A05_Part 12 Over SAT JA_FE_Redacted.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Justification to Restrict Competition

Identification Number:

Rev. 11/6/2025

In accordance with the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 12.102 (b), the following justification documents the decision to restrict competition for this acquisition.

(1) Mission Area and Contracting Activity.

The requiring activity is the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Production and Conservation Business Center (FPAC-BC), HQ- Information Systems Division in support of USDA’s mission partners; Geospatial Enterprise Operations Branch (GEO) and proposes to enter into a contract on a basis other than full and open competition.

The contracting organization responsible for this action is the USDA Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP) Procurement Operations Division (POD) located in the federal building at 301 S Howes St, STE 321, Fort Collins, CO 80523.

(2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This justification authorizes and approves the award of a sole-source, firm-fixed price, for the procurement of comprehensive preventive maintenance, repair, and technical support services for Government-owned GEO film scanners called Digital Scanning Workstation (DSW) 700’s. The film scanners are mission-critical equipment supporting the digitization of irreplaceable archival imagery. The imagery produced is required for geospatial analysis, historical reference, program compliance verification, and customer data delivery. Because many source films are unique and deteriorate with age and required to be submitted to the National Archives, equipment downtime directly impacts the Government’s ability to preserve and deliver these records. The scanners require specialized manufacturer-level preventive maintenance, calibration, firmware support that cannot be performed by general IT or facilities personnel. The new contract will continue to provide the critical resources and expertise needed to maintain and enhance the performance of the scanners.

These services are commercial in nature and will be procured utilizing the procedures listed in FAR Part 12.

The suggested contractor is:

HEXAGON GROUP AB

Division: LEICA GEOSYSTEMS INC.

555 NORTH POINT CENTER EAST

SUITE 700

ALPHARETTA GA, 30022-8268

UEI: QAX4PS4VTD61

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

United States Department of Agriculture Justification to Restrict Competition

Identification Number:

Rev. 11/6/2025 the lifespan of this product line. Leica maintains parts and a dedicated staff to ensure the operation of the existing systems and has not authorized or trained any third-party organizations to independently provide customer service and support for the DSW 700. Hexagon Group AB and any of their divisions are the only authorized vendors of the DSW Photogrammetric Film scanner along with any associated upgrades and add-ons. Within the U.S., the only authorized sales channel for any DSW component is Leica Geosystems Direct Sales team. This limitation of sales and support to only Hexagon divisions such as Leica Geosystems, ensures consistent performance with the highly specialized analog film scanners. This also allows all digital images produced on a DSW to meet high standards for accuracy and color fidelity. In addition, any maintenance work performed by any group or individual other than Lecia Geosystems shall immediately exclude the affected hardware from warranty coverage.

Using other than full and open competition under these circumstances is necessitated not by a lack of performance specifications or data packages but due to the proprietary nature and specialized experience required, which is solely possessed by Leica Geosystems. This mitigates the risks of fulfilling our organizational objectives without compromise.

(6) Provide a description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as possible, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Part 5 and, if not, which exception under Part 5 applies.

The proposed contract action was not synopsized on the SAM website. IAW RFO FAR 5.101(b)(2) a combined pre-solicitation notice, and solicitation is not required to be posted to the GPE.

(7) A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated cost to the Government of the supplies/services covered by this J&A will be fair and reasonable based on a thorough comparison of historical pricing data from the prior contract and the development of an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) using current market rates.

(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 potential sources capable of providing preventive maintenance services for Government-owned GEO film scanners DSW700. This included outreach to Hexagon AB on July 24, 2026 with the following response received, in part:

“The only authorized sales channel in the USA for any DSW component is the Leica Geosystems Direct Sales Team.”

The research determined that Leica Geosystems, Inc. is the only responsible source capable of providing manufacturer-authorized preventive maintenance, calibration, firmware support, and technical servicing for the GEO film scanner systems.