Defence Business: Base services re-tender RFI released | ADM May 2012
The tender process is being reformed to realise efficiencies in line with the Strategic Reform Program (SRP) and the recent Black Review. With the defence budget under pressure from the elevated operational tempo experienced by the ADF over the past decade and Government budgetary considerations, outcomes of the Black Review which has affected Base Services is the establishment of the Chief Operations Officer position and the integration of the Defence Support, People Strategies & Policy and Chief Information Officer Groups.
The intention of the RFI is to canvass industry’s thoughts on how Base Services will be supplied in the future. The Department of Defence currently delivers Base Services to around 500 properties and facilities across Australia and while most of these are situated at major defence sites and in metropolitan or regional areas, others are quite remote. One of the major aims of the new process will be to provide services in what it terms a ‘cost effective and proactive’ manner.
Current contracts were let on a subregional basis, within 12 Defence Support regions. The new system will aggregate volumes of work across a smaller number of sub-national contracts.
“Defence is developing its future acquisition strategy for the provision of base support activities currently delivered through the Comprehensive Maintenance Services, Garrison Support Services and base services support contracts,” said a Defence spokesperson. “A number of strategic level principles have been developed to guide value for money in the new generation of contracts.”
The principles will be supported by outcome-based Statements of Work, which will reflect the new model and establish a ‘Trusted Contractor’ framework. Defence anticipates awarding a single tender, which will result in the letting of several contracts.
DSG plan
Luke McLeod, Director Procurement and Contracting, DSG, told the assembled delegates that, under the guidance of the SRP, $1.1 billion savings had already been harvested from the Garrison and Building Maintenance categories, the two categories which reflect the activities delivered under the Base Services contracts. He said the current level of service was unaffordable, noting base services currently cost Defence $1 billion per year.
Two mutual objectives have been defined for the new model: To sustain defence capability and to optimise value for money for the services received to provide the desired level of sustainment.
Some of the goals of those stated objectives are to leverage upon volume, standardise wherever possible, be innovative and outcome-based, maintain a competitive tension, be sustainable and use a Total Asset Management approach.
“Future contracts must be sustainable,” said McLeod. “But we are genuinely interested in hearing industry’s views about service definition.”
Defence says it has no firm design for the new model and there are no strategies yet in place and industry input will be valuable in the process. One caveat however is the requirement for every contract to adhere to a minimum of 10 per cent Small to Medium Enterprise content.
The RFI is non-binding and does not amount to a tender application. McLeod says that whether a company responds or not will not prejudice their chances. The RFI opened on March 28th and was due to close on April 27th.
The tender process itself will be in two stages, with an Invitation to Register to open in July ahead of a Request For Tender to a shortlist of companies to follow in September. The RFT will be open for around 12 weeks, closing just before Christmas.
The new Base Services tender is due to commence in the Queensland region in May 2013 and will conclude in December 2014.