Sole Source Justification gPhoneX redacted.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN ACTION EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

USING SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

(AUTHORITY: FAR 13.501(a), 41 U.S.C. 1901)

1. Agency and contracting activity.

Agency: Department of Commerce (DOC)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Ocean Service (NOS) National Geodetic Survey (NGS)

Contracting Activity: DOC/NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO)

Eastern Acquisition Division (EAD) Norfolk, VA

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

NOAA AGO EAD intends to award a Sole Source contract to Micro-g LaCoste for three (3) Scintrex-MGL Land Gravity Monitoring Systems, each comprised of a gPhoneX Relative Gravity Meter and the Odin Leveling Platform. A firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract is expected for award. The Contracting Officer has determined that the requirement is commercial in nature and the equipment will be procured in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.5, Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items.

3. Description of supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the total estimated value).

This requirement is for three (3) Scintrex-MGL Land Gravity Monitoring Systems, each comprised of a gPhoneX Relative Gravity Meter and the Odin Leveling Platform. The specifications are as follows:

ITEM 1

Part number 862039: gPhoneX Relative Gravity Meter. Must include the following items/features:

- LaCoste and Romberg (L&R) Patented Zero-length Spring Sensor with electronic feedback, ceramic level sensors, and ambient and internal pressure and temperature sensors

- Timing Box, including:

* Rubidium Clock

* Global Positioning System (GPS) Receiver (antenna not included)

- Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) (American Power Conversion Corporation (APC) or equivalent) with 120V input.

- Alternating Current (AC) to Direct Current (DC) Power Converter

- Operation and Maintenance Manual

- gMonitor Software - latest version

- RS-232/Universal Serial Bus (USB) Seral Interface Cable, 4.6m (15 ft) length

- Carrying Cases for Sensor and Timing Box/UPS

- Heat-treated Wooden Shipping Crate

ITEM 2

Part number 101550002, Odin Leveling Platform. Must include the following items/features:

- Tilt stability of 0.2 arcseconds, Root Mean Square (RMS)

- Dynamic range of ±1000 arcseconds

- tes

- Operating temperature between 0 and 40 °C

WARRANTY

One (1) year warranty is required on all items.

The expected delivery date for all items is September 30, 2022. The estimated value is

4. Statutory authority permitting the sole source (including brand name) acquisition.

41 U.S.C. 1901, using SAP up to $7.5M as authorized by FAR 13.500(a) and implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

41 U.S.C. 1903, using SAP up to $15M for contingency operations as authorized by

FAR 13.500(c) and implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

The contracting officer has determined the following circumstances justify the use of a sole source as supported below:

Only one source: Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized.

While there are other gravimeters in the market, the Scintrex-MGL Land Gravity Monitoring System is the only gravimeter on the market that can meet NGS’s unique portability requirement. NGS requires relative gravity meters that can be placed in a lab setting and moved to a different lab setting every 6-24 months to monitor long term/seasonal changes to the gravity field over time. To do this, NGS will rely on state, federal, academic, and other partners to provide space in their facilities for the relative gravimeters to be placed. It is essential that the relative gravimeter be easy to pick-up and move without a forklift, require minimal power consumption, and not require frequent maintenance or refilling with chemicals such as helium in order to make this arrangement palatable to the partners. The Scintrex-MGL Land Gravity Monitoring System has a metal spring sensor, the required precision, and tilt stability. This metal spring sensor is unique to the Scintrex-MGL Land Gravity Monitoring System and why this system is so much smaller and portable in comparison to other gravimeters. Further, the entire system uses less than 150 Watts and is highly transportable (about the size of a toaster oven). Micro-g LaCoste is the only manufacturer of a light weight, low power, and continuous gravity meter. Furthermore, the gPhoneX when paired with a corresponding Odin leveling platform (that allows for high tilt stability) meets the precision