ESS AFRRI SSJ_Redacted.pdf

PROCUREMENT SENSITIVE INFORMATION – FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition under FAR Part 13

In accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b), Contracting Officers may solicit from one source if the Contracting Officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available.

Per FAR 13.106-1(b)(2), this requirement is for supplies and services and exceeds the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) but is not greater than $7.5 million and the Contracting Officer reasonably expects, based on the nature of the supplies or services sought and on market research, that offers will only include commercial items.

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity:

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), Acquisitions Directorate

(ACQ).

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved:

Issuance of a sole source award. This will be a firm-fixed-price new contract.

3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including estimated value).

USUHS is expanding its Electronic Security System (ESS) to the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) building. The selected vendor will be responsible for integrating the existing ESS platform components into the AFRRI facility.

All physical access controls and the video management system at AFRRI will be managed remotely from the USUHS main campus Security Operations Center (SOC).

The installation at AFRRI will involve expanding existing PACS and video management systems at designated locations. All installed devices must be connected to the USUHS ESS network.

The project entails the decommissioning of the current P2000 system hardware and servers, along with the integration of the existing ESS to AFRRI. This includes an upgrade of the Microsoft Windows operating system to version 11 on workstations and server version to 2022. Furthermore, the Lenel S2 software will be updated to version 8.2, and the Milestone Video Management System software will also undergo an upgrade, coupled with the implementation of required system configurations. The estimated value for these infrastructure installations is

4. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique certifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

SigNet Technologies, Inc. dba Convergint Federal (Convergint) designed and installed USU’s ESS as well as the entire Naval District Washington platform, which includes Walter Reed and is a value-added reseller. Successful contract performance requires knowledge of the system design and familiarity current USUHS Security Directorate (SEC) infrastructure.

Award to another vendor would likely result in unacceptable operational and contract performance risks. The use of another vendor would likely result in unexpected delays and downtime, putting USU’s ESS platform at risk. If the system is down, SEC must apply counter measures in place such as additional guard force. Additionally, an engineering assessment would be necessary for any new vendor. This assessment would delay award and performance endangering obligation of current year funds and creating unacceptable operational delays.

A new vendor would face significant difficulties understanding the current USUHS ESS infrastructure. They would need to conduct thorough assessments of the existing ESS platform to grasp its configurations. Convergint is currently registered as USUHS's Value- Added Reseller (VAR). To purchase ESS components concerning LenelS2 and Milestone applications, USUHS would need to register any new vendor as their VAR, ensuring they also meet the application product reseller requirements. This will result in a major delay due to the prerequisites to provide the necessary support and products the ESS requires.

Moreover, the use and rights to distribute Lenel is severely limited in the marketplace. To distribute LenelS2 products, vendors must be verified by LenelS2 as Value-Added Resellers and meet LenelS2 Corporation specifications. Failure to meet these criteria would prevent vendors from purchasing LenelS2 products or receiving any support. As noted in paragraph seven, one vendor responding to the notice of intent to sole source withdrew their interest as they did not have the capability to provide Lenel products.

Introducing a new vendor to a High-Performance Computing (HPC) platform would result in additional operational risks. Integration of software and hardware might not meet USUHS Physical Security and Network Operation standards, potentially causing platform failures and network communication losses. The vendor must provide qualified personnel with expertise in ESS network configurations and SQL database modification to support any software patching or updates. Given the operational and contract performance risks, the circumstances of this contract action deem only one source reasonably available.

5. Procedures of FAR 13.5 were or will be used in accordance with 41 USC 1901 or the authority of 41 USC 1903 (including publicizing required justifications):

X Yes No

If the notice to the Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE) will not be publicized, indicate which exception applies:

☐ This requirement is under $25,000. No synopsis to the GPE is required. (FAR 5.101(a)(1))

☐ The following exception under FAR 5.202 applies:

On March 25, 2025, ACQ posted a notice of intent to sole source to the GPE as required by FAR Subpart 5.2. ACQ received two responses. See paragraphs seven and nine for response details.

6. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost/price to the

Government will be fair and reasonable.

The contracting officer will use the techniques annotated at FAR 13.106-3(a)(2) to ensure the anticipated price to the Government will be fair and reasonable. SEC completed an independent Government estimate on 27 February 2025 prior to the 13 March 2025 receipt of the updated vendor proposal. ACQ found similar work performed by the vendor by searching Department of Defense contract databases and found labor rates to compare to the current proposal. ACQ and SEC will also conduct fact finding and price analysis of the vendor’s updated proposal to account for differences between revisions.

7. Description of market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted:

ACQ conducted market research for this requirement using Government contract award data for similar requirements, mandatory sources, and reviews of existing Government-wide Acquisition Contracts. ACQ found requirements for new systems were generally competed but upgrades and maintenance to existing systems were awarded via sole source contracts or as task orders on initially competed contracts. Signet Technologies, Inc. has been awarded competitive contracts and for new systems and sole source awards or task orders for upgrades and maintenance.

ACQ also posted a notice of intent to sole source. Two vendors responded to the notice as listed in paragraph nine. Aspiryon LLC did not provide any evidence of capability to perform the requirement. ACQ replied to clarify the requirement but the vendor did not provide further response. ACQ provided a general scope of work to MCS of Tampa Inc.

(MCS) in response to their inquiry. However, MCS stated they could not perform the required scope and withdrew their interest. The market research resulting from the notice indicated a competitive award is not practicable.

8. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

None.

9. Listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition:

Aspiryon LLC, 7600 Chevy Chase Dr. Suite 300, Austin, TX 78752-1599

MCS of Tampa, Inc., 8510 Sunstate St., Tampa, FL 33634-1312

10. Statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barrier to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

ACQ will continue to monitor the marketplace for electronic security systems, which can meet USUHS requirements. However, competition for upgrades and maintenance to the may not be practicable given the acquisition history of the current ESS and these requirements are logical follow-ons to the vendor who designed and installed the current system. Market research indicated any new ESS can be issued as a competitive solicitation.

Certifications

Technical/Requirements Personnel: