Brand_Name_Justification_Redacted.pdf

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

PR: 0040654087

1. Contracting Agency and Activity. The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey plans to contract by means other than full and open competition. This document sets forth the justification and approval for award of Metrohm Ion Chromatography System (ICs) on a limited source basis as required by FAR 13.501(a).

2. Nature of Action Being Approved.

This is a new order/contract to procure five (5), Metrohm 940 Professional IC Vario ONE/SeS/HPG with ProfIC Conductivity Detector MF, Dosino, ProfIC Sampler Processor (Autosampler), Eluent Production Module, MagIC Net 4.X software license, and InVial Dilution (MiVDT), Dosino, and Metrosep A Supp 19 150/4.0 and Guard/4.0 columns

3. Description of Supplies or Services.

Ion chromatography systems (ICs) are currently used at the National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) in the Water Mission Area for the USGS to measure environmental water samples for concentrations of bromide, fluoride, chloride, and sulfate. The NWQL currently has one (1) IC dedicated to bromide analysis and 3 other ICs which analyzes approximately a total of 32,000 analyses for FY23. The ion chromatography instruments currently used for these analyses range in age and have started to show signs of decreasing reliability and are or will no longer be covered under a maintenance service contract by the end of FY24.

This is a direct replacement for systems that are currently obsolete. The NWQL requires five (5) individual systems to support the product line, due to the volume of work required per fiscal year. For these reasons, it is imperative that the replacements meet the requirements of the other systems in current use without changes in software or hardware.

4. Estimated Dollar Value.

5. Statutory Authority. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority FAR 13.501(a).

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5.

The ion chromatography system for the NWQL must have a workstation that shall be an integrated system and shall include a pump, column heater, suppressor, autosampler and injector, guard and analytical IC columns, and conductivity detector. It must have the capability to perform isocratic and high-pressure gradient separations and have chemical suppression. It also needs automated eluent degassing and eluent generation through a concentrated solution manufactured internally. Furthermore, it needs to have the capability of performing multiple and variable dilutions on-line, within a run without further analyst support.

Only one manufacturer, Metrohm, has an instrument that can perform these functions and perform multiple and variable dilutions within a run without additional analyst support.

The Metrohm instrument has inline sample preparation for high sample throughput. This is a requirement based on the number of water samples submitted to the NWQL laboratory for analysis that require dilution. No other instrument provides this capability. Additionally, the analyst in charge of the instrument does not have to perform additional bench work (dilutions) to prepare samples for analysis using the Metrohm instrument, as. offline concentration preparations necessary for other instruments could lead to sample reruns due to improper solution preparations. Furthermore, using the same software, MagIC Net 4.X for future data collection allows the USGS to evaluate past data for electronic data continuity. Changing to a different instrument software will not allow the NWQL to verify historical data.

7. Other Information.

If awarded to another source, NWQL would lose the ability to program dilutions into the instrument and all dilutions would need to be done manually at the bench. The Metrohm units that are currently in use at NWQL do all these dilutions for the analyst and consequently introduced less error in preparation of standards and dilutions.

Furthermore, the Metrohm instruments currently in use at NWQL are beyond their predicted lifetime and will no longer be supported via a service contract starting on October 1, 2024. It is necessary to purchase these instruments quickly so we can have them installed, validated, and operational before the end of the calendar year, to be able to successfully meet established deadlines.

Furthermore, Metrohm holds patents on their equipment and copyrights on all their software. It would not be feasible to attempt to purchase any of these rights.

8. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted.

Market research was performed but only Metrohm meets the government’s minimum need.

Competition will be received among resellers.

9. Actions to Overcome Barriers to Competition.

Market research will continue on any future requirements to determine if new entrants have entered the marketplace offering multiple and variable dilution sample vials to promote competition to the maximum extent possible.