Brand Name Justification_Redacted.pdf

J&A Number: N00167-25-

RFPREQ-CD-65-0041

Code: 653 P.R. Number: TBD

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

JUSTIFICATION

1. Contracting Activity

The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD), Contracting & Acquisitions Department (Code 02).

2. Description of the Action Being Approved

NSWCCD intends to award a five-year Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for the procurement of Emerson/National Instruments (NI) brand of data acquisition system (DAS) hardware required for structural performance testing and evaluation of naval ship components, scale models, and full-scale vessels on a Brand Name basis.

The justification document is in accordance with FAR 13.501(a).

3. Description of Supplies/Services

Under the scope of this Agreement, Code 653 will be purchasing over a five-year period the materials listed below, including but not limited, to:

Emerson/NI data acquisition systems

C-Series o CompactDAQ (cDAQ) o CompactRIO (cRIO)

PXI and PXI Express (PXIe) mioDAQ

Emerson/NI data acquisition system components and accessories

Chassis Modules Controllers Connectors Backshells Terminal blocks Front ends

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER

CARDEROCK DIVISION

9500 MACARTHUR BOULEVARD

WEST BETHESDA MD 20817-5700

J&A Number: N00167-25-RFPREQ-

CD-65-0041

Mounting hardware/adapters Equipment enclosures Cables Power supplies Switches

This agreement will be awarded in Fiscal Year (FY) 25 and will have a five-year ordering period through FY29.

The below table provides estimated funding amounts for support of the DAS systems by dollar value, fiscal year, and appropriation.

Table: Appropriation by FY Approp. FY25 FY26 FY27 FY28 FY29 Total Varied

The Government’s minimum needs have been verified by the certifying technical and requirements personnel.

The Product Service Code (PSC) for this procurement will be:

6625 (Electrical & Electronic Properties Measuring & Testing Instruments)

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition

10 U.S.C. § 3204(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 13.501(a), “The head of an agency may use procedures other than competitive procedures only when the property or services needed by the agency are available from only one responsible source or only from a limited number of responsible sources and no other type of property or services will satisfy the needs of the agency.”

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority

The NSWCCD Code 653 has determined that purchase of a brand of DAS hardware other than the Emerson/NI brand is not feasible. The NSWCCD Code 653 has used Emerson/NI hardware and software (LabVIEW)for decades. Over those years, Code 653 engineers have written software/scripts to perform specific functions and capabilities that are only compatible with NI hardware. These software packages have been tested and verified for mission critical testing including conditioning, recording, and monitoring real-time sensor data, calculating and displaying critical data statistics, providing interactive graphical user interfaces (GUIs), and enabling automated test stoppage in case of specimen or test rig damage or failure. The hardware, and associated software packages, are required during structural performance testing and evaluation of naval ship components, scale models, and full-scale vessels.

NSWCCD has extensive knowledge of Emerson/NI hardware and software based on years of testing experience. Other manufacturers’ hardware is not compatible with existing software packages and they do not offer the flexibility of adapting their proprietary software to accomplish the same functionality as our current software packages. Multiple NSWCCD codes also work with Emerson/NI hardware and software, which would allow for in-house collaboration and on-hand replacement parts.

If the Emerson/NI DAS hardware is not procured, a different brand of manufacturer’s DAS would be required. This would significantly increase the cost of the labor necessary to learn the new system’s software and hardware interfaces; rewrite, test, and debug the critical software packages;

redesign, build, test, package and install the new hardware within required testing timelines; and create too many redesigns and delays due to learning the new system’s hardware and software. Critical paths would not meet mission critical deadlines.

Emerson Electric, who acquired NI in 2023, is the Original Equipment Manufacturer of the Emerson/NI brand of hardware and its design and technology is proprietary to Emerson/NI. Emerson/NI sells its DAS hardware directly, from authorized resellers, and authorized federal resellers selling through the General Services Administration (GSA) Schedules.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as Practicable

Pursuant to FAR 13.501(a)(1)(iv), the Government will make this justification available on the Government Point of entry (SAM.gov). The Government will ensure that the contract file will be documented as to any responses received from making the justification available.

Section 5 shows the reasoning behind the brand name justification for the components in this procurement. Emerson/NI does sell and has multiple federal resellers that have been determined to be capable of providing the equipment listed in section 3. The following are three companies that are capable of providing the necessary brand name equipment, two of which are available on a GSA Schedule.

1) Emerson/NI – not available on a GSA schedule

2) Technical Communities INC. – available on a GSA schedule and their GSA contract number is GS-35F-0311R

3) Ideal System Solutions INC. – available on a GSA MAS 70 Contract, contract number 47QTCA19D00L7

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Costs

In accordance with FAR 13.106-3(a), the Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO) shall ensure that all supplies provided under this contract are procured at a fair and reasonable price. The contractor will submit a formal priced offer with certified cost or pricing data, if applicable, and sufficient information to support the accuracy and reliability of the estimate. The PCO shall determine that the proposed order represents the best value (as defined in FAR 2.101) to meet the Government's needs. The PCO will also rely on Code 653 experienced technical experts and information from prior procurements conducted by the Navy where the same (or comparable) DAS hardware and accessories were procured, when conducting the price analysis.

This information will form the basis for a fair and reasonable price.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Competition

The Government will continue to canvass and maintain open communication with the Emerson/NI and other DAS manufacturers (via symposiums, conferences, RDT&E test reports and publications, product advertisements, vendor demos, etc.) for alternative DASs directly compatible with our in-house designed software or systems with turn-key software capable of recreating the in-house software’s functionality. And accordingly, the Government will continue to reexamine their future procurement needs relative to the technology advancements in this industry.

CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

TECHNICAL AND REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION - (FAR 6.303-2(c))

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, that are included in this justification and its supporting data, except as noted herein, are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

TECHNICAL and REQUIREMENTS COGNIZANCE:

LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW (NMCARS 5206.303(90))

I have determined that this justification is legally sufficient.

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATIONFAR 13.501(a)(2)(i) I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

ADVOCATE FOR COMPETITION- APPROVAL BLOCK (FAR 13.501(a)(2)(ii) for a proposed contract exceeding $750,000, the Advocate for Competition approval)

Upon the basis of the above justification, I hereby approve, as Competition Advocate for the Contracting Activity, the solicitation of the proposed procurement(s) using other than full and open competition, pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1).