A09_JA_GeoSlope_10_JAN_2019_Redacted.pdf

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Humphreys Engineer Center Support

Activity

GeoStudio Floating Network Licenses

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition

Authority: 41 U.S.C 1901 as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.501(a)

Estimated Amount:

Control No.: HEC-18-0006

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

1. Contracting Agency: United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity (HECSA), 7701 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22315.

2. Description of Action: Approval is requested for a new, firm-fixed price purchase order for GeoStudio software licenses including annual maintenance. Civil funding is available for this action.

3. Description of Supplies: GeoStudio software is required by USACE Geotechnical, Geology, and Materials Community of Practice (GC&M CoP) for use by USACE geotechnical engineers to model complex groundwater, foundation, slope, and wall design problems, such as: slope stability, liquefaction, seepage, stress and deformation of earth materials and hydrofracture analysis as well as other geotechnical analyses used on many types of projects within the Corps. Districts use the following GeoStudio suite of software products: SLOPE/W, SEEP/W, SIGMA/W, QUAKE/W, TEMP/W, CTRAN/W, and AIR/W. The estimated value of this contract action is for a base year including network perpetual licenses and maintenance. Two additional option years will be included for annual maintenance.

4. Authority Cited: 41 U.S.C 1901 as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.501(a), Sole Source acquisitions.

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

a. Background: Geo-Slope software has been utilized by USACE since at least

2001, with the oldest active licenses within USACE dating from 2007. Since that time, each office has procured Geo-Slope software via their District’s assigned contracting office, typically as small purchase order contracts. However, this resulted in multiple versions of the software in use across the Corps. Currently, Corps-wide districts use multiple software versions and types of licenses, creating inconsistency and potential incompatibility across the enterprise. This procurement consolidates the Corps Geo-Slope licenses enterprise-wide;

creating efficiencies and cost savings for the Government.

b. Justification: This software must be purchased on a sole source basis due to the breadth of features offered by this software compared to other similar software on the market. There are multiple versions of software which offer individual components of the GeoStudio suite (RocScience, GOE 5, SVSlope, PLAXIS, GSTABL7, etc.), however, none offer the ability to complete comprehensive evaluations of levees, dams, reinforced soil slopes, soil nail walls, retaining walls and other slopes by including a common operating platform for slope stability, seepage analysis, deformation and settlement evaluations as well the full range of dynamic loadings such as earthquake motion and post-earthquake evaluations. This allows designers to set up one model and complete multiple types of high level geotechnical evaluations necessary to for USACE dam and levee safety project designs and risk assessments. This is vital for evaluations of the resilience of levee and dam projects, modeling and updating these projects with additional water and earthquake loadings to keep up with current guidance.

Geo-Slope does not sell their software through distributors or re-sellers.

Additionally, it is vital that the Corps continue to purchase Geo-Slope software in order to continue working and viewing ongoing and completed projects within Geo-Slope because no other software is compatible with projects initiated within Geo-Slope software. As this has been the standard from within the Corps since before 2007, the Corps has extensive file libraries of previous analyses and training the Geoslope software is the only sustainable option for meeting mission critical operational requirements. Analyses produced by the software will be required to be reviewed during the agency technical review processes with access to the same version of the software needed in order to review files across multiple districts. This is particularly necessary for any drilling program reviews which include hydrofracture analysis as the files may be required in order to adequately review plans in order to comply with Engineering regulations put in place to protect dam and levee safety.

c. Impact: Purchase of multiple software titles from other vendors would necessitate abandoning this file library and would require costly duplicative efforts to recreate the existing library. The risk assessment process for all dam and levee safety projects require that sites be re-evaluated over time, using other software that would require designers and risk assessors to redo, rather than leverage, existing work would be cost prohibitive and wasteful. With more than 700+ dams and many more levee systems within the Corps inventory, the cost of re-establishing existing models would add significant labor dollars to every assessment project.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

a. Effective competition: No competition is expected for this acquisition. Any similar software offered on the market does not meet the Government’s need. A notice of intent was published on FBO.gov for a period of 15 days. No responses were received.

b. Subcontracting competition: No subcontracting efforts are anticipated. Geo-Slope will supply 100% of the software and maintenance.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Requiring Activity will continue to monitor to market for new modeling software that becomes available to the public.

8. Market Research: The Requiring Office is aware of numerous known sources that offer similar software for the individual components of the Geostudio suite (GSTABL, UTEXAS, STEDWIN Rockscience, etc.) in the marketplace; however, none of these software products offer the range of features that the Corps requires and none offer the complete range of integrated geotechnical evaluations on one common platform, saving significant labor dollars and leveraging existing evaluations.

9. Interested Sources: In accordance with FAR 6.302-1(d)(2), a notice of intent was posted to FBO.gov for a period of 15 days notifying interested sources of the Government’s intent to issue a sole source award. Interested sources were encouraged to submit capability statements; however, to date, no other sources have written to express interest.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement history.

(1) Contract numbers and dates of the last several contracts. There have been no previous consolidated contracts for this software. Since the Corps began utilizing this software circa 2007 and has been procuring this software via individual District/Centers contracting offices. There have been an estimated 70 individual previous contract actions for this software.

(2) The competitive status of these actions. Each of the aforementioned purchase orders was issued on a sole source basis.

(3) Authority previously cited if less than full and open competition was used.

FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), soliciting from a single source under the simplified acquisition threshold.

(4) If a justification was prepared to support the procurement made before this one, a summary of the contents of paragraph 7 of the justification for that procurement and an explanation of the results. Not applicable. All of the previous acquisitions were completed under the simplified acquisition threshold.

(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. Not applicable. There are no known instances where a procurement for this software has been accomplished via full and open competition.

(6) An explanation of any unusual patterns that may be revealed by the history, e.g., several consecutive, urgent buys. Not applicable.

(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. Previous justifications for awards issued under simplified acquisition procedures have relied on the same rational found in this J&A.

b. Other facts. Not applicable.

Sole Source acquisitions