JA_SPRDL122C0055_Redacted.pdf

J&A SPRDL1-20-R-0294 (JA-00307)

Previous J&A available, SPRDL1-18-C-0406

5. Reason for Authority Cited: The Fire Extinguisher (PN 475886), from Kidde Technologies Inc., is used on the Stryker FOV AFES. This is a survivability item that is critical for the soldiers. The Stryker FOV uses three total Fire Extinguisher units for the crew compartment. The Fire Extinguisher uses the extinguishing agent HEPTAFLUOROPROPANE (HFC-227each) which is safe around people and electronic equipment and compatible for the crew compartment location of the vehicle. These features are specifically critical should there be soldiers present during a fire, as well as to prevent the loss of electrical equipment once the fire extinguishers are activated.

These fire extinguishers were specifically developed and integrated on the Stryker FOV.

Additionally, component and vehicle testing have been conducted verifying that this item can successfully support the vehicle’s AFES to protect the occupants and vehicle electrical equipment.

Kidde Technologies Inc. has developed, tested and obtained Government approval for this item for application in the Stryker FOV at their own cost. The Government did not fund the efforts in developing and testing this item. Kidde Technologies Inc. has the capability to manufacture, perform failure analysis, develop inspection and acceptance criteria for components, repair/rebuild and test the fire extinguisher to meet the Government’s requirements. Kidde’s fire extinguisher assembly is verified to meet specific military standards, such as MIL-DTL-62547D. This is a military unique specification for valve and cylinder assemblies with the intended use in military ground combat and tactical vehicles. Meeting these specifications are a crucial part of the Kidde Fire extinguishers that not all commercial fire extinguishers have been verified to meet.

Installing hardware that has not undergone similar verifications could lead to a failure of the vehicles’ fire extinguishing system under battlefield conditions and could critically harm the occupants as well as damage the vehicle electrical equipment, thus rendering the vehicle unable to proceed with its mission function.

The Government does not own the Technical Data Package (TDP) for these fire extinguishers. Kidde Technologies Inc. is the only approved source and owner of the respective technical data. The Government does not own proprietary rights to the TDP that would be required to produce a competitive TDP. Due to the limited performance and technical data available, Reverse Engineering is the only recourse the Government could entertain to increase competition through development of a competitive TDP. A significant amount of time and money would be necessary to reverse engineer, procure and test prototypes, and release the design. Even if a reverse engineering effort is successful, the Government would incur excessive costs and lead-time delay.

SOLE SOURCE: Notices required by FAR 5.201 will be posted.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: There are no plans to increase competition for future procurements due to the reasons cited above. No action is being taken.

There is no build to print TDP available to support an unlimited competitive procurement. Kidde Technologies Inc. is the sole owner of the defining drawings and technical data rights. The Government did not buy proprietary rights from Kidde Technologies Inc. to produce a competitive TDP. This item is a specifically designed fire extinguisher for application on Stryker FOV. Further, due to the costs associated with developing a competitive TDP that cannot be recovered as stated in section 5, the Government would not be able to recover the $1.75M to reverse engineer the fire extinguisher within a justifiable time frame and thus not actively pursuing the development of a competitive TDP for future procurements.

8. Market Research: Market Research efforts included a Sources Sought/Request for Information posted on Beta.Sam.Gov website on 11 September 2020 and no responses have been received.

Market research was performed by Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) Sustainment Engineering on 28 August 2020. Extensive research was performed online for fire extinguisher manufacturers and suppliers using known requirements for the current system PN 475886. Market research results indicate that there are no commercially available products that would meet the known requirements. The Technical Data for the Kidde Fire Extinguisher PN 475886 is owned by Kidde Technologies Inc., and as a result, it is extremely difficult to find any alternative sources due to the lack of technical data. If the technical data, such as drawings with dimensions, performance requirements, were acquired from Kidde Technologies and converted to Government drawings, the Government would still require vigorous performance and environmental testing in order to validate new supplier/manufacturer’s parts. This option would not be cost-effective as described above.

Website: www.controlfiresystems.com. Key Words: HFC-227each, Automatic fire extinguisher system, Fire bottles. Finding: This website pointed towards many different fire systems, but these fire extinguishers have not been proven to fit or be compatible with the Stryker AFES. The fire extinguishers from this website using HFC-227each are for other applications, not military vehicles.

Website: www.grainger.com. Keywords: HFC -227each, Automatic fire extinguisher system, Fire extinguisher. Findings: There are many fire extinguishers available from Grainger, but none that would be directly compatible with the Stryker AFES. A handheld manual fire extinguisher would not work for this system. The Extinguishing agent type (HFC -227each) was also not available for any of the items listed in this website.

Website: www.fike.com. Keywords: HFC-227ea, Fire extinguisher, Fire suppression, Automatic system. Findings: Through this website, there was a product available that does appear to have the correct extinguishing agent currently used, FM-200™ Clean Agent Fire Suppression System, however without technical data, the Government would not be able to accurately compare its performance against the Government requirements. Additionally, further integration and testing would need to be conducted as mentioned above in Section 5.

9. Interested Sources: To date, no additional sources have expressed interest in this item.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History:

Contract: SPRDL1-18-C-0406 Award: 26 September 2018 Contractor: Kidde Technologies, Inc.

Value: $3,373,350 Noun: Extinguisher, Fire Competitive Status: Limited Source Authority Cited: FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source

Contract: SPRDL1-16-C-0105 Award: 13 January 2016 Contractor: Kidde Technologies, Inc.

Value: $766,410.88 Noun: Extinguisher, Fire Competitive Status: Limited Source Authority Cited: FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source

b. Acquisition data availability: The Government does not own proprietary rights to the TDP that would be required to produce a competitive TDP.

Kidde Technologies, Inc. has developed, tested and obtained Government approval for this item. The Government did not fund their efforts in developing and testing this item.

c. Unusual and compelling urgency: N/A

d. Subcontracting competition: FAR clause 52.244-5, Competition in Subcontracting, will be included in the contract to encourage that the prime contractor obtains as much competition as possible in its subcontracting.