Single Source or Brand Name Justification Less Than SAT.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Limited Source/Brand Name Justification

FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – Simplified Acquisitions Control No. (if applicable) ______________________

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

Requesting Agency:

USDA, APHIS, NVSL and CVB 1920 Dayton Ave Ames, IA 50010

Contacting Agency:

USDA, APHIS, MRPBS AAMD

250 Marquette Avenue, Suite 410 Minneapolis, MN 55401

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

The USDA proposes the use of other than full and open competition for the procurement of supplies manufactured by Evident Scientific, Inc.

The following items are required:

1 (EA) Olympus BX53 Microscope 1 (EA) DP75 Camera

3. The rationale or circumstances for limiting competition.

The USDA APHIS CVB program currently uses and maintains Olympus microscopes and cameras with their patented CellSens imaging software. This request is to replace aging equipment that is no longer functional for the program’s purposes.

The CellSens software is proprietary to Evident Scientific and the software is only compatible with microscopes that are manufactured by Olympus/Evident. The benefit of using CellSens software is that it can run multiple microscopes with attached cameras on a single computer. The CVB laboratory requires that newly acquired instruments work with the currently in place computers and software in order to maintain consistency with their scientific procedures and data.

Only certified Olympus engineers are authorized to operate on Olympus instruments. The microscopes in the CVB Laboratory are required to be working continually, and downtime caused by shipping the instrument back to the manufacturer or flying out a repair technician is unacceptable. Evident Scientific, Inc and by extension Olympus are the only company able to offer next day support with a representative that lives locally and who can operate on the device, thereby avoiding those costs and delay.

The DP75 microscope camera is unique in offering a pull-out infrared filter allowing for visualization beyond 670 nm which is a laboratory requirement. The 20x X-Apo (UPLXAPO) objective is unique in offering the highest numerical aperture in the industry. Higher numerical apertures lead to better resolution and brighter fluorescence which are laboratory requirements.

The Olympus BX53 Microscope and DP75 Camera are specialized instruments that contains parts and software proprietary to Olympus.

It will save the Government time, money, and research data by not having to purchase or maintain additional software and equipment while meeting laboratory requirements. Furthermore, maintaining only one file type will support the USDA APHIS CVB programs’ future electronic records storage system.

4. A description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted in accordance with FAR Part 10, details of which are in the market research document in the contract file. The manufacturer, Evident Scientific, identified one authorized distributor, Alliant Enterprises, a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). A sources sought notice was issued from 07/19/2024-07/25/2024, Notice ID 1129739SS, to identify if there were any equal products produced by domestic sources. The notice did not yeild any additional sources.

5. Estimated price, including all options, if applicable.

6. Recommended source(s).

Evident Scientific, Inc. and authorized reseller are the sole providers in the United States for the procurement of the Olympus BX53 light microscope and DP75 Camera.

Certifications

Supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel and which form the basis for this justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge.

Randy Atchison Supervisory Biologist CVB PEL Bact lab

RANDY ATCHISON Digitally signed by RANDY ATCHISON Date: 2024.08.23 12:17:44 -05'00'

The information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief and in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 13.106-1(b)(1), I hereby determine the circumstances described above deem only one source, or limited sources, reasonably available and competition is precluded for the reasons indicated in this document.

Samantha Johnson Contracting Officer

SAMANTHA

JOHNSON

Digitally signed by SAMANTHA

JOHNSON

Date: 2024.08.23 16:15:15 -07'00'