A03-Justification for OTFOC- SAP_Signed_Redacted.pdf

Version 4, DEC 2020 PREVIOUS VERSION IS OBSOLETE

Section 3- Unique salient characteristics that limit availability to only one source, with the reason no other supplies or services can be used:

a. Explain factors/unique qualifications such as proprietary data or exclusive licensing rights, if applicable.

b. If brand name, explain why an adequate purchase description or other information suitable to solicit by full and open competition has not been developed or are not available.

Section 4- Reason why contractor is the only source capable of meeting mission requirements; specifically, the reason no other source can meet the unique capabilities in section 3:

a. Has the vendor provided a statement verifying the unique/specialized/proprietary nature of the requirement?

b. Follow-On Contracts: Defined as a separate, new contract action for which the price and terms are non-competitively negotiated with the incumbent contractor to continue or augment a specific program which is necessitated by prior procurement decisions. Discuss how the sole source action will avoid duplication of costs that is not expected to be recovered through competition, or discuss the unacceptable delays to the government. Provide an estimate of the costs that will be duplicated and explain how such estimate was derived.

c. If urgency is the basis for the justification, explain the chronological events leading up to the requirement and explain why time constraints cannot permit even a limited competition. Describe impact of required delivery/performance date. Describe the detrimental effects/serious injury to the mission of the requiring activity or to the government, financial or otherwise, that will result if this justification is not approved and the product or service cannot be provided by the intended sole source contractor.

Section 5- Market Research:

a. Reference FAR Part 10

b. Describe the extent of the market research conducted to identify all qualified sources and the results thereof. "Market Research" is defined as those attempts you made to ascertain whether other qualified sources exist, and can include contact with knowledgeable experts regarding similar or duplicate requirements, contact with industry, results of a sources sought synopsis, or draft solicitations. Research of the marketplace may consist of written, telephonic, or world wide web inquiries.

c. Procurement History: Identify contract numbers and whether those actions were competed or not.

Section 7- Actions to Increase Competition (for completion by ACC-APG Acquisition Personnel):

a. What supplemental market research has been done?

b. Has a sources sought, RFI, or notice of intent been posted?

c. Have any contractors identified their interest in this requirement?

d. Has the proposed contractor been contacted for verification of the information presented?

e. Have resellers/distributors been researched and identified?

f. Have the mandatory sources of FAR Part 8 been screened? (FPI/UNICOR, AbilityOne, GSA, FSS)

Brand Name or Equal (FAR 11.104)-

- Brand name or equal purchase descriptions must include, in addition to the brand name, a general description of those salient physical, functional, or performance characteristics of the brand name item that an “equal” item must meet to be acceptable for award.

- Use brand name or equal descriptions when the salient characteristics are firm requirements.

- The below chart details the difference between “Brand Name or Equal” and “Brand Name” actions under $250K:

Brand Name or Equal Brand Name Does NOT require a “Justification” Does require a “Justification”

Does not limit competition/Provides for greater competition

Does limit competition

Informally describe salient characteristics (via email, memo, etc.) in written form.

Formally describe salient characteristics via a “Justification”

No specific format Use Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition for Simplified Acquisitions <$250K

Allows for “or equal” similar/comparable items Must supply specific item (part number, model number, serial number etc.)

CONTINUATION PAGE

CONTINUATION PAGE

Various knowledgeable person from government and industries were contacted regarding the purchase of Thermo Electron NICOLET IS20 FT-IR instrument:

1. Ashish Tripathi, Research Chemist, CBC, August 20, 2022, by telephone. ((410) 436-9300, Ashish.tripathi.civ@army.mil).

2. Michael Pannella, FTIR, Raman, Microscopy and NMR instrumentation Specialist. - Mid Atlantic / Northeast, Thermo Electron Company, March 15, 2024. (410) 304-4453, cameron.schweitzer@bmglabtech.com).

3. Shane Kasten, Senior Scientist, MRICD, February 03, 2024. (1-410-436-4412);

Shane.a.kasten.civ@army.mil) Google and Bing search engines were used to perform market research on product review and end user experiences. The collected information below revealed that NICOLET IS20 FT-IR instrumentation fromTHERMo ELECTRON has best performance and robustness with satisfactory end user in the product overall as compared to similar equipment from Anton Paar and MKS companies:

- FTIR spectrometer simultaneously record on the same sample what happens during the curing process and why it happens on a molecular level - Application Note 211 (https://www.bmglabtech.com/en/application-notes/improving-throughput-for-assessing-nephelometr ic-turbidity-units-ntus-using-the-nephelostar-plus/)(product introduction and review) - OMNIC Specta provides an incisive tool for identification of contaminations in materials. Combining its powerful algorithm with an extensive collection of Thermo Scientific infrared spectral libraries makes this come alive for work in QC, analytical service and material analysis laboratories.

(americanpharmaceuticalreview.com) (Product review by independent subject matter experts)

- The Nicolet FTIR IS20 analysis could easily be extended using Thermo Electron TQ Analyst™; a chemometric program. A quality check coupled with a simple report would result in a simple “A-B-C” discrimination, and could be used to identify known treatments of the “B” and “C” jades, or other gemstones.