Corrosive Substance Testing Devices Market Engagement Event

The Home Office will be holding a market engagement event relating to a national framework for corrosive substance testing devices. The event will be conducted via a virtual format, on 6th April 2020. The aim of the event will be to test the capability of the market.

Please email collaborativeprocurement@homeoffice.gov.uk by Wednesday, 1st April 2020 to express an interest in attending the market engagement event. Please include "Corrosive Substances Market Engagement Event" in the subject title of your email. Please note that that a maximum of 3 supplier representatives may attend.

The Home Office is expecting to publish the procurement notice in the summer 2020.

The framework is expected to be for a period of 24 months, with two optional 12-month extension periods (for a total possible extension period of 24 months).

There will be no guarantee of volumes of work under the framework and contracting authorities will decide whether they wish to draw devices from the framework.

Bidders will need to be prepared to meet all costs associated with bidding, including the submission of technical/commercial documentation and the provision of devices if selected, to enable robust testing and evaluation, as well as any other reasonable requests to expediate the submission and evaluation of bids. Bidders will need to provide 10 - 12 number of devices as part of the testing and evaluation process.

The devices submitted by bidders should be of a high technology readiness level and will need to be produced in accordance with the most recent and relevant EU and UK standards and Home Office specifications which will be detailed within the supporting ITT documentation. (Expected to be published in the summer, 2020). Several criteria are of such significance that there will be minimum requirements that bidders will have to achieve in order to be considered for the National Framework Agreement for the Supply and Delivery of Corrosive Substance Testing Devices, such as devices will need to be able to detect liquid corrosives safely and quickly, without the need to open full or part full containers or bottles and use non-destructive technology.

Technologies covered by the Ionising Radiation Regulations 2017 will be excluded.

Responders will need to deploy devices within a variety of environments, including urban and rural locations. The devices submitted by bidders shall be able to be transported to where it is required whilst being readily portable by a single responder (to allow the device to be taken to the container).

The devices submitted by bidders should be able to detect but not be limited to the corrosive substances listed: sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, ammonium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite, formic acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid and hydrofluoric acid. Successful technology should be able to differentiate between corrosive substances and for example water and soft drinks reliably.

Additional information: The Secretary of State for the Home Department (the 'Home Office') is seeking to procure testing devices for the detection of corrosive substances on behalf of UK Policing and UK public sector bodies.

The procurement will be led by the Home Office, working in collaboration with the National Police Chief Council Lead and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). The Home Office will be the main contracting authority and framework administrator and will be acting on behalf of other contracting authorities in putting in place a national framework for corrosive substance testing devices.

The framework will primarily be intended for use by all UK police and Fire & Rescue Authorities, and public sector bodies (and any future successors to these organisations).

The Home Office will enter into a framework agreement called the National Framework Agreement for the Supply and Delivery of Corrosive Substance Testing Devices with the winning bidder/s, and contracting authorities will call off their requirements using the terms and conditions under the framework.