JA for Redesign Upgrade Generators PSDM (Redacted).pdf

VHAPM Part 813.106 Simplified Acquisition Procedures: Soliciting from a Single Source Attachment 1: Single Source Justification for SAP under the SAT

VHAPM Part 813.106 Page 1 of 3 Original Date: 08/30/17 Revision 02 Eff Date: 03/31/2020

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Justification for Single Source Awards IAW FAR 13.106-1 for Over Micro-Purchase Threshold but Not Exceeding the SAT ($250K)

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C263-21-AP-0022

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 23 (NCO23) for

VISN 23, Sioux Falls VA Medical Center at Royal C. Johnson Veterans Memorial Hospital, Facilities Management Engineering Department, Purchase Request Number: 438-21-1-3535-0003

2. Brief Description of Supplies/Services required and the intended use/Estimated Amount: This justification is in support of a new, single award, Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contract for an Architectural- Engineering (A/E) firm to provide: Physical Security Design Manual Redesign, Bidding Period Services (BPS) and Construction Period Services (CPS) in support of Project Number: 438-18-100 Upgrade Station Generators project at the Sioux Falls VA Medical Center. The approximate estimated value of these services is $97,650.00.

3. Unique characteristics that limit availability to only one source, with the reason no other supplies or services can be used: The following narrative demonstrates that there is only one responsible source Under FAR 6.302-1, due to the substantial duplication of cost to the government, and the time associated with unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s need of constructing this project.

The original design of this project has already been completed under a previous project to provide the construction documents (drawings and specifications) and has been 100% complete and closed;

however, a redesign effort must be completed to include the requirements of the Physical Security Design Manual (PSDM) into the project and to provide Construction Period Services, including construction bidding support. The design for the generators is considered part of the facilities major systems in order be operational. This is a follow-on requirement for continued development of this system and equipment.

The services requested for this acquisition would allow the original design firm and record firm of the current construction documents (Apogee – CEMS JV ) to oversee the redesign to add PSDM requirements into the construction documents without adding additional investigative or schematic services and to provide CPS without going through costly design reviews. In addition, it is expected that no additional liability costs would be passed on to the Government; whereas, if another A/E firm was expected to conducted these needed services, there would be additional costs associated with the liability of having to redesign another firms construction documents and having to provide construction support services (answering RFI, issuing ITC’s, etc.) on a project that was not their own.

The Apogee-CEMS JV Team has been intimately involved with this project from conceptual design phase through completion of 100% construction documents. They have the professional knowledge of the many variable conditions to be concerned with in the architectural, civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical disciplines. Contracting with another firm would be cost-prohibitive to the government and would require countless labor hours to investigate site conditions in order to be able to conduct all new design requirements, including document reviews of documents not https://www.acquisition.gov/?q=/browse/far/13 VHADESMableA Pencil

VHAPM Part 813.106 Page 2 of 3

Revision 02 Eff Date: 03/31/2020 provided by their own firm. It would additionally provide a path for inefficient and substandard architectural practices and increase the overall risk, time and cost to the project.

It is expected that no additional investigative, including site visits during this phase or schematic services will be required to incorporate PSDM into the completed construction documents which is an automatic cost savings to the government of $127,759.79. This amount was spent on the original task order with Apogee-CEMS JV and would not be required if they were awarded this new requirement. In addition, it can be expected that most of the design development can be used with no needed changes except to add the new requirements of PSDM. This is also a cost savings to the government of over $200,000 which was obligated and executed under the original design efforts.

In addition to the cost savings, executing a sole source award to the A/E firm of record would shorten the design process by more than 60 calendar days because they would not have to repeat site investigations and already have access to all previous information provided and collected for the original design of the project. The original task order included 40 calendar days for investigative and schematic design phases and another 90 calendar days for design development for a total of 130 calendar days. By using the A/E of record, there would be no needed days for investigative work or schematic design and only 35 calendar days for design development as reviews would only occur relative to PSDM, meaning that the government would be saving a total of approximately 90 calendar days on the schedule. This would allow the solicitation phase for construction to begin sooner which could result in a reduction of 1-1.50% in the construction bid due to inflation.

Another factor is the administrative cost savings to the government in time and money spent by government employees. By using the same A/E firm, the only internal reviews needed to the redesign would be by the COR and an electrical technician for the PSDM portion of the design. No other stakeholders would have to be involved in the design reviews as everything was already discussed and accounted for on the original design.

The factor to sole source the Construction Period Services (CPS) back to the A/E record of design is due to no added liability costs for services performed during construction. During construction, many questions and requests for opinions or instructions on the design, specifications, and drawings are posed to the A/E in order to provide a clear direction or understanding of the intent back to the construction contractor. Most of these responses and/or instructions can be provided easily by the A/E of record as they provided the plans and design based upon their own independent studies and reviews of the project needs.

Even if assuming a sole source contract added a premium to the procurement price due to lack of competition, it would not equal the cost and time savings that the government would receive by sole sourcing this requirement to Apogee-CEMS JV.

Due to the projected cost and time savings, it is recommended that a sole source procurement be pursued. Continuing to have Apogee-CEMS JV as the A/E of record on this additional requirement for this project will save the government money and allow for a basis of efficiency. It would be costly to have another A/E firm duplicate the efforts already paid for and pay a higher price to offset any liabilities that another firm would be held to for a project that another A/E has designed.

VHAPM Part 813.106 Page 3 of 3

Revision 02 Eff Date: 03/31/2020

4. Description of market research conducted and results or statement why it was not conducted:

Market research was conducted but due to the uniqueness of this requirement, a sole source is being conducted. Market research techniques used to identify potential sources for this requirement include contacting knowledgeable individuals in this industry regarding market capabilities to meet the requirement without duplication of costs or additional time. Previous discussions with several A/E firms were held to determine what, if any, impacts could be had on an A/E firm when executing additional design efforts or CPS on another A/E firms design. The results of the discussions showed that in order for an A/E to perform CPS on another A/E’s design, added costs would be needed for review and understanding of the design and additional liability associated with being responsible for providing information on something they were not in charge of designing. The discussions also displayed that A/E firms are not comfortable with taking on the responsibility without the government having to pay a premium for these services.

Other market research efforts included querying Vendor Information Pages (VIP) for SDVOSB vendors. A strict search for SDVOSB vendors in South Dakota and states within VISN 23 under NAICS 541330—Engineering Services was conducted and resulted in 859 vendors; however, the results showed many A/E firms outside of the strict search area criteria. After filtering, only 33 of the A/E firms were SDVOSB certified within the region of VISN 23. An additional VIP search was conducted for Apogee-CEMS, JV and resulted in an active SDVOSB certification.

Through the aforementioned efforts, several firms were identified that were potentially able to perform the required services; however, it is anticipated that other A/E firms would have to provide costly design investigations, reviews, and increased labor hours creating unwarranted and unnecessary added costs and time delays. Given that it would be highly unusual for another design professional to take on the aforementioned responsibilities, which are generally incidental to an overall agreement for preparation of plans and specifications (i.e., liabilities), it has been determined that soliciting from additional sources would not be practicable; i.e., better use of taxpayer money.

5. Contracting Officer's Certification: Purchase is approved in accordance with FAR13.106-1(b). I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Angie Mabley Date NCO23 Contracting Officer https://acquisition.gov/far/current/html/Subpart%2013_1.html#wp1125466 VHADESMableA Typewritten Text 10/30/2020