Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2017-11-21
Buyer: Ministry of Defence, Land Equipment, Protected Mobility Vehicle Programme
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Restricted procedure
CPV classification: 35400000: Military vehicles and associated parts
Estimated value: 40000000 GBP
Submission deadline: 2018-01-04
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: Military vehicles and associated parts. Provision of Engineering Authority and technical services to support and sustain the Protected Mobility fleet of vehicles.
The Protected Mobility Vehicles Portfolio (PMVP) team, herein referred to as The Authority, has a requirement to consolidate the engineering and technical support arrangements for its in-service Protected Mobility fleet with a single prime Contractor, under the heading of the Protected Mobility Engineering Technical Support (PMETS) contract.
The Protected Mobility fleet currently consists of circa 2200 platforms, comprised of Mastiff, Ridgback, Wolfhound, Buffalo, High Mobility Truck Variant (HMTV), Husky and Foxhound plus the Roll Over Drill Egress Trainer (RODET) and Choker Mine Roller. The fleets were procured as a series of individual Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) and subsequently brought into the Core Equipment Programme (EP) in 2013 to support Army 2020 structures.
The initial contract period shall be from 1.10.2018 until 31.3.2024, which is aligned with the current planned Out-of-Service Dates (OSD) for some of the platforms within the fleet. The contract shall also contain options to extend for up to a maximum of 6 additional years, to 31.3.2030, to support the remaining in-service vehicles until their planned OSD.
The Contractor shall act as the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for all engineering and technical support activities for the Protected Mobility fleet and shall be responsible for proactively managing the through-life support, both planned and emergent, to ensure sustainment of the platform variants and underwrite any design, development and modifications to the platform without negatively impacting on the Army's capability. However, PMETS is not responsible for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) or Inventory and Repair Management (I&RM) as this is managed under a separate contract held by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S).
The Contractor shall be responsible for acting as the Engineering Authority for all PM platforms and includes the provision of technical guidance and advice required to maintain the extant platform baselines and ensure sustainment issues are identified in a timely manner with appropriate resolution recommendations.
The Core and Non-Core activities shall include but are not limited to: Engineering Authority responsibility; provision of Post Design Services (PDS); obsolescence monitoring and resolution recommendations; management of Army Equipment Support Publications (AESPs) and other associated technical documentation; maintenance of export licences, work permits and visas, end user certificates, Technical Assistance Agreements (TAA) etc; safety activities including incident investigation and immediate response; technical support and guidance; equipment sustainment analysis and recommendations to reduce whole fleet costs and maintenance and storage of reference equipment. Any Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) provided by The Authority as reference equipment must remain in the UK whilst in the custody of The Contractor unless otherwise agreed by The Authority; it must also be noted that some of the equipment is restricted by United States' International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). There may also be a requirement, by exception, to extend support services to other nations regarding these platform variants and satisfy any obligations agreed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
The Authority would retain responsibility for basic operator and maintainer training, however The Contractor would be expected, where appropriate, to recommend improvements to ensure that Army operators and maintainers are fully competent and Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel (SQEP). The Contractor shall be expected to support the User by influencing, supporting and working closely with The Authority and the Users to develop and improve their knowledge and experience.
The ability to provide support to the Protected Mobility fleet on operations, if required, through CONDO (Contractors On Deployed Operations) may be a condition of contract.
Post Design Services are currently provided by: NP Aerospace T/A Morgan Advanced Materials for Mastiff, Ridgback, Wolfhound, Rodet, Buffalo and Choker; General Dynamics Land Systems Force Protection Europe for Foxhound; Supacat for HMTV and Navistar for Husky.
Expressions of Interest for this potential requirement will be via the Dynamic Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (DPQQ) 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 total value of the contract, including Core and Non-Core activities, to 31.3.2024 is estimated to be 40 000 000 GBP. This could increase to an estimated 90 000 000 GBP if the options to extend the contract are taken up, which would be subject to separate internal funding approval.
The Authority reserves the right to ask for an indemnity, guarantee or bank bond if the potential provider does not meet the required standard.
Payment will follow delivery and acceptance of services and any associated goods, and will be subject to satisfactory performance measured by Key Performance Indicators. The Core activity shall be paid on a quarterly basis in arrears. Other conditions will be confirmed in the Invitation to Tender.
If a group of economical operators submits a bid, 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 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 required is outlined within the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire
The minimum standard is outlined within the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.
(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 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, (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). The information required is outlined within the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire. The minimum standard is outlined within the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.
(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 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, (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). The information required is outlined within the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.
The main contractor would be required to provide evidence of the abilities of the sub contractor to process, store and transmit 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 2009/18/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 2009/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.