Technical Information System/Service

Trade Agreement: Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
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: 
IHS CANADA
Sunlife Plaza East Tower
Suite 800, 112 4th Avenue SW
Calgary Alberta
Canada
T2P0H3
Nature of Requirements: 

W8484-189039/A
Friesen, Manon
Telephone No. - (240) 645-5666
Technical Information System/Service

ADVANCE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE (ACAN)
Nature of Requirement: ACAN DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE - Technical Information System/Service

Delivery Date Required:  March 31, 2018

1. An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier. 

2. You are hereby notified that on behalf of the Department of National Defence (DND), Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) intends to enter into a sole source contract with IHS Canada, located at Suite 800, 112 4th Ave SW, Calgary Alberta, for access to a portal based pay-on­demand service that provides users with access to various databases of engineering standards and specifications. The estimated value of the contract is $1,700,000.00, including options, before applicable taxes for the purchase of 25 concurrent user licenses for the right to access Technical Information System/Service (TISS) that contains logistics data, engineering standards and Specifications otherwise known as Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs). 
The estimated project is for a period of one (1) year with four (4) optional additional periods of one (1) year each. To support their requirement, DND will require one-site education for basic end-user training in both official languages i.e.; French and English as well Technical Support.

3. Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its system meets the following requirements:

a) The TISS must have a bilingual interface in French and English language with a portal that allows user access to each of the databases of engineering standards and specifications identified below:


Item  Product Description
1 US Mil Specs & Standards (Military) Collection: 
To include as a minimum, complete volumes of:

a.  MIL-STD
b.  MIL-A
c.  MIL-HDBK
d.  MIL-DTL
e.  MIL-PRF

2 Department of Defense (US) Adopted  Industry Standards
3 FAA Specs, Standards, Orders Complete
4 AIA- Aerospace Industries Association of America
5 ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials - Complete
6 EIA Electronic Industries Alliance - Sector Standards
7 SAE Society of Automotive  Engineers - Complete
8 CSA Canadian Standards Association - Complete
9 CGSB Canadian General Standards Board Service
10 ISO International Standards Organization for Standards - Complete
11 ITU International Telecommunications Union
12 ARINC - Aeronautical Radio Incorporated
13 DIN - (Deutsches Institut für Normung) English Complete 
14 IEC International Electrotechnical Commission Complete
15 CEA Consumer Electronics Association Sector Standards
16 TIA Telecommunications Industry Association Sector Standards
17 ECA Sector Standards
18 JEDEC Sector Standards
19 GEIA Sector Standards
20 ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers - Complete
21 ANSI American National Standards Institute
22 All Other Technical Reference Documents
23 Engineering Workbench (EWB) Platform
24 ICAO/Annexes Plus
25 AV-Data (excludes ICAO & UKCAA) Aviation Regulations
26 Haystack Gold


b) The TISS must be a pay-on-demand system;
c) The TISS include automatic updating search software; 
d) The TISS must provide access to an online user guide in French and English for all potential users;
e) The supplier must have a minimum of one year of experience within the past 5 years providing a Pay-on-Demand Web-based technical information system/service for document distribution that utilizes a concurrent user licensing model;
f) The supplier must detail and demonstrate their capabilities to meet the following mandatory technical support requirements:

i)    All inquiries must be answered to DND within four (4) Hours of a telephone, email inquiry or system support request during the hours of 9AM to 5PM Eastern Standard Time;
ii)   In the event of any system failure, the supplier must submit a plan outlining the central issues, potential solutions and resolution strategy for system restoration (including estimated time of recovery) to the Technical Authority (TA) within forty-eight (48) hours; and,
iii) The supplier must provide On-site Support: DND may occasionally require services provided on-site at DND locations. The supplier must have qualified personnel available to travel to DND locations across Canada to provide the support required within 48 hours of written notice. No Travel and Living expenses will be reimbursed under the awarded contract.

g) The supplier must demonstrate how they will provide 24/7 on-line access and accessibility to the technical information service (portal) for the product being proposed.
h)  The supplier's Technical Information System must have full compatibility and interoperability with the Defence Wide Area Network (DWAN) infrastructure as detailed bellow:

i. Any transmission coming into the DWAN must not utilize any Java applets, VB Scripting, Active X Controls or XML;
ii. The supplier’s website must not make use of "soft certificates" for authentication;
iii. If access to HTTPS sites is required, only the transfer of UNCLASSIFIED and DESIGNATED materiel must be authorized. NO CLASSIFIED information between the Department of National Defence and the supplier over the Internet will be approved;
iv. If the request to access an HTTPS site involves the transfer of Video files, a more detailed analysis must be required by the appropriate DND authority prior to approval; and
v. The supplier’s website must be compatible with Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 10 platforms and must be compatible with Internet Explorer Versions 11 and up.

i) The supplier must provide an example of their capability to provide bilingual training services, including basic end-user training sessions on an as-and-when required basis for the proposed product. The example must contain at minimum the following information: 
a. Type of training provided;
b. Client name and contact information;
c. Date of training, and
d. Syllabus in both official languages.

j) The supplier must demonstrate how their system has the ability to log and report clients information on document ordering.

4. The pre-identified supplier is the only supplier that provides a system with a bilingual interface portal based on pay-on-demand service to facilitate DND users with access to various tools and databases of engineering standards and specifications along with parts and logistics management system. The concurrent user licenses provides DND’s technical professionals access to tools to help analyze and leverage essential knowledge, Engineering Workbench accelerates research and helps solve problems faster and better. In previous years, no potential bidders were interested in submitting a response to a competitive Request for Proposals or did not have the capability to fulfill DND's requirement.

5. This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement:
   Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) 

6. The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection 6(d) - "only one person is capable of performing the work".

7. Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction 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.

8. The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is March 29, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. EST. 

9. Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed via e-mail to: 

Contracting Authority: PWGSC
Attention: Manon Friesen - Supply Specialist
Adresse: 11 Laurier, Place du Portage III, Tour A
                Gatineau, QC K1A 0S5

E-mail: manon.friesen@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Telephone: (240) 645-5666


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.