ATFJAANSFBridge.pdf

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Middle East District (TAM)

Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) Operations and Maintenance

(O&M) Services

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition

Value: $3,085,043.05

Justification For Other Than Full And Open Competition - Afghanistan National Security Forces Operations and Maintenance

Control No. 15-0004

1. Contracting Activity

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Transatlantic Division, Middle East District, P.O. Box 2250, Winchester, VA 22604-1450.

2. Description of Action

The Middle East District seeks formal approval of sole-source, firm-fixed price Purchase Order W912ER-15-P-0005 (“the Purchase Order”) for continued Operation and Maintenance (O&M) and O&M training services for real property facilities being utilized by the Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) during the period between expiration of Contract W912ER-10-D-0002 and the beginning of full follow-on services under Contract W912ER-15-D-0001. The Purchase Order was awarded on 23 January 2015 in the amount of $2,760,267.49 using Afghanistan Security Forces Funds (ASFF).

Modification P00001 to exercise the option line item, 0025, was issued on 5 February 2015 in the amount of $174,775.56. Modification P00002 to add $150,000.00 for unscheduled work orders and spare parts was issued 11 February 2015. The total value of the Purchase Oder is now $3,085,043.05. The period of performance under the Bridge Purchase Order will run from 1 February 2015 through 14 March 2015.

3. Description of Services

The contractor shall furnish all labor, services, supplies, supervision, materials, tools, equipment, spare parts, warehousing, inventory control, security, transportation and other items necessary to perform routine, traditional O&M services, facility maintenance, and systems and infrastructure support at designated ANA and ANP facilities throughout Afghanistan. The contractor will also provide on-the-job and vocational training to ANSF Department of Public works (DPW) Facilities Engineering personnel about the operations and maintenance of real property, quality assurance/quality control inspections, fire and safety activities, disaster response, work order processing, mechanical and electrical repairs, carpentry, plumbing, HVAC, and other trade skills necessary to conduct O&M of ANSF Facilities. Services performed under this Purchase Order are categorized under the following functional areas: buildings and structures maintenance and repair; utility systems plant operation, maintenance and repair; HVAC systems operation, maintenance and repair; grounds maintenance; force protection maintenance; surfaced area maintenance; and pest control. The Purchase Order covers routine, traditional O&M services for facility maintenance only as well as unscheduled maintenance. Facility maintenance is defined as covering standard upkeep of the buildings and equipment, including such efforts as preventative maintenance and inspection on electrical generation and distribution equipment, waste water treatment plant, water treatment and distribution.

The Individual Job Orders/Service Orders (IJOs/SOs) represent unscheduled maintenance and repair that is corrective in nature (e.g, repairs, replacements) as well as those related services not generally considered to be a routine recurring preventive

Control No. 15-0004 maintenance activity. Emergency work orders also fall under IJOs/SOs and are necessary when immediate action is required to eliminate life threatening or serious injury hazards to personnel, prevent significant loss or damage to Government property, ensure security of sensitive Government property, restore essential services, protect the environment or respond to command priorities. Examples of IJOs/SOs include:

generator overhauls, replacing compressor, replacing heating elements, replacing electrical materials at power plants, etc. The preventive maintenance includes those maintenance/repair services as recommended by the manufacturer; however, once a generator reaches a certain amount of hours, it becomes necessary to start replacing parts and perform overhauls. These types of services do not fall under routine maintenance.

As the IJO/SO work is not scheduled and unpredictable, the amount of funding required to support these work orders is also unknown. The ANSF O&M program is dynamic and driven by daily changing operations and requirements. The Purchase Order has to have the ability to support changes at ANSF sites. At any given time generators, water and waste water treatment facilities, critical infrastructure can become non-mission capable and must be repaired or replaced as to not impact life, safety, and health of ANSF forces.

The estimated total amount of the acquisition, including options and unscheduled work orders is $3,085.043.05.

4. Authority Cited

10 U.S.C 2304(c)(2), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subsection 6.302-2, “Unusual and Compelling Urgency.”

5. Reason for Authority Cited

a. The Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting (PARC) - Winchester, verbally approved a sole source acquisition of continuing services from Vectrus Systems Corporation (“Vectrus”) for a one and a half month period on 20 January 2015 to prevent a lapse in O&M maintenance and training services until IDS International Government Services, LLC (“IDS”) takes over all O&M tasks for ANSF facilities under Contract W912ER-15-D-0001. This After-the-Fact Justification seeks to formalize the PARC’s verbal approval.

b. The requirement for O&M services and training arises under the Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan’s (CSTC-A’s) mission to reform, develop and train the ANSF, including the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP), to develop a stable Afghanistan, strengthen the rule of law and deter and defeat terrorism within that nation’s borders.

Control No. 15-0004

The challenges that the ANSF continues to experience in hiring and retaining host national Afghan facility engineers has placed significant emphasis on avoiding any gaps on the ANSF O&M contract support. CSTC-A assumes these responsibilities under the national O&M contracts (North and South) and will have this requirement until the ANSF continue to resolve issues with their ability to assume the O&M responsibilities.

c. Vectrus, had been providing under now expired Contract W912ER-10-D-0002, through 31 January 2015, the O&M services described in Section 3 for approximately 500 ANSF facilities and has trained 1789 Afghan nationals on how to maintain the facilities after CSTC-A’s mission concludes. These same O&M and training services were continued under Contract W912ER-15-D-0001, which was awarded on 13 January 2015 to IDS International Government Services, LLC (“IDS”), who had began mobilizing to take over all services formerly provided by Vectrus. Initially, the Agency estimated that a one and a half month transition period after 31 January 2015 would be needed before IDS can take over all of the contractual activities and responsibilities that Vectrus was performing under the expired contract.

d. Inexcusable Delays. A delay in these vital services will not allow the ANSF to continue to facilitate its security operations throughout the regions of northern Afghanistan. ANSF’s ability would be severely hindered as it would not have the needed functional facilities to support its security operations. A lack of any of the services for utility and infrastructure systems (electrical, potable water and sewer), provided to the facilities and used by the ANSF, can cause it to fall in despair as well as affect the health and safety of the users. A gap in service would result in CSTC-A’s failure to train and develop the Afghan security forces and halt the progress the ANSF has achieved in the security transition from NATO forces. A lapse would also cause mission failure of GIRoA, MOD, MOI, Department of Defense, CSTC-A, the International Security Force and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

There are a number of high visibility, high priority sites currently receiving O&M services such as the Afghanistan National Detention Facility – Parwan and the adjacent Justice Center, the Ministry of Interior Headquarters, the Presidential Palace and the ANA Officer’s Academy. A lack of any of the services for utility and infrastructure systems (electrical, potable water and sewer), provided to these or any facilities used by the ANSF, could cause it to fall in disrepair. Without the necessary routine O&M services, the structural integrity and basic facility operating systems will be degraded and the facilities would no longer be able to be used for their designated functional purpose. The facility degradation will cause the facilities to continue to depreciate and will inhibit the progress of the ANSF as it takes increasing responsibility for missions of combat service support in an effort to become fully sustainable. All sites under the O&M contract have been identified by CSTC-A as critical to the ANA and ANP.

Critical facilities and infrastructure are defined as vital and essential systems and assets to the ANSF that partial or total destruction of such systems or assets would have an incapacitating impact on security, health or safety, operational functions or any

Control No. 15-0004 combination thereof. Several types of critical facilities are listed in the preceding paragraph. Types of critical infrastructure include electrical power generation and distribution systems, water production systems, wastewater systems, and Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) & Refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems. Any degradation to the infrastructure or buildings supporting these critical facilities would further hamper the ANSF’s success for long-term sustainment.

Along with the on-the-job training that is conducted at the current 21 sites, currently, there are 100 students enrolled in 8 regional training sites in the Northern provinces of Afghanistan. These students are qualified ANSF Department of Public Works (DPW) Facilities Engineering personnel who are trained on the operations and maintenance of real property, quality assurance/quality control inspections, fire and safety training, disaster response, work order processing, mechanical and electrical repairs, carpentry, plumbing, as HVAC tradesman and other trade skills necessary to conduct O&M of ANSF facilities. While the intent of the contract is for the ANSF facility engineers, once trained, to take full responsibility in the safe and reliable operation and life-cycle sustainment of their facilities, without the Purchase Order a gap in this training component would further delay the site transitions to the ANSF, again hindering its ability to successfully sustain its facilities.

e. The required services are site-specific and highly specialized. The O&M services contractor must be knowledgeable of the type, location and characteristics of the ANSF facilities for which O&M services are to be performed – including the equipment within the facilities requiring maintenance. A large, complex data base will need to be developed and maintained to track and account for all ANSF facilities and equipment O&M requirements. The technology is not unique, but the time and cost required to build the data base for a 41-day Purchase Order would be extensive and ineffective. The incumbent contractor has to have a detailed knowledge of much of Afghanistan’s geography, its cultural, political and security situations, the business environment and the ability to deal with these issues.

The contractor must deal on a daily basis with Afghan national officials and employees, requiring the capabilities of speaking the local languages and working within local cultural and religious norms. It has proven a challenge to find contractors capable of effectively delivering all of the required services, given the environment and constraints but it is not cost-effective for the short performance period of this Purchase Order.

At this time, only Vectrus has the onsite capability to continue the required O&M services without mobilization. Vectrus’ expatriate employees have the required security clearances and identification badges to be able to provide services in the required Northern provinces without delays resulting in an unacceptable break in service. Only Vectrus has the required visas, work permits, and country specific accounts that support local national employee benefits and the technical licenses and certifications required to perform the scope of work while avoiding a break in service. Vectrus possesses a current understanding of host nation laws, regulations, and inherent physical dangers where services are to be provided in Afghanistan. Vectrus currently employs proven experienced local Afghan employees who have established relationships with local

Control No. 15-0004 governance and tribal elders which allows Vectrus to perform in more remote regions without a disruption in services.

The continuous and reliable performance of the O&M services demands a significant personnel and logistical commitment on the part of the prime contractor and its subcontractors. Vectrus has the necessary subcontracts and agreements in place to continue uninterrupted O&M services. Vectrus employs or has employed and has established relationships with subcontractors providing the following services in support of the O&M contract: generator overhaul and emergency services; personal security detail and movements; on-the-job training and O&M services; B-6 armored vehicle leasing; waste water removal and disposal services; internet services; life support services; warehouse leasing and ancillary services; pre-employment and annual medical screening; drug-testing; and site water testing.

f. The incumbent contractor, Vectrus, is currently capable of providing all of the continuing O&M maintenance and training services requirements, without mobilization, until IDS can take over O&M activities and responsibilities under Contract Number W912ER-15-D-0001. At this time, only Vectrus has the existing administrative support staff, organization, equipment, IT system and data to seamlessly continue providing O&M activities at the twenty current ANSF sites in Northern Afghanistan now being served under the expired and new O&M contracts.

g. Out of other contractors which may be capable of providing the services and which are available in the country, only IDS has some of the capabilities to assume Vectrus’ responsibilities and activities, because it is currently mobilizing to take over provision of the services. As discussed in paragraph 5.b., it will take approximately one and a half months for IDS to be fully capable of performing all required O&M tasks under Contract W912ER-15-D-0001. Other potential contractors (see Section 8 below) might have the ability to provide the required O&M services; but none of these contractors have the ability to immediately continue the O&M services that Vectrus has been providing.

Without continuous O&M and training support to the ANSF during harsh winter months and a continually deteriorating security environment combined with the need to ensure a seamless transition from the current ANSF O&M contracts (North and South) to the recompete contract, it is imperative that a bridge contract be executed.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition

It was impractical to obtain competition in this instance, because the required services had to begin immediately; they were highly specialized and unique due to their nature and the environment in which they are to be performed; and the time period for their performance is extremely short (one and a half months). These conditions made it impractical to obtain the services from any entity other than the incumbent contractor under the expiring contract.

Control No. 15-0004

7. Actions to Increase Competition

The new award (recompete), Contract Number W912ER-15-D-0001, before issuing the Bridge Purchase Order, was awarded using competitive procedures under which multiple proposals were received and evaluated. In addition, the rates used in the Bridge Purchase Order are from the expired contract, which was competed during the initial award and evaluated. TAM does not foresee the need so does not intend to award any other sole source bridge contracts or purchase orders. As part of TAM’s corrective action in response to the protest, following minor revisions to the solicitation that were identified during the review of the protest, the Offerors in the competitive range will each have an opportunity to provide final proposal revisions. If O&M services are required in the future, after Contract W912ER-15-D-0001 expires, the District intends to again fully compete them.

8. Market Research

The Contracting Officer reviewed the qualifications of the contractors who submitted proposals under the Solicitation for Contract W912ER-15-D-0001, including those contractors whose proposals were included in the competitive range.

9. Interested Sources

Pursuant to the requirement to synopsize under FAR 5.201, on 12 February 2015, A Notice of Sole Source action was released through Federal Business Opportunities.

The notice stated that the action was awarded to Vectrus for a period of 41 days and that the notice was not a request for competitive quotes. Comments were requested by 4:00 PM, Eastern Time, 27 February 2015. Two responses were received.

a. Great American Construction Company (GACC). This company appears to be a local Afghan-owned company as the address is listed as Kabul, Afghanistan. GACC indicates it has experience in Afghanistan, especially in the North and that they can start within 10 days of award. A search by company name in the System for Award Management (SAM) did not reveal any results. The company is approved by the Joint Contracting and Contingency Services (JCCS) to do contracting with the U.S.

Government in Afghanistan.

b. Choice Made Construction Company (CMCC). This company is also located in Kabul, Afghanistan. On 25 February 2015, in an e-mail response to the notice, CMCC states that it "completed almost 25 projects for USACE and more than 150 projects with USAID, PRT's, US Embassy, Czech PRT, Afghan Government Ministries, ASP, and others in 31 provinces of Afghanistan. For now, CMCC has 25 active regional and provincial offices throughout the country. Four warehouses in Herat, Kabul, Kandahar and Nangarhar fully with construction and Engineering materials to answer any need of project in short time. Beside of that [sic]

Control No. 15-0004 has good escorted caravan to reach any area on time and one of the example [sic] will be the ongoing project of USACE W91B4L-14-C-0010, USACE SEPS Phase I in Helmand province in Sangin and Kajaki Districts the most insecure area in country, but with good staffing and escorted we are mobilizing and progress is good.” This company does have an active registration in SAM. All of its NAICS codes listed are in the construction and engineering services descriptions. CMCC is approved in JCCS; however, the AISA license that is uploaded only shows it is valid through 24 January 2015. This does not necessarily mean the license is current or correct. The business type category in JCCS lists CMCC as construction and construction materials production.

While it appears that based on the experience that CMCC has in working on federal Government contracts throughout multiple locations in Afghanistan on construction projects, it could very well be capable of performing O&M services. However, it is impracticable to award a contract to either company listed above because it is not reasonable to expect any contractor to mobilize, hire, accept Government-furnished property, receive work turn-over and procure spare parts to successfully perform within this short 41-day period. Additionally, previous efforts have shown that while the Government encourages the prime contractor to provide every opportunity to subcontract with local Afghan companies, this complex effort is more suited for companies that have the assets and personnel resources, as Afghan companies have failed to deliver the services provided under this contract in the past.

10. Other Facts

a. Procurement history.

(1) The initial contract to provide O&M services for the ANA was a FFP task order issued in September 2006 to Contrack International under a SATOC IDIQ contract initially awarded under full and open competition.

Contract Number

Contract Value Type Geographical Boundary

Comments

W912ER-04-D-

0003-0015

$239,792,915.16 FFP IDIQ All of Afghanistan

ANA O&M

Only

(2) The initial contracts for the ANP were FFP “C” contracts awarded in July 2008 under full and open competition. The task order and “C” contracts were each awarded with a one year base and two 12-month option periods. These contracts provided full O&M services for all ANA and ANP installations throughout all of Afghanistan. The following table provides historical information related to these contracts:

Contract Number

Contract Value Type Geographical Boundary

Comments

W917PM-08-C- $598,546.72 FFP Region 1, ANP O&M

Control No. 15-0004

0093 Afghanistan Only

W917PM-08-C-

$1,259,166.74 FFP Region 2, Afghanistan

ANP O&M

Only

W917PM-08-C-

$193,989.15 FFP Region 3, Afghanistan

ANP O&M

Only

W917PM-08-C-

$191,101.00 FFP Region 4, Afghanistan

ANP O&M

Only

W917PM-08-C-

$1,002,948.23 FFP Region 5, Afghanistan

ANP O&M

Only

W917PM-08-C-

$1,273,578.89 FFP Region 6, Afghanistan

ANP O&M

Only

(2) On 26 July 2010, Contracts W912ER-10-D-0002 and W912ER-10-D-0003 were competitively awarded by TAM to ITT Systems Corporation (Exelis Systems Corporation by way of a Change-of-Name agreement effective 1 January 2012 and now Vectrus also by way of a Change-of-Name agreement effective 27 September 2014), a large U.S. firm based in Colorado Springs, CO. It was never the intention of TAM to award both SATOC’s to the same contractor but through a best-value source selection process, based on the weighted factors in Section M of each solicitation and the assessment of each Offerors’ proposal strengths, weaknesses and risks, ITT’s proposal submissions in response to both solicitations provided the best overall value to the Government. Contract W912ER-10-D-0002 was awarded with an initial capacity of $450 million and provides O&M services for ANSF facilities in provinces to support the ANSF Regional Commands throughout the northern, capital and eastern regions of Afghanistan while W912ER-10-D-0003 was awarded with an initial capacity of $350 million and provides O&M services for facilities located in provinces to support ANSF Regional Commands throughout the southern, southwest and western regions of Afghanistan. Each contract is FFP with a total period of performance of a one-year base period and four one-year option periods.

Contract Number

Contract Value Type Geographical Boundary

Comments

W912ER-10-D-

$450,000,000.00 FFP/SATOC Afghanistan Engineer District- (AED)- North

(TAN)

ANA & ANP

W912ER-10-D-

$350,000,000.00 FFP/SATOC AED-South District

(TAS)

ANA & ANP

(3) Competitive status of these actions.

All of the contracts listed in paragraph 10.a.were awarded using fully competitive acquisition procedures.

Control No. 15-0004

(4) Authority previously used for less than full and open competition.

Not applicable.

(5) Summary of the justification prepared to support the procurement made before this one.

Not applicable. The previous procurement was made using full and open competition.

(6) Explanation of changed circumstances from full and open prior award.

Purchase Order W912ER-15-P-0005 is being awarded solely as a one-time only bridge award between two (2) previously and fully competitively solicited contracts.

(7) Unusual patterns revealed by the procurement history.

Not applicable.

(8) The circumstances justifying the procurement made before this one.

Not applicable.

(9) Acquisition data availability.

Technical data packages, specifications and statements of work suitable for full and open competition are available and were used for the solicitation of Contract W912ER- 15-D-0001.

b. Unusual and compelling urgency.

Not applicable.

c. Subcontracting competition.

As Vectrus has been performing this work for nearly five years and has all of the vendor relationships established, systems in place, familiarity with host nation rules and laws, it is self-performing all of the routine O&M work. Through the work order process, based on the threshold established in the Performance Work Statement, Vectrus competitively awards work orders for any action over $3,000 for Priority 3 work orders and $5,000 for Priority 2 work orders. These actions are awarded to host nation vendors such as Jubali Brothers and SRTSC, for example, for generator repairs.

Currently, Vectrus employs 28 personnel, 17 of which are local nationals, from Shield Security Services which provides private security detail for Vectrus’ management staff and at certain sites as necessary (i.e., warehouse). USACE policy is to encourage

Control No. 15-0004 prime contractors to use local subcontractors and labor forces and, it is anticipated that Vectrus will continue to utilize Afghan firms for this bridge effort.

Control No. 15-0004

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.

Name: Willis E. Herweyer Date:

Title: Project Manager Signature: ________________

12. Requirements Certification

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the J&A, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Willis E. Herweyer Date :

Title: Project Manager Signature: ________________

HERWEYER.WILLIS.EUGENE.10

45867044

Digitally signed by HERWEYER.WILLIS.EUGENE.1045867044 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=HERWEYER.WILLIS.EUGENE.1045867044 Date: 2015.03.25 20:13:00 -04'00'

HERWEYER.WILLIS.EUGENE.1045867044

Digitally signed by HERWEYER.WILLIS.EUGENE.1045867044 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=HERWEYER.WILLIS.EUGENE.1045867044 Date: 2015.03.25 20:26:34 -04'00'

Control No. 15-0004

13. Fair and Reasonable Price Determination

I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. Price analysis was conducted and the IGE was prepared based on agreed upon monthly negotiated pricing under contract number W912ER-10-D-0002. This bridge award is a continuation of the same services being provided under the previous ANSF O&M North contract.

Name: Nora L. Cherry Date: _________________

Title: Contracting Officer Signature: _________________

14. Contracting Officer Certification

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Nora L. Cherry Date: _________________

Title: Contracting Officer Signature: _________________

CHERRY.N

ORA.LOIS.1

249719800

Digitally signed by

CHERRY.NORA.LOIS.1249719800

DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=CHERRY.NORA.LOIS.12497198 Date: 2015.03.25 18:40:18 -04'00'

CHERRY.N

ORA.LOIS.1

249719800

Digitally signed by

CHERRY.NORA.LOIS.1249719800

DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=CHERRY.NORA.LOIS.1249719 Date: 2015.03.25 18:40:48 -04'00'

Control No. 15-0004

15. HQ USACE Approvals:

HQ USACE Office of Counsel:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

HQ USACE Technical:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

02 April 2015

CALLOWAY.JOHN.RI

CHARD.1043233145

Digitally signed by

CALLOWAY.JOHN.RICHARD.1043233145

DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=CALLOWAY.JOHN.RICHARD.1043233145 Date: 2015.03.28 09:08:08 -04'00'

SUNDBERG.ROBER

T.MONROE.114151

Digitally signed by

SUNDBERG.ROBERT.MONROE.1141513431

DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=SUNDBERG.ROBERT.MONROE.114151343 Date: 2015.04.02 09:43:21 -04'00'

Control No. 15-0004

Approval Authority

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the execution of Purchase Order W912ER-15-P-0005, for Afghan National Security Forces Operations and Maintenance Services, on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(2), as implemented by FAR Subsection 6.302-1(a)(iii)(B), “Only one responsible source and no other services will satisfy agency requirements.” This effort is subject to the availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition. The total value of this acquisition is $3,085,043.05.

JOHN H. TEETSOV

PARC-WIN Special Competition Advocate