JOFOC - LMS Ceiling Increase - Redacted.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

AMES RESEARCH CENTER (ARC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

FOR LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT SERVICES (LMS),

CONTRACT NO. 80ARC017C0001

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center (ARC).

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the contracting activity is the Procurement Office located at ARC. This JOFOC is recorded in the ARC JOFOC log as JA-FY20-J11.

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a contract modification to increase the potential contract value by raising the maximum ordering quantity of the Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) component of Contract Number 80ARC017C0001, awarded to Lockwood Hills Federal, LLC (LHF), 2553 Dulles View Drive, Suite 700, Herndon, VA 20171, to provide Logistics Management Services (LMS).

The LMS contract is a single-award hybrid contract, consisting predominately of a Firm-Fixed- Price (FFP) portion for routine, recurring services (referred to as the “Core”), and a smaller IDIQ portion against which FFP task orders are issued for services within contract scope, but which exceed the regularly scheduled services in the Core.

Logistics support services required under the contract include supply management; equipment management support; property disposal support; janitorial services; refuse and recyclable materials collection, removal, and disposal; shipping, receiving, mail service center, warehousing and re-distribution; fleet management services; business office support; reproduction services;

and graphics services.

After a competitive procurement, Contract Number 80ARC017C0001 was awarded on June 21, 2017 for a period of five years with a maximum contract value of $31,546,134.13, including a maximum ordering quantity of $5 million ($5M) for the IDIQ portion of the contract. The contract expires on August 15, 2022. The contract period of performance (POP) consists of a 45-days phase-in period, a 23-month base period, two 1-year option periods, and one further option period of 11.5 months.

Subsequently, there were three adjustments to the overall contract value:

- On August 25, 2017, Contract Modification 00005 was negotiated as a result of changes to Sections 4.1 through 4.8 of the Performance Work Statement (PWS); the changes were extended through the option periods. This increased the value of the Core by , and the overall potential contract value to .

- On January 2, 2018, Contract Modification 00009 was negotiated to address a Request for Equitable Adjustment (REA) submitted by LHF to accommodate an increase in rates due to:

higher disposal/processing costs; new California Fuel Tax and Vehicle registration; and higher Subcontractor employee wages and benefits costs for the San Francisco/Bay area. The changes were extended through the option periods. This increased the value of the Core by , and the overall potential contract value to .

- On March 30, 2018, Contract Modification 00013 was executed to reduce the scope of work in section 4.8 of the PWS. This decreased the value of the Core by , and the overall potential contract value to . This is the current overall contract value.

The purpose of this JOFOC is to increase the maximum ordering value of the contract value by from to for the IDIQ portion of the contract. The contract value of the FFP Core portion of the contract remains unchanged.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

The purpose of this JOFOC is to increase the total maximum ordering quantity and total potential contract value to afford the Government flexibility in awarding task orders for services exceeding the original estimates under the IDIQ portion of the contract. The type, period of performance, and dollar amount of potential task order requirements cannot be forecast with great accuracy. However, strictly based upon the estimates for future task orders, and a likely surge in requests for janitorial and logistics services in response to novel coronavirus (COVID-

19) related instances, or other ARC requirements, it is imperative that the maximum potential value of the contract be increased.

As indicated above, the Government cannot predict when or if COVID-related incidents occur on the ARC campus, the task order issued for enhanced level of janitorial services has been extended through September 30, 2021 and may require extension beyond the current period. The previous COVID task order covered ninety-four (94) buildings at a negotiated monthly cost of

The current task order, which addresses only buildings (those with high personnel traffic), has a monthly cost of . If an extension of the current task order, or the issuance of a new one including more buildings, is necessary, a simple 6-month period of performance could cost between $ and against the contract maximum value.

Considering the unpredictability of the pandemic and the fact that California has one of the highest number of cases in the US, it is foreseeable that this task order would be extended.

In summary, the combination of a historical shortfall under the IDIQ portion of the contract (further described in section 9 below) and the impact of global pandemic necessitates an increase to the total maximum contract value in the amount of , so as to ensure ARC is in the position to issue task orders for in-scope work without delay or impact to agency missions.

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(4) – An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

5. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) is as described below.

To reiterate, the LMS contract is a single-award hybrid contract; as such, task orders against the IDIQ portion of the contract may only be issued to LHF. Pursuant to FAR 6.302-1, the incumbent contractor is the only responsible source because award to any other source at this time would result in unacceptable delays and threaten the health and safety of ARC employees, as well as jeopardize the future success of NASA programs.

Failure to increase the ceiling would result in disruption of critical services being provided to the Government. The lack of services would have harmful consequences for ARC, not only because of the services provided, but also because of how they affect the day-to-day operations of the Center as outlined below.

ARC is a vital contributor to various agency programs, such as the lunar and Mars missions, all of which have critical milestones for testing and delivery of key components. The tests must be done on-site in laboratory settings over a prolonged period of time and require multiple personnel. ARC leadership is judicious in allowing people to return to campus to perform mission-critical work; each department has a quota for the number of personnel allowed on-site.

ARC leadership has included LHF personnel performing critical services (janitorial, warehousing, supply management, mail services, fleet management, and refuse collection) in the quota for the Logistics department. The rationale is that the services are mission-essential, as well as safety related, and the contractor employees have been trained in COVID-procedures and hold access badges. In contrast, construction projects are being delayed to stay within this quota and mitigate the need for issuing further access badges.

Additionally, statistics have shown that once movement restrictions have been lifted and people return to work or interact more with others outside the household, COVID-19 infections spike rapidly. Most recently, 30 cases occurred at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after employees returned to work; the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi reports close to 20 cases despite precautionary measures. California has the highest number of COVID-related cases in the United States; ARC is located in Santa Clara County, which currently has a very high amount of COVID-related cases and the tendency is rising.

To summarize, in response to an unforeseen global pandemic, it is vital that ARC is postured correctly to ensure it can meet its mission. In order to accommodate the required enhanced level of janitorial services to mitigate outbreaks and ensure the ability to issue task orders in response to anticipated COVID-19 outbreaks as well as other required services procured via task order, it is necessary to increase the maximum ordering quantity of the IDIQ portion of the contract by

In accordance with FAR 6.302-1 (a)(1), it is determined that the incumbent contractor, Lockwood Hills Federal is the only responsible source that can reasonably satisfy the Government's requirements of the LMS contract and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (beta.sam.gov) was published on August 14, 2020, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source modification to Lockwood Hills Federal. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal for each task order, to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final negotiated price for the contract action is fair and reasonable.

Previous to the contract award, the Government and LHF agreed upon fully burdened hourly rates to be used for services performed under the IDIQ portion of the contract. The Government determined these rates to be fair and reasonable at time of award, and the rates have been adjusted upon receipt of a revised Wage Determination or Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Prior to issuing any task orders, the Contracting Officer will request and evaluate a proposal in accordance with FAR 15.402(a) and FAR 15.404. The proposal analysis will include a detailed cost element analysis and overall price analysis by comparing historical actuals of the proposed price. The Government will prepare a Pre-negotiation Position Memorandum prior to the initiation of negotiations, which will be approved in accordance with FAR 15.406. A Price Negotiation Memorandum (PNM) will be completed to document the settlement agreement after the conclusion of negotiations.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons a market research was not conducted:

The Contracting Officer and Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) conducted market research in support of the decision to increase the contract value of Contract Number 80ARC017C0001 with LHF, based upon the COR's technical knowledge of the current LMS requirements.

As indicated in Paragraph 6 above, the Government posted a synopsis on the https://beta.sam.gov website (SAM), on August 14, 2020. The purpose of the synopsis was to (I) notify industry of NASA's intent to increase the maximum contract value and (2) solicit information about interested sources that are capable of providing the required services. Interested organizations were invited to submit their capabilities and qualifications in writing; however, as indicated in Section 10 below, the Government determined that they were not capable of providing the services required.

Additionally, a JA7 – Market Research Report was prepared in order to expand the market research and assist with completion of the NF 1787 – Small Business Coordination. When conducting the market research, the Government used the Dynamic Small Business Search and NASA Vendor Database to locate potential Contractors, as well as the responses received in response to the synopsis, with the capabilities required to fulfill all of the requirements of the contract. After analysis of the results, it was determined that not a single vendor could offer all the services required.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

When the LMS contract was awarded, $5M was determined as the maximum ordering quantity value for the IDIQ portion, with a maximum of per option period. The is further allocated annually against three distinct sections of the Performance Work Statement (PWS):

$ for work orders authorized by the Work Authorization Officer for services under $3k (Paragraph 5.1); $ for graphics services (Paragraph 5.2); and for services requiring formal task orders issued by the Contracting Officer (Paragraph 5.3).

In January 2020, the United States was impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which could not have been foreseen. When the first case was reported at the ARC campus, the Government was forced to shut down operations as a precautionary measure until the affected areas were cleaned to Center for Disease Control (CDC) standards. This necessitated an emergency task order for deep cleaning services (80ARC017F0002, dated March 10, 2020, in the amount of $ ).

As a proactive measure to support reopening the ARC campus to perform mission-critical, mission-essential tasks and mitigate outbreaks, the Government issued a task order (80ARC017F00007, dated June 22, 2020) in the amount of $ for an enhanced level of janitorial services on a daily basis in high traffic/high touch areas for a period of 6 months.

Should another COVID-related incident occur on campus, the Government would be forced to shut down on-site operations again until the affected area(s) are cleaned to CDC standards.

California is currently one of the states with the highest incidents of COVID-19 in the United States. By not increasing the maximum ordering quantity of the IDIQ portion of the contract, ARC would be unable to support any requests for services beyond those under the Core portion of the contract. This would impact NASA mission critical programs, as the Government would be unable to provide an enhanced level of service and frequency of cleaning as a proactive measure, nor be able to respond to COVID-related incidents without significant delay.

In addition, due to the increase in the number of cases (second wave), on November 16, 2020, the State of California moved the County of Santa Clara into the Purple Tier (Tier One), the most restrictive tier in the State.

The System for Award Management (SAM) Exclusion Summary contains no active exclusion records for Lockwood Hills Federal, LLC. Their latest Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR) ratings were mostly Exceptional with one rating of Very Good.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website (beta.sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above).

On August 14, 2020, a synopsis was posted to SAM to inform the public of the Government's intent to increase the maximum contract value of Contract Number 80ARC017C0001. The synopsis provided instructions for interested organizations to submit capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort to the Contracting Officer. The synopsis was posted for over 15 days with a response date of August 31, 2020. The Government received three (3) responses to the posting of the synopsis:

- One Offeror did not comply with the instructions to submit a capabilities statement and would therefore normally be considered non-responsive; however, the Government conducted research on the company and discovered that they mostly offered management-consulting services. There was insufficient evidence of their capability to perform the services required.

- A second Offeror did not comply with the instructions to submit a capabilities statement and would normally be considered non-responsive; however, the Government conducted research on the company and discovered that they mostly offered administrative consulting services. There was insufficient evidence of their capability to perform the services required.

- A third Offeror did submit a capabilities statement; however, after a technical review of the submitted documentation, the Government was not convinced that the Offeror could provide the full depth and breadth of the services required. The Offeror appears to provide technical solutions to maximize logistics services, but did not provide examples nor demonstrate relevance to the services required under the contract. Additionally, the Offeror did not appear to be capable of self-performing most of the services required, indicating its reliance on subcontracting and/or partnering for most of the required services. Therefore, the Government determined there could be significant risk to operations.

As only three vendors responded to the synopses and none were capable of providing the services required, by default, Lockwood Hills Federal is the only responsible source capable of providing the services required by the Government. It would neither be feasible, nor reasonable, to conduct a separate competition and award, potentially to a different contractor, as this is a single-award contract, and as such, task orders for services within scope may only be issued to LHF. Also, there would be substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements. Should the Government not increase the maximum contract value, ARC would not be able to position itself to respond to task order requests for janitorial/other services nor continue the proactive cautionary measures.

The following three (3) Offerors indicated interest on the Synopsis posted on August 14, 2020.

ELLISON GROUP SERVICES

1680 Illinois Ave, Ste 16 Perris, CA 92571-9379

LEIS CONSULTING GROUP

28364 S. Western Ave. # 65 Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

ESSNOVA SOLUTIONS

1500 1st Ave. N, # 47 Birmingham, AL 35203

In addition to the Synopsys, the JA7 market research came across similar findings, where no single vendor could offer all services required under the contract.

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(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 examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.