17Q80126_SSJ2_Redacted.pdf

V220T.12 (01/15)

Procurement Request No. V3141043

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

VOLPE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS CENTER (VOLPE CENTER)

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION HUMAN FACTORS DIVISION (V314)

SOLE SOURCE SAP JUSTIFICATION

A. Description of Supplies/Services. The Office of the Secretary (OST) Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC) has tasked the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) with conducting reviews of DOT covered collection sites and investigations of DOT covered service agents when issues of noncompliance with 49 CFR Part 40 (Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs) arise. ODAPC has requested that the Volpe Center provide up to ten compliance reviews and/or investigations, and the Volpe Center requires the support of a drug and alcohol testing contractor with specific knowledge in DOT's 49 CFR Part 40 and DOT collection site and service agent compliance audit process to assist in meeting this requirement.

B. Market Research. Market research was conducted by Volpe Center V314 technical staff, mainly Michael Redington and Felicity Shanahan, during the period beginning June 1, 2017, through June 30, 2017, via internet searches, reviews of marketing materials of known consultants who participate in Drug and Alcohol consulting, and interviews of program managers at Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and OST/ODAPC. This market research resulted in the following findings:

• Cahill Swift, a Self-Certified Small Disadvantaged, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned business located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the only firm to have conducted collection site reviews for FTA and OST/ODAPC.

• Cahill Swift is the only firm to have previously provided service agent investigations on behalf of FTA.

• Cahill Swift is the primary firm conducting Drug and Alcohol Compliance Audits on behalf of FTA.

Other firms reviewed, including Foley and Quest Diagnostics, have not conducted service agent investigation, nor have any firms conducted collection site reviews on behalf of FTA and OST/ODAPC.

C. Supporting Rationale.

(1) Sole Source: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

(i) In order for the collection site reviews and service agent investigations to effectively meet regulatory mandates, it is necessary that the investigators be completely familiar with the requirements of Federal regulations 49 CFR Part 40, including recent revisions of and additions to the regulations, and that the investigators be aware of the most common and prominent issues facing DOT-covered employers. Since collection sites have come under increased scrutiny by OST, it is essential that the investigators have significant experience in conducting DOT reviews and be familiar with the various nuances of the collection process.

(ii) Cahill Swift is the primary trainer of DOT Drug and Alcohol testing regulatory requirements for the FTA and has been since the inception of the Program in 1995. Cahill Swift has conducted sessions on how to review collection sites and other service agents for compliance at a number of the Annual FTA Drug and Alcohol Program National Conferences. Cahill Swift has also been involved with reviews and audits of collection sites and other services agents and has conducted DOT collections for more than 17 years. Current Cahill Swift staff members have created the current investigation procedures used for FTA-sponsored service agent investigations and have developed the method of collection site review for the FTA Drug and Alcohol Compliance Audit Program, which has also been used in conducting collection site reviews for OST/ODAPC. ODAPC is requesting these expert services be continued due to the need to react swiftly to negligent collection sites and service agents to issue Notice of Corrective Action (NOCA) or Public Interest Exclusion (PIE). The education and training on the current Cahill Swift-created Collection Site Review and service agent investigation procedures or the creation of new ODAPC approved procedures by other contractors or federal staff would be time consuming and may result in DOT covered agencies contracting with non-compliant collection sites and/or service agents.

(iii) The estimated time it would take for another contractor to learn 49 CFR Part 40 and then prepare collection site review and investigation procedures is 8 months. Furthermore, the estimated cost impact if the Volpe Center cannot perform these reviews/investigations is estimated at $160,000 to rectify issues with continued noncompliant workplace drug and alcohol programs.

V220T.12 (01/15)

(2) Brand Name: N/A

(3) Unusual and Compelling Urgency: N/A