Attachment 3 - Brand Name Justification.pdf

This is a Brand Name Justification and Approval (J&A) document for a non-competitive federal procurement by the Department of the Air Force, Air Force Installation Contracting Center (AFICC).

The acquisition covers HVAC chiller replacements and standardization across Air Force installations from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2029, with an estimated contract value of $437.5 million. The requirement encompasses approximately 1,654 chiller units expected to reach end-of-life during the five-year period. This procurement is justified under FAR 6.302-1(a)(2) as a "Only One Responsible Source" acquisition, as HVAC chillers are available from only one or a limited number of responsible sources and no other supplies will satisfy agency requirements. The justification demonstrates that the DAF's HVAC chiller standardization policy, established to reduce training inefficiencies, inventory management costs, and sustainment expenses across the enterprise, necessitates limiting purchases to approved manufacturer brands at each installation. A 2018 Category Intelligence Report identified that prior procurement practices resulted in 142 different chiller manufacturers in the DAF inventory, with 65% of necessary training being unique to each manufacturer's system. The standardization strategy has successfully reduced the number of active manufacturers to 127 as of 2024 and achieved measurable cost savings of approximately $50 million in training costs alone. The DAF conducted a Request for Information/Sources Sought notice (238220) posted on SAM.gov on December 12, 2023, which remained open for 15 days and generated two industry responses supporting standardization as a best practice. The document was approved through multiple levels of authority culminating in approval by the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics on July 23, 2024.