PR 1301034888 - Sole Source Justification_Redacted.pdf

NSWCCD Sole Source/Brand Name Justification SAT rev 1 Effective September 2020

USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION LESS THAN SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION

THRESHOLD MEMO

FROM:

CODE: 611

SUBJECT: Sole Source/Brand Name Justification / Limited Source Justification for Use of Other than Full &

Open Competition for an Acquisition under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)

I. BACKGROUND

1. FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i) states for purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting Officers may solicit from one source if the Contracting Officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available.

2. As required by FAR 13.106-3(b)(3)(i), this memorandum explains the absence of competition for this acquisition, as only one source will be solicited for this requirement (or for a portion of the requirement) and the requirement is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold.

3. This memorandum is derived from Enclosure 3, Department of Navy Simplified Acquisition Procedures Guide (April 2018) and is only applicable to acquisitions under the SAT.

II. DESCRIPTION OF ITEM OR SERVICE (include manufacture/sole source name and address)

The objective of this contract is to procure a robot arm riser and associated on-site installation services to install and integrate the riser with the rest of the NSWCCD Code 611's in-house ABB 4600 robotic welding system (including the part positioner). The purchase is needed by Code 611 to continue support of the ONR-funded program called - The RDD for the riser materials is Nov 11, 2022. Subsequent to delivery, the estimated performance period for completion of riser installation services is NLT Mar 31, 2023.

MANUFACTURER:

Lincoln Electric Automation, Inc.

4600 Innovation Drive Fort Collins, CO 80525

III. BASIS FOR DETERMINATION FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL & OPEN COMPETITION

A. BRAND NAME:

Item required must be a brand name product, or feature of a product, particular to one manufacturer.

1. Restrictive Rights: The source has established proprietary rights, limited rights in data, patent rights, copyrights, or secret processes in the item or service required.

2. Exclusive Licensing Agreements: The item or service is only available from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).

3. Other Reasons:

NSWCCD Sole Source/Brand Name Justification SAT rev 1 Effective September 2020

B. SOLE SOURCE (select all that apply)

1. Restrictive Rights: The source has established proprietary rights, limited rights in data, patent rights, copyrights, or secret processes in the item or service required.

2. Exclusive Licensing Agreements: The item or service is only available from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), or there is only one authorized distributor or technical representative for the OEM.

3. Other Reasons:

The NSWCCD, Code 611 performs research, development, testing, and evaluation in the areas of welding, welding-related allied processes, nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E) and integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) for the Office of Naval Research (ONR), various surface and subsurface acquisition and in-service program offices, as well as NAVSEA Welding, Fabrication, and NDT&E Technical Warrant Holders (TWH). Code 611 also provides engineering and technical support for emergent Fleet needs to include both welding and large-scale additive manufacturing (AM) processes. -scale AM effort is the ONR- - which seeks to advance AM capabilities within the U.S. Navy.

Code 611 requires a robot riser installation to upgrade and enable a larger AM build volume on their existing ABB 4600 advanced welding robot arm system. The NSWCCD first procured an ABB 4600 robotic welding arm over 10 years ago and upgraded it in 2019 - 2020 (contract N0016720P034) to include new hardware systems.

Lincoln Electric Automation (formerly Wolf Robotics, LLC) was the original integrator who installed the system at the NSWCCD and performed the subsequent 2019 - 2020 upgrades.

To achieve a larger AM build volume requires that a contractor customize a robot arm

ABB 4600 robotic welding system and safely performs the capabilities detailed in the PWS. The NSWCCD Code 611 has determined that competition for such an upgrade is not feasible as Lincoln Electric Automation is the only company that has access to the proprietary software systems needed for the integration services for the sophisticated and highly complex robot arm and associated part positioner hardware components.

Since first procuring their ABB 4600 robotic welding system, the NSWCCD Code 611 has trained five employees to use it at a cost of over in direct training, and over in indirect on-the-job training hours for various projects since its installation and upgrade in 2019-2020. Code 611 has estimated that should they not be able to improve their existing an upgrade, the cost to replace the entire ABB 4600 robot arm, part positioner, and associated hardware and software would exceed .

In summary, an award to a company other than Lincoln Electric would result in (a) substantial duplication of costs to the U.S. Navy, which would not be recovered through competition, and (b) unacceptable delays in the completion of welding and AM fabrication in support of ONR programs.

IV. CERTIFICATIONS & APPROVALS

A. Technical/Requirements Certification: I certify that the facts and representation under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.