Engineering design services

Description

Mutual Energy Limited (‘Mutual’) sought a panel of three competent and experienced providers for the award of places on a framework. The objective was to appoint providers that could deliver compliance, technical & integrity services, aimed at large scale projects with a call-off value greater than 10 000 GBP per activity, and which incorporated the scope and requirements of the Competent Person (‘CP’), Network Analysis (‘NA’) and Independent Metering Witness (‘IMW’). Whilst Mutual conducted the tender process, the Framework Agreement and call-off contracts were entered into by Interconnector Services Limited (‘ISL’), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mutual, which exists to contract services which are shared across the three operating companies of the Mutual Energy Group (West Transmission Limited, Belfast Gas Transmission Limited and Premier Transmission Limited). The Mutual gas companies engage the services of expert consultancy service providers to undertake a range of technical, integrity and compliance related services. These services cover a range of disciplines including Health and Safety management, emergency response, pipeline integrity and operation and design (mechanical, civil, pipeline, electrical and instrumentation) for plant enhancements and replacements. The consultancy service providers were previously procured as and when required. The process of procuring each service separately was administratively burdensome. Also, the services were often required at short notice e.g. corrosion identified and requiring specialist assessment, possibly when pipeline pressures are lowered or pegged. In light of this, Mutual took the decision to advertise the appointment of several gas consultants to operate via a framework contract, in order to create a panel that would simplify and expedite engaging experts at competitively tendered rates when specific work requirements arose. Examples of typical consultancy services which framework providers will provide include: Meter Consultancy, Validation and Technical Support (gas meters are used for fiscal billing so they must be validated annually by an independent expert. The meter validation work is undertaken by the Maintenance and Emergency Response Contractor (MERC) and independently witnessed); Direct Technical Resource (historically provided as support for the gas operations team through periods of high work load which may be a requirement going forward for the same reason, temporary back fill if individuals leave or rotate and cover for prolonged staff leave, for example during pregnancy); and Pressure Systems Safety Regulation (PSSR) Competent Person (these statutory regulations aim to prevent serious injury from the hazard of stored energy as a result of the failure of a pressure system or one of its component parts. The regulations place a number of obligations on Mutual, including securing the oversight from a ‘Competent Person’).