P03 - Sole Source Justification - AITC Chiller Water Treatment.final signed.pdf

United States Department of Veterans Affairs Strategic Acquisition Center – Frederick

5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103 Frederick, MD 21703

Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other than Full and Open Competition FAR 6.302-5 - Authorized or required by statute

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

This Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition is executed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Strategic Acquisition Center – Frederick (SAC-F), on behalf of the Office of Information Technology (OI&T), Austin Information Technology Center.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This activity proposed is to negotiate a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) noncompetitive award (sole source) action with RJY Group, LLC (SAM UEI: N593JWU6B5A7) 9040 Kirby Drive Houston, TX 77054 for the procurement of Chiller Water Treatment Maintenance on the chiller equipment in Chiller Plant #6, and Chiller Plant #3, pending repair, located at the VA, AITC facility at 1615 Woodward Street, Austin, TX. 78772.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs.

The Contractor shall perform Chemical Treatment Monthly Preventative Services to include the following:

• Contractor shall refer to Trane and Evapco manufacturers recommendations for typical water treatment conditions parameters.

• On-site service visits every month to monitor Chilled Water and Cooling Tower and its associated equipment. Contractor adding inhibitor and liquid biocides as required.

• Contractor shall monthly collect and analyze samples of the treated water.

• Review chemical control of the treatment.

• Report excessive system water losses and other abnormal operating conditions within the limits of test data.

• Contractor to provide electronic report on systems status and chemical condition of cooling tower system and all closed loops. The report will include all the maintenance items that was performed and any mechanical improvements or repairs the Facilities Management need to make.

• Contractor shall closely monitor iron/copper levels in cooling tower to verify that corrosion is mitigated.

• Contractor shall provide follow-up service visit after changes are made.

• Contractor shall verify that all chemical feed equipment is working properly. If equipment needs to be replaced, Facility Management shall be noticed.

• Contractor shall maintain chemical inventory and install to point of feed.

• Contractor shall provide annual inspection of equipment waterside during shutdown with appropriate notice.

• Contractor shall provide same day service for emergency conditions.

• Contractor shall provide annual operator training on water treatment program and associated testing.

The contractor shall be responsible for on-site service visits to monitor, analyze, and chemically correct the closed loop water in the chiller systems.

FAR 6.302-5 JA | AITC Chiller Water Treatment

The total estimated value for this acquisition is $64,930.15

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 41 U.S.C.

§ 3304(a)(5) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302- 5 entitled, “Authorized or required by statute”. The applicable statute is Public Law 109- 461:

“Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006” specifically, the “Veterans First Contracting Program” outlined in 38 USC § 8127(c).

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

VAAR 819.7007 states explicitly, “A determination that only one SDVOSB can meet the requirement is not required,” and that using this authority, the following must be verified:

(1) The anticipated award price of the contract (including options) will not exceed $5 million;

The estimated value is $64,930.15 and does not exceed $5M.

(2) The justification prepared pursuant to FAR 6.302-5(c)(2)(ii) is posted in accordance with FAR subpart 5.301(d);

This J&A will be posted on Beta.Sam.gov.

(3) The SDVOSB concern has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance; and RJY Group, LLC is a registered SDVOSB in the Small Business Administration (SBA) VetCert. Additionally, RJY Group, LLC is familiar with the onsite equipment.

(4) In the estimation of the contracting officer, contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the Government. A fair and reasonable price determination will be made in accordance with FAR 13.106-3(a)(2)(vi), where price reasonableness is based on a comparison to an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE). The IGCE for this requirement is estimated for a total amount of $64,930.15.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is 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.

IAW VAAR § 819.7007 Sole source awards to service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns (b), “The contracting officer’s determination whether to make a sole source award is a business decision wholly within the discretion of the contracting officer. A determination that only one SDVOSB concern is available to meet the requirement is not required.”

7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

No award shall be made until the Contracting Officer determines the cost to the Government to be fair and reasonable. This determination will be based on a comparison of an Independent https://www.acquisition.gov/content/part-6-competition-requirements#i1119843 https://www.acquisition.gov/content/part-5-publicizing-contract-actions#i1120562

Government Cost Estimate (IGCE). Additionally, further discounts will be sought off of the overall proposed price.

8. A description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

In accordance with VAAR 810.001-70, the VA conducted market research that included this requirement for Chiller Water Treatment services at AITC. a NAICS code search of the SBA VetCert database and identified a potential 2363 SDVOSB/VOSB operating under NAICS code 238210. Based on these results VA issued a Sources Sought notice to the Government Entry Point (GPE), SAM.GOV. Two responses were received, RV Global Solutions, Inc. and RJY Group, LLC. RJY Group, LLC was found to be a capable SDVOSB source to fulfill all the requirements of the PWS. In their capability statement RJY described five current VA contracts for Building Maintenance Systems, which include their ability to service and chemically treat Chiller Water systems at those sites. RV Global Solutions, Inc. did not demonstrate that they are capable of fulfilling all the requirements of the PWS and therefore is not a capable source.

A Query was conducted on GSA E-Library by searching the key terms, “Building Management Systems” which indicated that similar services are readily available on existing purchasing vehicles through the GSA FSS. A second query was conducted by searching NAICS 561210, “Facilities Maintenance and Management” which indicated that similar services are available from 85 SDVOSB vendors on existing purchasing vehicles through the GSA FSS. However, no sources were identified that could provide any certification or agreement with Siemens to work on their proprietary equipment/software.

The System for Award Management (SAM.gov) was queried by using the search terms, “Chiller Water Treatment”. Based on the results it was determined that the requested services are available commercially. The SAM query did not identify any additional SDVOSB/VOSBs capable of performing the requested services in the Austin TX area.

A Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) query was conducted by searching for contracts under NAICS 238210 which resulted in multiple contracts and actions held by VA under this NAICS code indicating that the services are available commercially and similar requirements have been purchased by VA before. The FPDS query did not identify any potential SDVOSB/VOSBs capable of performing the requested services in the Austin TX area.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

In accordance with Public Law 109-461, codified at 38 USC § 8127, in order to increase contracting opportunities for small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans and small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities, contracting officers of the VA are given specific statutory authority to award a contract to a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans using procedures other than competitive procedures (i.e. a “sole source” contract). The contracting officer may do so in accordance with

VAAR 819.7007.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

• RJY Group, LLC (SAM UEI: N593JWU6B5A7)

11. A statement of the 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.

All future requirements will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Toward the expiration of this contract, consideration will be given as to whether the future acquisition should be competitive.

12. Certifications / Signatures.

Technical Representative Certification:

I certify that the foregoing justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Wesley Patton Contracting Officer Representative

Contracting Officer Certification:

Pursuant to (FAR 6.303-2(a)(12)), I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Thomas Evans Contracting Officer Strategic Acquisition Center- Frederick (SAC-F)