Attachment 3 - Sole Source Justification-ChipCHECK-Approved_Redacted.pdf

Sole Source Justification and Approval Under FAR

1. Contracting Activity: 162nd Wing, Morris ANG Base, Tucson Arizona, AZ 85706.

2. Description of Action: The Government intends to award a Sole Source, Firm-Fixed Price Purchase Order to GasTOPS, FY 2024 AFREP funds will be used

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The 162nd Wing MXG/MXMFN has a requirement for the ChipCHECK CC121. It is a field deployable general-purpose analytical wear debris analysis tool, as a means of addressing many long outstanding issues regarding maintenance of machinery and equipment at the 162nd Wing, Morris ANG Base, Tucson, AZ. The total . No option years will be associated with this requirement.

Current equipment being used is JetSCAN unit (NSN: 6650-01-486-7221PR) is obsolete, and current service and repair contract will expire 30 June 2024.

Authority Cited: 41 United States Code 1901 as implemented in Federal Acquisition Regulation , sole source

Reason for Authority Cited: The Air National Guard and 162nd WG MXG/MXMFN obtained a JetSCAN unit that is now obsolete, which led to the request to purchase the ChipCheck CC121 unit at the 162nd Wing. The 162nd Wing currently utilizes the JetSCAN as a means of addressing many long outstanding issues regarding maintenance of machinery and equipment. ChipCheck CC121 is a proprietary system approved for use by the United States Air Force. No other general-purpose analytical wear debris analysis tool can utilize the same backbone as the ChipCheck CC121 unit provided only by GasTOPS. The ChipCheck CC121 unit can only be produced and maintained by certified technicians.

Efforts to Obtain Competition: An Intent to Sole Source to GasTOPS notice was posted on the Government Point of Entry (SAM.gov) on 29 May 2024 for 10 days to assess the sole source nature of the requirement on the current marketplace. Interested parties were invited to challenge the intended sole source nature of the requirement through the provision of an interest letter and capability statement clearly demonstrating the necessary technical expertise, certifications, and authorization to compete for this acquisition. The capability statement had to provide clear and convincing evidence that competition would be more advantageous to the Government. The intent is to continue with the sole source if no responses are received from the field of competition before the notice's deadline of 12 June 2024.

This requirement will be Synopsized/Solicited in accordance with FAR on the GPE in conjunction with Intent to Sole Source notice. The Combo Synopsis/Solicitation will be solicited based on the sole source nature of the requirement.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: No actions were taken to increase competition based on the lack of responses from the Intent to Sole Source Notice posted on the GPE. The requirement is a one-time award to the original manufacturer. GasTOPS was contacted for authorized resellers of its products to which there were no distributors.

8. Market Research: The 162nd Wing Mission Support Contracting office posted a Intent to Sole Source notice on 29 May 2024 for 10 days to the Open Market, Government Point of Entry (SAM.gov) to assess what the authorized field of competition could provide. Interested parties were invited to challenge the sole source nature of the requirement through the provision of an interest letter with accompanying capability statement clearly demonstrating the necessary technical expertise, certifications, and authorization to compete for this acquisition.

The announcement for interested parties capable of performing the authorized work yielded no responses. GasTOPS was thereafter contacted and confirmed no authorized distributors could provide the same products and services. Additionally, Government databases (FPDS.gov, SAM.gov, EDA) were searched for similar purchases of GasTOPS products and services. These searches resulted in the discovery of multiple Sole Source purchases for similar CC121 units under the firm-fixed-price 5-year contract with AFSC/PZABC at Tinker, AFB to procure the ChipCheck CC121 on centralized orders. The contract number is FA8119-18-D-0012 (non-FMS) with the 1250 PSC/ 336413 NAICS Code to GasTOPS.

The results of this market research indicates that GasTOPS is the only authorized business capable of performing this specific work if no response were made to the notice of intent to sole source.

9. Interested Sources: A sources-sought notice was published from 29 May 2024 – 12 June 2024 to the Government Point of Entry (SAM.gov) to assess the current marketplace environment. To date, no other sources have written to express interest in the acquisition.

Vendor Name Cage Code Socioeconomic Indicators GasTOPS Inc 3Y4X8 Small Business

10. Other Facts: The 162d Wing currently has a preexisting inventory of JetSCAN units (NSN: 6650-01-486-7221PR) and is rendered obsolete according to the Memorandum for Functional Account Managers (FAMS) dated 19 January 2024. Current service and repair contract will expire 30 June 2024. This existing JetSCAN unit will be utilized until it is replaced by a new Air Force approved Metal Chip Detector (MCD).