Provision of a new telemetry system

Open early engagement - This means that a procurement idea is currently active; it is in the early stage of development and judging interest from potential suppliers. - This notice is not a call for competition

The Coal Authority was established by Parliament to undertake specific statutory duties, set out in the Coal Industry Act 1994, associated with licensing coal mining operations; managing property and the historic legacy arising from the ownership of the coal reserves and underground workings; settling subsidence damage claims not falling on coal mine operators and providing access to coal mining information.

The Coal Authority operate over 75 minewater treatment schemes that remove contaminating metals from mine water prior to the treated water being discharge into a receiving watercourse.

Schemes range from complex process engineering plants, through pumped wet wells and boreholes/mineshafts, to totally natural (passive) schemes without a power source.

A number of sites require the addition of pH correcting or oxidising reagents. Flow rates range from circa 5 litres/sec to 400 litres/sec. A standard pumped treatment scheme utilizes 32 digital inputs, 8 analogue inputs and 8 digital outputs.

The majority of treatment schemes comprise of aeration cascades, settlement ponds and reed beds. All schemes are subject to regulatory consents and licenses.

The Coal Authority is now considering options to replace its existing telemetry system, which currently monitors operations at 40 sites, with a view to incorporating additional treatment schemes, monitoring sites and remote data sources (up to 800). These sites include: remote data loggers (flow and level) and water quality monitors.

We are inviting interest for provision of a fully integrated system comprising: hardware, dashboards and data management.

NB: the telemetry system must be fully compatible with the Authority's other electronic data management and reporting systems.

We would like to invite interested parties to meet with us at our Mansfield office on 7 September 2018 to better understand our requirements and offer suggestions on how we might fulfil our objectives through a future tender process.

If you are interested in attending this event or are unable to attend but would like information sent to you please, or have any queries please express your interest by contacting [email protected] no later than midday 24 August 2018.

Participants should note that we reserve the right to use any information shared within this market engagement to develop a mature service specification for future procurement purposes.

Any costs incurred by participating in this exercise must be borne by the participating organisations.

Following this exercise we shall determine if and how we will approach the market to secure the services.

Please note that any future procurement will be subject to a separate advertisement