Gregg Adams LSJ 2024_85_Redacted..pdf

Assistant Director, Small Business Program:

Director, MICC-FGA:

Local Legal Counsel:

MICC Legal Counsel:

Limited Source Justification – FAR Part 8

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command – (MICC-Ft Gregg-Adams), 1830 Quartermaster Road, Bldg. 7124, Ft Gregg-Adams, VA 23803-1205.

2. Description of Action: The Product Directorate (PD), Army Logistics and Technology Enterprise Systems and Services (ALTESS) requests a firm-fixed-priced contract for Preventative Maintenance (PM) and Emergency Repair Services (ERS) for Chillers, Chilled Water Pumps, Chilled Water Pump Variable Frequency Drives and Chilled Water Loop Treatment to include Eddy Current Testing (ECT) under the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Program with Trane U.S. Inc., 3600 Pammel Creek Rd. La Crosse, WI 54601-7511. The Government will execute this action against FSS contract 47QSWA20D002A. Projected award is September 2024, Operations and Maintenance funds will be used.

An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i)(B).

This action is a follow-on contract/order for W91QF5-19-F-0101. That contract/order was not competed under authority FAR 8.405-6 Limited Sources Justification Under the General Services Administration Federal Supply Program.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The procurement of Preventative Maintenance (PM) and Emergency Repair Services (ERS) for Chillers, Chilled Water Pumps, Chilled Water Pump Variable Frequency Drives and Chilled Water Loop Treatment to include Eddy Current Testing (ECT) provides around-the-clock maintenance support for Trane Chillers that support the PD ALTESS data center. Preventative Maintenance services provided by Trane ensures that all the chillers supporting the data center are properly serviced to prevent wear and tear on pumps, drive belts, motors, piping, monitoring systems, software and various other keys pieces of internal equipment to maintain functionality. Emergency Repair Service provided by Trane US, Incorporated helps ensure the chillers have the necessary emergency support whether it may be during duty hours or after hours.

Base Period: 9/28/2024 to 5/01/2025 Value:

Option Period 1: 5/02/2025 to 5/01/2026 Value:

Option Period 2: 5/02/2025 to 5/01/2026 Value:

Option Period 3: 5/02/2025 to 5/01/2026 Value:

Option Period 4: 5/02/2025 to 5/01/2026 Value:

Total Value:

4. Authority Cited: Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (Title 41 U.S.C. 251, et. Seq) and Title 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive

Agencies, as implemented by FAR 8.405-6 and substantiated by the following: 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. Reason for Authority Cited:

a. Background. Restricting this procurement to Trane is essential in meeting the agency’s maintenance and repair requirement while also remaining compliant with the initial and all existing commercial product warranty, and software/systems upgrade(s) that are currently installed on all Trane equipment in use within the ALTESS enduring data center.

Over the past thirteen (13) years, Trane has provided specialized installation, maintenance, and repair services for all chillers currently installed at the ALTESS enduring data center in Radford, VA. With the continued maintenance, upgrades and repairs, Trane provides the only fully certified and factory trained technical support staff authorized to perform services with replacement and/or upgrading of unit controls devices, program controllers and performing software updates to the facilities Trane Tracer SC+ building energy management automation system.

The vital Trane Tracer SC+ is a unique building automation system software and applications that enable facility personnel to have readily available system access regardless of whether they are onsite or mobile. This building automation system enables the 24/7 monitoring and control of chiller plant controls that optimizes the rotation, staging and sequencing of multiple chillers to serve dynamic building load while maximizing chiller life. This includes the Trim and Respond application that delivers the sequence and performance defined in American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Guideline 36 – High Performance Sequences of Operation for HVAC systems, while allowing contextual modifications.

Furthermore, the Area portion of the application synchronizes all the equipment delivering heating and cooling in spaces, rooms or zones that share common schedules and setpoints. To ensure this software operates properly, the final part of the Trane Tracer SC+ software is called the Variable Air Systems (VAR). The VAR works in tandem with the Area application to coordinate air handlers and Variable air Volume (VAV) boxes to manage supplied air pressure at a variable temperature and air flow from the Air Handler Unit (AHU) within the room(s) or zone(s). This software enables facility management to monitor real-time functions and emergency issues 24/7/365 to include troubleshooting error codes as well.

With the combination of maintenance and repair services, the proprietary installed software tailored for the ALTESS data center loaded within the Trane Tracer SC+ software applications, current equipment warranties, and fully certified technical staff located within a short radius of the service location, Trane is the only viable and

Control No: MICC 2024-85 available authorized service provider capable of performing these services. Maintaining Trane as the sole service provider ensures the current maintenance, repairs, warranties and/or compatibility of equipment/software will remain unchanged and uninterrupted during continual services.

b. Alternatives: Trane is the only service provider that can provide replacement and/or upgrade unit control devices, program controllers, and perform software updates to the facilities Trane Tracer SC+ building energy management automation system.

Software and system updates are required to provide system access security as well as provide necessary service packs for performance and enhancement upgrades. Without maintenance for the Trane Tracer SC+, the site is at high risk of equipment and software failure. Any vendor other than Trane would not have authorized access to Trane proprietary operating software, access to Trane installed programs designed specifically for Trane equipment within the ALTESS data center building automation system and lack the authorization to provide a compatible alternative service for the specialized maintenance support.

Currently, there are no alternative maintenance support providers in the vicinity that are Trane authorized, certified or technically competent to service the six (6) Trane chillers, nor able to perform maintenance of the facility energy management automation system. Additionally, with much of the equipment still under warranty, having Trane authorized personnel performing maintenance service ensures the warranties remain active and not in danger of being replaced or enduring the cost of an alternative coverage plan.

Apart from the proprietary installed software and maintenance services, the availability of qualified maintenance technicians to service the software and perform overall chiller maintenance has diminished since 2020. Post pandemic, the availability of authorized service providers has declined due to Trane’s reduction in training certified technicians to perform services, closures of smaller services providers, and geographically located providers that can provide emergency services within the prescribed two hours or less as outlined within the requirement. Additionally, Trane is currently the only geographically located maintenance provider within the two-hour response time that can provide direct software and maintenance service to ALTESS equipment with the essential authorized technicians. Lastly, continual market research has failed to identify any service provider within geographical proximity of the ALTESS location that can provide the authorized service technicians other than Trane.

Since 2011, ALTESS has invested over in the initial equipment installation, upgrades, and preventative maintenance coverage. A further programmed expenditure of for preventative maintenance coverage of the building energy management automation system for the data center will bring the total investment of for the Trane system.

c. Impact if justification not approved. The impact of not approving this justification will result in having no provider authorized that can fully provide services and/or repair parts on for the proprietary Trane Tracer SC+ building energy management automation system. Trane provides maintenance support and is the only authorized provider that can perform controller programming, controller device replacement/repair, software upgrades, firmware upgrades, install service packs, and provide custom programming for equipment operations. The Trane Tracer SC+ system at our ALTESS location is a true building automation system (BAS) that not only provides real time automation for numerous systems but also provides monitoring and alerting so that the facilities staff and service desk are notified of issues immediately upon detection 24/7/365. The Trane Tracer SC+ BAS system not only automatically controls all heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) components throughout the entire data center facility, but also provides automation for all generator system pneumatic valves, water pumps, and provision for 24ll/365 monitoring/emergency alerting. The monitoring includes all our HVAC systems, generators, automatic transfer switches (ATSs), Utility Power, FE-227 fire suppression system, refrigerant leak detection, domestic water pressure, building fresh air intake, air compressors, pneumatic valves, diesel fuel leak detection, etc.

Some of these critical systems being monitored like the FE-227 fire suppression system, refrigerant leak detection, building fresh air intake, and diesel fuel leak detection are all either life safety or environmental protection systems that protect ALTESS personnel in the underground facility and the environmental implication of the adjacent creek and New River basin area near the AL TESS data center. The Tracer SC+ BAS system provides immediate email alerts should any of these systems malfunction, which allows facilities personnel and emergency responders time to respond and avoid disastrous impacts to government personnel or the environment.

Losing the alerting functions alone could have catastrophic implications should one of these systems fail and facilities personnel unknowingly enter the building during a refrigerant or FE-227 release.

Furthermore, the Trane Tracer SC+ BAS automatically controls On/Off operations and monitoring of all of our primary and redundant HVAC components and pumps including but not limited to two centrifugal chillers, four air cooled chillers, three cooling towers, eleven chilled water pumps, two condenser water pumps, four hot water pumps, four on demand hot water heaters, two humidifiers, four building air handler units, two fresh air intakes, and numerous pneumatic valves. What this means is, that if any BAS integrated system should fail the Trane BAS system will detect the failure and immediately start another pump, chiller, cooling tower, etc. while simultaneously sending an email alert to the facilities staff that the issue has occurred.

This keeps the chilled water systems operational, and the data centers cooled. The pneumatic valves that are operated by the Trane Tracer SC+ BAS system is located throughout the condenser and hot water loops that provide cooling to the generators that are within the building. Should the BAS system fail, and these valves not operate, the generators will immediately fail due to overheat and shut down meaning that we are unable to provide backup emergency power to the data center or building during a utility power outage. Having generator failures due to inability to cool them would leave the building in the dark without power or cooling, meaning that all infrastructure systems would be down, all IT systems would crash, and no personnel would be able to work.

Lastly, the loss of functionality to any portion of the Trane Tracer SC+ system or chillers for any amount of time to include the inability to not having immediately Trane BAS service technician onsite with the proprietary Trane software or direct access to Trane repair parts could prove catastrophic for the entire organization and our 120+ Army and Airforce IT customers that are housed in the ALTESS data center.

6. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continually conduct market research to ascertain if there are any changes in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be competed without restriction. In the future, the Government will determine if evaluation, testing, and qualification of alternative maintenance support/services are prudent with respect to prior investment costs, pending end service dates for existing equipment, man-power availability, and the total cost to the Government and budgetary allowances. However, until that time, it is anticipated the Preventative Maintenance (PM) and Emergency Repair Services (ERS) for Chillers, Chilled Water Pumps, Chilled Water Pump Variable Frequency Drives and Chilled Water Loop Treatment to include Eddy Current Testing (ECT) will need to be restricted to a sole source.

7. Market Research: Market research was conducted during the period of 1 July through 4 October 2023, to determine if there was adequate competition among available contractors with experience, capability, and authorization to meet the requirements. Upon completion of the market research, it was determined that only one vendor responded with a capability statement and information indicating their ability to perform maintenance services. Upon completion of the market research, it was determined that only one vendor is authorized and capable of providing the maintenance services for Chillers, Chilled Water Pumps, Chilled Water Pump Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) and Chilled Water Loop Treatment Preventive Maintenance (PM) and Emergency Repair Services (ERS), and software updates/upgrades to the Trane Tracer SC+. As a result, there are no small business subcontracting capabilities.

The following vendor provided a quote stating they are capable of performing this service:

Vendor: Trane U.S. Inc.– Roanoke, VA Cost:

Cage Code: 60532 Unique Entity ID: QJFJBF8ZBUM8 PSC: 4130 – Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Components NAICS: 811310 – Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except automotive and electronic) Repair and Maintenance

POC:

Business Size: Large

8. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History

Contract number: W91QF5-11-P-0178 Contract Awardee: Trane U.S. Inc.

Description of requirement: Chiller Maintenance Method of procurement: FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B) only one source is capable.

Contract type: Firm-Fixed Price Delivery requirements: 29 September 2012 through 28 September 2015 Total awarded amount:

Number of option periods: 3 Number of Offerors: 1

Contract number: W91QF5-15-F-0029 Contract Awardee: Trane U.S. Inc.

Description of requirement: Chiller Maintenance Method of procurement: FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B) only one source is capable.

Contract type: Firm-Fixed Price Delivery requirements: 28 September 2015 through 27 September 2019 Total awarded amount:

Number of option periods: 4 Number of Offerors: 1

Contract number: W91QF5-19-F-0101 Contract Awardee: Trane U.S. Inc.

Description of requirement: Chiller Maintenance Method of procurement: FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B) only one source is capable.

Contract type: Firm-Fixed-Price Delivery requirements: 28 September 2019 through 27 September 2024 Total awarded amount:

Number of option periods: 4 Number of Offerors: 1

b. Option year 4 was not exercised for W91QF5-15-F-0029 due to a significant change in scope of the requirement.

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of Chiller Preventive Maintenance and Emergency Repair Services under Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (Title 41 U.S.C. 251, et Seq.) and Title 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive Agencies, as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation 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. The estimated value of the contract is for a five-year period of performance consisting of a base year and 4 option years, from approximately September 2024 through approximately May 2029. The approval is subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.