SafeStart_Single_Source_Justification_signed_Redacted_1.pdf

Single Source Justification Western Area Power Administration

FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), Simplified Acquisitions

RMR SafeStart Training

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting office.

Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), Rocky Mountain Region (RMR), J1500 - Procurement, 5555 E. Crossroads Blvd., Loveland, CO 80538.

2. Description of supply or service required to meet the agency’s needs.

This acquisition is to establish a sole source Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with Electrolab Limited, doing business as: Electrolab Training Systems (Electrolab), as a strategic sourcing contract vehicle to provide WAPA-Wide SafeStart training services and materials, including SafeStart 3- DayTrain-the-Trainer instructor-led sessions, SafeStart Half-Day Employee Overview instructor-led sessions and SafeStart materials including Core Units and DVDs.

3. The rationale or circumstances for limiting competition.

SafeStart is a registered trademark of Electrolab. The safety training program was developed, and is also still owned by Electrolab, out of Belleville, Ontario, Canada and is the only known source in the United States for providing SafeStart training.

Electrolab has provided SafeStart training throughout WAPA including at the Desert Southwest Region (DSW) in 2006, followed by training at the Sierra Nevada Region (SNR) in 2007, RMR in 2007 (and again later in 2009), and the Upper Great Plains Region (UGP) in 2008. Electrolab has tailored a training program toward WAPA and the electrical utility industry that is based on past accident history.

It would be neither cost effective nor timely for another Contractor to develop a safety training program tailored to WAPA’s needs. This SafeStart training program will provide uniformity and consistency in WAPA-wide safety culture.

SafeStart focuses on personal safety skills and awareness training and puts an emphasis on the human factors that are involved in safety accidents. Knowing and performing the SafeStart process reduces injuries both on and off the job. SafeStart also offers a “train-the-trainer” course which will enable a number of WAPA employees to become certified trainers. This allows our agency to have our own internal SafeStart training sessions in the future, which provides more convenient and flexible training schedules, and is more cost efficient.

4. A description of the Market Research (MR) conducted and the results or a statement of the reason MR was not conducted.

Internet research was conducted, and although there are other types of work safety programs/training available, SafeStart is the recommended source, as explained in detail above. SafeStart training is not available on General Services Administration’s (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) and is therefore an open market item. Electrolab is the only source found in North America to provide SafeStart training instructors. There are other SafeStart international contacts on Electrolab’s website, under “Global Capabilities,” but for USA/Canada customers it states to contact them directly.