C01-Fiber Optic Equipment_Redacted.pdf

Control Number VA-25-00000718

JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action: The proposed action is for a firm-fixed price (FFP) task order issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V, Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for Fiber Optic testing Equipment.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information & Technology (OIT) Application Hosting, Cloud, & Edge Solutions (ACES) has a requirement for fiber optic test equipment to be used in diagnosing, troubleshooting, and certifying fiber optic networks at VA data center facilities. In addition to fiber optic launch, breakout, and reference cords and adapters, the equipment procured will include an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) and Optical Loss Test Set (OLTS). The total estimated value of the proposed action is

4. Statutory Authority:

Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(a)(4), the following brand name requirement is being justified and approved as an exception to fair opportunity under the statutory authority of Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), entitled “Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized”.

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above:

This is a Brand Name Justification (BNJ) for a complete set of test equipment compatible with all configurations of fiber optic backbone cable plant installed at VA enterprise facilities. The only brand of equipment that market research indicated meets the Government’s needs is Fluke.

Market research identified other test equipment, but none of the other systems were able to provide the variety of launch, breakout, and reference cables and adapters necessary to connect the equipment to the different systems found at different VA campuses and facilities. The mixing of vendors’ accessories would not allow the test equipment to provide reliable and consistent test results from station to station. The market research indicates that other manufacturers’ similar products do not meet and cannot be modified to meet the Government’s requirements.

Fiber Optic Test Equipment Control Number VA-25-00000718

In addition, are manufactured in China and would not meet Trade Agreement Act (TAA) compliance requirements.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

Market research was conducted, details of which are in Section 8 of this justification.

This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government's requirements. However, the undersigned VA technical representative determined that limited competition is available among authorized resellers of Fluke equipment.

In accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(4)(iii)(A)(1), this justification will be provided with the solicitation to all appropriate NASA SEWP V GWAC holders. Furthermore, in accordance with FAR 5.301, 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D), and 16.505(a)(4)(iii), the award notice for this action will be synopsized on the Contract Opportunities website and this justification will be made publicly available within 14 days of award.

7. Actions to Increase Competition:

The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the market place that would enable future actions to be competed.

8. Market Research:

The Government’s technical experts conducted market research by reviewing the types of fiber testing equipment available in the commercial market. Based on this review, the Government’s technical experts determined that there were not any other American manufacturers that could offer the Optical Time-Domain Reflectomete and Optical Loss Test Set equipment with the complete spectrum of accessories necessary to create a single test equipment set that would also be readily commercially available and TAA compliant.

As a result, it was determined that only Fluke or its authorized resellers can meet all of VA’s needs. NASA SEWP Manufacturer lookup indicated several SDVOSB Fluke authorized resellers in the marketplace.

9. Other Facts:

There are no other pertinent facts.

Fiber Optic Test Equipment Control Number VA-25-00000718

10. Technical and Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on the limited competition. Additionally, NASA SEWP V has already determined the prices on contract to be fair and reasonable. Finally, the successful quote will be compared with the Independent Government Cost Estimate.

12. Procuring Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. As this contract action does not exceed $750,000, this document serves as the contracting officer’s basis for using an exception to the fair opportunity process in accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(A).