A13 - SBPO Signed JOFOC.pdf

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SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN ACTION EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

USING SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

AUTHORITY: FAR 13.501(a), 41 U.S.C. 1901

Purchase Request: NW-WG3401-22-00162

1. Agency and contracting activity.

Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Eastern Acquisition Division (EAD) and National Weather Service (NWS) National Reconditioning Center (NRC).

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

This is a sole source justification for a follow-on requirement with Optical Scientific Inc. (OSI), the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), for the refurbishment of several OEM parts within the Present Weather Sensor Light Emitting Diode Weather Identifier (LEDWI) used on the NWS Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS). A five year indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract that will provide for issuance of firm-fixed price type task orders is contemplated for award.

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

This requirement is for the refurbishment of the following OEM parts for the LEDWI:

a. SENSOR HEAD, VISIBILITY, LEDWI, PRESENT WEATHER SENSOR, OSI PN: 1103-101, ASN:S100-2MT2A2, NSN: 6660-01-368-4825;

b. MICROPROCESSOR CARD, STI PN: 1103-214, ASN: S100-2MT2A1A1A3, NSN: 5998-01-368- 4596;

c. RECEIVER AGC CARD, OPTICAL SCIENTIFIC PN: 1103-215, ASN: S100-2MT2A1A1A8, NSN: 5998-01-375-4811

These parts are critical in maintaining ASOS equipment. ASOS support the mission of life and property protection by providing timely information for weather alerts and warnings. These refurbishments are necessary for the NRC to maintain a warehouse stock for issue when requested, to maintain operation of the ASOS equipment at the weather forecast offices, airports, and remote sites. The IDIQ contract will have a five year ordering period from September 2022 through September 2027. The estimated value in accordance with the Independent Government Estimate (IGE) is approximately $1,334,999.67.

4. Statutory authority permitting the sole source (including brand name) acquisition.

41 U.S.C. 1901, using SAP up to $7.5M as authorized by FAR 13.500(a) and implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

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5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. The contracting officer has determined the following circumstances justify the use of a sole source as supported below:

Only one source - Only one source is capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required because the services are unique or highly specialized.

OSI formerly Scientific Technology, Inc. is the original designer, patent-holder, and manufacturer of the LEDWI and retains full proprietary rights to all related designs; drawings; schematics; software; and refurbishment process. OSI has expressed their proprietary rights in writing on multiple occasions to NOAA, including recently on March 17, 2022. OSI does not approve outside technicians to repair, maintain or to provide OSI’s proprietary parts. Thus, OSI is the sole source for the refurbishment.

The LEDWI is the ASOS Present Weather Sensor which is used to measure the scintillation (sparkling) pattern of the precipitation falling through the sensor's infrared beam to detect and determine what type of precipitation is falling (rain, snow, sleet). The LEDWI Sensor Head, Microprocessor Card and Receiver AGC Card are all subassemblies of the LEWDI and any failure of these parts would result in complete failure of the Present Weather Sensor.

ASOS Present Weather Sensors are used to provide weather data at airports and remote weather sites.

Weather forecasters and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airport tower personnel use this data to assess and report current weather conditions to the public, aviation safety of flight requirements, and to assist in future forecast predictions. An inaccurate measurement of any of these conditions could have catastrophic consequences on airplanes during landing.

Overall, the LEDWI allows the NWS to meet its mission to collect critical and timely data in support of aircraft traffic safety and severe weather warnings, including tornado and flood warnings. Any supply interruptions or malfunctions would have a substantial impact on the ability of the ASOS to function and diminish the NWS mission to protect life and property.

6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as 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 Intent to Sole Source was posted to the Government-wide Point of Entry (GPE) at www.SAM.gov on April 20, 2022. No responses, inquiries, or interest were received by 12:00 PM, CST on May 5, 2022.

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

The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on a comparison to the IGE, comparison to the historical prices (WC133W17CQ0095) and comparison to labor rates found on GSA schedules or other market resources for similar services. Prior to award of the proposed contract, price information shall be obtained from the contractor and a price analysis will be performed and documented to sufficiently determine that the cost to the Government of the proposed acquisition will be fair and reasonable.

8. Description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

A sources sought was posted to the GPE at www.SAM.gov on February 17, 2022 seeking any potential vendors who may be able to perform the subject refurbishments. One vendor, Embedded Engineering, submitted a capabilities package and is discussed in Part 10. Additionally, multiple searches were completed on the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Dynamic Small Search and Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) under the applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and part descriptions. Research also included, review of historical similar purchases, AbilityOne, and DOC Strategic Sourcing Initiatives (SSI). None of the searches identified any business available to compete for this required service.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of a sole source (including brand name), such as:

All facts have been documented herein. There are no additional facts to be reported in this section.

10. List of the sources that expressed a written interest in the acquisition.

In response to the sources sought notice, an interested vendor, Embedded Engineering, submitted a capabilities package on February 26, 2022. Embedded Engineering proposed a “reversed engineering process” based on possible access to the other OEM equipment and the ASOS site manual. The Contracting Officer Representative (COR) from the program office reviewed Embedded Engineering’s capabilities package. The COR acknowledged that Embedded Engineering had some experience in painting the LEDWI, but they had no experience repairing them. The NWS does not have additional equipment to provide to Embedded Engineering and the ASOS site manual does not contain the proprietary information needed to refurbish the LEDWI. Although the NWS could acquire and provide the additional equipment to Embedded Engineering, they do not have the technical expertise, proprietary knowledge, or time to successfully reverse engineer the LEDWI. LEDI and there is no guarantee that reverse engineering would result in a viable end product. This equipment is in high demand and requires a quick turnaround from the OEM to support operational commitments. Based on their cited capabilities, the COR and the Contracting Officer determined that Embedded Engineering does not provide a viable alternative to this requirement.

Their solution has no clear time-line, it’s unproven, and cost prohibitive at this time.

11. 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.

Since the NWS does not own the proprietary rights for these OEM parts, developing and testing them would be a significant expense to the NWS, require several years of lead time, and void any existing warranties. If more ASOS parts become commercially available, the NWS intends to purchase and test those alternatives, which if deemed viable would open up opportunities for other vendors to perform these services. The Government will continue to conduct thorough market research to gauge the marketplace capabilities for ASOS parts and services with exclusivity of proprietary rights for future requirements.

12. Technical/Requirements Representative Certification I certify that this requirement constitutes the Government’s minimum needs and the supporting data provided herein is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Cedric B. Debolt Date Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)

13. Office of General Counsel Concurrence

Concur

Rebecca Jacobsen Date

Office of General Counsel

14. Contracting Officer’s Certification

I certify this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Jackie A. Shewmaker Date Contracting Officer

15. NOAA Competition Advocate Approval:

Approve

Jeffrey S. Thomas Date NOAA Competition Advocate and Director, Acquisition and Grants Office

DEBOLT.CEDRIC.

B.JR.1173482406

Digitally signed by

DEBOLT.CEDRIC.B.JR.1173482406

Date: 2022.05.31 08:41:46 -05'00'

Jackie A.

Shewmaker

Digitally signed by Jackie A.

Shewmaker Date: 2022.05.31 09:15:13 -05'00'

REBECCA JACOBSEN Digitally signed by REBECCA JACOBSEN Date: 2022.06.01 09:13:24 -04'00'

Digitally signed by

MABE.KELLY.DANA.1229305057

Date: 2022.07.07 07:04:47 -04'00'

7/7/22

301-963-3630 phone 301-948-4674 fax 2 Metropolitan Ct., Suite 6, Gaithersburg, MD 20878-4008 USA www.opticalscientific.com

(formerly known as Scientific Technology, Inc.)

To: Taylor Wisneski, Contract Specialist, NOAA AGO

Date: March 17, 2022

Ref: Renewal of IDIQ Contract WC133W17CQ0095 for LEDWI Maintenance

OSi is the original designer and manufacturer of the first commercially available Present Weather

Sensor, the OWI-220/240 Light Emitting Diode Weather Identifier (LEDWI), a key sensor in ASOS since the beginning of the ASOS program. OSi’s (then STI) first major contract was for the supply of 1100 LEDWI for use in ASOS. Twenty-five plus years later, we are still supporting ASOS through a multi-year contract for the maintenance of the current ASOS LEDWI with NOAA.

As an original ASOS Program key partner / supplier, our relevant experiences are second to no other company or group. First and foremost, OSi is the original designer and sole manufacturer of the OWI-220/240 Light Emitting Diode Weather Identifier (LEDWI) which has been used in ASOS since the beginning and is still in use at every ASOS site. OSi is the sole source for LEDWI subassemblies and spare parts as well as technical support and factory refurbishment. We retain proprietary ownership of the sensor design and support. We estimate that OSi can adequately support the continued use of the ASOS LEDWI for another five years or more.

Peace and blessings, Donn Williams

V.P. Sales & Marketing, OSi