Vehicle performance and testing services - Tests de performance du ve'hicule

Trade Agreement: NONE
Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid
Non-Competitive Procurement Strategy: Government Objectives Representing Best Interests/Value to Govt
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Vendor Name and Address:
HODGES TRANSPORTATION, INC.
P O Box 234
Carson City Nevada
United States
89702
Nature of Requirements:

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 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) Definition of the Requirement

The Department of National Defence has a requirement to provide vehicle performance and mobility testing services in the conduct of a bid evaluation Test Program. The work will involve the following:

a) Test Program planning activities - 6 months prior to the start of the Test Program:

i) Produce a Test Program Process Plan;
ii) Validation of the Test Profiles;
iii) Produce the Draft Test Plan;
iv) Identify additional testing required for the assessment and validation of vehicle capabilities;
v) Propose performance thresholds and evaluation criteria for each test;
vi) Plan, coordinate and implement all the logistics for such a test program;
vii) Participate and brief at the Canada’s Bidders Conference in Ottawa;
viii) Participate and brief at the Canada’s Bidders Conference at the Test Center location;
ix) Plan, coordinate and implement a test site visit for up to 7 Bidders;
x) Set up fully functional segregated office spaces for up to seven Bidders (4 staff per Bidder) including a maintenance area;
xi) Set up a fully functional office space for Canada (6 staff);
xii) Set up a secured compound for up to 14 vehicles and 14 trailers;
xiii) Conduct an Abbreviated Practice Run (APR) before RFP release;
xiv) Conduct the Full Actual Simulated Testing (FAST) nlt 90 days before Test Program commencement;
xv) Produce and submit weekly reporting
xvi) Produce and submit final Test Program Report
xvii) Produce and submit a Final Test Plan

b) Test Program Execution Weeks 1 - 3. Performance Tests Preparation Activities:

i) Perform an initial briefing to the Bidders;
ii) Test Articles Reception and Initial Inspection
iii) Initial Preparation of Test Articles (to bring the Test Articles (Vehicles and Trailers)) to test readiness;
iv) Fabrication and Preparation of the payloads for each of the 14 vehicles and 14 trailers (14 x 16 000kg, 7 x 4500kg, 7 x 2000kg), ensuring any ballast is securely fixed.
v) Contractor Driver/Operators to attend a Driver/Operator Training course provided by the Bidders as part of full vehicle familiarization;
vi) Support the Configuration Audit done by Canada

c) Test Program Execution Weeks 4 - 26. Performance Tests for Various Vehicle Classes (Light and Heavy) and Various Configurations (with and without trailers, loaded and unloaded) to be Conducted Concurrently:

i) 1000 km Mission Profile including fording;
ii) Ride Quality, 6W absorbed power
iii) Double Lane Change
iv) Braking (Stopping Distance)
v) Fine grained Soil Tractive Effort
vi) Coarse-Grained Sand-Slope Testing
vii) Cruising Speed and Acceleration (60 km/h to 90 km/h)
viii) Maintain Speed on Grade
ix) Longitudinal Grade (60%, 30%, 20%)
x) Side-Slope Grade (20%)
xi) Other Mobility Testing (Vehicle Cone Index).

d) Test Program Execution Weeks 4-32. Reporting

i) Produce and submit weekly reporting
ii) Produce and submit final Test Program Report and results.

e) 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 facility and infrastructure meet the following requirements:
Canada reserves the right to conduct an on-site capability survey of the supplier’s facility in order to validate the statement of capabilities prior to acceptance.
i) Year-Round Testing.

Ability to start and conduct to completion all the tests listed under article 3c. at any time of the year (all year-round) and without delay, for the entire duration of the Test Program;

ii) Test Site.

A large testing area (10,000 to 12,000 square miles) with various routes classifications (paved, secondary, trails, cross country), degrees of roughness and a range of NATO soil conditions (clay, sand, silt) along with specially designed infrastructure such as grades, constant radius, RMS courses and profiles ranging from 1.0 - 5.0, fording pit, side slope, obstacle avoidance, Vehicle Cone Index, WNS courses, natural river crossings, degraded pavement complete with potholes and speed-bumps, etc., must be available in order to conduct specific tests listed herein;

iii) Terrain.

Naturally-occurring mountainous terrain at the test site is essential as part of vehicle testing, in addition to a variety of naturally occurring topographic up-grades and down-grades to test the various vehicle systems, which represents the manner in which the vehicles would be used by the Canadian Armed Forces in accordance with the Mission Profile. This includes, but is not limited to Mountain Descent Braking down 6% -9% grades, Course-Grain Sand-Slopes with less than 1% moisture content over naturally occurring sand dunes up to 60% slopes, and Fuel Efficiency Testing over natural terrain profiles representative of the Canadian Armed Forces Mission Profile;

iv) Real Estate.

Ability to provide a large, secured (fences and cameras) real estate area to accommodate and segregate (isolate) the 7 Bidders’ equipment, spare-parts ISO containers in addition to house their respective staff on-site, and to provide an individual area for each bidder to perform maintenance tasks on their specific equipment;

v) Specialized Resources, Repair Facilities and Equipment.

The scope and types of technical testing to be conducted require many specialized and qualified resources from the testing organization such as, but not limited to, engineers, qualified drivers for vehicles up to 44,000kg GVW, welders, machinists, schedulers, finance and administration personnel, instrumentation technicians, mechanics, data/results analysts, material handling equipment drivers and security guards;

vi) Maintenance Infrastructure.

Lifting cranes, on-site recovery and towing services available 24/7, required clean fuel and lubricant supply are also needed to be provided;

vii) Test Activity Scheduling.

Dynamic scheduling (daily, weekly and monthly) is imperative for success. The Contractor must provide proof that they have the proven ability, experience and the dedicated staff capacity to professionally schedule, resource-plan and execute all activities pertaining to concurrent, multi-fleet vehicle testing on a daily, weekly and monthly basis;

viii) Priority Programming.

As delays or advancements in Evaluation Programs can frequently occur, it is imperative that the Contractor be able to guarantee full program schedule prioritization accommodations, and adapt to Canada in relation to all schedule changes including but not limited to, start-date of test, test duration, test extension, test completion, and overall discrete test event sequencing;

ix) Proven Records of Performance.

Records of past experience in the conduct of Test Program(s) similar to the type and scope of the one described herein shall be provided;

x) Canada Site Offices.

Offices for Canada Team staff of 6 persons at any time (concurrent) shall be provided, and will be equipped with power for 6 workstations, internet connections and access, a meeting room, and peripheral devices. The office space will have an HVAC system (heating and cooling) for the occupants.

xi) Instrumentation.

Sufficient instrumentation in required quantities shall be provided, and each vehicle will have the necessary instrumentation for testing, to support an uninterrupted execution of tests without delays incurred in switching instrumentation from vehicle to vehicle.

3) Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement

This procurement is not subject to the trade agreements. A National Security Exception has been invoked to exempt the procurement of goods and services in relation to the Logistics Vehicle Modernization project from the provisions of all of Canada’s trade agreements, current and future including the World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement, Article XXIII (1)., the North American Free Trade Agreement, Article 1018(1); and the Agreement on Internal Trade Article 1804, for all purposes.

4) Set-aside under the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business

This procurement is not subject to the set-aside under the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business.

5) Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement(s)

This procurement is not subject to the Comprehensive Land Claim Agreements

6) Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier

The Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) because of its geographic localisation and its dry climate is able to perform all the tests listed under article 3c. at any time of the year. The stable climatic conditions at NATC will greatly minimise any risks of schedule delays and most importantly will ensure test repeatability and fairness to all the potential Bidders.
NATC’s proving ground is situated in the Great Basin offering access to a wide variety of the terrain types found around the world, enabling them to accurately replicate mobility features and challenges found in various real-world environments.
NATC main proving ground is composed of over 10,000 square miles of land. NATC has an extensive range of test courses, an array of obstacles and grades and various courses defined and maintained for mission profiles and mobility. These courses will allow Canada to perform all the tests listed under article 3c. under one roof and especially with regards to the rigorous 1,000km Mission Profile test where the vehicles and trailers will be driven mainly through secondary roads, gravel roads, trail surfaces and cross country.
At their main proving ground in Nevada, NATC has the facilities and the qualified personnel and support staff to support and conduct the testing. This includes, customer works spaces, vehicle and equipment storage, a fabrication shop, workshops for maintenance, wash bay, fuel pumps, an instrumentation shop and vehicle payload.
NATC have their own professional drivers with a class A commercial driver’s license and complete driver training in vehicle of the similar class as those requested for the test Program (4,000kg payload to 16,000kg payload) able to conduct all the tests indicated
NATC has a solid reputation in performance and mobility testing for multiple International Military customers since 1957, logging more than 50 million test miles.

7) Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)

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 contract.

8) Ownership of Intellectual Property
Ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract will vest in the Contractor.
Canada will hold a perpetual license to exercise all Intellectual Property Rights in the Foreground Information for Canada's activities.
9) Period of the proposed contract or delivery date

The proposed contract is for a period of four years (i.e.2020-2024) to complete the testing. The contract may be extended to accommodate for program delays.

10) Cost estimate of the proposed contract

The estimated value of the contract, including option(s), is $4,000.000 CDN (GST/HST extra).

11) Name and address of the pre-identified supplier

Hodges Transportation, Inc.
PO Box 234 Carson City Nevada, 89702 United States.
Operating as Nevada Automotive Test Centre.

12) Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the 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.

13) Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities

The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is Friday March 06, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

14) Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities are to be sent to:

John White
Supply Team Leader
Logistics Vehicle Modernization (LVM) Project
Major Projects Directorate - Land
email: J••••••••@••••••••.••.CA /Tel 613-995-0783

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.