JA - Brand Name (HVAC Chillers) SAM.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Agency: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Louisville District, Post Office Box 59, Louisville, Kentucky 40201-0059.

2. Description of Action: This justification and approval (J&A) is being prepared for the use of a brand name item, Trane HVAC Chillers, in the firm fixed price construction contract for the Intelligence Production Complex phase III project at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The government will not purchase the Trane equipment directly, but rather brand name specifications will be included in the design bid build solicitation that will lead to a new firm fixed price (FFP) construction contract. The construction contract is planned to be awarded under a full and open solicitation, using FY19 MILCON funding.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The chillers selected for use on the Intelligence Production Complex phase III project at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio are Trane chillers. Trane has offices around the world, with a regional office in Holland, Ohio. The estimated total cost for the equipment is approximately XXXXXX.

4. Authority Cited: 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) 2304(c)(1), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1(a)(2) “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.” This authority is applicable to brand name justifications in accordance with FAR 6.302-1(c)(1).

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

a) Background: The National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) Intelligence Production Complex phase 3 project at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base will connect to existing facilities, adding 225,000 SF of new space; which will require the installation of an HVAC system.

The existing NASIC facility is currently housed in several buildings (10853, 10822, and 10856) that have been combined into one contiguous facility.

Together these buildings comprise one of the largest SCIF buildings in the Department of Defense. The existing facility is a two-story building that has been renovated/added onto over its existence. It houses analyst workstations, electronics laboratories, and supporting infrastructure. The facilities currently use Trane chillers; which are proprietary products of the sole manufacturer, Trane.

b) Justification: The expansion of the existing NASIC facilities will require synchronization of the current HVAC equipment already installed in the existing facilities with the new equipment to be procured for the project. The existing facilities currently utilize chillers; which are proprietary products of the sole manufacturer, Trane. In order to ensure a seamless connection between the current and new equipment, it will be necessary to procure similar HVAC chillers as the ones currently in place. With the procurement of Trane HVAC chillers, the installation will be able to generate significant estimated cost savings in training expenses and efficiency improvements in mission performance not otherwise available under full and open competition.

c) Impact: Connecting new HVAC chillers to the current HVAC system is a very complex process. In order to ensure a seamless connection between the current and new equipment, it will be necessary to procure similar HVAC chillers as the ones currently in place. The utilization of full and open competition will result in multiple different types of systems being installed; which will result in costly training, a lack of operations and maintenance proficiency, multiple systems per base requiring contracting out advanced repairs, and preventing the efficiencies of less system down-time.

d) Alternatives: None viable to achieve a fully functioning system for the reasons noted above in paragraph 5. b) and c). A total replacement cost of the Chillers to standardize to Trane per the Air Force-approved J&A is estimated to be XXXXXX. This cost was not considered in the project planning for construction funding. A total replacement would require additional time and effort to re-program the project and obtain Congressional approval.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: A technical review and evaluation was conducted of the Chillers for the all of the Air Force, per Installation, by the Air Force Civil Engineering Command (AFCEC). AFCEC determined TRANE would be the official sole-source provider of Chillers for Wright-Patterson AFB to provide efficiencies in maintenance support and in savings of training time and money for their maintenance staff.

A Notice of Intent to Sole Source was posted 22 JAN 2020 on the beta.sam.gov website. To date, no other sources have written to express interest.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: Apart from a complete replacement of the current HVAC chiller system for the NASIC facilities in its entirety, competition will be limited. This is a finite requirement with no future needs, and therefore there are no actions to increase future competition.

8. Market Research: A Notice of Intent to Sole Source was posted on the beta.sam.gov website. To date, no other sources have written to express interest.

A technical review and evaluation was conducted of the Chillers for the all of the Air Force, per Installation, by the Air Force Civil Engineering Command (AFCEC).

AFCEC determined TRANE would be the official sole-source provider of Chillers for Wright-Patterson AFB to provide efficiencies in maintenance support and in savings of training time and money for their maintenance staff.

9. Interested Sources: A Notice of Intent to Sole Source was posted on the beta.sam.gov website. To date, no other sources have written to express interest.

10. Other Factors: None