FINAL-PEDSS_BRIDGE_J&A_Knox_2019_51_-_FINAL_6_JUNE_2019_Redacted.pdf

Control No: Knox-2019-51 Contractor:

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT

FAR 8.405-6 LIMITED SOURCES JUSTIFICATION

UNDER THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

FEDERAL SUPPLY PROGRAM

Program/Equipment: Provide professional services with technical and analytical expertise in support of the HQDA G-1 Personnel Enterprise Decision Support System (PEDSS) mission. PEDSS consists of one sub-system, the Army G-1 Personnel Authorization Module (PAM) application.

Authority: Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41U.S.C. 251, et. Seq) and Title 40 U.S.C 501, Services for Executive Agencies, as implemented by FAR 8.405-6.

Amount:

Prepared by:

Contracting Officer: Marsha Barnett Contracting Officer Email: marsha.s.barnett.civ@mail.mil

Technical:

Requirements:

Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support limiting competition.

Program Manager:

Version - September 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Date: See electronic signature

Program:

Date: See electronic signature

MICC-Fort Knox:

Version – September 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FAR 8.405-6 Limited Sources Justification Under the General Services Administration

Federal Supply Schedule Program

1. Contracting Activity: Mission Installation Contracting Command Center- Fort Knox, 199 6th Avenue, Suite 373, Fort Knox, KY 40121-5720.

2. Description of Action: Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA), G-1, requests a firm-fixed-price delivery order under the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Program with to provide professional services with technical and analytical expertise in support of the HQDA G-1 Personnel Enterprise Decision Support System (PEDSS) mission. The Government will execute this action against FSS contract The Government projects award by 12 June 2019 and fiscal year 2019, Operations and Maintenance (OMA) funds will be used. 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).”

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The PEDSS consists of one sub-system, the Army G-1 Personnel Authorization Module (PAM) application. The support provided includes ensuring data integrity, analysis, recommendations, and the production of software and system upgrades, database management quality assurance, and other supporting functions.

Period of Performance:

Base Period: 12 Jun 2019 to 11 Dec 2019 FAR Clause 52.217-8 option: 12 Dec 2019 to 11 Jun 2020

Total:

4. Authority Cited: Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41U.S.C. 251, et. Seq) and Title 40 U.S.C 501, Services for Executive Agencies, as implemented by FAR 8.405-6 and substantiated by the following: 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: As described at 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.

a. Timeline.

The anticipated award date for re-compete contract is no later than 12 December 2019, with full performance to begin no later than 26 January 2020. This also provides for a 45 day phase-in period between the incoming and outgoing contractors. The timeline is dependent upon a funding decision no later than 31 October 2019 to allow for solicitation no later than 12 November 2019. The Virtual Contracting Enterprise (VCE) Paperless Contract Files (PCF) cabinet for the re-compete contract will be populated with all required administrative requirements no later than 7 June 2019, less those related to funding. The re-compete contract funding has yet to be allocated. The G-1 PRP COR has submitted an Unfunded Request (UFR) to the G-1 Budget office. Any delay in providing funding will result in delay of re-compete contract submission, solicitation and award.

b. Situation.

(1) The HQDA G-1 PRP Personnel Enterprise Decision Support System (PEDSS) contract ends on 11 June 2019. HQDA G-1 requires a six month bridge contract to complete a government directed migration of the Personnel Authorization Module Web (PAMWEB) sub-system of PEDSS from the Joint Service Provider (JSP) enclave at the Pentagon to Ft. Knox, KY. Additional requirements for this bridge contract are to be able to sustain PAM operational support to users Army-wide throughout the period of 12 June 2019 through 11 December 2019. A follow-on competitive contract award for PAM/PAMWEB support is projected by 12 December 2019. The current contractor has the knowledge, skill, and abilities to complete the migration of the PAMWEB application prior to the system losing the capability to operate in the Pentagon’s JSP enclave on 31 July 2019 and can sustain the PEDSS applications during the contract re-compete process timeline.

(2) This request for a contract bridge is a result of government indecision on how to proceed with the future sustainment for the Army G-3/5/7 Worldwide Individual Augmentation System (WIAS) beyond the expiration of the current contract on 11 June 2019. The government made the determination on 21 March 2019 to remove WIAS from the PEDSS effective 10 June 2019. The Army G-3/5/7 decision to remove WIAS from the PEDSS contract is intended to reduce costs of operations by subsuming WIAS into a separate, pre-existing Army G-3/5/7 database. Requirements documentation for a PEDSS follow-on contract has begun but has not been finalized due to the recent government decision to remove WIAS from the follow-on requirement. The removal of WIAS from the PEDSS, leaves the Army G-1 Personnel Authorization Module (PAM)/PAMWEB program as the sole remaining sub-system for the PEDSS requirement. As a result of this change to the requirement, a follow-on competitive contract to provide for support of PAM/PAMWEB will not be awarded prior to performance ending on 11 June 2019 under the current contract. The Army cannot afford a break in service for PAM/PAMWEB as the contractors’ service support actions sustain the allocation of manpower required to support unit readiness.

(3) The timelines and processes for migration for PAM/PAMWEB to Ft. Knox provides additional justification to support this request. The Ft. Knox Information Management Office (MSO) Team handles the information technology hardware and software systems for the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), Fort Knox, Kentucky. The Ft. Knox Team has not previously managed the migration of a complex system like PEDSS, and have faced challenges in configuring systems and processes to accept PAM into their data enclave. A change in contractor at this stage would only cause further migration delays. The current contractor has the network authorizations to work in both the JSP and Ft. Knox environments. If this were to result in a break in service, a follow-on contractor would require a minimum of 60 days to secure many of the network permissions necessary to operate in the two environments. In addition, a minimum of a 45 day phase-in period would be necessary to on ramp a new contractor after award of the new contract. This would adversely impact PAM operational support to Army-wide users, most importantly the Warfighters.

(4) A contract bridge approval will provide sufficient time to achieve a successful system migration, adequate time for a re-compete contract submission, approval, and award, along with providing a 45 day phase-in period between the incoming and outgoing contractors. All of this will ensure continued PAMWEB functionality for the Army throughout this entire period of migration and contract transition. This is all essential to the successful continuation of day-to-day PAM/PAMWEB support to our Army.

c. The continuance of migration support services under a bridge contract with the incumbent contractor is in the best interest of the Government. The previous contract is W9124D-16-F-0004.

contractor, and is the recommended source for this action.

They are currently performing the contract work requirement successfully and have the requisite skill set to maintain operations to both complete the migration effort as well as successfully support continuing day-to-day operations. Award of the contract bridge to would ensure no loss of migration related technical expertise, knowledge, and capabilities.

d. MICC-Fort Knox exercised a six month extension on contract W9124D-16-F-0004 from 12 December 2018 thru 11 June 2019 IAW FAR Clause 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services. The specific purpose for approval of the six month extension is to complete the migration of PEDSS to a new network hosting environment at Fort Knox, KY, which would meet the Secretary of the Army directive. HQDA, as represented by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), has granted an extension until 31 July 2019 for the completion of the migration. The six month bridge contract will support the completion of a successful migration and provide sufficient time for submission and approval of a contract re-compete award, all the while allowing continued, uninterrupted PAM operations in support of Army-wide users until 12 December 2019, at which time the re-compete contract is expected to be awarded.

e. Alternatives.

(1) Status Quo. The continuation of status-quo operations without a successful migration will result in PAM operational failure on 31 July 2019. The Pentagon JSP version 2008 server will be incapable of supporting PAM as of 31 July 2019. Only the successful migration of PAM to the Ft. Knox version 2012R server will assure that PAM continues to be operational and available on a day-to-day basis to Army-wide users, and that the performance of contract deliverables essential to successful PAM operations continues without a contract break in service.

This migration failure would adversely impact users Army-wide in personnel planning, to include; strength forecasting, budgeting, accessions, retention, separations, reclassifications and distribution of military personnel; in order to accurately fund and staff the Army. The impact Army-wide would be that all Personnel Proponents would not be able to create, change and/or rescind Military Occupational Specialties (MOS’s), Skill Qualification Identifiers (SQI’s), and Additional Skill Identifiers (ASI’s). Any lapse in PAM capabilities would also adversely impact the Army’s manning community ability to execute these vital personnel planning and shaping operations as the Army continues to grow and transitions toward Multi-Domain Operations.

(2) Award Bridge to an Alternate Contractor. If award of this action proceeded to other than the incumbent contractor, the 31 July 2019 suspense for completion of the PAM migration from Pentagon JSP to Ft. Knox would not be able to be finalized. The current contractor has the network permissions to work in both the Pentagon JSP and Ft.

Knox environments. If this were to end, a follow-on contractor would require a minimum of 60 days to secure many of the permissions necessary to operate in the two environments. This would result in the incoming contractor being faced with insufficient time to coordinate and transition resources needed to successfully perform the requirement to include start-up, staffing, training, and transfer of knowledge to ensure continuity of services. Finally, and this is not in the government’s control, migration related technical expertise accumulated by the incumbent contractor could be lost due to contractor personnel transition. Also, at this late stage, there would be no opportunity for the transition of experience and knowledge between the outgoing and incoming contractors.

(3) In-House Government Resources. The Government does not possess sufficient resources to cover a gap in these services.

f. Recommendation. Award a six month PEDSS/PAM bridge contract to the that will result in a successful migration of PAM from

JSP to Ft. Knox NLT 31 July 2019, while maintaining PAM in an operational status for its day-to-day access by users Army-wide. This bridge would also ensure no break-in-service until a follow-on contract is awarded which is projected for 12 December 2019.

Though other contractors may be capable of PAM support performance, this would be only after a period of transition and approval of permissions to operate in both JSP and

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: In accordance with FAR 5.202(a)(11), this action will not be synopsized.

a. Effective Competition: This is a sole-course request initiative, effective competition is not applicable to this instant action.

b. Subcontracting Competition: The Government has verified that the incumbent is subcontracting with a large Business subcontractor entity on the existing contract;

however, the Prime contractor shall be are required to comply with FAR 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The STARS II Contracting Officer has determined that the follow-on requirement that is projected for award on 12 December 2019 is a fit within the scope of the 8(a) STARS II GWAC. Category List: C2FAC-GWAC-8(a) STARS II, is a Multiple Award (MA) Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract to provide information technology (IT) services and IT services based solutions which may include the integration of ancillary support which is necessary and integral to the IT services being acquired.

8. Market Research: The Performance Work Statement (PWS) was sent to for use of the Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GSA) Market Research-Rapid Review Tool on 12 February 2019. It was determined by the STARS II Contracting Officer that the follow-on requirement is a fit within the scope of the 8(a) STARS II GWAC. Category List: C2FAC-GWAC-8(a) STARS II, is a Multiple Award (MA) Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract to provide information technology (IT) services and IT services based solutions which may include the integration of ancillary support which is necessary and integral to the IT services being acquired. STARS II is reserved for qualifying Small Business Administration (SBA) certified 8(a) prime contractors with competitive prices. Based on the market research performed, the follow-on requirement will be solicited through the GWAC 8(a) STARS II suite.

9. Interested Sources: As part of the market research mentioned above, on 12 February 2019, a Scope Compatibility Review Request package was submitted to the GSA GWAC which resulted in a response on 19 February 2019 from the GSA STARS II, Contracting Officer stating that the follow-on requirement was compatible with the scope of the 8(a) STARS II GWAC.

10. Other Facts:

Procurement History. The following table contains the contract number and dates of the recent contracts for these same requirements.

Contract No. Vendor Competitive Status

Aggregate Amount

Performance Period

Version - September 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

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.

12. Requirements 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.

13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the order, represents the best value to the Government in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(c)(2)(v).

Additionally, I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. This determination will be made using price analysis.

Marsha S. Barnett

Date: See electronic signature

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

Date: See electronic signature Marsha S. Barnett

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of service support for the Personnel Enterprise Decision Support System (PEDSS) under Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251, et Seq.) and Title 40 United States Code § 501, Services for Executive Agencies, as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 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. The estimated value of the bridge contract is for a base period of 6 months and up to an additional 6 months using the FAR 52.217-8 clause, with performance commencing 12 June 2019.

The approval is subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.