Notice of intent to negotiate a sole-source contract

The US Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), NOAA Ship Ferdinand Hassler is procuring services to replace the existing Siemens TP277 HMI panels.

This work will be performed by Richardson Electric CO. Inc., located at 17 Batchelder Rd. Seabrook, NH 03874. This requirement is natural follow-on to work currently being performed as part of contract EE133M18SE0038 (Periodic Safety Test Procedure [PSTP] Implementation). This work is part of the PSTP implementation to update the Monitoring, Alarm, and Control system to add, modify, and repair required inputs and outputs to the HMI in order to bring them in line with federal regulations.

During the initial efforts, it was discovered that there are numerous issues with the hardware and systems software which need to be corrected prior to the completion of the PSTP implementation and implementation of unmanned engine room watches. The benefit of the work covered in contract EE133M18SE0038 cannot be fully realized without also completing this work package.

Should another source perform this work, it would result in significant duplication of efforts. There is a substantial overlap between the PSTP effort and the subject scopes of work.

Further, it would increase the technical risk associated with having multiple separate sources perform programming work on the same system at the same time. The above would result in a significant cost to NOAA, in the form of duplicated labor and lost sea time at a rate of $15,000 per day should the extreme technical risk of having multiple entities perform programming/integration work be realized.

By assigning the work to Richardson Electrical, both issues are mitigated. The duplication of effort is eliminated and one party can be held contractually responsible for the quality of and function of the final product. Further, during the execution of the contract to EE133M18SE0038 Richardson Electrical service personnel became familiar with HASSLER’s unique configuration. The learning curve can be estimated as approximately 15 hours of skilled engineering labor in addition to the duplication of direct effort.

Therefore, the Government intends to acquire this service under the guidelines of FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisitions Procedures and FAR Part 12, Commercial Items. The Government intends to solicit and negotiate directly with Richardson Electric under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i). The NAICS Code for this buy is 336611 Ship Building and Repairing with Size standard of 1250 Employees.

This is not a solicitation for competitive quotes. However, if any interested party that can do the work may submit a statement of capabilities, which if in timely received, will be considered by NOAA OMAO.

A statement of capabilities shall be received by 5:00pm EST on November 22, 2019. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement is based upon responses to this notice and it is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement in the future.

The capability statement, a price list or and any other information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow the Government to determine if the party can meet the requirements. Capability statements and related materials must be e-mailed to Alexander Cancela at alexander.cancela@noaa.gov by 5:00pm EST on November 22, 2019.