SSJ FAR 13.5 SAT to 7.5M Evoqua Water Redacted.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL

ITEMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 13.5

Acquisition Plan Action ID:

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Procurement Office-East (RPOE), Network Contracting Office 4 (NCO 4) provides contracting support for Veterans Integrated Services Network 4 (VISN 4), Corporal Michael J Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center (CMCMC) located at 3900 Woodland Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed: This procurement is for a follow-on, Firm Fixed Price, five-year contract for the preventative maintenance and sanitation of the Deionized (DI) Water Equipment Systems identified in the statement of work (SOW) in accordance with FAR 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items and specifically FAR 13.501 Special Documentation Requirements, where acquisitions conducted under Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6, but still require a justification using the format of FAR 6.303-2. The usage of a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) type order is appropriate for this procurement action.

The DI Water Equipment Systems are essential for serving the Sterile Processing Services (SPS) and Dialysis Unit with critical water as required by Association of the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). This requirement sets standards for the critical water being used in the processing of instruments and equipment used in direct patient care. For SPS functions, poor water quality increases bioburden on the medical devices/instruments used in surgery. This causes premature breakdown of costly surgical instruments and high risk for surgical infections in post-operative veterans.

The current Evoqua equipment is already in place and requires Evoqua personnel to maintain, sanitize, and replace.

3. Description of Supplies/Services :

The contractor shall furnish all necessary labor, materials, parts, supervision, management, management support, transportation, supplies, and equipment necessary to furnish the services listed in the SOW. The preventative maintenance services consist of evaluating system components, replacing consumable system components, generating Field Service Reports, and recommending corrective actions for deficiencies. The Preventive Maintenance Service shall consist of weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly site visits to meet scheduled maintenance intervals defined in the SOW.

Services provided in this contract shall conform to original equipment manufacturer maintenance and operation instructions, AAMI Standard 79, AAMI TIR 34:2014 and AAMI ST108-2023 recommendations for the water quality necessary for the reprocessing of medical instruments, and all other applicable AAMI Standards.

The Corporal Michael J Crescenz Veterans Affair Medical Center (CMCMC) requires a Base plus four one-year option period service contract for installation, preventative maintenance, and repair of the Deionized (DI) Water Equipment Systems which is owned by Evoqua.

The Deionized water systems at the CMCMC facility consist of Regenerable Ion Exchange Tanks which remain the property of Evoqua Water Technologies, LLC. These tanks contain a carbon and mixed bed resin which exhaust based on water influent quality as the io exchange process takes place. Once exhausted, the tanks need to be regenerated with a chemical solution. Evoqua has a proprietary process conditioning the resin during chemical regeneration. As the resins and tanks remain the property of Evoqua Water Technologies LLC, thus, they are the only company authorized to perform service.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Restricted Competition:

FAR 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. The statutory authority for applying the Simplified Procedures for Commercial Items of FAR 13.5 is 41 U.S.C. § 1901 and is implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b)(2) for restricting competition on this procurement. Competition is restricted on this procurement for the reason below:

( X ) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

( ) Unusual and Compelling Urgency ( ) Industrial Mobilization, Engineering, Developmental or Research Capability or Expert

Services ( ) International Agreement ( ) Authorized or Required by Statute ( ) National Security ( ) Public Interest

5. Demonstration that the C Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority):

Due to the proprietary nature of this work, this will be issued as a sole source to Evoqua Water Technologies. The proposed action is for unique services available from only one source with unique capabilities. The DI water system equipment installed in the Philadelphia Medical Center is owned by Evoqua and leased by the Philadelphia VA Medical Center through a maintenance service contract. The DI water system equipment and process is proprietary and only Evoqua personnel may provide the maintenance.

If the medical center wished to use a new vendor, the medical center would be without a DI water system until a design project and a construction project were both completed to completely overhaul the DI water system, which would be neither cost or time productive. Nor would it be in the best interest of the Government or be fiscally responsible.

It is essential that the DI system be maintained as operations directly sustains the operation of SPS and Dialysis Unit. Failure to service the system will result in the Medical Center being unable to provide care for Veteran patients, adversely impacting the mission.

Evoqua is the only firm capable of providing the services described in Section III above without the expected to be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements.

Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

Pricing shall be deemed fair and reasonable at the time of award. Pricing will be evaluated by comparing previous awards with similar scopes to quoted pricing. Current knowledge of Erie, Wilkes- Barre, and Wilmington VAMC contracts with Evoqua will be utilized in the determination.

Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons

Market Research Was Not Conducted:

There are no additional facts to be identified.

Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition:

There are no additional facts to be identified.

Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:

Evoqua Water Technologies LLC, 111 47th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201

A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to

Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required:

Due to the need for Evoqua personnel to maintain and service their own equipment, the only other option would be to completely transition from the current DI water system to another DI water system, which would not be cost efficient and timely.

The VA will continue to monitor the market for solutions that meet future needs.