IP1001D - JOFOC Form (F1001A) LIMS FY26 Revised BEL (002) posting.pdf

Consumer Product Safety Commission Revised: 5/06/19 Office of Procurement Services Reviewed/Current 5/06/19

Form F1001A - Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition

1. Requisition number and title: CPS-2240-26-0083 LabVantage LIMS Software Subscription and LabVantage Flex

2. Description of the Supplies and Services Required:

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requires comprehensive, high-level Operations and Maintenance (O&M) support for the LabVantage Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) and LabVantage Flex subscription. This system is the primary data repository and workflow engine for the National Product Testing and Evaluation Center

(NPTEC).

The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, and resources necessary to perform the following seven (7) core functional areas:

1. System Administration and Monitoring: Proactive daily oversight of the production environment, including management of the integrated ticket logging system to ensure 99.9% system availability.

2. System Interface Monitoring: Real-time monitoring of inbound and outbound data alerts. This ensures uninterrupted data flow between the LIMS and external testing hardware/databases, preventing data loss or latency in product safety reporting.

3. Installation and Patch Management: Execution of critical software updates and security patches, specifically for the LabVantage core application and underlying middleware (e.g., JBOSS).

4. Validation Testing and Documentation: Full lifecycle support for validation efforts.

This includes the preparation of technical documentation and the coordination of validated environments to comply with federal data integrity and laboratory standards.

5. Defect Remediation (Bug Fixing): Identification and resolution of software "bugs" or glitches within the proprietary configuration and project-specific code to maintain system stability.

6. Environment Synchronization and Maintenance: Management of all project code to ensure perfect synchronization across the tiered environment architecture, including Development (Test), Quality Assurance (QA), and Production.

7. System Optimization and Upgrades: Ongoing performance tuning, functional enhancements, and major version upgrades to ensure the LIMS evolves with NPTEC’s changing testing requirements over the 5-year period.

3. Period of Performance: September 27, 2026 to September 26, 2031

4. Estimated Value (to include options): $908,653.87

5. In 2026, CPSC reviewed the current market for LIMS O&M providers. While other LIMS vendors exist, none can provide the specific proprietary patches or 'Flex' subscription support required for the existing LabVantage architecture without a total system replacement. It was determined that a new competitive solicitation would result in a substantial duplication of costs that would not be recovered through competition

6. Reason for Other Than Full and Open Competition (check one):

X a. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. In section 7, justify why only the selected source and no other can meet the government’s need. Past performance and industry reputation do not explain why only one source can meet the government’s need.

b. Only a particular Brand Name item can meet the Government’s need. In section 7, justify why only the particular brand of item and no others can meet the government’s needs.

c. Unusual and compelling urgency. In section 7, justify why the event could not have reasonably been planned for and why the Government would be seriously injured if sources are not limited.

d. Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services. In section 7, justify one of the following:

i. Why a contract must be awarded to maintain a facility, producer, manufacturer, supplier, or service provider in case of a national emergency;

ii. Why CPSC needs to maintain essential research and development capability;

or

iii. Why CPSC needs to acquire services of an expert or neutral person for any current or anticipated litigation or dispute.

e. International agreement. In section 7, please provide the name of the International Agreement.

f. Authorized or required by statute. In section 7, please provide the name and/or citation of the Statute. FAR 6.302-5(b) provides a list of the most frequently cited statutes.

g. National security.

h. Public interest (must be approved by Chairman).

7. Justification for sole source (not competing the requirements):

LabVantage LIMS is a highly specialized, proprietary commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software suite. LabVantage Solutions, Inc. maintains exclusive rights to the source code, system architecture, and specific "Flex" subscription modules currently integrated into the NPTEC environment. CPSC does not own the technical data rights or “right-to-repair" the software.

Consequently, only LabVantage—or its specifically authorized technicians—can access the core code to perform the bug fixing, patch installations, and system synchronization required in Section 2. Because LabVantage owns the proprietary rights to how their software interacts with the JBOSS middleware, a third party cannot patch the system without risking a total system failure or voiding the software warranty.

NPTEC has utilized LabVantage as its primary LIMS since 2017. A transition to a different platform or a third-party support vendor (if one were even legally permitted to operate on the proprietary code) would require:

1. Data Migration: Estimated costs to migrate nearly a decade of product testing data into a new schema exceed the total value of this 5-year award.

2. Customization and Integration: The current system is tailored to NPTEC’s specific testing workflows (e.g., product safety benchmarks). Replicating these configurations in a different system would result in a redundant expenditure of approximately $908,653.87 in initial implementation costs.

Mission continuity at NPTEC is critical to consumer safety. The time required to solicit, award, and implement a replacement LIMS—including the mandatory System Validation and Verification (V&V) period—is estimated at 18 to 24 months. During this window, CPSC would face a significant risk of system downtime or data corruption, directly impacting the agency's ability to identify and mitigate harmful consumer products.

The CPSC will continue to monitor the LIMS market for emerging 'open-architecture' solutions that may offer similar capabilities in the future. Prior to the expiration of this 5-year term, the government will conduct an updated Market Research survey to determine if the proprietary barriers still exist or if the cost of migration has decreased enough to make competition viable.

8. Insert contractor name, address and telephone number:

LabVantage 265 Davidson Ave Suite 220 Somerset, NJ 08873

Form F1001A - Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition