Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency Notice (VEAT)

HSE's ThermoScientific ICS5000+ ion chromatography (IC) instrument is used for of a variety of commercial samples and is essential for supplying samples for 3 sample types in the AIR PT scheme. It is also used for analysis of forensic samples relating to statutory workplace regulations and incident investigation, work which may result in legal proceedings. Regular maintenance is required to comply with the legal requirements of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) for safe operation, to maintain analytical measurement quality, to reduce instrument downtime and maximize the lifespan of this expensive piece of scientific equipment. Regular maintenance, as specified by PUWER, is essential to maintain equipment safety. The instrument is also an expensive capital item with an estimated replacement cost of around £100k. In order to fulfil the expected 10-year lifespan the IC instrument needs to be maintained by professional engineers. Lack of maintenance will reduce the lifespan of the instrument and impact safety, delivery and the quality of the measurements generated.

In addition, if we do not have a contract, any breakdown will lead to disruption to delivery of our services as HSE will have to individually procure a repair visit with the significant delays this would incur. The requirement needs an external provider as HSE do not have the necessary expertise.

HSE intends to direct award the contract for this work to the equipment manufacturer, ThermoScientific, under the provisions of Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) - whereby competition is absent for technical reasons. HSE asserts its belief that because of the specialized nature of scientific equipment such as this, such services with guaranteed repair can only be provided by the instrument supplier because they are the only known supplier to have the specialist knowledge required to maintain the equipment to the required standard and to offer a rapid guaranteed repair service when needed. Provided HSE's assertions in respect of this matter are not challenged in the intervening period, we plan to proceed to contract with ThermoScientific for these services on 29/12/2022