Calibration and repairs of test, measurement and diagnostic equipment

1. Introduction

Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Consulting Inc. (RCGT) was engaged on December  17, 2018 as a Fairness Monitor (FM) to observe the procurement process for the Calibration and Repairs of Test, Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment (TDME), issued by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) on behalf of the Department of National Defence (DND), as a result of bid solicitation #W8486-184754. RCGT is an independent third party with respect to this activity.

RCGT reviewed all the information provided and observed all relevant activities in this phase, as identified in section 4 and 5 of this report. We hereby submit the Final Report, covering the activities of the Fairness Monitor, from December 17, 2018, continuing through the conclusion of the Evaluation Phase on April 20, 2020. RCGT was not involved as a FM in activities undertaken prior to December 17, 2018.

This report includes our attestation of assurance, a summary of the scope and objectives of our assignment, and relevant observations from the activities undertaken.

2. Attestation of assurance

Based on the activities performed and described in this report, the Fairness Monitor hereby provides the following unqualified assurance statement concerning the procurement process for the Calibration and Repairs of Test, Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment:

It is our professional opinion that the procurement process that we observed was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

3. Project requirement

DND is seeking the services of a Contractor to provide test, maintenance and diagnostic equipment (TMDE) calibration and repair and overhaul (R&O) capability that will satisfy the Sustainment Objectives and DND / Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Objectives and System Level Operation Requirements through the provision of services for electrical/electronic and physical properties TDME assigned to DND/CAF locations.

It is the intention that the Contractor will process, for calibration and R&O, all TDME identified at the time of contract award plus any new TDME added during the term of the contract. TDME inventories are constantly updated or revised and, as a result, there will be changes to the calibration and R&O workload through the life of the contract. Further, as new TDME are introduced into new locations across the country, the Contractor must be prepared to support calibration and R&O of these assets at different locations across Canada.

4. Fairness monitoring engagement and methodology

RCGT was engaged as an FM to observe the procurement process for the calibration and repairs of TDME Project, and to attest to the fairness, openness and transparency of this monitored activity.

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we:

• Reviewed documents provided by the Contracting Authority
• Monitored communications with proponents provided by the Contracting Authority
• Attended meetings that the Contracting Authority, Technical Authority or Project Authority requested our presence at
• Identified potential fairness-related matters to the Contracting Authority and Technical Authority; and
• Ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate

This report is based on information made available to us by the Contracting Authority, Technical Authority and Project Authority during the procurement process from December  17, 2018 to April 20, 2020. RCGT reserves the right, but will be under no obligation, to review and/or revise the report if further information that may impact our observations becomes known to us after the date of this report.

5. Activities and observations

5.1 Request for information phase

5.1.1 Request for information #1—86-184754/A

PWGSC issued the first Request for Information (RFI) on April 6, 2018, which closed on May 7, 2018. As RCGT was engaged on December 17, 2018, RCGT was not involved in this RFI; consequently, RCGT’s opinion does not cover this portion of the procurement process.

5.1.2 Request for information #2—W8486-184754/B

From April 12, 2019 to April 30, 2019, a review of RFI2 was performed and questions, comments and identified issues were discussed.

RCGT received the first draft of RFI2 on April 12, 2019. RFI2 was posted on buyandsell.gc.ca on May 1, 2019. RFI2 closed on May 27, 2019 at 14:00 Eastern Daylight Time.

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents, observed the RFI2 phase identifying fairness-related matters to the Contracting Authority, and ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate.

All comments identified by RCGT throughout the RFI phase were resolved by either the Technical or Contracting Authority.

5.2 Request for proposal phase—W8486-184754/C

The following activities were performed during this phase:

• From October 30, 2019 to November 9, 2019, a review of the Request for Proposal (RFP) was performed and questions, comments and identified issues were discussed. RCGT received the first draft of the RFP on October 30, 2019. The RFP was posted on buyandsell.gc.ca on December 6, 2019
• Seven amendments to the RFP were issued, from January 7, 2020 to February 3, 2020. RCGT did not receive these amendments prior to being posted on buyandsell.gc.ca. RCGT subsequently reviewed the contents of the amendments after being posted and did not identify any fairness concerns with the content of the amendments

The RFP closed on February 11,  2020 at 14:00 Eastern Standard Time.

In accordance with the terms of our engagement, we familiarized ourselves with the relevant documents, observed the RFP phase identifying fairness-related matters to the Contracting Authority, and ensured that responses and actions were reasonable and appropriate.

All comments identified by RCGT throughout the RFP phase were resolved by the Contracting Authority.

5.3 Evaluation phase

The following activities were performed:

• Reviewed the following documents:
  • Evaluation Criteria
  • Technical evaluation plan
  • Technical evaluation grids
  • Bidder responses
  • Financial evaluation worksheets; and
  • Final evaluation/selection document
• Participated via conference call in the evaluation kick-off meeting on February 19, 2020 and observed the following:
  • Orientation/instructions provided to evaluators; and
  • Evaluation grids provided to evaluators
• Attended via teleconference in the technical evaluation consensus meeting on February 21, 2020 and observed the following:
  • The application of the evaluation process including observing the consensus meetings of evaluation teams related to the mandatory and rated requirements; and
  • The review of the roll-up of evaluation results
• Reviewed documentation related to the financial evaluation (including the price certification) completed on April 20,  2020 and observed the following:
  • Process to complete financial evaluation forms
  • Signed evaluation documents
  • Calculation of final scores; and
  • Final evaluation/selection document

One bid was received for which a technical evaluation was performed.

The evaluators performed individual evaluations first and then conducted a meeting to come to a consensus score for the mandatory and technical criteria. The meeting was mediated by the Technical Authority with support from the Contracting Authority.

The bidder, as evaluated, met the mandatory and minimum rated requirements. The consensus meeting concluded, and the evaluators reviewed and signed off on the consensus evaluation. The responsive bid was reviewed for financial compliance with the RFP. The bid was deemed financially compliant. Using the evaluation criteria, the successful bidder was identified.

On March 27, 2020, RCGT was advised that, starting on February 28, 2020, the Contracting Authority held discussions with the selected bidder related to the financial evaluation. In order to support our opinion, RCGT:

• Reviewed all e-mails between the Contracting Authority and the bidder for the period from February 28, 2020 to March 27, 2020
• Reviewed all written communications (e-mails) for the period from March 27, 2020 to April 22, 2020; and
• Attended, on March 30, 2020, April 7, 2020 and April 9, 2020, conference call between the Contracting Authority and the bidder

All comments or issues identified by RCGT throughout the Evaluation Phase were resolved by the Contracting Authority

6. Reference documents

The documents related to solicitation number #W8486-184754 are available on CanadaBuys and/or through the project office.

The roles and responsibilities for the FM Team Leader, FM Specialist and FM Contractor’s Representative have been defined in our contract with PSPC. For more information on these roles and responsibilities, please contact PSPC.