Instrumented box truck and trailer rental for on-road evaluation of the resistance of materials to corrosion: effect of side fairings on 53' trailers

1. ADVANCE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE (ACAN):
An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no less than fifteen calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the competitive requirements of the government's contracting policy have been met. Following notification to suppliers not successful in demonstrating that their statement of capabilities meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contract may then be awarded using the Treasury Board's electronic bidding authorities.
If other potential suppliers submit statements of capabilities during the fifteen calendar day posting period, and meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, the department or agency must proceed to a full tendering process on either the government's electronic tendering service or through traditional means, in order to award the contract.

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2. DEFINITION OF NEEDS / SERVICES:
Project: Instrumented box truck and trailer rental for on-road evaluation of the resistance of materials to corrosion: effect of side fairings on 53' trailers
As part of a project carried out on behalf of Transport Canada, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) will expose various materials on the road to determine the effect of side fairings on 53' trailers on the corrosion of sub-structures.
Although installing side fairings on trailers results in fuel economy of up to 5%, their effect on the corrosion behaviour of trailer sub-structures is unknown. Samples will be divided among six 53' trailers and two 26' box trucks (currently being used on a contract with the NRC); each unit will be equipped with data acquisition and transmission systems.
To differentiate the effect of side fairings on corrosion, only three of the six trailers will be equipped with side fairings. The total duration of exposure will be 12 months, and the samples will be inspected on a monthly basis.

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3. DELIVERABLES AND REQUIREMENTS:
The proposed supplier must do the following:
3.1 General deliverable.
3.1.1. Provide to the NRC, for a period of 12 months from April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, six (6) enclosed 53' trailers,
3.1.2. Each equipped with a data acquisition and transmission system in accordance with the technical requirements described below,
3.1.3. and each travelling an annual distance of 150,000 km (+/- 20,000 km).
3.1.4. Agree to the installation of typical NRC calibration samples on trucks (26' box) #120 and #134 currently already in use by NRC for exposing samples on the road.

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3.2 Specific deliverables.
More specifically, the supplier must provide the following deliverables:
3.2.1 The supplier must purchase and install side fairings in accordance with the technical specifications set out in section 4.1.
3.2.2 The supplier must purchase data acquisition and transmission systems, for which technical specifications are described in section 4.2.
3.2.3 Provide six 53' trailers (enclosed) that meet the following criteria:
3.2.3.1. Each of the six (6) trailers must travel an annual distance of 150,000 km (+/- 20,000 km).
3.2.3.2. Two (2) trailers must travel 80% identical routes to Chibougamau to preserve data integrity.
3.2.3.2.1. Of those two (2) trailers, only one (1) is to be equipped with side fairings, the model of which shall be selected by the NRC (see section 4.1).
3.2.3.3. Two (2) trailers must travel 80% identical routes to Montreal to preserve data integrity.

3.2.3.3.1 Of those two (2) trailers, only one (1) is to be equipped with side fairings, the model of which shall be selected by the NRC (see section 4.1).
3.2.3.4. Two (2) trailers must travel 80% identical routes to the North Shore region to preserve data integrity.
3.2.3.4.1. Of those two (2) trailers, only one (1) is to be equipped with side fairings, the model of which shall be selected by the NRC (see section 4.1).
3.2.4 Provide the NRC with trucks #120 and #134 (26' box), forthe installation of calibration samples, which have already been equipped with various NRC samples and data acquisition and transmission systems.
3.2.5 On a weekly basis, the Contractor must provide an email to the NRC indicating the mileage of each of the six trailers.

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4. MANDATORY TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
4.1 Side fairings
The three (3) trailers equipped with side fairings must use the following model:
4.1.1. The "OptiFlow TrailerSkirt" model from the "WABCO" company;
4.1.2. Length: 259 inches;
4.1.3. Height: 33 inches;
4.1.4. Three (3) panel sections on each side of the trailer.
The information required for purchasing is available at the following site:
http://wabco-optiflow.com/products/north-america-products/side-fairings/trailerskirt/
4.2 Following data acquisition and transmission systems
The supplier must purchase the items listed in Appendix A1 to equip the trailers with data acquisition and transmission systems.

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Equipment supplier:
Campbell Scientific (Canada) Corp.
14532 131 Ave NW
Edmonton, AB
T5L 4X4

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Technical contact:
Mike Ryder
Cell: 780-733-8214
Telephone: 780-454-2505 ext. 2271
Mike.Ryder@campbellsci.ca

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5. DOCUMENTATION
Wiring diagrams (galvanic couples, GPS system, time of wetness sensor, temperature/%RH sensor) on the data acquisition and transmission systems must be provided by the Contractor.

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6. OTHER REQUIREMENTS:
6.1. The Contractor must provide the NRC with free access to the trailers when they are not in use. NRC staff must frequently inspect the samples and sensors to ensure their integrity and take photos of their state of deterioration.
6.2. The Contractor must allow the NRC to drill holes in the trailer structure ("I" and/or "L" shaped beams in the sub-floor, extending transversely along the trailer) to install sensors, samples and the box containing the acquisition and transmission systems.
6.3. When the trailer is not attached to a truck,
6.3.1. the battery in the data acquisition and transmission system should provide power supply to the system.
6.3.2. However, to ensure that the battery recharges when the truck and trailer are on the road, the Contractor must allow the NRC to connect the battery in the data acquisition and transmission system to the trailer's electrical system.
6.4. When the project is complete,
6.4.1. The Contractor must keep the data acquisition and transmission systems on the trailers for a minimum of four (4) years and allow the NRC to install other samples.
6.4.2. If applicable, the option years will be used to offset the costs of using the trailers.
6.4.3. During this period of four (4) years, if the trailers are retired, the NRC shall be authorized to install the data acquisition and transmission systems on other trailers.
6.5. The sub-structure of the six (6) trailers used for the project must not be washed during the 12 months the samples are exposed.
6.6. The Contractor agrees that:
6.6.1. the trailers will be in service during the period of exposure of the samples,
6.6.2. each of the units must travel a distance of 150,000 km (± 20,000 km). The ± 20,000 km contingency accounts for possible service disruptions for major repairs or route changes.
6.7. If a trailer must be out of service for a period of 30 days or more,
6.7.1. the NRC must be informed.
6.7.2. The Contractor will be responsible for providing a replacement trailer, to which will be transferred the samples and data acquisition and transmission systems.

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7. CONSTRAINTS:
7.1. The supplier's facilities must be located within a 15-minute drive from the NRC Saguenay Site. This is to ensure rapid access to equipment.
7.2. Compatibility and repeatability of past and future data.

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8. PROCUREMENT STRATEGY FOR ABORIGINAL BUSINESS AND COMPREHENSIVE LAND CLAIMS AGREEMENTS:
"This requirement is set aside for Aboriginal suppliers in accordance with the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business."
N/A

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9. TRADE AGREEMENTS:
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s):
9.1. Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)
9.2. World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)
9.3. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

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10. JUSTIFICATION FOR THE PRE-IDENTIFIED SUPPLIER:
The NRC will use the services of the identified supplier (Messagerie du Fjord) for the primary collection of data during the project to be carried out using six instrumented 53' trailers.
Because the data will be collected over a period of only 12 months, data collected over a longer period will be required to establish a prediction of longer-term corrosion behaviour. To do this, calibration samples will be added to trucks #120 and #134 of the identified supplier (Messagerie du Fjord), which currently collect numerous data for other NRC projects funded by the industry. These trucks will be in service for a minimum period of 24 months beginning April 1, 2017.
Trucks #120 and #134 are already equipped with the sensor and data acquisition and transmission systems that will also be installed on the six trailers. These devices were installed by the NRC in 2015.
The use of these same trucks, which will follow similar routes to four of the six trailers, will make it possible to maintain data and route integrity and thus to avoid problems with data acquisition that are typically encountered when new equipment is installed on vehicles. These problems can last several weeks and thus affect the quality of the results during that period.
The NRC has been using the services of the proposed supplier (i.e., Messagerie du Fjord) for the on-road exposure of samples since November 2013. Since then, the service supplier has demonstrated a high level of reliability in providing its vehicles and easy access to its trucks when needed and has fulfilled all of the NRC's requests. In addition, during the past 3½ years, none of the exposed samples (over 1,000 in total) and data systems have been modified, damaged or stolen by the company's staff or any other person at the location where the trucks are parked when they are not in use.

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11. GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS REGULATIONS (GCRs) EXCEPTION(S):
The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is (are) invoked for this procurement under:
- Paragraph 6(d): only one person or firm is capable of performing the contract.

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12. EXCLUSIONS AND/OR LIMITED TENDERING REASONS:
The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the:
12.1. Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) – Article 506 - 12(b)
12.2. World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP) – Article 1016 - 2(b)
12.3. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – Article XV - 2(b)

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13. OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:
N/A

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14. PERIOD OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACT OR DELIVERY DATE:

DURATION: From March 14, 2017, to March 13, 2020.

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The NRC reserves the right to negotiate with the Contractor for the purpose of awarding additional periods to meet the needs identified in this notice of up to four (4) years (2026).

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15. COST ESTIMATE OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACT:
Estimated contract value: $229,000 CAD + taxes

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16. NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE PRE-IDENTIFIED CONTRACTOR:

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Messagerie du Fjord
1701 Mitis Street
Chicoutimi, QC G7K 1H3

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17. SUPPLIERS' RIGHT TO SUBMIT A STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES:
"Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods/services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements."

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18. CLOSING DATE FOR A SUBMISSION OF A STATEMENT OF CAPABILITIES:
Deadline (hour, day, month and year) for submission of a statement of capabilities (i.e. within fifteen calendar days following the publication of this notice).

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Closing: 2 P.M. (EST), March 14th, 2017

19. INQUIRIES AND SUBMISSION OF STATEMENTS OF CAPABILITIES:
Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:

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R-Michel Simard

Material Management Officer, Quebec Region
File#: 16-22160
NRC - SAGUENAY Site
501 Université Boulevard East
Chicoutimi, QC G7H 8C3

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Tel. 418-545-5250 Fax 418-545-5254
E-mail | Courriel: R-Michel.Simard@cnrc-nrc.gc.ca

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You are hereby notified that the government intends to negotiate with one firm only as identified above. Should you have any questions concerning this requirement, contact the contracting officer identified above.
An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contracting authority may then proceed with the award. However, should a statement of capabilities be found to meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, then the contracting authority will proceed to a full tendering process.
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services/goods described herein, may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.
The file number, the contracting officer's name and the closing date of the ACAN must appear on the outside of the envelope in block letters or, in the case of a facsimile transmission, on the covering page.
The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.
Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.