SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Contractor Support for US Coast Guard, CG-438, Civil Engineering Resource Management Division
- Notice Date
- 9/25/2015
- Notice Type
- Fair Opportunity / Limited Sources Justification
- NAICS
- 541219
— Other Accounting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Homeland Security, United States Coast Guard (USCG), USCG Facilities Design & Construction Center, 5505 Robin Hood Road, Suite K, Norfolk, Virginia, 23513-2400, United States
- ZIP Code
- 23513-2400
- Solicitation Number
- HSCG47-15-Q-3EFK02
- Archive Date
- 10/25/2015
- Point of Contact
- PAMELA J. ARGILAN, Phone: 7578523449
- E-Mail Address
-
pamela.j.argilan@uscg.mil
(pamela.j.argilan@uscg.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Award Number
- GS-00F-273CA
- Award Date
- 9/24/2015
- Description
- JUSTIFICATION FOR LOGICAL FOLLOW ON (FAR PART 8) Authority, e.g., 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1)) This acquisition is conducted under the authority of Section 2-1 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 501). Multiple Award Schedule Program (Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Section 8-401), and is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 8.405-6(a) (1)(i)(C), as follows: 1. Agency and Contracting Activity. The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Civil Engineering's Resource Management Division, proposes to enter into a contract task order on a basis of limited sources. 2. Nature and/or Description of the Action being Approved. This acquisition is with the purpose of seeking services that continue prior efforts preparing asset Capitalization of packages for COMDT CG-438 and identifying, proposing alternatives and bridging gaps in field offices with the shore infrastructure project funding subaccounts. Specifically, this requirement is to continue subject matter expertise necessary to help DHS sustain an unqualified (or clean) audit opinion in FY16 and enhancing and preserving the gains achieved to date. Coast Guard anticipates awarding a Labor Hour contract task order, with a base and option year, in the estimated amount of $1,826,238 using FY15 AFC-43 for the base year. This is a follow-on action to contract HSCG23-09-J-VFG078, awarded in 2009, under a GSA FABS BPA. This action will be sole sourced to Kforce Government Solutions, Inc (KGS), 2750 Prosperity Ave, Suite 300, Fairfax, Va 22031. 3. Description of Supplies/Services. This requirement is to provide subject matter expertise necessary to help DHS sustain an unqualified (or clean) audit opinion and enhancing and preserving the gains achieved to date. The level of effort and number of hours will be variable over the period of performance therefore a labor hour contract is determined appropriate. The number of hours for each expert shall not exceed 1,960 each year of the contract. Since 2009, the USCG has been engaged in an overall remediation effort specifically targeted at correcting weaknesses associated with asset valuation, audit supportable documentation, indirect cost allocation, etc. During 2009, the Coast Guard competed and awarded a task order, HSCG23-09-J-VFG078 in the amount of $5.37M with a period of performance of September 30, 2009 through October 12, 2013, for subject matter experts among the contractors on the GSA FABS BPA. The task order awardee was Kforce Government Solutions (KGS). The efforts of the subject matter experts have helped Coast Guard make significant progress that culminated in attaining the unqualified opinion. In 2013, the Program Director, unable to get contracting support from CG-912 due to their yearend workload, approached FDCC for contracting support in order to perform a logical follow on task order in order continue the KGS subject matter expert continuity. Since the same KGS subject matter experts had been working the effort since 2009, they have obtained extremely important knowledge on the Coast Guard accounting and assets, it made logical sense to submit a Justification for a Logical Follow On. The Coast Guard would have lost invaluable knowledge; lost efficiencies gained, and faced a steep learning curve if the KGS experts were not continued. The Justification was approved and KGS' subject matter experts were negotiated and continued under task order HSCG47-13-F-3EFK16 in the amount of $649,774 with a period of performance of one year. Continued support in FY15 was required to identify and implement process improvements, using the KGS' subject matter experts. FDCC submitted and received an approved justification for a Logical Follow On to the original HSCG23-09-J-VFG078, based upon the same facts as the previous Justification, for a follow on contract HSCG47-14-F-3EFK24 to KGS in the amount of $891,668 for a year's period of performance. KGS was integral in the development of the policy, processes, and procedures which CG-43 has adopted and promulgated across its user base. Now the emphasis is on sustaining the progress achieved and moving to sustaining an unqualified audit opinion on financial statements. This current action will continue the KGS subject matter experts for a base year with one option year. The base year period of performance is the period of 30 September 2015 through 29 September 2016 with the option year covering 30 September 2016 through 29 September 2017. The not to exceed number of hours and respective estimated cost is as shown in the table below: GSA FABS Labor Category Base Year Hours Hourly Rate Estimated Cost Senior Financial Manager 1960 $125.53 $246,038.80 Financial Manager 1960 $110.23 $216,050.80 Financial Manager 1960 110.23 $216,050.80 Financial Manager 1960 110.23 $216,050.80 Travel $10,000.00 Total Hours 7840 $904,191.20 GSA FABS Labor Category Option Year Hours Hourly Rate Estimated Cost Senior Financial Manager 1960 $128.04 $250,958.40 Financial Manager 1960 $112.43 $220,362.50 Financial Manager 1960 $112.43 $220,362.50 Financial Manager 1960 $112.43 $220,362.50 Travel $10,000.00 Total Hours 7840 $922,046.80 Total dollar amount for base and option year is $1,826,238.00. 4. Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting the Acquisition and the Rationale for Its Use. The applicable statutory authority Section 2-1 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 501) implemented by the FAR Subpart 8.405-6, Limiting Sources authorizes this acquisition. The work is a logical follow on to the original task order, HSC23-09-J-VFG078 issued, in 2009, under the GSA FABS BPA. The original task order and the intervening 2013 and 2014 follow on task orders have provided continuous, knowledgeable, expert contract support over the years. This contract action seeks to continue and further the progress achieved so far. The goal of this requirement is to provide assistance so process improvements identified and initiated by KGS can continue and an unqualified audit opinion can be sustained. KGS is the only firm with the experience, expertise, and level of understanding to provide these services to CG-43, and their key personnel have a unique understanding of the business processes, systems, and underlying accounting which are required to perform this function. Because of this knowledge and expertise, they are continually sought by CG-8 offices to provide perspective, opinion and suggestions as they move forward with other related efforts. Now that DHS is in a sustainment mode with additional scrutiny and fact finding after achieving an unqualified audit opinion, the award of a contract to any other source would result in substantial duplication of costs and unacceptable delays for the continued provision of these highly specialized services. Therefore, in the interest of economy and efficiency the Government would be best served by continuing with the same contractor. Alternative solutions will not work as, CG-43's CIP portfolio, capitalization requirements, business processes, and mission of providing infrastructure support to national security are unique and similar capabilities or expertise could not be transferred from elsewhere in the Federal Government without significant delays, disruption to mission critical timelines, and an unsustainable gap in delivery. The mission will be impacted if this justification is not approved because the CFO Act of 1990 requires all Federal Agencies to produce auditable financial statements, with oversight by the OMB and US Congress. The Homeland Security Financial Accountability Act of 2004 extended this requirement to the newly-created DHS. If this Justification for a Logical Follow On was not approved, leading to the service no longer being provided, DHS would face an unacceptably high probability of not achieving an unqualified (clean) audit opinion in this next go around. 5. Demonstration by the Ordering Activity Contracting Officer that the anticipated Order Represents the Best Value consistent with FAR 8.404. The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on KGS' Federal Supply Schedule (FSS). The incumbent effort is currently being acquired through a BPA task order issued under the GSA FABS schedule. The labor categories and rates proposed for this justification have already been negotiated and found as fair and reasonable by GSA under KGS' FABS schedule. Prior to issuance of the task order, the Contracting Officer will consider the level of effort and mix of labor proposed to perform the specific task being orders, historical hourly rates and profit percentages paid, and for determining that the total price is reasonable. 6. Description of Efforts Made to Conduct Market Research Among Schedule Holders. Market Research was not conducted among the Schedule Holders. The four financial experts, KGS employees, have the knowledge, expertise and corporate memory of what has taken place is and has been particularly important in helping and assisting the new actors, coming into the effort, to understand how we've arrived at this point. New players have arrived to the scene, including auditors, who are unfamiliar with the actions and practices the USCG has used to reach this unqualified audit opinion. Therefore, it is extremely important that KGS' services be continued. Upon completing this effort and being in a steady-state scenario, there will be a re-evaluation of the level of urgency to provide continuity of these highly specialized subject matter expertise services. At that time the USCG will be better able to manage a transition of these services either to government personnel or to a follow-on competitive contractor. 7. Any Other Facts Supporting the Justification. This requirement is to provide subject matter expertise necessary to help DHS sustain an unqualified (or clean) audit opinion in FY16 and enhancing and preserving the gains achieved to date by codifying policies and practices used and put in place. In 2009, the Coast Guard competed a task order for subject matter experts among the contractors on the GSA FABS BPA. As a result of this competition, KGS was selected as the Contractor with the subject matter expertise to help CG-43 develop and execute their internal efforts to remediate their multiple-year CIP backlog which impacted proper valuation of USCG and DHS Real Property assets. KGS' experts were integral in development of the policy, processes, and procedures which CG-43 has adopted and promulgated across its user base. KGS is uniquely able to provide these services requested through their GSA FABSs BPA GS-23F9837H. KGS is able to complete this effort at an amount below any other provider as the knowledgeable experts are on staff therefore the CG will not incur the costs associated with the "learning curve" for this effort. To date the current contract action has cost the CG $6.9M for these services. 8. A Statement of the Actions, if Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any Barriers to that Preclude the Agency From Meeting the Requirements of FAR 8.405-1 and 8.405-2 Before any Subsequent Acquisition for the Services is Made. This action is being put in place for a performance period of a one base year and one option year. By issuing this follow on task order for longer than a year in order to give ample time for acquisition planning and a recompete on the GSA BPA if services are required further.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DHS/USCG/USCGFDCCA/HSCG47-15-Q-3EFK02/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 2703 Martub Luther King Jr. Ave SE, Washington, District of Columbia, 20593, United States
- Zip Code: 20593
- Zip Code: 20593
- Record
- SN03904708-W 20150927/150925235949-3f9a454394b09eaea44c9e3141218152 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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