Bridge-inspection services

Tender description

Cornwall Council, on behalf of the Joint Authorities of Cornwall and Plymouth City Council, invites tender submissions, from suitably accredited and experienced contractors who could coordinate a flexible and suitably qualified group of personnel to be able to consistently service all of the wide ranging routine and ad-hoc maintenance requirements, across both Tamar Crossings sites, i.e. Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry operations, for a period of 5 years from 1 October 2020. The range of regular key tasks and requirements, many of which will result from the tri- annual bridge inspection regime, incorporate but are not limited to activities such as: • inspection support for Tamar Bridge inspectors; • contract support services – paint inspection, rope access inspection, ferry operations; • maintenance painting to buildings, structures or ferries; • minor structural repairs – replacing damaged drainage, parapet mesh panels and more; • clearance of Debris and detritus across the Tamar Crossings Estate; • rope access services – painting, difficult access inspections, inspection support; • provision of other special access requirements – access towers, mobile platforms; • confined space work; • vegetation clearance; • general labour support – ferry chain replacement, ferry gantry maintenance; • occasional overnight or weekend working requirements, where necessary. Prospective contractors will be required to confirm they currently hold some or all of the following key quality based, industry recognised, accreditation requirements or similar, that will be necessary to demonstrate to Tamar Crossings that they possess a suitably proficient range and level of quality system experience for the work they would be required to undertake on their behalf: ISO9001/ISO14001/ISO45001; NHSS19A (Highways England Sector Scheme for Highways Painting): In addition, it is important that your organisation is or is in the process of being ICATS registered. At present, the incumbent contractor has between 4-12 personnel working on site daily throughout the year, depending on client requirements, with staff working based on a schedule of annually agreed rates, which vary depending on skill levels i.e. general litter picking being the lowest hourly rate and specialist paint inspections services being the highest. Accordingly, it is anticipated that TUPE staff transfers would be a key consideration. Approximate breakdown of works by location: • typically 85 % at Bridge, 15 % at Ferry. Typical breakdown by activity • 20 % maintenance painting, • 20 % miscellaneous maintenance, • 20 % work at height/rope access works – inspections, painting, other maintenance, • 15 % inspection support/other contractor support, • 10 % general labour support, • 5 % paint inspection, • 5 % vegetation clearance, • 5 % debris/detritus clearance.