JA-007-25 Monaco Fire Alarm MSEC - 31 Jan 25 signedJF sDL_Redacted.pdf

Control No. 007-25

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

REVIEW

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

FOR:

Monaco Fire Alarm and Mass Notification System Building Building 606 – MSEC Renovation, West Point, NY

31 January 2025

1. CONTRACTING ACTIVITY:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New York District (NAN), Contracting (CT), 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY 10278.

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION:

This Justification and Approval (J&A) supports the use of brand name components for the Building 606 - MSEC renovation project. The government will not purchase the components directly, but rather will require that offerors include the Monaco Fire Alarm systems as part of proposals submitted in response to the solicitation to comply with the Contract specifications that will lead to the award of a new firm-fixed-price (FFP) construction contract.

The United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) is responsible for the acquisition and administration of the construction of Building 606- MSEC at West Point, NY. Funding for this acquisition will be Sustainment, Renovation & Modernization (SRM). The project will be solicited and awarded as a Best Value Trade Off (BVTO) procurement in accordance with FAR Part 15.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

The requirement is to provide the Monaco Fire Alarm and Mass Notification System in Building 606 - MSEC. The Monaco Analog Addressable Panel (MAAP) Plus Analog Addressable Integrated Radio Transceiver and Fire Alarm Control Panel is capable of point reporting up to 1584 addressable device points via proprietary UHF radio signal to the Monaco D-21 Enhanced Central Radio Control Alarm receiving system at West Point Fire Department Dispatch. New Fire Alarm installations include Mass Notification Systems (MNS) in accordance with DoD Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 4-021-01. The existing radio frequency (RF) infrastructure provided by Monaco supports the UFC requirements for primary MNS communications. The Monaco Fire Alarm and integrated MNS system has the capability to remotely activate the in-building MNS messaging system and provide live-voice announcements directly from the D-21 Central Station at West Point Fire Dispatch.

Each Fire Alarm System (FAS) and Mass Notification System (MNS) shall be a complete, supervised, non-coded, analog-addressable system, installed in class A configuration per NFPA 72. The FAS/MNS shall provide point reporting to the Fire Alarm Control Panel (FACP). The FACP shall in turn provide point reporting to the Monaco D- 21 Central Receiving Station at United States Military Academy (USMA) West Point Fire Department Dispatch. Point reporting, also known as point-to-point reporting, is the capability to relay the status of each addressable device and certain system components such as Signaling Line Circuits (SLC) to the D-21 Central Receiving Station in real time. The FAS/MNS shall be tested and perform as a critical life-safety system. The FAS/MNS shall be compatible with and shall communicate seamlessly with the D-21 Central Receiving Station, without impairing operational function or reliability of any existing FAS or MNS. Use of interfacing relays between the FACP and communications transceiver to provide point or zonal alarm trouble status shall not be permitted.

4. AUTHORITY CITED:

10 U.S.C. § 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(c), Application for Brand Name Descriptions. In accordance with FAR 6.302-1(c), the Contracting Officer will specify that all offerors be required to procure an item peculiar to one supplier (brand-name item).

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED:

A. Background:

Due to post wide compatibility issues and based on the capabilities described below of a Monaco Fire Alarm system, all new construction and renovation projects at the United States Military Academy (USMA), West Point are now featuring the latest version of the Monaco Fire Alarm Control Panel. The MAAP Plus Analog Addressable Integrated Radio Transceiver and Fire Alarm Control Panel is capable of point reporting up to 1584 addressable device points via proprietary UHF radio signal to the Monaco D-21 Enhanced Central Radio Control Alarm receiving system at West Point Fire Department Dispatch.

New Fire Alarm installations include Mass Notification Systems (MNS) in accordance with DoD Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 4-021-01. The existing RF infrastructure provided by Monaco supports the UFC requirements for primary MNS communications. The Monaco Fire Alarm and integrated MNS system has the capability to remotely activate the inbuilding MNS messaging system and provide live-voice announcements directly from the D-21 Central Station at West Point Fire Dispatch.

B. Justification:

To satisfy UFC 4-021-01 requirement of a Mass Notification System, a seamlessly compatible system must be installed in Building 606 - MSEC. United States Military Academy (USMA) Fire Department needs to send out mass notification to the entire base in an efficient manner during emergencies. The Monaco Fire Alarm System is used throughout United States Military Academy (USMA), West Point. Due to compatibility issues with other systems, it will not be possible to guarantee delivery of emergency messages to all persons located in Building 606, if any other system is installed. For items as important to life, health, and safety as the Fire Alarm and Mass Notification Systems there is no room for error when these products are called upon to be operational. If the Monaco transceiver is not installed in this facility, the fire station will be unable to receive an alarm or trouble signal due to the activation of a detector or pull station. This would delay the response time of the fire department, which could result in extensive damage to the facility and/or personnel.

C. Alternatives:

No viable alternatives will be acceptable to meet the mission requirements of an integrated Mass Notification System due to compatibility issues of the Monaco Fire Alarm System with equipment from other manufacturers, any fire alarm system other than a Monaco Fire Alarm System will not be able to guarantee operational effectiveness during an emergency.

The only alternative action to ensure compatibility of a different manufacturer’s Fire Alarm and Mass Notification Systems with the systems used throughout United States Military Academy (USMA), West Point would be to remove and replace the Fire Alarm and Mass Notification Systems in every building in United States Military Academy (USMA), West Point with the same system used in Building 606 which would be a very cost prohibitive effort and not practical.