B08_Att6_26R0002_JOFOC_Brand_Name_JCI_signed.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

UNITED STATES WILDLAND FIRE SERVICE

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)

NIFC 100 ADM Repairs Solicitation 140L0626R0002

This document sets forth the justification and approval as required by FAR 6.301.

1. Identification of the Agency and the Contracting Activity:

The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Fire and Aviation Directorate/ National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), requests the DOI acquisition office to contract on a brand name basis.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved:

The government requires that controllers and equipment interfacing with the proprietary Metasys® Building Automation System (BAS) be manufactured by Johnson Controls International PLC (JCI), and that integration and programming of the system be done by a certified vendor. As outlined in FAR 6.302-1, this document justifies that only one brand name will satisfy agency requirements.

Metasys® is currently in use for the buildings on the NIFC campus. This requirement is a very small component of a much larger construction project (NIFC 415 Duane Graves Replacement) which is currently under solicitation by the government.

3. A description of the Supplies or Services required meeting the Agency’s needs.

The project is a new building construction of the Boise Air Center that requires the HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) system to interface with the Johnson Controls International PLC Metasys® control system.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

41 U.S.C. 3304 (a) (1), this covers only the portion of the acquisition which is brand-name or peculiar to one manufacturer and no other product will satisfy agency requirements as implemented by FAR 6.302-1.

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

Johnson Controls International PLC (JCI) is uniquely qualified to produce the Metasys® control system including its software to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), based on the following:

a. JCI Metasys is a proprietary software system.

Johnson Controls International (JCI) is one of many DDC integrators able to install control sensors and devices to operate HVAC systems to meet occupant comfort goals in a building. JCI uses an open protocol communication language called BACnet which is not proprietary, but the integration of the DDC system into a central building automation system is programmed through a proprietary interface software called “Metasys”. This software provides building-wide logic that directs the actions of the individual pieces of equipment to function as a cohesive system.

This includes occupied and unoccupied times of the day or when a temperature control zone is too cold to activate heating from the central boiler system. Each piece of HVAC equipment requires direction and the Metasys provides this direction in addition to a graphical user interface that NIFC facility managers and engineers use to troubleshoot and track issues.

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-6#FAR_6_302_1 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-6#FAR_6_302_1

b. Metasys controls are the only method to connect to the NIFC Network to allow remote monitoring and troubleshooting of the HVAC system.

JCI Metasys controls are connected to the BLM Network to allow remote monitoring and troubleshooting of the HVAC system. NIFC currently has 18 buildings using the JCI Metasys building automation/energy management hardware/software to control their HVAC systems.

This project will increase that number by one. Reliable and repeatable operation of the HVAC system is essential to provide adequate indoor environmental conditions in a facility that houses critical fire workers. The HVAC system for this building is complex with different requirements for the office/training areas. Balancing the air flow and maintaining appropriate temperatures in different zones in the building requires expertise in Metasys software that only certified control technicians possess.

The system will consist of an open architecture that utilizes EIA standard 709.1, the integral ANSI / ASHRAE™ Standard 135-1995 "BACnet" functionality to assure interoperability between all system components.

Having Metasys communicate on and be available to the BLM Network allows real time interaction with HVAC systems regardless of the user’s location. Metasys is the only building automation/energy management system allowed by NIFC to be connected to the BLM network.

Getting this permission took almost four years. The Security Impact Analysis (April 2012) that approved the connection of Metasys to the BLM network may be provided as a separate document along with this sole source justification.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart

5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies:

In accordance with FAR 5.102(a)(6), the government will post this justification in conjunction with the solicitation via the System for Award Management (SAM). This will provide potential offerors with an opportunity to specify an alternative solution if they believe this justification is improper.

7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The contracting officer determines that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The Government intends to include the sole source within a competitive construction solicitation. It is anticipated that numerous small businesses will provide offers in response to the solicitation. As a result, the Government believes competitive market forces will assist in receipt of the most advantageous price for items encompassed within the brand name requirement.

8. A description of the Market Research conducted (see FAR Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason Market Research was not conducted:

Market research was conducted in accordance with FAR 10.002(b)(2) to determine if any other product could satisfy agency requirements under the specific circumstances. Through research, it was found that Metasys is proprietary software and the programming and controllers must be installed by a contractor certified by Johnson Controls International PLC.

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-5#FAR_Subpart_5_102 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-10#FAR_10_002

9. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition, such as: (i) explanation of why technical data packages, specifications, engineering descriptions, statement of work, or purchase descriptions suitable for full and open competition have not been developed or are not available, (ii) When 6.302-1 is cited for follow-on acquisitions as described in 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii), an estimate of the cost to the Government that would be duplicated and how the estimate was derived., (iii) When 6.302-2 is cited, data, estimated cost, or other rationale as to the extent and nature of the harm to the Government.

The Government doesn’t own the data or the rights to the data needed to contract the purchase of Metasys® software from other sources. It has been determined to be uneconomical to buy the data or rights to the data. Further it is uneconomical to reverse engineer the Metasys® software.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed in writing, an interest in the acquisition:

None.

11. 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:

Continuous market research will be performed to ensure that the Government is aware of compatible products/systems if/when they become available. Additionally, any acquisitions that allow integration of a new system will be made available to all offerors with similar capabilities and products. NIFC allows JCI or contractors who are not employed by JCI to work on the system if they are manufacturer certified, so as additional contractors receive the certifications they will be allowed to work on the system.

12. Certification:

I certify that any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel (i.e. verifying the Government’s minimum needs or schedule requirements or other rationale for other than full and open competition) and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate:

MARK JOHNSON, P.E., Mechanical Engineer and Technical Representative Contracting Officer Representative

I certify that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief:

Reviewed/Concur/Approved by:

Jonathan Peterson, Contracting Officer, A&E and Construction Contracting Supporting the Fire program https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-6#FAR_6_302_2 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-6#FAR_6_302_2