Published date: 15 December 2022

Awarded contract - This means that the contract has been awarded to a supplier.


Closing: 28 December 2022, 11:59pm

Contract summary

Industry

  • Miscellaneous evaluation or testing instruments - 38900000

Location of contract

SK179JN

Value of contract

£14,853

Procurement reference

HSE/T4338 VEAT

Published date

15 December 2022

Closing date

28 December 2022

Closing time

11:59pm

Contract start date

29 December 2022

Contract end date

28 December 2023

Contract type

Service contract

Procedure type

Single tender action (below threshold)

A direct contract with a single supplier, without competition.

This procedure can be used for procurements below the relevant contract value threshold.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes


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


Award information

Awarded date

29 December 2022

Contract start date

29 December 2022

Contract end date

29 December 2023

Total value of contract

£14,853

This contract was awarded to 1 supplier.

Thermo Fisher Scientific

Address

Stafford House
HP2 7GE Hemel Hempstead
United Kingdom

Reference

Companies House number: 03977334

Value of contract

£14,853

Supplier is SME?

Yes

Supplier is VCSE?

Yes


About the buyer

Address

Redgrave Court,Merton Road
BOOTLE
L207HS
England

Email

tenders@hse.gov.uk