Attachment 5 - Brand Name Justification.pdf

This is a Justification and Approval (J&A) document for an acquisition that does not meet full and open competition requirements.

The Department of the Air Force, through the Air Force Installation Contracting Center (AFICC), is seeking to continue a Brand Name Class J&A for HVAC chiller standardization across Department of Defense installations from October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2029. The estimated contract cost is $437.5 million, with a dollar value exceeding $100 million. The authority for this acquisition is FAR 6.302-1, which allows for sole source procurement when only one responsible source can satisfy agency requirements. The acquisition is classified as a new J&A document and is not a bridge action. The contracting activity is the Air Force Installation Contracting Center, 772 Enterprise Sourcing Squadron (PKD), located at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.

The requirement covers all HVAC chiller purchases across DAF installations, with approximately 1,654 units expected to be replaced during the five-year period. The DAF's HVAC chiller standardization policy requires that each installation have an approved manufacturer brand, and purchases must be made from authorized distributors supporting those installations. The justification demonstrates that HVAC chillers are available from only one or a limited number of responsible sources, with no other supplies satisfying agency requirements. Market analysis conducted in 2018 identified significant inefficiencies from the prior approach of selecting chillers based solely on initial purchase price, which resulted in 142 different manufacturers in the DAF inventory. The standardization strategy has achieved measurable benefits including an estimated $50 million reduction in training costs, improved cybersecurity posture, enhanced resilience, improved mission effectiveness, reduced equipment inventories, and increased support for small businesses (92% of chiller purchases now from small businesses, up from 73%). A Request for Information/Sources Sought notice (238220) was posted on SAM.Gov on December 12, 2023, for 15 days, with two industry responses supporting the standardization approach. The document includes coordination signatures from multiple Air Force officials dated between February and July 2024, with final approval from the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics on the signature page dated IOSEP2024.