Open procedure
15.CAT.OP.071
PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE
SPECIFICATIONS
Contract
Services Contract
for the provision of a
“Design of a Standard Architecture
for Soldier Systems”
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction to EDA 3
1. Technical specifications 4
1.1. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DELIVERABLE 4
1.1.1. Substantial requirements 4
1.1.2. Formal Requirements 7
1.2. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SERVICES 8
1.2.1. Coordination 8
1.2.2. Consultation 9
1.3. Requirements for the resources: 10
1.3.1. Knowledge 10
1.3.2. Experience 10
2. Contractual conditions 12
2.1. Nature of the contract 12
2.2. Starting date of the contract and duration of the tasks 12
2.3. Maximum value of the contract 12
2.4. Terms of payment 12
2.5. Place of performance 13
2.6. Subcontracting 13
2.7. Joint Tenders 13
3. Administrative information concerning the invitation to tender 15
3.1. Date and place of opening of the tenders 15
3.2. Contact between the tenderer and EDA 15
3.3. General terms and conditions for the submission of tenders 16
3.4. No obligation to award the contract 17
3.5. Data Protection 17
3.6. PROTECTION OF EU CLASSIFIED INFORMATION 17
4. Form and content of the tender 18
4.1. How to submit a tender 18
4.2. Structure of the tender 18
4.2.1. Section One of the tender: Administrative proposal 19
4.2.2. Section two of the tender: Technical proposal 20
4.2.3. Section three of the tender: Financial proposal 21
5. Assessment and award of contract 22
5.1. Stage 1 – application of exclusion criteria and exclusion of tenderers 22
5.1.1. Declaration 22
5.1.2. Grounds for disqualification 22
5.1.3. Evidence 23
5.1.4. Administrative and financial penalties 24
5.2. Stage 2 - application of selection criteria (selection of tenderers) 24
5.2.1. Selection criteria 25
5.2.2. Evidence of the economic and financial capacity of the service provider(s) 25
5.2.3. Evidence of the technical and professional capacity of the service provider(s) 26
5.3. Stage 3 - application of award criteria (assessment of tenders) 26
5.4. Information for tenderers 28
5.5. Award of the contract 28
6. Annexes 29
6.1. Checklist of documents to be submitted 30
6.2. Tender submission form 31
6.3. Subcontractor / Letter of Intent 15.CAT.OP.071 34
6.4. Power of Attorney 35
6.5. Exclusion criteria form (Invitation to tender No 15.CAT.OP.071 39
6.6. Financial and Economic Capacity Overview Form 41
6.7. Professional and technical Capacity Form regarding security 42
6.8. Model Financial Proposal Form 43
6.9. Draft contract 44
Introduction to EDA
The European Defence Agency was established under a Joint Action of the Council of Ministers on 12 July, 2004, "to support the Member States and the Council in their effort to improve European defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the European Security and Defence Policy as it stands now and develops in the future”. On 12 July 2011, the Council adopted a Decision defining the statute, seat and operational rules of the European Defence Agency. This Council decision replaced the Council Joint Action.
The European Defence Agency, within the overall mission set out in the Joint Action, is ascribed four functions, covering:
· developing defence capabilities;
· promoting Defence Research and Technology (R&T);
· promoting armaments co-operation;
· creating a competitive European Defence Equipment Market and strengthening the European Defence, Technological and Industrial Base.
These four main tasks form the chain for capability development, from defining requirements via research and armaments cooperation to industrial supply. This integrated approach contributes to coherent capability development, where demand and supply are optimally connected in order to save time and costs for Member States. More collaboration will, in turn, provide opportunities for the European defence industry. The Agency also supports Ministries of Defence in their interactions with other European institutions and keeps them up-to-date regarding wider EU policies that have implications for defence.
EDA acts as a catalyst, promotes collaborations, launches new initiatives and introduces solutions to improve defence capabilities. It is the place where Member States willing to develop capabilities in cooperation do so. It is also a key facilitator in developing the capabilities necessary to underpin the Common Security and Defence Policy of the Union.
Further information can be found on the Agency’s web site at http://www.eda.europa.eu
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1. Technical specifications
1. Technical specifications
1.1. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DELIVERABLE
The deliverable under this contract is the design of a Standard Architecture for Soldier Systems (STASS), meeting the following substantial and formal requirements.
1.1.1. Substantial requirements
1.1.1.1 Interoperability and interchangeability through harmonization and standardization
The design of the STASS shall promote interoperability and interchangeability for national dismounted soldier programmes both at the system level and the component level. The STASS shall allow to equip the soldier for each mission with equipment that is readily interchangeable. The design shall also consider the data distribution concept in order to suggest a predisposition to be integrated in a system with reduced cabling effort.
The design of the STASS shall foster harmonization. It shall be based on a harmonized on-the-man general concept of open power architecture for soldier systems covering the aspects described below. It shall allow for a modular approach to support different soldier’s equipment configurations as required by EU Member States participating in the activities of the European Defence Agency (pMS). This general concept shall be supported by the development of operational, system and technical architectural views.
There are currently several soldier’s equipment programmes running in Europe, such as FELIN (FR), IDZ-ES (DE), Soldato Futuro (IT), TITAN (PL), COMFUT (ES) and FIST (UK). Most of them are still in a prototyping and field test stage and can thus still be influenced. These programmes resulted in a broad range of very different approaches which grew out of the individual national developments and are only loosely synchronised between the nations. As there are a few nations which already fielded their soldier system, their approaches and lessons learned should be considered on a European level as well as in the other nations.
The design of the STASS shall also be geared towards standardisation. It shall thus be based on a harmonized concept, which must be supported by a roadmap to establish a standard based on it. Open Architectures have been used for standardizing the individual aspects of systems in order to guide component developers. These require much lower integration efforts while, at the same time, increase component production numbers. Such architecture shall be developed in the design as a Standard Architecture for Soldier Systems (STASS). At present, all standardization options are possible, including via national mechanisms, NATO or the European Standardization Organization.
However, since all pMS partaking in the Capability Technology (CapTech) Ground Systems activities[1] are heavily involved in the NATO Dismounted Soldier Systems work, synchronization and complementarity with NATO standardization activities should be sought. Therefore, existing standardisation activities, such as UK General Soldier Architecture, NATO STANAGs and others, as applicable, shall be analysed and taken into account for the design of the STASS. A cost-benefit analysis for the development and the implementation of such a standard shall be conducted.
1.1.1.2 Technological innovation in conjunction with operational effectiveness and cost efficiency
The STASS to be designed shall also meet the following requirements. It shall:
· reduce the whole life cost of ownership.
· ensure that the architecture and infrastructure are applicable to current and future systems.
· provide interfaces that comply with publically available open standards.
· promote third party competition by providing modular components.
· promote innovation and diversity.
· allow incremental improvement of systems.
· allow technology insertion whilst minimizing integration costs and reducing the burden on the dismounted soldier.
· reduce the burden on the individual soldier from a weight, cognitive and thermal perspective.
· make best use of commercial-off-the-shelf products (COTS).
· improve operational effectiveness.
· implement functionality, wherever possible, in software in order to reduce the burden.
· specify the minimum possible to achieve the aims without hampering innovation.
1.1.1.3 Comprehensiveness
The design of the STASS shall be comprehensive, but focus mainly on the electrical power aspects of a soldier system within a future standard architecture. This includes at least the following aspects.
1. Architectural power concept
At present, there are two very diverging concepts of which one is a centralized power source and an another one operates on a basis whereby each device provides its own power source. A reasonable solution lies in-between those concepts and decides on the lowest number of sources but still separating when necessary. For instance, separating when components need to be connected via radio or using a wired approach from a central source when the extra power source would be too heavy, e.g. for a helmet.
· Power sources
Mobile power supplies remain a debated topic in research. These range from batteries to fuel cells but may also use energy harvesting, e.g. from devices fitted to the knee joints.
· Power distribution
Power distribution may be implemented using power wires, power over Ethernet, power conducting material in fabrics, or remote power transmission. If necessary, different voltages may be needed for different components, e.g. the radio may need a higher voltage than a GPS receiver in order to optimally generate the necessary electro-magnetic radiation.
· Power interfaces and connectors
Selecting voltages, maximal current and power quality together with connectors for standardisation and with a minimum size, enables easy integration of components into the power network.
· Power conditioning
Power may need to be conditioned such that the provided voltages or currents are within certain limits and the power supply provides the necessary power quality.
· Power management
Depending on the actual operational need for different parts of the soldier system, some parts might be automatically or manually put into standby or switched off in order to save power, this is commonly referred to as graceful degradation control. Using the power wisely is critical to the necessary usage time and the requirement for low weight and size, especially for the power sources.
· Power advice
The user needs to be informed about the status of the power sources and the current consumption profile such that he is able to judge the remaining operating time.
· Power control (e.g. user control with respect to power consumption)
The user shall be able to control power consumption and to switch of consumers or put them into standby manually.
· Power Charging /Fuel Supply
Charging or fuel supply in case of fuel cells needs to be considered and high flexibility is required in order to refill the power source, preferably without a specific device, from a variety of power supplies including the connection to a vehicle.
All these aspects needs to developed in greater detail and a harmonised European approach shall be recommended. Especially, size, weight, optimized usage power and the possibility to be easily harmonized with a common data bus is key to a successful system.
1.1.2. Formal Requirements
The final design study shall contain all products and documents provided during the implementation of the contract, including a PowerPoint Presentation and a publishable Executive Summary, not greater than 5 pages in length, identifying the key conclusions and recommendations.
In addition, the following shall apply:
· All documentation shall be provided in English.
· Neither the study nor the Executive Summary shall contain any confidential/proprietary information.
· The front cover of the study and the Executive Summary shall carry the following text within a delineated box of at least 10 cm x 4 cm, preferably located in the top or bottom left-hand corner of the cover:
This study was commissioned by the European Defence Agency. The study does not, however, express the Agency’s official views. The views expressed and all recommendations made are those of the authors.This study as well as any other results and rights obtained in performance of the ensuing contract, including copyright and other intellectual or industrial property rights, shall be owned solely by the Agency, which may use, publish, assign or transfer them as it sees fit, without geographical or other limitation, except where industrial or intellectual property rights exist prior to the contract being entered into.
The delivery of the final study shall be in accordance with the following requirements:
· 30 CD-ROMs containing the Final Design Study, the Executive Summary and other information shall be sent to the EDA Project Officer.
· The CDs shall be labelled with: the title “Final Design Study”, the project name, the company name, the contract number, and the completion date. They shall include Acrobat Reader and the documents in PDF format and it shall be possible to print the documents from the CD-ROM. The videos shall be Microsoft Media Player compatible.
· 2 paper copies each of the Final Design Study and the Executive Summary shall be sent to the EDA Project Officer.
· All documentation shall be submitted in draft and shall be provided in final format after comments and acceptance by EDA.
If the Contractor intends to communicate or to transfer in any form to a third party or to develop for a later use the information gathered in the process of this study, including the methodology, it has to seek the prior written authorization from EDA, who reserves the right to refuse the authorization and the right to participate in exploitation of the subsequent products.
Delivery schedule
T0 = kick-off meeting date. This meeting is planned to take place in September 2015.
TIMING / DELIVERABLET0 + 4 months / STASS design (v1)
T0 + 7 months / STASS design (v2)
T0 + 10 months / STASS design (v3)
Upon submission of above listed deliverables by the contractor, EDA shall have two weeks to submit comments on such deliverables and the Contractor shall have two weeks to address/incorporate the comments. EDA shall have two weeks to accept or reject the deliverable.
1.2. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SERVICES
1.2.1. Coordination
The Contractor is required to appoint a single Project Representative, who shall work closely with the EDA Project Officer in implementing the contract. The Project Representative will be responsible for the coordination and control of the overall work in connection with the contract and he/she will serve as the main Point of Contact for EDA. The Contractor shall ensure the overall management and an appropriate reporting during the contract. The Project Representative will be responsible for revising and updating the Management Proposal and the Methodological Proposal, as needed, throughout the entire duration of the Contract. The Contractor has responsibility for all phases of the implementation of the Management Proposal and the Methodological Proposal and to report in written form to the Agency in a proper timing—regular mail and e-mail to the EDA Project Officer. This shall be done timely and taking into consideration possible technical or managerial problems or obstacles that may affect its capability to undertake the study deliverables according to the terms of the contract, together with a contingency plan.