MC Power Generator Control Panel Upgrade

Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source Contract JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION 1. AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY: The Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Acquisition Directorate (DOD/WHS/AD) on behalf of the Pentagon Facilities Service Directorate (FSD). 2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S): DOD/WHS/AD contracting activity proposes to procure without using full and open competition a sole source firm-fixed price contract to Alban Tractor Company, Incorporated, d/b/a Alban CAT Power Systems (ACPS) to provide MC Power Generator services. Existing generator control panels are original, and approximated to be installed by ACPS in 2001. ACPS was identified to have the only authorized factory trained technicians available to meet the agency needs for mission critical distribution systems. Their experience, knowledge, and training along with their access to factory support means that they can perform services faster and more efficiently than any other non-factory authorized service provider. ACPS possesses proprietary and technical information as well as employs factory certified field installation personnel. FSD has identified that ACPS is the only reliable and technically competent contractor available to perform the work. The After Action Review, as directed by Director, WHS, identifies those "lessons learned" and actionable recommendations from service providers and mission partners for raising mission assurance and reliability of emergency power and IT services to customers. Multiple upgrades were recommended for the RDF generator plant. Generator control panel was one of the key recommendations to provide added level of protection by ensuring that the faults are localized. 3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES: ACPS shall upgrade nine generator control panels to improve the reliability of the generator plant. The existing Engine Monitoring System (EMS) 11 shall be replaced and tested with factory trained personnel with a new Electronic Module Control Panel (EMCP) 4.1 or better model. The Contractor shall upgrade/replace the MC Generator Control panel to current standards which are located in the Control and Generator Room at the Remote Delivery Facility (RDF) Generator Plant of the Pentagon. The repairs, replacement, and installation shall be performed within the scope of the following interrelated task areas: Generator Controller Upgrade: Replace the existing EMS II generator controller with a new EMCP 4.1 or better controller to meet all current Local, State, Federal code requirements as well as additional requirements outlined in the current version of the WHS Building Code and the WHS Fire Regulations. In the past, MC Dean, FSD's electrical maintenance contractor had to hire ACPS for specialized troubleshooting and equipment failure analysis. No subsequent actions to remove/overcome barriers to future competition are anticipated. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for this non-competitive action is 10U.S.C. 2304(c) (1) or 41 U.S.C. 253(c) (1), as implemented by FAR Section 6.302-1(a), Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. 5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED: Only a Caterpillar factory-authorized service provider has the ability to properly perform the upgrades. The existing generator controllers and voltage regulators are proprietary to Caterpillar. The only way to modify, edit or upgrade firmware is to contact the local dealer (in this case ACPS) to have the components re-configured. If a vendor other than ACPS were contracted to work on the Caterpillar system they would have to contract ACPS to get the proprietary portion taken care of. ACPS is the only factory-authorized service provider available in this area. FSD received a signed customer letter, dated 21 May 2014, "ACPS is recognized as the sole authorized factory Caterpillar Sales, Service, and Parts provider for the territory with the current knowledge base and factory data available on the Caterpillar branded products. The territory comprised of: twenty-two counties in Maryland, two in Delaware, four in West Virginia, seven in Northern Virginia, and the entire District of Columbia". They provide the most competent team currently available to the Government to support and maintain the existing generator control panel upgrades necessary to accomplish FSD's mission. The existing power generator systems provide support to the Pentagon personnel and other appropriate DOD components. ACPS possess the unique qualifications and technical skills and capabilities needed to satisfy all Government requirements, because the existing generator controllers and voltage regulators are proprietary components. The scope of this sole-source contract is to provide installation & testing support. ACPS is the only territory factory authorized provider that services the CAT Electronic Module Control Panel (EMCP) and that all previous work performance on the generator was done by ACPS. Due to Caterpillar's proprietary controllers and voltage regulators, ACPS has to be the general contractor or a subcontractor because they are recognized as the sole authorized factory Caterpillar parts and certified personnel to work on the caterpillar generator and own hardware and the software for the above-mentioned tasks. ACPS does not provide any of their training to other contractors or customers. ACPS is the only reliable contractor with the knowledge and skill sets to properly troubleshoot the equipment, understand all of the factory recalls, and provide the recommendations moving forward that would correct the generator deficiencies. 6. DETERMINATION OF FAIR AND REASONABLE COST/PRICE: The anticipated cost/price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. Fair and Reasonable will be determined by comparing the proposed price with the Independent Government Estimate (IGE); historical estimates for the previous years of development and Operations and Maintenance efforts; comparisons with similar/like technical and subject matter expertise support; and input /evaluation from the project office. Certified cost or price data will not be required for this requirement. The exception to cost or pricing data requirements is in accordance with FAR 15.403-1(c) (3), in that this requirement meets the commercial item definition in FAR 2.101. 7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: Identifying and obtaining competition for a generator upgrade or replacement isn't feasible at this time. Significant investment is tied up in the current configuration, and transitioning to a new product/provider will result in duplication of cost and loss of warranty on existing equipment. Efforts to obtain competition are eliminated due to the cost, time complexity and mission impact for necessary transitional overlap between ACPS and a new contractor. This action will be synopsized in accordance with FAR 5.203. 8. MARKET RESEARCH: Facilities Services Directorate's market research objective was to verify and gain a better understanding of the pricing associated to the estimation provided over 24 months ago. First to ensure accurate pricing, we used the internet and R.S. Means. We contacted companies (Chesapeake Mission Critical and Russell Electric) performing similar type of work to validate previous provided cost estimates and update IGE. After further discussion with these vendors, we discovered that ACPS is the only territory factory authorized provider that services the CAT Electronic Module Control Panel (EMCP) and that all previous work performance on the generator was done by ACPS.