FBO A Fuel Cells.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION (J & A)

LIMITED SOURCES

SOLICITATION NO. HSCG38-10-R-200012

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by FAR Subpart 6.3 and in accordance with requirements of FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

(1) Agency and Contracting Activity – The U. S. Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center (ALC) Short Range Recovery (SRR) Division, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, proposes to enter into a contract on the basis of other than full and open competition and presents this Justification and Approval for other Than Full and Open Competition (J&A) for review and approval.

(2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved -- Approval is requested to solicit, on a limited source basis, various fuel cells for use on the SRR, HH65C aircraft. The replacement of the fuel cells are considered commercial in nature and will be procured utilizing the procedures listed in FAR Part 12. Pricing and delivery schedule will be negotiated in accordance with FAR Part 15. The proposed Requirements contract will consist of one base year plus four one-year option years with firm-fixed prices.

(3) Description of the Supplies/Services -- As the Aviation Inventory Control Point (AICP), ALC must provide effective supply support for all Coast Guard aviation units and for the Programmed Depot Maintenance Program. This requirement is anticipated to be awarded to any responsible sources that can document traceability back to Aerazur, the OEM, via OEM certifications. Aerazur has supported these requirements in the past via Purchase Orders.

Nomenclature NSN Part Number

FUEL TANK, REAR 1560-14-516-1077 704A44-500-074

FUEL TANK, CENTER R 1560-14-516-1078 704A44-500-073

FUEL TANK, CENTER L 1560-14-516-1079 704A44-500-072

FUEL TANK, FRONT RH 1560-14-516-1081 704A44-500-071

FUEL TANK, FRONT LH 1560-14-516-1080 704A44-500-070

Failure to purchase these parts will force aircraft to be grounded. The estimated quantities are based on current and past usage. Total Government estimate is as follows:

Total Government estimate is as follows:

Base Year $ Option Yr 1 $ Option Yr 2 $ Option Yr 3 $ Option Yr 4 $ Estimated Total $

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SOLICITATION NO. HSCG38-10-R-200012

(4) Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (1) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1(a)(2), “Only one or a limited number of responsible sources, and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full an open competition need not be provided for.”

(5) Demonstration That the Nature of the Acquisition Requires Use of the Authority Cited.

The Coast Guard does not own the unlimited rights to the technical manuals, publications or data as these are proprietary to the individual OEM’s. Using parts from other than the OEM’s would compromise the integrity of the aircraft’s airworthiness and would void any existing warrantees.

Procuring non-OEM certified parts also would jeopardize crew safety and risk bodily harm.

(6) Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable. A Sources Sought was issued on Fed Biz Ops on 18 June 2009 with a closing of 6 July 2009. Upon approval of this J&A, companies that showed an interest (see para

10) to the Sources Sought, will be notified when the combined synopsis/solicitation is posted.

(7) Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable. It is the Contracting Officer’s opinion that the prices ultimately negotiated for the procurement will be fair and reasonable based on historical pricing for previous purchases of fuel cells on purchase orders and past contract pricing adjusted for inflationary increases (See enclosure 1).

(8) Description of Market Research. Market Research included a search of the Internet by NIIN for any other vendors. Contacts are also made at the Helicopter Association International and other trade group meetings held in various U.S. locations, the last one held in March 2009, however, did not provide any additional sources.

The Federal Logistics (FEDLOG), which was utilized and is updated monthly, is a federally supported program which lists all manufacturers/suppliers by cage code. This program provides a valuable tool for supplier information and is utilized by requirements personnel to determine if alternate sources of supply exist. Information is accessed by National Stock Number, Nomenclature, item name, supplier name and cage code. Another source is Inventory Locator Mart (ILS). This website is used to locate difficult to find parts. Previous or current contracts reveal that the source listed in paragraph 10 is the only vendor capable of obtaining these parts.

In addition to the above we searched GSA Advantage, DOD-Emall, and other Internet sites (ThomasNet.com, Google search engine) and could not find any additional information regarding the repair of the ECU’s.

Formal Acquisition Plan HSCG 10-001 was approved on 26Feb2010. The limited sources available for competition were addressed. Also, the cost associated with reverse engineering and the time required for quality testing by the Engineers from the USCG is not a viable option.

(9) Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

The United States Coast Guard did not purchase the technical data rights as part of the original acquisition of the HH65 aircraft. These units must have traceability to the OEM with certifications from Aerazur. No other vendors have been found that can manufacture these fuel

LIMITED SOURCES

SOLICITATION NO. HSCG38-10-R-200012

cells. Due to the proprietary issues discussed in paragraph (5), it will be difficult to foster competition as the manufacturing, performance and acceptance data are all proprietary. Current Fuel Cells in the fleet are deteriorating beyond the scope of repair.

(10) A Listing of the Sources, if Any, That Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition. A Sources Sought was issued on Fed Biz Ops on 18 June 2009 with a closing of 6 July 2009. There were four responses received. Two were from , which merely responded that they were interested through FBO. They did not provide a “Technically Capable” statement to the posting. Another vendor, responded with a generic company statement, which indicated they deal in fuel cells but did not elaborate. did provide a “Technically Capable” statement, but said they will be solely procuring from Aerazur, the OEM.

(11) A Statement of the Actions, if Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any Barriers to Competition Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for Supplies or Services Required.

In support of the Competition in Contracting Act, ALC established the New Product Development Branch (NPD) and a representative of the NPD Branch is assigned to the SRR Product Line. This representative has the responsibility to locate alternate sources of supply/services and alternate acceptable products. NPD was responsible for reverse engineering some parts because they were difficult to find obsolete items. This process is lengthy, costly and very labor intensive. Reverse engineering any of these units is not considered a feasible technical and economic alternative.

Finding vendors that could have the capacity or be qualified to manufacture any of these units is extremely difficult and cost prohibitive because each part has been designed to meet stringent USCG specifications. They also must be manufactured with FAA Flight Standards and come with required certifications.

The use of a Limited Source contracts is necessary. When the initial procurement of this foreign made helicopter, the proprietary and data rights were obtained. This limits the number of vendors to the OEM, OEM authorized distributors and parts brokers.

Upon approval of this J&A, the combined synopsis/solicitation will be posted via the Federal Business Opportunity website. If any company shows interest in performing this requirement, a validation of their capabilities will be performed and a determination of allowing them to propose will be made.

LIMITED SOURCES

SOLICITATION NO. HSCG38-10-R-200012

(12) Contracting Officer’s Certification

I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Gail F. Payne Date Contracting Officer

Technical / Requirements Personnel Certification

I certify this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which forms a basis for this justification, is complete and accurate.

Patricia Rozanski Date SRR Supply Cell Leader

APPROVAL:

Mr. David S. Burgess Date Chief of Contracting Office

Reviewed and determined to be legally sufficient:

Date

Mr. Keith O'Neill Date HQ Procurement Activity Competition Advocate, (PACA)

Ms. Claire Grady Date Senior Procurement Activity Competition Advocate, CG-91