the center of the points drafted. After digitizing the lines and/or points into the system, QC to ensure that all lines and/or points were captured digitally from the paper map. Create topology for lines and/or points. Topology should be created utilizing the minimum tolerance values, allowed by the software, for the process. Define the graphics attribute table according to the Repository Standard. In the graphical file, code the lines and/or points for the attributes specified in the Repository Standard. This will allow the linking of the graphical line and/or point data with the attribute data. If needed, project the graphical file into NAD83 and geographic coordinates; QC the graphical file to ensure that it projected correctly. Display the graphical file and visually compare with the source to check for obvious distortions due to a projection error. Display the graphical file with adjacent graphical files to check for spatial correctness. If there are projection or spatial correctness errors, check the latitude/longitude control point values; if possible, re-project the graphical file. If the errors are in the original operator graphical file, contact the operator. Edit the graphical file for corrections. Edit for overshoots, undershoots, missing data, and misaligned data. Edgematch and rubber sheet to adjacent maps. The contractor will devise a standard methodology for edgematching and rubbersheeting maps and document this process. Link the graphical, attribute, and metadata files according to the Repository Standards. QC that the linking worked properly between the files. Set up the relates between the graphical and attribute files. Query on lines and/or points to ensure that all the data, displayed from the related tables, is the correct attribute data for the selected features. Rebuild topology. Create a check plot, for each graphical file, for internal QC. The check plot is to include the lines and/or points and the Facility ID value for each line and/or point. Overlay check plots with the source and QC line and/or point work andverify the Facility ID value against the original source. Corrections as needed. Create a check plot, for each graphical file, for the operator to QC. The plot is to include the pipelines and/or LNG facilities overlaid with a DLG file that will be supplied by the OPS. The check plot should also include the Facility ID for each line and/or point. Send to the operator for comments and corrections. Incorporate operator modifications to either the graphical data or Facility ID attribute values. Edit the contact data in the metadata file according to the Repository Standards. Warehouse the operator contact data in a related RDBMS table. If required, edgematch pipeline segments, by Facility Name, with adjacent pipeline segments provided by pilot repositories. If required, append the individual graphical files, by Facility Name, into one graphical file. Create a final plot of each pipeline, by Facility Name, overlaid with a DLG file that will be supplied by the OPS. Task 2 Deliverables -- Document all processes performed on the paper maps, graphical data, attribute data, and metadata. Document the time required to perform each of the steps. Document the problems encountered and how they were resolved. Document the strengths and weaknesses of the Standards for Paper Data Submissions and the Repository Standards. Recommend modifications to the documents. Provide to the OPS a report on the process documentation and recommendations. Provide to the OPS copies of the original source data and an electronic and hardcopy of the graphical data, attribute data, and metadata processed. Task 3 "Repository: General" and Deliverables -- Analyze the repository model and the transfer of paper and digital data between operators, state repositories, and the national repository. Document the strengths and weaknesses of the repository model. Analyze the operational flow process of converting paper and digital data according to the Repository Standards. Document the strengths and weaknesses of the process. Analyze the physical model of the attribute data files. Document the strengths and weaknesses of the process. Make software and design recommendations on developing an attribute and metadata templates for input by the operator and extract by the repositories. Provide to the OPS a report on the analysis and recommendations. All deliverables are due March 1, 1998. Award selection will be based on the following criteria categories listed in relative order of importance: 1) Experience in managing a large networked geospatial database or other information repository with geographic information systems (GIS) and metadata standards, 2) Experience in dealing with U.S. oil/gas pipeline companies and their respective data records and holdings, 3) Ability to process, digitize, project, and link attribute data with digitized data, 4) Accessibility and knowledge of various GIS packages and data conversions, 5) Abilities to perform data validation, transaction auditing, version control, and quality checks, 6) Experience in merging digital geospatial databases into a single data set, 7) Ability to provide confidentiality and security for this data, 8) Accessibility to Internet with high bandwidth and high-server capabilities; experience in the creation and maintenance of an Internet website, 9) Ability to create and maintain large object and/or relational geospatial databases, 10) Ability to adapt and implement future technological changes in the areas of communications, computers, and GIS. All proposals will address each of the above criterion's categories, providing specific examples of recent specialized experience and technical competence, not to exceed ten (10) pages in length. In addition to this statement of experience, provide proposed staffing with the names and experience/qualifications of each key staff member, not to exceed 2 pages per resume. For a copy of the STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC DATA SUBMISSION, STANDARDS FOR PAPER DATA SUBMISSION, AND STANDARDS FOR THE NATIONAL PIPELINE MAPPING SYSTEM REPOSITORY, fax or E-mail your request to the Contracting Officer. (0184)

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