A03_-_Redacted_LSJ_Fair_Opps_Waiver_over_150K.pdf

Control Number __15-40__

LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER FAR 8.405-6

OR

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY UNDER FAR 16.505

1a. Contracting Agency/Activity:

U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) – Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) Adelphi Division

CCAP-SCA

2800 Powder Mill Road Adelphi, MD 20783

1b. Requiring Agency/Activity:

U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Survivability/Lethality Analysis Directorate (SLAD), Warfighter Survivability Branch

(WSB)

Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005

2. Description of Action (put an X in the space provided where applicable):

Nature: New Requirement X Follow-on Requirement

Mod to Existing Order Number (Insert task/delivery order no. : )

Order against: X FSS Contract Number (fill-in): GS-10F-0155V

OR

Multiple Award ID/IQ Contract Number:

Contract Type: Firm-Fixed Price Level-of-Effort (FFP-LOE)

For Hybrid Contracts, list type and percentage of each type of pricing:

Type: FFP-LOE Performance CLINs Percentage: 98.4%

Type: FFP Travel/ODC’s Not to Exceed Amount

Percentage: 1.6%

Funds: Operations and Maintenance, Army (OMA)

X Other Funds: RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, TEST & EVALUATION

(RDTE), ARMY

Fiscal Year of Funds: FY14

SUGGESTED SOURCE

Name of Proposed Contractor: ALTUS, LLC

Street Address: 1101 Main Street City, State, Zip: Darlington, MD 21034-1403

Phone: (410) 457-8115

3. Description of Supplies or Services:

The estimated value of the proposed action is $12,493,364.84

Base Year Estimate: [redacted] Option Year 1 Estimate: [redacted] Option Year 2 Estimate: [redacted] Option Year 3 Estimate: [redacted]

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory/Survivability/Lethality Analysis Directorate (ARL/SLAD) requires personnel survivability, lethality, and vulnerability research and methodology development engineering services. The contractor performs tasks requiring the application of established methods, practices, and techniques and recommend new procedures for Operational Requirement-based Casualty Assessment (ORCA) and personnel survivability projects. Assigned tasks include gathering, researching, verifying, and analyzing facts; use of basic tools and techniques of the field (MS Windows based software, JAVA, C, and data collection methods); selecting and applying established methods, practices and procedures to conduct [redacted].

A firm fixed price level of effort contract (FFP-LOE) is contemplated with an estimated ceiling of $12,493,364.84. A FFP-LOE type contract is determined to be appropriate as the contract will provide a specified level of effort, over a stated period of time, on work that can be stated only in general terms. Research & Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) funds are available for this effort. The funds have been reviewed and are determined to be appropriate and available for obligation through 30 September 2015. The subsequent optional efforts will be funded utilizing other Fiscal year RDTE funds and will be evaluated at the time of request if the options are exercised.

This contract will have a base year with three (3) one (1) year options. Period of Performance will be 01 Oct 2015 – 30 Sep 2019.

4. Authority (put an X next to all that apply):

X ORDER AGAINST FSS: Title 40 USC 501, Services for Executive Agencies;

and Section 803 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2002 (PL 107-107); and FAR 8.405-6. Mark the applicable exception:

___ An urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays [FAR 8.405- 6(a)(1)(i)(A)]

___ 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 [FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B)]

_X__ In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-on to an original Federal Supply Schedule order provided that the original order was placed in accordance with the applicable Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures.

The original order or BPA must not have been previously issued under sole-source or limited-sources procedures. [FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C)]

___ Items peculiar to one manufacturer. An item peculiar to one manufacturer can be a particular brand name, product, or a feature of a product, peculiar to one manufacturer. A brand name item, whether available on one or more schedule contracts, is an item peculiar to one manufacturer. (FAR 8.405- 6(b)).

OR:

ORDER AGAINST MULTIPLE AWARD ID/IQ CONTRACT: Section 803 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2002 (PL 107-107), FAR 16.505(b)(2) and DFARS 216.505-70(b), The contracting officer shall give every awardee a fair opportunity to be considered for a delivery/task order. Mark the applicable exception:

The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays [FAR16.505 (b)(2)(i)(A)]

Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized [FAR16.505 (b)(2)(i)(B)]

The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order [FAR16.505 (b)(2)(i)(C)]

It is necessary to place an order to satisfy a minimum guarantee [FAR16.505 (b)(2)(i)(D)]

For orders exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, a statute expressly authorizes or requires that the purchase be made from a specified source [FAR16.505 (b)(2)(i)(E)]

In accordance with section 1331 of Public Law 111-240 (15 U.S.C. 644(r)), contracting officers may, at their discretion, set aside orders for any of the small business concerns identified in 19.000(a)(3). When setting aside orders for small business concerns, the specific small http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/Regs/FAR2AFMCFARS/FARDFARS/FAR/19.htm#P3_68 business program eligibility requirements identified in part 19 apply [FAR16.505 (b)(2)(i)(F)]

5. Rationale/explanation to support cited authority: The Survivability Research and Methodology Development Engineering Services are required for the ARL/SLAD. SLAD is the Army’s focal point for survivability, lethality, and vulnerability (SLV) analysis and expertise. SLAD helps Program Managers (PMs) enhance system and soldier survivability/lethality in the systems they are developing. Results of SLAD’s SLV efforts, against the full spectrum of battlefield threats, are provided to the PMs, Evaluators, and Department of the Army decision makers. SLAD conducts the necessary investigations, simulations, laboratory/field experiments, and analyses to quantify the SLV of Army and select foreign combat, combat support, and combat service support systems when faced with electronic warfare (EW), information warfare (IW), ballistic, directed energy, nuclear/biological/chemical (NBC) contamination effects, and environmental threats.

The Operational Requirement-based Casualty Assessment (ORCA) is the tri-service model for assessing operational casualties and is owned, developed, and maintained by ARL/SLAD. ORCA is used for SLV analysis for assessing personnel effects. SLAD requires specific engineering and analytical services in order to satisfy the needs of its customers. In order for ARL/SLAD’s research to complement and build upon previous efforts and develop new methods and techniques, ARL/SLAD needs continued research and development of ORCA that requires detailed knowledge of the ORCA program. The Government requires a Contractor that has: ORCA development and enhancement expertise; expertise in the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM) Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) used in the ORCA model, which is used as a measure of survivability; and, expertise in the development and enhancement of the Static-Dynamic Framework (SDF) model that extends ORCA for [redacted].

If these specific services are not acquired, the Government will risk detrimental delays in research, development and testing continuity of Army systems that enhance the survivability of future forces. The Government estimates that it would take a minimum of $250,000.00 and one (1) year for an ORCA developer to become proficient with ORCA at a level sufficient to begin supporting development. During this time of delay, the Government would have reduced capacity to improve ORCA and acquisition programs that need changes would suffer delays estimated from several months to one (1) year while the new personnel were becoming proficient with ORCA. These delays could impact Milestone decisions on systems to be fielded, which potentially could result in delays costing millions of dollars. In addition to increased costs, a delay in this research would have harmful effects on the Army’s ability to protect the warfighter in the battlefield. As mentioned, the results of the research performed under this contract will be provided to Army decision makers, whose decisions need to be well-informed and up-to-date in order to maximize the survivability of soldiers in the field.

Consequently, the year-long potential delay would likely result in increased casualties.

Should a gap occur, ARL will not be able to complete their technical programs on schedule or provide deliverables that other organizations are awaiting to complete multi-agency programs that are directed by the both the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology

(ASAALT).

Altus LLC has the required in-depth knowledge and unique skill sets to perform the services required to fulfill SLAD’s SLV requirements, since they have been providing the required services under two (2) prior contracts: W911QX-08-C-0094, awarded on 15 August 2008 and W911QX-12-F-0053, awarded on 1 October 2012 (expiring on 30 September 2015). The research and technical experience that Altus has obtained since inception of their previous contracts has been an on-going evolving transition as the Army continues to develop and enhance its ORCA system and capabilities. Altus has been responsible for developments in the ORCA program, which has been the focus of their work with ARL for the past seven (7) years and is the cornerstone of SLV analysis for ARL/SLAD. It is determined that no other source (see section 6. Market Research below) is capable of meeting the Government’s follow-on requirements to the existing effort due to the intimate knowledge Altus has acquired for ORCA, AAAM, AIS, and SDF model required for SLAD’s mission and programs, as well as their immediate availability to work these programs. Specifically, Altus has experience and in-depth knowledge in the Static-Dynamic Framework that extends ORCA for [redacted]. No other source has this detailed and in-depth knowledge that is required for SLAD’s mission and programs.

This effort requires the ability to study documentation, as well as knowledge of the actual code. It requires the Contractor to be able to apply their basic skills along with the acquired detailed knowledge in order to efficiently modify the ORCA program to accomplish new procedures. As mentioned above, the Government estimates that acquiring this expertise and knowledge would take at least a year. It is imperative that the continuity of this research and development be maintained by Altus, due to its current ability to provide the level of expertise needed for further advancement and development of ORCA. Delays in the maturation of the ORCA system, which would result from the lack of experience by other potential Contractors who have had no association with the design, development, fabrication, and knowledge of the ORCA program, would be catastrophic to the Army’s SLV analysis efforts. This potential year in delayed research would also result in significant additional duplication of costs, which would not be recovered by the Government. Therefore, in the interest of economy and efficiency, awarding this contract to Altus is a logical follow-on to the previous contracts awarded to Altus for ORCA development and is compliant with the requirements of FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C).

6. Market Research: Extensive market research was conducted on 15 April 2015 by [redacted], Operations Research Analyst, with seven (7) years of experience within SLAD, Warfighter Survivability Branch at ARL. Market Research techniques included searching on the General Services Administration (GSA) website and discussions with [redacted], Methodology Team Leader and a subject matter expert (SME) within the Government.

Search terms used in the GSA search were survivability, software development, software integration, ballistic, personnel, test and evaluation and lethality. There were other companies with similar qualifications such as SURVICE Engineering, Applied Research Associates (ARA), and Quantum Research International (QRI) however they lacked the expertise that is required to support the Warfighter Survivability Branch (WSB) programs.

SURVICE Engineering does not have the ORCA development and enhancement expertise;

ARA has experience with integrating ORCA at the Application Program Interface (API) level but does not have the detailed ORCA development and enhancement expertise and does not have the SDF model expertise. QRI does not have the ORCA and SDF expertise. These companies were eliminated from consideration as there is a significant learning curve in working with ORCA. For example, while a computer scientist should have an understanding of programming, they won’t know the specifics of a new program. They will require time and guidance/training from someone with a broad and detailed knowledge of the new program in order to become familiar with the program. At that point the new person should be able to apply their basic skills along with the acquired detailed knowledge in order to efficiently modify that program to accomplish new procedures. Based on the above, there are no alternative companies that could provide the personnel with the expertise required to complete the tasks outlined in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The Government will continue to conduct market research in the future to identify any other potential sources.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: Based on information provided in paragraph five (5) and six (6) above, competition for this action is not feasible; however any future service contract requests will include new market research for the services required. This will include posting a sources sought synopsis as a mechanism to expose the requirement and determine if any new companies have expanded their expertise in ORCA and SDF. In addition to the market research noted above, the Government will continue to search the internet and GSA website to locate other potential sources for Personnel Survivability Research and Methodology Development Services. Last, as ORCA matures, the

Government expects to release new versions of ORCA for various uses such that other contractors such as SURVICE Engineering and ARA may be able to gain the detailed and in-depth knowledge that will permit them to compete in future procurements. Although some aspects of the ORCA program are currently available to the public, the enhancement of this program through the services to be provided under this contract will allow the Government to further develop and prepare a more complete technical data package to include an advanced version of ORCA for public release. This will allow other companies to gain the skills and expertise to meet potential future Government needs in this area.

8. Any other facts supporting the justification:

The previous award, W911QX-12-F-0053, was competed under GSA; however, there was only one (1) proposal submitted for evaluation. During the course of this three (3) year contract, Altus LLC, the incumbent, acquired an in-depth knowledge of ORCA as they assisted Government personnel in the development and extension of ORCA. This expertise included development experience with the Static-Dynamic Framework that extends ORCA for [redacted]. No other company identified as a potential vendor during market research has the required expertise developed by the incumbent over the course of the current contract.

A Synopsis was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website on 12 August 2015, with a closing date of 28 August 2015 to announce that the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source and to provide the public an opportunity to review the requirement and respond. This notice of intent informed that it “is not a request for competitive proposals. However, any responsible source who believes it is capable of meeting the requirement may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency, only if received by the closing date and time of this notice.” To date, no source has shown any interest nor submitted a capability statement.

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

X Technical Certifier (Tech)

[Division Chief or higher]

10. Contracting officer’s determination that the order represents best value (FAR 8.404(d) or FAR 16.505(b)(5)), to include the basis for determination of a fair and reasonable price per FAR 15.402: Detailed documentation and justification of cost/price reasonableness will be disclosed in the official contract file to include a published price list if available, sales to non-governmental and governmental entities, and comparison of the proposed price with prices found reasonable on previous purchases. Cost or Pricing data is not required, in accordance with the threshold at FAR 15.403-4(a)(1).

Contracting Officer (KO)

11. Review: I have reviewed this justification and have no legal objection.

Legal Advisor

Approval:

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of personnel survivability, lethality, and vulnerability research and methodology development engineering services on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 40 USC 501(a) as implemented by FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C); subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition If the proposed contract action is not completed within 180 days from the below date, this Justification and Approval shall be returned to the Special Competition for Advocate (SCA) for revalidation. Additionally, if any changes to the requirements, basis for the justification, market conditions, or increases in the estimated value of the proposed action occur at any time, the Contracting Officer shall document these changes in a memorandum and obtain review/concurrence from the Competition Advocate.

Special Competition Advocate (SCA)

(End of LSJ-Waiver of Fair Opportunity)