Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2016-04-02
Buyer: Ministry of Defence (MOD), Land Equipment, Operational Support Programmes (OSP)
Country: UK
Region: UNITED KINGDOM
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Negotiated procedure
CPV classification: 35421000: Parts and accessories for tanks | 50111000: Fleet management and maintenance services | 50630000
Estimated value: 1000000000 GBP
Submission deadline: 2016-05-16
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: Repair and maintenance services of military vehicles. Fleet management, repair and maintenance services. Mechanical spare parts for military vehicles. Provision of support and management activities for the Protected Mobility fleet of vehicles by a strategic support supplier including but not limited to: providing vehicles on an availability basis, repair, maintenance, overhaul, storage, transportation, supply of spares, all safety and through-life support activities.
The Protected Mobility Vehicle Programme (PMVP) Team has a potential requirement to consolidate the support arrangements for its in-service Protected Mobility fleet with a single prime contractor which would be known as the Protected Mobility Strategic Support Supplier (PM SSS) contract.
The Protected Mobility fleet consists of Husky, Mastiff, Wolfhound, Ridgback, Buffalo, Jackal, Coyote, Warthog and Foxhound vehicle types and variants thereof plus the Roll Over Drill Egress Trainer (RODET) currently totalling approximately 2 300 vehicles. The fleet was procured at pace as a series of individual Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) and was brought into the Core Equipment Programme in 2013 to support the Army 2020 structures. The Authority also has obligations to provide support for a small number of vehicles owned and operated by a partner nation which the PM SSS would be required to satisfy. The contract end date would be 31.3.2024 in order to align with the currently planned out-of-service dates for some of the fleet (these vary from 2024 to 2036). The contract would also contain options to extend for up to 6 additional years to support the remaining in-service vehicles.
The PM SSS would be the single point of contact for all support activities for the Protected Mobility fleet and would be responsible for pro-actively managing the through-life support (both planned and emergent) to ensure and maintain vehicle availability to meet a declared activity plan without negatively impacting on the Army's capability. The PM SSS would have the flexibility to design and deliver this service in the most innovative and efficient manner (the PM SSS would be able, but not obligated, to use certain current MOD support contracts detailed in the ITN). The PM SSS would be empowered and incentivised to recommend further improvements and sustainable efficiencies across all areas. This holistic approach would enable the PM SSS to recognise and drive long-term additional cash and non-cash benefits with the savings realised being shared by the PM SSS and the UK Secretary of State for Defence acting on behalf of the Crown (hereafter the ‘Authority’).
The PM SSS would be accountable for providing 100 % of correctly configured equipment when, where and as specified by the UK Armed Forces (hereafter the ‘User’) rather than a set percentage of the total fleet. N.B. the Protected Mobility fleet and associated equipment would remain the property of the MOD and must remain in the UK whilst in the custody of the PM SSS unless otherwise agreed by the Authority.
The support activities would include but are not limited to: repair, maintenance, overhaul, storage, transportation, collection and delivery, supply of spares, management of Army Equipment Support Publications (AESPs), Design Services (DS), safety activities including incident investigation and rectification. The PM SSS must also update all relevant Authority Management Information Systems (MIS) to ensure current information is recorded at platform and component levels.
The User would continue to be responsible for an amount of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities levels 1-3 sufficient to retain capability for future deployed operations with the PM SSS required to undertake any activities the User is unable to perform. The Authority would retain responsibility for basic operator and maintainer training, however the PM SSS would be expected to recommend improvements including the provision of supplementary training to enable it to meet the key requirement of ensuring that Army operators and maintainers are fully competent and Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel (SQEP) thereby not compromising operational capability. The PM SSS would be accountable for all the maintenance and repair work carried out by Users and would be expected to achieve this by influencing, supporting and working closely with the Authority and the Users to develop and improve their knowledge and experience.
In addition to supporting the Protected Mobility fleet in the UK and overseas (wherever a permanent training base has vehicles from the Protected Mobility Fleet) the PM SSS would also deliver/collect vehicles and spares to/from the military forward supply chain (‘purple gate’) in order to maintain capability wherever the vehicles are in use world-wide. The ability to provide support to the Protected Mobility fleet on operations outside of the UK (known as Whole Force Approach) through CONDO (contractors on deployed operations) and Sponsored Reserves would be a condition of contract with option prices to be exercised if required.
The Authority has an aspiration to include other protected and specialist platforms within this contract such as (but not limited to) the Multi Role Vehicle-Protected (MRV-P), Future Protected Battlefield Ambulance (FPBFA), Light Protected Mobility Recovery (LPMR), FUCHS, the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) and the Civilian Armoured Vehicle.
A PM SSS solution must achieve better value for money (VFM) than the current support arrangements including any rationalisation the Authority could apply to existing support contracts. If the Authority believes at any point that VFM is unlikely to be achieved by a PM SSS arrangement the ITN and/or contract will not be issued.
Expressions of Interest for this potential requirement will be via the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) linked to this advert (see section IV.1.2 Objective Criteria for Choosing the Limited Number of Candidates). No other communications will be considered.
The core value (excluding options) of the contract to 31.3.2024 is estimated to be 350 000 000 GBP (ex VAT). This could increase to an estimated 1 000 000 000 GBP (ex VAT) if all the options to extend the contract are taken up, which would be subject to separate funding approval.
Options to extend the contract in multiple year increments for a total of 6 additional years plus option prices for CONDO and Sponsored Reserves in monthly increments.
The Authority reserves the right to ask for an indemnity, guarantee or bank bond if the potential provider does not meet the required standard for economic and financial standing.
If a group of economic operators submits a tender, the group must nominate a lead organisation to deal with the Authority. The Authority would require the group to form a legal entity before entering into the contract.

Eligibility requirements: (a) Appropriate statements from the economic operator's bankers or where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance (b) The presentation of balance-sheets or extracts from the balance-sheets, where publication of the balance-sheet is required under the law of the country in which the economic operator is established (c) where appropriate, a statement, covering the three previous financial years of the economic operator, of:(i) the overall turnover of the business of the economic operator; and (ii) where appropriate, the turnover in respect of the work, works, goods or services which are of a similar type to the subject matter of the contract. The information requirements are detailed in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire. In addition the MOD reserves the right to request any additional information which it considers necessary in order to demonstrate that the potential provider has sufficient economic and financial resources to deliver the PM SSS contract.
See section VI.3 below.
(a) in the case of a supply contract requiring the siting or installation of goods, a services contract or a works contract, the economic operator's technical ability, taking into account in particular that economic operator's skills, efficiency, experience and reliability. (c) a statement of the principal goods sold or services provided by the supplier or the services provider in the past 5 years, or during a shorter period if necessary, and: (i) the dates on which the goods were sold or the services provided; (ii) the consideration received; (iii) the identity of the person to whom the goods were sold or the service were provided; (iv) any certificate issued or countersigned by that person confirming the details of the contract for those goods sold or services provided; and (v) where - (a)that person was not a contracting authority, and (b)the certificate referred to in sub-paragraph (c)(iv) is not available, any declaration by the economic operator attesting the details of the goods sold or services provided. (e) a statement of the economic operator's: (i) technical facilities; (ii) measures for ensuring quality; (iii) study and research facilities; and (iv) internal rules regarding intellectual property. (f) a check carried out by the contracting authority or on its behalf by a competent official body of the member State in which the economic operator is established: (i) on the technical capacity of the economic operator; and (ii) if relevant, on the economic operator's study and research facilities and quality control measures. (j) a description of the tools, material, technical equipment, staff numbers, know-how and sources of supply (with an indication of their geographical location when it is outside the territory of the EU) available to the economic operator to perform the contract, cope with any additional needs required by the contracting authority as a result of a crisis or carry out the maintenance, modernisation or adaptation of the goods covered by the contract. (m) in the case of contracts involving, entailing or containing classified information, evidence of the ability to process, store and transmit such information at the level of protection required by the contracting authority. (n) a certificate: (i) attesting conformity to quality management systems standards based on the relevant European standard; and (ii) from an independent accredited body established in any member State conforming to the European standards concerning accreditation and certification. (o) any other evidence of conformity to quality management systems standards which are equivalent to the standards referred to in sub-paragraph (n)(i). As detailed in the accompanying Pre-Qualification Questionnaire. Satisfactory performance (or valid reasons why unsatisfactory performance will not recur) of at least 1 contract in the past 5 years similar in nature, scale and complexity to this requirement.
(a) in the case of a supply contract requiring the siting or installation of goods, a services contract or a works contract, the economic operator's technical ability, taking into account in particular that economic operator's skills, efficiency, experience and reliability. (c) a statement of the principal goods sold or services provided by the supplier or the services provider in the past 5 years, or during a shorter period if necessary, and: (i) the dates on which the goods were sold or the services provided; (ii) the consideration received; (iii) the identity of the person to whom the goods were sold or the service were provided; (iv) any certificate issued or countersigned by that person confirming the details of the contract for those goods sold or services provided; and (v) where - (a)that person was not a contracting authority, and (b)the certificate referred to in sub-paragraph (c)(iv) is not available, any declaration by the economic operator attesting the details of the goods sold or services provided. (e) a statement of the economic operator's: (i) technical facilities; (ii) measures for ensuring quality; (iii) study and research facilities; and (iv) internal rules regarding intellectual property. (f) a check carried out by the contracting authority or on its behalf by a competent official body of the member State in which the economic operator is established: (i) on the technical capacity of the economic operator; and (ii) if relevant, on the economic operator's study and research facilities and quality control measures. (j) a description of the tools, material, technical equipment, staff numbers, know-how and sources of supply (with an indication of their geographical location when it is outside the territory of the EU) available to the economic operator to perform the contract, cope with any additional needs required by the contracting authority as a result of a crisis or carry out the maintenance, modernisation or adaptation of the goods covered by the contract. (m) in the case of contracts involving, entailing or containing classified information, evidence of the ability to process, store and transmit such information at the level of protection required by the contracting authority. (n) a certificate: (i) attesting conformity to quality management systems standards based on the relevant European standard; and (ii) from an independent accredited body established in any member State conforming to the European standards concerning accreditation and certification. (o) any other evidence of conformity to quality management systems standards which are equivalent to the standards referred to in sub-paragraph (n)(i). As detailed in the accompanying Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.
Satisfactory performance (or valid reasons why unsatisfactory performance will not recur) of at least 1 contract in the past 5 years similar in nature, scale and complexity to this requirement.
The main contractor would be required to provide evidence of the abilities of its subcontractors to process, store and transmit classified information at SECRET level of classification, by describing the required Facility Security Clearance (FSC) granted by its National or Designated Security Authority.
The Authority reserves the right under Article 21(5) of Directive 2009/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council to reject any subcontractor chosen by the main contractor at any stage of the contract award procedure or during performance of the contract if that subcontractor: (1) requires access to classified information at secret; and (2) fails to provide evidence to the satisfaction of the Authority that it has the capability to protect that level of classified information in accordance with Article 42.1(j) of Directive 2009/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.