Procedure P3-100F: Procurement of Helium and Helium-Requiring Equipment

Purpose and Scope

1. Purpose.

   This procedure addresses the process for University Organizational Units to purchase Helium (condensed gas and liquid) and Helium-requiring equipment.

2. Scope.

   This procedure applies to all University of Utah and University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics purchases related to Helium (condensed gas and liquid) and Helium-requiring equipment.

Definitions

The following definitions apply for the limited purposes of this procedure.

1. “Helium” means the chemical element of atomic number 2, an inert gas.

2. “Condensed Gas Helium” means helium in a condensed, pure gas state.

3. “Liquid Helium” means Helium in a liquid state.

4. “Helium-Requiring Equipment” means any piece of equipment that requires Helium in order to operate.

Procedure

1. Purchase of new or replacement of Helium-Requiring Equipment for purposes other than medical or patient purposes

   1. An Organizational Unit exploring potential purchases including Helium- Requiring Equipment is required to examine Helium alternative technology.

      1. The Helium alternative technology examination requires:

         1. Cost comparison of the Helium-Requiring Equipment and the Helium alternative technology

         2. Comparison of the functionality of the Helium-Requiring Equipment and the Helium alternative technology; and

         3. Review of any applicable requirements (e.g., grant conditions)

   2. Prior to making any Helium-Requiring Equipment purchase the requestor shall submit the request and comparison with appropriate documentation to the applicable dean or executive and the associate vice president of research for approval.

   3. The purchase of Helium-Requiring Equipment requires the approval of the applicable dean or executive, and the associate vice president of research prior to any purchase or commitment.

   4. The requestor shall submit the approval from the applicable dean or executive and the associate vice president of research with the requisition for the procurement. Without this approval, the procurement team will not make the purchase

2. Purchase of Helium (condensed gas or liquid)

   1. General Stores has been delegated the responsibility to make all helium purchases for the University of Utah and University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics.

   2. Beginning July 01, 2022, General Stores will no longer accept requests for Helium (condensed gas or liquid) for purposes other than medical or patient purposes instead those requests should be directed to the associate vice president for research as described in Section III.B.4.

   3. General Stores will fill Helium requests for medical or patient use and will notify the associate vice president of research of the remaining Helium available for research use.

   4. Requests for Helium for purposes other than medical or patient purposes shall be made to the associate vice president of research by the last working day of each month.

      1. Requests shall include the following:

         1. identification of the researcher and the unit;

         2. explanation of the research need;

         3. identification of any time-sensitive elements or research requiring helium;

         4. identification of amount of Helium available to requestor/ researcher, including:

            1. amount requestor/ researcher has on-hand ; and

            2. amount in the Organizational Unit that may be re-allocated to the researcher;

         5. identification of amount of helium needed;

         6. identification of dates Helium is needed, including timeline of use; and

         7. Any pertinent research or funding requirements and conditions

      2. Requests shall be evaluated as follows:

         1. The associate vice president of research shall create an evaluation committee comprised of three individuals who do not have a conflict or have a request for Helium.

         2. The evaluation committee will convene in the first week of each month and will review all requests that have previously not been filled, and any new requests received during the previous period.

         3. The committee will prioritize the requests based on the following factors:

            1. the time-sensitive elements in the requests;

            2. the purpose of the research being performed;

            3. the potential impact of the research;

            4. any research funding conditions/ requirements; and

            5. the ability of the research to switch to a helium alternative technology

      3. The committee shall rank the requests in descending order of priorities and will send the prioritization list to General Stores.

      4. General Stores shall fill as many requests as possible and will inform the associate vice president of research of the amount of orders filled.

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         IV—VII Regulations Resource Information.

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         **User Note: Parts IV-VII of this Regulation (and all other University Regulations) are Regulations Resource Information – the contents of which are not approved by the Academic Senate or Board of Trustees, and are to be updated from time to time as determined appropriate by the cognizant Policy Officer and the Institutional Policy Committee, as per Policy 1-001 and Rule 1-001.**

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Policies/ Rules, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms and other Related Resources

1. Policies/ Rules.

   1. Policy 3-100 University Procurement

   2. Rule R3-100E: Restricted Purchases and Special Procurement

2. Procedures, Guidelines, and Forms. [ reserved ]

3. Other Related Resources. [ reserved ]

References

[ reserved ]

Contacts

The designated contact officials for this Regulation are

1. Policy Owners (primary contact person for questions and advice):

   1. Director of Procurement & Contracting Services

   2. Associate Vice President for Research

History

Renumbering Not Applicable

Revision History.

1. Current version. Revision 0
   Renumbering: Not Applicable