HSS - LPTA Justification.pdf

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA)

UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE (USFS)

JUSTIFICATION FOR LOWEST PRICE TECHNICALLY ACCEPTABLE (LPTA)

HELICOPTER SUPPORT SERVICES (HSS) CONTRACTS

This document is a justification for the use of the LPTA source selection process, prepared by the USFS. In accordance with FAR 15.101-2(c)(6), the Contracting Officer shall document the contract file describing the circumstances that justify the use of the LPTA, as follows:

1. The agency can comprehensively and clearly describe the minimum requirements in terms of performance objectives, measures, and standards that will be used to determine the acceptability of offers:

The solicitation clearly describes the minimum requirements for Offer Acceptability, Aircraft

Payload, Safety Management System (SMS), Organizational Past Performance, and

Organizational Experience, which are all used in determining acceptability. These requirements are defined in the solicitation by standards that can be evaluated objectively to ensure that acceptability can be clearly determined.

The USFS has determined that there is a reasonable expectation that best value will be obtained from the selection of a technically acceptable proposal. The requirement is clearly definable, and the risk of unsuccessful contract performance is minimal, as performance will be closely monitored. It has also been determined that these requirements have been stable for decades and are not expected to vary significantly from the current level.

2. The agency would realize no, or minimal, value from a proposal that exceeds the minimum technical or performance requirements:

Payload has been grouped into categories based on anticipated needs. Payloads are categorized to avoid overreaching requirements. These payload categories identify need based on historic usage, and limit the agency from obtaining resources with unnecessary capability, consequently overpaying. While particular aircraft may provide additional capability in terms of payload, because we are able to identify our historic needs, those capabilities are, in most cases, not needed to support the mission and therefore would provide minimal benefits to the program.

SMS is also a critical element of a safe and successful organization. It is the intent of the USFS to ensure providers have sound safety management principles and structure, which increase the likelihood to yield safe, qualified providers. While SMS components are critical, it is impossible to determine the safety of an operation solely by these components. Thus, we have established an acceptable level of safety management components that will provide the agency with a high probability of safety. A strong SMS is a good indicator of a good safety culture; however, a strong SMS is not a guarantee to safe operations. It is difficult to quantify the benefits of one

SMS over another and therefore, we believe the benefits of an SMS lie in good SMS which is where we will draw the line from an acceptability standpoint. The additional benefits over and above the SMS level of acceptability selected by the USFS are difficult to quantify and provide minimal benefits to the program.

Distinguishing the benefits of slightly more favorably rated past performance is difficult at best.

Even if the perfect evaluation was completed, those with more favorable ratings may potentially perform better. However, those benefits would be minimal and would not provide significant benefits to the USFS overall. Therefore, a minimum acceptable level of past performance has been determined at a level at which the USFS believes that more highly rated past performance would yield little to no additional benefit to the agency.

3. The agency believes the technical proposals will require no, or minimal, subjective judgment by the source selection authority as to the desirability of one offeror's proposal versus a competing proposal:

The evaluation criteria and source selection plan are structured to ensure that the SSB can evaluate proposals and make a clear determination as to the acceptability of the proposals.

There are several payload categories covering all helicopters. The payload category is chosen by the Government for its solicitation. When offerors submit proposals in response to that solicitation, they are deemed either acceptable or unacceptable, then award is made to the lowest priced Offeror deemed acceptable.

Offerors are required to provide load calculations with each aircraft offered that clearly show the payload capability of the aircraft offered. The SSB evaluates all load calculations and charts provided to verify the offered aircraft can meet the payload requirements and parameters specified in the solicitation.

All SMS components are evaluated to determine if the company has shown evidence or has satisfied the solicitation requirement in its SMS and has evidence that it is being used. Those numbers are totaled, and the value determines if the offer is acceptable.

Offerors who on average have a satisfactory level of past performance with no terminations for cause (or default) will be determined acceptable.

4. The agency has a high degree of confidence that reviewing the technical proposals of all offerors would not result in the identification of characteristics that could provide value or benefit to the agency:

The agency has been performing these services on a Call-When-Needed (CWN) basis, using the lowest priced company that is available to support the requirement, since the inception of the aviation programs dating back to at least the 1970s. The majority of services will be acquired using LTPA, but the Government has reserved the right to use the tradeoff process for exclusive use task orders. The USFS has received a very respectable level of service and capability under the CWN, which historically has been done utilizing lowest price. It has proven to be a safe and effective method to acquire these services in the past. The agency has no reason to believe use of

LPTA will not continue to provide safe and effective services in the future.

5. The agency determined that the lowest price reflects the total cost, including operation and support, of the product(s) or service(s) being acquired:

Contract awards will be made to all offerors whose proposals demonstrate responsibility, conform to all solicitation requirements, meet the Technically Acceptable standard for the non-price factors, and whose proposed rates have been deemed fair and reasonable by the Contracting

Officer. For task orders, the Government will determine the Total Evaluated Price by multiplying the rate for all requested items times the guaranteed and estimated number of units for all requested years (Lowest [Total Evaluated] Price Technically Acceptable). The total evaluated price reflects the total cost, including operation and support, of the services being acquired.

Background/Justification Continuation

Historically, the USFS has held minimum payload requirements of 3,300 or 5,000 pounds, at the conditions stated in the solicitation, and tradeoffs were made to acquire the aircraft performance desired for the mission (additional payload for price). The current solicitation contains payload categories based on specified conditions stated in the solicitation. These payload categories are narrow (25 to 2,000-pound increments), allowing the USFS to solicit for aircraft within the needed payload category using LPTA. By choosing a particular payload category, the USFS can achieve its desired mix of aircraft capabilities throughout the United States.

The USFS will also realize a cost savings, as the USFS will no longer pay for incremental increases in price to obtain payloads not required/needed by the USFS. Because of these predefined payload categories, there would be minimal benefit in using tradeoffs. Soliciting and awarding aircraft into categories based on meeting/exceeding the minimum acceptable requirements would eliminate the subjective requirements and justifications needed to determine the tradeoffs of payload for price and ensure the government obtains the performance needed to support the mission, all while eliminating unnecessary increases in price.

Use of LPTA will require minimum acceptable past performance, safety, and experience requirements to ensure that companies are knowledgeable at performing the missions contemplated and have the organizational structure to be successful. The government will evaluate the SMS, Organizational Past Performance, and Organizational Experience to ensure that companies have acceptable programs in place to ensure safe and successful performance under the contract.

The solicitations and resulting contacts have required, and will continue to require, applicably certificated and fully maintained aircraft, fuel servicing vehicle and pilot inspections to ensure the aircraft and fuel servicing vehicle are well maintained and meet the contract requirements, ensuring pilots are knowledgeable and skilled in operating the aircraft, and have fire knowledge and are skilled at performing the specific missions contemplated on contract. The pilots are evaluated based on practical test standards for each of the special use missions contemplated on contract. Pilots have significant impacts on past performance and safety, and ensuring the pilots are skilled and knowledgeable to a set standard significantly reduces the risk of accident and increases the likelihood of mission performance.

After initial inspection, the Contractor shall also be capable of providing field maintenance support to each helicopter for extended periods during heavy use. The assigned aircraft mechanic

(A&P) maintains the airframe and engines of the aircraft to meet FAA 14 CFR and USFS contract requirements. This involves tasks such as performing routine checks, inspections, maintenance and identifying faults with the aircraft and correcting those faults. The mechanic is responsible for ensuring the aircraft meets type design and is in a condition for safe operation.

Therefore, companies with acceptable SMS, Organizational Past Performance, and

Organizational Experience heavily reduce the benefits of tradeoffs in the selection process.

In addition to the initial equipment and personnel inspections above, the USFS performs contract compliance inspections throughout the fire season when resources are actively working. These inspections occur in the field and the contractor equipment and personnel are reviewed for continued compliance with the contract. Companies that encounter safety related findings during the inspection may be grounded until the finding is corrected, depending on the significance of the finding.

Together, these strong methods of oversight and contract administration reduce performance risk, and the need to perform tradeoffs. Because performance risk is reduced through oversight and administration, tradeoffs of the technical proposals would provide minimal, if any, benefit to the Government. History has also shown the USFS Call-When-Needed (CWN) program being successful in obtaining safe, effective, and efficient helicopter support services using the LPTA process, and because of that and the information above, the USFS can successfully procure the vast majority of HSS orders on an LPTA basis.

David P. Hershey

Contracting Officer

Steven B. Peterson

Contracting Officer