701485374-EDBA-CFVTN

Defence Equipment and Support Group (DE&S), part of the UK Ministry of Defence (the Authority), proposes to place a single source contract with Scott Health & Safety Ltd (Scott Safety) who are owned by 3M. This contract will be for the In-Service Support of the current Extended Duration Breathing Apparatus (EDBA) which is an In-Service Navy Capability which enables vessels and shore establishments to perform firefighting duties. This contract is to be placed for the Contract term of 1st October 2021 up to 30th September 2026, this is made up of 5 years (plus 1 +1 option years.)

It is considered that this contract can be placed using the Negotiated Procedure Without Prior Publication pursuant to Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011, due to technical reasons. This is because Scott Health & Safety Ltd is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the EDBA set (Scott Safety ProPak). As the OEM and Design Authority (DA), Scott Health & Safety Ltd is the only economic operator that has access to the design documentation, Specifications and test reports and Scott Health & Safety Ltd owns all proprietary information and documentation, including the special tooling and machinery (which manufactures the bespoke EDBA Set and Spares), that is essential in fulfilling the requirement. The Authority does not have any proprietary rights in, nor does it have access to, the design documentation, specifications, test reports or specialist tooling and machinery and is therefore unable to pass this information on to any third party.

EDBA was introduced into Service 22 years ago, Scott Health & Safety Ltd designed, developed and installed EDBA system across all of the UK Ministry of Defence's platforms and as the OEM and DA has supported the equipment since. They are the only economic operator with the necessary technical knowhow and certification required to fulfil the requirement. As the OEM, only Scott Safety is able to gain certification for their products. As the Safety Certification holder, only Scott Safety is able to make changes, modifications or upgrades to the EDBA equipment. If a third party was to make any changes/adjustments to the equipment the certification would be null and void. The Authority is unable to sail any ship without it having adequate provision of EDBA as it is a legally mandated Health and Safety requirement which maintains SOLAS (Safety of life at Sea) as covered in the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) FSS (Fire Safety Systems) Code.