pH Probes & Transmitters

Trade Agreement: NAFTA / CFTA / FTAs with Peru / Colombia / Panama / Korea
Tendering Procedures: Generally only one firm has been invited to bid
Non-Competitive Procurement Strategy: Exclusive Rights
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Vendor Name and Address: 
WAJAX INDUSTRIAL COMPONENTS LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
100 Wright Avenue
Suite 7
Dartmouth Nova Scotia
Canada
B3B1L2
Nature of Requirements: 

F5243-170240

pH probes and transmitters

For the provision of Honeywell Durafet III pH probes and ATP 2000  2 wire pH Transmitters on behalf of Fisheries & Oceans Canada located in St. Andrews, NB.  Public Services and Procurement Canada intends to enter into a contract with Wajax located in Dartmouth, NS.

Mandatory Requirements:

Item 1 - 58 units Honeywell Durafet III pH probes with 20’ cable. 

o Probes must be capable of continuous, prolonged (months and years) operation
o Probes must be capable of very accurate monitoring and regulation of tank pH through CO2 injection
o Monitoring and regulation must occur on a tank by tank basis to ensure valid data for statistical analysis
o Must be non-glass electrode ISFET technology
o Must be compatible with compatible with existing Delta system

Item 2 - 58 ATP 2000 2-wire pH transmitters to bridge distance from tank to Delta system and negate voltage drop

o Must have screen for monitoring temperature and pH at tank level
o Must use looped power 
o Must be NEMA 4x rated
o Must be compatible with the Durafet III pH probes

Delivery Date:  March 29, 2018
 
The reason for single tendering is:   Government Contract Regulations, Section 6 (d) is being invoked in this procurement is the only one person capable of performing the contract.

Justification for pre-identified supplier
Only one company (Wajax Industrial Components) can legally distribute the Honeywell Durafet III pH electrodes and the ATP 2000 2-Wire pH Transmitters, within Atlantic Canada.
Honeywell (the vendor) is the only manufacturer of these units and there are no reliable substitutes. The purpose of these units are to collect research data. 
The ‘Broodstock building’ at SABS (DFO) is being renovated and retrofitted with new tanks and systems. Research on the biological responses of various species to ocean acidification effects, will be a priory research stream in this newly renovated wet-laboratory facility. The nature of multi-stressor climate change experiments necessities very accurate monitoring and regulation of tank pH through CO2 injection and pH needs to be monitored on a per tank basis for prolonged periods of time. It is essential that monitoring and regulation occurs on a tank by tank basis to ensure valid data for statistical analysis (e.g. treatments, replicates). Consequently, a unit per tank is required. Most glass based pH electrodes are subject to drift and stability issues under prolonged use. The Durafet III is a high-end, non-glass electrode based on ISFET technology. This circumvents many of the problems associated with glass-based pH electrodes. Peer reviewed scientific literature has advocated the Durafet III for research use given the precision required for ocean acidification studies (Martz et al. 2010; Bresnahan et al. 2014; Kapsenberg et al. 2017).
The Durafet IIIs need to be connected to our Delta system, so tanks can be monitored centrally to regulate CO2 for individual tanks. The distance between the tanks and system access panels are such that there will be a voltage drop from the pH electrode which will affect the quality of pH measures. A transmitter is, therefore, required to amplify the mV signal. An appropriate transmitter will have a screen for monitoring temperature and pH at the tank level which is necessary for trouble shooting and most importantly, pH electrode response testing and calibration which needs to occur directly at the tank. It can use looped power (i.e. not require to be plugged in to an AC outlet), it has a high quality display screen, it is NEMA 4x rated (water tight and corrosion resistant) and Durafet III calibration can occur directly at the tank using the ATP 2000 screen interface. 
The current equipment that we use for monitoring pH uses glass electrode technology. The glass electrodes are not accurate enough for our work because 1) they should not be used for continuous measurement as we need for our program, 2) they become more inaccurate over time, even with weekly calibrations, 3) even when functioning, they do not have the sensitivities to enable us to hit target pH values which are related to future climate conditions (for example, a 0.1pH unit difference represents the same change in ocean pH as we have seen since the industrial revolution that even brought up the ocean acidification issue. The glass probes do not reliably measure to 0.1pH units and therefore when they are used to manipulate seawater into future scenarios, then it means that we cannot reliably say that the animal responses we’re seeing are related to what the conditions would be in say 2100).
Because of all the inaccuracies of equipment like glass electrodes, it makes it difficult to compare between regions - so for example one region might do a study with pH 7.5 and the same as another region, but when the results were wildly different it was hard to tell if that was because of natural variability or if it was because of the equipment. 
The old glass technology is no longer considered accurate or reliable enough, and the Honeywell probes are considered the gold standard that programs should employ in order to facilitate global comparisons of climate change impacts on marine organisms. 

This requirement is subject to the NAFTA/CFTA.  Limited Tendering Provisions is in accordance with the Trade Agreements, Articles 513 (b) (iii) of CFTA, Articles 1016.2 (b) of NAFTA, and Columbia/Peru Trade Agreements contain similar limited tendering provisions to those in the NAFTA.


The total estimated value of the contract is $145,549.41 taxes included.

Supplier: 

Wajax
100 Wright Avenue, Suite 7
Dartmouth, NS
B3B 1L2  
   
This PWGSC office provides procurement services to the public in both official languages of Canada.

Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

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 PWGSC 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.