THE B&ES 10 POINT CLIENT CHECKLIST – FOR SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT
B&ES has drawn up a 10-Point Checklist to help procurement managers at local authorities and other public sector organisations make sure the contractors they choose for building services work are up to the job.
23 April 2013 – In times of restricted budgets clients are under pressure to save money and the temptation is to opt for the lowest price quote tendered. Choosing a contractor solely on price can, however, prove very costly in the longer run. Contractors that go in with low prices just to win work may be forced to “cut corners” and the eventual outcome is not fit for purpose.
Blane Judd, Chief Executive of B&ES, the Building & Engineering Services Association (formerly HVCA), comments, “The reality is that contractors that keep tendering for work with low prices usually end up failing – that means they’re not around to resolve any problems that nearly always arise when work is engineered down to a low price. It presents even more problems for the client if a contractor becomes insolvent before completing a job. This is not a sustainable way of using public money and exposes an organisation to all kinds of unnecessary risk.
“Construction projects have become ever more complex and technically demanding; procuring construction services is certainly not an easy job. It’s all the more critical when public money is involved and where the outcomes needed involve more than ticking the boxes on a tender pre-qualification document and then choosing a contractor based on the lowest price”.
B&ES has recently looked at the 10 key considerations that will help procurement managers at local authorities and other public sector organisations make sure the contractors they choose for building services work are up to the job.
These cover key issues such as:
- Regular, independent verification of competence and professionalism
- Financial stability
- Code of fair trading
- Technical competence
- Health and safety
- CDM regulations
- Building regulations
- Insurance cover
- Environmental management
- Equal opportunities
The details for each of the 10 key considerations can be found in the client area of the B&ES website at: http://www.b-es.org/client.
Ends
Issued on behalf of the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) by Next Step Marketing Ltd
Media enquiries to: Heather Lambert. Tel: 44(0)1256 472020;
Fax: 44(0)1256 471010; E-mail: heather@nextstepmarketing.co.uk
Note to Editors
Since its formation in 1904, B&ES, the Building & Engineering Services Association (formerly the HVCA) has represented the interests of companies engaged in a wide range of building and engineering services disciplines.
B&ES helps its members to build successful businesses by being the leading trade association for integrated building and engineering services and renewable technologies. It is a unifying force that promotes and monitors excellence; provides quality advice, guidance, training and support; generates market-leading thinking; and shapes the commercial environment through active representation.
B&ES members are subject to regular, third-party inspection and assessment of their technical competence and commercial capability, carried out by an independent certification body at least every three years.
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