Brand_Name_Justifcation_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. This justification for other than full and open competition is prepared by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, John F. Kennedy Space Center.

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved.

NASA KSC requires a brand name justification in order to restrict consideration to one manufacturer for 5 x FLIR RS6702 Infrared (IR) CAMERAS.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

The FLIR RS 6702 Infrared camera is a cooled Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR) camera that has been tested to perform to the required level of sensitivity and accuracy. This includes the ability to measure temperatures to -40 degrees F in the hot and humid launch pad environment from 1300 feet away. The estimated value for 5 x FLIR RS6702 Infrared (IR) cameras is $

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1(c), application for brand-name descriptions, which permits contracting without providing for full and open competition when the use of a particular brand-name, product, or a feature of a product, peculiar to one manufacturer in the acquisition is essential to the Government’s requirement, thereby precluding consideration of a product manufactured by another company.

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

After 2 years of ongoing research, we have determined there are no other manufacturers that meet the application requirements needed specific to our launch pad environment and can meet the standards of testing required, this includes the ability to measure temperatures to -40 degrees F in the hot and humid launch pad environment from 1300 feet away and are compatible with our current infrastructure which includes control and connectivity. The FLIR RS 6702 Infrared camera is a cooled MWIR camera that has been tested to perform to the required level of sensitivity and accuracy. The performance of the FLIR camera is critical to the designed use and over the past 2 years has been evaluated against similar market solutions and was found to be and qualified by the engineering team to be the only camera currently on the market that fully meets the government’s needs.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies.

A notice of this proposed contract action will be publicized to the Government wide point of entry, the Federal Business Opportunities website (https://www.fbo.gov/) in accordance with FAR subpart 5.2. The notice will inform potential sources of the Government’s intent to procure this requirement as a brand name acquisition. The FLIR cameras have passed IT security requirements as well as performance requirements. Further testing and qualification of other possible solutions would cause significant cost and time delays.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer determines the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable, as the solicitation for this brand name requirement will be posted on (https://www.fbo.gov/) for re-sellers to view and submit quotes in response. The Contracting Officer anticipates adequate price competition will result from quotes received and therefore prices will be determined fair and reasonable based on a comparison of quotations received in response to the solicitation. In the event that adequate competition is not received, the Contracting Officer will determine the price fair reasonable based on the results of market research or comparison of the proposed price with current price lists or catalogs.

8. A description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted to identify suppliers able to supply specific brand name items as listed in section 3, which are necessary to meet this requirement. The market analysis revealed 30 possible companies which were listed on the manufacturer’s website as authorized resellers.

For the purpose of verification of business size, certifications and eligibility to do business with the Government, these companies were validated in the SAM.gov site.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

N/A

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

No other companies have expressed an interest in this procurement as this is such a specialized camera, it is believed that no other company other than the manufacturer sells it.

A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

The solicitation will be posted to (https://www.fbo.gov/) for authorized FLIR resellers to respond. Award for products other than FLIR would result in substantial cost to the Government and would not be recovered through opening competition for other than FLIR products. As new products are developed and come on the market, more research can be conducted to determine if the requirements can be met with other products/manufacturers.