Approved_SAM_ATFJA_OM Services for DDEAMC Ft. Eisenhower GA (JA Control #24-0038 8-26-24) (Redacted).pdf

J&A Control # 24-0038

Justification and Approval (J&A) For

Other Than Full and Open Competition

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Directorate of Contracting, Mobile Regional Contracting Center, P.O. Box 2288, Mobile, Alabama 36628-0001.

2. Description of Action: This J&A serves to document the verbal approval received on 27 June 2024 for a new follow-on firm fixed price (FFP) stand-alone contract for the continuation of the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center (DDEAMC), Fort Eisenhower, Georgia along with various Defense Health Agency (DHA) and DOD medical treatment facilities at the installation. Contract # W9127824C0037, approved under this J&A, is a follow-on to contract # W9127824C0013 that expired on 30 June 2024.

Facility Services Management, Inc. (FSI) will be the sole-source contractor for this follow-on firm fixed price (FFP) stand-alone contract performing O&M services.

Contract # W9127824C0013 was awarded on a sole source basis, supported by J&A Control # 24-0005 for Other than Full and Open Competition citing FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency, approved by the Alternate Advocate for Competition (AAFC) on 11 March 2024.

Therefore, this J&A is considered a subsequent J&A, approved as the cumulative noncompetitive value of both bridge contracts. Contract # W9127824C0037 will serve as a bridge until a Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protest is resolved and performance under a new contract can commence. The period of performance of the contract is up to 180 days (via a four-month base period and two one-month options). This contract will be FFP and funded with FY24 Defense O&M funding.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The contractor will maintain the day to day (24/7/365) operations and maintenance for the medical facilities at DDEAMC. There can be no break in coverage. The continuation of this contract ensures the staff have a safe, clean, operatable facility to provide medical services to all patients. The O&M contractor provides preventative and predictive maintenance, addresses any potential asset issues, performs general maintenance (from changing light bulbs and filters to HVAC), and addresses equipment failures that can disrupt workflows. In a medical environment this can be the line between life and death. O&M services at DDEAMC include, but are not limited to emergency system testing, preventative maintenance and repair, generator testing, building automation systems monitoring and inspection/maintenance, and medical gas inspections/certifications. These services keep the medical center operational and in line with accreditation requirements. Without these services, DDEAMC would have to close. DDEAMC is the only military medical facility located in this area, and it is needed to provide medical services to the servicemembers, retirees and their families.

W9127824C0013 (Expired 30 June 2024) Contract Line-Item Number

Period of Performance Awarded Amount

0001: Base period 01 January 2024 – 30 April 2024

J&A Upward Reporting form, solicitation W9127824R0016 was issued to FSI on 27 December 2023. FSI’s proposal was received the same day and award was made to FSI on 29 December 2023 through contract W9127824C0013, which is prior to the expiration of the period of performance of the existing task order W9127819F0069.

Regarding the initial GAO protest received from FSI, corrective measures were taken resulting in the dismissal of the GAO protest regarding contract number W9127824C0006. Consequently, on 07 June 2024 Mobile District awarded a new contract to J&J, W9127824C0036. A timely second GAO protest was filed on 25 June 2024 by FSI, invoking a second CICA stay of contract/performance.

Due to the second GAO protest on 25 June 2024, USACE Mobile District Contracting Office requested verbal approval for this J&A to the AAFC in accordance with USACE Desk Guide 5106.302-2. Verbal approval was granted on 27 June 2024. The upward reporting form was submitted to the AAFC on 3 July 2024. Following the verbal approval and submission of the After-The-Fact J&A Upward Reporting form, solicitation W9127824R0088 was issued to FSI on 27 June 2024. FSI’s proposal was received the same day and award was made to FSI on 28 June 2024 through contract W9127824C0037, which is prior to the expiration of the period of performance of contract # W9127824C0013.

b. Justification: As previously discussed, the award of replacement services was protested to

GAO, triggering an automatic stay of performance. Resolution of the second protest is not expected before 27 September 2024, which provided an insufficient amount of time to either reengage the awardee after the stay is lifted or take corrective measures, before the current period of performance ended on 30 June 2024. The need for the services is of such an unusual and compelling urgency that the Government would be seriously injured unless permitted to limit competition by awarding a bridge contract directly to FSI. FSI is the only responsible source that can satisfy the Government’s need to ensure that there is no lapse in O&M service at DDEAMC.

Other contractors can perform the effort; however, none can mobilize and be in position to take over the O&M efforts from FSI before the current contract completion date of 30 June 2024. A minimum 60-day solicitation, to include a site visit, would be required if this bridge requirement was competed, even for a limited competition. Considering these time constraints, it was not feasible to compete the requirement because a new contractor could not propose, be selected, and mobilize prior to the existing contract expiration of 30 June 2024. Any other contractor must execute their staffing plan, consisting of hiring approximately 65 personnel, as well as establishing subcontract agreements with multiple different companies for specialized, routine, and corrective maintenance.

In addition, common access cards, badges, parking passes need to be obtained for these employees. The contractor must also execute training plans consisting of DDEAMC orientation training and the collection of all required training certificates, and licenses such as fire system, electrical, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and medical gas certifications before commencing work. Additionally, the new contractor must establish the call-in/work reception center and produce required submittals, such as the accident prevention plan, quality control plan, and facility O&M plan. Finally, the new contractor must perform an initial inventory of all real property installed equipment prior to commencing work.

As noted above, it is estimated that these activities would take approximately 60 days for a new contractor to complete, leaving insufficient time for a third-party to accomplish all phase-in tasks prior to expiration of the existing task order. Even if a solicitation for a competitive bridge contract had been issued on the day the second protest was filed – 25 June 2024, there would have been insufficient time to solicit and award a competitive bridge contract in sufficient time to ensure performance could commence before the expiration of the existing contract.

c. Alternative: No reasonable alternatives were available to ensure no lapse in full O&M performance by the previous bridge contract expiration on 30 June 2024.

d. Impact: O&M services at DDEAMC include, but are not limited to emergency system testing, preventative maintenance and repair, generator testing, building automation systems monitoring and inspection/maintenance, medical gas inspections/certifications.

These services keep the medical center operational and in line with accreditation requirements. If the facility experiences a lapse in maintenance services, it risks losing its accreditation and its ability to serve patients. The medical center would be shut down resulting in mission failure. Furthermore, current and future patients would need to be transferred to civilian facilities thereby jeopardizing overall patient care for active duty personnel and their dependents, military retirees, Department of Defense civilians, and their families, as well as the civilian population being served by the alternate facilities.

The DDEAMC is the U.S. Army’s largest medical center in the area and serves military beneficiaries throughout Georgia and surrounding southeastern states.

Because of the CICA stay, transition efforts and performance under the new contract W9127823C0037 is prohibited. To avoid mission failure and loss of the accreditation for the medical center, continuing services under a bridge contract with the current contractor, FSI, is necessary.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

a. Notice of Intent to Sole Source: A notice of intent to sole source was not posted for this J&A as this J&A is being requested under FAR 6,302-2 “Unusual and Compelling Urgency” as stated above. Posting requirements are except per FAR 5.202(a)(2), as the proposed contract action is made under the conditions described in FAR 6.302-2 and the Government would be seriously injured if the agency complies with the time periods specified in FAR 5.203.

b. Effective competition: Based upon the information in paragraph 5, competition for this action is not feasible. The duration to solicit, evaluate, award, and phase-in a competitive bridge contract would far exceed the available time before the previous O&M contract expired on 30 June 2024. The current DDEAMC O&M contractor is the only source to meet this requirement during the ongoing GAO protest. The predecessor task order was originally competed among the contractors of the Mobile District MEDCOM MATOC, where fair opportunity was provided to all 10 contract holders. The replacement DDEAMC contract was also competitively awarded under full and open competition, thus both the initial and subsequent contract actions were fully competitive.

c. Subcontracting competition: The current task order awarded by Mobile District required

FSI to meet the required USACE subcontracting goals established. This bridge contract will maintain the established USACE subcontracting goals and includes a requirement to provide a subcontracting plan.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: No actions to increase competition were made as doing so would result in unacceptable delays, and the only responsible source to meet the Government’s requirement is to award a follow-on contract to FSI during the GAO protest.

8. Market Research: Due to this J&A being Urgent and Compelling, additional market research was not conducted based on the reasons cited above. Upon approval, this J&A will be publicized on SAM.gov in accordance with FAR 6.305(b).

9. Interested Sources: Interested Sources are limited to those contractors that submitted a proposal in response to Solicitation W9127823R0051. While there are other interested sources, the incumbent contractor, FSI, is the only contractor that could provide continued services before 24 June 2024.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement history:

(1) Contract number and date of the last award:

a. W9127818D0096, W9127819F0069 was previously awarded under the Mobile District MEDCOM MATOC on 15 January 2019.

b. W9127824C0006 was awarded 07 December 2023 and protested on 18 December 2023.

c. W9127824C0013 (Bridge Contract) was awarded on 29 December 2023 in response to the GAO protest on 18 December 2023.

d. As a result of corrective measures taken for the initial GAO Protest by FSI, W9127824C0036 was awarded to J&J under Solicitation W9127823R0051 on 7 June 2024.

e. A timely second GAO protest was filed on 25 June 2024 by FSI, invoking a second CICA stay of contract/performance.

(2) Competitive status of this action: These O&M services have historically been competed under full and open competition.

(3) Authority previously used for less than full and open competition: 10 U.S.C 3204(a)(2), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-2 “Unusual and Compelling Urgency”.

(4) If a justification was prepared to support the procurement made before this one, a summary of the contents of paragraph 7 of the justification for that procurement and an explanation of the results: No actions to increase competition were made as doing so would result in unacceptable delays, and the only responsible source to meet the Government’s requirement is to award a follow-on contract to FSI during the GAO protest.

(5) If any prior award was accomplished by full and open competition, a detailed explanation of the changed circumstances: See paragraph 5.a. for the background on the changed circumstances preventing full and open competition.

(6) An explanation of any unusual patterns which may be revealed by the history, e.g., several consecutive, urgent buys: N/A

(7) If a justification was prepared to support the procurement made before this one, briefly describe the circumstances justifying the buy and whether there have been any significant changes: There have been no significant changes from the previous justification.