BABA Waiver CerberusPro Fire Protection.pdf

DRAFT FINDINGS FOR A WAIVER OF

ORS 279C.303 BUY AMERICA REQUIREMENTS

OregonBuys # S-10700-00013974

Before the State Chief Procurement Officer of the

Department of Administrative Services of the State of Oregon

Request for Waiver of ORS 279C.303 ) Buy America Requirements for ) Draft Findings Procurement of integrated fire protection systems.

Department of Administrative Services, State Procurement Services (SPS), is conducting a Public Works contract on behalf of DAS Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Operations & Maintenance Department (O&M). The waiver is not building specific, but applies to all current-and future-owned or maintained state facilities where the fire protection system is being upgraded.

The product, Cerberus®PRO fire protection system by Siemens, has a brand name exemption per OregonBuys #REQ-1070000070749. It is currently planned to be implemented at the upcoming Revenue Building Renovation project.

ORS 279C.303 requires, unless a waiver is granted, that the Department of Administrative Services (“DAS”) must:

1) Require in each Public Improvement Contract or Contract for Public Works with an estimated contract price of $250,000 or more that steel, iron, coatings for steel and iron and manufactured products that a contractor purchases for or uses in the Public Improvement or Public Works, and that become part of a permanent structure, must be produced in the United States;

2) Note clearly and conspicuously in all Solicitation documents for any Procurement related to the Public Improvement Contract or Contract for Public Works, that any Public Improvement Contract or Contract for Public Works that results from the Procurement will include the ORS 279C.303 Buy America requirement; and

3) Must reject any Bid or Proposal that does not affirmatively attest that the Bidder or Proposer read and understood the requirement.

ORS 279C.303 permits the Director of the Department of Administrative Services (“DAS”), as the primary public contract review authority for the State of Oregon, to grant a waiver from the ORS 279C.303 Buy America requirement if the Director finds in writing that:

• The requirement is inconsistent with the public interest;

• Steel, iron, coatings for steel and iron and manufactured products required for the Public

Improvement or Public Works are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and with satisfactory quality; or

• Using steel, iron, coatings for steel and iron or manufactured products produced in the United States for the Public Improvement, or the Public Works will increase the cost of the Public Improvement or Public Works by more than 25 percent.

Before making the finding, the Director must:

• Issue a draft finding that includes a detailed written explanation of the basis for waiving the requirement;

• Give public notice of the draft finding at the earliest practicable time, in a manner that the director determines will give adequate notice to the public and to Contractors that intend to submit, or have submitted, Bids for the Public Improvement or Public Works;

• Allow seven (7) calendar days for public comment on the draft finding; and

• If, after considering any public comment, the Director determines to waive the requirement set forth in the rule, the Director shall provide public notice of the Director’s finding using the same method the Director used to provide public notice of the draft finding.

The Director must:

• Indicate the duration and applicability of the finding in the document that waives the requirement; and

• Review any waiver, at least every five years.

The Director may:

• make a finding under ORS 279C.303 and OAR 125-249-0170 that applies to a single Public Improvement Contract or Contract for Public Works, to a class of Public Improvement Contracts or Contracts for Public Works, or to a class of iron or steel products, coatings, or manufactured products; and

• review and continue, amend, or rescind the finding at any time.

Before continuing, amending, or rescinding a waiver, the Director must provide for public notice and comment using the same method used to provide public notice of the waiver.

Under OAR 125-246-0170(3)(a)(S) the Director has delegated the Direct’s authority under ORS 279C.303 to the State Chief Procurement Officer of DAS Procurement Services (“DAS PS”).

Background The research previously conducted by DAS O&M for the Brand Name Exemption under OregonBuys REQ-10700-00070749, and additional research recently done by DAS O&M to provide support for the use of one integrated fire protection system product, and DAS O&M learned that Siemens Cerberus®PRO fire protection system, which has been used in DAS properties and selected for future use does not currently meet “… 55 percent of the total cost of all components of the product” as required by items Produced in the United States, as defined by ORS 279C.303 and OAR 125-249-0170 (1)(b), specifically (B)(ii).

(b) “Produced in the United States” means:

(A) For iron and steel products, other than manufactured products, that all manufacturing processes, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, occurred within the United States; and

(B) For manufactured products, that:

(i) The manufacture of the product occurred within the United States; and

(ii) The cost of the components of the product that are mined, produced or manufactured in the United States is more than 55 percent of the total cost of all components of the product. The Oregon Department of Administrative Services or the Oregon Department of Transportation may establish, by Rule, a different standard for determining the minimum amount of the product that must be manufactured within the United States.

Proposed Findings

The following findings support an ORS 279C.303 Buy America public interest waiver for the use of a standardized and integrated fire suppression system, that has a Brand Name Exception to be used in all Public Improvement or Public Works projects under DAS Procurement Authority, effective June 14, 2024 through June 14, 2034.

• DAS EAM has made the business decision to use Siemens Cerberus®Pro (formerly Cerberus Pyrotronics) for fire protection systems in all DAS-owned buildings and have a Brand Name Exemption in place.

• Based on the internal research done by DAS EAM, the operating system may not meet the Buy America requirements.

• The business decision was determined with the following requirements:

o System devices and parts must be interchangeable o Reliability of heads continues with panel replacement o Panel configuration must accommodate special functions and have a ‘return to operation’ after a limited time safety feature o System must be unaffected by power outages or power surges o System allows for upgrades without re-engineering or changing out devices

• Currently DAS has over 27 buildings that have the Cerberus®Pro fire detection and alarm system already installed and operational.

• Implementing one Brand allows for better control of maintenance and expansion of the system by saving time and costs associated with system implementation, configuration, and operation.

• Spare devices are stocked in the DAS O&M warehouse, eliminates duplication of multiple inventories; therefore, use of the current inventories would save the total cost invested in purchasing devices, in addition to the cost savings from configuring replaced or installed new devices to fit in existing or new system in DAS-owned buildings.

• By specifying one (1) brand name of fire detection/alarm equipment, staff experience required to train personnel to operate this system will remain reduced. It also reduces the opportunity for error that may result from confusion about how to operate a particular system.

• Interconnecting various companies control and energy management systems is difficult, time consuming, and costly for both installation and maintenance. Use of multi-manufacturers prevents the continued implementation of the Department’s long-term goal of a centralized monitoring service.

Proposed Findings and Waiver Procedure:

1) DAS PS will issue a public notice of these proposed findings on the OregonBuys eProcurement system for a period of at least seven (7) calendar days.

2) The public notice will include that any affected party may comment on the proposed findings by contacting Jay Jackson, Procurement Policy Officer at:

Jay.Jackson@das.oregon.gov.

3) After considering any public comment received, DAS PS will issue a public notice of any approved findings on the OregonBuys eProcurement system for a period of at least seven

(7) calendar days.

mailto:Jay.Jackson@das.oregon.gov