JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL & OPEN COMPETITION MODIFICATION TO EXTEND GENERAL CONSTRUCTION WITH DESIGN-BUILD ZONAL IDIQS FOR DALLAS TO SHREVEPORT AND WEST...

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL & OPEN COMPETITION IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 6.31. Identification of the Contracting Activity and specific identification of this document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition”: The contracting activity is the General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Service (PBS), Acquisition Management Division, Program Support Branch (7PQA), 819 Taylor Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102 This document serves as the Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition.2. Nature and/or description of action being approved:This is a justification for other than full and open competition to extend the period of performance of existing small business multiple-award construction Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts under the authority at FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency. The two zones being extended are the Dallas to Shreveport and West Oklahoma Zones. 3. Description of supplies or services required to meet

the Agency’s needs:On November 14, 2018 the Program Support Branch awarded multiple-award construction IDIQs to support AMD in the Dallas to Shreveport and West Oklahoma zones. There were five (5) small business contractors awarded in the Dallas to Shreveport zone and six (6) small business contracts awarded in the West Oklahoma zone with a period of performance of one (1) one-year base period and four (4) one year option periods ending November 13, 2023. Throughout this five-year period the option for one contract was not executed in the Dallas to Shreveport zone and the options for two contracts were not exercised in the West Oklahoma zone due to contractor performance issues. Those three contracts will not be included in this extension as they are already closed.The acquisition team fully anticipated award prior to the expiration of the current contracts, however, there have been delays due to unforeseeable circumstances. Several factors during the process of this procurement have led up to this point. The planning of the procurement began in early 2022. During the planning stages, the Contracting Team consulted several groups who utilize these IDIQs for task order delivery to gain a better understanding of any changes that may be beneficial for the new procurement. The topics that were discussed and ultimately decided on were a change in the zonal boundaries and an updated pricing structure. It was decided that the zonal boundaries would be changed to create 12 zones rather than the 13 zones from the previous procurement that is currently in place. This decision is based upon data gathered by the procurement team regarding competition and the needs of each individual zone.During market research for this new procurement, conversations with GSA Region 7 contracting personnel, contracting officer representatives and contractors were held to discuss improving the IDIQ contracts. The general feedback received was that the pricing structure for the current zonal IDIQs was difficult for all parties utilizing them. The implemented pricing structure for the contracts currently in place was based on RS Means coefficient factors. Feedback from current contractors as well as the contracting teams indicated that this method may be outdated and flawed. Deliberations were held to determine the best course of action for moving forward with pricing for the new procurement. These talks included several different teams of contracting officers, contract specialists, and project managers who work closely with these IDIQ contracts. It took 8 months of trial and error before the pricing structure was completed and approved by all interested parties. This is an issue that was not foreseen until the market research began and the procurement team felt that this is an area that needed to be improved for the next zonal IDIQs and therefore the team invest the time required to improve the pricing structure issue which resulted in an unexpected but necessary delay. The market research portion of the procurement concluded with the completion of the Market Research Memo, GSA Form 2689, and the Acquisition Plan. The Market Research Memo and GSA Form 2689 were submitted for review and approval on February 28, 2023. The final approval was not received until March 27, 2023 which was two weeks after the initial milestone scheduled date. In an attempt to keep the procurement process moving, an initial review of the Acquisition Plan was requested on March 21, 2023. Due to the extensive changes that were made on this follow-on procurement, the acquisition plan review process took longer than anticipated. Additionally, there was a system error that prevented final signatures, which in itself caused about a full-week delay. The final approval for the Acquisition Plan was received on May 15, 2023, almost 2 months after it was initially routed for review.During the period from August 14, 2023 through September 1, 2023, the voting members and chairperson of the SSEB for the Dallas zone individually evaluated each technical proposal and assigned a rating for each evaluation criteria and an overall technical proposal rating. Consensus was initially planned for August 28, 2023. However, the board needed additional time to complete their evaluations, so that deadline was not met. Ongoing staffing issues at the end of the fiscal year caused the team to experience some unexpected competing priorities. Therefore, the board required more time to complete their evaluations. On September 6, 2023, after completing initial evaluations on all proposals, the entire SSEB convened via teleconference. The SSEB chairperson was provided instructions on completing the SSEB report that same day. The initial deadline for the completion of the SSEB report was September 25, 2023. The SSEB report was not received for review until October 26, 2023. During the period from August 21, 2023 through September 5, 2023, the voting members and chairperson of the SSEB for the Oklahoma zone individually evaluated each technical proposal and assigned a rating for each evaluation criteria and an overall technical proposal rating. Consensus was initially planned for September 5, 2023. However, the board needed additional time to complete their evaluations, so that deadline was not met. Ongoing staffing issues at the end of the fiscal year caused the team to experience some unexpected competing priorities. Therefore, the board required more time to complete their evaluations. On September 7, 2023, after completing initial evaluations on all proposals, the entire SSEB convened via teleconference. The SSEB chairperson was provided instructions on completing the SSEB report that same day. The initial deadline for the completion of the SSEB report was September 29, 2023. The SSEB report was not received for review until October 10, 2023. Due to the circumstances described above the current contracts need to be extended to ensure support continues and AMD can meet the mission of their clients. In accordance with FAR 6.302-2(d) the total period of performance awarded under this authority will not exceed one year. Each contract will be extended six (6) months to allow for the procurement of the new IDIQs. The following eight (8) small business contracts will be extended:Dallas to Shreveport Zone:a) 47PH0819D0003 - Amstar, Inc.b) 47PH0819D0005 - Trumble Construction, Inc.c) 47PH0819D0010 - Burgos Group, LLCd) 47PH0819D0011 - Hammer LGC, Inc.West Oklahoma Zone:a) 47PH0819D0002 - Amstar, Inc.b) 47PH0819D0004 – Griffith Contracting, Inc.c) 47PH0819D0007 – Burgos Group, LLCd) 47PH0819D0009 – Hammer LGC, Inc.The estimated value of this action is $0. No additional money is required. The maximum ordering limitation (MOL) on the current IDIQ contracts is sufficient and does not need to be increased to accommodate the task order work under this period of performance extension.4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(2), as implemented by FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and compelling urgency.5. Rationale justifying use of the cited authority: GSA has been working on the procurement for new construction IDIQ contracts and fully anticipated award prior to the expiration of the current IDIQ contracts. However, due to unexpected delays encountered, the follow-on contracts will not be awarded prior to the expiration of the current IDIQ contracts. The current small business IDIQ contracts expire on November 13, 2023 therefore an extension of the current IDIQ contracts is required to support the timeframe needed to complete the follow-on IDIQ contracts. This extension is to ensure continued support to AMD remains through the contract award period for the follow-on construction IDIQs based on the normal procurement acquisition lead time.A lapse in contractual coverage will result in a significant cost impact to the Government as these construction IDIQ contracts provide an efficient and competitive procurement vehicle for AMD to achieve construction requirements. Without this construction vehicle AMD would be left to procure each construction requirement through an alternate stand-alone contract method such as an unrestricted procurement that will most likely result in extended procurement time, cost, and risk on behalf of the Government. This would jeopardize AMD’s mission to support the requirements of its customers in a most timely and efficient manner. A lapse in coverage, even for a brief period of time, would result in the following negative impacts:a) Significant delays in construction requirement awards. The PALT for a task order against an IDIQ contract is 45-60 days depending on the estimated value whereas the PALT for an unrestricted contract is either 180 or 250 days depending on the estimated value. The additional procurement time would result in increased cost to the government, administrative burden and further delay and jeopardize the mission of the customer agency. Many of the upcoming projects are time-sensitive and delays in accomplishing the work will result in the customer agency not meeting mission objectives at the needed rate and cost. b) The loss of competitive pricing resulting in the government paying more through alternative procurement methods. If an IDIQ vehicle wasn’t available, the majority of AMD requirements would be issued through sole source contracts or unrestricted competition. Many sole source 8(a)/HUBZone construction contracts procured by AMD have been awarded ahead of the established PALT schedules. While this alternative would help AMD expedite the award, AMD would have to forgo the benefits of competition and may not receive the best value available when a requirement is competed. Lack of competition could result in AMD paying higher prices for the requirements and result in unnecessary additional costs to the government. c) A loss of expertise of selected IDIQ contract holders. AMD construction projects are located at potentially complex work sites, such as operational land ports of entry. Many sites are remote and require being operational during construction. The current IDIQ contractors were evaluated and awarded IDIQ contracts on a best-value basis with technical factors being significantly more important than price. Significant consideration was given to the offerors’ past experience at complex sites such as operational land ports-of-entry. If various contractors are awarded individual construction projects at these complex sites a higher risk of performance would exist. This would require AMD program staff to spend more time monitoring construction work resulting in costs for additional hours spent overseeing the construction project and require surplus travel. More contractor-initiated modifications are also more likely as a result of new contractors being unaware of the usual issues that arise at typical AMD work sites. Modifications after award place the government at risk for additional costs and delays to the construction schedule. d) Delays in starting construction work as a result of delays in obtaining security clearances. Current IDIQ contractors already have many of the required clearances for the types of projects AMD executes which allows for construction work to start immediately after award. If new contractors are required for each project, the security clearance process would result in significant delays. 6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable:The extension would be issued to only the current contractors who hold an IDIQ contract in the Dallas to Shreveport and Oklahoma Zones. The follow-on contract was posted on www.SAM.gov to allow for the maximum number of offerors. 7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost will be fair and reasonable:The extensions will come at no additional cost to the government. 8. Description of market research:Market research was not required to find the current sources, but market research was utilized to ensure that as many contractors, given consideration to small business, had an opportunity to compete on the follow-on IDIQ contracts.9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:The extension of the current IDIQs is in the best interest of the government. The lapse in this IDIQ vehicle to execute construction requirements will significantly injure the government financially. It will also jeopardize the mission of AMD and the customer agencies it serves as GSA may not be able to meet the needs of the customer agencies in a most efficient and timely manner.10. A listing of sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition:None.11. Statement of the actions, if any, the Agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for required supplies of services:The procedure for the procurement of contracts in the remaining zones will contain additional training for the SSEB personnel including the chairperson to ensure that all requirements are understood, and any questions are answered prior to each board convening. Additionally, the procurement process timeline will be moved up to accommodate any potential and unforeseen delays.