Attachment 6 Redacted FIR J and A.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

For Certain Commercial Items for Procurements Exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold pursuant to FAR Subpart 13.5, Including Brand Name

Solicitation Number 70Z08521QP45C0000

Pursuant to the authority of 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 13.501 and consistent with the content requirements of FAR 6.303-1 the following facts and rationale support this justification.

1. Agency and Contracting Activity. The U.S. Coast Guard, Surface Forces Logistics Center

(SFLC), located at 300 E. Main Street, Norfolk, VA 23540.

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action being Approved.

(a) Nature of the action: USCG intends to procure on a brand name basis using other than full and open competitive procedures, for conducting a Liner renewal on

Number 1 and Number 2 Main Diesel Engine (MDE) planned Dockside repairs to

Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) FIR (WLB-213).

(b) Names and addresses of relevant Original Equipment Manufacturer contractors: N/A.

Brand Name Open to Caterpillar’s Dealership in the United States.

(c) Type of action: This acquisition is for a firm fixed-price commercial ship repair

(d) Estimated total value (including options):

Work Items Total

Definite

Optional $

Total:

(e) Type of funding: AFC 45

(f) Year of funding: Fiscal Year 2021

(g) Solicitation number: 70Z08521QP4C0000

(h) Background information about the requirement: The SFLC depot engine maintenance strategy is to conduct a liner renewal on B/MDE based on having old type steel type liners which cause a catastrophic failures during normal operation.

FIR’s MDE have had 2 liner failures and will continue until all liners are renewed with the upgraded Bi-metallic liners. B/MDE are having failures to reduce this failure rate both MDE liners need to be renewed with the upgraded Bi-metallic liners, one of the most in-depth maintenance project for this engine class.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

This acquisition requires a Contractor to provide planned dockside maintenance and repairs to USCGC FIR (WLB-213) a 225 Seagoing Buoy Tender/Juniper Class foot Keeper home-ported in Cordova, Alaska to take place from 14 June 2021 through 16 July 2021.

This dockside will consist of approximately two (2) definite work items which are as follows: There is one (1) option item:

ITEMS DESCRIPTION

D-001 Renew Liners on NR1 MDE

D-002 Renew Liners on NR2 MDE

O-00A Composite Labor Rate

4. Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open

Competition:

The statutory authority permitting sole source justification is 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by FAR 13.5 and consistent with the content requirements of FAR 6.302-1 entitled "Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy

Agency Requirement.”

5. Identification of Exception to the Buy American Act. N/A.

6. Demonstration that the Proposed Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or the Nature of the Acquisition Require Use of the Authority Cited.

(a) Rationale for using the authority cited in section 4 of the J&A;

10 USC. 2304 (c),(1) applies because there is “only one source that will satisfy the

USCG’s needs.” Caterpillar, Inc. restricts distribution of essential proprietary technical information and configuration data that would be required to safely and reliably maintain these engines. This data is limited to Caterpillar authorized dealers, as determined by Caterpillar, Inc. In addition to restriction of technical information, Caterpillar requires only authentic Caterpillar parts.

(b) Details covering what events lead to the situation requiring use of other than full and open competition procedures including whether any portion of the work can be segregated to allow for competition;

If a non-authorized dealer were to perform maintenance on a Caterpillar engine, the risk of engine failure and safety to the crew is greatly increased. Additionally, Caterpillar would not warranty any parts or labor nor would they furnish any technical information to a non-authorized dealer in the case that any abnormal conditions are discovered during the overhaul.

(c) Summarize alternatives considered and why they will not work;

Non-authorized dealers will not work for the above stated reasons, with additional consideration that vital technical service bulletins and priority access to assembly lines for parts would not be made available to vendors outside the Caterpillar network.

(d) Impact to the mission that would result if the J&A is not approved and, consequently, the product or service not provided.

If this service is not provided the failure of these systems would pose MDE issues as well as exposing cutter and crew to safety risk while being underway. If these repairs are not conducted in a timely manner CGC FIR (WLB 213) will not be able to meet their mission requirement and the Coast Guard will be without a critical 225’ WLB asset to meet Coast Guard Maritime/Navigation duties. This would be a disadvantage to the Government and interference of the USCG mission.

(e) N/A

7. Description of Efforts Made to Ensure that Offers are Solicited from as Many

Potential Sources as is Practicable.

(a) If an announcement has already been made in Contract Opportunities, provide the date of publication: Extensive market research was conducted to identify companies capable of performing major maintenance overhauls of ship’s service generators Caterpillar diesel engines. The internet was searched to find contractors that may possess the necessary technical data, drawings, manufacturing data, specifications and overhaul tolerances, with the ability to provide OEM equivalent services and parts.

(b) A sources sought was published Beta.Sam.gov on 04 March 2021. Three companies expressed interest in performing the USCGC FIR (WLB 213) repairs.

(c) N/A

(d) N/A

8. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the

Government will be Fair and Reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will determine that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on adequate completion from Caterpillar OEM suppliers. The Contracting Officer will also utilize historical prices paid and compare to the Independent

Government Estimate. Price analysis will be performed to ensure fair and reasonable prices are obtained.

9. Description of Market Research.

(a) Describe the market research techniques used, results, date when the market research was conducted, and how it was used by the contracting officer to determine price reasonableness

In accordance with FAR 10.001 (a)(2), market research was conducted by the Contracting

Officer’s Representative (COR) and Contracting Officer to identify companies capable of performing these supplies Three (3) authorized Caterpillar dealers responded to the sources sought notice posted to beta.SAM.gov Contract Opportunities website on 04 March 2021

(ref 11 below).

(b) N/A

(c) If market research was not conducted, state why. N/A

(d) If patents, copyrights, and/or intellectual property are applicable to the acquisition, describe the circumstances for acquiring a patented or copyrighted product on the representation of the intellectual property holder that has not been licensed for resale.

Caterpillar possesses the proprietary technical data and/or drawings for these remanufactured engines. The OEM, along with their authorized dealers, are the only sources that have access to these supplies. This data is proprietary to Caterpillar and therefore the Government must continue to rely solely on the OEM and/or authorized dealers for these specific remanufactured engines to meet our needs. Changes required to the vessel configuration, costs, and delays to develop the necessary technical data to procure replacements to the current system(s) in a competitive manner would be prohibitive.

10. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

(a) An explanation why technical data packages, specifications, statement of work, or purchase descriptions are not suitable for full and open competition:

Caterpillar owns all data rights for the propulsion and electrical generation diesel engines on board the cutter and will not release the information to the Coast Guard.

(b) Discuss why your requirement cannot be modified to enhance competition. The requirements within the statement of work requires the contractor to provide specific

Caterpillar technical services to meet the following requirements: provide manufactures proprietary information, software, and tools pertinent to the equipment/systems.

(c) For a proposed contract subject to the restrictions of FAR 6.302-1 for follow-on acquisitions as described in 6.302(a)(2)(iii), provide an estimate of the cost to the

Government that would be duplicated and detailed information on how the estimate was derived. The Contracting Office determines that the anticipated prices will be fair and reasonable based on adequate competition from Caterpillar OEM suppliers. The

Contracting Officer will utilize historical prices paid and compare to the Independent

Government Cost Estimate. Price analysis will be performed to ensure fair and reasonable prices are obtained.

(d) For a proposed contract subject to the restrictions of FAR 6.302-2(d) or HSAR

3006.302270 and FAR 6.302-2 is cited as the authority, describe the exceptional circumstances allowing for an award for a period of performance in excess of the one-year limitation (applicable to all federal agencies) or the DHS-specific statutory 150-day limitation. N/A

11. A Listing of the Sources, if Any that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the

Acquisition.

Gregory Poole 1500 Sensation Weigh, Beaufort, NC 28516

NC Power Systems 1700 West Valley Hwy, Tukwila, WA 98188

Stilton Limited Company 9800 Centre Parkway Suite 570 Houston, TX 770368262

12. A Statement of the Actions, if Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome

Any Barriers to Competition Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for Supplies or

Services Required.

(a) Will the Government revise overly technical specifications, acquire data rights, etc.?

No, the commercial practice regarding the protection of technical data rights employed by Caterpillar is an industry standard. Numerous parties have reached out to Caterpillar to discuss sharing technical data and Caterpillar consistently rejects requests to share technical data.

(b) N/A

13. Contracting Officer’s Certification.

I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

14. Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification.

I certify that this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which forms a basis for the justification, is accurate and complete.

APPROVAL: