REDACTEDACC14F0022.pdf

CMO Control Number 2014-115

Department of the Army Limited Source Justification for GSA Purchases above the Simplified Acquisition Threshold

1. Contracting Activity: Army Contracting Command-Warren (ACC-WRN).

2. Description of Action: The proposed action is for a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract against Willard Marine, Inc. General Service Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Contract Number GS07F0123H. The estimated value of this procurement action is $1,004,900 and will be funded with Fiscal Year (FY14) Other Procurement Army (OPA) funds. This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program.

3. Description of the Supply or Service Purchased: This action will procure a quantity of 13 each Willard Marine Sea Force 490 Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) rescue boats (six for the Large Tug (LT) vessels, six for the Roll On/Roll Off Discharge Facility (RRDF) vessels, and one rescue boat for the Maritime & Intermodal Training Department (MITD)) with a 40 horsepower (HP) engine. Each Sea Force 490 SOLAS rescue boat is comprised of Willard Marine part numbers WM-490SOB and WM- 490SRS. Each rescue boat will also be equipped with a Man Overboard Indicator (MOBI) Installation kit.

The estimated unit price for each vessel is $77,300.00 ($77,300 x 13 = $1,004,900).

4. Authority Cited: This acquisition is conducted pursuant to the authority of 40 U.S.C.

501 and FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B) “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.”

5. Reason for Authority Cited: Army watercraft rescue boats must be SOLAS certified by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) in accordance with 46 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 160.156. The CFR details the requirements that a vessel must meet to be certified. To obtain SOLAS certification from the USCG, manufacturers of rescue boats must equip these boats in accordance with the table in 46 CFR 199.175. In order to be SOLAS certified, a boat must be evaluated and approved by the USCG. SOLAS certified boats are primarily evaluated to the standard of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Resolution MSC.48(66) amended, entitled “International Life- Saving Appliance (LSA) Code” as referenced by the SOLAS, Chapter III. This includes vessel coloring, seating configuration, impact ratings, electrical specifications, and other numerous requirements. The SOLAS certification is a lengthy process, which takes approximately three to six months to complete after the USCG receives a request to certify the vessel.

In accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), Willard Marine Sea Force 490 is the only source capable of providing the SOLAS rescue boats at the level of quality required because they are unique or highly specialized.

A. Commonality – Currently, the LT and RRDF have multiple configurations of non-SOLAS certified craft which is termed “workboat” and does not meet the requirements in 46 CFR 160.156. During the November 2012 Army Watercraft Configuration Control Board (CCB) the Army community endorsed replacing the workboat with a SOLAS compliant rescue boat. The Product Director Army Watercraft Systems (PD AWS) initiated a strategy to replace workboats with a standardize rescue boat on all Army Vessels in 2013. The Logistics Support Vessel (LSV) will be the first to receive this capability.

PD AWS began implementing this stratregy with an award to Willard Marine for 42 Willard Marine Sea Force 490 rescue boats on 21 Nov 2013. The 42 Sea Force 490 rescue boats were procured to replace the existing rescue boats on the LSV, and the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) 2000 vessels. Award to Willard Marine was based on the documentation within the GSA Limited Source Justification, CMO Control Number 2013-172. The LSV’s Automotive Tank Purchase Description (ATPD) requires a minimum length of 16’ for each rescue boat. The only known vessel identified for the previous acquisition in the 16 to 17 foot range and SOLAS certified was the Willard Marine Sea Force 490 rescue boat.

DOD Directive 4151.18 directs us to reduce maintenance life-cycle costs and logistics footprints. Procuring a different rescue boat configuration, such as Zodiac or Fast RSQ, would introduce a new configuration of the rescue boats eliminating commonality, and increasing the logistics footprint/burden through additional provisioning, spares, supportability and training within the Army Watercraft Systems (AWS) fleet. If a different configuration is purchased, approximately 78% of the Army vessels would be equipped with the Sea Force 490 rescue boat and the remaining 22% would have a different configuration. In addition to the increase of life-cycle costs (see paragraph B below) and the logistics footprint associated with maintaining a second configuration of rescue boats, the cradles would be different if another solution were procured. The cradle development costs are addressed in paragraph B.

B. Duplication of Cost - Currently, PD AWS is designing a cradle to fit the hull of the Willard Marine Sea Force 490 rescue boat. The cradle is specific to the rescue boat and would not fit a different rescue boat configuration. The cost to develop the cradle design is $122,250; there is also an additional cost for Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) preparation cost, which is $51,750.

The Government will incur an additional $927,555 in duplicated costs during the first ten years if a different configuration of rescue boat is procured. A second configuration will create duplication of costs for spares, provisioning, training, rescue boat cradle design, and ECP preparation cost (reference table#1 below)). The duplicated costs will exceed any cost benefit generated from competition.

TABLE#1

Item/Description Estimated Cost

The hull of a rescue boat is expected to have a 20-year useful life. The outboard motor and accessories will most likely have 10 years of useful life.

Additional spares ($1,329K per yr X 10 yr estimated life) and provisioning (one time $41,265K) $55,555

Additional Training (yearly maintenance and recertification of a boat $12K (x 10 yrs), certification of instructors on additional boat motors $8K (x 10 yrs) , increase to training guides (10 days - 1 day per course) $22K (x 10 yrs), additional special tools or test equipment $18K (one time), additional spares and repair parts for training asset $26K (x 10 yrs) $698,000 Development cost for cradle design $122,250 ECP preparation cost $51,750 Total 10 year life cycle cost $927,555

C. Other Factors - During the launch of the workboat (non-SOLAS compliant small boat) near Pearl Harbor a workboat capsized resulting in an injury to the crewmember aboard. To reduce the risk of future accidents, PD AWS initiated a strategy to standardize the rescue boats on all Army Vessels that are equipped with workboats. As Army mariners are transferred from one watercraft platform to another during their career, a single rescue boat configuration throughout the AWS fleet should reduce safety incidents and burden through familiarity, training and commonality. Having one version of a rescue boat will allow for reduced sustainment costs and better configuration management.

6. Market Research: To ensure the latest market information was utilized to support this acquisition decision, the Assistant Product Director (APD) took the following actions:

- Downloaded the list of approved SOLAS rescue boats and SOLAS Engines from the USCG website.

- Revalidated the market research from July 2013, in April 2014, through an

Internet search. The criterion was USCG approved SOLAS rescue boats in the 15 to 17 foot length range. The requirements document for the LT requires a 14 to 16 foot rescue boat. The RRDF requirements document does not specify a rescue boat length.

- The only candidates found with SOLAS compliant rescue boat and outboard engines are:

1. Willard Marine Sea Force 490

2. Zodiac SOLAS Model H472S

3. Fast RSQ Model 450A

However, for reasons of commonality and duplication of cost that will exceed any cost benefit generated from competition, Zodiac SOLAS Model H472S and Fast RSQ Model 450A are not suitable for this requirement.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: This final acquisition procures the last 13 commercially available SOLAS compliant rescue boats for the PD AWS fleet. Acquiring a different configuration for the final 13 rescue boats will negatively impact the Army through duplication of cost and lack of commonality across the fleet. As stated in paragraph 6, the Government has performed market research in order to identify potential sources for the SOLAS rescue boats in order to increase competition.

Nevertheless, for the reasons stated in paragraph 6, competition is limited to Willard Marine, Inc. No other actions will be taken, as this represents the final procurement for SOLAS complaint rescue boats.

8. Other Facts: PD AWS manages the Army’s fleet of vessels. There are six LT vessels and six RRDF vessels that are equipped with workboats. Replacements for the workboats were not procured in the previous 21 Nov 2013 GSA award due to budget constraints. The current workboats have had various problems documented in Product Quality Deficiency Reports (PQDRs). Based on this information, PD AWS is replacing the workboats on the LT and RRDF vessels to fully compliant SOLAS rescue boats, using Fiscal Year (FY) 14 funds. Based on the recommendation from the TACOM Safety Office, PD AWS will acquire a SOLAS rescue boat for the MITD located at Ft.

Eustis, VA. The MITD will utilize this asset to provide soldiers rescue boat operation and maintenance training.

9. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which is included in the justification, is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Zina Kozak-Zachary Title: Product Director, Army Watercraft Systems (AWS)

Signature:

Date: 5 May 2014

10. Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which is included in the justification, is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Zina Kozak-Zachary Title: Product Director, Army Watercraft Systems (AWS)

E-Signed by KOZAK-ZACHARY.ZINA.J.1298136925 VERIFY authenticity with e-Sign

Signature:

Date: 5 May 2014

11. Contracting Officer’s Best Value Determination: I hereby determine that this order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d) and results in the lowest overall cost alternative (considering price, special features, administrative costs, etc.) to meet the Government’s needs.

Name: Keith D. DePoorter Title: Contracting Officer

E-Signed by DEPOORTER.KEITH.D.1256606255 VERIFY authenticity with ApproveIt

Wednesday, 07 May, 2014

Date: 07 MAY 2014

12. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Keith D. DePoorter Title: Contracting Officer

E-Signed by DEPOORTER.KEITH.D.1256606255 VERIFY authenticity with ApproveIt

Wednesday, 07 May, 2014

Date: 07 MAY 2014

Approval of Limited Sources Justification

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of 13 each Willard Sea Force 490 SOLAS rescue boats with an Evinrude E-TECH 40 HP outboard motor. The estimated dollar value of this acquisition is $1,004,900. Pursuant to the authority of 40 U.S.C. 501, as implemented by FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

E-Signed by SHEPHERD.LARUTH.1230673116 VERIFY authenticity with ApproveIt

Date: __14 May 2014________ Signature: ______________________

LA RUTH SHEPHERD

Competition Advocate

E-Signed by KOZAK-ZACHARY.ZINA.J.1298136925 VERIFY authenticity with e-Sign