A02.05_KO Determination for Brand Name.pdf

CUI

(Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104-4)

Brand Name Determination Starphire® Conventional Glazing

1. Contracting Activity: The agency making this acquisition is the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL), and the contracting office is located at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180-6199.

2. Description of Action: This determination seeks approval to award a new Firm Fixed

Price (FFP) contract on a brand name basis pursuant to procedures at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106-1(b) to purchase Starphire® low-iron glazing panels.

3. Description of the product required to meet the agency’s needs: The ERDC-GSL, Survivability Engineering Branch requires a series of Starphire® low-iron glazing panels. The glazing must consist of 1/4”- and 1/2"-thick glass panels in both annealed and thermally tempered condition. Details of the requirements with dimensions and quantities are summarized in Table 1.

4. Authority Cited: FAR 13.106-1(b), Soliciting from a single source (1) 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).

5. Reason for Authority Cited: In accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) 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 (e.g. brand name) reasonably available.

Background: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is interested in determining the ballistic resistance of conventional glazing systems for commercial buildings and public venues, as well as transparent armor configurations. The testing requires that the glass is representative of that found in the fielded structures of interest. This, along with a review on past experimental efforts for glazing systems, requires the Starphire® brand as the choice for glazing material. This also serves towards validating material characterization that was previously done on Starphire® glass for computational modeling applications.

(Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104-4)

Justification: Window glazing layups include unique blends of materials to produce a specific outcome. The proprietary blend provided by the Starphire® low-iron glazing panels was tested and selected by DHS for use in construction of their buildings. The glazing must consist of 1/4”- and 1/2"-thick glass panels in both annealed and thermally tempered condition, as provided by the Starphire panels.

Because these unique materials are currently fielded in real-world force protection applications, these specific products provided by this vendor are required. The testing requires that specific glazing layups be tested per sponsor dictated ballistic shot patterns. Only Starphire products will meet this need because these are the unique products currently in use.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Several vendors resell the Starphire® low-iron glazing panels products, therefore adequate competition is anticipated.

7. Determination that costs will be fair and reasonable: The independent government estimate, catalog prices, price competition, and the laboratory’s technical representative’s knowledge of the industry will be used to determine if the quoted price is fair and reasonable.

8. Description of Market Research: Market research has been conducted for this acquisition utilizing historical acquisition information, review of Government and commercial sources for relevant information, and review of other internet sources. The resulting market research found that the products required to meet the Government’s need are commercial items and more than one vendor is capable of providing the items required to meet the Government’s need.

9. Contracting Officer Determination: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Allison Hudson Contracting Officer