Public procurement notice: Prior Information Notice Without Call For Competition
Published: 2019-09-05
Buyer: Highways England
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
CPV classification: 48000000 | 60112000

Technical requirements: ESDAL (Electronic service delivery for abnormal loads) is a service for managing Abnormal indivisible loads (AIL) in the UK. An AIL is 1 which cannot, without undue expense or risk of damage, be divided into 2 or more loads and cannot be carried by a normal vehicle. For some sizes and weights, hauliers are required to notify the police and road and structure owners about the movement of abnormal loads so that the relevant owners and authorities can check that structures are not damaged.
ESDAL is currently provided as a digital application with portals for hauliers, structures/road owners, the police and special orders. It is based on an Oracle database and a configured Navteq mapping solution.
Under a new contract, a successful supplier will provide a more flexible service accounting for future needs by use of Application program interface (API); open data; a flexible, automatically maintained map, and conform to best practice in government web-based services. It will meet the requirements of the UK Government Digital Service code of practice (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technology-code-of-practice/technology-code-of-practice).
Highways England are currently exploring the most suitable route to market and therefore cannot guarantee that this contract will be available via OJEU.
ESDAL is managed on behalf of DfT under a protocol agreement with Highways England as it covers the whole of the GB road network not just Highways England’s Strategic Road Network. Highways England want to procure a new system to manage abnormal loads that makes the most of developing technologies to replace our existing system. We are approaching the industry to understand what is available in the market and gauge interest and capacity from a wider pool of providers.
Highways England is both the owner of the ESDAL service and a major user in its role as road asset owner for the strategic road network. Overall, the demand on ESDAL is increasing. As the user-base increases, the demand for modern applications that are accessible from multiple platforms increases. Development is required specifically to meet the code of practice of UK Government Digital Service (GDS). Current workflows have potential for efficiency improvements while retaining the safety benefits of strict adherence to UK AIL regulations (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/1998/contents/made). The roads network continually changes, and we expect that software mapping facilities are improving. ESDAL 4 will require a connected continuously maintained map to ensure that the road network with its associated, structures; road owners; and custom routing can be relied on as accurate at all times. Highways England seek expressions of interest from potential suppliers of a government web-based service with the capacity and capability to provide ESDAL 4. Highways England is interested in hearing from companies with a track record of innovation in web-based services. A clear understanding of abnormal loads processes and regulations will be an advantage but is not essential.
The overall contract period is likely to be five years; comprising an initial period for software development to be followed by the implementation of the new service. The proposals for the development period will be an important element of tender assessment. This market engagement should help refine the estimated cost of the work. Our initial view is the cost of the development work will not exceed 2 000 000 GBP.
Next steps: If you are interested in this engagement opportunity please email the procurement officer lee.bryant@highwaysengland.co.uk and confirm your expression of interest by answering the questions below. Depending on the responses Highways England may hold engagement meetings, a supplier engagement webinar or seminars to further understand the market capability.
2) Would you be willing to provide a perpetual licence to Highways England to use the ESDAL software for the specific ESDAL purpose?
4) Do you have experience of meeting the UK Government Digital Service code of practice (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technology-code-of-practice/technology-code-of-practice)?
To help us shape our requirement for ESDAL 4 we want to engage with the market to understand the current capacity, capability and its direction of travel. It would be appreciated if you could provide a brief statement on this.