Answers to requests for clarification of tender specifications
Development of an online multilingual e-guide to support companies in occupational
safety and health (OSH) management in the context of an ageing workforce
EUOSHA-PRU/2014/P-3
Q1.
Article II-12 does not appear to allow for any arbitration in the event that EUOSHA and the contractor disagree on whether the contractual obligations have
been fulfilled. Can you comment?
Answer: In line with established practice as regards public procurement in the European Commission
and our common General Conditions, EU-OSHA does not allow for arbitration in the resolution of a
dispute regarding suspension of the performance of the contract (Article II-12)
Q2.
In the above mentioned tender, there is an important translation work to be
executed. In order to estimate the related costs, is there any data regarding the
total volume that will be required to translate?
Answer: The volume required to be translated, or the number of words comprising the e-guide, will
depend on the approach taken by the tenderer to its design. Tenderers are able to specify the volume
of the e-guide in terms of word count in their offer and they must take this into account when making
their financial offer. As an approximate estimate, EU-OSHA can indicate that the English language
version of a similar e-guide on psychosocial risks management currently under development has
approximately 16,000 words relating to content (not including references, acknowledgements, etc.).
Q3.
Is there any template for the Financial Offer or is it a free format?
Answer: There is no template for the Financial Offer. The requirements for the financial offer are set
out in section 3.8 of the tender specifications.
Q4.
Technical solvency must be demonstrated through references showing
knowledge and experience in the field of OSH management. Where is the
corresponding information to be included? Section I (Administrative information)
or Section II (Technical offer) or Annexes?
Answer: Evidence of experience in the field of OSH management in the context of an ageing workforce
should be included in the Annexes.
Santiago de Compostela 12, 5th floor - 48003 Bilbao  Spain
Tel. +34 944 358 400  Fax +34 944 358 401
information@osha.europa.eu  http://osha.europa.eu
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Q5.
Technical specifications stress the importance of taking into account that in
some countries there is more than one official language, as in the case of Spain
or Switzerland.
-
Does the guide need to be translated also into these languages?
If that is the case, where can I find a comprehensive list of the languages the
guide should be translated into?
Answer: The e-guide shall be translated to the following languages:
EU – 28
MEMBER
STATES
EFTA
Country
Languages
Austria
German
Belgium
Flemish, French
Bulgaria
Bulgarian
Croatia
Croatian
Cyprus
Greek
Czech Republic
Czech
Denmark
Danish
Estonia
Estonian
Finland
Finnish, Swedish
France
French
Germany
German
Greece
Greek
Hungary
Hungarian
Ireland
English
Italy
Italian
Latvia
Latvian
Lithuania
Lithuanian
Luxembourg
Luxembourgish, French, German, English
Malta
Maltese, English
Netherlands
Dutch
Poland
Polish
Portugal
Portuguese
Romania
Romanian
Slovakia
Slovak
Slovenia
Slovene
Spain
Spanish
Sweden
Swedish
United Kingdom
English
Iceland
Icelandic
Norway
Norwegian
Switzerland
French, German, Italian
Santiago de Compostela 12, 5th floor - 48003 Bilbao  Spain
Tel. +34 944 358 400  Fax +34 944 358 401
information@osha.europa.eu  http://osha.europa.eu
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Q5.
In case that a language is used in different countries, should the national
versions of the same language be considered as different languages?
Answer: No, but the different national versions of the same language require the adjustment of the
terminology if applicable and adaptation in terms of administrative, cultural and general language
differences between territories or countries which, in principle, use the same language (UK/Ireland,
Greece/Cyprus, Germany/Austria etc.).
Q6.
Can you confirm that OSHA is exempt from VAT under Articles 3 and 4 of the
Protocol and the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities of 8
April 1965?
Answer: As stated in section 3.3 of the tender specifications: “Tenders shall not include the application
of any taxes or levies since EU-OSHA is, in general, exempt from all taxes and levies, including Value
Added Tax (VAT), in accordance with Articles 3 and 4 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities
of the European Union”.
Q7.
If the tenderer is a consortium, who will invoice OSHA? Will only the consortium
leader issue the invoice and then distribute the funding, or does every
consortium member issue an invoice pro rata to its budget share? If there are
multiple possibilities, which one would you favour?
Answer: As stated under section 3.1 Consortia: “A consortium can be a permanent legally established
grouping or a grouping which has been constituted for this tender procedure. Using the form provided
in Annex I, consortia must indicate which legal form they intend to assume and specify the role,
qualifications and experience of each member of the group, as well as who has been appointed by the
others as the lead partner. The lead partner shall be the contracting party with EU-OSHA and shall be
responsible for the overall performance of the contract and management of the other members of the
consortium.“ The contracting party is responsible for issuing invoices.
Q8.
If the copy of the incorporation of the company and the articles of association
are not formulated in English, do you require a translation into English?
Answer: If the documents are in one of the official languages of the EU, EU-OSHA doesn’t require
translation of the documents.
Q9.
The Technical specifications of Call for tenders EUOSHA-PRU/2014/P-3, page 17,
state that translator should be "skilled, qualified practitioners ". Could you please
indicate whether the tenderer should present, alongside with the translator
Curriculum Vitae, any official certificate or proof of qualification for translators,
if yes could you please specify which documents will be recognised as proof of
qualification.
Answer: For the purpose of the tender, the tenderer shall specify the minimum requirements that they
will set when selecting the translators, such as qualifications, experience, membership of professional
association, etc.
Q10
In the Technical Specifications, regarding Work package 1, Task 3, Usability
Testing, it is indicated that the English language master version of the e-guide
must be tested by the contractor for usability. The contractor must specify in
Santiago de Compostela 12, 5th floor - 48003 Bilbao  Spain
Tel. +34 944 358 400  Fax +34 944 358 401
information@osha.europa.eu  http://osha.europa.eu
3
their offer their approach to usability testing, explaining the choice of
prospective users / groups of testers to represent the broad range of different
types of companies and organisations, including small and micro enterprises
across Europe and different target audiences.
Do we need to explain our approach for usability testing as stated here in the
tender or is it a task which will have to be done once the contract will be
awarded?
Answer: For the purpose of the tender, the tenderer shall describe the process of the usability testing
in general terms.
Q11
Regarding the following point: As part of their offer, tenderers must provide a
comprehensive list of any pre-existing rights and third parties' rights including
its personnel, creators or other right holders in accordance with Article I.8.2 of
the draft service contract (Annex II).Do we need to show all the licenses of the
companies for software of just the one which will be used to deliver the work? In
which section do we need to add all these documents?
Answer: The rights referred to relate to the outcome or result of the contract, in this case the ‘e-guide’.
EU-OSHA must be able to use the e-guide, modify it, disseminate it, etc. without infringing any third
party rights as regards, for instance, artistic rights, patents, copyright, etc. Therefore there is no
obligation to provide licences relating to software used by the contractor, nor software used in the
development of the e-guide. If, however, the e-guide itself is based on or incorporates software whose
use is restricted, then full details must be provided in the offer.
Q12
Apart from the references, which other documents should be in annexes?
Answer: This section must include all the documents expressly requested or deemed relevant in line
with the Technical specifications, respecting where possible, the order specified in the specifications as
regards the three sections (administrative, technical and financial documents).
Q13
Do you have any examples of e-guides that you can share with us as an example
of the correct look and feel?
Answer: An e-guide has been developed for our current Campaign, but it is not yet published. The eguide is a new product for us.
Q14
Will EU-OSHA wish to edit the e-guide once it is hosted on Drupal?
Answer: Yes, it will be maintained by EU-OSHA.
Q15 Does the EU-OSHA Drupal already provide detailed user statistics and user
satisfaction surveys on other EU-OSHA e-guides?
Answer: Not on e-guides, but on standard web contents.
Q16 Does the EU-OSHA Drupal track SCORM 1.2 courses? If not, please advise how
you host and track existing courses.
Santiago de Compostela 12, 5th floor - 48003 Bilbao  Spain
Tel. +34 944 358 400  Fax +34 944 358 401
information@osha.europa.eu  http://osha.europa.eu
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Answer: We currently do not use the SCORM standard and tracking is not a foreseen requirement.
However, as tracking could be a useful feature if the technological solution can be integrated with Drupal,
tenderers can add it in their proposal.
Q17 Can you provide any more information about e-learning or e-guides that currently
provide user statistics on the EU-OSHA Drupal system, with particular reference to the
authoring tools used?
Answer: No
Q18 Would EU-OSHA be happy to have elements like a user satisfaction survey
hosted externally?
Answer: The hosting services are provided by EU-OSHA. We therefore encourage you to propose a
module of Drupal to manage surveys or a technical solution that can be integrated with Drupal. The
hosting services are provided by EU-OSHA.
Q19 Do you have a photo library or any graphic components that we can use as part
of this learning?
Answer: No
Q20
If a consortium applies successfully for the contract and the consortium leader
finally invoices OSHA the entire amount as you explained, does OSHA check how
the monies are distributed inside the Consortium in terms of payment modalities
among the partners? A concrete question is for instance if OSHA verifies or
validates how the Consortium leader distributes the payment pro rata to the other
Consortium partners (e.g. based on invoices, payment request or other
mechanisms)?
Answer: No
Q21
With regard to the Call for tender EUOSHA-PRU/2014/P-3, we would be grateful
for clarification of the following point:
On page 7 of the Specifications, regarding Work Package I, Task 3 - Usability
testing, it is stated "The English language master version of the e-guide must be
tested by the contractor for usability." However, in the same paragraph, it is also
stated "The contractor may choose the language of the usability testing". Please
clarify this apparent contradiction.
Answer: The English language master version must be subject to a usability test, but the testing itself
may be carried out in a language other than English (e.g. debriefing interviews may be more natural in
the mother tongue of the user).
Q22
Section IV: Annexes on page 15 of the Specifications states: "This section must
include all the documents expressly requested or deemed relevant in line with
the conditions laid down in this document, respecting where possible, the order
specified above as regards the three sections (administrative, technical and
financial documents)."
Santiago de Compostela 12, 5th floor - 48003 Bilbao  Spain
Tel. +34 944 358 400  Fax +34 944 358 401
information@osha.europa.eu  http://osha.europa.eu
5
a) Your answer to question 12 concerning Annexes simply repeats this text but,
in the absence of an explicit list, it remains unclear what documents should be
included in the Annexes. Our understanding is that the Annexes must at least
contain any "expressly requested" document which is not specifically stipulated
to be included in Sections I, II or III - namely the documents relating to exclusion
and to economic/financial and technical/professional selection criteria. Please
confirm.
b) Please also clarify the instruction "respecting where possible, the order
specified above as regards the three sections (administrative, technical and
financial documents)" since, to our understanding, Section IV specifically
contains all documents which are not included in those three sections.
Answer:
Section IV Annexes must include all the documents expressly requested or deemed relevant in
line with the conditions laid down in this document, other than the requested administrative information
(to be included in Section I), the technical offer (to be included in Section II in its own sealed envelope)
and the financial offer (to be included in Section III in its own sealed envelope).
Section IV Annexes includes the following documents.
For the tenderer and for all parties in the case of a joint tender:
 Copy of the incorporation of the company and the articles of association , including any
amendments made to these documents pursuant to the legislation of the Member State in which
the tenderer is established.
 Copy of the powers delegated to the person or persons authorised to act on behalf of the entity and
who can therefore sign documents on behalf of it.
 Consortium form (Annex I), where appropriate1.
 Legal Entity form and supporting evidence if necessary2 available in Annex I and in all official EU
languages at:
http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm
Tenderers must provide the following information if it has not been included with the Legal Entity
Form:
- For legal persons, a legible copy of the notice of appointment of the persons authorised
to represent the tenderer in dealings with third parties and in legal proceedings, or a copy of the
publication of such appointment if the legislation which applies to the legal entity concerned
requires such publication. Any delegation of this authorisation to another representative not
indicated in the official appointment must be evidenced.
- For natural persons, where applicable, a proof of registration on a professional or trade register or
any other official document showing the registration number.
The tenderer or the single point of contact in case of joint tender:
1
If other languages are used in the supporting documents provided in connection with the exclusion or
selection criteria, these documents must be accompanied by a courtesy translation into one of the official
languages of the European Union. Such translations should be attached to the original, numbered and included in
a list stating the nature of each document.
2
Tenderers that are already registered in the accounting system used by the Commission, an Institution, a
Committee, an Agency or a body created by the Union (i.e. they have already been direct contractors) must provide
the form but are not obliged to provide the supporting evidence
Santiago de Compostela 12, 5th floor - 48003 Bilbao  Spain
Tel. +34 944 358 400  Fax +34 944 358 401
information@osha.europa.eu  http://osha.europa.eu
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
Financial Identification Form and supporting documents (only one form per offer should be
submitted (no form is needed for subcontractors and other joint tenderers), available in Annex I and
in all official EU languages at:
http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/financial_id/financial_id_en.cfm
For all subcontractors whose share of budget is above 10% of the total in the case of subcontracting:

Subcontractors form (Annex I) if their share of budget is above 10% of the total
Supporting documentation must be complete to ensure that the technical and financial proposals
are evaluated. These comprise eligibility documents, which demonstrate that the tenderer is eligible to
tender for this contract (Section 4.2) and selection criteria documents (Section 4.3), which provide
evidence of their capacity to perform the contract.
Q23
Section 3.8, in Section II: Technical offer, states that the technical proposal must
"contain all information requested in Sections II and II". The only Sections II and
III are in chapter 3.8, and this includes the section quoted here; we therefore
assume that Section II should refer to "Chapters 2 and 3". Please confirm.
Answer: That is right, it should read ‘the technical proposal must contain all information requested in
Chapters 2 and 3’.
Q24
We assume that in section 4.3, under Economic and financial standing, the text
"The average annual turnover must be €200,000" should be "The average annual
turnover must be at least €200,000".
Answer: Correct
Q25
Regarding the documentation required in the Selection Criteria described in
Chapter 4.3, we have the following question: In which Section of the proposal
(Section I, II, III or IV) should be included the docs required in the following
paragraphs?


Economic and financial standing
Technical and professional capacity
Answer: In Section IV Annexes
Q26
Regarding to the “Subcontractor’s form”, it is required the following: “Please
attach a completed exclusion criteria declaration“. Should the subcontractor
fulfil “Declaration of Honour” document as well?
Answer: The “Declaration of Honour” must be provided by all members of a grouping when presenting
an offer as a consortium and by subcontractors when they are responsible for performing a substantial
part of the contract (more than 10%).
Santiago de Compostela 12, 5th floor - 48003 Bilbao  Spain
Tel. +34 944 358 400  Fax +34 944 358 401
information@osha.europa.eu  http://osha.europa.eu
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