323 General Service Respirator (GSR) Project

General Service Respirator (GSR) Project

Disclaimer

The information provided on this web site does not constitute an Invitation to Tender (ITT), a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a Price and Availability (P&A) request for or on behalf of the Government of Canada. A contract will not result directly from this electronic publication. The documents provided are to be considered DRAFTS. A final version of one or more documents may be issued with any resulting RFP (issued by Public Works and Government Canada) and may differ to a lesser or greater degree. While comments are most welcome, the invitation to comment on DRAFT documents does not constitute a commitment to respond to such comments or to incorporate them into a final version of the documents.

Reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than in accordance with the following permissions:

  1. You may print or download to a local hard disk the contents of these pages for information purposes only. You are not permitted to incorporate the material or any part of it in any work or other publication, whether in hard copy or electronic or any other form. No part of these pages may be reproduced on or transmitted to or stored in any other Web site or other form of electronic retrieval system.
  2. You may recopy the material to third parties for their information only, but only if you acknowledge the GSR page as the source of the material (you must include such acknowledgment and the GSR Web address in the copy of the material). You must inform the third parties that these conditions apply to them and that they must comply with them.

This site is intended to provide a communications link between industry and the GSR Project and to provide the most current information available related to the project. The GSR project website contains general project information and draft documents available for industry review and feedback.

The intent is to provide maximum information, as early as possible, to potential contenders for the supply of a general services respirator to the Canadian 1ff9 Forces. In some instances, visitors to the site will be invited to comment on various documents, so that the project can benefit from industry advice and input. Every attempt will be made to keep the information on this site current, bearing in mind that much of the information posted is time-sensitive, and subject to change as the project progresses.

Project Background

The Canadian Forces (CF) must be prepared to survive and operate in a Chemical, Biological, Nuclear and Radiological (CBRN) environment. The evolving nature of chemical agents and toxic industrial materials (TIMs) which can be used offensively as weapons, pose a threat to the CF personnel committed to international and domestic operations.

Project Objective

The CBRN GSR Project will provide an ongoing and sustainable source of CBRN defence respirators. Such CBRN defence respirators will incorporate the latest technologies and human factor considerations to meet increased respirator protection levels and new threats.

Project Scope

The GSR project aims at delivering a respirator based on the Human System Integration model. This model establishes that system optimization is better achieved through a joint consideration of the operational environment, the equipment, and the user requirements. As well, there is a need to strike a correct balance between the following three key factors:

  1. Protection: The aim is to ensure the health and safety of the wearer by establishing essential and desirable protection factor levels. The protection factor is a function of three elements; the efficiency and capacity of filtration devices, the inward leakage through all components, and the quality of the face seal between the face and the face piece;
  2. Comfort: There is a need to reduce as much as possible the physical, physiological and psychological burden. If we protect the user against toxic hazards, but they become a heat stress casualty, the correct balance was not achieved; and
  3. Task performance: The user must be able to perform on the battlefield and retain acceptable levels of task performance. An important consideration for successful task performance is design, as the mask must be compatible with other in-service clothing and equipment. Task performance in the context of the mask and canister when worn by the user in a CBRN environment can be defined as follows:
    • Individual level: This is a reduction in the users’ ability to perform the same task over the same period of time (task duration is shorter).
    • Tactical level: This is the cumulative effects of individual performance degradation and the fact that there are additional tasks (manpower requirements) to operate in CBRN environments; and
    • Strategic and Operational levels: This is the ability or more commonly the inability to maintain the Operational Tempo.
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