Brand_Name_Justification-Redacted.pdf

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

PR: 0044045698

1. Contracting Agency and Activity. The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL), located at the Denver Federal Center, Lakewood, CO.

2. Nature of Action Being Approved.

This action will be for a new purchase order for a brand-name Agilent 8890 Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GD/MS) instrument.

3. Description of Supplies or Services.

The items to be purchased are two 8890 Gas Chromatograph/5977C Mass Spectrometers (GC/MS) with Purge and Trap. The program office requiring the GC/MSs is the National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL), located at the Denver Federal Center, Lakewood, CO.

4. Estimated Dollar Value. The estimated dollar value for the purchase of two (2) GC/MS with Purge and Trap systems is .

5. Authority. The authority of this proposed action is in accordance with Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Subpart 12.102(a) – Commercial Products and Services. For acquisitions at or below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT), agencies must document decisions where only one source is available.

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5.

Extensive market research and method development conducted on an existing Agilent system have identified the Agilent 8890 GC/5977C MS Purge and Trap system as the only system that meets the Government’s minimum requirements for upgrading a high-demand analytical line for volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis. These two GC/MS systems will be used in production for VOC analysis to enhance the existing method's analytical capability. It is critical to produce highly consistent data across platforms to ensure traceability and continuity of data across research projects. The instruments will also provide backup capabilities for throughput of production samples. Minimizing any instrument downtime that could potentially impact the turnaround times of the unit. Additionally, it is also important to be able to access older files produced on the original system, including chromatograms, traces, methods, and reduced data, all of which are derived from proprietary software (i.e. Agilent Technologies).

Agilent instruments, including the GC/MS System, utilize MassHunter software. This proprietary software has been developed by Agilent and is only available on their instruments.

After acquiring Agilent instruments through a competitive process, the NWQL invested in custom applications using MassHunter software to automate sample processing, ensuring consistent data reporting, reducing errors, and reducing labor. The benefits of the NWQL’s automation have reduced the amount of staff time by allowing the staff to process approximately four (4) times the number of samples in the same amount of time as prior to the automation. The Lab’s customized applications, developed by its staff, took over a year and a half to complete and were estimated to cost the Lab over . The MassHunter software is the only known software that will work with NWQL’s existing analysis software automation and provide compatibility with the existing and new formats for data transfer to the NWQL’s Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

The NWQL has also developed software that converts the MassHunter data file format to the format required by the LIMS system. This must be done because the data is entered into the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), which is accessible to the public. Data in the NWIS is used for policy decisions made by Federal, State, and Local entities as well as USGS Cooperators. The data must reflect accurately and reliably the results of the nationwide research conducted by the USGS. This is the only way to maintain trust in the veracity and integrity of USGS science.

The NWQL uses its GC/MS systems to analyze environmental samples for long-term trend analyses in support of national programs. Slight changes in instrumental performance at detection-level concentrations can compromise data sets used by national programs and other USGS clients to analyze trends. Therefore, it is essential that the measured changes reflect changes in the environment, not slight changes in method performance due to instrument performance. These datasets span three decades and are irreplaceable. The Agilent GC/MS System is the only instrument that will significantly reduce the possibility of slight changes in instrumental performance for all compounds in the analytical methods. This is the only way to provide reliable data that can be used for long-term trend analysis and maintain the public’s trust in USGS data.

7. Other Information. N/A

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

At this time, only the Agilent GC/MS can provide the instrumental performance stability for long term trends analysis and will integrate with the existing software automation. The NWQL is in the midst of implementing a new LIMS system, which is limiting the development of new software applications due to staffing constraints over the next 12-18 months. After the implementation of the new LIMS system, the NWQL may be able to allocate more resources to develop more open applications which could improve competition. NWQL personnel are constantly performing market research to improve the accuracy and the quality of our products by attending conferences, trade shows, talking with colleagues, reviewing product literature and capabilities and reviewing published literature applicable to our procedures and instrumentation.

NWQL personnel researched current literature from other instrument manufacturers, . Based on the results of this research, it was determined that only Agilent can provide the required instrument performance and has software that is compatible with the existing analysis software automation and is compatible with data transfer formats with the new and existing Laboratory Information Management Systems

(LIMS).

There are several resellers of Agilent equipment that could provide the system. Many of these resellers are small businesses.

The Contracting Officer conducted market research as follows:

1. GSA Advantage:

a. Searched Agilent’s part numbers and found that they are the only source on their GSA Contract and no other resellers.

b. Searched key words, such as, “GC/MS” and did not find similar instruments. The search found that several GSA Contract holders have sample test kits, mixes, and accessories.

2. Searched SBA Small Business Search using NAICS 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing) and resulted in eleven (11) small businesses containing NAICS "334516" in their profile.

3. Microsoft Edge Internet Search:

Searched “are there any compatible GC/MS systems that integrate with Agilent's massHunter software” and found Agilent’s equipment.

In addition, the Contracting Officer viewed Agilent’s website at https://www.agilent.com/en/locate-channel-partners. Therefore, Agilent has several authorized small-business resellers who can provide this instrument.

9. Actions to Overcome Barriers to Competition.

This is a one-time purchase for this Agilent instrument. In addition, the Information Technology (IT) department is expected to have additional time to provide software automation for other data processing software packages after the implementation of new LIMS systems (approximately 12- 18 months). However, market research for alternative sources will continue should a subsequent requirement arise. This will be done in the interest of promoting competition to the maximum extent possible.

10. Recommendation and Certification from Program Office.

Based on the above, I recommend that this acquisition be conducted on a limited-source basis. I certify that the technical data which form a basis for this justification, and that are the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel, are complete and accurate.

11. Certifications and Approval from the Contracting Officer.

a. Price reasonableness will be determined through competition among resellers.

b. This justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.