Expired contract

Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency Notice (VEAT)

Details

Buyer: Health and Safety Executive
Supplier(s): Thermo fisher scientific
Value: £14,853
Duration: 1 year
Topic: Miscellaneous evaluation or testing instruments
Published: 15 December 2022
Source: uk:contracts_finder

Tender description

HSE's ThermoScientific ICS5000+ ion chromatography (IC) instrument is used for of a variety of commercial samples and is essential for supplying samples for 3 sample types in the AIR PT scheme. It is also used for analysis of forensic samples relating to statutory workplace regulations and incident investigation, work which may result in legal proceedings. Regular maintenance is required to comply with the legal requirements of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) for safe operation, to maintain analytical measurement quality, to reduce instrument downtime and maximize the lifespan of this expensive piece of scientific equipment. Regular maintenance, as specified by PUWER, is essential to maintain equipment safety. The instrument is also an expensive capital item with an estimated replacement cost of around £100k. In order to fulfil the expected 10-year lifespan the IC instrument needs to be maintained by professional engineers. Lack of maintenance will reduce the lifespan of the instrument and impact safety, delivery and the quality of the measurements generated. In addition, if we do not have a contract, any breakdown will lead to disruption to delivery of our services as HSE will have to individually procure a repair visit with the significant delays this would incur. The requirement needs an external provider as HSE do not have the necessary expertise. HSE intends to direct award the contract for this work to the equipment manufacturer, ThermoScientific, under the provisions of Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) - whereby competition is absent for technical reasons. HSE asserts its belief that because of the specialized nature of scientific equipment such as this, such services with guaranteed repair can only be provided by the instrument supplier because they are the only known supplier to have the specialist knowledge required to maintain the equipment to the required standard and to offer a rapid guaranteed repair service when needed. Provided HSE's assertions in respect of this matter are not challenged in the intervening period, we plan to proceed to contract with ThermoScientific for these services on 29/12/2022

Timeline

Completed: Award published15 December 2022
Current notice
Completed: Award date29 December 2022
Completed: Contract expiry date29 December 2023

About the buyer

Health and Safety Executive regulates workplace health and safety standards across Great Britain as a central government agency. The Department for Work and Pensions sponsors it as a non-departmental public body. Regulatory oversight spans high-hazard sectors including construction, offshore oil and gas, waste management, agriculture and health and social care. Every contract opportunity is advertised on its e-tendering portal, In-Tend, where suppliers must register before bidding. Lower-value opportunities also appear on Contracts Finder, the cross-government platform. Each year a published commercial pipeline report sets out contracting opportunities for the coming year on GOV.UK.

Procurement spend from central entities makes up 66% of overall UK public spend.

Over the past 5 years, most of the Health and Safety Executive's contract awards have been in research and development, business services and software and information systems.

Relevant CPV codes

38900000 · Miscellaneous evaluation or testing instruments

Decision makers

Connect with the people behind this procurement.

Job title	Phone number	Work email
Head of Procurement	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@health-and-safety-executive.gov
Commercial Director	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@health-and-safety-executive.gov
Procurement Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@health-and-safety-executive.gov
Category Lead	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@health-and-safety-executive.gov
Senior Buyer	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@health-and-safety-executive.gov
Contracts Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@health-and-safety-executive.gov