Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2021-09-21
Buyer: Oslo kommune v/Brann- og redningsetaten
Country: NO
Contract type: Supplies
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 37412200 | 37412230 | 37412240 | 44611110
Estimated value: 13500000 NOK

Technical requirements: The Oslo Agency for Fire and Rescue Services (OBRE) is responsible for the municipality's fire and accident stand-by services. OBRE is the country's largest fire service, with 490 employees, of which 340 are for pure stand-by related assignments. OBRE has seven fire stations and a harbour station in Oslo, as well as a course and competence centre at Lahaugmoen. The Oslo Agency for Fire and Rescue Services intends to enter into a contract for equipment for rescue diving with the manufacturer Interspiro. The contract will be signed with Interspiro's representative in Norway, Lexow Safety AS as soon as the voluntary ex-ante transparency notice expires. The potential contract signing date is 01.11.2021.
The PPR section 13-4 (1), letter b no. 2 states that the contracting authority can make a procurement without a contest if the procurement concerns services that only a specific service provider can provide as 'competition is impossible due to technical reasons'. An account follows as to why OBRE will sign a contract with holding a contest by publishing a voluntary ex-ante transparency notice, cf. section 21-5.
In autumn 2020 OBRE announced a market survey for respiratory protective equipment and pressurised air for diving in water, smoke, and chemicals in Doffin/TED.
The notice encouraged suppliers to register their interest in presenting products connected to OBRE's need.
In addition to publishing an RFI, OBRE has also carried out surveys in the market in order to ensure that the contract is signed in good faith, and to be sure that there are no alternative suppliers that can fulfil the contract. OBRE has not found any other suppliers in these surveys that can offer the products for rescue diving the OBRE needs.
Representatives from OBRE have participated in Interschutz - the world's largest fire and rescue trade fair, made internet searches, asked other fire services, as well as armed forces and diving environments in the hunt for potential suppliers. None of these approaches has resulted in finding other suppliers of rescue diving material.
Suppliers that believe they can deliver equiopment for work under water, rescue diving, are encouraged to notify us of this by sending an email to eva.oynebraten@bre.oslo.kommune.no by the end of the 10 day waiting period, calculated from the day after the date of this notice.
According to the PPR section 26-1 (4), the contracting authority cannot enter into framework agreements for more than four years unless there are 'special conditions'. 'Special conditions' can, for example, but not exhaustively, be connected to the 'contract's purpose, investment costs, or user's need'.
Due to the conditions stated below, the contracting authority has set a potential contract period for up to 8 years; 4 years with an option for the contracting authority for a further 2+2 years on the same terms.
Interspiro c/o Lexow Safety AS is currently the only supplier that can offer the equipment that OBRE needs, so that the rescue diving service in OBRE can carry out its work in accordance with the regulations on the execution of work, use of work equipment, and the accompanying technical requirements (regulations on the execution of work), chapter 26.
Rescue diving is one of the most risky work assignments that is carried out in the fire and rescue service, and the environment is exclusively under water. Equipment that fulfils Norwegian standards and is in accordance with the relevant law is therefore vital for the crew.
For this reason it is also vital that the crew is very familiar with the equipment they use, as when under pressure and in emergency situations, they must have tested, automated methods of operation. Frequent replacement of material will thus increase the probability of dangerous situations, as well as reduce efficiency and safety in emergency and life-saving diving operations.


Winner: Lexow Safety AS
Award value: 13500000