SSJ_Final - Redacted.pdf

This is a Department of the Air Force Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition document for a sole-source award.

The United States Air Force, through USAFSAM/OEA (contracting activity AFRL/RMZB), is awarding a firm-fixed-price contract on a sole-source basis to Agilent Technologies, Inc. for two liquid chromatography instruments equipped with Triple Quadrupole (QQQ) Mass Spectrometer ion funnel technology. These instruments are required to evaluate airborne isocyanate occupational hazards and other regulated organic analytes, such as PFAS-PFOA, for the Industrial Hygiene Laboratory's occupational health monitoring operations. The justification is issued on an individual basis and applies to acquisitions valued over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT).

The sole-source authority is justified under 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), which permits a single responsible source when no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Air Force conducted market research through internet searches, industry expert consultations, and vendor outreach and determined that only Agilent Technologies' Aglient 6495 LC-QQQ-MS system, operating with proprietary MassHunter software, meets requirements. The USAFSAM/OEA Industrial Hygiene Laboratory's newly AIHA-accredited in-house isocyanate analysis method was specifically developed and validated on the Aglient 6495 system. Introducing alternative vendor software would invalidate validated LIMS data templates, break AIHA accreditation, and compromise ISO 17734 method compliance. Additionally, the laboratory requires two systems to manage high sample throughput, provide redundancy against downtime, and prevent mission backlogs in occupational health monitoring. The Contracting Officer is responsible for determining fair and reasonable pricing in accordance with FAR Subpart 15.4.