Notice Information
Notice Title
DoJ FSNI Purchase of Helium BIPS for Instrumental Analysis
Notice Description
FSNI are establishing a Direct Award Contract for the supply of cylinders of helium gas with a Built In Purification System (BIPS).
Lot Information
Lot 1
FSNI are establishing a Direct Award Contract for the supply of cylinders of helium gas with a Built In Purification System (BIPS). The instrumentation set up in a number of labs across FSNI demands high purity helium in order to avoid unnecessary maintenance, repair and down time. The instrumentation in question is highly sensitive and can be easily damaged by small impurities being allowed to enter these systems, potentially resulting in loss of results, days of down time for additional maintenance and in some cases expensive repair costs and engineer visits. The instrumentation which requires this high purity helium is used across FSNI and is used in case work. It is imperative that the purity of the gas does not compromise case work results. The issue of constant purity can be eliminated using cylinders that incorporate a Built In Purification System (BIPS Cylinders). The complex analytical instrumentation used across FSNI has a direct impact on casework turnaround times, target dates and SLAs with FSNI's customers. The availability of this instrumentation is business critical for priority 1 or urgent casework and unnecessary down time could not be tolerated by the organisation.
Procurement Information
FSNI first tested the market for Helium with BIPS in 2013 when they tendered for the Supply & Delivery of Gases, this product had to be removed from the tender specification as only one supplier was permitted to supply Helium BIPS. Horizon scanning has continued since then to understand whether there may be an alternative in provision that could provide the same level of purity required and recent market sounding has confirmed that there remains no alternative to the patented product offered by the designated supplier. BIPS cylinders are exclusive to the designated supplier, who developed and own the Built In Purification System. They have this system patented, therefore no other supplier can offer the same or similar products. All public procurements should comply with NI Public Procurement Policy (NIPPP) and Managing Public Money NI. The value of this Direct Award Contract (DAC) is above the relevant threshold and therefore the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) apply. There are derogations under the regulations to award a contract to a single supplier where the supplies or services can only be supplied by a particular supplier for any of the following reasons:- Where competition is absent for technical reasons (regulation 32(2)(b)(ii); or i) For reasons connected with the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights (regulation 32(2)(b)(iii)) but only where no reasonable alternative or substitute exists and the absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement. In this case as the BIPS system is patented and is further essential to provide the critical quality and purity of gases required for FSNI instrumentation. In applying the regulation 32 derogation, CPD, on behalf of FSNI, published a voluntary transparency notice in the Find a Tender Service (FTS) Official Journal (the UK's EU Journal equivalent). This notice was published at least 10 days before the intended contract award date. FSNI did not enter into or sign any contract document ahead of the issue of the agreed CPD award letter.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-02dbab
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/022784-2021
- Current Stage
- Award
- All Stages
- Award
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- Award Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Goods
- Procurement Method
- Limited
- Procurement Method Details
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Tender Suitability
- Not specified
- Awardee Scale
- Large, SME
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- CPV Divisions
-
- CPV Codes
24111300 - Helium
44612100 - Gas cylinders
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- Not specified
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- £170,000 £100K-£500K
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 14 Sep 20214 years ago
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- Not specified
- Award Date
- 1 Sep 20214 years ago
- Contract Period
- Not specified - Not specified
- Recurrence
- Not specified
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Complete
- Lots Status
- Cancelled
- Awards Status
- Active
- Contracts Status
- Active
Buyer & Supplier
Contracting Authority (Buyer)
- Main Buyer
- DoJ Forensic Science Northern Ireland
- Contact Name
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Email
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Phone
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Buyer Location
- Locality
- BELFAST
- Postcode
- BT3 9ED
- Postcode Area
- Northern Ireland
- Country
- Northern Ireland
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLN Northern Ireland
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLN0 Northern Ireland
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLN06 Belfast
- Delivery Location
- TLN0F Mid and East Antrim
-
- Local Authority
- Belfast
- Electoral Ward
- Sydenham
- Westminster Constituency
- Belfast East
Further Information
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.