V3241191_SSJ_v4_Redacted.pdf

Procurement Request No. V3241191

V220T.12 (01/15)

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

VOLPE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS CENTER (VOLPE CENTER)

ENVIRONMENTAL MEASUREMENT AND MODELING DIVISION (V324)

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

A. Description of Supplies/Services.

The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) has supported the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in developing software tools that allow for thorough assessment of the environmental effects of roadway traffic. Tool development has included all versions of the FHWA’s Traffic Noise Model (TNM) from Version 1.0 to the current Version 3.0 Beta. Several features in TNM 3.0 Beta need to be updated by an analyst/programmer well-versed in TNM acoustic algorithms, and a totally redesigned graphical user interface (GUI) needs to be developed in preparation for the release of TNM 3.0.

B. Market Research.

Since 1995, when FHWA’s TNM was released by Foliage Software Systems Inc., TNM users from various research institutes, universities, and government agencies have continually examined the state of the latest automobile traffic acoustics modeling technology through meetings, White Papers, surveys, and publications. A TNM Version 3.0 redesign must be completed by January 31, 2019, but Foliage Software Systems Inc. no longer exists, having been absorbed by a large overseas company. In reviewing capable software analyst/programmer staff to undertake this redesign of the TNM Version 3.0 Beta GUI, Volpe Center technical staff reviewed the capabilities of software development staff among Federal employees, onsite contract support (SOFITS and Geospatial), and several outside contractors providing this type of development support, including a number of small businesses reviewed via website. This staff review determined that no Federal staff at Volpe or under the SOFITS or Geospatial onsite contracts were capable of providing this support, as none of this staff had been involved in the original construction of TNM by Foliage.

Analyst/programmers with no knowledge of TNM’s construction would need to reverse engineer the software and basically start from scratch, a much less preferred, more time intensive, and more expensive method of updating a software program.However, this review did find that Acrotron has retained staff instrumental in the original construction of the fundamental TNM GUI structure. Acrotron, therefore, could update TNM Version 3.0 with no learning curve or reverse engineering, as they are familiar with TNM’s original construction. These capabilities make Acrotron the sole source capable of completing the requirements of the SOW, in particular the GUI development, as this task requires a combination of high-level TNM GUI capability known only among former Foliage staff plus the acoustic algorithm capability available through the Wave-TNM Toolkit.

C. Supporting Rationale.

(1) Sole Source: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

(i) Acrotron employees involved in initial construction of the TNM have the capabilities, expertise and knowledge to update TNM Version 3.0 right away without any learning curve. In particular, these Acrotron employees retain the required expertise in TNM GUI redesign and acoustic algorithm programming.

(ii) No other software company is known to be familiar with the initial contruction of TNM and would therefore have to reverse engineer TNM in order to update Version 3.0.

(iii) Not contracting with Acrotron to redesign the TNM Version 3.0 Beta GUI would cost the Volpe Center, FHWA, and other TNM stakeholders the opportunity to improve the TNM for the next generation and make it more widely available to users who do not want to purchase a 3rd-party license to operate the TNM GUI. The Volpe Center risks the following consequences if Acrotron is not contracted to perform the work described in the SOW:

• It is unfeasible to expect the Volpe Center programmers assigned to this project to be able to replicate on short notice (GUI redesign due in January 2019) the many years of unique experience achieved by Acrotron;

and

• The Volpe Center's ability to efficiently plan the logistics of such complex R&D work has been a large part of TNM’s success in recent years, and it is in the Volpe Center's best interests to provide this additional modeling component, only available through Acrotron, to the TNM 3.0 update.

(2) Brand Name: N/A.

(3) Unusual and Compelling Urgency: N/A.

Procurement Request No. V3241191

V220T.12 (01/15)