J and A FAR Part 6 _W911QX24P0126_Redacted.pdf

CUI Control No:

CUI

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT

for Other than Full and Open Competition - FAR Part 6

Programs/Equipment: U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) requests a service contract for the Vehicle Innovative Powertrain Experimental Research (VIPER) testbed maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair in ARL’s drivetrain laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD.

Authority: 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) as implemented by FAR Part 6.302-1 -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

Amount: $300,000.00

Prepared by:

Contracting Officer: Phillip Amador Contracting Officer Date: 05/14/2024 Email: phillip.j.amador.civ@army.mil

Technical:

Requirements:

Controlled by: US Army Controlled by: ACC-APG

CUI Category: General Procurement & Acquisition Distribution/Dissemination Control: FEDCON

Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition – FAR Part 6

1. Contracting Activity: Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) Adelphi Contracting Division (CCAP-MDI), 2800 Powder Mill Rd, Adelphi, MD 20783

2. Description of Action:

requests a Time and Materials service contract for VIPER troubleshooting, maintenance, and repair with Mustang Advanced Engineering (MAE), located at 2300 Pinnacle Parkway, Twinsburg, OH, 44087. (CAGE code: 0ZV76). The Government projects award for June 2024 and funds will be used.

_X_ An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement either does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i), or is an R&D acquisition and does not meet the definition of services in 10 U.S.C. 4501(d)(2).

3. Description of Supplies/Services:

requires maintenance and/or repair to the VIPER testbed when there is a fault prohibiting proper operation of the system that is located at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG). This maintenance is necessary to ensure the system is running properly and requirements are being met.

System failures are not uncommon, and they require service from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The contractor shall provide maintenance, troubleshooting, and repairs for the VIPER. This includes services through remote and onsite support and materials such as variable frequency drives (VFD), electrical components, mechanical components, custom fabricated parts, and overhauls of existing equipment in VIPER that was custom-made and fit for ARL’s drivetrain laboratory at APG.

Period of Performance:

Base Period: April 2024 to March 2025 Value:

Option Period 1: April 2025 to March 2026 Value:

Option Period 2: April 2026 to March 2027 Value:

Total Value: $300,000.00

4. Authority Cited:

10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) as implemented by FAR Part 6.302-1 -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: This sole-source requirement is justified by FAR Part 6.302-1 -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. requires the VIPER testbed to be up and running a maximum amount of time possible. System downtime is detrimental to ARL’s mission. The high-power electrical equipment associated with the two (2) 1000 hp input motors, 2000 hp mast motor, and 250 hp tail rotor motor is susceptible to failures because of the high-power ratings and demanding loading conditions applied to the Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) while operating a helicopter transmission. The service contract required to ensure the VIPER remains operable must be awarded to OEM, MAE. MAE is the only company with the knowledge and skills required to troubleshoot and fix the VIPER testbed. The VIPER testbed is a custom Army-unique drivetrain laboratory facility utilized to characterize novel transmission technologies within helicopter transmissions. MAE acquired the necessary knowledge through successful design, build, and commissioning of the VIPER testbed with successful contract (W911QX13C0190) completion to deliver the laboratory capability to ARL. The high-power electrical components will inevitably need repair, replacement, tuning, parameter changes, and maintenance actions that only MAE is qualified to perform as the OEM of the Government’s existing custom testbed.

Service by the OEM, Mustang Advanced Engineering, is necessary to complete this contract because MAE has an intimate knowledge of the control software and access to all source code associated with the controls. A third party attempting to fix issues with the VIPER testbed dramatically increases the risk of damaged equipment as well as personal injury due to high arc flash hazards associated with the VFDs and high-power motors. Therefore, due to the proprietary nature of the VIPER testbed, the service and maintenance must be carried out by the OEM. Due to the complexity and mission-critical usage of the VIPER testbed, adequate maintenance cannot be performed by any other source in the commercial marketplace. Additionally, any repairs/replacement of the components of the VIPER testbed may only be carried out by the OEM as the owners of the drawings which includes custom fabricated parts. Even when a piece of equipment is out of warranty, any usage of non-original parts will negate the warranty that is provided by the OEM when a major rebuild is completed on a piece of equipment. OEM parts are designed to match precisely for this highly technical system.

(a) As described at FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), when the supplies or services required by the agency are available only from one responsible source, or for DoD, NASA and the Coast Guard, from only one or a limited number of responsible sources, and no other types of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition need not be provided for.

Proprietary:

Proposed sole source Contractor is Mustang Advanced Engineering (MAE). They have the unique capabilities of troubleshooting faults within the VIPER testbed because they fulfilled the design, build and commission contract utilized to acquire the testbed. MAE used control circuit boards and control software specifically designed for their experimental testbed builds. As such, MAE’s proprietary hardware and software needs to be programmed, repaired, replaced, and/or modified during troubleshooting and remedying faults.

Timeliness:

Due to MAE’s familiarity with the existing VIPER testbed, they will be able to immediately begin troubleshooting rather than attempting to learn how the system works while it is in a faulted state. A third-party contractor may also need to reprogram or rework operating systems or hardware due to integrated MAE proprietary systems already installed within VIPER. Minimizing downtime of the VIPER laboratory asset is mission essential.

Risk:

A third party attempting to fix issues with the VIPER testbed dramatically increases the risk of damaged equipment as well as personal injury due to high arc flash hazards associated with the VFDs and high-power motors.

Based upon the aforementioned, MAE is the OEM and the only company that can provide services and repairs to the existing VIPER testbed and fulfills all of the Government’s requirements. If this procurement does not get approved, acquiring services/repairs from another source, or attempting to switch manufacturers, would lead to increased lead times, and faulty data sets resulting in lost man-hours as experiments would need to be redone resulting in ARL’s missions to be postponed or cancelled resulting in failed missions. Attempting to utilize any other vendor would causing immeasurable delays to current missions and programs, thereby harming the Government and the extensive research and testing that has already been completed. It is determined to be in the best interest of the Government to issue a sole source contract to the OEM, MAE for repairs to VIPER testbed they manufactured.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

a. The Contracting Officer shall publish the notices required by FAR 5.201 and any bids or proposals received shall be considered. An Intent to Sole Source Synopsis was posted on SAM.gov under W911QX-24-Q-0090 on April 29th, 2024, and closed on May 14th, 2024. No interested party expressed interest in response to the Synopsis.

b. Because this is a sole source action, effective competition is not applicable. Any known sources that can provide the requirement will be sought for competitive interest.

However, because this is a sole source action, effective competition is not applicable.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: MAE holds proprietary software required for troubleshooting the VIPER testbed and proprietary drawings which includes custom fabricated parts. Existing MAE hardware as well as strict time constraints completions do not allow for any “learning” in the period of performance of the contractor that could result in delays of up to several months risking mission failure. No other company has the intimate knowledge of the VIPER system to be able to diagnose and repair the system. In addition, MAE would have to share their proprietary software rights and drawings to other firms for effective competition to be considered. Currently there are no other sources capable of competitive consideration by DEVCOM-ARL as MAE is the only source capable of fulfilling the contract in a timely, safe, and cost-effective manner.

8. Market Research: Market Research was performed by

Market Research included contacting knowledgeable people or subject matter experts within the Government and Industry and internet searches.

Market research showed that Mustang Advanced Engineering is the sole source for comprehensive troubleshooting services to the VIPER testbed because they are the company that designed and built the one-off custom testbed facility for ARL. The VIPER testbed facility is made of several complex systems that span a wide range of technical areas. Market Research will be continually performed to survey the market’s capabilities and identify any other vendors who are reasonably expected to submit offers that are competitive in terms of market price, quality and delivery.

In accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 205.205-71, DFARS 206.302-1(d), and DFARS Procedures, Guidance and Information (PGI) 206.302-1(d), a request for information and Synopsis was posted on SAM.gov on April 29th, for 15 days and no party expressed interest in the requirement.

9. Interested Sources: An Intent to Sole Source Synopsis was posted to SAM.gov Under W911QX-24-Q-0090 on April 29th, 2024, and closed on May 14th, 2024. No interested party expressed interest in response to the Synopsis.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History

Contract: W911QX13C0190 Contractor: Mustang Advanced Engineering Period of Performance: 24-Sep-2013 to 02-July-2021 Dollar Value:

Competitive Status: Full and open competition. MAE was selected from a handful of potential vendors.

Contract: W911QX22P0172