Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and Open Competition

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN
COMPETITION
1. Contracting Activity: U. S. Coast Guard Civil Engineering Unit, Cleveland, Ohio.
2. Nature/Description of Action: Approval for use of specific manufacturer equipment for
the fire detection and alarm system in the Firehouse, Building #16, at US Coast Guard
Training Center (TRACEN) Cape May, New Jersey. This proposed FY23 contract will
be a firm, fixed-price contract awarded with maintenance funds.
3. Description of Brand name Items: The specified fire detection and alarm system
equipment shall be manufactured by Siemens. Only a small portion of the overall project
is identified as sole source equipment.
4. Statutory Authority: 10 U. S. C. 2304 © (1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 permits
other than full and open competition when services are available from only one
responsible source that meets agency requirements and when it is likely that award to
any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is
not expected to be recovered through competition.
5. Reason for Authority: TRACEN Cape May has standardized on the use of the
Siemens Model XLS addressable fire alarm system and 100% of the fire alarm systems
installed are using this system. The total number of buildings currently being monitored
is thirty-seven (37). These buildings automatically report to the Siemens network
command center which is located in the on-base firehouse. TRACEN Cape May
maintains an extensive inventory of Siemens fire alarm system parts. TRACEN’s
maintenance personnel are trained in the operation and programming of the Siemens’
system which uses proprietary software and hardware. Furthermore, TRACEN has a
yearly maintenance contract with Siemens to provide technical support. The use of
another manufacturer’s equipment would require additional inventory, additional training,
additional software/hardware to program the equipment, an additional command center
to monitor the third party equipment, and probably a second maintenance contract. All
of these factors would impact our limited personnel and financial resources.
6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Other sources that manufacture fire detection and
alarm systems devices are available. Their use however would require maintaining
additional inventory, new and additional training requirements for personnel to maintain
and operate the system, and the procurement of additional software and hardware for
programming the system. Furthermore, many fire alarm manufacturers do not allow the
end user to make modifications to the system. TRACEN would be required to issue
subsequent contracts to the third party manufacturer every time there was a need to
slightly modify the system. With Siemens, TRACEN has the capability to make minor
modifications to the fire alarm system in-house. Failure to standardize on a single
manufacturer’s system could lead to additional systems of other manufacturer’s which
will continue to compound the inventory, training and system maintenance requirements
for TRACEN Cape May.
7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost to the Government: A determination has
been made by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government is fair
and reasonable based on the evaluation of current market prices for similar items.

8. Market Survey: A market survey was conducted by researching available
manufacturer’s literature.
9. Other Factors: Installation of other manufacturer’s equipment could impact on future
TRACEN fire alarm system maintenance contracts in that separate contracts may be
required with each system manufacturer.
10. Interested Sources: None
11. Statement of Action for Future Competition: Not applicable.