EFO_W91QUZ-07-D-0003_ZA02.pdf

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Humphreys Engineer Center Support

Activity

USACE Headquarters

Information Technology Support for the Programming, Administration, and

Execution System (PAX-IT)

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B)

"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"

Estimated Amount: $11.890.904.83.

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USAGE), Humphreys Engineering Support Center (HECSA), 7701 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22315.

2. Description of Action: A new Firm-Fixed-Price Task Order (TO) against the Army's Computer Hardware Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) estimated at $11,890,904.83. The TO will consist of a Base Year and three (3) Option Periods (Years) as all CHESS ITES-2S orders are to be completed by March of 2020.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: Professional Commercial Information Technology (IT) Services in support of the Programming Administration and Execution System (PAX) which Is used to support (1) Department of the Army (DA), Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation management (OACSIM), the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USAGE), other Department of Defense (DoD) agencies, Installation Management Command Regions and Installations; and USAGE during the planning, programming, budgeting, project justification, and economic analysis phases of Military Construction (MILCON) programs; (2) The DA through automated support of MILCON information through file transfers with critical Army systems; (3) Congress with online digitized budget justification books and DD Forms 1391; and (4) USAGE with automated directive documents for work authority.

These services are to be acquired under the North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) 541519, Other Computer Related Services, with a Small Business size standard of $27.5 Million. The estimated value of the base year and all options is $11,890,904.83.

4. Authority Cited: Section 41 U.S.C. 253j (b), as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 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".

Reason for Authority Cited: PAX is the system chosen by the Army and other DoD agencies to build, manage, and report Army Military Construction (MILCON) programs. The Performance Work Statement (PWS) requires any contractor to have both functional and business process expertise In supporting the highly specialized and unique requirements of the PAX system, specifically, the Construction Appropriations Programming Control and Execution System module (CAPCES), which automates the program formulation, planning, and budget functions related to several MILCON appropriations. It enables Headquarters, Department of the Army (HODA), Regions, MACOMs, and installations to plan, program, budget, and track approximately 30,000 to 36,000 Individual projects in the various MILCON programs. Although the technical skills needed to accomplish the requirements of the PWS are widely available, the unique MILCON and budget related business skills required to manage the USAGE-PAX interface are not. Currently, only BAE Systems Solutions Inc. (BAE), by virtue of its long association with work on the CAPCES module portion of the PAX system, is capable of managing the system to acceptable performance levels. BAE Systems was responsible for completing a 4-year Technical Refresh of the CAPCES system components including the operating system, database, programming language, design, and output formats, making them uniquely qualified to maintain these systems.

Additionally, the spreadsheet upload capabilities to support OACSIM for 10 US

Code Supervision of Military Construction were developed by BAE. Although the rights to PAX and related USAGE system data are reserved by the Government, only BAE has the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to manage the data and requirements as outlined in the PWS.

• Market research, in the form of Requests for Interested Sources (RFl's), were placed on the Army CHESS, General Services Administration (GSA) Alliant Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC), and NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) web portals. Only nine (9) firms in total sent in capability statements out of a potential pool of over 250 commercial IT vendors under these current contract vehicles. Of the nine (9) firms to submit capability statements, only BAE Systems demonstrated any expertise or knowledge of the Construction Appropriation Programming, Control and Execution System (CAPCES) Module portion of the PAX system architecture as described in the PWS part 2.2.1.(2). (See attached Market Research Report).

• In accordance with AFARS Part 5139.101-90 Policy (b), When procuring IT services, contracting personnel must consider setting aside requirements for small businesses and other small business categories in accordance with FAR 13.003(b)(1) and FAR subpart

19.5. Contracting officers shall ensure that the procurement package contains sufficient supporting documentation to assist the contracting officer in determining whether to set aside the requirement for small businesses and other small business categories in accordance with FAR 13.003(b)(1) and FAR subpart 19.5. In order to assist the Army in achieving all small business statutory goals in prime and subcontract awards, personnel should consider use of non-DoD contract vehicles such as those stated in the Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy memorandum, dated 14 July 2011, subject: Use of Government-wide Acquisition Contracts Set Aside Exclusively for Small Businesses. If no small business capability exists, CHESS contract vehicles are the preferred source for acquisition of IT services

5. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: "The Contracting Officer hereby determines that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. Price reasonableness will be determined by comparison to the pre-approved CHESS Labor rates published with the base IDIQ Contract.

Name: Susan M. Hill Title: Contracting Officer

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Signature and Date: ---------------

6. Other Facts supporting the justification:

Procurement History:

08/28/2014 - present: The requirement was met by issuing a task order to BAE Systems Information Solutions Inc. of Herndon, VA on 14 August 2014 against the U.S. Army Computer Hardware Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) Integrated Technology Enterprise Solutions-2 (ITES-2S) multiple award IDIQ. Fair Opportunity, in accordance with FAR Part 16 was afforded to the ITES-2S contract holders. Only two (2) proposal were received and BAE Systems was the only firm evaluated as capable of performing the work. The Award was issued as a commercial, firm-fixed-price task order under North American Industry Code (NAICS) 541519, Other Computer Related Services with a small business size standard of $25 Million.

Control No: HEC-16-0003

The task order was issued with a base year plus one (1) six (6) month option period which was exercised on 31 July 2015, thus extending the Period of Performance to 27 February 2016.

At the time of award, the CHESS IDIQ Ordering period was scheduled to end in April of 2015.

The CHESS ordering period was extended, and as a result the contract, now allows for ordering from 14 April 2015 until 13 April 2018, with all work required to be completed by 13 April 2020.

02/28/2014 - 08/27/2014: A solicitation for a new contract to provide services for the PAX system was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website on 6 December 2013 with an extended proposal due date of 9 January 2014. Four (4) proposals were received and the Source Selection Evaluation Board (SSEB) convened. After reviewing the draft proposal evaluation worksheet submissions by the SSEB, it became apparent to the Contracting Officer and HECSA Office of Counsel that specifications identified In the Performance Work Statement (PWS) were so unique that It rendered the solicitation too restrictive for successful competition and, therefore, defective. Solicitation W912HQ-14-R-0001 was cancelled on 18 February 2014. A Sole-Source GSA "Bridge" contract, number W912HQ-14-F-0012 in the amount of $1,200.146.00, was awarded on 28 February 2014 using BAE's GSA Schedule.

06/28/2008 - 02/27/2014: The requirement was satisfied by providing Fair Opportunity IAW FAR Sub-Part 8.405-2 via a Request for Quote (RFQ) posted on the GSA e-Buy system. Six (6) small businesses were solicited directly who held contracts under GSA Schedule 70, General Purpose Commercial i nformation Technology Equipment, Software and Services, and notified of the RFQ; however, any vendor on GSA Schedule 70 could provide a quote. Twenty-six (26) vendors responded with "No quote". Only one (1) acceptable offer was received and a Task Order was awarded to McClendon, LLC (now BAE Systems) in August of 2008. GSA TO W912HQ-08-F- 0038 was awarded for $21,221,557.29 as a commercial order.

7. Actions to overcome barriers that led to this Exception: The Contracting Officer (KO) recognizes the need to increase competition for this requirement. As such, the KO has directed that the RFP require the Contractor to:

• Comply with Base Contract Clause H.18 (a) titled: "Small Business Subcontracting Goals", which states contractors "shall comply with meeting the mandatory small business subcontracting goal of 25% of the total contract value with additional specific goals for the following categories: Small Disadvantaged Business - 5%, Hub-Zone - 3%, Women Owned Small Business - 5%, Service-Disabled Veteran - 3%, and a positive goal for Veteran- Owned Small Business, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions." By ensuring compliance with this requirement, additional subcontracted small business personnel will gain experience with the PAX system. Compliance with this clause will be reviewed annually and made part of required performance assessments.

• Provide up to 90 days of Phase-In. Currently, Base Contract Clause B.5 titled "Phase-in", states that "the Government intends to allow 60 days for phase-in. The phase-in period shall be in accordance with Section I, FAR 52.237-3, Continuity of Services. This period allows for the establishment of operations and infrastructure in preparation for full performance, to include preparation and submission of proposals on task orders."

The services under the contract are considered vital to the Government and must be continued without interruption and when, upon contract expiration, a successor, either the Government or another contractor, may continue them. Therefore a successor shall be allowed up to 90 days of Phase-In. All transition issues will be handled in accordance with paragraphs b through d of this Clause. Phase-in shall be Not Separately Priced (NSP) and the costs attributable with phase-in shall be Included in the fixed loaded hourly labor rates.

• In conjunction with Government personnel, create/update the CAPSES Maintenance

Manual, Training Manuals, Business Rules, User Manuals and other documentation in accordance with PWS Paragraph 4.2.1, which may be made available with the next Performance Work Statement (PWS) to afford potential offerors a greater understanding of the requirements and an opportunity to acquire the resources needed to fully support the PAX system. Potential conflicts of interest will be addressed IAW FAR 9.508.

8. Contracting Officer Certification: "I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief."

Name: Susan M. Hill Title: Contracting Officer

Signature and Date:

9. Requirements Certification: "I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the Exception to Fair Opportunity are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief."

Name: Edmond G. Gauvreau Title: Chief, Planning Branch

Signature and Date:

Technical Certification: "I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the Exception to Fair Opportunity are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief."

Name: Linda M. Conaway Title: PAX Program Manager

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Signature and Date: 0..te:l016.0U>l1'1:47!.U-OS'OO'

APPROVAL

10. Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of PAX IT services in the amount of $11,890,904.83, subject to the availability of funds and provided that the services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition. The circumstances in FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B) "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" apply to this order.