JOTFOC_(signed)_Austin_VA_Project_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Under FAR 6.302

Less Than $12.5 Million

PREPARED BY

The General Services Administration, Acquisition Management Division, Program Support Branch, Capital Improvements Section.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION BEING APPROVED

Procurement of a logical follow-on contract for Design/Build Services for the Phase 2 Veteran's Administration (VA) Generator Project, Austin, TX. Phase 1 was competed and all Zone 5 IDIQ contract awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the Phase 1 task order. Phase 1 was performed by Patton Contractors under Contract No.

GS-07P-99-HH-D-0079 /Task Order GS-P-07-12-UR-5028. Patton's Zone 5 IDIQ contract will expire prior to GSA's ability to issue a new task order under their contract. Therefore, this procurement is for a follow-on stand-alone contract.

DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES REQUIRED

Implementation of this system has been planned in several different phases, due to the size of the requirements, and the VA's flow of available funding . Phase 1 of this project included principal design of the entire system, and installation of half of the generators and half of the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) banks.

The Austin VA UPS system Phase 2 project consists of implementation of the second half of a major Uninterruptible Power Supply system. The overall final system will consist of 4 generators, 4 large UPS banks, numerous panels and pieces of switchgear, and tying them all together. The intent of the system is to provide an extremely reliable and redundant power supply for the large critical computer facility at the VA center. All the components are interconnected in a complex fashion that allows virtually any piece of the system to operate with any other piece, so that continuity of power is assured even if some components of the system go down. The final system will be fully integrated and will automatically switch between two separate utility power feeds, the four generators, and the four UPS banks.

The value of this new contract will be approximately $7.3 million.

The new contract, which is a logical follow-on to the Task Order GS-P-07-12-UR-5028, will continue implementation of the design, where Phase 1 left off, and finish installation of the complete system. It will entail installation of two more UPS banks, plus the balance of the major panels and pieces of switchgear, including the second half of the main paralleling gear, which is the key piece of highly complicated equipment that automatically selects between available power sources. Once UPS Phase 2 is complete, the system will have full in terchangeability and redundancy on all four UPS banks, generators, and both main power feeds, and wi ll allow the VA to switch over and begin using th is system for their mission essential data center.

This project is a design-build project, and the incumbent contractor designed part of Phase 2 during the design portion of Phase 1. This work is thus a continuation of the current design and construction work, and will ultimately all be one single continuous system since Phase 1 cannot operate without the completion of Phase 2. Having a single contractor complete the entire system will ensure that the second half of the system is completed correctly, is fully integrated with the first half of the system, and that the overall system works successfully. Completion of the system by a second contractor would expose the government to considerable risk for system functionality, warranty, and commissioning, as neither contractor would be responsible for the other's work.

Currently the VA is forced to use a rental generator system to ensure continuity of power, which is costing them approximately $140,000 per month, and is approaching the end of its usable life. Completion of phase 2 will allow them to discontinue use of the rental system, and will provide them with both a considerable savings in monthly cost, and a significant improvement in mission capability.

IDENTIFICATION OF STATUTORY AUTHORITY

Citation: 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1). FAR 6.302-1 : Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

DEMONSTRATION THAT THE ACQUISITION REQUIRES THE USE OF THE

AUTHORITY CITED

FAR 6.302-1 allows for the use of other than full and open competition when required supplies or services are available from only one source. Services may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of a follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in- (A) Substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition; or (B) Unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements.

The incumbent contractor has had a steep learning curve for work on the VA Building, which is a highly restricted facility. Key personnel already have VA badges, which involved a lengthy process. The current contractor is finishing up punchlist items on site, and still has all key personnel badged and a presence on site, allowing for a smooth transition to Phase 2 with no delay for mobilization or badging . Avoiding this delay alone will shorten the project duration by at least six months, saving the VA approximately $840,000 just in generator rental fees associated with the badging delay.

Completing the system with the incumbent contractor will also save the Government a considerable amount of cost by ensuring successful integration of the phases by a single contractor. The main paralleling switchgear and several other of the switchgear pieces are pieces of a complete system, and absolutely must be made by the same manufacturers, and require detailed factory engineering design to ensure compatibility. Maintaining the incumbent contractor ensures that their factory engineering representatives remain consistent and avoids large duplications in effort that would be necessary if new engineers were brought in and had to learn the extensive and un ique requirements of this system from scratch.

Additionally, completion of the second half of the system by a second contractor would leave neither contractor responsible for the other's work, and would lead to considerable duplication of effort and additional cost during the commissioning and testing phase. Also, using a new contractor for Phase 2 would expose the Government to the risk of having a non-functional system with no clear responsible party.

Maintaining the incumbent contractor would also protect the Government from additional cost during the warranty phase by ensuring a single party was responsible for the performance of the system as a whole, and would avoid any possibility of the Phase 1 warranty being voided by work the Phase 2 contractor would perform on it during completion of the second half.

Therefore, this logical follow-on contract must be issued on a sole-source basis to Patton Contractors in the interest of economy and efficiency.

EFFORTS TO SOLICIT TO AS MANY SOURCES AS PRACTICABLE

Since this is a justification for a sole source procurement and the intent is to issue a follow on, stand-alone contract to the incumbent contractor, other sources will not be solicited.

DETERMINATION THAT THE ANTICIPATED COST WILL BE FAIR AND REASONABLE

The CO will determine that the cost is fair and reasonable before making an award. This determination will be documented.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED

Market research will not be conducted for reasons indicated above.

OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF THE OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

The VA has recently given GSA RWA's to fund Phase 2 of UPS installation for the project referenced above. This stand-alone contract is for implementing Phase 2 and is a logical follow-on to the original task order to continue development and installation of a highly complicated system, avoid additional security clearance costs, and avoid unacceptable delays in fulfilling the VA's mission . Therefore, issuing this stand-alone contract to the incumbent contractor (Patton Contractors) is justified under FAR 6.302-1.

The estimate for Phase 2 will be approximately $7.3 million. Phase 1 total contract was $10.9 million.

LIST OF SOURCES THAT EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN THE ACQUISITION

Patton Contractors. Patton is a veteran-owned, small-business concern.

STATEMENTS OF ACTION TO OVERCOME BARRIERS TO COMPETITION

N/A

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION

The Contracting Officer has determined that the actions taken under this acquisition meet the conditions described in FAR 6.302-1 and the source specified precludes full and open competition . It is in the best interest of the Government to purchase the services described above from Patton Contractors. The information contained in the justification for other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer's knowledge.

Approved b

Contracting Officer, ?PQA

The porting data which form the basis for t on is accurate.

Project Manager, ?PCB

Concur:

Marsha Howard Supervisory Contracting Officer, 7PQA

Chief, Program Sup ment Division, 7PQ

Date

Date

I, as the Competition Advocate, do approve this Justification for Other than Fair and Open Competition.

Matthew Madison Competition Advocate, ?PA