C01 J and A Badge Reader redacted_Redacted.pdf

Control Number VA-20-00022052

LIMITED-SOURCES JUSTIFICATION

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 the issuance of a Firm-Fixed-Price delivery order issued under the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) for brand name Enterprise Partner of Software House installation services.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: VA, Office of Information & Technology is in the process of upgrading the Physical Access Control System (PACS) at Austin Information Technology Center (AITC) facility, which has a requirement to replace the current outdated door access keypads throughout facility. The Contractor shall procure and install 95 ea. new badge reader keypads. The Contractor shall provide all necessary labor, tools, material, parts and supervision to remove old keypads and install these 95 ea. new badge readers keypads. This is an upgrade to the AITC PACS in meeting mandatory Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. The Contractor shall remove all existing 95 keypads throughout the facility and replace with HID iCLASS RK40 Smart badge reader or an equivalent brand name reader.

The installation work shall be performed in accordance latest codes and standards to include National Electrical Code (NEC), Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) 568 Commercial Building Telecommunications Wiring Standard, TIA 942 Telecommunications Infrastructure Standards for Data Centers, and all other applicable codes pertaining to successful installation of these badge readers. The Contractor will maximize use of existing keypad wiring throughout the facility, which the VA does not anticipate any major re-wiring to install the new badge reader keypads, while minimizing interruption of othe VA-AITC services. The badge reader shall be fully interoperable and functional with the current PACS equipment at AITC to include the Avililon physical security camera system and the C-Cure 9000 Security Management System. As part of the installation services, the Contractor shall configure each badge reader so it properly communicates with the PACs C-Cure 9000 software, which is the current software system in use at AITC. This involves coordinating Software House, the Original Equipmen Manager (OEM) PACs C-Cure 9000. The Contractor shall test and demonstrate that the new Badge readers are properly installed and fully functional. The portion of this proposed action that requires limited competition from an authorized Software House Partner to install the badges is valued at

4. Authority: This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple-Award Schedule Program. The specific authority providing for a limited source award is

Badge Reader Replacement VA-20-00022052

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), “Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized.”

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: Based on the market research, as described in Section 8 of this justification, it was determined that limited competition is viable amongst Enterprise Partners of Software House Distributors for the aforementioned brand name installation services. Currently, VA AITC is undergoing an upgrade to replace outdated door acess keypads. The replaced badge readers are required to communicate with the current PACs C-Cure 9000 software. The C-Cure 9000 is a Software House security management system providing 24x7 mission critical security and safety protection for people, buildings and assets. It provides an advanced distributed architecture for enterprise scalability. This provides interlocking layers of security protection from the perimeter to the center interfacing with doors, cameras, badge readers and security panels. It also gives security personnel and IT managers central control over the entire system, while each local facility maintains independent control of its individual operation. System administrators at the main facility have the ability to configure and monitor all locations from that single site. It also allows simultaneously monitor alarms from multiple facilities from one convenient workstation.

In order to maintain and troubleshoot any issues, only Software House personnel are able to interface with Software house technical support. Software House only provides technical support to certified Software House integrators. As a result, the installation services described in section 3 above can only be completed by authorized Enterprise Software House Dealers/Distributors and certified Advanced Integrators. Only authorized dealer/distributers and advanced integrators have the requisite credentials to maintain and troubleshoot any issues during the installation process, as only authorized distributers and advanced integrators are able to interface with Software House technical support. Without technical support from the OEM of the C-Cure 9000 software system (Software House), the installer of the required badge readers would not be able to complete the necessary configuratrion and integration services, thereby rendering the installed badges inoperable with the existing PACS security system located at AITC.

This would result in AITC PACS being noncompliant with the HSPD-12 mandate and NIST standards. In addition, this would compromise the integrity of AITC’s security system, which is responsible for protecting individuals, buildings and assets at AITC.

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, other than brand name Enterprise Partner of Software House partners, that can meet the Government's requirements.

However, the undersigned VA technical representative determined that limited competition is available among authorized partners for brand name Software House installation services. In accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a)(2) this justification will be made publicly available within 14 days of award. Furthermore, in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(b)(3) this justification will be posted with the Request for Quotation.

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. Specifically, the Government will continue to monitor the marketplace to determine whether other brand installation services could integrate into VA's existing system.

8. Market Research:

The Governments’ technical experts conducted market research in February 2020 by reviewing similar service providers to determine if there were other installation service that could fulfill the Governments requirement. Specifically, the technical experts conducted web-based research on Fortress Lock, Safe & Security LLC and Cothrons Security Professonals LLC websites for specific badge reader installation services for the replacement badge readers, which are required to communicate with the current PACs C-Cure 9000 software. Fortress Lock and Safe & Security does perform installation of keypads/card readers. Cothrons Security Professional partners with Open Options Access Technology for its FIPS 201 compliant readers installation.

However, these company are not Software House authorized dealer/distributers and advanced integrators, which is required to install the new badge readers and ensure communication with the PACs C-Cure 9000 software. As a result of market research, the technical experts concluded that while other sources had the general capabilities needed to perform the proposed effort, only Software House partners have the ability to install and integrate the replacement badge readers with the current PACs C-Cure 9000 software.

9. Other Facts: None.

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. Determination of Best Value: I hereby determine that the proposed contract action will represent the best value to the Government consistent with FAR 8.404(d) and the anticipated price to the government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on anticipated competition and discounts among multiple value added resellers of the required brand name installation services. Additionally, further price analysis of quotes received will be conducted to determine fair and reasonable price. Finally, piecing of products awarded under GSA have already been determined to be fair and reasonable.

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 exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold, but does not exceed $700,000, the certification required by FAR 8.405-6(d)(1) serves as approval.