Supply and Delivery of Laboratory Bottles and Containers

United Utilities Laboratory Services have a commitment to provide a high quality analytical service with rapid turnaround and reporting of results. High standards of service are necessary to satisfy the demands of the water industry regulators and the needs of our internal and external customers. It is essential to the provision of this service that the levels of performance detailed within this document are adhered to during the agreement period.

The Company operates a large UKAS accredited water and wastewater testing laboratory at its Lingley Mere site in Warrington. In addition to the demand from the laboratory there are requirements from many sites within the United Utilities operational area for general consumables, in particular for this procurement, bottles and containers.

The items listed in the Schedule of Prices represent the items used on a routine basis. It should be noted however that due to the nature of United Utilities’ business the estimated annual usage is not a guarantee of turnover. This may result in either more or less of each item being consumed within the year. It is expected that the supplier will accommodate these fluctuations to ensure availability of the items specified.

This Framework Agreement is for the supply and delivery of Laboratory Bottles and Containers to the United Utilities labs at the Lingley Mere site.

The Goods are required for the collection and analysis of potable and wastewater samples to comply with operational and regulatory sampling frequencies.

It is critical that the Goods used for all analysis contain no analytes that will either contribute to or detract from the correct concentration. All bottles used must undergo a series of validation exercises to determine suitability.

The Supplier must be capable of delivering the following features as part of the Goods provision:

1.Batch numbers on the Goods

2.Expiry dates on Goods

3.Microbiology bottles (Goods) are pre-dosed with sodium thiosulphate, irradiated and with a tamper seal across the neck and bottle top. Certificates of irradiation are supplied with each batch number

4.Supplying above microbiology bottles (Goods) containing sterile water

5.Supplying Goods containing sample preservatives such as Nitric or Sodium Thiosulphate

6.Goods containing preservatives to be labelled with substance, concentration and hazard label if applicable