9. approval processes for contractors, suppliers … · approval processes for contractors,...

9. APPROVAL PROCESSES FOR CONTRACTORS, SUPPLIERS AND CONSULTANTS

University of Bristol Issue date Building Services March 2005

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It is important to check that prospective contractors and/or suppliers are

financially sound and therefore capable of completing work or supply once contracted to the University.

In addition, it is necessary to ensure that contractors carrying out work on

University premises are properly organised and competent in Health and Safety management, in regard to both their own activities and their impact on other University staff and undertakings.

The following procedure describes the approval process that must be followed for

all prospective contractors or suppliers. Sufficient time must be allowed for the process to be completed when proceeding to contract with any company. The approval does not guarantee that performance or solvency problems with contractors or suppliers will be avoided, therefore feedback on performance and quality of work will be taken into account when using approved companies, see section 9.6.

Events of a serious nature that cause damage, injury or simply poor performance

will result in removal of the company from the Approved list of Contractors and Suppliers.

9.1 Overview In order to process a purchase order it is necessary to select a supplier

from the database held within the Maintrix system. Registered suppliers are given a unique supplier number, which is available to all users of the system for any type of order: goods, contract or stores. It is presumed that anyone who raises a purchase order is familiar with the type of service offered by a particular company. It is possible to generate reports on Maintrix showing companies within particular categories of service offered. Therefore, when registering a supplier it is important to describe the type of service provided i.e. discipline.

9.2 Approval of Contractors 9.2.1 Definition of a Contractor A contractor is a person or company who carries out physical

works on University premises in return for payment. Included in this category of contractor are any persons or companies providing service or maintenance contracts to the University and any supplier that comes on site to install products provided by themselves.

In addition to the above there are other types of suppliers who

could be regarded as "service providers" e.g. consultants and training companies etc. Whereas these companies do not carry out physical work to University premises, they are regarded as contractors so far as the Maintrix system is concerned, although terms and condition of contract will be tailored to suit the specific engagement.



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The approval process for such companies depends upon the circumstances pertaining to the engagement and this should be discussed with the Assistant Director (Building Services) prior to initiating the approval process.

9.2.2 Initiation of Approval Many contractors write to the University seeking to be considered

for invitation to tender for work. Very often this will follow a telephone call of introduction or will

be entirely speculative. Please can anyone receiving such queries or introductory letters forward them to the Office Administrator. This company information will be circulated in the yellows with a front sheet Company Introduction Form (see Appendix 9/1), recipients of the yellows are asked to consider the following questions:

a. is the service provided one that is needed and are

additional suppliers desirable e.g. for more competition? b. is there any knowledge of the company? c. can the company realistically carry out work in the

University, e.g. is there a local office from which the work can be organised.

In addition, there may be a direct recommendation by a

Consultancy Practice who have experience of a particular contractor.

If there is sufficient support following the circulation of the

company information the formal approval process can be initiated. 9.2.3 Pre-Qualification The proposed contractor’s financial and safety policy information

must be submitted for approval before the contractor can be added to the Approved list of Contractors and Suppliers.

a. Financial Approval A proposed contractor is requested, by standard letter to

complete a financial pre-qualification questionnaire including details of annual turnover taken from financial accounts, plus a forecast for the current financial year, In addition, references are requested along with details of recent completed projects. A copy of the questionnaire is shown in (Appendix 9/3).

The Office Administrator is responsible for issuing the

standard letter and questionnaire and recording receipt of contractors’ documentation.



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Completed questionnaires are forwarded to the Estates Office Accountant (Finance Office) who will assess the financial soundness of the company, run a credit check and will set the limit for order value that can be raised from the company.

Upon receipt of satisfactory financial checks the next stage

of the process is to obtain satisfactory safety approval. b. Health and Safety Approval Under the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act, any

company employing 5 people or more must have a Policy covering the arrangements for management of Health and Safety of their undertakings. This document is known as a “Safety Policy”.

Contractors working on University premises have the

potential for putting University employees at risk if sound working practices are not followed. Contractors can also cause great risk to themselves by not operating safely.

All companies defined as contractors must submit a Safety

Policy for approval prior to being considered for inclusion on the Approved list of Contractors and Suppliers. They must also complete a pre-qualification health and safety pre-qualification questionnaire (Appendix 9/4).

The Contractor’s Safety Policy and completed

questionnaire are forwarded to the University Safety Office who will comment on suitability in relation to work on University premises. In some cases the policy may be rejected initially but approved following modifications; or there may be limitations to the degree of responsibility accorded to the contractor when on site.

If a contractor employs less than 5 people it is not possible

to insist upon a Safety Policy being available; in these circumstances the degree of supervision on site should be considered carefully.

Copies of all documentation, Safety Policies and

correspondence are held centrally in the General Office by the Office Administrator. Contractors’ records will be kept updated through the regular request a current Safety policy.

9.3 Approval of Goods Suppliers 9.3.1 Definition of a Goods Supplier A goods supplier is a person or company that sells commodities,

goods and materials, which are delivered to the University and are used/installed by others.



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The supplier thereafter having no control of the goods. Some companies supply and install goods and/or equipment, e.g. control manufacturers, and may need to be registered as both goods and contract suppliers within the Maintrix system, refer to Section 9.2.

9.3.2 Goods Supplier Approval Process It must be established that the supplier is a bona fide company It is important to check the invoicing address for the company, as

sometimes this can be different from the branch address where the order is placed. If this is the case then two suppliers are entered into the Maintrix database so that invoice-posting slips will show the correct address for the account.

9.4 Consultants The term consultant applies to a range of activities for which companies

and sole traders are engaged. All such companies should be registered as a contractor but do not go through the selection process as in Section 9.2. Consultants shall be selected from the Framework Agreement list after agreement from the Assistant Director (Building Services). All consultants on the Framework Agreement list will be entered onto Maintrix.

9.5 Entry onto the Approved list Prior to entering details of a supplier, contractor or consultant onto the

Approved list a Supplier and Contractor Proposal and Approval Form must be completed and passed to the Office Administrator to process (see Appendix 9/5).

If the company is a contractor the appropriate authorisation questionnaires

will be sent out as detailed in Section 9.2.3. Once approved by both the University Finance Office and Safety Office the company will be sent out a welcome letter enclosing the Safety Rules and Conditions for Contractors (see Departmental Procedure 18) and the current Standard Contract Conditions for Minor Works. It should be noted that contractors will not be authorised on Maintrix for use until their signed declaration of compliance with the Safety Rules and Conditions for Contractors has been received by the Office Administrator.

9.6 Removal or suspension from the Approved list From time to time, it will be necessary to remove or suspend an approved

contractor, supplier or consultant from the Approved list of Contractors and Suppliers.

Any member of staff who receives information relating to the inability of

any approved company to provide the required services must pass the information to a member of the Departmental Management Team for appraisal and reference to the Assistant Director (Building Services)/Office Administrator.



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9.6.1 Feedback on Contractor’s performance At the end of each job, or at any time during the job in the case of

poor performance, the Project Manager should provide an evaluation questionnaire relating to the contractor’s (and consultant’s) performance, to the customer for whom work has been carried out. Completed evaluation questionnaires should be returned to the Office Administrator. Unsatisfactory performance should be addressed appropriately as described in 9.6.2. A copy of the evaluation questionnaire is shown in (Appendix 9/6).

9.6.2 Reasons for removal or suspension from the Approved list The reasons for this could be many and varied, but will fall largely

into the following categories: - a) A loss of trading status due to bankruptcy or closure of all or

part of the business b) Re-location of the business away from an appropriate local

area c) Poor performance d) Loss of personnel or staff capable of providing the required

service e) Health & Safety issues

9.6.3 Removal If the problem falls within categories (a) and (b) of 9.6.2 the

Assistant Director (Building Services) should be informed in writing and recommending removal of the company from the Approved list of Contractors and Suppliers.

9.6.4 Suspension Any problems falling into categories (c), (d) or (e) of 9.6.2 must

be reviewed by the Project Manager and an assessment made whether it is necessary to suspend the company from the Approved list of Contractors and Suppliers.

Poor performance (c) may be addressed simply by a written

warning, provided a suitable response is received. Loss of personnel (d) should be viewed seriously and

investigations made to determine whether the company has suitable alternative resources.

If a company is to be suspended a written statement is issued

advising the company that it will be suspended from the Approved list of Contractors and Suppliers for a fixed period. At the end of the period the contractor may be required to produce evidence of remedial action in order to be re-instated on the list.



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Events that are a breach of health and safety (e) must be viewed seriously. Reasons for the breach of health and safety should be investigated to assess whether suspension or removal from the Approved list of Contractors and Suppliers is required.

Where the breach of health and safety is a first offence, of a

moderate nature, it is appropriate to suspend the company for 6 months and request a statement of remedial actions, which must be completed.

For a more serious first offence such as an event that may cause

injury or death to staff, employees or members of the public, a longer suspension period and written request for a statement or remedial action may be appropriate.

Any company which breaches health and safety for a second time

must be removed from the Approved list of Contractors and Suppliers for a minimum period of 3 years.

9.7 Coordination with Purchasing Office on EU Tendered Contracts Purchasing Office have updated their tender documentation to include the

Building Services Safety Questionnaire and University Contractor Safety Rules and Regulations. The Building Services Financial Questionnaire content has been incorporated as an appendix to Purchasing Office's General Questionnaire.

When tender documentation is received, safety information will be passed

to the Office Administrator so that Safety Office vetting can be arranged. Once vetted by Safety Office the Purchasing Office will be advised of the decision and if further information is required. If successful the Safety information will be retained by Building Services for reference.

When tender documentation is received, financial information will be

passed by the Purchasing Office to the Estates Office Accountant to vet as per the normal procedure, results will be communicated to the Office Administrator by the Purchasing Office along with any minimum contract levels imposed.

Once approved Building Services will write to the contractor direct to

advise that they are on the University's Approved Contractor list for future projects.



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9

APPROVAL PROCESSES FOR CONTRACTORS, SUPPLIERS AND

CONSULTANTS

APPENDIX 1



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APPENDIX 9/1 Initials: Date:

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL: Building Services Department COMPANY INTRODUCTION FORM

Please Note: if you would like this company added to Maintrix then please complete a Supplier & Contractor Proposal and Approval Form and pass to the Office Administrator

with this company information attached.

COMPANY NAME:

DATE INFO RECEIVED:

TYPE:

GOODS / CONSULTANT / CONTRACTOR

Please return to Kathryn Amos, Office Administrator, Building Services

NATURE OF BUSINESS:

Access Control Ironmongery Acoustics Joinery Architectural Metalwork & Fabrications Lifts Asbestos Removal Mechanical Blinds Painting & Decorating BMS Partitioning Chimney Sweep Pest Control Civil Engineering Piping Coldrooms Plumbing Concrete repair specialist Resurfacing Demolition Roofing Double Glazing Scaffolding Electrical Signs Environmental Sport and court specialist Fencing Steeplejack Fire Alarms Stone Masonry Flooring Suspended ceiling Furniture Timber preservation General building Underground pipework Generators Wet Trades Glass and Glazing Windows & Doors Interior Fittings Other/Various



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CONSULTANTS

APPENDIX 2



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APPENDIX 9/2

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

BUILDING SERVICES

PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTORS QUESTIONNAIRE

All contractors must complete the Health & Safety and financial pre-qualification questionnaires to be considered for acceptance to the University’s Approved list of Contractors and Suppliers. Please complete all sections as fully as possible. Failure to disclose pertinent information may result in non-acceptance from the list. COMPANY NAME: Please tick box’s applicable to your business: - Access Control Ironmongery Acoustics Joinery Architectural Metalwork & Fabrications Lifts Asbestos Removal Mechanical Blinds Painting & Decorating BMS Partitioning Chimney Sweep Pest Control Civil Engineering Piping Coldrooms Plumbing Concrete repair specialist Resurfacing Demolition Roofing Double Glazing Scaffolding Electrical Signs Environmental Sport and court specialist Fencing Steeplejack Fire Alarms Stone Masonry Flooring Suspended ceiling Furniture Timber preservation General building Underground pipework Generators Wet Trades Glass and Glazing Windows & Doors Interior Fittings



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CONSULTANTS

APPENDIX 3



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APPENDIX 9/3


BUILDING SERVICES

FINANCIAL PRE-QUALIFICATION QUESTIONNAIRE COMPANY NAME: Branch Office Address:

Head Office Address:

Tel:

Tel:

Fax:

Fax:

Registered Office Address: (If different from above) Tel:

Tel:

Fax:

Fax:

Company Registration No: Company VAT Registration No: Company Tax Certificate No: Expiry Date: (If applicable) FINANCIAL INFORMATION Enclose last 3 sets of Financial Statements: Yes Enclose a copy of CIS5 or CIS6 (Construction Industry Scheme) Certificate Yes Forecast Turnover in Current Financial Year: £ Other Comments:



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CONSULTANTS

APPENDIX 4



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APPENDIX 9/4


BUILDING SERVICES

CONTRACTOR HEALTH & SAFETY PRE-QUALIFICATION QUESTIONNAIRE

DATE: NAME OF COMPANY: NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

ADDRESS: TELEPHONE NUMBER: FAX NUMBER: E.MAIL ADDRESS: CONTACT NAME FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

SIGNATURE OF PERSON COMPLETING QUESTIONNAIRE:

POSITION OF PERSON COMPLETING QUESTIONNAIRE:

SAFETY QUALIFICATIONS OF PERSON COMPLETING QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. SAFETY POLICY

1.1 You must return a copy of the following with this form The statement of your General Policy with regard to Health and

Safety (Safety policy)

Copies of reports enclosed YES/NO



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The organisation for carrying out the Policy - i.e. allocation of duties, delegation of responsibility, name of the most senior person in organisation responsible for safety who has signed the Policy.

Copies of reports enclosed YES/NO The arrangements for implementing the Policy - i.e. safety

procedures, safety manuals and procedures for managing fire safety

Copies of reports enclosed YES/NO Arrangements for monitoring compliance of persons who have

safety duties. Copies of reports enclosed

YES/NO

1.2 Describe how the policy is brought to the notice of all your employees and the arrangements in place to check that all employees have been made aware of its contents and the duties it places on them.

2. HEALTH & SAFETY SERVICES

2.1 Do you have access to professional Health & Safety advice from within your company?

YES/NO

2.2 If YES give names, qualifications, experience and location:

2.3 Do you use the services of an external Safety Consultancy? YES/NO

(If NO, go to question 2.6)

2.4 If YES, give names, address, experience and qualifications of the external Consultancy.

2.5 To whom do the Consultant’s staff report in your management structure?



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2.6 Give details of the services provided to your Company by the Employees/Consultancy name in 2.2 or 2.4.

i. Information and advice

ii. Accident investigation

iii. Collection and analysis of accidents and ill health statistics.

iv. Safety Inspections

v. Safety Audits

vi. If a proprietary Safety Audit system is used please give details:

Enclose copies of recent inspection/audit reports if possible Copies of reports enclosed

YES/NO

2.7 Do you have access to specialist Health and Safety advice and services e.g

occupational hygiene service, noise level surveys etc, as appropriate to your work?

YES/NO

If YES, give details below:-

2.8 If you answered NO to question 2.1 and 2.3 how do you meet the following

Health and Safety requirements?



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i. Obtain information and advice?

ii. Investigate accidents?

iii. Ensure that work on site is carried out in accordance with legal requirements and your Policy?

iv. Obtain occupational health information and services?

3. MEMBERSHIP OF GROUPS ETC

3.1 Is your Company a member of any group, body organisation, Trade Association or similar which promotes or has an involvement in Health and Safety matters?

YES/NO

If so give the name of the group etc, and what involvement employees of your Company have with it:

3.2 Would you have any objection to the Client’s Representative carrying out

an inspection of any site on which you are currently working?

YES/NO

4. HEALTH & SAFETY PERFORMANCE

4.1 Do you prepare summaries, statistics or reports of all accidents as regular intervals?

YES/NO

If YES, please enclose relevant summaries, statistics or similar for the last

three years:- (Summaries enclosed)

YES/NO



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4.2 What use do you make of these summaries and statistics e.g. Do you analyse these company wide to alert managers; identify trends, problems, training needs?

Summaries enclosed YES/NO

4.3 If answer 4.1 is NO, please give an accident summary for the past three

years:-

Fatal Accidents*

Major Injuries*

“Over three day” Accidents

Dangerous Occurrences

* The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations,

1995 (RIDDOR) require accidents involving the self-employed and members of the public in these categories to be reported by employers therefore these should be shown as a separate total from employees’ accidents.

4.4 Has your Company or any individual employee in your Company been

prosecuted for any breach of Health and Safety legislation within the past five years?

YES/NO

If so, give details and action that was taken to prevent re-occurrence.

4.5 Has any Prohibition or improvements notice been served on your Company

within the past five years? YES/NO



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If so enclose a copy and give details below of actions taken following the serving of the notice.

5 TRAINING

5.1 Have all the Directors and Managers within your Company attended formal Health & Safety Courses? If so please give details.

YES/NO

5.2 Have all Site Supervisors within your Company attended an appropriate

Health & Safety course?

YES/NO If so please give details of course and number of attendees

5.3 Have your operatives received appropriate training for their work and in the

general Health and Safety aspects of your type of work?

YES/NO 5.4 Do you carry out induction training for new employees? YES/NO

Note: You may be required to provide written confirmation of applicable

training provided to any person who is employed on or involved in a specific contract.

6 SUB-CONTRACTORS

6.1 If you normally sub-contract parts of construction work how do you ensure that sub-contractors have an adequate policy for health and safety, an acceptable performance in accident and ill health prevention and adequate arrangements for training their employees?

6.2 Do you employ labour-only sub-contractors? YES/NO



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7. JOINT CONSULTATION

7.1 Are there any Safety Representatives appointed within your workforce? YES/NO

7.2 Do you have a Safety Committee for joint consultation purposes? YES/NO

7.3 What established arrangements do you have for employees to draw the attention of management to unsafe working practices and risks to health and safety?

8. RISK ASSESSMENTS

8.1 When do you carry out risk assessments?

8.2 When are safety method statements prepared?

8.3 How are the workforce made aware of the method statement?

9. HEALTH & SAFETY PLAN

91 What information would you include in your Health & Safety Plan?

Note: This question must be completed to the satisfaction of the Assistant Director (Building Services) before a Contractor may be appointed as a Principal Contractor for projects where all of the CDM Regulations apply.



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CONSULTANTS

APPENDIX 5



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APPENDIX 9/5

BUILDING SERVICES SUPPLIER & CONTRACTOR

PROPOSAL AND APPROVAL FORM

1. Company Name:

Nature of Business:

Company Address for ACCOUNTS only if different from opposite:

2. Company Address:

Company Address ACCOUNTS:

3. Telephone Number:

4. Fax Number:

9. Has company taken over an existing supplier on Maintrix? Yes / No (delete) If Yes: name of supplier:

5. E-Mail address:

Supplier No:

Account Code:

6. Contact Name:

Discipline:

7. Account Type: GOODS / CONSULTANT / CONTRACTOR

8. Proposer: Date:

* If Goods Supplier only then omit Section 10, 11, 12, 15 & 16 10. Pre-qualification Questionnaires received*: YES/NO Date Received

Building Services:

11. Financial Documents received*: YES/NO Date Approved

Finance Office:

12. Safety Policy Documents received*: YES/NO Date Approved

Safety Office:

13. Added to Maintrix

Date:

14. Max Contract Value

Limit (Approved by W Liew*):

15. Authorised for Inclusion

on Approved Contractors List (HoD)*: Date:



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CONSULTANTS

APPENDIX 6



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APPENDIX 9/6

UNIVERSITY BUILDING SERVICES

CONTRACTOR/CONSULTANT QUESTIONNAIRE

CONTRACTOR / CONSULTANT NAME: PROJECT: VERY GOOD GOOD ADEQUATE POOR VERY POOR UNACCEPTABLE COMMENTS: SIGNATURE: NAME:

DATE: DEPARTMENT:

RETURN TO: K AMOS OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR BUILDING SERVICES 1-9 OLD PARK HILL BRISTOL, BS2 8BB