Exception to Fair Opportunity - CRBN Filters

Background
The Army Contracting Command-Detroit Arsenal is issuing a justification for an exception to fair opportunity regarding the procurement of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear (CBRN) Filters and Filter Assembly Components.

This contract is part of a multiple award, five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) awarded on December 22, 2021, to two contractors: HDT Expeditionary Systems, Inc. (HDT) and Design West Technologies Inc. (DWT).

The agency's urgent need for these supplies necessitates this action due to DWT's consistent failure to meet contractual obligations, which poses a significant risk to mission readiness.

Work Details
The procurement involves M48A1 Filters under an estimated delivery order value of $48.6 million.

The justification cites that HDT is the only responsible source capable of fulfilling the urgent requirements in a timely manner due to DWT's historical failures and current deficiencies.

The agency has previously awarded three delivery orders to DWT, all of which have been problematic, leading to missed deadlines and eventual terminations for default.

The items are procurable under the existing MADOC framework, with HDT able to deliver all required components at established pricing.

Place of Performance
The place of performance is not explicitly stated in the justification but is implied to be within the operational scope of the Army's contracting activities.

Incumbent Analysis (see Incumbents section for more detail)
This opportunity for CBRN filters and filter assembly components appears to have a confirmed incumbent based on the Army’s December 22, 2021 multiple-award IDIQ (W56HZV22D0018 and W56HZV22D0020), under which HDT Expeditionary Systems and Design West Technologies previously procured “various” CBRN filters and filter assembly components for the Department of the Army. The prior awards’ scope closely matches the current requirement to supply filters and filter assembly components for vehicles, indicating the work is a continuation of the same CBRN filter supply line under the existing framework.