Brand Name - Piezometer Hardware.pdf

MVSJA-20-0006

Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition (See AFARS 5153.303-5)

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, St. Louis

District Contracting Office

2. Description of Action: This procurement is for a new contract using construction general funds for Lower Wood River Bid Package 08. The solicitation will be a Best Value Trade Off with a small business set aside business strategy. The contract type will be firm fix price.

3. Description of Supplies/Services:

a. The contract includes constructing twenty two (22) partially penetrating relief wells and installing a new pump station in Madison County, Illinois.

b. Included in this contract is installing three (3) new open system piezometers and expanding the automated system to critical areas of the levee, which will provide constant readings during a flood. This will improve monitoring of the levee that is known to have a seepage issue in order to assess risk and better understand the deficiencies in the Wood River Levee District.

c. The Solinst brand name hardware includes transducers and barometers to collect and record the data.

4. Authority Cited: 10 USC 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(c), Only One

Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

a. Background: The Solinst transducers are self-supporting having the capability of being installed in an open system piezometer and require no external support while collecting data on a programmed schedule. The contract will install new automated Open System Piezometer in critical sections, as well as, upgrade the existing automated system to a more permanent system.

b. Justification: The justification and approval is to cover only the portion of the acquisition which is brand-name or peculiar to one manufacturer. The District’s instrumentation section personnel and the levee districts engineer of record are familiar with using Solinst equipment as well as their data reduction software to obtain the readings and covert them to usable engineering properties. If a separate manufacturer is selected it would require additional training expenses, required software expenses, and cost to create a process to import and validate the data.

c. Impact: The current equipment list has been proven to be reliable, durable, and capable of being accessed and utilized by both USACE and the levee districts engineer of

MVSJA-20-0006

record. The automated system will allow the district to monitor the levee at any frequency with minimal manpower, download historic data, and allow programming changes or access to critical data during a flood event or other significant event. The cost of introducing a separate manufacturer’s software and hardware will significantly increase cost while possibly reducing the reliability of system and staff’s maintenance knowledge. The District’s Instrumentation section has specific hardware and knowledge on the proper calibration of the vibrating wire transducers of the preferred manufacturer.

If a separate manufacturer is selected the cost of maintenance would increase due to required hardware purchases and training. The District has also had issue with other manufacturers not supporting their hardware or software while it was still in use.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Sources Sought W912P919Z0001 was issued 10

December 2019 through 09 January 2020. Eight (8) contractors responded and were determined to be capable of performing the work associated with this J&A, and purchasing the required brand name products to be used in performance of the contract, due to these items being commercial off the shelf products for public purchase.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: Geotechnical instrumentation is a relatively small community and even smaller when looking at an individual instrument type or dimension requirements. Several companies in the community will advertise other company’s equipment that their equipment is compatible with. Attempting to have the equipment fabricated or purchased from a manufacturer will increase cost significantly or reduce reliability for the relatively small quantity that is required.

8. Market Research: Sources Sought W912P919Z0001 for market research was conducted.

The Sources Sought Government Evaluation report is attached.

9. Interested Sources:

a.