JOFOC Brand Name PC_SH MCS_Approved_Redacted.pdf

Version 3.0

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN ACTION EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

USING SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

(AUTHORITY: FAR 13.501(a), 41 U.S.C. 1901)

PR NM-AN2120-21-00761

1. Agency and contracting activity. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Eastern Acquisition

Division (EAD) and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO).

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

NOAA intends to award a new purchase order for the design and installation of a new Machinery

Control System (MCS) for the NOAA Ships Bell Shimada and Pisces. A firm fixed price purchase order is contemplated for award, with a Brand Name restriction for the Controllogix Programmable

Logic Controllers (PLCs) manufactured by Allen Bradley, the Original Equipment Manufacturer

(OEM), as stated in section 5.1.2 of the Statement of Work (SOW).

3. Description of supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the total estimated value).

The planned acquisition is for a new MCS on board the NOAA Ships PISCES and BELL M.

SHIMADA, of which Allen Bradley PLCs will be a major component of the control equipment.

The design and installation contractor for the new MCS will have the option to utilize industry wide parts, except for the PLC and PLC supporting components of the system which must be manufactured from Allen Bradley. OMAO requires these brand name parts to accomplish and replace the MCS on board the NOAA Ships PISCES and BELL M. SHIMADA which are sister ships in the Fisheries Survey Vessels (FSV) Class of NOAA vessels. Both vessels currently utilize

Allen Bradley Controllogix PLCs within the Main Propulsion and Bow Thruster Drive Cabinets of the MCS. To maintain interchangeability and compatibility between existing ship’s equipment, one

PLC brand must be utilized for the new MCS to be designed and installed. Should another brand of

PLCs be utilized for this portion of the requirement, the newly designed MCS for both NOAA

Ships Bell Shimada and Pisces would no longer be compatible with the existing ship’s equipment and thus require both NOAA ships to update their bow thruster and propulsion motor drive cabinets to be able to communicate with a new PLC, which would significantly delay upcoming ship’s missions.

The otherwise competitive solicitation will include a Brand Name restriction as documented in this

Justification, which only covers the PLC requirement of this acquisition

4. Statutory authority permitting the sole source (including brand name) acquisition.

X 41 U.S.C. 1901, using Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP) up to $7.5M as authorized by FAR 13.500(a) and implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

PR NM-AN2120-21-00232

5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. The contracting officer has determined the following circumstances justify the use of a brand name as supported below:

Allen Bradley PLCs are the only brand of PLCs considered for this portion of the requirement for the MCS needed for both the NOAA Ships Bell Shimada and Pisces. The main propulsion motor and bow thruster motor drive cabinets, which communicates with the MCS, of the NOAA FSV

Class were designed and installed with OEM Allen Bradley PLCs and ancillary components. Both

SHIMADA and PISCES main propulsion motor, bow thruster motor, and other logistics support systems that are needed to communicate with the new MCS support the existing Allen Bradley

PLCs. In order to maintain the current logistics and onboard shipboard spares on both vessels, it is required to use the Allen Bradley PLCs for this portion of the requirement for the new MCS. The current Allen Bradley PLCs equipped on both vessels were specifically designed to be compatible with the hardware and software of the propulsion motor, bow thruster motor, and other logistics support systems that communicate with the MCS. While there are other PLC brands, if NOAA was to utilize a different manufacturer’s PLC for this portion of the requirement, then the MCS to be designed and installed would no longer be compatible with the existing ship’s systems.

Utilizing the Allen Bradley brand of PLCs for this portion of the new MCS requirement also allows for NOAA personnel to easily replace the PLCs on board both NOAA Ships with spares that are stored on board should any of the PLCs fail during a mission. Should another manufacturer’s PLC be utilized on the new MCS, then the interchangeability would no longer be possible as a different brand of PLCs would have to be configured to the existing ship’s systems and would require the hardware and software of the systems to be completely reconfigured in order to allow for the new

MCS to operate safely and successfully. Furthermore, the addition of a different brand of PLCs would require a separate shipboard area for storing spare parts – space that is not readily available.

A varying brand would also necessitate the procurement and storage of separate spare parts for the new MCS.

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

No exception exists under FAR 5.202. This requirement will be publicized at the Government wide point of entry (GPE) and a copy of this justification will be posted with the RFQ as required by

FAR 13.501(a)(1)(iv) and 5.102(a)(6).

7. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

Prior to award of the proposed contract, a price analysis will be performed and documented to sufficiently determine that the cost to the Government of the proposed acquisition will be fair and reasonable. Additionally, the Government has a wealth of historical pricing data on which the

Independent Government Estimate (IGE) has been based.

The contracting officer anticipates the cost to the Government will be determined fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR 13.106-3, Award and documentation.

8. Description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

No further market research was conducted as explained in paragraph 5 above, Allen Bradley

PLCs are the only brand considered for this portion of this requirement to ensure compatibility with existing ship’s systems. However, for the overarching requirement of the design and install of a new MCS, market research was conducted by reviewing a procurement of similar nature that was completed for the NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson. A contract for a newly designed MCS and installation was recently awarded and the market research conducted for that requirement identified numerous small businesses that regularly perform this type of work under the North

American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code. Based upon the market research conducted for that requirement, a total small business set aside was determined to be in the best interest of the Government. Once that requirement was solicited, four small businesses submitted quotes and since both MCS requirements are almost identical, and based upon the amount of responses received on the requirement for the NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, it is anticipated that two or more responsible small businesses will submit a quote in response to the solicitation for this requirement for the NOAA ships Bell Shimada and Pisces.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of a sole source (including brand name), such as:

All supporting have been documented herein.

10. List of the sources that expressed a written interest in the acquisition.

No sources have expressed a written interest in this acquisition to date. However, based on past acquisitions of a similar nature, the Contracting Officer has a reasonable expectation that, once the solicitation is posted, sufficient competition will be obtained from two or more responsible small businesses competing independently for design and installation of the new Machinery Control

Systems.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

The agency has no plans to take additional action regarding removal of barriers to competition for these items as this is the last ship within this ship class that needs these replacement systems.

12. Technical/Requirements Representative Certification

I certify that this requirement constitutes the Government’s minimum needs and the supporting data provided herein is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

______________________________________ ___6 July 2021____

Stephen Spindler Date

Program Office/Port Engineer

13. Contracting Officer’s Certification and Approval

I certify this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Approve

Date

Andrew Hildebrandt Contracting Officer

14. Office of General Counsel Concurrence

Concur

Jonathan Baker Date

Office of General Counsel

7/6/2021

See Attached Email Concurrence

Frank Burton - NOAA Federal <frank.burton@noaa.gov>

Brand Name Justification for Allen Bradley PLCs for the New MCS Design and Installation for the NOAA Ships Bell Shimada and Pisces

Baker, Jonathan S. (Fed) <jonathan.baker@nist.gov> Tue, Jul 6, 2021 at 9:56 AM To: Frank Burton - NOAA Federal <frank.burton@noaa.gov> Cc: Andrew Hildebrandt - NOAA Federal <andrew.hildebrandt@noaa.gov>, Ashley Perry - NOAA Federal <Ashley.Perry@noaa.gov>

CUI/PRIV

Hi Frank –

This is fine. No OGC comments. I don’t sign JOFOCs, so you can use this email to show that OGC reviewed the JOFOC for legal sufficiency.

Jonathan S. Baker

Attorney Advisor

Contract Law Division

Office of the General Counsel

U.S. Department of Commerce

Phone: 301.975.8801

Fax: 202.501.8005

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