Lease of 4 Hydro Vacuum Excavators

Tender description

NWL Network Maintenance teams have a requirement for 4 vacuum excavators to assist with their repairs and maintenance activities. The vehicle's primary use is to facilitate the excavation of (and therefore repair of) burst water mains in which ground conditions are routinely waterlogged, and the machines need to be able to cope with both water and waterlogged excavated material. The excavators will be used extensively by Network Maintenance teams on repairs and maintenance activity, with clear safety and productivity benefits which should include: • Utility damage avoidance - safe excavation around electric cables • Manual handling reduction - uses water lance in lieu of manual digging • Productivity enhancements - excavation time reduced substantially • Customer experience - sites are cleaner and tidier. Interruption times reduced. Lot 1: NWL require 4 lease Hydro-Vacuum Safe Excavation vehicles with the following specification: • Must be able to vacuum water • Use a water pressure lance • Mounted on a 18 tonne chassis (or less) NWL require vehicles that can provide a quick and efficient form of safe excavation. The vehicle's primary use is to facilitate the excavation of (and therefore repair of) burst water mains in which ground conditions are routinely waterlogged, and the machines need to be able to cope with both water and waterlogged excavated material. Please note that Air Vacuum excavators are of no use to NWL. The use of air lances do not cut through or breakdown clay and then saturated spoil and large amounts of water can blocks filters. This reduces suction and performance and the washing and cleaning of the filters in these air-vacuum excavators is also too time consuming and costly, rendering them unpractical and not financially viable for day in day out use. NWL require vacuum excavators which have been designed to use pressurised water to break the ground down, effectively using water to dislodge the soil. Water is inherently better at cutting through hard firm clay. Wet suction machines also do not require filters as water naturally suppresses dust, meaning they do not suffer from this reduced suction performance, no matter how saturated the spoil is. Additional information: This PIN is issued to manage a pre-market engagement exercise. Northumbrian Water Ltd seeks to obtain feedback from the marketplace in relation to what is currently available within this market space before issuing a tender. The primary focus of this pre market engagement is to provide market intelligence and an insight into market trends, solution availability, as well as any perceived risks and opportunities. It is not itself a call for tender or a pre-qualification exercise. The information within this document has been generated solely for market engagement purposes and, depending on the information received from potential suppliers and/or manufacturers, may not reflect the information ultimately presented in any future calls to tender. Northumbrian Water Ltd would appreciate your feedback in the form of a response to this questionnaire only and not request, at this stage, to discuss this in a separate environment. All responses will be treated confidentially. All responses will be carefully considered but will not bind Northumbrian Water Ltd to any approach to procurement, nor will responses be treated as conveying any promise or commitment on the part of the respondent.