30 July 2015 | Herpreet Grewal
SMEs will find it "challenging" to actively vie for government contracts, the deputy chair of the BIFM's procurement SIG has said after the Crown Commercial Service revealed its long-awaited FM agreement and a list of approved suppliers this week.
The Crown Commercial Service has published the details of its Total Facilities Management agreement for procuring services. It has also revealed a full list of suppliers including major FM companies such as ISS, Amey, Bilfinger, Carillion, Compass, Interserve, Mitie, OCS and Sodexo, among others (see box below) who will deliver the different kinds of facilities services under 'lots' (see box).
Wendy Sutherland, director of consultancy Ramsay Todd Ltd and deputy chair of the BIFM's procurement special interest group, welcomed the agreement but told FM World: "The ability for SMEs to actively participate in this environment is challenging despite the best intentions of Central Government, as can be seen when reading the list of the successful suppliers. We can only hope that there will be opportunities for elements of the service to be sub contracted to smaller organisations throughout the lifetime of this framework agreement."
But Sutherland said the agreement was otherwise "a logical and practical solution for the outsourcing of FM services".
She added: "There is sufficient data collected from other sectors over the last ten years within the private sector and local authorities to suggest that at least 10% savings can be achieved year on year. A joined up approach to procurement across Government Departments will reduce the need to spend taxpayers money on numerous OJEU procedures, whilst the adoption of the NEC3 Term Services Contract will deliver a transparent and cohesive process for contract management."
John Bowen, an FM consultant, added: "I think that this is encouraging news for the FM industry and fills in a gap in public sector procurement. There are a lot of opportunities for improvement that these contracts should be able to exploit."
The agreement offers a full range of hard and soft FM services through 3 lots.
Lot 1 covers Total Facilities Management and consists of a multi-supplier lot incorporating all facilities management services from maintenance and building fabric repairs to security, cleaning, catering and waste management, all delivered by a single supplier.
Lot 2 covers Hard Facilities Management and consists of a multi-supplier lot incorporating a range of hard services including maintenance and building fabric repairs, mechanical and electrical services and landscaping.
Lot 3 covers Soft Facilities Management and consists of a multi-supplier lot incorporating a range of soft services including catering, cleaning, security and waste management which support the day to day operation of a property.
The agreement is fully mandated for use across central government but is also available to all wider public sector organisations throughout mainland UK and Northern Ireland.
A complete list of available services is available in Framework Agreement Schedule 2.
More details can be found here.
