Purpose

Thanet Crematorium has 2 gas fuelled
cremators which were purchased from and installed by Facultatieve Technologies Limited. They have
continued to maintain and service them since purchase and both
remain in good working order meeting current emissions
standards.
 
Market testing has been carried out but the nature of the
technology associated with cremators means that suppliers will only
service and maintain cremators which they have
supplied.
 
A
ten year cremator and mercury abatement
service and maintenance contract would see the cremators serviced
and maintained for the rest of their useful life. The cost of this
contract would be £835,590 + VAT if procured through the YPO
Framework.
 

Decision

Cabinet agreed the following:
 

To grant permission to use the YPO public sector
framework, Crematoria Solutions III - 1032 to procure a service and
maintenance contract with Facultatieve Technologies
Limited;

 
2. 
To allow the procurement and award of a
contract, under the above framework, to implement a service and
maintenance contract for the cremators and mercury abatement at
Thanet Crematorium.

Reasons for the decision

A
market testing exercise was conducted but the nature of the
technology associated with cremators means that suppliers will only
service and maintain cremators which they have supplied.
 
The
technology behind the system means that they can be accessed and
controlled remotely which is only available to the
suppliers.

Alternative options considered

Alternative 1 - Do Nothing - This would mean having no service
or maintenance contract in place and dealing with maintenance
issues and breakdowns as they occur. Lack of servicing is likely to
lead to more significant maintenance issues. This could lead to
complete system breakdown and outage for considerable periods of
time leading to loss of income and reputational damage.
 
Alternative 2 - Agree to a shorter contract - The servicing and
maintenance requirement will be there for 10 years which will mean
procuring a new contract when a shortened one expires.