Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2018-08-02
Buyer: Ministry of Defence, ISTAR, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Delivery Team (CBRN DT)
Country: UK
Contract type: Supplies
Procedure: Restricted procedure
CPV classification: 35113200 | 35113410
Estimated value:  GBP
Submission deadline: 2019-08-31
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and Radiological protection equipment. Garments for biological or chemical protection. The notice DOES NOT involve the setting up of a framework agreement — this is a system error.
PATSY (aircrew CBRN protection) – the supply of a below neck CBR protective clothing system for aircrew.
The Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Protection Delivery Team (CBRN DT) is seeking Expressions of Interest from parties wishing to be considered for the supply of a Below Neck CBR Protective Clothing System for Aircrew (Category D).
One of the key drivers for the programme is to provide the required level of Below Neck CBR protection (Key User Requirement) whilst imposing the minimum physiological burden on the wearer.
The selected contractor will be responsible for the supply of a Below Neck System (BNS) for approximately 524 aircrew personnel requiring 3 systems per person (approx.1,572), plus additional trials and training sets (approx. 50) to be determined at Invitation to Tender (ITT). The first 900 systems are to be delivered at Contract Award (CA) + 23 months with the balance no later than CA + 45 months (earlier delivery is desirable to the Authority but not essential). Additional buys may be required on an Ad Hoc basis, stipulated by the Authority when required. The BNS should be a Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) solution. The Authority is looking for a Below Neck CBR System which will be an integrated CBR solution comprising of an undergarment, socks and gloves. For clarity, the system must cover personnel from the neck down and must integrate with the Authority’s Above Neck System (ANS) - a development of the current APED In-Service solution which includes a neck skirt. The Interface Control Document (ICD) will be issued at ITT containing details of the APED system, and other equipment and clothing the Aircrew may wear.
A supplier may be a manufacturer or act as a Prime Contractor (PC) and sub-contract components of the system to other suppliers (e.g. gloves) to deliver the complete BNS. The supplier will be responsible for the integration of the BNS ensemble, i.e. undergarment, socks and gloves and compliance of their BNS with the ANS. The Authority will be responsible for integration of the BNS with the ANS components and other Aircrew Equipment Assemblies (AEA) as listed in the ICD.
The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.
To enable the solution to enter operational service with UK military aviation formations, the supplier will be responsible for providing supporting information, including but not limited to: Training and Training Aids, Technical Publications, Safety and Environmental evidence, and Logistic Support Documentation.
It is required that the preferred contractor is working to the following (or equivalent) standards; AQAP 2110, AQAP 2105 (Quality Plan Standards), DefStan 05-61 Pt9.
The Procurement will follow the Restricted Procedure under Defence and Security Public Contract Regulations (DSPCR) to place a supply and initial in-service support contract for 5 years + 3 options years (in yearly increments).
The Authority has the right not to invoke the option years and it should be noted this value is an approximate.
A Cyber Security Risk Assessment for this requirement has been carried out and returned a risk level of Very Low Risk (REF: RAR-Y6FS7ZA6). Potential Suppliers are therefore required to maintain a Cyber Essentials Scheme certification in order to comply.
To qualify, Potential Providers must pass the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ), designed to evaluate Technical and Financial Capacity/Capability. The PQQ will be evaluated in two stages; stage 1 will consist of pass/fail questions and stage 2 will consist of Project specific questions which will be given a weighted scoring approach and will be scored 0 – 5 (5 being the highest score).
A word cap of 500 words has been applied to each Project specific question which will be detailed within the PQQ question criteria. Tenderers should note that additional words will not be counted however, supporting evidence and references will not be included within the wordcount.
Potential Providers who are given a “Fail” against any PQQ question or score 0 or 1 against any of the Project questions will result in an automatic exclusion, and will not be invited to Tender.

Eligibility requirements: (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. A Financial Health Assessment will also be carried out by SME’s to give a predictive measure which provides an immediate and reliable evaluation of any company's fundamental financial health against the full contract value. The Authority reserves the right not to invite Potential Providers to ITT if they do not achieve a ‘Pass’ on the Financial Health Assessment. Potential Providers must meet or exceed an annual turnover of 40 % of the estimated annual contract value, (800K GBP) for the last two years or provide equivalent evidence of sufficient financial resources to deliver the contract. Parent company and / or other guarantees of performance and financial standing may be required if a potential tenderer fails to meet the minimum standards.
(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 (b) a list of works carried out over the past five years together with (unless the contracting authority specifies that the following certificate should be submitted direct to the contracting authority by the person certifying) certificates of satisfactory completion for the most important of those works indicating in each case: (i) the value of the consideration received; (ii) when and where the work or works were carried out; and (iii) specifying whether they were carried out according to the rules of the trade or profession and properly completed (c) a statement of the principal goods sold or services provided by the supplier or the services provider in the past five 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; (d) a statement of the technicians or technical services available to the economic operator to: (i) carry out the work under the contract, or (ii) be involved in the production of goods or the provision of services under the contract, particularly those responsible for quality control, whether or not they are independent of the economic operator (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. The PQQ is used to assess which of the interested suppliers in the market have the capability and capacity to deliver the contract and is therefore how the shortlist of suppliers to be invited to tender is selected. Suppliers are asked to provide details of their company’s economic and financial standing, whether they have the technical capability to deliver the requirement as well as the capacity and resource to fulfill the scope of the contract. Suppliers must prove in their responses to technical PQQ questions that they are able to deliver the contract requirements by providing evidence and examples of past performance, thus allowing the technical evaluators to gauge whether they are likely to be able to deliver a suitable solution. To qualify, Potential Providers must pass the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ), designed to evaluate Technical and Financial Capacity/Capability. The PQQ will be evaluated in two stages; stage 1 will consist of pass/fail questions and stage 2 will consist of Project specific questions which will be given a weighted scoring approach and will be scored 0 – 5 (5 being the highest score). A word cap of 500 words has been applied to each Project specific question which will be detailed within the PQQ question criteria. Tenderers should note that additional words will not be counted however, supporting evidence and references will not be included within the wordcount. A maximum of 6 qualified potential providers will receive formal ITT. Where possible the Authority will invite a minimum of 3 Potential Providers to ITT however, the Authority reserves the right to invite 2 Potential Providers or revert to a Single Source Procurement if required. Potential Providers will be ranked in order of the weighted score achieved at section six (PQQ Project Questions), combined with passing all other elements of the PQQ criteria.
(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 (b) a list of works carried out over the past five years together with (unless the contracting authority specifies that the following certificate should be submitted direct to the contracting authority by the person certifying) certificates of satisfactory completion for the most important of those works indicating in each case: (i) the value of the consideration received; (ii) when and where the work or works were carried out; and (iii) specifying whether they were carried out according to the rules of the trade or profession and properly completed (c) a statement of the principal goods sold or services provided by the supplier or the services provider in the past five 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; (d) a statement of the technicians or technical services available to the economic operator to: (i) carry out the work under the contract, or (ii) be involved in the production of goods or the provision of services under the contract, particularly those responsible for quality control, whether or not they are independent of the economic operator (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. The PQQ is used to assess which of the interested suppliers in the market have the capability and capacity to deliver the contract and is therefore how the shortlist of suppliers to be invited to tender is selected. Suppliers are asked to provide details of their company’s economic and financial standing, whether they have the technical capability to deliver the requirement as well as the capacity and resource to fulfill the scope of the contract. Suppliers must prove in their responses to technical PQQ questions that they are able to deliver the contract requirements by providing evidence and examples of past performance, thus allowing the technical evaluators to gauge whether they are likely to be able to deliver a suitable solution. To qualify, Potential Providers must pass the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ), designed to evaluate Technical and Financial Capacity/Capability. The PQQ will be evaluated in two stages; stage 1 will consist of pass/fail questions and stage 2 will consist of Project specific questions which will be given a weighted scoring approach and will be scored 0 – 5 (5 being the highest score). A word cap of 500 words has been applied to each Project specific question which will be detailed within the PQQ question criteria. Tenderers should note that additional words will not be counted however, supporting evidence and references will not be included within the wordcount.
A maximum of 6 qualified potential providers will receive formal ITT. Where possible the Authority will invite a minimum of 3 Potential Providers to ITT however, the Authority reserves the right to invite 2 Potential Providers or revert to a Single Source Procurement if required. Potential Providers will be ranked in order of the weighted score achieved at section six (PQQ Project Questions), combined with passing all other elements of the PQQ criteria.
Potential Providers who are given a “Fail” against any PQQ question or score 0 or 1 against any of the Project questions will result in an automatic exclusion from being invited to Tender.
It is required that the preferred contractor is working to the following (or equivalent) standards; AQAP 2110, AQAP 2105 (Quality Plan Standards), DefStan 05-61 Pt9.