JA_Rev1_19M_260A_DI_Long_Gage_Block_Comparator_Upgrade_Redacted.pdf

Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 1 of 4

NOTE: If a Justification and Approval was approved for the preceding acquisition, a copy of the approved J&A for the predecessor action must be included in the staff package for approval of the instant J&A. This applies to J&A staff packages that are submitted for review and approval at a level above the contracting officer. The predecessor J&A will be used as a reference document by the approving official.

Is this a new or amended J&A Document? New Amended ( Prior to Award Only! )

Is this a Bridge Action as defined in the AF Bridge Action Reduction Plan? Yes No

Funding level for this acquisition: < $700K > $700K and < $13.5M > $13.5M and < $93M > $93M

Contracting Activity: AFLCMC/WNMK

Purchase Request / Local ID Number: 19M-260A-DI

Program / Project (and PE, if applicable): Long Gage Block Comparator Upgrade

Program Type (PEO or Other Contracting): PEO (Agile Combat Support)

Authority: 6.302-1 – 10 USC 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

Estimated Contract Cost (including options): J&A Type: Class Individual

COORDINATION (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date

08 Jan 2019

Engineer, Project Lead

Signature

Date

09 Jan 2019

Chief, Mechanical Engineering Branch

Date

10 Jan 2019

Contracting Officer

APPROVAL (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date

11 Jan 2019

Chief, Contracting Branch

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 2 of 4

I. Contracting Activity.

AFMETCAL/WNMK, 813 Irving Wick Drive West, Heath Ohio 43056-1199.

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

This J&A is for a new sole source, firm-fixed-price commercial contract to upgrade the Long Gage Block Comparators. The proposed contractor is Mahr Federal Inc. Based on Market Research, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Mahr Federal Inc. is the only manufacturer that can supply this upgrade. The objective of this upgrade is to update fifteen Air Force P/N 130B-16 Long Gage Block Comparators in use at Precision Measurement Equipment Labs (PMELs) around the world. The units are over 20 years old and are critical to support the Air Force mission. The upgrade will include replace the amplifier, gage heads, controller, and software. The acquisition will include on-site installation and 1 day of training by an applications engineer or technician. The software is proprietary to Mahr Federal and cannot be obtained from any other source. The risk of this contract should be minimal because the Mahr Federal 130B-16 Long Gage Block Comparator Upgrade controller and associated components are currently a commercial off the shelf product.

As Mahr Federal Inc does not authorize other contractors to support this equipment and does not share the detailed data required to do so, there would be a substantial duplication of costs to the Air Force that is not expected to be recovered through competition. Therefore, the Government will pursue a sole source acquisition, utilizing FAR 6.302-1:

Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

The current long gage block comparators used by the U.S. Air Force PMELs are becoming unreliable and in the current configuration, they are unsupportable by the OEM. Long gage blocks are used to support the calibration of many aircraft fixtures such as the F-16 Aft Reference Boresight Calibration Fixture Assembly (33K6-4-3669-1) and the F-16 Diameter Exhaust Nozzle Diameter Gage (33K6-4-1488-1). To maintain calibration support, it is recommended that the long gage block comparators be upgraded.

The upgrade will make the Air Force 130B-16 Long Gage Block Comparators identical to the new ones currently being sold by the vendor. This approval is expected to cover requirements spread out over the next 2 fiscal years (FY19 - FY20) and will be funded by 3400 appropriations.

Year Qty Est Unit Price Est Subtotal

FY19 14

FY20 1

Total 15

IV. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

10 USC 2304(c)(1), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 6.302-1(a)(1) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, and required by FAR 6.303-2(b)(4).

V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority).

Only One Responsible Source FAR 6.302-1 - This acquisition is to procure replacements for outdated system components, update the system control software and extend the working life of the system for 10 years. The control system contains proprietary software and proprietary hardware interfaces. Only the OEM has the proprietary data required to accomplish full system integration, functionality, control, and communication.

Award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the government that is not expected to be recovered through competition. This upgrade will preserve and expand the currently used automated calibration programs and procedures while procurement of a new system would require development of a new set of programs and procedures. This is critical insofar as this is a large and critical PMEL workload. The total estimated price for the upgrade is per unit times 15 units for a total of . Based on market research, the estimated cost of new

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 3 of 4 systems is per unit or a total of to replace 15 systems. The Air Force technical team determined that the proposed system upgrade would save and provide superior capability to the full replacement option.

Without this acquisition, the U.S. Air Force risks significant down time and increased calibration costs because future calibrations will have to be obtained from commercial calibration sources. Due to proprietary issues associated with the long gage block comparator and software, Mahr Federal would not sell the rights so another company could upgrade the comparator.

VI. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable.

A sources sought was posted for this requirement on FedBizOpps on July 3, 2017 for 30 days. No responses were received for this effort. The software is proprietary to Mahr Federal. To obtain competition, new long gage block comparators would need to be purchased.

VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

A cost analysis will be performed to determine if the proposed amount is fair and reasonable. Price analysis will be used to verify the overall price offered is fair and reasonable.

VIII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

As described in Section VI of this document, market research, IAW FAR Part 10, was conducted by synopsis to advise industry of the proposed acquisition and to solicit inquiries from interested parties. Based on the results of this market research, the Air Force Technical Team determined that a system upgrade provides the best value to the government and no other vendor besides Mahr Federal Inc was found to be able to perform the upgrade as described in this Justification and Approval.

IX. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

The required software necessary to operate the upgraded long gage block comparator is proprietary to Mahr Federal.

The upgrade to the 130B-16 by Mahr Federal will be able to satisfy customer requirements based upon the market research performed and the engineer's knowledge of the items to be procured. The component items are off the shelf so delays in delivery are not expected. There is no expectation that administration of this contract will be difficult.

X. List of any sources that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

Mahr Federal Inc 1144 Eddy Street Providence, RI 02905-4511 POC: George Schuetz Phone: (401) 784-3274 E-mail: george.schuetz@mahr.com

XI. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required.

Mahr Federal Inc is the manufacturer of the original systems and this procurement is for the upgrade of 15 systems. It also involves proprietary software which the manufacturer is unwilling to release to another company. For this requirement there is no other action that can be accomplished to generate competition without a substantial duplication of costs. This procurement will provide the best value to the Government at this time. A sole source effort is required for the base quantities and option years to prevent significant downtime and increased calibration costs due to proprietary data involved with the upgrade. We will continue to monitor the market place to see if other viable vendors become available.

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 4 of 4

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature, the Contracting Officer, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by our signatures above, we certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is our responsibility, is both accurate and complete.