A03_-_Redacted_Simplified_Acquisition_Sole_Source_Justification.pdf

Control No: JA-Adel-17-457 Physical electronics

Maintenance Service for XPS

MAPAPP Version – November 2015 Last adjusted by Adelphi on 1/10/2017

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT

FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR

OTHER THAN

FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Supply/Service: Service and preventative maintenance agreement for a Versaprobe II X-Ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS)

Authority: 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), implemented by FAR 13.501(a) -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

Amount:

Prepared by:

Materials Engineer Date: 25 July 2017 Email:

Contracting Officer:

Contracting Officer Date: 25 July 2017 Email:

Technical:

Materials Engineer Date: 25 July 2017 Email:

Requirements:

Chemical Engineer Date: 25 July 2017 Email:

Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support other than full and open competition.

Program Manager:

Version – November 2015

Department of Army FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Sole Source Justification and Approval for

Other than Full and Open Competition

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground, Adelphi Contracting Division, (ACC-APG-CCAP-SCA), 2800 Powder Mill RD, Adelphi, MD 20783.

2. Description of Action: The Coatings, Corrosion and Engineering Polymers Branch (CCEPB) within the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate (WMRD) at the U.S.

Army Research Laboratory (ARL) requests a firm-fixed price contract for a service and preventative maintenance agreement with Physical Electronics USA, 18725 Lake Drive East, Chanhassen, MN 55317. The contract’s estimated value is with a one

(1) time inspection and a base effort for one (1) year with four (4) one (1) year options for preventive maintenance. The Government projects award for August 2017 and Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Army Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) type funds will be used for this effort.

_X_ An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i)(B) and is not a cost reimbursement type contract (FAR 16.301- 3(a)(2)).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The contract action will result in an equipment service agreement with Physical Electronics USA for:

a. One (1) Pre Inspection/Repair Pre Inspection: This is a one-time inspection of the ARL’s VersaProbe II X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS) (herein known as X-ray Spectrometer) to evaluate eligibility for coverage under a equipment maintenance agreement. The work covers checking of all functions and hardware to identify any pre-existing conditions that would need to be remedied prior to entering into a equipment maintenance agreement. The hours quoted include time needed to bake the electron gun overnight to improve the electron beam stability and replace any consumable parts required. The inspection is valid for 30 days after completion before another inspection would be required to enter into a service agreement.

b. One (1)-year base preventive maintenance plan for the X-ray Spectrometer, which has two (2) preventive maintenance visits per year and covers all emergency and routine repairs and replacement of consumable parts (including only consumables listed in the equipment maintenance agreement), with four (4) one (1) year options., The service agreement will consist of the repair, calibration and scheduled Preventative Maintenance (PM) visits at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD, for the Government-owned XPS Spectrometer. The Contractor will furnish all labor, tools, and supplies to components and circuitry of the system and return them to OEM specifications. Without knowledge of the instruments electronic schemes, it will be impossible to service this XPS and if not serviced ARL cannot protect its assets and therefore risks rendering this instrumentation inoperable.

The Physical Electronics X-ray Spectrometer is a complex, high-sensitivity, highly customized instrument that operates in a high-vacuum environment. As such, calibration, repair, and maintenance of the instrument can only be conducted by Physical Electronics USA service engineers, who undergo extensive training from the equipment manufacturers, and are experts in this field. The government owned X-ray Spectrometer contains unique technology, such as magnetic focusing lenses, ultraviolet radiation source, auger election detector, rastering X-ray beam, photoelectron imager, that are unlike other X-ray photoelectron spectrometer components from manufacturers such as Kratos and Thermo Scientific. Without service provided by qualified personnel from Physical Electronics, the X-ray Spectrometer will not function to the stringent specifications required to produce reliable and accurate data. To procure services from a different manufacturer will require the replacement of the XPS currently used by WMRD.

Consequently, the purchase of a new XPS would result in a substantial duplication of cost to the Government, of an estimated (purchase of a new X-ray Spectrometer at with maintenance agreement at ), not expected to be recovered through competition. Due to the aforementioned, Physical Electronics USA is the only source that will satisfy WMRD’s requirements.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

The Contracting Officer will publish the notices required by FAR 5.201 and any bids or proposals received shall be considered. Because this is a sole source action, effective competition is not applicable.

Based on the market research performed by the Requiring Activity (See Section 8), has indicated that only Physical Electronics USA has access to the proprietary knowledge and technology, which is necessary to perform the required services for ARL’s XPS. Therefore, it is not possible to compete this procurement requirement. ARL will continue to pursue web searches and consultations with knowledgeable government and industry personnel to help locate alternative manufacturers that can provide maintenance support that is compatible with the current Government Owned Equipment (GOE), but until that is known, ARL will continue to use the only existing known source, Physical Electronics USA. If WMRD discovers that another manufacturer could provide a reliable alternative with a high confidence of compatibility, ARL will not hesitate to purchase the services competitively.

7. Actions to Increase Competition:

The proposed contractor occupies a very specialized niche, which is narrow in scope and the need to access proprietary data eliminates all candidate contractors except the OEM. There are currently no service vendors capable of providing the required service as well as providing the required OEM parts necessary. It is not practical for the Government to foster competition in this area since the Government has no control over proprietary data needed to perform the service on the contract. The market will be monitored for other XPS’s that will meet the Government’s requirements if the currently owned XPS becomes obsolete or irreparable in the future. In addition, the requiring office will continue to survey the market for any changes in Physical Electronics USA’s proprietary data rights.

8. Market Research: Market research was conducted between 02 July 2016 and 23 July 2016 by . is a materials engineer within the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate (WMRD) of the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) with nine (9) years of experience working with X-Ray photoelectron spectrometers, and is the laboratory point of contact for the Army Laboratory’s Versaprobe II X-ray photoelectron spectrometer. The market research techniques used consisted of internet searches and phone conversations with experts in the field, such as from Thermo Scientific and from Kratos, Inc.

Both Thermo Scientific and Kratos were identified as potential vendors, however the requirement for the proposed service contract cannot be adequately satisfied by any other manufacturer due to proprietary hardware and software rights that Physical Electronics has. Specifically, the repair, maintenance, and calibration require OEM parts which are unique to Physical Electronics. The existing XPS system that ARL has cannot be serviced by personnel from companies other than Physical Electronic as this will result in void of warranty, possible damage to the instrument causing inaccurate data, and may result in increased down time and delays in meeting mission and customer program deliverables.

Market research concluded that Physical Electronics is the only sole source manufacturer that has the compatible OEM parts and has the personnel capable of meeting the Government’s service requirement.

9. Interested Sources: In accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 205.205-71, DFARS 206.302-1(d), and DFARS Procedures, Guidance and Information (PGI) 206.302-1(d) the Contracting Officer published a synopsis on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) on 12 June 2017 for ten (10) days and requested information on possible competition. This synopsis posting resulted in zero (0) interested vendors responding. To date, no other sources have written to express interest in this acquisition.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History: Only one (1) relevant previous contract.

1) Contract No.: W911QX-14-P-0104 Contractor’s Name: Physical Electronics, Inc.

Award Date: 30 April 2014

2) Competitive Status: Full and Open Competition

3) Authority: N/A

4) Justification for Previous Contract: N/A

5) If any prior contract for this requirement was accomplished using full and open competition, include a detailed explanation of the changed circumstances causing this action to now limit the sources.:

Contract W911QX-14-P-0104 was for the procurement of the current Government-owned X-Ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS) System that includes the following: PHI 5000 VersaProbe II Scanning ESCA Microprobe (Part No. V5000-01), Mu Metal Chamber Option (Part No. V5000-D), Scanning Auger Option (Part No. V5000-F), Argon Gas Regulator Kit (Part No. 711953), Intro Ion Gauge Option (Part No. V5000-IG), XPS Polymer Data Base (Part No. 703402).

This procurement was solicited on a full and open competition basis. Now that the system has been purchased, this current effort is for an ongoing maintenance contract from the OEM. The OEM occupies a very specialized niche, which is narrow in scope and the need to access proprietary data eliminates all candidate contractors except the OEM. There are currently no service vendors capable of providing the required service as well as providing the required OEM parts and as such, this new requirement cannot be accomplished using full and open competition.

6) An explanation of any unusual patterns that may be revealed by the history, e.g., several consecutive, urgent buys.:

Procurement history does not reveal unusual patterns; several consecutive, urgent buys, etc.

7) If a justification was prepared to support the procurement made before this one, briefly describe the circumstances justifying the procurement and whether there have been any significant changes.:

N/A

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

Signer’s Title: Materials Engineer

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

Approval Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of a service and preventative maintenance agreement for a Versaprobe II X-Ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS) system on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

(End of Justification)