Balloon Auto Launcher

Trade Agreement: WTO-AGP/NAFTA/AIT/Canada FTAs with Peru/Colombia/Panama
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: 
Vaisala Canada Inc
110-13551 Commerce Parkway
Richmond British Columbia
Canada
V6V2L1
Nature of Requirements: 

Note: Delivery date of March 31, 2016 is amended to August 15, 2016. 

1. Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) 

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 suppliers, 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 suppliers. 

2. Definition of the requirement 

To investigate the feasibility of integrating mature automatic weather balloon launching technologies and Environment Canada’s existing hydrogen generation equipment, Environment Canada requires the provision of two automatic weather balloon launchers, Model Vaisala Autosonde AS15 and Model Météomodem Robotsonde, as well as 2000 compatible radiosondes for each launcher.  
The procurement of these two different launching systems are driven by MSC’s need to develop a system integration using two different mature launching technologies known and available on the market in order to fully assess the feasibility of an integrated solution with the existing MSC’s on-site hydrogen generation systems, for use in the Canadian climate and within MSC’s existing program conditions, for sites operating in remote locations. In the future, if MSC decides to deploy autolaunchers based on the results of this feasibility investigation and provided that there is minimum risk associated with integrating autolaunchers with on-site hydrogen generation, MSC may issue a competitive solicitation at that time to procure multiple automatic launcher units for operational use and will include data quality requirements and performance for the radiosondes included in the autolauncher system. 

3. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential Requirements) 

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its autolauncher system meets the following minimum functional requirements: 

Item Specification - Mandatory FunctionalRequirement:

1 Must be mature technology - More than 5 units currently in service globally with a Meteorological Services Agency/Department

2 Must have 1 deployed operational unit in climate conditions similar to Canada  - Must have at least 1 of the 5 units deployed with Meteorological services where the deployed location must be north of the 55th parallel in the northern hemisphere or south of the 55th parallel in the southern hemisphere. 

3 Must be capable of operating in temperature range of Canadian climate - Operate between -40°C~+40°C. 

4 Must be capableof operating in wind speeds of Canadian climate - Deploy balloon in wind speeds above 23m/s. 

5 Must be capable of operating in snow fall depths of Canadian climate - 1m of average annual snowfall and must be able to open launch door(s) with at least1m of fresh snow on top. 

6 Must be capable of operation in significant precipitation intensity - Operate in minimum rainfall intensity of 45mm/h. 

7 Must be capable of autonomous operation (excluding lift gas source) - Must be able to prepare andinitiate radiosonde, inflate balloon, deploy balloon, track radiosonde, receive radiosonde data and transmit data. 

8 Must have multiple radiosonde and balloon capacity to ensure its autonomous operation - Must have capacity for 10 or more radiosondes and balloons in queue for automated preparation, inflation and release without the need for human involvement. 

9 Must have capability to transmit data in multiple formats - Must be able of producing radiosonde flight messages in ASCII text and BUFRformats. 

10 Must be capable of maintaining communication contact with radiosonde over large distances - Receive transmitting data from radiosonde to minimum 40km in altitude and to a minimum 250km in radial direction. 

11 Must meet Canadian Safety and Electrical standards for use with Hydrogen Gas - Upon delivery of the unit, the unit must be certified to CSA standards or certified by a third party with CSA authorization authority- proof of documentation required. 

12 Lift gas supply pressure - Must be able to operate with a minimum lift gas pressure of 550kPa and maximum lift gas pressure of 2070kPa. 

4. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement 

Thisprocurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s): 
o Agreementon Internal Trade (AIT)
o World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)
o North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier 

The two identified automatic launching systems are the only known products that fulfill the mandatory functional requirements but each system does so through different designs and technologies.  MSC plans to procure the two different technologies in order to explore the range of options when integrating different launching technologies with the same existing on-site hydrogen generation infrastructure. Vaisala is the manufacturer and sole distributor of the Vaisala Autosonde AS15 and its associated radiosondes. Similarly, ATS Canada is the sole Canadian distributor of the Meteomodem Robotsonde and its associated radiosondes. 

6. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s) 

The following exception(s) to the Government ContractsRegulations is (are) invoked for this procurement under subsection 6(d) - “only one person is capable of performing the work”. 

7. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons 

The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the: 
o 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.” 
oWorld Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)- Article XV1.(b) “when, for works of art or for reasons connected with protection of exclusive rights, such as patents or copyrights, or in the absence of competition for technicalreasons, the products or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists.”
o 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.” 

8. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date 

The autolauncher systems and the associated radiosondes must be delivered by August 15, 2016. 

9. Cost estimate of the proposed contract 

The estimated value of each autolauncher system ranges from $700,000 to $1,000,000 (GST/HST extra). 

10. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier 

Vaisala Autosonde AS15:
Vaisala Canada Inc
110-13551 Commerce Parkway, Richmond, British Columbia, V6V2L1 Canada

Meteo Modem Robotsonde:
ATS Canada 
35 Auriga Dr. Unit 211, Ottawa,ON K2E 8B7, Canada

11. 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 ofcapabilities 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 thesupplier meets the advertised requirements.

12. Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities 

The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is February 18, 2016 at 2:00p.m. EDT. 

13. Inquiries and submissionof statements of capabilities 

Inquiries and statements of capabilitiesare to be directed to: 
Peggy Juan
33 City Centre Drive - Suite 480C
Mississauga, Ontario
Canada L5B 2N2
Telephone: 905-615-2467
Facsimile: 905-615-2060
E-mail: peggy.juan@pwgsc-tpsgc.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.