Cone Calorimeter

Trade Agreement: NAFTA/AIT/Canada FTAs with Peru/Colombia/Panama
Tendering Procedures: Generally only one firm has been invited
to bid
Attachment: None
Non-Competitive Procurement Strategy: Exclusive Rights
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Vendor Name and Address: 
GBH INTERNATIONAL
2 FRIARS LANE
MILL VALLEY California
United States
94941
Nature of Requirements: 
Cone Calorimeter

31184-141349/A
Quinn, Laurie
Telephone No. - (819) 956-3824 
Fax No. - (819) 956-3814

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.	The National Research Council's (NRC), Construction-Fire
Safety, has a requirement for 		a Cone Calorimeter including
installation.

3.	Minimum Essential Requirements

	Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement
of capabilities that its 		cone calorimeter meets the following
minimum requirements:

	- must be able to provide radiant heat fluxes in the range of
0-100kW/m2; 
	- must have an integrated load cell/mass balance system capable
of measuring samples up 	   to 500g with an accuracy of ±0.01g
and designed to minimize the effects of temperature 	   changes; 
	- must have an integrated smoke analysis/obscuration
measurement system;
	- must have an integrated gas analysis system capable of
accurate measurement of 	                           oxygen,
carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

4.	Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement 
	
	This procurement is subject to the following trade
agreement(s):	
	
	Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) 
	North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
	Canada-Peru FTA 
	Canada-Columbia FTA 

5. 	Set-aside under the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal
Business

	Not Applicable.



6.	Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement(s)
	
	Not Applcable.

7.	Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier 

The Cone Calorimeter has the following unique technical features
not available through other vendors which are required for the
NRC's Fire Safety lab applications.

	1.	Must provide radiant heat fluxes in the range of 0-100kW/m2

The instrument is intended to subject samples to radiant heat
fluxes in this range in order to assess combustibility.  The
range is important to meet various regulatory criteria and to
provide the ability to vary the radiant heat flux as needed.

2.	Must have an integrated load cell/mass balance system capable
of measuring samples up to 500g with and accuracy of ±0.01g
designed to minimize the effects of temperature changes 

The instrument measures mass loss as a function of time in order
to provide inputs into equations relating to the rate of
combustion, oxygen consumption and combustion gas generation
(e.g. grams of CO and CO2 produced per unit mass of sample
consumed, etc.).  The sample and load cell are subjected to wide
temperature fluctuations by the nature of the test method and
the design of the load cell must minimize the effects of these
temperature fluctuations on the measurements.

3.	Must have an integrated smoke analysis/obscuration
measurement system.

Smoke generation is an important criterion in characterizing
combustion behavior and, as such, the unit must have an
integrated smoke analysis/obscuration system to allow us to
measure the optical density of smoke generated as a function of
time during testing. 

	4.	Must have an integrated gas analysis system capable of
accurate measurement of 		oxygen, carbon monoxide and carbon
dioxide. 

The principle by which the system operates hinges on the ability
to measure oxygen consumption as well as carbon monoxide and
carbon dioxide generation.  This data provides inputs into
equations that calculate the heat release rate of materials
(among other things) and is integral to the use of the
instrument.

	These specific characteristics are necessary for the NRC's Fire
Safety applications. The		only known manufacture of a cone
calorimeter that meets all of the NRC's technical and
		performance requirements is Fire Testing Technology Ltd. It is
for this reason that it is 		proposed to negotiate directly with
GBH International, the North American representative 	for this
requirement.
8.	Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)

	The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations
is invoked for this 		procurement under subsection 10.2 Section
6(d) - "only one person is capable of 			performing the work").

9.	Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons 

	The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are
invoked under the section 	of the trade agreement(s) specified:

	Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) - Article 506 12. (b) where
there is an absence of 		competition for technical reasons and
the goods or services can be supplied only by a 		particular
supplier and no alternative or substitute exists;

	North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - Article 1016
2.(b) where, for works 		of art, or for reasons connected with
the protection of patents, copyrights or other 			exclusive
rights, or proprietary information or where there is an absence
of competition 		for technical reasons, the goods or services
can be supplied only by a particular supplier 		and no
reasonable alternative or substitute exists;
	
10.	Ownership of Intellectual Property.

	Ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out
of the proposed contract 		will vest in the Contractor.

11.	The period of the proposed contract or the delivery date.

	Delivery is requested by February 2, 2015.

12.	A cost estimate of the proposed contract. 

	The estimated value of the contract including options, is
$197,073.43 (GST/HST 			included).

13.	Name and address of the pre-identified supplier:

	Name: GBH International
	Address: 2 Friars Lane, Mill Valley, California, 94941 

14.	Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities

	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.



15.	The closing date for a submission of a statement of
capabilities. 

	The closing date and time for accepting statements of
capabilities is 23 October 2014 		at 2:00 p.m. EST.

16. 	Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed
to:

	Laurie Quinn
	Supply Officer
	Scientific, Medical and Photographic Division
	Commercial and Consumer Products Directorate
	6A2 ( 36 ) Place du Portage, Phase III
	11 Laurier Street \, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0S5
	Tel: ( 819) 956-3824
	Email: laurie.quinn@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
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.