J&A_v2_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT (OPEN MARKET OR GSA)

UNDER $250,000

Sole source acquisitions may be used on a limited basis and only when the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)/Program Official has provided sufficient justification and the Contracting Officer has determined that the circumstances warrant such action. The content for a justification must contain detailed facts and rationale to justify the sole source acquisition. Soliciting from a single source must be done in accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b) or 8.405-6. At a minimum, the following information must be included:

Identification of Program Office, Contracting Activity, and Proposed Requirement, Justification and Program Office Certification:

A. Program Office:

NIOSH, DART, 1090 Tusculum Av, MS-R7, Cincinnati, OH 45226

Click here to enter text.

Click here to enter text.

B. Contracting Activity:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Financial Resources Acquisition Branch Click here to enter text.

C. Identification of Requirement:

1. Nature of Action to be Approved by Contracting Officer:

a. Sole source acquisition of: COTS hand-held Raman Spectrometer from

Cloudminds Inc. (through Neo Tech)

b. Procurement Request (PR) Number (if available): #35995

2. Proposed Vendor and Estimated Procurement Amount (if available):

a. Proposed Vendor: Neo Tech Solutions Inc

b. Estimated Procurement Amount: $

3. Is the requirement on GSA Schedule? ☐ Yes ☒ No

If yes, provide schedule number: Click here to enter text.

Rev. 5/14/19

D. Justification:

1. The justification for this non-competitive action is:

☒ In accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), “only one source [is] reasonably available” which states that, “For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold. (i) Contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name or industrial mobilization). (ii) Where a single source is identified to provide a portion of a purchase because that portion of the purchase specifies a particular brand-name item, the documentation in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section only applies to the portion of the purchase requiring brand-name item. The documentation should state it is covering only the portion of the acquisition which is brand- name.”

☐ Urgency

☐ Exclusive licensing agreements/Proprietary data

☒ Brand name required

☐ Industrial mobilization

☒ Other (e.g., compatibility, space issues, continuity, compatibility, etc.)

☐ In accordance with FAR 8.405-6 “Limiting Sources” which states that, “the only circumstances that may justify the action are – (A) An urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays; (B) Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized; or (C) In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-up to an original Federal Supply Schedule order provided that the original order was placed in accordance with the applicable Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures. The original BPA must not have been previously issued under sole-source or limited-sources procedures.”

☐ Urgency

☐ Only One Source

☐ Logical Follow Up

☐ Brand name required

2. Other facts supporting sole source procurement:

a. What can this product/service do that other products/services cannot do?

This procurement is for a compact, hand-held Raman spectrometer to perform on-site, direct-reading chemical analysis of aerosols in the workplace air. The on-site direct-reading aerosol measurement demands several important instrument specifications that allow hand-held analysis in the field. The instrument must meet the following specifications:

1) The instrument must be operated by a smartphone-like computing device for user-friendly interface, fast data processing, cloud and wireless connectivity. The instrument must be stand-alone and battery-operated.

2) The overall instrument size must very compact and allow hand-held measurement; the overall size should be smaller than 16 x 8 x 3 cm in size

3) The overall weight of the spectrometer instrument must be less than <0.5 kg

4) The instrument must offer high sensitivity with nominal laser power of up to 500 mW at 785 mW.

5) The instrument must have the ability to conduct both single point measurement and area scanning, involving continuous rastering of sample distributed over area greater than or

Rev. 5/14/19 equal to 4.5 x 4.5 mm. Furthermore, this scanning area must be user adjustable, with a minimum of 1x1 mm and a maximum of 4.5 x 4.5 mm.

6) The instrument must use advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, via cloud integration, to allow matching of spectra and instantaneous material identification.

The proposed instrument from CloudMinds Inc., Model XI, meets all these requirements. COTS products from other Raman manufacturers don’t meet combination of all the technical specifications mentioned above

b. What other products/services were considered and why did they not meet the need?

Spectrometers from other manufacturers, such as B&W Tek, Wasatch Photonics, Thermofisher Scientific, Metrohm Inc., Horiba Inc., were considered. However, these spectrometers did not meet ‘all’ of the above requirements regarding overall size, weight, point and area scanning capability, laser power, smartphone connectivity, cloud and wireless connectivity, and AI driven material identification

3. Program Office efforts to seek potential offerors:

PO has done extensive research on available options. As noted above, there are no products on the market that meet the desired technical and performance specifications

E. Program Office Certification:

I have reviewed this sole source justification and certify the justification is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and adequate to support other than full and open competition.

Center/Institute/Office COR/Program Official Name/Title: NIOSH/HELD/CBMB

-Signed-

Center/Institute/Office COR/Program Official Signature:

Certification Date: September 3, 2019

F. Contracting Office Certification:

I have fully relied on the information provided herein and hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief:

Contracting Officer Name: Click here to enter text.

-Signed-

Contracting Officer Signature:

Certification Date: September 4, 2019