Award

SUPPORT FOR DEVNUSCOT AND RPT TRAINER

  • Ministry of Defence

F15: Voluntary ex ante transparency notice

Notice identifier: 2022/S 000-017295

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-034a34

Published 24 June 2022, 11:35am



Section one: Contracting authority/entity

one.1) Name and addresses

Ministry of Defence

Portsmouth

Email

lee.culshaw100@mod.gov.uk

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code

UK - United Kingdom

Internet address(es)

Main address

www.contracts.mod.uk

one.4) Type of the contracting authority

Ministry or any other national or federal authority

one.5) Main activity

Defence


Section two: Object

two.1) Scope of the procurement

two.1.1) Title

SUPPORT FOR DEVNUSCOT AND RPT TRAINER

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 80510000 - Specialist training services

two.1.3) Type of contract

Services

two.1.4) Short description

The Royal Navy (RN), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a 17 month contract with a value of £1.1m to THALES UK Limited for the provision of support to the Nuclear Ship Control Trainer in Devonport, UK (DEVNUSCOT) and associated Role Performance Trainer (RPT) equipment to the RN. The contract is to supply Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel in order to run DevNUSCOT and the RPT, this includes design modification and replacement of complex trainer dependent systems such as servers, hydraulic and motion systems, user interfaces and the physical infrastructure of two different designs of trainer.

In accordance with regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 SI No.2019/697, this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (DSPCR 2011) as amended.  Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (in accordance with the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 for technical reasons.

The T Class submarine had a Fleet Non-Operational Date (FNOD) of the 31st December 2021, however a decision by the RN has recently been made to extend the service of this T Class submarine until the 31st December 2023. The operational imperative to extend the T Class submarine has necessitated the extension of the training DEVNUSCOT simulator and associated RPT equipment for a further 17 months from the end of the current contract on the 31st July 2022. This is to maintain the integrity of the training pipeline to ensure the safety to operate and operational currency.

This short term requirement can only be met by THALES UK Limited as they are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of and Design Authority (DA) for this equipment. As the OEM and DA, only THALES UK Limited have the necessary SQEP, technical know-how and means to meet the requirement. The level of Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel required to support this trainer would not be possible to acquire without a full and detailed data pack which is not available to the Authority to use or pass on to third parties. In the absence of a Data Pack, other economic operators will not have the required engineering specifications or technical information that is necessary to understand and resolve complex IT/mechanical or software issues and therefore safely operate the trainer equipment making competitive tendering unsafe and untenable.

two.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)

Value excluding VAT: £1,098,753

two.2) Description

two.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS codes
  • UK - United Kingdom

two.2.4) Description of the procurement

The Royal Navy (RN), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a 17 month contract with a value of £1.1m to THALES UK Limited for the provision of support to the Nuclear Ship Control Trainer in Devonport, UK (DEVNUSCOT) and associated Role Performance Trainer (RPT) equipment to the RN. The contract is to supply Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel in order to run DevNUSCOT and the RPT, this includes design modification and replacement of complex trainer dependent systems such as servers, hydraulic and motion systems, user interfaces and the physical infrastructure of two different designs of trainer.

In accordance with regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 SI No.2019/697, this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (DSPCR 2011) as amended.  Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (in accordance with the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 for technical reasons.

The T Class submarine had a Fleet Non-Operational Date (FNOD) of the 31st December 2021, however a decision by the RN has recently been made to extend the service of this T Class submarine until the 31st December 2023. The operational imperative to extend the T Class submarine has necessitated the extension of the training DEVNUSCOT simulator and associated RPT equipment for a further 17 months from the end of the current contract on the 31st July 2022. This is to maintain the integrity of the training pipeline to ensure the safety to operate and operational currency.

This short term requirement can only be met by THALES UK Limited as they are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of and Design Authority (DA) for this equipment. As the OEM and DA, only THALES UK Limited have the necessary SQEP, technical know-how and means to meet the requirement. The level of Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel required to support this trainer would not be possible to acquire without a full and detailed data pack which is not available to the Authority to use or pass on to third parties. In the absence of a Data Pack, other economic operators will not have the required engineering specifications or technical information that is necessary to understand and resolve complex IT/mechanical or software issues and therefore safely operate the trainer equipment making competitive tendering unsafe and untenable.

two.2.5) Award criteria

Criterion: Technical 50

Criterion: Financial 50

two.2.11) Information about options

Options: No

two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds

The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No


Section four. Procedure

four.1) Description

four.1.1) Type of procedure

Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice

  • No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to negotiated procedure with prior publication of a contract notice
  • The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development
  • The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
    • absence of competition for technical reasons

Explanation:

The Royal Navy (RN), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a 17 month contract with a value of £1.1m to THALES UK Limited for the provision of support to the Nuclear Ship Control Trainer in Devonport, UK (DEVNUSCOT) and associated Role Performance Trainer (RPT) equipment to the RN. The contract is to supply Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel in order to run DevNUSCOT and the RPT, this includes design modification and replacement of complex trainer dependent systems such as servers, hydraulic and motion systems, user interfaces and the physical infrastructure of two different designs of trainer.

In accordance with regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 SI No.2019/697, this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (DSPCR 2011) as amended.  Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (in accordance with the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 for technical reasons.

The T Class submarine had a Fleet Non-Operational Date (FNOD) of the 31st December 2021, however a decision by the RN has recently been made to extend the service of this T Class submarine until the 31st December 2023. The operational imperative to extend the T Class submarine has necessitated the extension of the training DEVNUSCOT simulator and associated RPT equipment for a further 17 months from the end of the current contract on the 31st July 2022. This is to maintain the integrity of the training pipeline to ensure the safety to operate and operational currency.

This short term requirement can only be met by THALES UK Limited as they are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of and Design Authority (DA) for this equipment. As the OEM and DA, only THALES UK Limited have the necessary SQEP, technical know-how and means to meet the requirement. The level of Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel required to support this trainer would not be possible to acquire without a full and detailed data pack which is not available to the Authority to use or pass on to third parties. In the absence of a Data Pack, other economic operators will not have the required engineering specifications or technical information that is necessary to understand and resolve complex IT/mechanical or software issues and therefore safely operate the trainer equipment making competitive tendering unsafe and untenable.

four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No


Section five. Award of contract/concession

A contract/lot is awarded: Yes

five.2) Award of contract/concession

five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract

24 June 2022

five.2.2) Information about tenders

The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No

five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire

Thales UK Ltd

Crawley

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code
  • UK - United Kingdom
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME

No

five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)

Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot/concession: £1,098,753

Total value of the contract/lot/concession: £1,098,753

five.2.5) Information about subcontracting

The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted


Section six. Complementary information

six.4) Procedures for review

six.4.1) Review body

Ministry of Defence

Portsmouth

Country

United Kingdom