United Kingdom-Exeter: Expansion of ExDES Teaching System

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2022/S 000-019426/EN)
Nature of contract: Supply contract
Procedure: Award of a contract without prior publication
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Supplies

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: University of Exeter
National registration number: RC000653
Postal address: Northcote House
Town: Exeter
Postal code: EX4 4QH
Country: United Kingdom
Contact Person: Jodie Underhay
Email: j.underhay@exeter.ac.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address:

I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Education

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title: Expansion of ExDES Teaching System

Reference number: UOE/2022/054/JU
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 48323000
II.1.3) Type of contract Supplies
II.1.4) Short Description:
Exeter Digital Enterprise Systems (ExDES) lab is a key part of the engineering management research and PGT education, training students to generate and implement multi-disciplinary, advanced, and smart engineering applications in student-centred, and competence-orientated ways. ExDES currently consists in an Industry 4.0 demonstrator of 8 workstations, and AGV (Robotino) and a modelling & simulation multi-platform environment.
The requested goods are three more stations and a desktop computer that must be seamlessly integrated in the current configuration:
– A storage system;
– A robot assembly station;
– A human operated station;
– A desktop computer capable to process and manage the significant volume of data and the multi-platform simulation capabilities.
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:268821.48
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
Main CPV code: 48323000

II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Exeter Digital Enterprise Systems (ExDES) lab is a key part of the engineering management research and PGT education, training students to generate and implement multi-disciplinary, advanced, and smart engineering applications in student-centred, and competence-orientated ways. ExDES currently consists in an Industry 4.0 demonstrator of 8 workstations, and AGV (Robotino) and a modelling & simulation multi-platform environment.
The requested goods are three more stations and a desktop computer that must be seamlessly integrated in the current configuration:
– A storage system;
– A robot assembly station;
– A human operated station;
– A desktop computer capable to process and manage the significant volume of data and the multi-platform simulation capabilities.

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options: no
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union in the cases listed below
(please complete point 2 of the Annex D)
IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement(GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes
IV.2) Administrative information

Section V: Award of contract/concession
V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2022-07-15
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: Didactic Services Ltd
Town: Tunbridge Wells
Country: United Kingdom
Nuts code:
The contractor is an SME: no

V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession(excluding VAT)
for framework agreements – total maximum value for this lot
for contracts based on framework agreements, if required – value of contract(s) for this lot not included in
previous contract award notices

Section VI: Complementary informationVI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Official name: Royal Courts of Justice
Town: London
Country: United Kingdom

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2022-07-15

Other justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for competition
in the Official Journal of the European Union
The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive

3.Explanation
Please explain in a clear and comprehensive manner why the award of the contract without prior publication in the Official Journal of the European Union
is lawful, by stating the relevant facts and, as appropriate, the conclusions of law in accordance with the directive:
The existing system is controlled using the Festo MES4 application – a bespoke “Manufacturing Execution System” which distributes work orders to each part of the system, tracks products as they move around the system, and can make decisions about what to do in the event of work failures. The existing system works by tracking products, as they are moved around the system on “Pallets” which contain RFID chips, which are designed to be read/written by the Siemens/Turk RFID Read/Write heads, integrated into the conveyer belt line. The existing system communicates with the Robotino (AGV), and should provide suitable docking / exchange points. The existing system provides a digital twin via CIROS package.
The extension proposed is designed to integrate with and expand the existing system, must therefore, as a minimum requirement:
• Be tightly integrated with this specific MES4 application, and the PLC communication must conform the same API
• Have a compatible RFID Read/Write system, with the same physical characteristics, so the carrier can be passed between systems.
• Be compatible with the Robotino (AGV) docking system
• Have an available CIROS Model, to allow for simulation of the expanded system.
These are the reasons for which the procurement could be completed only from the supplier of the existing system.