JA SPRDL120R0146 Redacted.pdf

Previous J&A SPRDL1-17-R-0511 is available

J&A SPRDL1-20-R-0146

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SPRDL1-20-R-0146

1. Contracting Agency: Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Land Warren

2. Description of Action: The proposed action is to award a new, firm-fixed price, five-year long term Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to Oshkosh Defense, LLC (Oshkosh), CAGE 75Q65, for National Stock Number (NSN) 2520-01- 569-6437, AXLE ASSEMBLY, AUTOMOTIVE, DRIVING (Axle Assembly).

NSN 2520-01-569-6437 is an Axle Assembly used on the A1 Variant of the Palletized Load System (PLS) Tactical Truck.

Army Working Capital Funds (AWCF) will be used for this procurement.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: Oshkosh Defense, LLC (CAGE 75Q65) will provide: Noun: AXLE ASSEMBLY, AUTOMOTIVE, DRIVING, NSN: 2520-01-569-6437.

Manufacturer Part Number(s):

3831541 (CAGE 75Q65)

Government Part Number(s):

N/A

This item is an axle used on the PLSA1 Tactical Truck. The Axle Assembly mounts to the vehicle and allows the power coming from the vehicle's powertrain unit to be transferred to the wheels. Without the Axle Assembly, the vehicle would not be able to move.

The unit price is estimated at each. The guaranteed minimum quantity of the contract is seven each and the maximum quantity is 213 each, for an estimated minimum value of and a maximum value of .

Acquisition Method Code (AMC):

3 - Acquire, for the second or subsequent time, directly from the actual manufacturer.

Acquisition Method Suffix Code (AMSC):

D - The data needed to acquire this part competitively is not physically available, it cannot be obtained economically, nor is it possible to draft adequate specifications or any other adequate, economical description of the material for a competitive solicitation. AMCS 3, 4, or 5 are valid.

4. Authority Cited: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this effort is 10 USC 2304(c)(1) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Can Satisfy Agency Requirements.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: This Axle Assembly is a critical component to the entire PLSA1 fleet. With this axle, the power generated by the engine is carried through the transmission and driveshaft, which then goes through the differential and is ultimately transferred into the wheels, propelling the vehicle either forward or backwards. The axle acts as the mounting point for the wheels and differential and without it, the power generated by the powertrain unit would not reach the wheels.

Unlike other axles that could be procured commercially, this axle has been specifically designed to mount to the PLSA1 chassis and the wheels seen on this particular vehicle.

In addition, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Oshkosh, performs modifications to the 'base' axle to specifically configure it for this vehicle.

The Government does not have rights to the Technical Data Package (TDP) or specifications.

The OEM for the PLSA1 Tactical Truck is Oshkosh. Although Oshkosh purchases a commercial axle to use for this vehicle, it then performs modifications to make it a complete 'dressed' assembly. These modifications are unknown, so while there are other axle manufacturers who can produce similar axles (load rating, size, etc), these manufacturers do not know the exact modifications made by Oshkosh, and therefore cannot supply the part. This axle was designed, configured, and integrated for this specific vehicle, and the risk associated with using an improper axle is too great, so this procurement must be made to Oshkosh.

The Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) Heavy Tactical Vehicle Sustainment Team has estimated that Reverse Engineering the PLSA1 Axle Assembly would cost an estimated minimum of $3,500,000.00 with a lead time of no less than 54 months for:

- Research and Development (R&D), including part design, development, and production

- Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) testing, including part qualification and vehicle integration testing

- TDP development, in order to procure competitively

- Establishing a new source

A detailed breakdown of cost and schedule impacts is shown below.

Action Time Cost

Reverse-Engineer Axle 36 months $2,500,000.00

Part R&D (design, development, production)

12 months (included in 36 months above)

$1,000,000.00 (included in

$2.5M above)

RAM Vehicle testing (5 vehicles at 5000 miles per vehicle)

24 months (included in 36 months above)

$1,500,000.00 (included in

$2.5M above)

Develop TDP 6 months $1,000,000.00

Find Additional Source 12 months -

Total Development Time

54 months $3,500,000.00

GVSC’s contention is that a mechanism to recover their investment shall be demonstrated by the Government before they will consider it. To neglect qualification testing would be a high risk as premature failures of this item in the field could result in a mobility failure which could jeopardize the Army’s mission in a potentially adverse operational environment. Funds are not available at this time for either procuring the proprietary data or reverse engineering the item to create a competitive TDP or qualification testing for a new source. Ultimately, there is a vital need for correct approved components to be contractually obtained under this Purchase Request Order Number (PRON) to maintain readiness and avoid vehicle dead-lining due to supply problems.

The Government would not be able to recover, through subsequent competition, the additional costs involved in reverse engineering the item to create a new and competitive TDP. At the current average usage rate of 34 units each year, a current unit cost of each, and assuming 25% cost savings achieved through competition, the in annual savings would take over years to offset the estimated $3,500,000.00 cost of reverse engineering the item and qualifying another source.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

a. Effective competition efforts: Due to the reasons cited in section 5 above, the Government is not pursuing competition for this item.

SOLE SOURCE: Notices required by FAR 5.201 will be posted.

b. Subcontracting competition: Unless the contract is awarded to a small business, 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 (Department of Defense (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. There are no contractors currently in the process of being qualified as an alternate source of supply for this item.

At this time, there are no current or planned efforts to qualify additional sources due to the fact that the Government does not possess a fully-defined and validated TDP for this item. The source of supply, Oshkosh (CAGE 75Q65), owns the detailed TDP for this item.

8. Market Research: Market Research efforts included:

A Sources Sought/Request for Information was posted on the Beta.Sam website on 2 March 2020:

Notice Id: SPRDL1-20-R-0146 Noun: AXLE ASSEMBLY, AUTOM

NSN: 2520-01-569-6437

Part Number: 3831541 (Oshkosh Defense, LLC, CAGE: 75Q65) Minimum Quantity: 7 each Maximum Quantity: 213 each End Item: Palletized Load System (PLS) Tactical Truck

To date, no responses to the Sources Sought/Request for Information have been received.

Internet searches were performed as described below:

Computer-based market research was conducted by the GVSC Project Engineer during January of 2020. Axles offered by AxleTech, Meritor, Dana, and Hendrickson were reviewed. In summary, there is not enough information to determine whether these options will fit the PLSA1 in the same manner as the OEM sole-source part. Due to the lack of a TDP or in-depth specifications of the sole-source part, the validity of these researched axles for this procurement is extremely difficult to ensure.

Although several manufacturers make products that appear to be similar to the axle used on the PLSA1, the lack of a TDP or detailed drawings for the PLSA1 axle prohibit the engineer from knowing the exact specifications that must be met by a potential alternative. Similar features that other axles offer include: load rating, compatible suspension systems, length, diameter, and other dimensions. However, the modifications that the OEM makes to the axle after purchasing from a manufacturer to complete the ‘dressed’ assembly are unknown. The current axle was selected by the OEM specifically to fit onto this vehicle, and integration/verification testing was conducted for this reason. Selecting a potential alternative that wasn’t specifically designed for this vehicle and wasn’t properly tested will probably result in a higher risk of issues in the field, potentially having negative impacts on both vehicle safety and operational readiness.

If the technical information for the PLSA1 Axle Assembly was made available, additional, specific market research could be conducted and competitive procurement could be considered. It has been verified that the sole-source vendor can supply the Axle Assembly for this procurement.

Links used to conduct market research are below:

https://www.axletech.com/en/products/axles https://www.meritor.com/products/axles/ http://www.dana.com/commercial-vehicles/products/driveline/drive-axles#searchRootId=1cc6c5e8-d343-4928-8f69-4078e55a8865/facets= https://www.hendrickson-intl.com/Truck/Military

9. Interested Sources: To date no additional sources have expressed interest in this item.

10. Other Facts: Procurement History (several contracts):

Contract: SPRDL1-19-C-0224 Award Date: June 2019 Contract: Oshkosh Defense, LLC Contract Value: $2,322,115.14 Competitive Status: FAR 6.302-1 only one responsible source

Contract: W56HZV-12-C-0420 Award Date: June 2013 Contractor: OSHKOSH Defense LLC Value: $261,445.20 Competitive Status: FAR 6.302-1 only one responsible source

11. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name:

Title: Division Chief, Sustainment