The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Bristol Uniforms to supply firefighter protective clothing to the Defence Fire Risk Management Organisation (DFRMO) for the next 15 years which will see its 1,900 firefighters around the world kitted out head-to-toe in Bristol Uniforms' Integrated Clothing Project (ICP) Personal Protective Clothing (PPE).
To ensure its operational personnel receive the best PPE available for the wide range of conditions its operates in, DFRMO has entered into a 15 year Fully Managed Service contract for the provision of PPE under the Firebuy National Procurement Strategy. This is a major development which sees DFRMO become the first user to contract for the complete Fully Managed Service (FMS) under the ICP through which the head-to-toe firefighter protection will be acquired under a lease arrangement with garment lifetime maintenance provided under the managed services element of the contract.
The PPE, due to be rolled out from January 2010, will be used to protect DFRMO firefighters at 70 UK fire stations in the UK and a further 13 abroad. 11 of these are in European theatres including Germany, Cyprus and Gibraltar with others in the Ascension and Falkland Islands.
The contract was signed on 2 June 2009 at a ceremony held at DFRMO's Defence Fire Training & Development Centre located at Manston in Kent. The ceremony was attended by Firebuy, Bristol Uniforms, MOD Commercial and DFRMO representatives and marks the end of many months of intensive development work to ensure the varying and often unique climates and conditions DFRMO operates in were fully encompassed within the contract.
DFRMO's Chief Fire Officer Noel Roberts said after the signing ceremony, “the safety of our firefighters is of paramount importance and the letting of this contract with Bristol Uniforms will secure the highest of standards for the protection of our firefighters for the future'. Deputy Chief Fire Officer Phil Salt, Strategic Director Operations is Project Managing the introduction of the new PPE and organised the ceremony to ensure the achievements of all the staff involved in the procurement process were recognised. He added, “The PPE contract's fully managed service will enable DFRMO to concentrate on its core roles and responsibilities”. Sarah Witt, Strategic Director Resources & Plans, was responsible for capturing all the funding from the MOD Business Units and completing the investment appraisal to identify the most cost effective procurement strategy.
DFRMO have been fully engaged with Firebuy during the tender and evaluation processes and are content that the FMS for PPE offered under the national strategy is technically compliant, fit for purpose and meets all of DFRMO's requirements. The measuring, inspection, repair, tracking and central laundering services by Bristol will ensure MOD fully complies with the relevant Health & Safety legislation and ensure good fitting, serviceable and clean PPE in support of their operational role. The HQ DFRMO Operations team provided all the technical input to the Business Case and are now busy working with Bristol and Firebuy developing the implementation plan which will see the PPE introduced to service in January 2010.
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