N6449818R4036__JA_1_Mar_2019_Redacted.pdf

J&A Number: 0222-18-221-00

P.R. Number: 18-EMB-013

Code: 0222

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

JUSTIFICATION

1. Contracting Activity

Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD), Code

2. Description of the Action Being Approved

Award of an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract with provisions for firm-fixed-price

CLINs for supplies and cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) CLINs for services to support Man Overboard

Indicators (MOBI) Ship Installations. This sole source award will be made to BriarTek, Inc., 3129 Mount

Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22305. The subject requirement is a follow-on to contract N65540-14-

D-0001, which was awarded by NSWC Philadelphia.

3. Description of Supplies/Services

This procurement is for the acquisition of supplies and services for the continued installation, validation and lifecycle support for Man Overboard Indicator (MOBI) systems on U. S. Navy ships. The overall objective of the MOBI program is to outfit each ship with a system capable of alerting the crew to a man overboard event, so that a lifesaving rescue can be executed.

The resultant contract will provide for the acquisition of MOBI transmitters (TX-104 & TX-106), receivers (RX-103), antennas (DF-A101 & HHDF), displays (DF-D101) and associated support services for verification/validation, system grooming, inspections, assessments, personnel training, maintenance and system repairs. This installation and engineering support shall consist of the accomplishment of Ship

Alterations (SHIPALTs), Ship Change Documents (SCDs) and Boat Alterations (BOATALTs), preparation for and during shipboard inspections where the MOBI system will have an impact, system integration issues, Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) testing and provisioning of MOBI hardware to the

Fleet; integrated logistics support (ILS) modifications and one-per-person transmitter testing and evaluation.

The total estimated dollar value of this requirement is $11,445,737. The following is a breakdown of the estimated funding amounts for this proposed contract action:

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER

PHILADELPHIA DIVISION

5001 SOUTH BROAD STREET

PHILADELPHIA PA 19112-1403

Estimated Dollar Value

Funding

Type

FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23

SCN $1,096,115 $1,121,716 $1,118,165 $1,163,338 $1,186,605

OMN $1,096,115 $1,121,716 $1,118,165 $1,163,338 $1,186,605

Total $2,192,230 $2,243,432 $2,236,330 $2,326,676 $2,373,210

This procurement will include a five-year ordering period.

The Government’s minimum needs have been verified by the certifying technical and requirements personnel.

MOPAS Acquisition Strategy Plan #0222-18-221-00 covers this acquisition.

4. 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), “Only

One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements,” as implemented by FAR 6.302-1.

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority

The MOBI system manufactured by BriarTek is the only system capable of transmitting a unique code that identifies the specific transmitters that have been activated. It is also the only system compatible with existing MOBI systems already installed on U.S. Navy ships. This unique code eliminates confusion during instances when multiple personnel are thrown overboard simultaneously and will aid in identifying which individuals are still in the water and in need of rescue. Because of this unique code and other aspects described in more detail below, BriarTek is the only company that can meet all of the U.S. Navy requirements.

BriarTek retains and maintains proprietary rights to the technical data that affect or describe product performance, quality and logistical support. Without these data rights it would not be possible to integrate another company’s system to be compatible with the BriarTek system already installed throughout the fleet. The Technical Data Rights for this equipment are not available to the U.S. Navy, as the OEM has chosen to retain such rights. NSWCPD contacted BriarTek to inquire about the government obtaining the data rights in July 2017, only to be denied via email dated 7/26/2017, which stated BriarTek as a small business has invested a considerable amount of time and effort in development of this hardware and currently has no interest in release or sale of the proprietary data rights.

The SOW also includes labor tasking which requires specialized knowledge of the MOBI equipment and thus can only be completed by BriarTek. This labor tasking includes installation, validation testing, training, and engineering support. MOBI is very specialized and, therefore, it is critical that the personnel working on it have expertise on the system. No other company has the specialized knowledge required for these services as they do not have the required detailed knowledge of the MOBI system.

A change in the manufacturer of this equipment would necessitate simultaneous installation for all U.S.

Navy ships that have BriarTek MOBIs as well as modification to shipboard installations, associated drawings and support material. With the current MOBI hardware that is used, each ship has its own antennas, displays and transmitters, and enables the signal from any transmitter to be received by all U.S.

Navy ships within range. Maintaining the same MOBI product throughout the fleet ensures individual transmitters are compatible with antennas on all ships, thus achieving fleet commonality and compatibility, greatly improving man overboard recovery efforts.

This contract is for the acquisition of supplies and support services for continued development and deployment of highly specialized equipment, including major components thereof, as set forth in FAR

6.302-1(a) (ii) and (iii). Use of any other vendor would result in substantial duplication of cost (to date, over $22,100,000 in development and installations costs) to the Government that would not be recovered through competition.

Even if the proprietary rights issues were overcome, the time required for another contractor to obtain the required authorizations, perform the field testing of the equipment, perform shock, vibration and EMI tests, produce the required SHIPALT/Ship Change records and drawings, produce an approved technical manual, allowance equipage lists (AELs), allowance parts lists (APLs), maintenance and repair procedures, develop a training plan, schedule ships for MOBI installation and other tasks would exceed three (3) years. This time estimate was derived from the amount of time which was required by BriarTek to perform these identical tasks. MOBI is a safety system which provides personal protection for sailors who fall overboard from U. S. Navy ships; as such it is critical to have MOBI installed on ships in as short a time as possible, especially before new construction ships are commissioned and go underway. A three

(3) year delay in implementation of the MOBI installation would result in large periods of time for personnel to be unprotected by MOBI and, given the safety impact, would be unacceptable. Therefore, there are no other sources that can satisfy this requirement.

For all of the reasons discussed above, BriarTek is the only firm who can provide the required supplies/services.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Sources as Practicable

Through market research, a possible alternative MOBI was discovered. This unit is the

This product does not satisfy all of the requirements in the

Statement of Work (SOW). One issue is that does not produce any of the other products required by the SOW and therefore is not a complete system that is used onboard U.S. Navy ships. Additionally, one of the main benefits of the BriarTek system is that when a man overboard event occurs and the sailor’s transmitter is submerged in water, a separate shipboard antenna receives a signal and sounds an alarm, alerting the crew that someone has fallen. does not provide this capability.

A second source was identified for the MOBI units. This product is made by This same product also appears to be made by a different company, This product, designed to be used on boats with small crews, does not satisfy the requirements in the SOW. This product would not be acceptable to the Navy as it can only accommodate a maximum of (a U.S. Navy ship will require anywhere between 38 and 985 transmitters). Additionally, even if the quantity of could be scaled up, it is still not acceptable for U.S. Navy use; countless antennas would need to be installed throughout the ship in order to avoid false positives.

makes a man overboard detection product for the cruise ship industry however it consists of a network of cameras and computer software. This does not meet the U.S. Navy requirements.

The labor portions of the SOW require specialized expertise on aspects of the MOBI system which are proprietary. Therefore, having established that the system developed by BriarTek is the only one that meets U.S. Navy requirements, the only company that could fulfill the SOW labor requirements would have access to this proprietary information, this company is BriarTek.

A Request for Information/Sources Sought was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities

(FEDBIZOPPS) website on August 24, 2018. Additionally, a synopsis for this procurement was published in FEDBIZOPPS on September 11, 2018 in accordance with FAR 5.2. No responses have been received to date to either posting. No additional market research was conducted because it is not practicable, for the reasons discussed in paragraph 5 above, for any company other than BriarTek to provide the required services/supplies.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Costs

The Contracting Officer will make a determination as to whether the costs to the Government for the supplies covered by this J&A are fair and reasonable, prior to award. The contractor will submit a formal price/cost proposal with certified cost or pricing data and sufficient information to support the accuracy and reliability of the estimate. The contractor’s proposal will be reviewed by experienced technical analysts and contract specialists with the aid of necessary field pricing support. The PCO will use cost and price analysis as the basis for negotiating a fair and reasonable price. Significant quantities of this requirement have been purchased from this Offeror in the past and cost/pricing information was received on those past procurements. This information should be sufficient to support the fair and reasonable cost determination of this procurement.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Competition

For the reasons set forth in paragraph 5, there are no plans at this time to compete future contracts for the type of supplies and services covered by this J&A. If another potential source emerges, the U. S. Navy will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible. During the MOBI life cycle, the U.

S. Navy, through its Technical Direction Agent, will work diligently with Industry through the Internet, literature searches and trade shows continuingly searching for emerging and cutting-edge technology that will increase the safety and effectiveness of the U. S. Navy personnel and remove barriers to competition.