Justification_for_Exception_to_Fair_Opportunity_Final_for_Upload.pdf

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity Bridge Task Order: ID07180007

ID07170030: Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity

Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity

1) Identification of the Agency, Contracting Activity, and Document being approved:

Procurement Office: AAS Region 7 Agency: GSA Task Number: Bridge Task Order ID07180007 Description of Requirement: Bridge Task Order for Network Engineers & Specialists (NE&S) support on behalf of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Estimated Dollar Value: $5,899,509.50

Three-Month Period of Performance (base) (04/28/2018 – 07/27/2018) | $2,949,753.50 Option 1 (One-Month) (07/28/2018 – 08/27/2018) | $ 983,252.00 Option 2 (One-Month) (08/28/2018 – 09/27/2018) | $ 983,252.00 Option 3 (One-Month) (09/28/2018 – 10/27/2018) | $ 983,252.00

Contractor Name: URS Federal Services, Inc., 20501 Seneca Meadows Pkwy, Ste 300, Germantown, MD 20876-7019

GSA GWAC Contract Number: (Alliant Contract): GS00Q09BGD0012

2) Description of action being approved:

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii): Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity

This Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity is in support of a bridge task consisting of a three-month (90-day) Period of Performance (PoP) with three (3) one-month (30-day) options (six (6) months maximum) to allow for the continuance of critical Network Engineers & Specialists (NE&S) contractor support currently being provided by URS Federal Services, Inc. on Task Order GST0313DS0001 (also known as ID03120052). The current task order was competitively awarded by GSA Region 3 AAS via the Alliant (Unrestricted) GWAC with a period of performance of 10/28/2012 – 10/27/2017 (a base year with four (4) one-year option periods). In October 2017, Region 3 AAS exercised its final six-month option period, per FAR 52.217-8, extending the PoP from 10/27/2017 to 04/27/2018. The current amount of the task order is $58,270,006.41 for the base and all option periods.

In early December 2017, the DHA came to GSA AAS Region 7, after having moved from the Region 3 area, and requested a re-compete of the requirement. The DHA has stated that due to existing Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs) in the various OCONUS locations in which the network support is provided, the host nations require approximately ten-weeks of advanced notification of the expiration of an existing contract and the award of a new contract in order to incur no lapses in overseas Technical Expert Status Accreditation (TESA) billeting spaces, as outlined by DoD Contractor Personnel Office (DOCPER) which governs overseas contractors. The TESA notifications for Germany requires approximately eighteen (18) weeks of advanced notice. If notification is not provided of the follow-on contract, with contractor names and assignments, then the host nations will delete the in-country clearances of those existing positions and any new contractors would have to begin the lengthy and resource-intensive process of justifying the position(s) to the host nations before being allowed to perform work in those OCONUS locations. By not having an award in-place approximately ten-weeks before the end of the current period of performance of

ID07180007: Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity

ID03120052 on 04/27/2018 (roughly 02/13/2018), the DHA client will incur a break in network specialist coverage on most OCONUS locations due to TESA timelines. The re-accreditation of contractor personnel will take months to be approved and which will leave overseas networks unsecured and without appropriate issue response. Additionally, without a bridge or follow-on task order in place approximately by 03/01/208, all of the current OCONUS contractor staff must begin preparing to return to the United States under the provisions of the expiring task order. This staff return and subsequent re-deployment will be time-intensive and cause an estimated financial impact to both the current and the new task order of roughly $600,000.00, which would have to be absorbed by the DHA.

GSA Region 7 AAS has begun actions to re-compete the current order ID03120052; however, the aggressive pre-award milestones, set in mid-December by GSA Region 7 AAS, shortly after accepting the requirement, require approximately four to five months for acquisition planning, procurement, vendor evaluation and award. This timeline, though aggressive, will not result in an award before the current task order expires, and will not meet the various OCONUS host-country SOFA and TESA deadlines for reporting new contractors and awards, which in turn will cause a protracted loss of critical network support, requiring a timely, costly and resource-intensive endeavor to justify, document and obtain country clearances for new support after the current order ends on 04/27/2018 and the follow-on order is awarded.

By putting a bridge task order into place, the TESA accreditations and SOFA agreements for contract employees associated with DHA network support positions OCONUS can be maintained during the follow-on solicitation timeframe and, once awarded, the new task order information can be given to the host countries in order to streamline the transfer of existing TESA and SOFA country clearances for contractor support employees.

The bridge task order is being issued with a three-month base period of performance and three (3) one-month option periods to allow GSA to end the bridge task order as soon as possible after award of the follow-on task order and the transfer of host country TESA and SOFA contract accreditations are completed. URS Federal Services, Inc., under its order ID03120052 has workers who are currently in-place throughout CONUS and OCONUS locations (listed below in Item 3) who can continue to support network requirements and provide unbroken service at all locations without any new location allowances/moves, with no TESA and SOFA loss of accreditation and with no unique DHA systems training requirements. As such, the DHA client agency requests these services be provided by URS Federal Services, Inc. in order to prevent any degradation in network support.

Circumstances justifying limiting the source:

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A): The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

3) Description of Supplies or Services Required:

This Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity is to support a bridge task for a three-month base period of performance and three (3) one-month option periods, on a sole source basis to the current incumbent contractor, URS Federal Services, Inc. (ID03120052), to provide network sustainment and deployment support services to the Military Health System (MHS) Medical Treatment Facilities (MTF) both inside and outside the continental United States (CONUS and OCONUS) on behalf of the Defense Health Agency (DHA).

DHA’s mission, through the Military Health System Cyberinfrastructure Services (MCiS) branch is to plan, program, acquire, implement and sustain peacetime information technology infrastructure, and to train personnel and provide support services for the MHS centrally managed products to improve and maintain the health of the MHS beneficiaries.

Military health care delivery is heavily dependent upon automated information systems (AISs) which rely on a robust network infrastructure to transport data within and between Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs). Numerous medical and administrative systems use the network including: the Composite Health Care System (CHCS), AHLTA, Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support (DMLSS), Defense Blood Standard System (DBSS), Expense Assignment System (EAS) IV, as well as various office automated and electronic mail systems, suites, and clinical software add-ons.

This network sustainment work includes functions such as network performance measurement and monitoring, assistance with network design and development, network measurement, customer service in the form of trouble tracking and troubleshooting at the Tier 0 level, onsite support for both contractor and Government support teams for escalated trouble tickets, as well as maintenance and sparing support.

These services will be provided in a centralized and decentralized mode. The on-site network specialists will be the primary 24/7 on-call decentralized points of contact within the MTFs. Additional support and guidance will be provided by regional (i.e. CONUS, Asia and Europe) network engineers and the MCiS centralized infrastructure team.

The distribution of contractor staff necessary for this work includes approximately nine (9) network specialists and one (1) senior network engineer in Asia/Pacific MTF locations, five (5) network specialists and one (1) senior network engineer in Europe, fifty three (53) network specialists and one (1) senior network engineer in CONUS. The total FTE count for the requirement is seventy (70).

4) Identification of Authority and Supporting Rationale:

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of FAR 16.505(b)(2), entitled Exceptions to the fair opportunity process.

5) Demonstration that the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited:

There are urgent and compelling reasons for the implementation of a bridge task order on a sole-source basis. The current award (ID03120052) is in its final FAR 52.217-8 six-month extension. The current order expires on 04/27/2018 and requires an approximate ten-week pre-notice of a new task order in order to smoothly transition OCONUS TESA and SOFA accreditations to new contract numbers without losing contractor spaces. GSA Region 7 AAS received this requirement in December 2017 and an award would need to be to be in place no later than 02/13/2017 in order to not lose contractor TESA and SOFA accreditation in multiple OCONUS locations as well as local security clearance for access to myriad CONUS locations. There is insufficient time to compete this requirement, allow for competition and contractor selection, as well as time to transition services without losing TESA and SOFA accreditation and incurring significant contractor network support and move costs. Re-competing this requirement without putting in place a bridge task order during procurement would result in unacceptable delays that will cost the DHA agency its OCONUS TESA and SOFA accreditations in multiple locations, as well as creating protracted vacancies in the support of vital network operations in myriad locations worldwide.

This compounded effect would create an even further backlog in the filling of positions upon award of the follow-on task order as no other contractor has a ready pool of in-place, cleared network engineers in different locations around the world. It is unreasonable to believe that a new contract or task order could be awarded and a vendor brought on in enough time to successfully accomplish this requirement without causing the client DHA agency to experience a significant delay in service. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the government to issue a sole-source task order to the incumbent contractor, URS Federal Services, Inc. (ID03120052) while the long-term follow-on procurement is conducted in order to prevent any degradation in support.

The decision to award this sole source bridge task to URS Federal Services, Inc. takes into account the Government's need for continuity of operations and the potential costs of disrupting operations and losing TESA and SOFA contractor positions across the globe. It was decided that executing a bridge task order to keep in place the previous task order contractor with its support personnel would be the most advantageous and cost effective option available to the Government, price and other factors considered.

In order to maintain continuity of support for the client until the follow-on re-compete project is awarded, the need to issue a bridge task order is found to be the most logical and cost effective alternative to the Government.

6) Description of Efforts to Solicit as Many Offers as Practicable or Exception:

Considering this action is based upon the prescription under FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A), only the incumbent vendor, URS Federal Services, Inc. will be considered for this bridge task order. Robust competition occurred on task order ID03120052 and there is an urgent and compelling need to limit competition on the bridge task order while the follow-on task order is being solicited.

7) Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable and Represents the Best Value:

A quote will be requested from URS Federal Services, Inc. for the bridge task order, consisting of a three-month base period of performance and three (3) one-month option periods. The pricing will be determined to be fair and reasonable by the Contracting Officer before award is made. URS Federal Services, Inc.

will be requested to provide the same levels of services required in the PWS for ID03120052 at the same rates for this bridge task order; these rates were previously approved and found to be fair and reasonable and in accordance with URS Federal Services, Inc.’s Alliant contract. The incumbent task order ID03120052 was awarded to URS Federal Services, Inc. under its Alliant GWAC Contract GS00Q09BGD0012, utilizing competitive ordering procedures for GSA GWAC Contracts, as identified under FAR 16.505.

As services are anticipated to begin in the bridge task order period of performance at the same rates as that of the task order that will end on 04/27/2018, prices have already been determined fair and reasonable at the time of award of GST0313DS0001. However, the GSA Contracting Officer will review pricing and make the determination of fair and reasonable pricing in a written Award Decision Document.

The total estimated value of this bridge task order is $5,899,509.50.

The CO has determined that, under the circumstances described herein, an offer from URS Federal Services, Inc. for the three-month base period of performance and three (3) one-month option periods bridge for ID03120052 represents the best option for maintaining global network coverage and keeping in-place TESA and SOFA accreditations, as well as representing the overall best value (including the level of effort and pricing) for the accomplishment of this bridge task order work. This bridge task order shall be prepared and fully executed by the Contracting Officer upon approval of this Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity. The Justification, in accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D), shall be posted on FedBizOpps within fourteen (14) days of the award of the bridge task order, and shall remain posted for a period of at least thirty (30) days.

8) Description of market research conducted:

The Government intends to make a sole source award to the incumbent contractor, URS Federal Services, Inc. for this bridge task order for a three-month base period of performance and three (3) one-month option periods. Market research, including utilizing current Alliant GWAC pricing tools and historic prices paid on the current order, will be utilized to ensure that the prices that will be awarded under the sole source bridge task order are considered fair and reasonable. Additionally, this justification shall be posted on FBO.gov, in accordance with the requirements at FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D).

9) Other facts supporting the justification:

In order to ensure that this bridge task order is only for the limited and defined period of time described above, the GSA is concurrently approving the pre-solicitation documents for the follow-on task order. This means that the GSA has, at the time of issuance of this bridge task order, all follow-on re-compete documents (Performance Work Statement, Independent Government Cost Estimate and funding documents). Having these re-compete documents in hand reduces the risk of delays and provides assurance that the bridge task order is truly a temporary measure and that a long-term follow-on task order (one year base and four one year options) will be issued in the very near future.

10) List of sources that expressed an interest in the acquisition:

URS Federal Services, Inc., 20501 Seneca Meadows Pkwy, Ste 300, Germantown, MD 20876-7019

11) Statement of Actions to overcome barriers of competition:

The government (GSA Region 3 AAS) utilized Alliant (Unrestricted) competition in the award of the current order, ID03120052. However, as a result of a delay in obtaining follow-on funding and re-compete documents prior to January 2018, which has delayed the start of the follow-on task order, there now exists an urgent and compelling need to award a sole-source bridge task order. The bridge task order has three

(3) one-month option periods after the initial three-month base period, which will allow for a limitation on the length of time and size of the task order to the minimum amount necessary in order to continue services until the follow-on task order can be solicited and awarded.

Based on the above information, it is hereby determined by the signatories below that the circumstances identified in this document are accurate and complete to the best of our knowledge and represent the best business decision to meet the Government’s need. Therefore, limiting sources under the prescription of FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A) is fully justified. Information regarding this requirement was obtained from the Client Agency, and was solely relied upon in the preparation of this Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity.

In accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(9) Technical and requirements personnel are responsible for providing and certifying as complete and accurate the necessary data to support their recommendation for this justification.

I hereby certify as accurate and complete the data provided to GSA, upon which is based and which supports the recommendations made in this Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity for this procurement.

Name, Client Representative, Agency Date

The Contracting Officer and the Project Manager certify by signature below that the information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of their knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer Date

Coordination/Review/Approval:

AAS Section Chief Date

Legal Date

Chief, AAS Date

Acquisition Center Director Date

Competition Advocate Date