Museum services and preservation services of historical sites and buildings

Tender description

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) wishes to appoint a contractor to provide a programme of environmental monitoring at sites where existing environmental conditions give cause for concern for either the building fabric or for the collection of historic objects and archaeological artefacts and the provision of general advice. Historic Environment Scotland (HES) considers it uneconomic and operationally unviable to split this requirement into multiple lots. This procurement is for a programme of environmental monitoring at sites where existing environmental conditions give cause for concern for either the building fabric or for the collection. This primarily involves the monitoring, assessment and control of temperature and relative humidity (RH) but may occasionally extend to the monitoring of other factors such as light, rainfall, vibration or insect pests. The Conservation Directorate looks after 336 listed buildings and scheduled monuments on behalf of Scottish Ministers at sites throughout Scotland. Associated with the properties are collections of historic objects and archaeological artefacts, many of which have been retained on-site for interpretation and presentation to visitors. Historic Environment Scotland's collection comprises a wide range of materials; predominantly stone, but also more vulnerable materials such as wood, metal, bone, leather and fabrics. The collection includes over 60 active loans including ones from the Royal Armouries, Royal Collections Trust and the National Museums of Scotland.