Brand_Name_or_Equal_Justification_0005.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

INTERIOR BUSINESS CENTER

Washington, DC 20240

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES (SAP) UNDER THE

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD (SAT)

AUTHORITY: 13.106-1(b)(1), 13.501(a)(ii) and 6.305(c)

Solicitation: 140D0424Q0944

1. Contracting activity/agency.

This document is a Brand Name (or Equal) Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity for the Department of the Interior, Interior Business Center, Acquisition Services Directorate, Division 3, Branch 4.

2. Description of supplies or services required to meet agency needs.

The request is for the contractor to provide cleaning, vacuuming and application of a resin seal coat to the 25,000 SF of bonded aggregate and perform full depth spot repairs NTE 100

SF at the Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, in Washington, D.C. The bonded aggregate specification requires the use of brand name or equal products. The site has approximately 25,000 SF of resin bound aggregate that surrounds the historic and modern buildings and provides accessible pathways through historic gardens and to the visitor tram.

The aggregate is in need of vacuuming, cleaning, and the application of a resin seal coat over roll to ensure it maintains its bonding qualities and to address any unraveling and losses in the permeable paving material. In addition to the routine maintenance, full depth repairs shall be made NTE 100 SF, and any loose material shall be collected and discarded. This work shall be broken up into 3 distinct phases to always maintain access into the buildings. The purpose of this contract order is to provide a safe and accessible visitor experience with cohesive bonded aggregate paving throughout the grounds at Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee

Memorial (ARHO). The estimated cost of this requirement is $37,500.00. The period of performance is 90 days after date of award.

3. Identification of the limited sources to be solicited.

Sources are limited to those Small Businesses who can provide the Brand Name or Equal products as stated in the Statement of Work (SOW) and specification sheet.

• The resin must be SOLUV brand Clear Bond or Approved Equal.

• The Load Support Confinement System must be PG45 Green Innovations or

Approved Equal.

• The Surface crushed stone must be supplied/manufactured by Kafka Granite, 550 East

Highway 153, Mosinee WI 54455; or Approved Equal.

• The Steel Edge must be Ryerson or Approved Equal.

4. Reason for authority cited. The contracting officer has determined the circumstances of the contract deem only brand name or equal products are able to meet the specifications of the requirement.

Brand Name or Equal– The brand name or approved equals are essential to the requirement and market research indicates similar products do not meet or cannot be modified to meet agency needs.

5. Rationale.

The requested bonded aggregate is a resin-bound crushed stone surfacing system that is a rigid and a permeable pavement suitable for pedestrian pathways and walkways. The requested brand name or approved equal products are essential to maintain the integrity of the pathways and are the only items able to meet the performance requirements as follows:

• The Load Bearing Capacity: Bonded aggregate paving system shall bear up to 972psi of compressive strength. Compression test results must show that the system can withstand low (pedestrian) to heavy weight traffic.

• Porosity: The average infiltration rate of the bonded aggregate system, using 0.08’’-

0.25’’ size angular aggregates as the resin bonded top layer is 432 gpsf/minute (gallon per square foot per minute) and even on 100% of the surface.

• UV Resistance: Resin supplier (manufacturer) shows no record of significant color change of the resin bonded stone pavement over time on any other similar project of comparable size and aggregate color (top layer). Resin shall be UV stable and clear of color.

6. Market Research.

Market research indicates that the project for Asphalt Paving Mixture and Block

Manufacturing services is available from commercial sources in the open market. The commercial marketplace and the SBA Small Business Dynamic Search was canvased and there are multiple small businesses able to provide these products. A search on the Small

Business Administration (SBA) Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) database on

08/04/2024 using NAICS 324121 for certified small business vendors yielded multiple vendor profiles.

IAW FAR 19.502(a) Each acquisition of supplies or services that has an anticipated dollar value above the micro-purchase threshold, but not over the simplified acquisition threshold, shall be set aside for small business unless the contracting officer determines there is not a reasonable expectation of obtaining offers from two or more responsible small business concerns that are competitive in terms of fair market prices, quality, and delivery. Therefore, this requirement is set-aside to small businesses only. Issuing an RFQ as a Small Business

Set-Aside is the most advantageous strategy for the government.

Under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), the undersigned hereby determines the circumstances of this contract action deem only brand name or equal items are reasonably available to support services herein.