The Trane Company, B-279466, June 18, 1998

B-279466 Jun 18, 1998 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Contracting agency reasonably determined that upgrade and expansion of energy management and control system must be accomplished using the products of the manufacturer of the existing system where (1) the existing system communicates using a proprietary protocol and no gateways between that protocol and the protocols of other control systems' manufacturers have been developed. (2) one technician will be responsible for operation and maintenance of the entire system. The protester argues that the IFB unduly restricts competition by requiring that the equipment to be installed have been manufactured by HSQ Technology. Which was installed in 1979 and expanded in 1988. Is composed entirely of components manufactured by HSQ Technology. View Decision Matter of: The Trane Company File: B-279466 Date: June 18, 1998 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION The Trane Company protests the terms of invitation for bids (IFB) No. F24604-98-B-0013, issued by the Department of the Air Force for upgrade and expansion of the energy management and control system (EMCS) at Malmstrom Air Force Base (AFB), Montana. The protester argues that the IFB unduly restricts competition by requiring that the equipment to be installed have been manufactured by HSQ Technology. We deny the protest. Malmstrom's EMCS manages energy usage by the base's industrial facilities. The current system, which was installed in 1979 and expanded in 1988, encompasses more than 60 buildings, and is composed entirely of components manufactured by HSQ Technology. The system operates as follows: wall sensors located within each building feed climate and other energy usage data to remote terminal units (RTU), which transmit the data along fiber optic lines to a central command and control unit (CCU), which analyzes the data. The system communicates using a protocol that is proprietary to HSQ. The instant IFB calls for upgrading of the RTUs already installed in 45 of the buildings, expansion of the system to 16 previously unconnected buildings, and replacement of the existing CCU. The IFB requires that the upgrade and expansion be accomplished using the products of HSQ Technology. Such a restriction is necessary, the agency explains, to ensure that the new equipment can communicate with the existing HSQ equipment and to avoid overburdening Malmstrom's EMCS operating technician with the need to learn an additional system or systems. The protester takes issue with the agency's justification, arguing that, although its system does not use the same protocol as HSQ's, its equipment can communicate with HSQ's through a gateway, a device which translates the protocol of one manufacturer into the protocol of another. Trane further argues that the fact that the base's EMCS technician might need to learn another system is not sufficient justification for restricting competition. The protester also argues that if the Air Force requires a single integrated EMCS, it should consider replacing the existing HSQ equipment with equipment communicating via a recently developed and widely supported open protocol known as BACnet (Building Automation and Control network), /1/ because it would then have in place the infrastructure to take advantage of future technological developments from a range of manufacturers. /2/ In preparing a solicitation for supplies or services, a contracting agency must specify its needs and solicit offers in a manner designed to achieve full and open competition, and include restrictive provisions only to the extent necessary to satisfy the agency's needs. 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2305(a)(1)(A)(i), B(ii) (1994). The contracting agency, which is most familiar with its needs and how best to fulfill them, must make the determination as to what its needs are in the first instance, and we will not question that determination unless it has no reasonable basis. Madison Servs., Inc., B-278962, Apr. 17, 1998, 98-1 CPD Para. 113 at 2; Corbin Superior Composites, Inc., B-242394, Apr. 19, 1991, 91-1 CPD Para. 389 at 5. Specifications based upon a particular manufacturer's product are not improper in and of themselves, and may be warranted where the agency establishes that the requirements are reasonably related to its needs. CairnsAir, Inc., B-278141, Jan. 2, 1998, 98-1 CPD Para. 1 at 2. First, regarding the protester's argument that the agency would be better off replacing the existing HSQ equipment than modifying and adding on to it, it is clear from the record that the agency considered the former alternative but decided against it for budgetary reasons: i.e., it would be two and a half times more expensive to replace the system in its entirety than to leave the existing equipment in place and add on to it.