JOFOC Al- Track Risk.pdf

U.S. Department 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E.

of Transportation Washington, D.C. 20590 Federal Railroad Administration

JUSTIFICATION FOR

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Agency: United States Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA), Office of Acquisition and Grants Services, 1200 New Jersey, Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590.

2. Action to be Approved: The FRA intends to award a purchase order on a sole-source basis to

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, for “Further Refinement and Enhanced Capabilities of AI-TrackRisk”.

3. Description of Services: The objective of this project is the continued development, refinement, and validation of the algorithms and interfaces in order to enhance the applicability and predictive capability of the current AI-TrackRisk prototype, previously developed by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, for FRA’s Office of Research, Development and Technology under Contract No. 693JJ6-18-C-000011. The algorithms used by AI-TrackRisk are based on Deep Learning architectures that were trained on data collected over multiple years by a Class I freight railroad. Although the results have been encouraging, additional data is required to (1) further refine the algorithms for the accurate prediction of track-related derailment risk for freight rail operations, and (2) enhance the tool’s applicability by accounting for the divergent conditions associated with passenger rail operations.

4. Authority Cited: The statutory authority for this non-competitive action is derived from 41

U.S.C. §253(c)(1), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1, “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements”.

5. A Demonstration that the Proposed Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or the Nature of the

Acquisition Requires Use of the Authority Cited: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, previously developed the AI-TrackRisk prototype, including all related applicable algorithms and interfaces associated with the translation of large multi-year datasets, encompassing track design and rail characteristics, recorded maintenance activities, traffic and operational conditions, and inspection records, into actionable risk assessment information, with satisfactory results, all of which has been funded by the FRA as part of Contract No. 693JJ6-18- C-000011. By building upon this prior work conducted by Rutgers, this will significantly expedite the research by alleviating the need for additional funding and time to re-develop the tool itself. Furthermore, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, already has a formal agreement in place with CSX Transportation and the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) for relevant data in support of the continued development, refinement, and enhancement of the AI- TrackRisk.

6. Description of the Effort Made to Ensure that Offers are Solicited from as many Potential

Sources as Practicable: A Notice of Intent to Sole Source was posted on Beta.SAM on 16 July 2020 with a closing date of 31 July 2020. No responses were received.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be fair and Reasonable: The contracting officer will perform a price analysis of the contractor’s quotation using a combination of the techniques provided under FAR Subpart 15.404-1 to determine that all proposed costs are fair and reasonable.

8. Market Research: There are no other known vendors deemed capable of meeting FRA’s requirement for completing this work as well as Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, without a tremendous amount of duplication of effort. However, the FRA will continue in its efforts to identify alternative or additional sources through peer discussions and other types of research.

9. Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition: FRA is unable to use full and open competition for this purchase order due to specialized knowledge, experience, and implementation possessed by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, regarding the services being requested.

10. A List of Sources, If Any that Expressed, in Writing, An Interest in the Acquisition: A

Notice of Intent to Sole Source was posted on Beta.SAM on 16 July with a closing date of 31 July 2020. No responses were received.

11. A Statement of Actions, If Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any

Barriers to Competition Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for the Supplies or Services Required: The agency will continue to conduct market research and/or advertise subsequent acquisition for evaluation related supplies or services to remove or overcome barriers to competition.

12. Certifications

Technical Requirements Certification:

I certify that the technical requirements and technical justifications are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date

APPROVAL

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve awarding a purchase order to IBR on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 41 U.S.C. § 253(c)(1) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1, " Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements,” subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Date Contracting Officer, RAD-30

Federal Railroad