Signed_J A.pdf

U.S. Department 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E.

of Transportation Washington, D.C. 20590

Federal Railroad Administration

JUSTIFICATION FOR

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

FRA ATIP 6-MONTH CONTRACT EXTENSION MODIFICATION

1. Contracting Agency: United States Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Office of Acquisition Services, 1200 New Jersey Ave SE., RAD-30, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

2. Action to be Approved: The FRA intends to negotiate a hybrid firm-fixed price FFP/cost plus fixed-fee (CPFF) 6-month contract extension in order to carry out the Automated Track Inspection Program (ATIP) under circumstances permitting other than full and open competition.

3. Description of the Services: The FRA owns seven rail bound geometry cars as part of the ATIP fleet which is equipped with state-of-the-art inspection technologies to effectively and efficiently measure track geometry dynamically for identification of unsafe track geometry noncompliance that requires remediation.

FRA administers the ATIP contract whereby a contractor operates and maintains FRA geometry cars, as designated in accordance with the Statement of Work. Additionally, the contractor coordinates with FRA for improving processes and procedures to make the ATIP program more efficient and effective in order to maximize its resources available for accomplishing ATIP goals.

The independent government cost estimate for this 6-month extension is $4,700,000.00 for Task Orders 1-11. As result of the extension, the total ceiling amount for the ATIP contract will not increase. The estimated $4.7M represents a 6-month prorated amount based on the Option Year III pricing.

4. Authority Cited: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition of these services is contained in 41 U.S.C. § 253(c)(1) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302.1, "Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements" [48 C.F.R. 6.302-1 (2015)].

ENSCO, Inc. located at 5400 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22151, is the only qualified, responsible vendor capable of meeting the current ATIP requirement.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: The current ATIP contract expires on 31 August 2016. The expiration date was established using the “Option to Extend Services” FAR clause included in the contract, which allowed for a one-time 6-month period of performance extension to the contract at the rates in effect at the time of the extension.

It was originally FRA’s plan to have the new ATIP contract begin on 1 September 2016; however, the acquisition planning process has taken longer than originally anticipated due to reassessing the overall ATIP program and the long terms goals of the program. As a result, the ATIP contract will require a bilateral 6-month period of performance extension using FAR Clause 52.217-8 - Option to Extend Services, contained in the ATIP contract.

This will extend the ATIP period of performance to 28 February 2017.

A 6-month contract extension is needed for the ATIP contract as a bridge until FRA can conduct a competitive acquisition for the next ATIP contract.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: ATIP has been supported by the same contractor, ENSCO, Inc. since the inception of the program in the mid 1970’s due to lack of competitive interest in the ATIP program. Previous ATIP contracts made attempts to compete the requirement on a full and open basis, but the incumbent contractor was the only company to submit a proposal. The current contract was advertised on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) as a three year sole source. The follow-on ATIP requirement will be advertised on FBO as full and open and awarded on an all, some or none basis.

FRA is committed to crafting an acquisition strategy that fosters greater competition and eliminates FRA’s reliance on one source for this mission-critical safety program. As such, in late 2015 FRA announced an ATIP Industry Day via electronic means on the FBO website which was followed up by one-one dialog with attendees.

7. Cost Fair and Reasonable Determination: The cost of the 6-month extension for additional services will be determined fair and reasonable by comparison with the costs of the existing contract, task orders and a thorough examination of the proposed costs.

8. Action to Increase Competition: As a result of the Industry Day, FRA revised its acquisition approach by removing a portion of the requirement and for the potential of a multiple award scenario. The follow-on ATIP requirement will not include the Track Data Management System (TDMS) task, as that will be procured as a stand-alone contract set-aside exclusively for small businesses and the remaining portions of ATIP will be moved to the new ATIP contract. Additionally, ATIP will no longer have Government-owned geometry systems on its rail cars and the follow-on contract will require leased geometry systems. Furthermore, the draft solicitation, solicitation, solicitation amendments, answers to questions by interested parties and award information will also be posted on the fbo website.

9. Market Research: FRA has tried several times over the years to increase competition in the ATIP program to no avail. Following the Industry Day and the one-on-one dialog with attendees, the Office of Safety has certified that ENSCO, Inc. is still the only known source currently able to meet this immediate requirement.

10. Interested Sources: The FRA published a notice of intent on FBO for issuing a 6-month sole source contract extension for the ATIP program. The notice was published for 15 days and no responses were received.

11. Other Factors: None.

12. Technical/Requirements Certification: I certify that the technical requirements and the technical justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Josh Rall, RRS-2 Date Contracting Officer’s Representative Office of Railroad Safety Program Management

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

Charles Nurse, RAD-30 Date Contracting Officer Office of Acquisition Services

CONCUR:

Ryan Daniels, RAD-30 Date Acquisition Policy

John Kern, RCC-20 Date Legal Adviser Office of Chief Counsel

Charles Nurse, RAD-30 Date Chief of the Contracting Office/Director

Tamela Riggs, RAD-1 Date FRA Competition Advocate Office of Administration