JA_SPRDL124R0077_Redacted.pdf

SPRDL1-24-R-0077 (JA-00776)

No Previous J&A

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

JA-00776 - SPRDL1-24-R-0077

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

2. Description of Action: DLA-WRN proposes to award a new firm-fixed price contract to Grove U.S. L.L.C (Grove), Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) 12361 or Oshkosh Defense LLC (Oshkosh), CAGE 75Q65, for National Stock Number (NSN) 2590-01-194-9870, Drive Assembly, Turn, using Army Working Capital Funds

(AWCF).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The Drive Assembly, Turn NSN 2590-01-194- 9870, Grove part number (P/N) 2-198-1-00074 or Oshkosh P/N 2CD566 is used on the HEMTT A4 as a mechanical component that connects the transmission to the wheels of the vehicle. The deliverable for this contract is for a base quantity of 7 each with an 100% option, for a total contract quantity of 14 each. The total maximum value of this contract is .

Acquisition Method Code (AMC):

1 - Suitable for competitive acquisition for the second or subsequent time.

Acquisition Method Suffix Code (AMSC):

R - The Government does not own the data or the rights to the data needed to purchase this part from additional sources. It has been determined to be uneconomical to buy the data or rights to the data. It is uneconomical to reverse engineer the part. This code is used when the Government did not initially purchase the data and/or rights. If only one source has the rights or data to manufacture this item, AMCs 3, 4, or 5 are valid. If two or more sources have the rights or data to manufacture this item, AMCs 1 or 2 are valid.

4. Authority Cited: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this effort is 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) 3204(a)(1) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: The manufacturer of the crane drive assembly is Grove. However, the HEMTT A4 was designed and tested by Oshkosh who owns the intellectual property for the truck. Oshkosh developed the system level requirements for the crane and possesses details regarding the design intent of this component. The part is manufactured by Grove based on Oshkosh’s specifications and requirements. The performance characteristics, mounting details, materials, components, specifications, and certifications of this component are unknown. Grove and Oshkosh are the only two vendors who possess the technical data and expertise to manufacture this drive assembly.

The Government does not have the pertinent technical data to enable competitive re-procurement. The Government does not own the necessary intellectual property data rights to the pertinent technical data to enable competitive repeat procurements. The Government does not have rights to the Technical Data Package (TDP) or specifications.

The drive assembly is a mechanism that allows the boom to rotate 360 degrees. The lack of technical data for this component results in little knowledge of the design details being known to the Government. Drive assemblies utilize many internal components that are manufactured with many different materials, so the material analysis that would have to be conducted for the assembly would be extensive. Additional manufacturing details, such as tolerances, would be difficult to determine.

Using an alternative part would introduce technical risk to the performance of the platform’s crane system because the alternative would not have undergone rigorous developmental and operational testing on the production configuration of the platform.

Oshkosh and the Government conducted developmental and operational testing during the vehicle’s design and initial production phases, which justified Oshkosh’s selection of Grove as the manufacturer of this drive assembly. The testing proved Grove can manufacture a drive assembly that meets the Government’s performance and reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) requirements. The TDP for this drive assembly is proprietary to Oshkosh and Grove and is unavailable to the Government or commercial manufacturers. If the part fails, the platform may be unable to complete its mission.

Since the Government does not own any of the technical data, the Government would have to reverse engineer the drive assembly to identify all aspects of the part. Reverse engineering is the only recourse for the Government to increase competition through development of a competitive build-to-print TDP. A reverse engineering effort would include procuring samples of the current part to utilize in defining a drive assembly with the same fit, form, and function as the original by determining material types, dimensions, and internal workings of the part. Then, several prototypes of the new drive assembly would need to be designed and developed. Next, RAM testing would have to be completed. Testing would include accelerated life testing, cold and hot environments, and maximum load operation testing. To neglect testing would be a high risk as premature failures of this item in the field could jeopardize the Army’s mission in a potentially adverse operational environment. After the qualification, the TDP would have to be built so the part could be competitively sourced, and a source would have to be found.

The Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) Heavy Tactical Vehicle Sustainment Team has estimated that the cost required to reverse engineer this drive assembly, based on conversations with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in Reverse Engineering, Test & Evaluation, and Quality Engineering for similar components, would be an estimated minimum of $1,000,000.00 for:

- Procuring samples;

- Reverse Engineering (RE), including part qualification and design, development, and prototype;

- RAM testing, design validation and vehicle integration testing; and

- TDP development, to procure competitively.

A detailed breakdown of cost impacts is shown below.

Action Cost Delay Sample Procurement $50,000.00 1 month Part RE $450,000.00 7 months RAM Vehicle Testing $250,000.00 6 months Develop TDP $250,000.00 4 months Total $1,000,000.00 18 months

The Government would not be able to recover, through subsequent competition, the duplication of costs involved in either procuring the proprietary data or reverse engineering the item to create a competitive build to print technical data package within a reasonable time frame. At the current average usage rate of 4 units each year, a current unit cost of , and assuming 25% savings achieved through competition, the in annual savings would take over years to offset the estimated $1,000,000 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: The solicitation will include FAR clauses 52.219-8, “Utilization of Small Business Concerns” and 52.244-5, “Competition in Subcontracting” 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.

8. Market Research: A Sources Sought Notice was posted to SAM.gov on 5 March 2024 and was open for 15 days. No responses were received.

The Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) Heavy Tactical Vehicle Sustainment Engineer performed the following internet searches on 11 March 2024 to find suitable competition for the Grove drive assembly.

Crane drive assemblies offered by Kone Cranes, Columbus Mckinnon, and Piedmont were reviewed. There is not enough information to determine if these options will fit on the vehicle and operate in the same manner as the sole-source part.

A visual comparison of the drive assembly from the Army technical manual to the researched alternatives was conducted, but none of the commercially available parts