A.04.35_Brand_Name_Determination.pdf

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Control Number 16-0059

SINGLE BRAND DETERMINATION

Far Subpart 13.106-1(b)

DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District (CENWW-CT) 201 North 3rd, Walla Walla, WA 99362 has a requirement for the delivery of Red Tag Pro Software.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICES/SUPPLIES: This action is for a new firm fixed price acquisition of Red Tag Pro Safe Clearance Software. Walla Walla District requires an automated process to issue organize, track and maintain safe clearance lockout/tag out requirements at its hydroelectric projects.

SINGLE BRAND SOURCE: A brand name justification is being sought to provide Commercial items, off the shelf, from a distributor who carries Red Tag Pro Software.

AUTHORITY CITED:

a. FAR 13.106-1 (b), Soliciting from a single source. (1) For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand name, or industrial mobilization).

b. FAR 11.105-(a)(1): the particular brand name, product, or feature is essential to the

Governments’ requirements, and market research indicates other companies’ similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the agency’s need.

REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED:

a. BACKGROUND: NWW has used a computerized lockout since the mid-1990s. The program was written by local programmers as there were no commercial off-the-shelf applications available to meet the safety requirements. The application has been adapted as needed over the ensuing years to meet system upgrade and security requirements. While it has been maintained, it has not been upgraded. At this point, there are COTS products available that better meet the ongoing and changing OSHA, USACE and DA lockout requirements.

b. JUSTIFICATION: Operating systems have evolved substantially since the local application was written. Army has server security requirements that the application does not meet. The legacy application cannot be further patched, and is frequently crashing because of mandatory system updates and patches. The cost and time involved to rewrite the application to meet current technology, security and operational requirements exceed the cost of the COTS software.

Additionally, there are fewer NWW programmers tasked with maintaining and supporting over 30 local applications for which there are no COTS applications available. Red Tag Pro has been tested by ACE-IT Engineering, and approved for operation on the USACE network. This approval eliminates several months of testing and validation that would be required for any other application. The is also the possibility that another application may meet the technical specifications, but not pass ACE-IT Engineering testing, costing additional money since the District has to purchase the software to submit for testing prior to deployment.

c. IMPACT: An award for any other software application would result in additional delays in deploying the application. Due to the number of lockouts daily, having to manually create the numerous tags and reports negatively impacts the operators and delays contract execution at the dams.

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d. ALTERNATIVES: Find another application that meets the performance specifications, take it through ACE-IT Engineering for testing and validation, and delay implementation for an unknown period of time.

DETERMINATION OF FAIR AND REASONABLE COSTS: Preliminary market research has identified more than 3 vendors in the marketplace that carries the software that will be solicited for.

Therefore, due to their market share, the price – handled through several small business dealers – is expected to be fair and reasonable.

EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION: Market Research was conducted by the NWW- Operations Officer to determine if there is any other approved safe clearance software on the USACE network; there is no other approved application. She also was unable to find other safe clearance software that met the technical specification.

MARKET RESEARCH: The particular “Red Tag Pro” brand name, product, or feature is essential to the Government’s requirements, and market research indicates other companies’ similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the agency’s needs. Market research indicates that several small business distributors for the brand name “Red Tag Pro” may fulfill the requirement.

CONTRACT SPECIALIST: I certify that the information supporting this brand name determination is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge based on the supporting data provided by technical or requirements personnel.

Prepared by: Ruth Johnson Title: Contract Specialist Signature: ____________________

DETERMINATION: In accordance with the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 13.106-1 (b) and based upon the foregoing, I hereby determine that a brand name procurement is authorized and is in the best interest of the Government.

Approved by: Mary M. Van Sickle Title: Contracting Officer Signature: ___________________