SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Safety Assessment of Software Tools Used in Nuclear Power Plants
- Notice Date
- 1/12/2012
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Administration, Division of Contracts, 12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, Maryland, 20852-2738, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20852-2738
- Solicitation Number
- NRC-HQ-12-R-04-0043
- Archive Date
- 3/12/2012
- Point of Contact
- Jennifer A. Defino, Phone: 301-492-3637
- E-Mail Address
-
Jennifer.DeFino@nrc.gov
(Jennifer.DeFino@nrc.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) intends to issue a solicitation for a research project intended to develop information useful to the NRC in evaluating proposed applications involving software tool use in design, code generation, design verification and validation, automated testing, and operation in existing and future nuclear power plants, including advanced nuclear power plants, licensed for operation in the United States. NRC seeks to obtain a consolidated reference document that describes existing regulatory guidance, standards, practices and experience concerning review and/or approval of the use of software tools in engineering systems in nuclear and in other industries, in the United States and in other countries. This project shall review and compare existing standards and regulatory guidance, such as (but not limited to): • IEEE std 7-4.3.2; • IEC 60880; • JEAC4609 Application Guidelines for Programmatic Digital Computer Systems in Safety-Protection Systems of Nuclear Power Plants; • NASA-STD-2201-93; • DO-178B; • NRC regulatory 1.152; • Standard Review Plan Appendix 7.1-D; • Branch Technical Position 7-14; • Interim Staff Guidance (ISG-06); • FAA order 8110.49; • NASA-GB-A201 Software Assurance Guidebook; and references therein. This review and comparison shall summarize all the criteria of these standards and how organizations use the standards in their review/approval processes. It shall address if modifications, if any, are needed to make the software tool review and approval process adequate, clear and easy to follow. Existing regulatory guidance was developed in somewhat independent environments. For example, NRC endorses IEEE 7-4.3.2 while the European common position primarily follows IEC 60880, the NASA guidance documents support NASA standards, and the FAA order supplements RTCA/DO-178B. These standards may overlap each other or some might have overlooked aspects others have considered. This project shall establish a collective view of standards including all the requirements covered and a collective view of regulatory guidance that include all the processes and criteria covered by the guidance. Differences may exist in review and approval software tools used in design, code generation, design V&V, and operation in engineering systems between NRC and regulatory organizations in other countries and in other industries. This project shall analyze how FAA, NASA, European nuclear regulatory organizations, and other organizations and industries review and approve software tools used in engineering system design, code generation, design verification and validation, testing, and operation, and examine how their processes are supported by the industry standards. Based on this research and analysis, NRC may consider endorsing or adopting some of the processes and criteria used by other organizations in software tool review and approval processes, thereby improving existing NRC guidance on review and approval of software tool use. The final research document shall also present recommendations concerning the review and approval process of software tools used in design, code generation, design verification and validation, automated testing, and operation in domestic nuclear power plants. These recommendations shall include discussion of any limitations or other conditions that should be applied to the use of software tools, and discussion of any special provisions related to the use of software tools. They shall also include recommendations as to the need for and content of procedures and acceptance criteria to be used in the evaluation of proposed designs and systems that use software tools. It shall address both provisions that are built into proposed plant equipment, and provisions that might be added to the equipment after the equipment has been constructed and, possibly, put into service. In addition, NRC seeks advice as to how existing regulations and guidance should be modified for the licensing of equipment and practices in existing or new domestic nuclear power plants that use software tools in design, code generation, design verification and validation, automated testing, and operation. The final output of this research may be regulatory guidance. It shall have specific and detailed information on review procedures and acceptance criteria for the evaluation of proposed equipment and processes involving the use of software tools in their life cycle. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop improved regulatory guidance that endorses the best appropriate industry standards, identifies software tool usage criteria that provide an acceptable way to meet NRC regulatory requirements and provides a clear document for NRC staff to use in the review and approval of software tools. NRC will use the information and recommendations produced by this research as a reference to develop or modify related regulatory guidance and future review procedures for the proposed equipment and processes involving the use of software tools. This will be a competitive acquisition for the award of a cost reimbursement type contract. This procurement is set-aside 100% for Small Business concerns. All other firms are deemed ineligible to submit offers. The designated NAICS Code is 541712, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology), with a size standard of 500 employees. The government anticipates a contract period of performance of May 1, 2012 to November 30, 2013. The solicitation will be issued as a request for proposal (RFP) utilizing FAR Part 15, tradeoff process. The government anticipates release of the solicitation on or about February 02, 2012, with a projected closing date of March 05, 2012. These are projected dates and are subject to change. This solicitation and all amendments will be issued to Federal Business Opportunities Website (FedBizOpps) at http://www.fbo.gov/. All future information regarding this acquisition, including solicitation amendments, will be distributed solely through the FedBizOpps website. The FedBizOpps website provides downloading instructions. Hard copies of the solicitation document and its related documents, as appropriate, will be posted at this website; therefore, interested parties shall not send letters, e-mails or faxes requesting copies of the RFP. Accordingly, telephoned, mailed, e-mailed or faxed requests will not be honored. Interested parties shall be responsible for monitoring the FedBizOpps website to assure that they have the most up-to-date information regarding this acquisition. Note that the FedBizOpps system includes the capability to join and view a published list of vendors interested in this solicitation. This is useful for vendors who are interested in teaming on procurement opportunities. The contracting officer has enabled the "Register as Interested Vendor" feature for the referenced solicitation number. Vendors can obtain more information on the Interested Vendors List (IVL) by clicking on the following link to the Vendor's Guide: https://www.fbo.gov/downloads/FBO_Vendor_Guide.pdf The Government shall not reimburse interested parties for any costs associated with responding to this solicitation. The government reserves the right to award without discussions therefore; the offerors initial proposal shall contain its best terms. Interested parties must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) to receive a government contract award. You may register with the CCR at http://www.ccr.gov/. Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) must also be completed for award. Please register Representations and Certifications at https://orca.bpn.gov/. The point of contact for this notice is Jennifer A. DeFino, Sr. Contract Specialist; Email: Jennifer.DeFino@nrc.gov ; Phone: (301) 492-3637. RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE ARE NOT REQUIRED.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/NRC/OA/DCPM/NRC-HQ-12-R-04-0043/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Contractor Facility, United States
- Record
- SN02653797-W 20120114/120112234713-449cbee565a9f46e78f31e98502ecb52 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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