Scope
Reference
RQ0000077037
Description
Dstl has a requirement for the design, assembly and supply of a number of a 31U high 19 inch equipment cabinets, each containing seven electronic enclosures, and separately a Human Computer Interface (HCI), all built to a defined specification that will be provided with the full SOR.
The cabinet and enclosures are intended for use by the MOD and are to be designed to meet defence standards in accordance with DEFSTAN 08-107 Iss3. The equipment shall be designed to meet environmental criteria and will need to be subjected to EMC and environmental testing (temperature & vibration) in accordance with DEFSTAN 59-411 and 08-123.
The internal enclosures will consist of five custom electronic enclosures each with a design provided by Dstl but for the supplier to design the mechanical layout and wiring assembly arrangements; space for a 9U processing chassis provided by Dstl; and a chilled water heat exchanger.
The cabinet will need to be designed for two modes for cooling the equipment to account for the different environments that the system can be operated in. Either air cooled - air flows into and out of the cabinet therefore expelling wild heat into the surrounding area. Or chilled water cooling - air recirculates inside the cabinet to cool the enclosures, but heat is taken out of the cabinet by chilled water heat exchangers.
Total value (estimated)
- £1,500,000 excluding VAT
- £1,800,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 24 July 2025 to 21 October 2028
- 3 years, 2 months, 29 days
Main procurement category
Goods
CPV classifications
- 31720000 - Electromechanical equipment
Contract locations
- UK - United Kingdom
Participation
Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation
Details can be found in the PSQ
Technical ability conditions of participation
1. The supplier/ team shall demonstrate with documented evidence they have a track record in designing and manufacturing bespoke cabinets and enclosures that meet defence standards, including working closely with the customer to ensure requirements are met.
Pass criteria: the evidence provided by the supplier gives the customer confidence that the supplier has suitable capability, experience, track record and capacity to undertake the work outlined in this document
2. The supplier team (including subcontractors) shall demonstrate a track record of undertaking environmental testing of customer equipment (covering EMC, vibration and temperature testing).
Pass criteria: the supplier evidence gives the customer confidence that the supplier has the experience and facilities for undertaking environmental testing.
3. The supplier team (including subcontractors) shall confirm that they have suitable means for handling information at Official Sensitive and access to suitable facilities and personnel for undertaking the environmental testing at UK SECRET.
Pass criteria: the supplier confirms that they have these means available for handling such information and undertaking the testing.
Further details can be found in the PSQ
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Submission type
Requests to participate
Deadline for requests to participate
12 May 2025, 5:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Suppliers must submit the Procurement Specific Questionnaire via the Defence Sourcing Portal by the specified deadline in order to request to participate in the competition. Link to DSP oppotunity listing: https://contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opportunity/detail?opportunityId=59741
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
14 July 2025
Award criteria
| Name | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Technical | Quality | 70% |
| Price | Price | 30% |
Other information
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Competitive flexible procedure
Special regime
Defence and security
Competitive flexible procedure description
This is a two stage competition. Stage 1 is a conditions of participation stage with criteria being marked as Pass/Fail. Suppliers who Pass all conditions of participation will be proceed to stage 2 when they will be invited to tender.
For stage 1 the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) (including Conditions of Participation) is available within the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) and will be used to determine suppliers that meet the participation criteria to invite to submit a tender. This will also include the assessment of whether a supplier, its connected persons, associated persons or any intended subcontractors are excluded or excludable persons and whether the suppliers are UK suppliers under the Procurement Act. Within the PSQ there are Pass/Fail questions, a Fail resulting in exclusion from further participation in the tendering process.
An Invitation to Tender (ITT) will be issued to those successful at PSQ. A clarification process will be used during the tendering period to allow suppliers to seek clarification from the Authority. A summary of the award criteria is in this notice and will be explained in the Tender Documents issued with the ITT at stage 2 of the competition. The Authority reserves the right to refine the award criteria before the Tender period in accordance with section 24 of the Procurement Act 2023. This may include revision to the weightings of the sub-criteria.
The Authority reserves the right to amend the procurement, where such amendment would not be substantial, as follows, including and not limited to;
• amendments to the tender documents which may provide clarification
• refining the specification as the competitive flexible procedure progresses
• reducing timescales.
If any amendments are made, the Authority will consider whether any applicable tender deadlines should be revised, and whether any tender documents or notices need to be re-issued.
Documents
Documents to be provided after the tender notice
An Invitation to tender and associated documents will be issued to suppliers who pass all conditions of participation. Documents will be issued via the Defence Sourcing Portal, or by email.
Contracting authority
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PDDM-1961-MTLN
Porton Down
Salisbury
SP4 0JQ
United Kingdom
Email: centralenquiries@dstl.gov.uk
Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-science-and-technology-laborator
Region: UKK15 - Wiltshire CC
Organisation type: Public authority - central government