SSJ_Laserfiche.docx

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

FAR Part 6 Requisition Number: Insert Requisition Number

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

FINANCE DIVISION | PROCUREMENT SECTION

JUSTIFICATION

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION IN ACCORDANCE WITH AUTHORITY 10.U.S.C. 3304 (C) (1) OR 41 U.S.C. 3304 (A) (1)

Requisition Number: DJF-18-0700-PR-0008040

1. Identification of the agency and contracting activity.

The U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Science and Technology Contracts Unit, has prepared this justification for other than full and open competition for Laseriche Solutions Group (LSG) on behalf of the Laboratory Division, Combine DNA Index System Unit (CODIS).

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved, i.e., sole source, limited competition, establishment of a new source, etc.

This is a onetime firm-fixed price contract that will be sole-source to Laserfiche Solutions Group.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs.

Background:

The Laboratory Division, Biometric Analysis Section (BAS) purchased and currently operates Laserfiche RIO, an electronic document management, business process automation and records management system to track validation data and quality assurance compliance and maintain records for quality assurance auditing, discoveries, etc. This includes numerous add on features including:

· Quickfields – Captures and identifies paper forms and extracts form data into searchable meta data;

· Form – Eliminates paper based processes through web forms and automatically routes forms for signature approvals based on custom workflows;

· Workflow – Business Process Automation to eliminate repetitive processes and eliminate spredsheets, emails, and other work to increase accuracy;

· Barcode – Decodes barcodes embedded into documents.

The request is for thirty (30) additional user liceses for RIO, forms and records management licenses and Software Assurance which allows upgrades to the newest releases. The additional licenses are required to support additional staff in the DNA Casework Unit, DNA Support Unit, and IT Support Staff to manage the system, and expanded use of Laserfiche system into Latent Print Support Unit.

Laserfiche Software

Laserfiche Software Assurance Plan

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

For purposes of this acquisition, the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is delineated at 41 U.S.C. 3304 (a) (1) and implemented at FAR Part 6.302-1. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

4. Demonstrate the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring the use of the authority.

Working directly with LSG provides access to the Federal Custom Solutions Group. This provides VIP support including a dedicated support engineer, 4 hour on site support, 24x7 technical support, and 80 hours of custom application development per year. Laserfiche spent several months learning the DNA Laboratory workflows and developing custom software applications based on our DNA processes for Quality Assurance, CODIS, and STACS LIMS. Laserfiche is highly integrated with the STACS DB product supporting identity verification of convicted offenders for samples loaded into CODIS. 99% of our support calls are related to the workflows developed by the Custom Solutions Group or integrated services and not the baseline product.

Given the time the FBI spent educating Laserfiche Support Staff and the level of custom development of the Laserfiche RIO product by the Federal Custom Solutions Group performed for the FBI, it would be detrimental to our operations to switch vendors at this stage.

5. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

The FBI will publicize this requirement on the Federal Business Opportunities website. This announcement will give an opportunity for other vendors to demonstrate their ability to meet the FBI’s specific needs through a submission of technical capabilities and cost information.

The anticipated dollar value of the proposed acquisition, including options if applicable, And a determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

Before awarding a contract, the Contracting Officer will perform a price analysis in accordance with FAR 15.804-2(a)-(e).

6. A description of the market research conducted and the results.

Market research was not done. Laserfiche is the sole provider of our customized software and the only company authorized to the service agreement.

7. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

Laserfiche is hosted on an unclassified network for DNA processing shared by the Federdal DNA Database Unit (FDDU), DNA Casework Unit (DCU), DNA Support Unit (DSU), and Latent Print Support Unit (LPSU). The network also hosts other application integrated with Laserfiche, including Sample Tracking and Control System (STaCS) for casework and STACS for databases. Licenses for the Laserfiche electronic records management software permit software access for the associated number of end users. This software system is currently being used in all three units to manage administrative and quality assurance records in accordance with Federal regulations and allows for paperless document retention within the Units. Laserfiche is the unit’s system of record that houses over 1.3 Terabytes of data in which represents over 500,000 documents. These documents are critical to the casework operations and included information related to 1) the unit’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) hits which associate potential offenders to unknown DNA profiles for crime scenes, 2) the materials the unit is required to provide in response to discovery requests made as a part of the adjudication of criminal cases, 3) the unit’s research materials that document its research, validation, and implementation of the DNA testing technologies it uses as required by the national DNA quality standards, 4) the training records for all of the unit’s technical staff, 5) reagent and consumable information for all of the unit’s chemicals it uses as a part of its testing, and 6) the instrument and equipment logs that document the maintenance and performance characteristics of all of the unit’s robotic platforms. The unit’s has invested over $100,000 and hundreds of man hours to the customization of Laserfiche to develop workflows to electronically manage its document control, training records, proficiency test records, and CODIS documentation as well as a custom designed interface to integrate with the unit’s customized STaCS DNA LIMS. It has also invested hundreds of man hours into the electronic conversion of its historical paper records and import of these records into the Laserfiche system in searchable format. Because the DNA Units designed this system to use a series of categorization templates and workflows to identify and process records to automatically sort, search, and retrieve unit records and within a taxonomic file structure, the automation of these clerical tasks has enabled unit management to re-purpose hundreds of staff-hours to the performance of the various technical tasks required by the unit’s quality system or to case work-related testing. Additionally, the conversion to this electronic system has allowed the DNA Unit’s to more easily provide its information for internal and external audits. Auditors/Inspectors are now provided QA records electronically making it simple to search by topic, date, or relevance rather than requiring them to manually inspect literally hundreds of pages, generally housed in labeled 3 ring binders, to identify relevant information. This electronic records system has been used with great success by the DNA Units (and has received praise from auditors as well) for its most recent mandatory external DNA audit by the Kentucky State Police Crime Laboratory, all of its FY2013 internal audits, and most recently for its mandatory ISO re-accreditation inspection that required the unit to supply 5 years of records (approximately 75,000 pages) to its inspectors for review.

It is vital that a majority of DNA Units personnel and staff maintain continual, simultaneous access to this software system. The service that the LaserFiche Solutions Group will provide is vital to continuity of operations and will maintain and/or further optimize casework operations.

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