SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Advanced Robotics Technology Services - A03 - Redacted J&A
- Notice Date
- 10/13/2017
- Notice Type
- Fair Opportunity / Limited Sources Justification
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Army, Army Contracting Command, ACC - APG (W911QX) Adelphi, 2800 POWDER MILL RD, ADELPHI, Maryland, 20783-1197, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20783-1197
- Solicitation Number
- W911QX-17-T-0305
- Archive Date
- 11/12/2017
- Point of Contact
- Joseph M. Dellinger, Phone: 3013940769
- E-Mail Address
-
joseph.m.dellinger2.civ@mail.mil
(joseph.m.dellinger2.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Award Number
- GS-23F-0180K
- Award Date
- 9/29/2017
- Description
- JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT FAR 8.405-6 LIMITED SOURCES JUSTIFICATION UNDER THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL SUPPLY PROGRAM Supply/Service: The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Vehicle Technology Directorate (VTD) requires an additional two (2) months of effort, from 01 October 2017 to 30 November 2017, for Advanced Robotics Technology Services Authority: Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41U.S.C. 251, et. Seq) and Title 40 U.S.C 501, Services for Executive Agencies, as implemented by FAR 8.405-6. Amount: $299,023.32 Prepared by: DSN: Office Chief Date: 23 August 2017 Email: Contracting Officer:Phillip AmadorDSN: 258-3523 Contracting Officer Date: 23 August 2017 Email: phillip.j.amador.civ@mail.mil Technical: DSN: Office Chief Date: 23 August 2017 Email: Requirements: DSN: Director (Acting) Date: 23 August 2017 Email: Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support limiting competition. Program Manager: Department of the Army FAR 8.405-6 Limited Sources Justification Under the General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule Program 1. Contracting Activity: Adelphi Contracting Division, Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), 2800 Powder Mill Road, Adelphi, MD 20783 2. Description of Action: ARL-VTD requests a Firm Fixed Price - Level of Effort (FFP-LOE) modification under the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Program with Engility Corporation, 35 New England Business Center Drive, Suite 200, Andover, MA 01810-1071. The Government will execute this action against FSS contract GS-23F-0180K. Projected award is September 2017 and fiscal year 2017, Research, Development, Test & Engineering (RDT&E) funds will be used. X An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement either does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i), or is an R&D acquisition and does not meet the definition of services in 10 U.S.C. 2330(c)(2). 3. Description of Supplies/Services: The U.S. ARL-VTD Autonomous Systems Division (ASD) is responsible for developing and demonstrating the advanced robotics technology necessary to create unmanned ground vehicle systems for the Army's Future Force. ASD manages the ARL Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance, a consortium of industrial and academic partners conducting collaborative research with ARL and other Government laboratories and research centers to develop advanced Perception, Intelligent Control, Human-Robot Interaction, and Dexterous Manipulation & Unique Mobility technology. It manages a parallel technology integration and assessment program focused at integrating individual component technologies on relevant tested platforms and assessing performance. The ASD also has a history of successfully transitioning the resultant technology to Army Research, Development, and Engineering Centers and acquisition programs. This contract provides Advanced Robotics Technology services, to include: assessments of the maturity and applicability of current robotics technology supporting military unmanned ground vehicles, independent assessments of technical activities being executed under the ARL Robotics Research program, monitoring international technology development activities, development of program/technical strategy options, preparation of technical and program briefings, full documentation of field experiments and assessments to include graphics, video and still photography (including editing), and prepare data summaries, input into development of experimental programs including detailed experimental design, conduct independent assessments of the readiness of individual technologies for formal experimentation, and tracking of technical status and cost data reported by industrial and academic contractors and other organizations conducting research as well as monitoring of financial status, reporting and funds disbursements for ASD. The current contract was issued on 25 May 2012, with an original period of performance (PoP) beginning on 01 June 2012 and expiring on 31 May 2017. A modification (P0001) was issued, at no additional cost to the Government, on 29 May 2013 extending the PoP end dates of all CLINs by two (2) months in order to complete work that was initiated under the base year of this order; this made the PoP end dates of all CLINs end on 31 July of each contract year instead of the original 31 May dates. Additionally, two (2) modifications (P00017 and P00018) were issued to extend the PoP end date by one (1) month at no additional cost to the Government. Modification P00017 changed the PoP end date from 31 July 2017 to 31 August 2017 and modification P00018 changed the PoP end date from 31 August 2017 to 30 September 2017. These modifications were issued to ensure that the final stages of the research initiated under this order could be continued until all findings were completed for the ARL Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance. ARL-VTD requires a modification to extend the task order (TO) W911QX-12-F-0025 for two (2) months from 01 October 2017 to 30 November 2017, in order to complete the work without a stoppage in critical mission activities. The original TO was competed amongst GSA schedule holders capable of fulfilling the original requirement; Engility Corporation was selected as the awardee. The Government has a continuous need for the Advanced Robotics Technology Services and the only Contractor available that can provide immediate continuation of services with no stoppage is the current Contractor, Engility Corporation. Period of Performance: 01 October 2017 to 30 November 2017 Total Value: $299,023.32 4. Authority Cited: Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41U.S.C. 251, et. Seq) and Title 40 U.S.C 501, Services for Executive Agencies, as implemented by FAR 8.405-6 and substantiated by the following: X FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C). In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-on to an original Federal Supply Schedule order provided that the original order was placed in accordance with applicable Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures. The original order or BPA was not previously issued under a sole-source or limited-sources procedures. 5. Reason for Authority Cited: The ARL-VTD requires continued development of advanced robotics technology necessary to create unmanned ground vehicle systems achieved during the original PoP under TO W911QX-12-F-0025 issued to Engility Corporation. The original order was placed in accordance with all applicable FSS ordering procedures and was not previously issued under sole source procedures. This order was issued on 25 May 2012 and included a one (1) year base period, with four (4) one (1) year option periods. All option periods were exercised with a final PoP end date of 31 July 2017. This will be the first time the authority, above, was used for this particular TO. This specific requirement must be continued by the ARL-VTD in order to conclude the mission critical research that was conducted during the original PoP. Extending the order for two (2) months will allow ARL-VTD the time to complete the required research for the ARL Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance, which utilizes the research of all parties involved to transition the resultant technology to Army Research, Development, and Engineering Centers and acquisition programs and subsequently the warfighter. It would benefit the Government to extend this order for the short period required to complete the research so that all results and findings can be concluded and reported to the ARL Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance for further development. This extension is logical because the current Contractor has completed all research to date for this Alliance and due to their inherent knowledge of the subject it would be beneficial to the Government for them to conclude the research instead of having another Contractor complete the work. The alternatives to extending this order with the current Contractor are to suspend operations of the program or use in-house personnel/expertise. Both of these alternatives are not in the Government's best interest as suspending the operation would halt all research conducted to date and could disregard all findings that the current Contractor has concluded and using in-house personnel/expertise will not suffice due to the lack of said in-house personnel within ARL-VTD. If the Government does not extend the current order, it jeopardizes the mission critical research that has already been conducted. Utilizing another contractor still would not be with the Government's best interest considering the complexity of the requirement and the short amount of time required to complete the effort. The phase-in/phase-out time required if a new Contractor was selected to conduct this work would significantly delay the critical research due to unfamiliarity of the current status of obtained research. With the overall PoP of the extension being two (2) months, a phase-in/phase-out period of another contractor would take up a large portion of this time. Also, it would not be cost effective (due to start-up costs, manning issues, such as recruitment and relocation fees, and transferring the contract from one Contractor to another), nor realistic, to expect another Contractor to perform this work during the brief interim period to pick up the level of research at full scale that Engility Corporation can provide in order to complete the effort. If this LSJ is not approved, there is a high likelihood of critical mission failure because of how far along the current Contractor has come during the original PoP. This research could be compromised if another Contractor is required to complete the work that Engility Corporation has conducted over the past five (5) years. 6. Actions to Increase Competition: Based on information provided in paragraph five (5) above, competition for this action is not feasible as no other source is capable of providing seamless support; however any future service contract requests will include new market research for the services required. This will include posting a sources sought synopsis as a mechanism to expose the requirement and determine if any new companies have gained access to, or expanded their expertise in developing and demonstrating the advanced robotics technology necessary to create unmanned ground vehicle systems for the Army's Future Force. In addition to the market research noted in section 7, the Government will continue to search the internet and GSA website to locate other potential sources for developing and demonstrating the advanced robotics technology necessary to create unmanned ground vehicle systems. 7. Market Research: Market Research was completed by REDACTED, with 12 years of experience. Market research was conducted during June 2017 by reviewing pricing and services of similar GSA companies and calculating the essential time and costs needed to train personnel in advanced robotics technology in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(c)(2)(vi). Market Research concluded that Engility Corporation is the only logical awardee for this modification so that there is no stoppage of mission critical research. Having another Contractor complete the additional work required to complete the research would be detrimental to ARL-VTD's mission due to the lead time that would be required to have the new Contractor produce the amount of data requiredin the specific research area of advanced robotics technology. 8. Other Facts: a. Procurement History (1)Contract numbers and dates of the last several contracts for these same requirements: W911QX-12-F-0025 awarded on 25 May 2012; PoP 01 June 2012 - 30 September 2017 (2)The competitive status of these actions: Competitive (3)Authority previously cited if less than full and open competition was used: N/A (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: N/A (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: The research being conducted during the original PoP of the base contract was not completed prior to its expiration. An extension of three (3) months is required to complete the research initiated under the base contract. Due to the extensive experience the Contractor obtained while conducting the research, it is logical for the Government to continue the effort with the current Contractor in order for the research to be completed timely and accurately. (6)An explanation of any unusual patterns that may be revealed by the history, e.g., several consecutive, urgent buys: N/A (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: N/A 9. Technical Certification: I certify 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. Signer's Title: Office Chief 10. Requirements Certification: I certify 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. Signer's Title: Director (Acting) 11. Best Value Determination/Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the modification represents the best value to the Government in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(c)(2)(v). Additionally, I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. This determination will be made using the following: X Price analysis X IGCE __ Other: 12. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Approval Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of two (2) months of effort, from 01 October 2017 to 30 November 2017, for Advanced Robotics Technology Services under Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251, et Seq.) and Title 40 U.S.C 501, Services for Executive Agencies, as implemented by FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C) subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition. (End of LSJ)
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- Place of Performance
- Address: U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), 343 Mulberry Point, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, 21005, United States
- Zip Code: 21005
- Zip Code: 21005
- Record
- SN04713444-W 20171015/171013231017-c78f15e460af173b9e50493fff410a60 (fbodaily.com)
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