NASA Procedural Requirements

NPR 8715.3D Effective Date: December 16, 2021 Expiration Date: December 21, 2026

Subject: NASA General Safety Program Requirements

Responsible Office: Office of Safety and Mission Assurance

Chapter 9. Safety and Risk Management for NASA Contracts

9.1 Purpose

This chapter provides the procedural requirements for assuring that NASA contractors have effective safety and risk management programs. This chapter provides requirements for NASA officials with responsibility for assuring safety under NASA contracts.

9.2 Applicability and Scope

9.2.1 When NASA activities include contractor involvement, Center Directors and project managers shall include contractors in the NASA Safety Program.

9.2.2 Center SMA Directors, project managers, Contracting Officers (CO), and Contracting Officers Technical Representatives (COTR) shall ensure that NASA contracts are written to hold contractors accountable for the safety of their employees, their services, their products, and for complying with NASA and Center safety requirements.

9.3 Authority and Responsibility

9.3.1 Project managers shall:

a. Work with cognizant safety officials to develop and approve safety requirements and objectives for efforts to be contracted, and advise COs and COTRS of specific safety concerns or issues related to contract performance.

b. Ensure that the application of the requirements in Chapter 2 of this NPR are specified in related contracts memoranda of understanding, and other documents for joint ventures between NASA and other parties including commercial services, interagency efforts, and international partnerships.

c. Ensure that NASA responsibilities are specified in contracts, memoranda of understanding, and other documents for joint ventures between NASA and other parties including commercial services, interagency efforts, and international partnerships.

d. Ensure that contracts contain safety, mission success, and risk management requirements for design, development, fabrication, test, and the operations of systems, equipment, and facilities in consultation with Center SMA Directors.

e. Use the software safety requirements in NASA-STD-8739.8, as the basis for contracts, memoranda of understanding, and other documents related to software.

f. Provide specific safety tasks to the CO for incorporation into contracts.

g. Define the surveillance of contractor safety matters with respect to the nature of the procurement.

h. Ensure that performance-based contracts have a surveillance plan.

9.3.2 Project Managers, COs, and COTRs shall:

a. Develop system safety requirements and objectives that are clearly delineated in contract specifications in conjunction with project officials.

b. Establish system safety performance as an element to be evaluated in contracts with fee plans.

c. Participate in onsite visits and pre-bid conferences to ensure potential bidders understand safety provisions.

d. Review, comment, and approve (or disapprove) the contractors' system safety risk assessment, submitted in response to paragraph 9.3.3, before the start of any hazardous deliverable work or support operations.

e. Coordinate any matter regarding proposed requests for relief to safety requirements of 48 CFR pt. 1823.70, with the OSMA or designated representative.

f. Implement NPR 5100.4.

g. Implement 48 CFR pts. 1807; 1823; 1842, and 1846.

9.3.3 COs or the COTR shall ensure the contractors' safety risk assessments are developed and provided to NASA for approval before the start of any hazardous deliverable work or support operations.

9.3.4 Project Managers shall:

a. Assist the CO and COTR in evaluating the prospective contractor's system safety program.

b. Assist the CO and COTR in applying any special system safety provisions to grants or cooperative agreements (see paragraph 2.7).

c. During the pre-award phase of acquisition, develop, document and provide to the CO criteria for the system safety performance elements to be evaluated in contracts with fee plans in a timely manner to ensure inclusion in the solicitation.

9.4 Requirements

9.4.1 Project managers, COs and COTRs shall ensure that system safety and risk management evaluation criteria and solicitation instructions are developed in conjunction with responsible project personnel and Center SMA organization representatives.

9.4.2 Center Directors, SMA Directors, COs, and COTRs shall ensure that contracts contain appropriate institutional safety and health requirements as required by NPR 8715.1, NASA Safety and Health Programs.

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