B08_J_A_Redacted_Version_1.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR ACQUISITION UNDER THE

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

PR 0040540121

1. Contracting Agency and Activity. The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, plans to contract on a sole source basis. This document sets forth the justification and approval as required by FAR 13.106-1(b)(1).

2. Nature of Action Being Approved. This is a request for a new 1-year service contract for installation of software. The proposed awardee is Pychron Labs, LLC.

3. Description of Supplies or Services. The Argon Geochronology Laboratory (GGGSC, Mineral

Resources Program) requests award of a non-competitive procurement to Pychron Labs for installation of non-commercial software that will automate two new argon geochronology systems built internally by

USGS employees. Installation of the software to support the Government’s mass spectrometer and peripheral devices requires custom drivers (software interfaces between the open-source software and the

Government-owned hardware to correctly manage and control the devices, and to properly interface them with the database). No commercial drivers for the software are available, and Pychron Labs, the developer of the open-source software, is the only identified source to perform the work.

4. Estimated Dollar Value. The USGS GGGSC Mineral Resources Program is requesting the following installation software service:

• Pychron Data Collection Argus, (1 EA/unit), total USD $5,000.00

• Pychron Hardware Control Argus, (1 EA/unit), total USD $2,500.00

• Pychron Helix update, (1 EA/unit), total USD $2,500.00

• Pychron CO2, (1 EA/unit), total USD $5,000.00

• Pychron on-site support, (1 EA/unit), total USD $5,000.00

The estimated dollar value of the action being approved is $20,000.00 for Fiscal Year 2022.

The estimated dollar amounts for the proposed option years as follows:

Fiscal Year 2023 $7,000.00

Fiscal Year 2024 $7,000.00

Fiscal Year 2025 $7,000.00

Fiscal Year 2026 $7,000.00

The total estimated dollar value of the action being approved, from Fiscal Year 2022 through Fiscal Year

2026, is $48,000.00.

5. Statutory Authority. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – only one source reasonably available.

PR 0040540121

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5. No commercial software exists for the highly specialized argon geochronology (40Ar/39Ar) experiments that is conducted at the USGS. Pychron is customized software written in the required programming language (Python) and thus will be maintainable after installation by laboratory personnel.

The author and provider of the Pychron software package, Pychron Labs, is uniquely qualified to perform the required custom installation of the software to support the USGS’s hardware configuration. Although

Pychron is freely available and the Phyton programming language is widely known, the initial installation of Pychron program requires customization to install the program on specific USGS-owned hardware.

This customization requires the expert installation and support of the software developer, Pychron Labs.

However, future minor modifications and maintenance can be performed by USGS personnel.

The Pychron software is ultimately designed to be installable by users, but at the current time (and for the foreseeable future) this feature is unavailable as the library of drivers for specific hardware and databases to be interfaced with is not available. Until such drivers are available, and the Government end-users have experience with the software, software language, and software development environment, it is not feasible to attempt to install without expert support from the software developer.

7. Other Information. The non-commercial Pychron software program supports multiple platforms and provides an open-source and transparent way of collecting, processing, interpreting, and visualizing data.

The transparency and commentary of the Pychron software allows it to be regularly updated and support laboratory hardware equipment upgrades. This is critical to mission and data reliability and to the continuity of the program over time.

Correct installation of the Pychron software is essential to the long-term goals of transparent automation, data acquisition, and reporting of argon isotope data collected in the USGS laboratory in Denver. The software installation services being approved will provide a rapid, essential, seamless access to automation, as well as, flexibility in laboratory modifications, data storage, data treatment, and data display. This automation provided by the software is essential to operation of the argon geochronology laboratory.

8. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted.

No other sources are known to possess the unique and essential qualifications outlined above, based on the program’s extensive experience with argon geochronology and similar users in the extended scientific community.

The Contracting Officer issued a Source Sought notice with no responses received. Lastly, Pychron Labs, LLC., verified that they do not have authorized resellers of this service.

PR 0040540121

9. Future Plans to Permit Competition. Future requirements for same/similar service will undergo market research and be competed to the maximum extend practical.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) considers employee signatures to be Personal Protected

Information, and therefore all employee signatures have been redacted. By posting this document, the Contracting Officer attests all appropriate signatures have been obtained.