Issue 12 14012013
Environment Agency
National Plant Hire Framework
Agreement
Specification
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Issue 12 14012013
Table of Contents
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... 2
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Annual Work Programme................................................................................................. 4
2. Types of Plant Covered ....................................................................................................... 5
3. Planning and Programming................................................................................................ 6
4. Core Equipment ................................................................................................................... 6
5. Equipment Standards ......................................................................................................... 7
6. Hire Booking Process ......................................................................................................... 7
7. Delivery of Equipment ......................................................................................................... 7
7.1 Pre-Delivery Checks ........................................................................................................ 7
7.2 Transport .......................................................................................................................... 8
7.3 Unloading / Loading of Plant and Equipment .................................................................. 8
7.4 Abnormal Loads ............................................................................................................... 8
7.5 Delivery Vehicles ............................................................................................................. 9
7.6 Equipment Familiarisation ................................................................................................ 9
7.7 Bio Security ...................................................................................................................... 9
8. On-hire Period ...................................................................................................................... 9
8.1 Breakdown/Defects .......................................................................................................... 9
8.2 Servicing and Inspection by the Contractor ..................................................................... 9
8.3 Accommodation Servicing ............................................................................................... 9
8.4 Contractor’s Site Maintenance Personnel ..................................................................... 10
8.5 Re-Hiring ........................................................................................................................ 10
8.6 Insurance ....................................................................................................................... 10
8.7 Contractor’s Name Plates .............................................................................................. 10
9. Termination of Hire ............................................................................................................ 11
9.1 Condition of plant at handover ....................................................................................... 11
9.2 Collection of the plant .................................................................................................... 11
9.3 Fuel ................................................................................................................................ 11
10. Sub-Contracting .............................................................................................................. 11
11. Emergency Hire of Incident Response Equipment ...................................................... 12
12. Operated Plant ................................................................................................................. 12
12.1 Driver /Operator Competencies ................................................................................... 13
12.2 Breakdown ................................................................................................................... 13
13. Low Loader and Plant Transport Services ................................................................... 13
14. Equipment Selection and Specialist Advice ................................................................. 14
15. Contract Management ..................................................................................................... 14
15.1 Account Management .................................................................................................. 14
15.2 Management Reports .................................................................................................. 14
15.3 Rates, Rebates and Incentives .................................................................................... 14
16. Payment Processes ......................................................................................................... 15
16.1 Invoicing ....................................................................................................................... 15
16.2 Delivery ........................................................................................................................ 16
16.3 Fuel .............................................................................................................................. 16
17. Innovation......................................................................................................................... 16
18. Environmental and Sustainability Factors .................................................................... 16
18.1 Environmental Management Systems ......................................................................... 17
18.2 Carbon ......................................................................................................................... 17
18.3 Oils and Greases ......................................................................................................... 17
18.4 Storage of Fuel ............................................................................................................ 17
18.5 Waste (Management, Disposal and Licensing) ........................................................... 17
18.6 Pollution Prevention ..................................................................................................... 18
18.7 Other Sustainability / Environmental Issues ................................................................ 18
19. DEFRA/WALES ................................................................................................................ 19
20. Business Continuity Management ................................................................................. 19
21. Additional Services ......................................................................................................... 19
21.1 Plant Co-ordinator ........................................................................................................ 19
21.2 Contract Lift Operations ............................................................................................... 20
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1. Introduction
The National Plant Hire Framework is key to delivering the Environment Agency’s front line
services.
The Environment Agency’s expenditure on the hire of plant from 1st April 2011 to 31st March
2012 amounted to £4.1m: £500,000.00 on operated plant and £3,600,000.00 on nonoperated plant, for England only. This spend is annually variable and is linked to our internal
mechanisms for ensuring we optimise the use of our internal fleet holding.
The Framework Agreement is for the hire of agricultural and construction plant and equipment
(including transport) to supplement the Environment Agency’s fleet holding, including
operated plant and low loader transport. This plant is mainly used to undertake maintenance
and improvement works on our flood risk management assets across England.
The Framework Agreement also covers the hire of specialist incident response plant and
equipment necessary to respond to flooding and various other incidents across England.
The Environment Agency’s policy is to retain an internal plant and equipment fleet holding
and to supplement this by hiring plant to:
Meet seasonal peaks in demand
Meet specific operational needs
Provide specialist incident response equipment
Provide a mechanism to support the management and rationalisation of our existing plant
fleet
To deliver this fundamental business need, the Environment Agency is looking for a
contractor who will be proactive and flexible in his approach to the Framework Agreement.
The award of the contract will be based upon a partnership approach; the successful
Contractor will be expected to operate the contract in a transparent and co-operative manner
reflecting the aims and aspirations of the Environment Agency.
The Framework Agreement will be awarded for a maximum period of four years, which will
be made up of 3 years with the option to extend for up to a further 12 months, subject to
satisfactory performance.
The Environment Agency has a learning culture and requires all Directors and Line Managers
to undertake frequent Health & Safety active monitoring. The successful tenderer will be
expected to support this culture.
The agreement will seek to ensure:
Compliance with the Environment Agency Health, Safety and Wellbeing standards
Legal compliance to eliminate and reduce all risks to an acceptable level
That the service delivered meets the Environment Agency’s requirements
A high level of end user/hirer customer satisfaction
Regular management information & reporting to support continuous improvement
Value for money by means of competitive pricing and contract savings.
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1.1 Annual Work Programme
Our work is seasonal, and a typical annual programme for the management of our flood
defence assets currently involves:
Type of work
Plant & Equipment
requirements
Asset Maintenance
Agricultural plant &
equipment including
excavators
Construction plant &
equipment
Specialist pumps,
generators, construction
equipment and transport
Asset Improvement
Incident & Emergency
Response
Average %
range of
historic
workload
60 – 70%
Normal window when the
plant & equipment is
required
30 - 40%
April to October
5 – 10%
On request
April to September
Note: Over the duration of the Framework Agreement, business efficiency targets, the
transition to risk based planning of our maintenance regimes and evolution to an asset
management organisation may significantly impact on the current normal annual
programme.
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2. Types of Plant Covered
The Environment Agency hires a wide range of plant. The typical items hired are, although
not limited to
Construction
 3600 Excavators
 1800 Excavators
 Dump Trucks
 Dumpers
 Dozers
 Telehandlers
 Rollers
 Loading Shovels
 Fuel Bowsers
 Excavator Attachments
 Lighting Units
Agricultural
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Tractor/Flail Combinations (including long reach
flails)
Tractor/Winch Combinations
Tractors
Bank Mowers
Remote Control Mowers
Wood Chippers
Agricultural Dump & Plant Trailers
Accommodation

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Toilets
Welfare Units – Towable
Welfare Vehicles
Storage Units
Air/Power

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Compressors
Generators
Pumps
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
Towable
Static
Aerators
Access

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
Boom
Scissor
Telescopic

Transport of the contractor’s equipment to /from
site
Transport of Agency plant & equipment to / from
site
Flatbed/Tipper/Lorry Loader/Grab
Low-loaders
Pumps
Generators
Lighting Units
Telehandlers
Lorries with lorry loaders inclusive of driver
Mobile/Welfare units
Excavators
Mobile Cranes
Weed Cutting Boats
Transport
(operated only)
Incident Response
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The Environment Agency will not accept a chargeable minimum hire period for any hired
equipment under this contract.
3. Planning and Programming
The Environment Agency plans and programmes the majority of scheduled maintenance
work. A minority is of a reactive, emergency or incident response nature and we need to
supplement our own internal fleet holding for both of these scenarios.
We intend to provide details of our forward planning to our Contractor, assisting them in
planning equipment allocation, bringing the benefits of an assurance of equipment quality,
greater utilisation and reduction in transportation mileage and costs.
We will operate a mechanism which ensures our hirers communicate their work programmes
with the Contractor. This will be developed in conjunction with the successful tenderer shortly
after contract award. Over the first six to twelve months of the contract, data will be gathered
by the Contractor indicating volumes of unplanned versus planned orders, and a base line for
measuring our planning performance will then be agreed between Environment Agency and
the Contractor.
We envisage the approach and the mechanism to be similar to the following example:
Contractor contacts key regional Environment Agency representatives on a 4-weekly basis to
determine likely requirements over the coming 4 weeks. The Contractor keeps in regular
contact with the representatives over the 4-week period to determine whether plans remain
the same, whilst sourcing the necessary equipment. The Environment Agency’s performance
is then measured by comparing estimated quantities versus quantities actually taken.
A quarterly improvement in planning of 5% from the baseline would generate a discount of
X%, an improvement in planning of 10% would generate a discount of Y% and so on. If
planning improves sufficiently then a new pricing model would be introduced, which will need
to work in conjunction with any adjustments to the pricing resulting from measurement of the
Contractor’s performance – see “Rates, rebates and incentives” section below.
Question (1) Please confirm how your organisation proposes to support the Environment
Agency’s requirement to improve planning and programming.
Question (2) Please describe mechanisms and discounts you would offer to support our
proposed approach or one similar to it.
4. Core Equipment
The Environment Agency uses a core range of plant types and are seeking to reduce the
variety of equipment supplied in each category. We will require proactive assistance from the
Contractor to achieve this. The expectation is that this will drive greater consistency and
competency over a smaller range of equipment and that it will result in improved hire terms.
The Contractor will be required to record hire requests outside of the core product range, and
report on whether these resulted from Environment Agency requirements or the inability to
supply a particular product. (Inability to supply meaning insufficient notice by the hirer or
unavailability of equipment.)
Appendix A illustrates the product types categories that we wish to have as our core product
range.
The document also illustrates the number of units hired in 2011/2012.
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Whilst the Environment Agency needs to retain the spread of product categories as illustrated,
Tenderers may propose alternatives as their core offering from within those categories. For
example we will require 1 core product in the excavator group that spans 20,21 and 22 tonne.
Where SPEC is illustrated in Appendix A this illustrates that we expect there will be a smaller
number of SPECIALIST hires within this product type determined by an operational constraint
or where the requirement is outside the core product range. For example there may be
limited occasions where we have a specific need for excavators larger than the core product
category of 20 to 22T.
Question (3) Please demonstrate how you would:
 support a core product range and minimise the supply of alternatives
 record and report on variation from the core product range and whether the variation
was an Environment Agency requirement or resulting from an inability to supply.
5. Equipment Standards
All plant will be safe, fit for purpose, and in full working order. Any breakdown occurring
within 3 working days of delivery will invoke a complaint.
All equipment provided by the Contractor must adhere to the Environment Agency’s minimum
equipment standards – see Appendices B & H.
The Environment Agency will require all tractors supplied to meet our stability testing
requirements. We recognise that stability testing is not an industry standard and will provide
support to comply – see Appendix G
The Environment Agency will require security equipment e.g. shutters and vandal guards if
indicated by our site specific risk assessment.
Question (4) Please confirm and detail your organisation’s level of compliance with our
equipment standards including plant operators and MEICA electrical requirements, and
provide details of the compatibility and stability testing procedures which are completed prior
to delivery.
Question (5) Please detail security equipment available via your organisation for hired
equipment.
6. Hire Booking Process
The Environment Agency will require a single, dedicated point of contact responsible for
processing hire requests.
Question (6) Please detail your proposed dedicated point of contact including:
 Process of hiring equipment – online, telephone, email – including a request to quote,
hire booking, hire confirmation, processing multiple items on a single order, allocating
equipment to the booking and arranging delivery
7. Delivery of Equipment
7.1 Pre-Delivery Checks
The Contractor must have a documented quality assurance system in operation, to ensure
that all plant is serviced and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s requirements,
and is in a safe and suitable condition for use on site. The Contractor must be able to
demonstrate that all equipment meets statutory requirements, and provide details of the last
and next service date. Any equipment supplied under Lifting Operations of Equipment
Regulations (LOLER) must have had a valid LOLER Certificate thorough examination
undertaken by a competent, independent examiner within the last 12 months .
Documents required at point of delivery are as follows:
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Hire company Pre Delivery Inspection (PDI) sheet
Copy of last service record showing date of service
Handbook for main equipment and any ancillaries /attachments fitted
All relevant safety certificates – Safe Working Load (SWL), Lifting Operations and
Equipment Regulations (LOLER), Electrical Safety, Stability testing, etc. (where
applicable see appendix G for stability test procedures)
Copy of delivery note and handover sheet.
The document used by the hirer as the delivery assessment will be the Inspection of Plant
and Equipment Checklist (also known as GN 02), which can be found in Appendix C: this will
be completed before acceptance of hired plant.
The person in charge of the works will be responsible for completing the “Assessment of
Condition” that will include:
(a)
Inspecting all plant upon delivery to site
(b)
Inspecting all plant operators’ Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) cards
(c)
Inspecting the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) of all plant operators
(d)
Ensuring legal compliance
(e)
Ensuring the plant and equipment meet all Environment Agency standards (Appendix
B)
Failure to comply with any of the above will result in the equipment being rejected until
equipment is repaired or replaced.
The Contractor shall demonstrate that the equipment and attachments requested match the
equipment being delivered by using an electronic format or paper goods delivery note at the
point of delivery.
7.2 Transport
The hirer shall agree the dates and times of delivery and collection of plant with the
Contractor. The Contractor must adhere to these agreed dates and times or inform the hirer
of any delays as soon as they become apparent, in order to make alternative arrangements.
The hirer will provide details of the site location and provide location plans as required. The
hirer will ensure that the Contractor is provided with any relevant information on access routes
or obstructions.
7.3 Unloading / Loading of Plant and Equipment
The Contractor is responsible for the loading and unloading of plant and equipment on own
and cross-hired equipment.
Wherever possible, arrangements should be made for plant & equipment to be
loaded/unloaded off the public highway. However, where this is not possible, the Contractor
and hirer will discuss the site specific requirements for unloading.
Where it is necessary to off load/load plant on the highway, the hirer (Environment Agency) is
responsible for obtaining permission from the highway authority and must comply with the
‘New Roads & Streetworks Act’, and the Contractor’s delivery vehicle must have amber
flashing beacons in operation. All personnel involved must wear hi-visibility safety clothing
and footwear.
The hirer is responsible for contacting the relevant authorities and obtaining the necessary
approvals or consents to load and unload plant and equipment on the public highway. The
Contractor will incorporate into their prices the costs of protecting the highway (e.g. with
rubber matting etc) when offloading plant and equipment.
7.4 Abnormal Loads
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The Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that prerequisite permissions are obtained
from relevant authorities and police authorities for the transportation of plant where
movement orders for abnormal loads are required. The Contractor and hirer must discuss
these requirements prior to delivery at point of hire. The Contractor must give the hirer
(Environment Agency) a minimum of 3 working days’ notice of the confirmed authorised
delivery date and estimated arrival time on site of the abnormal load.
7.5 Delivery Vehicles
The Contractor shall ensure that delivery vehicles meet all current legislative requirements,
are suitable and sufficient to transport the plant items concerned, and have the appropriate
certificated equipment to safely load and unload the plant.
7.6 Equipment Familiarisation
On delivery, the Contractor must provide the relevant site personnel with equipment
familiarisation on the specific make and model and any ancillary items and attachments.
7.7 Bio Security
The Environment Agency operates in a number of sensitive environments that can be
irretrievably damaged by the introduction of plants, animal species and diseases not
associated with these areas.
The Contractor must operate a system that manages the bio security risks associated with the
hire of equipment.
Question (7) Please confirm how your organisation fulfils your customers’ delivery
requirements to ensure that equipment is delivered to the correct specification and on time
(including documentation for maintenance regimes, familiarisation training and your
environmental decontamination processes associated with bio security).
Question (8) Please detail how you ensure that the same level of service is provided through
your sub-contractors.
8. On-hire Period
The work that the Environment Agency undertakes covers both emergency and nonemergency work, and as a result of this an emergency response facility is required for
breakdown and defect repair, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Some work programmes can be set to short timescales and can often involve projects that
are not our property, and failure to complete on time often results in penalties.
8.1 Breakdown/Defects
The hirer shall notify the Contractor’s nominated single point of contact immediately in the
event of breakdown or defects / faults.
8.2 Servicing and Inspection by the Contractor
The Environment Agency shall at all reasonable times allow the Contractor, his Agents or his
Insurer to have access to the plant to inspect, test, adjust, repair or replace the same.
8.3 Accommodation Servicing
The Contractor must ensure all accommodation is serviced and maintained to current Health,
Safety and Welfare regulations, including regular emptying of chemical toilets.
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8.4 Contractor’s Site Maintenance Personnel
The Contractor shall ensure that all maintenance personnel, either directly employed or subcontracted, are fully competent and have all the necessary working procedures, tools and
equipment to undertake the work effectively, in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.
Prior to undertaking any work on site, the Contractor’s personnel will be required to complete
an induction to ensure that they are fully aware of the hazards and risks associated with
working on the specific site or in carrying out the activities being undertaken.
The Contractor’s personnel must comply with all site specific health and safety and
environmental control measures.
The standard tasks/activities undertaken by the Contractor’s site personnel must be covered
by health and safety and environmental risk assessments. Site personnel must have copies
of these assessments and have full knowledge and understanding of control measures.
Contractors’ personnel must have at all times the following Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) as a minimum:



High visibility jacket
Suitable footwear with toe and sole protection
Hard hat
Prior to commencing work, the Contractor’s maintenance personnel will inform the person in
charge of the works of their arrival on site and will comply with the site specific safety
procedures.
8.5 Re-Hiring
The plant or any part thereof shall not be re-hired or lent to any third party without the written
permission of the Contractor.
8.6 Insurance
The Environment Agency provides fully comprehensive cover to approved operators of
equipment that are the property of, or hired or lent to, or are in the custody or control of the
Environment Agency. The cover is a mixture of commercial third party cover (a statutory
requirement) and self insurance for all other aspects.
Cover is provided where the equipment is being used by an approved operator for
Environment Agency business.
8.7 Contractor’s Name Plates
The Environment Agency shall not remove, deface or cover up the Contractor’s nameplate or
mark on the plant indicating that it is their property unless agreed in writing beforehand.
All plant and equipment hired past a 48 hour period may be fitted with joint nameplates
(Contractor and the Environment Agency). The Environment Agency will supply these, and
the Contractor will be responsible for fitting and removal in accordance with our
requirements.
Question (9) Please confirm your organisation’s process for receiving breakdown or defect
notification within and outside working hours, to include attendance and rectification target
measures and your replacement policy including tracks, tyres and glass including when
equipment is operated by the Contractor.
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Question (10) Please detail how you would mitigate the Environment Agency’s financial
losses if work programmes are delayed due to faulty equipment, breakdown, late delivery or
late collection.
9. Termination of Hire
The Environment Agency will require a single, dedicated point of contact for notifying off hire
of equipment. We will not be legally responsible for hired plant remaining on our/other sites
after the agreed off hire date.
9.1 Condition of plant at handover
The hirer will ensure that plant is as clean as possible when it is prepared for collection and
that the fuel tank is full. The hirer will inform the Contractor of any known damage, fault or
defect not previously reported at time of collection.
9.2 Collection of the plant
The Contractor will collect the plant at the agreed time and place. The statements above
regarding abnormal loads, loading and un-loading are also applicable to equipment collection.
9.3 Fuel
Plant will be supplied full of fuel on delivery and will be re-fuelled prior to return to the
Contractor. Where this is not possible fuel will be charged at the rate agreed between the
Contractor and the Environment Agency at the time of the event.
Question (11) Please detail your off hire process, including single point of contact, off hire
reference system, notice period required for collection, confirmation of transfer of liability
associated with the off hire period, and your damage recharge policy and charges.
Question (12) Please detail how you ensure equipment is collected at agreed times, and how
you ensure the same of equipment supplied by sub-contractors.
10. Sub-Contracting
The Contractor may cross hire plant and equipment to meet the Environment Agency’s
requirements. The Contractor will be accountable for all plant & equipment supplied under
the Framework Agreement and must therefore ensure that any cross hired plant & equipment
meets all the required standards and contract terms.
Responsibility for the provision of hired equipment, operator(s) or driver(s) remains with the
Contractor. All works carried out by sub-contractors on behalf of the Contractor will be
deemed as having been carried out by the Contractor. Therefore the Contractor will remain
responsible for ensuring that all requirements of this contract are met in full, that all machines
and equipment supplied are safe and fit for purpose. All Operators / Drivers shall be
competent and appropriately accredited and carry the correct UK licence for the equipment /
machine they intend to drive/operate.
The Contractor will be required to record and report the volume of cross hires. The
Environment Agency reserves the right to introduce a cap (to be agreed with the Contractor)
on cross hire rates should it be deemed necessary.
In accordance with the Government Prompt Payment Initiative, the Environment Agency pays
its suppliers within 10 working days from receipt of invoice. We require a commitment from
the Contractor that he will pay any cross hire suppliers / subcontractors through whom
equipment is supplied for use under this Framework Agreement within a maximum of 30
working days from receipt of invoice.
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Within the Invitation to Tender (ITT) the Contractor is required to provide details of any subcontractors. The Contractor will inform the Environment Agency of any sub-contractors
removed or added to their network throughout the duration of this agreement.
Question (13) Please detail, by type and volume, the hires you would or may sub-contract
based on the Environment Agency hire profile in Appendix A.
Question (14) Please confirm how you would ensure equipment supplied by sub-contractors
will meet the Environment Agency minimum standards in Appendix B and how full legal
compliance will be achieved.
Question (15) Please detail your process for selection, measurement and management of
sub-contractors, including details of audit processes and how you monitor and manage your
sub-contractors’ environmental impact.
11. Emergency Hire of Incident Response Equipment
The Environment Agency requires an emergency / incident response provision which will
enable us to respond to environmental incidents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a
year. We will require a point of contact, call out service and access to incident response
equipment to support this requirement.
In the event of an incident we will require the following set of equipment to be supplied within
4 hours of notifying you.
Pumps
Generators
Lighting Units
Telehandlers for movement of palletised equipment
Lorries fitted with lorry loaders inclusive of driver
The following equipment will be required after 24 hours of the incident.
Mobile Welfare units
Excavators
Question (16) Please detail the service you would provide to support the Environment Agency
with hire equipment required to deliver our incident response services, including booking
process, delivery timescales and transportation methods.
See Appendix J for a list of Incident Response Depots to be covered under this incident
response service.
12. Operated Plant
The Environment Agency requires the provision of an operated plant service and hires a wide
range of plant. The items we typically hire are:
Construction
360 Excavators
180 Excavators
Dump Trucks
Dumpers
Dozers
Telehandlers
Rollers
Loading Shovels
Agricultural
Tractor/Flail combinations (including Long
Reach Flails)
Tractor/Winch Combinations
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Bank Mowers
Transport
Tipper/LorryLoader/Grab/FlatBed Lorries
The requirement for operated plant shall mirror the specification for non operated plant.
12.1 Driver /Operator Competencies
When a driver or operator or any person is supplied by the Contractor with the plant, this
person shall be qualified to the relevant Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) and
be competent to carry out their duties in operating the plant or for such purpose for which the
person is supplied. The original certificate of competency must be available for inspection at
all times.
Such operators or drivers shall for all purposes in connection with their employment be
regarded as the servants or agents of the Contractor who alone shall be responsible for all
claims arising in connection with the said operators and drivers.
The Contractor must ensure that operators’ travel times / distances and working hours are
such that a minimum daily rest of 11 consecutive hours is achieved. This minimum daily rest
must be taken away from the working site and must not be taken in any plant or vehicles.
Question (17) Please provide detail of how you propose to cover our requirement for a
national operated plant service.
Question (18) Please confirm how you would ensure that operators meet the requirements of
our safety standards in Appendix B.
Question (19) Please confirm how you ensure operators comply with mandatory requirements
for rest periods.
12.2 Breakdown
The operator shall notify the Contractor’s immediately in the event of breakdown or defects,
the Environment Agency will not be liable for operator costs in the event of breakdown.
13. Low Loader and Plant Transport Services
The Contractor will be required to provide low loader and plant transport services.
Some of our Field Services teams across the country have access to our own transport to
move plant and equipment. Where our equipment exceed the carrying capacity of our own
transport, or we don’t have sufficient resources available to move plant assets, the
Contractor is required to supply low loader and plant transport services to meet our
operational and incident response needs.
The low loader and plant transport services specification is attached as a separate document
in Appendix F.
The Environment Agency currently has 5 contracts in place for this service and the intention is
to migrate the service into this Framework Agreement on expiry of the current arrangements.
Expected expiry of current contracts:
Anglian – March 2014
Midlands – February 2015
South East - January 2014
North East – December 2013
North West – April 2014
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Question (20) Please confirm your proposal for the national provision of low loaders and
transport services under this Framework Agreement, including migration of current
arrangements.
14. Equipment Selection and Specialist Advice
As and when required, the Contractor will provide specialist advice to Environment Agency
personnel who programme and plan work.
The Contractor will be required to offer advice and guidance on the suitability (including health
and safety restrictions) and performance of different types of equipment to suit specific types
of work/tasks.
Question (21) Please provide details of the tools and control measures your organisation
would provide to assist us with equipment selection against identified task, ensuring the
equipment will be compliant with health & safety guidelines. Please state whether you would
be able to offer advice on suitability and performance of plant / equipment.
15. Contract Management
15.1 Account Management
The Contractor will provide a named Account Manager to oversee the operation of all the
services and to provide expert advice on the development and management of the hired
plant.
The Account Manager shall at all times ensure that services are delivered in accordance with
the standards agreed, review management information outputs, and recommend/take
appropriate action to ensure the efficient operation and continuous improvement of hired
services. Supplier Performance Measures (SPMs) will be developed with the Contractor over
the first 6 month period of the Framework Agreement and be continually reviewed and
amended where required throughout the life of the Agreement.
The Environment Agency requires a high level of customer satisfaction and that any
complaints are proactively managed.
The Environment Agency will require as a minimum:
1. 2 strategic meetings per year to discuss and agree future requirements and priorities.
2. 3 performance review meetings per year which will focus on contract delivery and
performance against supplier performance measures (SPMs) .
3. On a more regular basis we will require operational meetings to appraise operational
performance.
4. Ad-hoc meetings as required.
The Contractor will provide an implementation plan for the new Framework Agreement and
will assist with communications to the Environment Agency business regarding usage and
expectations.
15.2 Management Reports
The Contractor will be required to provide detailed management reports on a quarterly basis
on a national and area basis to include information on the type of plant hired, financial
information and contract performance against set supplier performance measures (SPMs),
in line with our organisational structure (organisational structure is subject to change).
15.3 Rates, Rebates and Incentives
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All rates and charges for the key items of plant and equipment hired will be in accordance
with the hire rates agreed under the Contract, and must include for the provision of all
ancillary equipment as detailed in this Specification. The hire rates for any items of plant and
equipment not detailed in the Pricing Schedule will be agreed at point of hire by the hirer and
Contractor.
We also intend to incentivise good performance throughout the duration of the Framework
Agreement via a mechanism linked to the number of complaints received.
We envisage that the type and quantity of complaints received on a monthly basis will be
recorded by the Contractor and measured against the number of hires for each type of
equipment. This will produce a monthly percentage level of complaints. A measurement base
line will need to be agreed
The Environment Agency definition of a complaint is “Where the Contractor has failed to
provide the agreed service as part of the awarded contract”.
Examples of the complaints made by our users are as follows (please note that this list is not
exhaustive):
Poor quality plant supplied resulting in delays to site work.
Equipment deliveries late resulting in delays to site work.
Equipment collections not made on time, in particular when equipment is left on a public site
rather than on our own property.
Poor attendance to breakdown/faulty equipment.
Over-charging on hires.
Accommodation servicing not completed to required standards.
Operators provided by the Contractor operating in an unsafe or inefficient manner.
Question (22) Please detail your process for handling customer complaints including
resolution and feedback methods, timescales and trending to ensure continuous improvement
is made across the entire Framework Agreement.
Question 23) Please propose how you would provide recompense where agreed levels of
customer service are not met.
Question (24) Please confirm how your organisation would ensure that the Environment
Agency receives value for money (by means of competitive pricing and contract savings)
throughout the duration of the Framework, including value for money via the cross hire
element
Question (25) Please confirm how you would undertake the implementation, rollout and
continuing support and management of the new framework agreement.
Question (26) Please provide structure /organisation chart & roles, including anticipated
numbers of full time equivalent members of staff required to provide and deliver the service
and support day to day operational activities, accompanied by details of relevant
qualifications, skills and experience. Please provide details of how you develop staff skills
and knowledge as part of your continuous improvement programme.
Question (27) Please provide sample management information reports and detail any online
systems which may be used for reporting.
16. Payment Processes
16.1 Invoicing
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The Contractor will provide as a minimum a central, single point for invoicing and shall
produce a single consolidated monthly invoice with a detailed break down of the hire
information.
The detailed hire information must include a unique reference system, period of hire and also
indicate the area, team and cost code of the individual hirer.
It is preferable for the Contractor to have an invoice system where the hirers can view and be
able to approve their individual hire costs prior to consolidated invoice approval.
All invoices must be sent to the following address:
Environment Agency
P2P Team, Level 2 South
Kingfisher House
PO BOX 263
Peterborough
PE2 5ZR
16.2 Delivery
The cost of delivering plant to site will be at the rates agreed and will be indicated separately
on the invoice.
16.3 Fuel
In the unlikely event that the Environment Agency is unable to re-fuel an item of plant prior to
collection from our site, fuel will be charged at the rate agreed between the Contractor and
the Environment Agency at the time of the event. Any such charges for fuel shall be indicated
separately on the invoice relating to the hire of that item of plant.
17. Innovation
In order to comply with the Environment Agency’s desire for continuous improvement and
efficient but safe working methods, the Contractor will be required to provide innovative
solutions throughout any number of areas of the Framework Agreement.
Question (28) Please provide examples of any innovative solutions your organisation could
propose throughout the period of the Framework Agreement in relation to the following areas:
Environmental
IT
Safety
Financial
Operational
Management Reporting
Reduction of the number of repeat hires.
(An example of the above would be the amalgamation of several short term hires into a single
long term hire.)
18. Environmental and Sustainability Factors
The Environment Agency is the leading public body for protecting and improving the
Environment in England.
We are committed to improving our environmental performance and we will continue to
identify, manage and reduce any environmental impacts associated with our activities and
increase the benefits for people and wildlife.
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We also promote sustainability through our interactions and relationships with those who work
on behalf of us, those we purchase goods and services from, and those who we advise and
come into contact with through our work.
As part of this our contractor must have exemplary environmental performance.
18.1 Environmental Management Systems
The Contractor must operate a system to ensure that all equipment supplied minimises its
impact on the environment.
18.2 Carbon
An Environment Agency aim is to reduce our carbon footprint across all services used within
our business. The Contractor will need to demonstrate that they support this approach to
reduce mileage on equipment delivery using a practical allocation of equipment to hire and a
multiple load technique. Evidence of how the Contractor achieves this will be required at
contract review meetings.
The Contractor should ideally operate a system that enables the carbon impact of the
equipment hired under this Framework Agreement to be measured and reduced over the
period of the Agreement. This should include the embedded carbon in the equipment, the
carbon in the transport to and from our sites, and the carbon emissions from each of the
vehicles supplied to us under the Agreement.
18.3 Oils and Greases
Since June 2005 all contractors, Plant Hire Companies or Contractors intending to tender for
Environment Agency contracts utilising plant equipment to undertake all or part of the
Environment Agency’s projects, schemes or contracts etc. of any type, location or duration
have been required without exception to ensure that the hydraulic system of the intended
plant is filled only with an environmentally considerate hydraulic fluid.
Hydraulic fluids shall be of a suitable synthetic ester or vegetable oil-based derivative.
Traditional mineral oils and glycols are not acceptable.
The Agency reserves the right to extract a sample(s) of oil from an item of equipment whilst
on site for analysis at an independent laboratory.
Failure to comply with this mandatory requirement will result in that machine(s) being
forbidden to work on the Environment Agency’s contract(s).
18.4 Storage of Fuel
Where equipment (driver operated) is supplied with fuel, the Contractor will ensure that
suitable bunded containers are supplied for on-site storage. These vessels must comply with
the Environment Agency’s requirements and must be properly secured to prevent
unauthorised access, with delivery points guarded and all locks and padlocks fitted with
appropriate shrouds.
The Environment Agency will not accept the provision of un-bunded drums or bowsers as fuel
storage vessels.
The supply of these vessels is deemed to be included within the rates for plant and equipment
supplied with fuel.
18.5 Waste (Management, Disposal and Licensing)
The Contractor must ensure that all waste is disposed of in the correct manner in accordance
with the Duty of Care Waste Regulations; this is deemed to include the disposal of on-site
consumables. The Contractor will ensure that vehicles carrying waste meet all legislative
requirements.
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The Contractor will obtain details of the material to be transferred and ensure that the
disposal site is fully licensed to accept the material prior to transfer.
Waste transfer notes will be completed to cover the transfer of waste in accordance with the
‘Duty of Care’ Waste Regulations. The transfer note must give full details of the actual
disposal site the waste will be transferred to and give full details of the disposal site’s waste
licence.
18.6 Pollution Prevention
The Contractor will ensure that suitable pollution prevention equipment is supplied in respect
of all equipment and all on-site fuel storage vessels.
This equipment must comply with the Environment Agency’s requirements . This spill kit is to
be provided for the clean up of spillages/leaks when refuelling.
(See Pollution Prevention Advice and Guidance http://www.environmentagency.gov.uk/business/topics/pollution/39083.aspx)
18.7 Other Sustainability / Environmental Issues
The Environment Agency expects its suppliers to operate their sites in a sustainable and safe
manner. A programme of regular health and safety / sustainability / environmental audits will
be developed with the Contractor which will involve visits to a range of the Contractor’s and
their subcontractors' sites. The results of these audits will be shared with the Contractor, and
where the Environment Agency has made recommendations for improvements, we will work
with the Contractor to implement these.
The Environment Agency would like to work with the Contractor to investigate the possibility
of trialling sustainable bio-diesel in plant.
Over the duration of the Agreement the Environment Agency intends to seek evidence that
the Contractor helps to make the communities in which it operates better places to live in and
do business in (for example, by sourcing materials locally where possible) and that
employees are encouraged to become involved in achieving this goal. In time, we would like
to see evidence that the Contractor actively encourages others such as suppliers, customers
and its employees to improve their own sustainability performance and that there is clear
evidence of management commitment to sustainability.
Question (29) Please detail how your company takes responsibility for the environmental
impact of its activities, including use of energy, natural resources and waste in a manner that
ensures the long term sustainability of your organisation.
Question (30) How do you propose to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of the
equipment that we hire. This could be via the types of plant (hybrids for example), age of
plant, type of fuel the plant can use as well as reducing transport footprint of the plant.
Question (31) Please detail how you propose to manage the use of environmentally
considerate lubricants and the storage of fuel, and how you manage waste from creation to
disposal within your organisation and your sub-contractors’ organisations.
Question (32) How do you manage pollution prevention risks posed by your company,
subcontractors and equipment and what do you do if you cause an environmental incident?
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19. DEFRA/WALES
This Framework Agreement is primarily intended to meet the needs of the Environment
Agency, however we may require the successful bidder to provide the goods/services on the
same terms that are agreed as a result of this tender to the following third parties:
 the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
 Defra’s associated bodies including any Agencies and non-departmental public
bodies
 Natural Resources Wales (NRW), the new single environmental body for Wales
encompassing Environment Agency Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales and
the Forestry Commission Wales.
In terms of Defra bodies, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) in
particular may require plant in various scenarios including in the outbreak of animal disease
(as such a scenario would present a significant biosecurity risk there are a number of
requirements which must be adhered to, which are detailed in Appendix I along with a list of
the equipment that may be required by the AHVLA).
Should Defra, its associated bodies, or NRW wish to utilise the Environment Agency’s plant
hire Framework Agreement, the rates for the items shown in the Pricing Schedule will apply.
For any items not shown in the Pricing Schedule, rates will be agreed between the contracting
authority and the Contractor.
It should be noted that the Environment Agency will not be involved in the ordering or
communications process for requirements generated by other public sector bodies. Although
we will be interested to know whether other organisations have used the Framework
Agreement, any details must be presented separately in the management information reports
and not amalgamated with those of the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency will have no liability in respect of any call off contract issued by any
contracting authority under the Framework.
20. Business Continuity Management
The Contractor is required to provide a formal business continuity management plan to
ensure continuity of service at all times.
Question (33) Please describe your strategy for ensuring that the services required under this
Framework Agreement are delivered in the event of a disruption affecting your business,
including how you would keep the Environment Agency updated.
21. Additional Services
21.1 Plant Co-ordinator
The Environment Agency owns a significant holding of heavy plant, detailed in Appendix E.
We are exploring the option of establishing a centralised hire desk to manage the allocation of
all plant to tasks to ensure the best utilisation of our own plant and the most cost effective use
of hired plant.
We have not yet determined if this service will be managed internally or externally. As such
there may be an opportunity for an external party to provide this service to the Environment
Agency.
NOT TO BE SCORED: Question (34) The Environment Agency would be grateful to learn of
any suggestions you may have regarding how we could most effectively manage our internal
plant fleet. Please provide pricing details where possible (or a ballpark indication of pricing).
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21.2 Contract Lift Operations
The Environment Agency may on occasion require contract lift services.
NOT TO BE SCORED: Question (35) Please confirm whether you are able to supply this
service to the Environment Agency, and if so, please provide details and prices.
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