Brand Name Justification, Best Brand, Lock Cores

Date: January 9, 2009Project: West Entrance Station Rehab, Glacier National Park 1. Identificationsa. Agency: National Park Serviceb. Contracting Office: Glacier National Park 2. Description of the action being approved:The National Park Service (NPS) shall be soliciting for rehabilitation of the West Entrance Station. The documents included with the solicitation call for specific brand name products that are peculiar to one manufacturer. This written justification provides approval for limiting competition to the listed brand name products as authorized by the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). 3. Description of supplies and services: Products (All manufactured by Schlage) Quantity Unit price TotalBest Lock Cores 8 $40 $320 4. Authority: a. 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1): Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.b. FAR Part 11.105: The Brand Name products are essential to the Government's requirements, and market research indicates other companies' similar products do not meet and cannot be modified to meet the agency's needs.c. FAR 6.302-1: The use of the name brand products are essential to the Government's requirements, thereby precluding consideration of a product manufactured by another company. 5. The description of the product's unique qualifications or the unique nature of the acquisition:a. Due to budget constraints the park cannot afford to train its technicians on the proper procedures for repairing each and every manufacturer of door lock cores. Thus, the Park's technicians have been trained to repair the lock cores for a single manufacturer, Best.b. Due to budget constraints the Park cannot afford to stock spare parts for all manufacturers of lock cores. Thus, the park currently stocks parts for only one manufacturer, Best.c. The park's use of a Best master keying system allows emergency personnel to carry fewer master keys and still gain access to all park facilities. This results in faster entry to buildings during an emergency.d. Refer to item 9 below for additional information. 6. Efforts to obtain competition:a. Efforts to ensure offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable:We currently anticipate soliciting for general construction services using the "best value" approach. We anticipate the potential prime contractors will compete their subcontracts, one of which will be for the supply and installation of the door locks and cores.b. Presolicitation notice per FAR 5.2:Per Federal Acquisition Regulations a presolicitation notice will be issued. 7. Determination that costs will be fair & reasonable:We currently anticipate soliciting for general construction services using the "best value" approach. We anticipate the potential prime contractors will compete their subcontracts, one of which will be for the supply and installation of the door locks and cores. Thus, subcontractors will seek to obtain competitive pricing, from their suppliers. Suppliers will in-turn seek to provide competitive pricing for the products they provide and obtain competitive pricing from the product manufacturer. Different manufacturers typically compete to sell their products to the different suppliers and thus the manufacturers strive to provide competitive pricing to the suppliers. 8. Description of the market research conducted:The systems of other manufactures cannot be modified to be compatible with the Best keying system. The maintenance of the systems would also be prohibitively expensive as noted in item 5 above. In addition the government could be harmed as noted in item 9 below. 9. Other facts supporting other than full & open competition:a. Reason why documents suitable for full & open competition have not been developed:Refer to item 5 above. b. Data, estimated costs or other rationale as to the extent or harm to the Government if other brand name products are utilized:1) The amount of time to repair malfunctioning equipment would be increased because:a) The Park's locksmiths would not be familiar with the equipment from all the different manufactures,b) The Park could not maintain a supply of repair parts for all the different manufactures and thus there would be delays in obtaining repair parts. 2) The amount of time to key locksets would be increased because:a) The Park's locksmith would have to research the process for keying the different manufacture systems, b) The Park could not afford to maintain a supply of the necessary parts and thus the parts would have to be order and shipped.3) Better security can be provided if a single locking system is utilized for all Park facilities. 4) Emergency personnel will be able to gain access to facilities quicker because they will only have to carry a few master keys. 10. Interested Sources:None to our knowledge. 11. Actions to remove barriers to competition in the future for similar acquisitions:In the future when the current system becomes obsolete the Park will conduct competition to choose a new system.