Construction DPS

NEPO Portal reference number: DN367216

1. Introduction / background

1.1 The Council have their own in-house provision for construction services who carry out works and services across the Borough of Gateshead. This DPS solution is required in addition to and to support/compliment the in-house resource where required.

1.2 The Council is carrying out this procurement process to put in place a DPS for Construction Contractors and Sub-Contractors. The DPS, once it is in place, will be available for use by the Council.

1.3 The DPS is a fully compliant, all-encompassing route to market to source construction works from external Contractors as required by the Council. The opportunity to apply for inclusion on the DPS will be remain open throughout its lifespan to cater for ever changing requirements as well as Contractors new to the marketplace/supply chain.

2. Scope

2.1 The Council require a consistent approach to Construction Procurement to cover all works activity set out in the CDM Regulation 2015.

2.2 The DPS will cover the Construction Contractor and Sub-Contractor requirements for the Council and its partner organisations where there is a need to source external support to provide the works and/or services across various trades and/or disciplines.

2.3 The DPS will be used for all construction procurements unless the work is carried out by the in-house provision or where (for example due to complexity or funding requirements) a bespoke procurement exercise is undertaken.

2.4 Contractors appointed to the DPS MUST carry out the main element of the works required under any call-off under the DPS and will not be permitted to sub-contract any of the main elements of the work packages. The Council will only be Contracting with the appointed contractor and not any third party The Council may ask Contractors to execute all principle contractor duties, in line with CDM Regulations. The Council has its own in-house construction department and carries out work for the Authority as well as bidding for work externally. In these instances, it is sometimes a requirement for the Council appoint sub contracting resource as a support to its own workforce.

2.5 The DPS will cover a number of work categories. For information purposes only, please see below an indicative list of trades/disciplines to be covered, please note the list is not exhaustive. Please refer to Appendix 3 for the full scope of categories. It should be noted that additional categories may be added during the term of the DPS.

• Adaptations
• Air conditioning
• Air monitoring
• Asbestos removal
• Audio visual
• Brickwork / stonework / blockwork
• Bridgeworks
• Building (general)
• Building refurbishment
• Building repairs and improvements
• Catering and laundry equipment - installation/maintenance/servicing/repairs/cleaning
• CCTV and security alarms
• Civil Engineering/groundworks
• Cladding/insulation
• Cleaning - building/domestic/commercial/needle sweeps/void cleans/graffiti
• Concrete repairs
• Curtain and blind systems - installation/maintenance
• Data systems installation
• Demolition
• Doors and windows
• Drilling - concrete/directional
• Earthworks
• Electrical
• Fencing
• Fire protection and alarms
• Flooring (general)
• Gardening/forestry/tree/arborist services
• Garage/fleet workshop equipment installations/servicing/maintenance
• Gas installations
• Glazing
• Hard / soft landscape and reclamation works
• Heating
• Highways works/surfacing/road planing/asphalt
• Insitu concrete works
• Joinery
• Joint sealing/bed joint reinforcement/movement Joints
• Lighting/emergency lighting/street lighting/flood lighting installations
• Locksmiths
• Maritime
• Mechanical services installation
• Metalwork services/installation
• Modular buildings/structures
• Painting and decorating
• Passenger lift/escalator installation
• Patent glazing
• PCC flooring / staircases
• Pest control
• Piling
• Plastering / dry lining / rendering
• Playground landscape/surfacing/equipment
• Plumbing
• Prefabricated system building
• Preservation works
• Public Realm works
• Reclamation and decontamination works
• Removal and storage services - property clearances
• Renewables
• Roller shutters
• Roofing / cladding external wall/specialist
• Safety equipment - including fall arrest
• Scaffolding
• Screeding
• Sign installation
• Site clearance
• Stairlift installation
• Suspended access equipment - steeplejacks/rope access/abseiling/shot and grit blasting
• Stonework/ restoration works
• Structural steelwork
• Structures - covered/glazed/timber/steel
• Tanking
• Tiling (wall and floor)
• Traffic management services
• Utilities services - gas/water/electricity/telecom/meter services/installation
• Washroom works/installations

Please note the above list is for information purposes only and is not exhaustive.

2.6 For individual work packages Authorised Officers within the Council will determine which work category(s) are relevant to deliver the specific requirements. 

2.7 Suppliers MUST only apply to be included in categories for which they can provide relevant experience in carrying out similar works. In order for suppliers to be invited to tender / quote for works that they are able to carry out, they must be registered within all relevant work categories. This will ensure that they are considered for selection for invitation to tender / quote for all relevant opportunities and are not selected for works they are unable to carry out.

2.8 Competitive tenders will continue to be obtained where the work is let under external funding regimes and / or it is a condition of the funding that tenders are sought.

2.9 The Council reserves the right not to use the DPS solution if an existing framework arrangement and/or route to market is more appropriate and/or relevant.

2.10 The Council reserves the right to engage Specialist Organisations/Contractors outside of the DPS solution if deemed appropriate.

2.11 Once the DPS is in place, Authorised officers within the Council will be responsible for conducting their own further competitions under the DPS to cover specific contracting and/or sub-contracting opportunities/requirements to ensure value for money is delivered.

2.12 Due to the nature of the DPS it is possible in some circumstances that no award may result from a further competition.

2.13 The DPS is a fully complaint, all-encompassing route to market to source construction works from external Contractors as required by the Council. The opportunity to apply for inclusion on the DPS will be remain open throughout its lifespan to cater for ever changing requirements as well as Contractors new to the marketplace/supply chain.

2.14 The Council/ reserves the right to use internal resource/provision where relevant.

3. Entry requirements for DPS

3.1 After the initial tender process to apply for inclusion has closed, the Council will then undertake the evaluation process and appoint successful Contractors to the DPS. Once this process is complete the Council will re-open the DPS for its full lifespan to allow for new applications.

3.2 In order to be successfully appointed to the DPS, suppliers must pass the selection criteria included within the Selection Questionnaire.

3.3 Should a Supplier not be able to obtain a pass when they initially apply for inclusion on the DPS, they are able to re-apply at any time within the lifespan of the DPS, once they consider they have the ability and evidence to pass the selection criteria.

3.4 Suppliers may apply for inclusion on one or more category(s) under the DPS, however, to ensure that the DPS is appropriate and efficient for both the suppliers and the Contracting Authority, suppliers must ensure that they have the relevant experience and accreditations (as appropriate) within each category(s). 

3.5 Once appointed to the DPS, Contractors may request changes to the categories in which they are included, either to remove themselves from a specific category if they no longer deliver that discipline. They can also apply for other categories which they may not have previously applied provided that they can demonstrate suitable experience and accreditations (as appropriate) within the category.

3.6 Suppliers MUST complete Appendix 3 (Checklist for Inclusion within Category(s)) with all of the required information to ensure that they are included within the correct category. This will enable Contracting Authorities to determine the best route for call-off under the DPS. 

3.7 The future arrangement will have a tiered approach and the following will be mandatory to be accepted onto DPS: -

3.8 Suppliers must provide relevant information and obtain a Pass in the following evaluation criteria to be successful in being appointed to the DPS: -

• Supplier Information
• Exclusion Grounds - Mandatory and Discretionary
• Modern Slavery
• Insurance* - Evidence of Insurances are required
• Health and Safety - Evidence of Current SSIP accreditation will be required**
• Compliance with Environmental Legislation
• Compliance with Equality Legislation
• Evidence of further competency accreditations for certain categories involving specific trades and/or disciplines i.e. Gas Safe, NEIEC and so on.
• Applicants will indicate which category(s) of works they wish to be appointed and evidence of past experience in the form of case studies is required for each category for which they have applied. Please note that one case study may be used to provide evidence in respect of a number of categories.

*Please note that basic Insurance levels have been included at the selection stage, however, it may be appropriate for the Contracting Authority to request an increase to these levels and / or additional insurance at the call-off stage as appropriate to their specific requirement.

** Please note the Council reserves the right to include further High-Risk Health and Safety questions at call-off as appropriate to their specific requirement. 

3.9 The DPS will allow the application and addition of new Organisations who meet the required criteria throughout its duration.

4. DPS Call-Off Requirements

4.1 All further competitions conducted under this DPS will be carried out electronically via the NEPO Portal (opens new window).

4.2 When/if the Council have a specific requirement, ALL capable contractors who can meet the specific requirements of the call-off and who are appointed within the relevant category will be invited to quote.

4.3 The call-off documentation will include all additional requirements, including but not limited to:- further project specific specifications and requirements, delivery dates, additional specific trade accreditations, evaluation criteria and so on.

4.4 The further competition stage will include specific terms and conditions relevant to the particular works required e.g. JCT Minor Works, JCT Intermediate Building Contract, NEC Engineering and Construction Contract, and so on

4.5 The Council will seek confirmation that the Mandatory requirements with which a contractor was accepted into a DPS category are up to date and still valid. i.e SSIP accreditation, Insurances and so on

It is important therefore that applicants only apply/register for categories in which they can demonstrate appropriate competencies and so on.

5. Call-Off Criteria

The Contracting Authority will be responsible for determining their own specific call-off criteria and weighting as appropriate to their requirement based on a Quality / Price split as follows:

6. Removal / suspension from the DPS

6.1 In the event that a Contractor is no longer a member of an SSIP registered body, they will be suspended from the DPS until they become re-registered with an SSIP registered body. In the event that a Contractors' insurance(s) expire or the Council are not advised of renewal of insurances, they will be suspended until the Council are satisfied that the relevant insurances are valid.

6.2 Should there be concerns over working practices or quality of work undertaken by a Contractor they may be suspended from the DPS until corrective measures which are deemed acceptable to the Council, TGHC and its partner organisations are put in place. The decision to suspend and re-instate is at the discretion of the Council.

6.3 When a Contractor receives an invitation to tender/quote via the NEPO Portal they should indicate on the Portal if they do not wish to participate by 'Opting Out' of that opportunity and stating their reasons.

It is important therefore that applicants only apply/register for categories in which they can demonstrate appropriate competencies and so on and which they can consistently and competitively tender/quote.