RSPL (recommended spare parts list)

An RSPL, short for Recommended Spare Parts List, is a list prepared by a contractor that recommends the spare parts needed to keep equipment running for a set period. In Department of National Defence (DND) contracting, that period is 24 months, and the list forms the basis for DND's selection of spares.

The RSPL is a provisioning and integrated logistics support deliverable. It turns up in defence contracts where the buyer needs to stock, codify and catalogue the parts that support delivered equipment. Canadian clauses use the singular "Recommended Spare Parts List (RSPL)", and tender documents also refer to "RSPLs" when several lists are required under one contract.

SACC clause B4052C and when DND uses it

The Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC) manual on CanadaBuys includes item B4052C, titled "Recommended Spare Parts List – Contract." The manual directs contracting officers to use it in DND contracts when an RSPL is required, together with clauses B4060C and B4061C. The clause is the standard source of the contractor's obligations. You can read it in the SACC manual on CanadaBuys.

Under B4052C, the contractor must deliver the RSPL within a number of days set in the contract. The clock runs from contract award or from the contract's effective date. The list must recommend the spares required to maintain the equipment for 24 months, and it must be prepared in accordance with the current issue of Canadian Forces Specification D-01-100-214/SF-000.

Supplementary Provisioning Technical Documentation

An RSPL does not stand alone. B4052C also requires Supplementary Provisioning Technical Documentation (SPTD) prepared by the actual manufacturer of the item. DND uses the SPTD to codify and catalogue the items on the list. The clause also ties the submission to Provisioning Documentation Selection Sheets and to electronic ASCII delivery of specified data elements. A supplier that resells equipment built by others needs to plan early to obtain this documentation from the manufacturer.

The improved galley solicitation as a worked example

A CanadaBuys solicitation for an improved galley shows how the requirement appears in a statement of work. Canada required the contractor to develop and deliver RSPLs under specified integrated logistics support contract data requirements and deliverable requirements. Canada's approval of the RSPL then triggered a contract-change process to update the equipment's installation, on-board and depot-spares provisions. The full text is in the improved galley Annex A statement of work.

The same document sets out the data the list must carry:

• item number, indenture code and item name
• manufacturer's part number and NSCM/CAGE code
• OEM part number
• NATO Stock Number (NSN), where available
• quantity per assembly, unit price and unit of issue
• logistics control number
• recommended purchase quantities

NATO procurement material uses the same concept, with contractors providing a recommended spare parts list that carries catalogue references and descriptions, as in this NATO request for proposal.

What an RSPL means for a supplier bidding on Canadian contracts

Where a DND solicitation invokes B4052C or a similar requirement, naming spare parts is not enough. You must prepare the list in the prescribed format and to the named specification. You must also supply the manufacturer's SPTD, meet the submission deadline, and support Canada's approval, because approval is what moves the recommended spares into the contract.

Bid teams should check the solicitation for the RSPL clause, the delivery deadline and the data fields required. They should confirm early that NSNs, NSCM/CAGE codes and OEM part numbers can be obtained for every component. Pricing the effort of building the list and gathering manufacturer documentation, before bid close, avoids a costly surprise after award.