JOFOC - AxonInvestigate_EXTERNAL.pdf

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD

Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC)

“Axon Investigate Pro Software Licenses”

1. Program Office / Procurement Request:

Office of Research and Engineering, Vehicle Recorder Division (RE-40) Procurement Request: PUR240168

2. Nature of Action:

The purpose of this Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) is to provide documentation that explains why this specific requirement is to be awarded without competition to Axon Enterprise, Inc. for Investigate Pro software licenses.

3. Description of Requirement:

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is a federal agency mandated by Congress to investigate all aviation accidents, selected accidents/incidents in other modes of transportation, and report the results of those investigations.

Axon Enterprise, Inc. manufactures a forensic video player, Investigate Pro, that allows investigators to drag and drop typical and proprietary video formats into the player and accurately play the video evidence. Additional features include but are not limited to, the ability to batch convert proprietary videos to standard formats, organize large amounts of video evidence, identify video timing at the frame level, create narrative reports, and analyze video compression data.

The NTSB regularly receives large quantities of video evidence from security cameras, other digital video recorders, portable video cameras, proprietary onboard video recorders, and videos from cell phones. The video evidence routinely requires proprietary video players that must be sourced and installed on sensitive NTSB equipment, which is difficult and time-consuming for investigators.

Due to the time-sensitivity of NTSB investigations, the NTSB requires an all-in-one solution that can process terabytes or more of video evidence as quickly as possible, regardless of the original video format. Investigate Pro ensures that video evidence can be analyzed efficiently and effectively. Additional features of Investigate Pro include:

• The ability to drag and drop video in any format for playback, and;

• If a particular video format does not play, the existence of a technical support team that can assist with developing a format file that enables playback;

• The ability to overlay a frame number and user-generated timestamp on the video;

• The ability to mark and annotate individual frames in a video;

• The ability to concatenate two or more video files together;

• The ability to extract frame-level metadata (packet timing, packet duration, packet size, etc);

• The ability to customize and save a workflow for typical video enhancements or file conversions;

• The ability to remove audio from a video file;

• The ability for a license to be portable for deployment in the field and not fixed to one computer or user (i.e. a license dongle).

The part numbers and quantities included in this requirement are:

Part Number Description Quantity

100749 INVESTIGATE PRO DONGLE LICENSE 4

The NTSB currently has 4 licenses of Axon Investigate Pro that are set to expire on July 31, 2024.

The anticipated period of performance is for one (1) base year and four (4) option years:

Base Year: June 30, 2024 – June 29, 2025 Option Year 1: June 30, 2025 – June 29, 2026 Option Year 2: June 30, 2026 – June 29, 2027 Option Year 3: June 30, 2027 – June 29, 2028 Option Year 4: June 30, 2028 – June 29, 2029

4. Authority Cited:

FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i), Soliciting from a single source. 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 (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name or industrial mobilization).

5. Unique Qualifications / Circumstances of Requirement:

The software identified herein has been determined to be the only software solution that meets the NTSB’s requirements as a key investigative tool used in the analysis of video evidence during accident investigations. The salient physical, functional, and performance characteristics of the referenced software meet the NTSB’s firm requirements to accurately play video evidence in support of the NTSB’s mission.

There is no other known source that can meet the unique requirements identified in Section 3.0.

Per an email from Axon on June 22, 2023, Axon Investigate is not available through any third-party sellers nor is it available for purchase through any government-wide acquisition vehicles.

6. Efforts to Determine Only One Source:

No publicizing of this requirement is necessary, as the total estimated price does not meet the standards for FAR 5.101(a)(1) or (2).

7. Contracting Officer’s Determination:

I have reviewed the above JOFOC and determined that based on the information provided, it is accurate and complete, the anticipated cost of any subsequent sole source award would be in the best interest and fair and reasonable to the Government.

8. Market Research:

RE-40 conducted Internet searches of various vendors on May 12, 2024. Based on the market research, Axon Investigate is the only software that can meet the NTSB’s needs based on the required functionality and technology capabilities.

The following Vendors were researched and considered:

1) Amped Software

• Not all-in-one tool: would require multiple programs (Amped Replay, DVRConv, and FIVE) to meet the capabilities of Axon Investigate.

• Could not determine if frame-level metadata extraction was supported.

2) Cognitech

• Not all-in-one tool: would require multiple programs (Video Investigator, Cognitech VideoActive) to meet the capabilities of Axon Investigate.

• Could not determine if support was available to develop custom format files for unique video files. The website states, “Cognitech does not provide processing and analysis of MC2 customer’s data and cases.”

The NTSB was unable to identify any other sources with the capabilities to economically and effectively meet the requirements.

9. Other Pertinent Information:

N/A

10. List of Interested Parties:

No other companies/organizations have expressed an interest in this requirement.

11. Efforts to Remove Barriers to Competition:

The NTSB will continue to conduct market research to acquire other sources to meet its requirements.

12. Contracting Officer’s Certification:

The Contracting Officer certifies that this JOFOC is accurate and complete.