JA_SPRDL122R0080_Redacted.pdf

SPRDL1-22-R-0080 (JA-00490)

Previous J&A is not available handheld Spectrometer is designed to determine the composition of unknown solid and liquid substances. It can accurately identify a wide variety of organic and inorganic compounds, including petroleum products, pesticides, fertilizers, plastics, chemical weapons, explosives, and propellants, both legal and illicit drugs, and many others. The Thermo Scientific Spectrometer is equipped with a software version and modification that is specific to the DR SKO. The modification to the software is done by inserting a microSD card, which is only compatible with the Thermo Scientific Spectrometer.

Thermo Scientific's design passed all necessary Government testing and verification during the original design and production phases. This included chemical agent testing, physical property testing, and user evaluations.

While the Government has access to the TDP, the Spectrometer drawing is a source-controlled drawing with Thermo Scientific as the only approved source of supply. The Thermo Scientific Spectrometer is equipped with a software version and modification that is specific to the DR SKO system. The software modification is done by inserting a microSD card that is compatible with the Thermo Scientific Spectrometer only.

Therefore, Thermo Scientific is the only contractor with the quality testing capabilities, production facility, and internal configuration controls necessary to accurately assess and repair the Spectrometer.

The Government estimates the total time to reverse engineer a competitive TDP would be approximately six years. This is due to the time required for a reverse engineering effort to obtain the necessary information to develop a competitive TDP, identify and award a contract to build prototypes, and conduct necessary testing to verify that the prototypes function appropriately. It would cost the Government approximately $30M to reverse engineer. Of that $30M, $14.4M would go towards developing engineering designs, building computer and mock-up models, verifying component fit and function, and acquiring prototypes through competitive procurements. $9.6M would be used to perform functional, operational, and compatibility testing, and for necessary engineering redesign or refinements to arrive at the final design. The remaining $6M would be used to develop a TDP and final design repair processes for competitive procurement.

Without the original technical data, the limited knowledge about the Spectrometer would make it extremely difficult for a reverse engineering effort, resulting in very high costs for functions such as engineering design, modeling, prototype development, and testing;

hence no other viable source can be identified at this time.

The Government would not be expected to recover, through subsequent competition, the additional costs involved in either procuring the proprietary data or reverse engineering the item to create a competitive build to print TDP within a reasonable time frame. At the current average usage rate of units each year, a current unit cost of $ and assuming % savings achieved through competition, the $ in annual savings would take approximately to offset the estimated $30M cost of reverse engineering the item and qualifying another source.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

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

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 (DoD Contracts)," to maximize small business opportunities and utilization.

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

7. Actions to Increase Competition: There are no known funding efforts in progress at this time to develop the competitive technical data required to make the Spectrometer fully competitive. Thermo Scientific stated on 08 June 2022 that the technical data used to produce the Spectrometer is not for sale. Since the technical data to produce the Raman Spectrometer is not for sale, it would take approximately six years and $30M to reverse engineer and develop competitive technical data. There are no plans to increase competition for future procurements due to the reasons cited above.

8. Market Research: A Sources Sought Notice was posted to SAM.gov on 21 April 2022 and was open for 15 days. Five responses from vendors were received in response to the Sources Sought Notice posted on SAM and the details are listed in section 9 below.

The DEVCOM CBC-RI Engineer on the Contamination Avoidance Team contacted Thermo Scientific (CAGE 392A9) on 08 September 2021 to verify that Thermo Scientific is still manufacturing the Spectrometer. A response received on 08 September 2021 confirmed product availability.

The following two websites were found that had comparable instruments:

(1) Keywords: handheld raman spectrometer

Website: https://www.bruker.com/en/products-and-solutions/infrared-and-raman/raman-spectrometers/bravo-handheld-raman-spectrometer.html

Findings: The Handheld Raman BRAVO from Bruker is not feasible for usage because it does not appear to have a place to insert a microSD card. As mentioned previously, the microSD card modifies the software, making it specific to the DR SKO.

(2) Keywords: handheld raman analyzer

Website: https://www.agilent.com/en/product/molecular-spectroscopy/raman-spectroscopy/handheld-raman-chemical-detection-systems/resolve-handheld-raman-analyzer-for-through-barrier-chemical-identification#howitworks

Findings: The Agilent Resolve Handheld Raman Analyzer is not feasible for usage because it does not appear to have a place to insert a microSD card. As mentioned previously, the microSD card modifies the software, making it specific to the DR SKO.

The DEVCOM CBC-RI Engineer contacted Thermo Scientific to request consideration for the U.S. Government to purchase the intellectual property. Thermo Scientific stated on 08 June 2022 that the technical data used to produce the Spectrometer is not for sale.

9. Interested Sources: Five responses from vendors were received in response to the Sources Sought Notice posted on SAM and are listed below.

1. Rigaku Analytical Devices (Rigaku) notified the Contract Specialist of their interest in supplying this Chemical Detector kit on 25 April 2022. According to Rigaku, their ResQ Raman unit is currently used in the DR SKO program, and recently their ResQ CQL unit was approved by the DR SKO System Modernization Program. The Contract Specialist notified both Engineering and ILSC of this claim on 11 May 2022. Rigaku is an approved source for Spectrometer kits on certain variations of the DR SKO, but not on this particular variant. The Thermo Scientific Spectrometer is still the approved source for the other variations of the DR SKO, including the units that are being supported by this requirement.

2. Scintrex Trace Corp notified the Contract Specialist of their interest in becoming a potential supplier of this Chemical Detector on 25 April 2022. The Contract Specialist notified the US Army Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) Competition Management Office of this inquiry. Scintrex Trace Corp responded on 26 April 2022 that they would be interested in learning more about the source approval process to become a potential source of supply in the future.

3. Autoclear notified the Contract Specialist of their interest in becoming a potential supplier of this Chemical Detector on 04 May 2022. The Contract Specialist notified the TACOM Competition Management Office of this inquiry.

4. Agilent Technologies notified the Contract Specialist of their interest in becoming a potential supplier of this Chemical Detector on 06 May 2022. The Contract Specialist notified the TACOM Competition Management Office of this inquiry.

5. The JGW Group notified the Contract Specialist of their interest in becoming a potential supplier of this Chemical Detector on 06 May 2022. The Contract Specialist notified the TACOM Competition Management Office of this inquiry. The JGW Group responded on 12 May 2022 that they would be interested in learning more about the source approval process to become a potential source of supply in the future.