JA-00484_Redacted.pdf

CMO Control #: 2023-009

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Agency: The Army Contracting Command-Detroit Arsenal (ACC-DTA) is the contracting activity.

2. Description of Action: ACC-DTA proposes to award a new five-year, Firm-Fixed- Price service repair Requirements contract to Kollmorgen Corporation, Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) 11384, for National Stock Number (NSN) 3010-01-373- 5945, Actuator, Electro-Mechanical, Linear, (Travel Lock Actuator), using Army Working Capital Funds (AWCF).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The service repair to be performed under the proposed contract is on a Travel Lock Actuator used on the M109A6 Paladin and M109A7 Self-Propelled Howitzer.

Repair may include unpacking, disassembly, inspection, diagnosis, removal and replacement of subassemblies and component parts, reassembly, cosmetic work (i.e. paint touch ups or replacement of cable ports to prevent further deterioration or functionality interference), calibration, final testing and inspection, and packing for shipment.

The total contract value is estimated at $2,777,922.00 for the service repair of an estimated maximum quantity of 425 EA. The deliverables for this contract are as follows:

a. Noun: Actuator, Electro-Mechanical, Linear, (Travel Lock Actuator)

b. National Stock Number: 3010-01-373-5945

c. Manufacturer Part Number: 12361513

d. Initial Repair Quantity: 30 EA

e. Estimated Maximum Quantity: 425 EA

f. Estimated Unit Repair Price: $6,536.29

g. Estimated Maximum Value: $2,777,922.00

4. Authority Cited: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this action is Title 10 United States Code (USC), Section 3204(a)(1), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1(a)(2), which provides, “When the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source, or, for DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, from only one or a limited number of responsible sources, and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition need not be provided for.” In accordance with 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), “services may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in - (A) Substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition; or (B) Unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s

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Equipment capabilities, limitations, and vulnerabilities

Readiness and vulnerability assessment

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requirements.”

5. Reason for Authority Cited: Kollmorgen is the only source approved to repair the Travel Lock Actuator. Kollmorgen has a confidential proprietary validated repair process and is the only entity with that repair process technical data. The Government does not have possession of the Travel Lock Actuator technical data to enable a competitive procurement.

On 13 April 2022, Kollmorgen was contacted to request consideration for the U.S.

Government to purchase the intellectual property, but they refused.

The Travel Lock Actuator is a critical component of the M109 system.

Kollmorgen has a confidential proprietary validated repair process which meets all unique characteristics in the areas of performance, design, construction, operations in various environmental conditions, and vehicle system testing.

As authorized by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(A),(B), procurement by other than full and open competition is necessary because Kollmorgen is the only source with a proven process to repair the Travel Lock Actuator. Funding another company to develop another repair process for the Travel Lock Actuator will be cost prohibitive and cause undue delay.

Substantial Duplication of Cost: To compete this service, the Government would need to provide Travel Lock Actuator technical data. The Government requested to purchase the technical data and associated rights for the Actuator, Electro-Mechanical, Linear, (Travel Lock Actuator) from Kollmorgen, and Kollmorgen declined. The below table shows the activities required, along with their associated timing/costs for a new vendor to be validated as a source for competitive procurement. These are engineering estimates based on previous efforts of this nature performed by the Government.

These include but are not limited to cost estimates to develop TDPs, historical data of vehicle/component testing, and time/cost to acquire parts for said testing. Due to the function of the part, on-vehicle testing is required. Testing would require scheduling a window of time at an Army test center and must meet all requirements on the part drawing.

Reverse Engineering 6 Months $300K

Obtain part samples 2 Months $20K

Develop Repair Process 6 Months $250K

Repair of parts 2 Months $100K

Component testing 4 Months $250k

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Equipment capabilities, limitations, and vulnerabilities readiness and vulnerability assessment

Vehicle testing 12 Months $1M

TOTAL 32 Months $1.92M

The Government would not be expected to recover, through subsequent competition, the costs involved in either procuring the proprietary data or reverse engineering the item to create a competitive build to print technical data package and repair process within a reasonable time frame. At the current usage rate of 120 units per year, at the current unit repair cost of $6,536.29, and assuming the 25% saving achieved through competition, the $196,088.70 annual savings would take 10 years to offset the estimated $1.92M cost of developing a repair process.

Unacceptable Delays: As identified in the chart above, developing a new repair process would take six months, whereas the entire process for a new source to be validated would take 32 months. The vehicle level testing would be conducted at an Army test site due to the limited availability of test vehicles and expenses associated with performing such tests, which adds significant schedule delays. We need the item immediately since there are zero on hand with 55 backorders and a current average monthly demand of

10. If these M109A6 Paladins and M109A7 Self-Propelled Howitzers cannot be repaired, it will bring harm to the solider since these vehicles will remain Non-Mission Capable without the Travel Lock Actuator and will cause a delay in fielding making it impossible for the soldier to properly train and adequately prepare for field use.

Moreover, multiple depot programs will be negatively affected. If the depot cannot obtain Travel Lock Actuators for their vehicle programs, it will cause a production shutdown.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

a. Effective competition: Due to the reasons cited in section 5 above we are not pursuing competition for this item. This action will be synopsized in accordance with FAR 5.201 any bids or proposals will be considered.

b. Subcontracting competition: The solicitation and resulting contract will include

FAR clauses 52.219-8, "Utilization of Small Business Concerns"; 52.244-5, "Competition in Subcontracting"; 52.219-16, "Liquidated Damages-- Subcontracting Plan";" and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.219-7003, "Small Business Subcontracting Plan (DoD Contracts)," to maximize small business opportunities and utilization.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: There are no plans to increase competition for future procurements due to the reasons cited above. However, the marketplace will continue to be surveyed in search of competitors who can perform this same type of work.

8. Market Research: A Sources Sought Notice was posted to www.SAM.gov on 13 April 2022 and closed on 26 April 2022. The response received from Triman Industries is outlined below.

On 14 April 2022, Triman Industries expressed interest in the Sources Sought notice stating it can produce part number 12361513. On 16 May 2022, Triman explicitly stated it can support a supply requirement for this item but are unable to perform the necessary service repairs. All repairs must be done by Kollmorgen because it has a confidential proprietary validated repair process, and no other entity possesses this capability.

In addition to the sources sought notice, an internet-based search was performed by the Engineering Support Activity (ESA) in March 2022. According to the websites below, none of the vendors appear to perform repair functions for this part. Vendors only sell new products.

1. https://www.firgelliauto.com/collections/24v-linear-actuators/products/feedback-rod-actuator

2. https://www.firgelliauto.com/collections/24v-linear-actuators/products/heavy-duty-track-actuator

3. https://www.grainger.com/category/power-transmission/linear-motion/linear-actuators?attrs=Stroke+Length%7C4%22~~Voltage%7C24VDC&filters=attrs

4. https://www.thomsonlinear.com/en/products/linear-actuators-products

9. Interested Sources: To date, only one source, Triman Industries, expressed interest in this item but are unable to support this service repair requirement.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History:

i. Contract Number: W56HZV-19-C-0025 Awarded: 08 November 2018 Awardee: Kollmorgen Corporation Contract Value: $1,246.875.00 Competitive Status: FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(B)

ii. Contract Number: W56HZV-17-C-0002 Awarded: 06 December 2016 Awardee: Kollmorgen Corporation Contract Value: $575,558.00 Competitive Status: FAR 6.302-1

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