SEPTENTRIO RECEIVERS AND ACCESSORIES SPARE PARTS - GSA AWARD

NOAA'S ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, EASTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-NORFOLK, NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS), CENTER FOR OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (CO-OPS), NEGOTIATED, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF RFO FAR 12.102(A), WITH INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION CORP (ITC ELECTRONICS) OUT OF CARSON, CA FOR SEPTENTRIO RECEIVERS AND ACCESSORIES SPARE PARTS THAT ARE ON THEIR GSA CONTRACT.

THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA) REQUIREMENT THAT SEPTENTRIO SPARE PARTS ARE REQUIRED TO SUPPORT MAINTENANCE EFFORTS AT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING SYSTEMS IN THE NATIONAL WATER LEVEL OBSERVATION NETWORK (NWLON) WHICH PROVIDE CRITICAL DATA FOR SAFE AND EFFICIENT MARINE NAVIGATION, THE PROTECTION OF INFRASTRUCTURE ALONG THE COAST, AND NOAA’S FORECAST MODELS.

THE SEPTENTRIO POLARX5 MULTI-FREQUENCY GNSS REFERENCE RECEIVER IS THE STANDARD GNSS RECEIVER USED TO MONITOR STABILITY AT CO-OPS ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING STATIONS ON THE ATLANTIC COAST, THE GULF OF AMERICA, THE CARIBBEAN, THE GREAT LAKES, AND THROUGHOUT THE PACIFIC. THE ITEMS IN THIS PURCHASE ARE TO BE USED AS SPARE PARTS TO SUPPORT SYSTEMS WITHIN THE CO-OPS NETWORK THAT UTILIZE SEPTENTRIO POLARX5 REFERENCE RECEIVERS.

SIGNIFICANT ENGINEERING EFFORT WAS UTILIZED TO ENSURE THIS EQUIPMENT NOT ONLY PROVIDES THE PRECISE MEASUREMENTS REQUIRED BUT ALSO ARE CAPABLE OF WITHSTANDING THE HARSH MARINE ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH IT IS DEPLOYED FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME AND THAT THE POWER CONSUMPTION, SIZE, AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THE DATA COLLECTION PLATFORMS IN WHICH IT IS INSTALLED. IMPLEMENTING DIFFERENT COMPONENTS WILL RESULT IN ADDITIONAL COST AND RESOURCES.

ALSO, THERE WILL BE RESULTING DELAYS FOR TESTING, TRAINING, AND THE PURCHASE OF SUPPORT EQUIPMENT. PROCUREMENT OF A DIFFERENT RECEIVER WILL REQUIRE EXTENSIVE TESTING INCLUDING BENCH TESTING USING CONTROLLED CONDITIONS AND PHYSICAL MEASUREMENT, CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING TO CHECK RELIABILITY UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS, AND LONG-TERM COMPARISON TESTING WITH ACCEPTED EQUIPMENT AT MULTIPLE REAL-WORLD LOCATIONS.

THESE TESTS AND THE ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTING DATA TAKE A LARGE AMOUNT OF TIME, MONEY, AND RESOURCES TO CONDUCT. IF DIFFERENT EQUIPMENT IS PROCURED, ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WILL ALSO BE REQUIRED FOR INTEGRATING THE SENSORS INTO CO-OPS OBSERVING STATION AND TRAINING PERSONNEL ON THE MAINTENANCE OF THE NEW EQUIPMENT. ITC ELECTRONICS IS THE SOLE GSA CONTRACT HOLDER WITH SEPTENTRIO RECEIVERS ON THEIR GSA CONTRACT. NO OTHER VENDORS WERE FOUND ON GSA WHEN SEARCHING SEPTENTRIO.