ACAN - SOLICITATION NUMBER: 18-22097
Requirement for Update of the Canadian Highway Bridge Code to reflect Climate Change Adaptation and Extreme Weather events
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
Under the Climate-Resilient Core Public Infrastructure project, the National Research Council’s Building Regulations for Market Access Program has a requirement to update their National Model Codes, Guides, Standards to reflect climate change and extreme weather events. The CSA Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CSA S6) is a standalone standard published and owned by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA); a Canadian not for profit standard development organization.
The Climate Resilient Buildings and Core Public Infrastructure project aims to integrate climate resilience into design guides, codes and related materials, which will be the basis for future infrastructure builds and rehabilitation work in Canada. The work would involve preparation of proposed changes to CSA Standard, and updated related guidance documents. This Standard is used throughout Canada by all levels of government and would lead to improved design requirements accounting for climate change impacts.
This contract seeks to enter into an agreement with the CSA to update their Canadian Highway Bridge Code (2024 edition) to address climate change and extreme weather events through a consensus based process established by the Standards Council of Canada. The update to the CSA S6 will occur concurrently with the work underway at the NRC related to climate change adaptation. This is the second contract with CSA to update the CHBDC – the first Phase, to be completed in March 2019, developed updates to the 2019 CHBDC.
NRC requests under the deliverables of this contract that CSA
· Establish a Climate Change Advisory Committee (CCAC), including representation from CSA Group and NRC;
· Conduct stakeholder consultations to gain insight from representative users of the Code regarding their experience with climate change and solicit their input
· Conduct four one-day stakeholder workshops in Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver to discuss adaptation measures, best practices and input on climate-related issues
· Prepare summary reports based on stakeholder consultations and workshops
· Develop work plan and framework for new climate change provisions to CSA S6 and S6.1, including coordination with the work on Environment and Climate Change Canada and NRC’s Climate Resilient Buildings and Core Public Infrastructure project
· Develop general recommendations for climate change adaptation of highway bridges that can be included in the 2024 edition of CSA S6 and S6.1 including: potential impacts of climate change on the intensity and frequency of climatic loads on bridge structures; potential impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on the safety, serviceability and durability of bridges; possible climate change adaptation measures to reduce the risk of failure of bridges structures; and, ways to effectively integrate and stage climate-enhancing works into highway and bridge renewal plans within existing Federal, Provincial, Territorial and municipal frameworks
· Develop uniform risk approach and climatic load factors and reliability targets for design
· Develop methods that integrate knowledge of non-stationary climate in design life levels of climatic loads and associated reliability targets to be met during the design life of the structure
· Assess the need to update the representation of localized extreme weather events in the current Code to reflect current observational data.
· Develop the means for designers of bridges in Canada’s North to specify the composition, properties and performance of the materials selected for the structure by taking into account the design loads and the expected environmental degradation during the service life.
· Establish a Climate Change Task Force (CCTF) comprised of subject matter experts who may or may not be members of CSA Group’s Code Committees. The CCTF will review, assess and formulate the recommendations to update existing and new climate change adaptation provisions that will be proposed to CSA Group’s CHBDC technical committee for inclusion into the 2024 editions of CSA S6 and CSA S6.1.
· Deliver a recommendations report, which will include recommended changes ready for inclusion in the 2024 edition of CSA S6 and S6.1 and impact/cost analyses for proposed new or modified language within the Code and Commentary.
· French translation of recommendations report.
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 it meets the following requirements:
· Association or Company must be a Standards Development Organization with Accreditation under the Standards Council of Canada
· Hold the Intellectual Property Rights to the Canadian Highway Bridge Code
· Significant experience (minimum of 10 years) in the management and development of Codes and Standards by way of established balanced technical Committees
· Demonstration of ability to engage with broad range of industry and regulatory bodies on technical matters related to the Canadian Bridge Code
· Demonstration of at least 10 year experience of Code and Standard development as it pertains to the Canadian Bridge Code
· Demonstration of at least 10 year history working with the National Research Council’s Codes Canada on Code development
4.
Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s):
Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)
World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
5.
Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier
The
CSA Group
(formerly the
Canadian Standards Association ;
CSA ), is a not-for-profit standard organization which develops standards in 57 areas. CSA publishes standards in print and electronic form and provides training and advisory services. CSA is composed of representatives from industry, government, and consumer groups.
CSA began as the Canadian Engineering Standards Association (CESA) in 1919, federally chartered to create standards. CSA is accredited by the
Standards Council of Canada , a
crown corporation
which promotes efficient and effective standardization in Canada. This accreditation verifies that CSA is competent to carry out standards development and certification functions, and is based on internationally recognized criteria and procedures.
CSA has been publishing and updating the Canadian Highway Bridge Code since1922 and holds the intellectual property rights to this document. They have worked with NRC in the past in developing standards that either compliment the NRC’s National Construction Codes or were supported by NRC research.
6.
Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)
The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection 6 (d) – Only company is capable of performing the work.
7.
Ownership of Intellectual Property
The Intellectual Property (i.e. Canadian Highway Bridge Code) is owned by the Canadian Standards Association. All work that is carried out under this contract is for the sole purpose of updating the CSA S6 for Climate Change Adaptation.
8.
Period of the proposed contract or delivery date
The contract period will be 2 year, 3 months with an expected start date of January 24, 2019. Completion date anticipated for March 31 st , 2021.
9.
Cost estimate of the proposed contract
Contract value will be to an upset limit of $819,000 CAD (HST not included [MMA1] ).
The National Research Council Canada can entertain additional contracts over a 3 year period and up to 2 million dollars.
10.
Name and address of the pre-identified supplier
Dwayne Torrey, P.Eng.
Director, Construction and Infrastructure Standards
CSA Group
178 Rexdale Blvd., Toronto, ON M9W 1R3
T: 416 747-2746
E: dwayne.torrey@csagroup.org
11.
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.
12.
Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities
The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is January 23, 2019 at 14:00 hrs. EDT.
13.
Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities
Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:
NRC Senior Contracting Officer (acting):
Katie Homuth
National Research Council
Procurement Services
Bldg. M-58, 1200 Montreal Rd, Ottawa, ON Telephone: 613-998-7763
Katie.Homuth@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
