SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- gas flux measurement unit
- Notice Date
- 6/23/2020 10:16:08 AM
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541715
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- WASHINGTON OFFICE WASHINGTON DC 20250 USA
- ZIP Code
- 20250
- Solicitation Number
- 12318720Q0273
- Response Due
- 7/9/2020 7:00:00 AM
- Archive Date
- 07/10/2020
- Point of Contact
- Cassandra Carey, Phone: 2026178490
- E-Mail Address
-
cassandra.carey@usda.gov
(cassandra.carey@usda.gov)
- Description
- JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION Provision of Technical Assistance for Forestry Services International Programs The following Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) is prepared in accordance with FAR 6.302-3: Identification of Agency:� � The USDA Forest Service, Washington Office AQM-Operations Branch. � � Nature and/or Description of Action Being Approved:� This Justification Memo is for the purchase of carbon flux monitoring equipment to be provided by Picarro, Inc.� The equipment provided by Picarro fits into the inter-agency agreement with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).� Through the inter-agency agreement, the U.S. Forest Service provides support to the Paramos y Bosques effort on forest carbon emissions monitoring.� Following extensive market research, Picarro, Inc. is the only available and fully qualified, legally registered entity that can meet the complex and highly-technical needs outlined in the program of work of the U.S. Forest Service International Programs and our host country partners in Colombia. � The U.S. Forest Service International Programs seeks to secure the carbon flux equipment provided by Picarro, Inc. to support efforts to design and implement intensive forest carbon monitoring sites in the Andes.� These sites will link local actors (scientists, government officials and NGOs) with international counterparts and provide a much needed platform for technical transfer of the technology in carbon flux measurements. � Description of Supplies or Services Required to Meet Agency�s Need Including Estimated the Value:� The mobile unit must measure CO2, CH4 and H2O concentrations air. The unit must be a compact, portable package, optimized for low-power consumption using a time-based laser measurement for quantifying spectral features in an optical cavity with a fast sample turnover rate. The unit must have an integrated battery and pump. The analyzer must be tested and certified for drift and precision in measurement outputs. All unit data files should be recorded in .csv compatible format for easy export and analysis. Shipping of the equipment must be to Bogota, Colombia or to USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station in Houghton, MI, USA. The estimated value is between $10,000 and $60,000. . � Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition:� � FAR 6.302-3, 41 U.S.C. 3304 (a)(1) � Demonstration That the Proposed Contractor�s Unique Qualifications or the Nature of the Acquisition Requires use of the Authority Cited: � No other company offers the full suite of equipment that Picarro, Inc. provides�see 8 below. � A Description of Efforts Made to Ensure that Offers are Solicited From as Many Potential Sources as is Practicable, Including Whether a Notice was or Will be Publicized as Required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, Which Exception Under 5.202 Applies: No other company offers the full suite of equipment that Picarro, Inc. provides�see 8 below. � Determination by the Contracting Officer That the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:� The cost of the equipment is in line with other products offered with similar, though not all, requirements needed. Only three companies offer a product that is portable and does methane flux measurements in real-time. See 8 for market research. � Description of Market Research Conducted: �� This is a highly specialized field with the major manufactures identified and evaluated. The U.S. Forest Service International Programs market research identified only two other companies that could provide equipment for carbon flux measurement of a similar nature, i.e., a dual methane and carbon dioxide portable analyzer: LiCor, Inc (LI-7810) and Los Gatos, Inc. (U-GGA-915 and M-GGA-918). However, neither company provides instruments that meet all the criteria needed for this particular application: 1) the analyzer must incorporate coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)-matched materials in its optical assembly to minimize measurement drift under different operating temperatures. Furthermore, the analyzer must be able to correct for any remaining pressure and temperature drift using a software correction generated from high-precision environmental testing during production; 2) the equipment must be portable; 3) the equipment must operate at high elevation up to 4500 m, regular rainfall, and cold temperatures; 4) the equipment must have a long battery life > 5 hours and hot-swappable batteries; and 5) there must be published results and recommendations from users demonstrating successful function under our rigorous field conditions of high elevation, cold temperatures, and frequent heavy rain. Only the Picarro GasScouter 4310 meets all of these conditions, e.g., it is the only company that meets requirement 1. Additionally, the LiCor, according to their technical staff, is not capable of functioning at the high elevation, low atmospheric pressure sites selected for the present study. The Los Gatos ultraportable U-GGA-915 instrument is listed as portable, but weighs over 32 lbs, whereas the Picarro GasScouter weighs 25 lbs. The LGR microportable M-GGA-918 is lighter, but the equipment has a battery life of only 3 hours, compared with 5-8 hours for the Picarro GasScouter, and only the Picarro has hot-swappable battery packs to extend the field use time. In addition, the LGR microportable has no published work or recommendations indicating satisfactory functioning of this equipment under the specified field conditions, whereas there are both published literature and recommendations from scientist users for the GasScouter validating the use of this equipment under almost identical mountain conditions (Chai et al. 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.114092). We contacted one of the authors of this research (Guillermo Hernandez Ramirez) and he expressed satisfaction with the functioning of this equipment under the extreme conditions of this environment. � Any Other Facts Supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition:� None. � A listing of the Sources, if any, That Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:� � N/A A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency may Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to Competition Before any Subsequent Acquisition for the Supplies or Services Required:� �
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://beta.sam.gov/opp/0a4d411112c74c9d85efb00504b0f90d/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: USA
- Country: USA
- Country: USA
- Record
- SN05699673-F 20200625/200623230139 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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