JA-TDSolutionsRedactd.pdf

Program: Lightweight 155mm Howitzer

YPG Fielding and Retrofit Support

J&A CONCURRENCE SHEET

Program/Item: YPG Fielding and Retrofit Support

Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(B) Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirement.

Prepared by: Typed Name: DSN:

Title: Date: 25 June 2014 Email:

PCO: Typed Name: DSN:

Title: Date: 25 June 2014 Email:

Technical: Typed Name: DSN:

Requirements: Typed Name: DSN:

CONCURRENCE:

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. CONTRACTING AGENCY:

US Army Contracting Command- New Jersey

2. DECSCRIPTION OF ACTION:

a. The U.S. Army requests approval to procure fielding and retrofit support of the M777A2 Lightweight 155mm Howitzer (LW155) on a sole source basis from TD Solutions, Inc. 4851 E County 8-1/2 ST Yuma, AZ 85365.

b. This new requirement will be follow-on contract modification to the current Firm Fixed Price contract, W15QKN-12-C-0122.

The period of performance for this effort is twelve (12) months after contract award.

c. The type of funds used for this procurement will be FY14 Weapons and Tracked Combat Vehicles Army (WTCV)

d. An Acquisition Plan is not applicable as this requirement does not meet the dollar threshold prescribed in Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 207.103(d)(i)(B).

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

a. The Program Management Towed Artillery Systems (PM-TAS) has a requirement for fielding and retrofit support of the M777A2 Lightweight 155mm (LW155) Howitzer. The services to be performed include conducting tasks required for LW155 gun acceptance, serving as the program office field representative for fielded howitzers on the West Coast, performing retrofits, incorporating new design items, and supporting the production processes at the major LW155 manufacturing facilities. This support requires extensive knowledge and experience in large caliber artillery systems, including hydraulic recoil and system operations, fire control installation and verification, testing and inspection procedures for critical system components and processes which includes titanium weld inspection.

To ensure successful execution, the Program Management Towed Artillery Systems (PM-TAS) requires additional resources to support many of these

Est. Amount: $ 210,059.80 critical activities. This proposed acquisition will provide LW155 Yuma Proving Grounds (YPG) Field Support. The Contractor will be based at YPG, AZ and will provide support to the gun acceptance process, fielding process, Digital Firing Control System (DFCS) retrofit process, troubleshooting weapon operation failures, crew and maintenance issues, and production. The LW155 requires unique experiences and skills to supplement the resources that PM-TAS has available. The Contractor has the unique skills and experience to provide the necessary support. The Contractor has extensive knowledge and experience in large caliber artillery systems, including hydraulic recoil, system operations, fire control installation and verification, testing and inspection procedures for critical system components and processes (including titanium weld inspection). In addition, the contractor has extensive design and manufacturing skills to fabricate unique tools for both field and shop use. The Contractor has directly supported the LW155 program (the current LW155 as well as its predecessor) for almost 10 years at YPG and has supported similar programs at YPG for almost 40 years.

Among the Contractor’s unique experiences are the following:

1. Retrofit experience - The contractor is currently the retrofit team leader for all

West Coast and Pacific Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) LW155 howitzers. The contractor is responsible for installation and inspection of retrofits and Modification Work Order (MWO) kits, coordinating various field site visits, assigning workloads to the retrofit teams. The contractor also designs, fabricates and manufactures any special tools and equipment to support the various tasks for the retrofit effort to include the installation and upgrades to the current DFCS fire control system. In addition, at the completion of each site visit, the Contractor conducts an out brief to the Unit commanders which summarizes all of the modifications done to the equipment. The Contractor’s efforts have enabled the successful application of retrofits and have helped ensure that the LW155 howitzers are meeting the latest production configuration are readily deployable for in-theater operations.

2. Titanium Weld inspection - Titanium weld inspection is a very specialized and unique ability. The main structural components of the LW155 howitzer are fabricated with titanium. The Contractor’s expertise in titanium weld inspection has enabled him to quickly assess questionable welds on the LW155 howitzer, and to make a determination as to whether welds need further scrutiny. The Contractor’s expertise and contributions in this area has contributed to the LW155 program’s ability to acceptance test 10 howitzers per month at YPG.

3. Expertise on design and maintenance of the LW155 howitzer. The

Contractor has worked on the LW155 howitzer and its predecessor for over ten years. The Contractor is an expert on many parts of the howitzer, including the critical hydraulic operating system and the recoil operating system. The contractor’s expertise on the design and maintenance of the howitzer has enabled him to quickly diagnose and repair problems as they arose during LW155 acceptance testing. The success of the LW155 acceptance testing program and the ability of the PM-TAS to accept and field LW155 howitzers on schedule is due in large part to the contributions of the contractor.

4. Familiarity with YPG maintenance and testing facilities, and YPG processes. The Contractor has worked at YPG for over 40 years and his familiarity with the YPG maintenance and testing facilities has proved invaluable in overcoming numerous technical issues and delays associated with acceptance testing of the LW155 howitzer. Again, this has contributed tremendously to the success of the LW155 acceptance testing and the ability of PM- TAS to field LW155 howitzers on schedule.

5. The contractor has become a key member of the de-processing team in which he is involved with performing the Limited Technical Inspection of the new equipment with the receiving Unit as well as the installation and inspection of the Prime Mover Truck modification. In addition, the contractor is involved with all Basic Issue Items (BII) and Special Tool and Test Equipment’s pre ship inventory and pack procedures at YPG as well as the transfer and sign off to the receiving unit. These items total in excess of 3,500 items.

6. The contractor’s expertise in fabricating, machining, testing and finishing of prototype projects enables both the M777A2 and M119A2 howitzer design teams to conduct efficient operations during developmental, test and acceptance activities. Over the next year, the Contractor’s special skills will be critical in the success of several key Joint Program Management Office events to include evaluating product improvement to the M777A2 and the M119A2.

7. The contractor has access to YPG maintenance and fabrication facilities which provides him with an extensive array of fabricating tools and the technology that allows him to quickly and competitively meet our fabrication needs. This includes complete welding services and the ability to rebuild or recondition older equipment and one-of-a-kind special tools.

Reconditioned items are re-introduced to the work force much quicker and cost less than new systems. The Contractor’s knowledge of the Government’s system’s performance envelopes provides for quality rebuilds and fabrications that are on time and at competitive costs.

4. AUTHORITY CITED:

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, as implemented by FAR 6.302- 1(a)(2)(ii)(B), states supplies may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of a follow-on contract for the continued development or production of a major system or highly specialized equipment, when it is likely that award to any other source would result in (B) Unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements.

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED:

The following provides rationale under the authority of FAR 6.301-1(a)(2)(iii)(B) for the procurement of fielding and retrofit Support from TD Solutions.

a. Unacceptable Delays: The Program Manager for Towed Artillery Systems is currently in a phase of its program in which many critical activities are occurring. LW155s are being fielded to Army units and there are ongoing retrofits related to product improvements and engineering changes.

Repairs and sustainment are a crucial requirement in the life cycle of these systems. Substantial time would be required to gain expertise on the LW155 howitzer and the testing and inspection procedures described above. It is estimated that it would take at least 12 months to develop this minimum level of expertise (4 Months Machinist Certification, 6 Months to Obtain Expert Proficiency on M777A2 Howitzer, 2 Months for Maintainer Training). Additional delays will negatively impact the war fighter. Timely retrofit of fielded howitzers to the Army and Marine Corps are critical to ensure obsolescence and performance enhancements are implemented on the howitzers.

b. Analysis of Alternatives to other than Full and Open Competition

(i) Two potential procurement strategies to satisfy the requirement have been analyzed. One strategy is a sole source award to TD Solutions; the other is to solicit the requirement under full and open competition. Award of a sole source contract to TD Solutions, is the alternative that assures that the PM-TAS mission to provide fielding and retrofit support of the M777A2 Lightweight 155mm (LW155) Howitzer can be provided in time to meet critical US military requirements. A sole source to TD solutions avoids unacceptable delays, and results in low overall risk to the Government. This conclusion is supported by the following information.

(ii) Performance Risk: The fielding and retrofit efforts to the M777A2 are managed by PM-TAS. These efforts include conducting tasks required for the M777A2 LW155 gun acceptance, performing duties as the program office field representative for fielded howitzers, performing retrofits and incorporating new design items, and supporting the production processes at the major LW155 manufacturing facilities.

(iii) Schedule Risk: Ongoing expertise in the area of field support is required from the TD Solutions services as well as the ongoing requirement needed for retrofit and sustainment they can provide.

Fulfilling this requirement with a sole source award is the only way to ensure timely delivery and crucial services in the support of M777A2.

(iv) Cost Risk: Although duplication costs are not cited in this J&A, there would be costs associated with training for support to the level of this expertise.

(v) Conclusion: Full and open competition would present an unacceptable level of schedule, cost, and programmatic risks. As a result, a sole source award to TD Solutions is the only alternative that will satisfy this requirement. Competing this requirement resulting in an award to another contractor would cause a significant delay in schedule and would severely impact the US Army mission.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION:

a. As required by FAR 5.201, the pre-solicitation notice, citing FAR 6.302-1 (a)(2)(ii)(B) will be published in FedBizOpps upon approval of this J&A document. Responding firms will be evaluated and considered for potential competition.

b. Effective competition is not anticipated since only TD Solutions possesses the requisite level of expertise and experience to complete this requirement.

7. ACTIONS TO INCREASE COMPETITION:

Full and open competition is not practical at this time for procuring of the fielding and retrofit support of the LW 155mm Howitzer at Yuma Proving Grounds.

8. MARKET RESEARCH:

During the last twelve (12) months from May 2013 through May 2014 the Government canvassed the domestic industries for potential Yuma support. The Government maintains constant communication with these companies concerning similar projects and has knowledge of each company’s capabilities through meetings, visits and continuing discussions on several projects. The following three (3) companies were assessed during Market Research:

9. INTERESTED SOURCES:

a. To date, no other sources have written to express an interest.

b. As required by FAR 5.201, a pre-solicitation notice will be posted to the Federal Business Opportunity website (FedBizOpps) and will contain the appropriate rationale for other than full and open competition. Any proposals received other than the intended source shall be evaluated and considered.

10. OTHER FACTS:

a. Procurement history:

Contract:

b. Acquisition Data Availability: Performance Specifications are currently available.

c. Unusual and Compelling Urgency: N/A

d. Subcontracting competition: Subcontracting competition by the prime contractor is maximized by the Contracting Officer through publication of the solicitation notice required by FAR 5.201 and the contract will include FAR Clause 52.244-5 entitled “Competition in Subcontracting”.

11. TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION: “I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.”

Signature: //s// Date: 6/19/14

12. REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION: “I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.”

Signature: //s// Date: 6/19/14

13. FAIR AND REASONABLE COST DETERMINATION: “I hereby determine that the anticipated cost for this contract action will be fair and reasonable.” The resulting proposal will be subjected to cost/price analysis and technical evaluation.

14. CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION: “I certify that this J&A is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.”

Est. Amount:

APPROVAL

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the acquisition of 1 additional year of fielding and retrofit support for the Lightweight 155mm Howitzer (LW155) Program be added to Contract W15QKN-12-C-0122 with Terry Davis Solutions on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(B) subject to the availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.