S02_ Brand Name Justification - Russ Electric CO Final Redacted.pdf

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JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL (J&A)

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Agency/Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 01, Providence Medical Center

2. Description of Action:

Nature: New Requirement Follow-on Requirement Mod to Existing Purchase Order/Contract Number

Pricing: Firm-Fixed Price Time & Materials Cost

Types of Funds: NRM_____________________

3. Description of Services or Supplies:

4. Authority: The following authorities are for actions other than simplified acquisition.

FAR 6.103-1: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(1).

FAR 6.103-2: Unusual and compelling urgency, 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(2).

FAR 6.103-3: Industrial mobilization, engineering, development, or research capability; or expert services, 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(3).

FAR 6.103-4: International agreement, 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(4).

FAR 6.103-5: Authorized or required by statute, 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(5).

FAR 6.103-6: National security, 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(6).

FAR 6.103-7: Public interest, 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(7).

5. Reasons for Authority Cited:

Existing paralleling gear is a proprietary item of Russ Electric. The required paralleling controls shall tie into this paralleling gear per this contract. Due to the proprietary item, only Russ electric is authorized to perform this work. There are existing emergency power generators tied into this existing paralleling gear proprietary item. Should another vendor be used, another paralleling gear would be required to be installed, and the other existing emergency power generators would need to be reprogrammed. Procuring a different Contractor, rather than sticking with Russ Electric’s proprietary system would likely incur substantial additional costs to the VA that would ultimately outweigh positive gains from competing systems.

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6. Actions to Increase Competition: As such, though no actions have been or plan to be taken to increase competition regarding the paralleling controls, the posting of this justification will yield two results that will assist in increasing competition overall. First, the public posting of this document will alert interested parties of the proprietary nature of this item and promote the idea of them becoming authorized distributors/associates for Russ Electric. Second, this public posting will ensure that all offerors who respond to this solicitation will be utilizing the same paralleling gear required for successful completion of this requirement. With the base price of this particular portion of the project presumably remaining the same for each offeror, the competition must further limit overhead and profit to remain competitive, thus maintaining competition for the overall acquisition.

7. Market Research: AE for design performed the market research for this portion of work. In addition, VA technical expert council was received attesting to the use of this specific piece of equipment. Furthermore, contracting members investigated federal contract records, and can attest to the proprietary nature of the equipment.

8. Procurement History:

Previous Purchase Order(s) or Contract(s): Yes No

If "Yes", for each purchase order or contract provide:

Purchase order or contract number:

Was action competed? Yes No If action was not competed, state the cited authority, summarize rationale, and describe the actions that were supposed to be taken to increase competition and the results thereof:

9. Additional Information to support the justification. Russ Electric technicians are the only vendors certified to tie into, configure and program the paralleling gear. They also have physical access to equipment and application software utility programs. Therefore, the contractor receiving the award would need to hire Russ Electric technicians or have the paralleling controls installed under the direction of this company.

10. Technical / Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Submitted By: Robert Palmer Position Title: Healthcare Engineer Email address: Robert.Palmer4@va.gov

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11. Fair and Reasonable Price Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable and is in the overall best interest of the Government.

Contracting Officer:

Ronald Fantasia Contracting Officer

RONALD

FANTASIA

Digitally signed by

RONALD FANTASIA

Date: 2026.10.23 10:46:22 -04'00'