DG11--High Frequency Radio Support (VA-21-00073424)

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724 2. Description of Action: The proposed sole source action is for a 12-month firm-fixed price (FFP) contract with two 12-month option periods with NVIS Communications LLC., whose headquarters is 28850 Shannon Ct, Tehachapi, California, 93561 to provide high frequency emergency radio technical services to cover all Resilient High Frequency (HF) Radio Network (RHFRN) sites across the Veteran Health Administration (VHA) enterprise. The RHFRN uses Codan-branded transmitters, consoles, power supplies, proprietary programming software, antennas and other equipment provided through a previous contract. 3. Description of Supplies or Services: The proposed action is for maintenance, repair, and redesign to support sustainment of the Codan equipment comprising the VHA RHFRN. The Contractor is to provide technical services to cover all RHFRN sites across the VHA enterprise to include all RHFRN radio hardware (radios, amplifiers, consoles, telephone interconnects, cabinets, racks, cabling, grounding, antennas and associated mounting systems, wireless links, and any other system components), system software and hardware, and all current and anticipated enhancement capabilities. The Period of Performance will be a 12-month base period and two, 12-month option periods. 4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 1903 as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.501, entitled Special Documentation Requirements . 5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: The VHA RHFRN is comprised of 197 Codan-branded HF radio stations at 181 locations across the VHA enterprise. Periodic tests of this critical communication system has documented multiple failures within the stations including in areas of design and installation that has rendered multiple stations to be in a non-operational status. Additionally, there are many stations that need repair or replacement of system components to include transmitters, control units, power supplies, and antennas in order to remain functional or to be brought to an operational status. Furthermore, in-depth training, both virtually and, when necessary, on-site, is required to ensure capable VA personnel continue to man and operate these systems. Due to the size and complexity of the RHFRN and the resources necessary to maintain, repair, correct, and/or redesign the many issues with the network and ensure full operational capability, VHA requires a contractor that is fully capable, trained, and, most importantly, certified to repair and maintain the RHFRN. Codan provides technician training and certification at varying levels starting with one-week general operations and maintenance training that is available to Codan customers, partners, dealers, resellers and contractors. Additional in-depth Codan factory integration and installation training is provided only to Codan primary partner company technicians. Codan factory repair training is provided only to Codan Accredited Service Centers. NVIS is the only Codan authorized and accredited service center in North America. Selection of another contractor would require that contractor to send damaged equipment to either NVIS or ship to Codan in Australia for factory-authorized repair and service resulting in delayed repairs and increased costs to the Government. 6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government s requirements. Additionally, the proposed action will be synopsized on the Contract Opportunities at beta.SAM.gov in accordance with FAR 5.201. Any proposals that are received shall be evaluated. 7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the market place that would enable future actions to be competed. 8. Market Research: The Government s technical experts conducted market research during July 2021 by using internet searches, reviewing past contracts, and reviewing General Services Administration (GSA) product catalogs. During this review it was discovered that NVIS is the only factory trained and certified vendor for Codan products. Additionally, on August 13, 2021, the Contract Specialist contacted the Codan North America office to verify whether there were any Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses (SDVOSBs) or Veteran-Owned Small Businesses or any other contractors that were authorized service providers for Codan products in North America. Codan responded on August 13, 2021 that NVIS Communications LLC. (NVIS), 28850 Shannon Ct, Tehachapi, California, 93561 is the only authorized service provider for Codan products in North America. The Contract Specialist reviewed Dunn and Bradstreet and the VA s Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database and and found that NVIS s location at 361 N. Sabine Pass Rd., Fayetteville, Arkansas 72704 is a registered SDVOSB in VIP under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code of 517919. Based upon the above, the Government s technical experts determined NVIS was the only source that could meet all of VA s needs. 9. Other Facts: None