Service Varian Linac/Software - 578

Added: Apr 13, 2017 11:49 am

Page 3 of 3

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS



Justification and Approval (J&A)

For

Other Than Full and Open Competition (>$150K)



Acquisition Plan Action ID: VA69D-16-AP-7054



Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, NCO12, Great Lakes Acquisition Center, Suite 101, Milwaukee, WI 53214-1476. Transaction 695-17-2-133-0059, Maintenance of the linear accelerator equipment.



Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed: This procurement is for maintenance and repair of the linear accelerator equipment located at the Edward Hines VA Hospital in accordance with FAR 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. This is a new requirement for a firm-fixed price contract.





Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency s Needs: Provide full service maintenance and preventive maintenance to include inspections, calibrations and repairs on the linear accelerator equipment and software support. Contract employees must be factory-trained service technicians. The total estimated cost of the contract is $ 571,270.00.





Statutory Authority Permitting Other than Full and Open Competition:

.

(X ) (1) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy

Agency Requirements per FAR 6.302-1;





Demonstration that the Contractor s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority): Varian s electronic documentation is proprietary and protected to include several service tools available to the customer. No other 3rd party vendors have access. All regular firmware updates for system components are provided from Varian and other vendors are not authorized access. Remote access is required and the vendor must possess an ISA/MOU.





Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable: Market research was conducted on the current contract (VA69D-16-C-0073) due to expire on March 31, 2017 and it was discovered that this procurement requires a memorandum of understanding/interconnection security agreement (MOU/ISA), which is only issued to vendors at time of equipment purchase. A sources sought notice (VA69D-15-Q-0884) was also posted to FBO on 5/1-15 5/11/15 for the previous contract however, no other vendors were found to have the remote capability through the ISA/MOU and Varian will not authorize other vendors to remote into their existing software programming. Given the requirement for remote access, no other market research was conducted. An intent to sole source was posted to FBO on February 28, 2017 and the notice will expire on March 10, 2017.







Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable: The anticipated quoted price reflects a 10% discount from list price for parts purchased and a 3% discount for coverage for multiple equipment at the same location. A memorandum of price comparison to determine price reasonableness will be included in the procurement record prior to award.



Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted: As described in Section 6 above, an intent to sole source to Varian Medical Systems was posted on FBO to advise industry of the pending acquisition. While conducting market research, a search on FBO revealed a posted sole source notice from the Department of the Army (W91YUO-15-P-0307) for service on Varian linear accelerators. Given this information, no further market research was conducted.







Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition: Vendors must have a Memorandum of Understanding, Interconnection Security Agreement, and (MOU/ISA). These agreements are issued to the manufacturer of the equipment (when an active contract exists) by the Information Security Office (ISO) when new equipment is received by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This allows applications support to the users for real time service and repair which would not be provided by another vendor. Proprietary software prevents other contractors from obtaining a MOU/ISA agreement with another manufacturer s equipment, required for monitoring the equipment by internet.



Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition: The only vendor available for this acquisition is Varian Medical Systems. An intent to sole source has been posted to FedBizOpps on February 28 and will run through March 10, 2017 to announce the intent to do business with Varian Medical as only one responsible source.





A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or overcome any Barriers to Competition before making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required: Approval for a sole source procurement is requested for one year. No actions are planned to compete in the immediate future. Proprietary software and real time connection prevent other vendors from accessing the linear accelerators to repair and maintain. This equipment is used to treat cancer patients and therefore, it is imperative that the equipment is maintained and in working order or repaired with minimal down-time. At this time, the only action that could overcome barriers in competition is purchasing other high tech medical equipment from another manufacturer. This type of high tech specialized medical equipment would not be cost effective to the Department of Veterans Affairs or taxpayers to purchase new equipment each time to promote competition. Given the critical need of cancer treatment for veteran patients, it is crucial that this equipment is maintained and serviced by the manufacture until such time as new equipment becomes more cost effective and efficient for the patients. Varian currently has a NAC contract for the sale of the linear accelerators, but not for service of that equipment. A rising demand from the VHA has prompted the NAC to revisit the requirements and perhaps a national contract will be available in the future.





















Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and 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.





_____________________________ ________________________

Erin Williams Date

Chief, Biomedical Engineer

Edward Hines VA Hospital



Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM, Volume 6, Chapter VI: OFOC SOP.



Contracting Officer's Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.







_____________________________ ________________________

Lori Eastmead Date

Contracting Officer

Great Lakes acquisition Center (GLAC)





Director of Contracting /Designee (Required $150K and above): I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition.







_____________________________ ________________________

Scott Ivy Date

NCO 12, Branch Chief, Services Team

Great Lakes Acquisition Center (GLAC)