Static & Mobile Security Services Tender Updated 17th December 2014 Interviews Companies shortlisted for the security tender will be invited to the Council s Mill Road depot in Cambridge on Monday the 26 th January 2015 for interviews and presentations. Please note: The Council would not expect any presentation to be longer than 15 minutes Terms and Conditions The Council can confirm that it has not accepted any proposals for changes to the Contract Terms and Conditions, and that therefore companies should tender on the basis of the terms and conditions as originally published Questions and Answers Have site visits to the car parks been arranged? I have arranged 3 dates for site visits 1) Monday 8th December - 10am 2) Tuesday 9th December 10am This date is now full 3) Wednesday 10th December 2pm 4) Wednesday 17 th December - 10am All site visits have now been concluded and no further dates will be arranged. Interested companies are however free to tour the public areas of the multi storey car parks themselves at any time. Is there an approximate word count on the questions in the tender? There is no official word count for the answers to the questions in the tender. We would recommend that the questions are answered fully as many tenderers miss out scoring points due to a lack of information being provided however too large a response can result in valuable information being diluted and hiding in the sheer volume of words. We would recommend a concise but full response. Section 6.16.2 states that the minimum pay should be 7.65 but the living wage is actually 7.85, which figure would you like us to use?
Section 5 provides a definition of living wage living wage as the Living Wage for the time being set by the Living Wage Foundation; Since the invitation to tender document was produced the living wage has increased and is now 7.85 as shown on the Living Wage Foundation website. Could you please kindly confirm what is meant by written reference in section 6.2 of the Business Questionnaire (Section 7)? A copy of two references must be provided from customers of companies tendering for this contract. The references are to include the companies name and address, details of the contract services provided including provision date(s), the value of the contract and the written reference itself with wording from the customers giving their views/opinions of the security services that they have received. Do any of the staff need to hold the door supervisor licence? A door supervisor licence is not required Do any of the Officers need to hold a CCTV licence? A CCTV license is not required Is there a preference for a local security company to carry out this contract? We do not have a preference Is there a financial turnover threshold? No there is not a financial turnover threshold however please refer to 2.4 of section 2 of the tender documents 365 days a year equates to 52.143 weeks in a year should we use this sum or use your 52 weeks? You are correct that there are 52.143 weeks in the year but when asking companies to calculate the total annual cost based on this figure you would have to know which days the.143 fell on and this made the whole calculation and explanation complicated. We therefore decided that for the purposes of evaluation where we compare one company against another we would quote the required number of hours per week and just multiply that by 52 weeks to get a simple annual figure. Please therefore use the number of hours quoted within the pricing schedule when making calculations The Total chargeable hourly rate quoted on the pricing schedule in section 6 is to be written into the contract and is fixed for the first year of the contract. The calculations of the annual cost are purely for evaluation purposes.
Section 5.1. Guarding and Gatekeeping hours, your sum hours are 3562 we calculate 3462 hours per annum is it possible to provide a more detailed breakdown of how you achieved your sum? I have recalculated the hours for the security guard required at Mill road depot as details in 5.1.1 and this comes to 3562 hours per year based on a 52 week year. The breakdown of how these hours are calculated is below. Mon 5:30 to 9:00 = 3.5 hours = 17:00 to 21:00 = 4 hours. Total for the day = 7.5 hours Tue - 5:30 to 9:00 = 3.5 hours = 17:00 to 21:00 = 4 hours. Total for the day = 7.5 hours Wed - 5:30 to 9:00 = 3.5 hours = 17:00 to 21:00 = 4 hours. Total for the day = 7.5 hours Thur - 5:30 to 9:00 = 3.5 hours = 17:00 to 21:00 = 4 hours. Total for the day = 7.5 hours Fri- 5:30 to 9:00 = 3.5 hours = 17:00 to 21:00 = 4 hours. Total for the day = 7.5 hours Saturday 5:30 to 21:00 = 15.5 hours Sunday 5:30 to 21:00 = 15.5 hours TOTAL hours for week = 68.5 TOTAL hours for year 68.5 x 52 weeks = 3562 We have not taken into account bank holidays for the purposes of this calculation as once again we wished to make the calculation simple as the annual figure will only be used for evaluation purposes to compare one company against another. Questions and Answers generated during site visits 8 December 2014 New officers who are these trained by These officers can be trained on site by the Council car park staff during the daytime. All staff working on site under the existing contract are fully trained. What is the existing tagging system to monitor patrols of the car parks? It will be up to the new security company to introduce a system to monitor the patrols of the car park, this is to be approved by the Council prior to the star of the contract. Details of all patrols and incidents handles by the security company must be available to the Council staff. Are radios available?
We have a radio system which the security staff can use to keep in contact with each other whilst around the car parks and Mill road depot. We also have available a CAMBAC (Cambridge Business Against Crime) radio which is the system used by the clubs and pubs and links in with CCTV and the Police to monitor crime and anti-social behaviour in the City Do you want random or set times for mobile patrols? Random patrols are preferred but we will leave it up to the security company to fit in the required number of patrols around the car parks and Mill road depot whilst managing any other work such as helping the static office at Grand Arcade car park is there is a show at the Con Exchange which can result in queues and the need for directing traffic and helping customers. Do you have people sleeping or taking drugs or other anti-social behaviour on the car parks? We do have rough sleepers especially in winter, there is some drug use and vandalism especially at Queen Anne Terrace car park all of these people need to be asked to move out of the car park. There is an organisation that can help with rough sleepers. The Council has a lone worker system which the security company can use, this involves phoning the lone worker line before approaching possible troublemakers and then phoning again when the matter is resolved, if the second call is not received the CCTV department and police will be notified. Are the security guards required to put salt on the car parks in winter. Occasionally it may be useful for the security guards to put ice melt the salt substitute on the car parks but it is the of of the car park staff to put this down at night and in the early morning when required. Are there any fines issued in the car park, will the security guards be asked to do this? The County Council are responsible for issuing fines in the car parks, the security guards will not be required to do this. Will the security staff be required to empty money out of the pay machines? No Will the security staff be required to carry out any cleaning in the car parks? We employ cleaners and therefore the security staff will not be required to carry out cleaning. However if they are patrolling and see an empty coffee cup in an obvious place it would be appreciated if it can be picked up.
If the equipment fails what back up will the security staff have? Occasionally equipment fails, if it is one single entry or exit there are other entries or exists available so the car park can continue to operate. If it is a serious failure of the system phone numbers are available of the car park management who can provide advice. Are there any events which affect the car park? The Corn Exchange next door to the car park have busy shows and when these finish hundreds of people will return to the Grand Arcade car park causing large queues at the pay machines, queues at the car exits and various customer service issues. The static guard backed up by the mobile guard will have to handle these busy times. Will the security staff be required to do other duties? Occasionally we will require security staff to help us out in the middle of the night for example to close the entrance to a car park at midnight and then meet a contractor at 4am to hand over keys in order that they can start work in a car park. 9 Th December Questions Is CCTV linked into the Operations room at the Grand Arcade car park? The operations room has monitors which show CCTV images from mall the 5 multi-storey car parks. Car park staff do not normally monitor these images except for specific situations and security staff are not required to monitor these images. However they can be used for example: to help with customer queries. Does the operations room have a link to CCTV based at Huntingdon? There is a phone link to the CCTV at Huntingdon When do the cleaners start work in the car park? They begin at 5.30am and finish at 2.30pm Is there a contingency plan between the car park and the Grand Arcade shopping centre management? There is no contingency plan but we do co-operate with each other.
Is there CCTV in the stairwells of the car park? No What equipment is supplied by Cambridge City Council? The Council will supply radios for all staff working in the multi-storey car parks for communication purposes only in respect of activities carried out under the contract. Is there a patrol management tool at the moment? The Council operates a book system at the moment but if the successful contractor wishes to operate an electrical tagging system this would have to be approved and be able to be accessed by the Council. See 6.4.1 of the specification. Do Cambridge City Council provide customer service or 1 st aid training to contractors staff? The Council would expect the contractor to provide all the necessary training to its own staff. All staff and continuity training for operation purposes on site will be provided by the Council before the commencement of the contract start date What are the operational hours of the car parks? All the multi-storey car parks are open 24/7 How will the mobile security officer keep to the required 4 patrols of each car park per night if they are helping the static guard at Grand Arcade, this will affect the KPIs? The priority is to keep the Grand Arcade car park operating smoothly and to help customers out in busy periods especially after a show at the Corn Exchange. This may mean that the patrol schedule of the other car parks is disrupted. If possible the 4 patrols of the car parks should still be done but if this is not possible then an explanation should be recorded in the logbook and this will be taken into account during regular review meetings. Will a locker be provided? A locker will be made available at both Grand Arcade and Mill Road depot What main incidences do you have in the Grand Arcade car park which the security officer will have to deal with? There are occasionally free runners in the main car park and they also swing on the sprinkler pipes in the lower car park. There are sometimes some rough sleepers in the lower car park. All incidences should be recorded in a log which must be available to Council staff.
Other more minor issues which regularly occur is when customers do not pay before returning to their cars and then park inappropriately and/or dangerously and block traffic flow whilst they visit a paystation. Due to the layout of the car park customer can get lost. Blue badge holders get 3 hours discount by scanning their blue badge at the paystation and they often need to be told how to do this. 10 th December - Questions Do security guards do enforcement within the car parks? No, that is carried out by the County Council Do the radios cover all the floors of the Grand Arcade and other car parks? Yes Is there any car crime in the car parks? There has been past incidents but this has been minimal, we have seen bicycle crime within the car parks but this is again minimal. Have there been any significant incidents over the last 12 months within the car parks? Please see previous answers concerning incidences. The most significant incidents over the last 12 months has been has been two people, one at the Queen Anne Terrace car park and one at the Grafton East car park who wished to end their life by jumping off the car parks. How many shifts would it take for an employee to become competent with the equipment? There should be training on the equipment prior to the commencement of the contract for the successful contractors staff as detailed in the tender documents but 2 shifts should be adequate Is there currently a dedicated mobile patrol, and if so, is are there details on the security officers under TUPE? Yes there is a dedicated mobile patrol officer. All details for staff working under the existing contract are available for companies that have signed the confidentiality undertaking form. Is this currently a shared service i.e they visit other contracts No, it is not a shared service, if you mean do they visit other sites outside the terms of the Council s security contract please see section 4 paragraph 3.1.2 of the specification.
12 th December - Question Could you please kindly confirm how many miles the incumbents patrol vehicle completes on an annual basis for this contract? We do not have the information available. The 5 multi-storey car parks and Mill Road depot are all within a short distance of each other. We suggest tenderers devise their own route between the locations and estimate the mileage themselves bearing in mind that the mobile services in the pricing schedule is for the combined cost of the mobile security officer and all vehicle costs. 17 th December - Questions How many times on average per week is there a requirement for the mobile security officer to assist the Grand Arcade security officer during busy periods and on average for how long a period of time on each occasion? The mobile guard rarely attends this site for incidents, generally they will come on site when they are passing to go to other sites, there have been no incidents or requirements for the mobile security officer to assist the Grand Arcade static officer within the last six months. Does the contract need to be signed and returned with the tender documentation that is required to be posted? The contract is only signed by the successful tenderer whoever they may be. Companies do need to sign the form in section 6 page 100 of the tender documents confirming it is a bona fide tender before returning the tender documents before the deadline date. Are there any car park permits held by the Grand Arcade shopping centre or others? There are no permits held by the shopping centre, only certain staff members of Council staff are in possession of parking permits for the Grand Arcade car park. Permits are in issue to staff and businesses at the other multi storey car parks, the plastic permits we issue allow access and exit so should not cause concerns for security staff. What happens if there is a breakdown in card processing at the payment machines? If there is an equipment breakdown and the card system goes down then people would be expected to pay by cash. Alternatively, taking into account all the circumstances at the time, the exit barriers may be raised to alleviate congestion within the car park. Telephone numbers of Parking Services managers would be provided for any emergency on a 24/7 basis. Do security officers fix any machines in the car park? No, the mending or repairing of car park machines is not a requirement of the security officer.
Does the Council have a facility for electric charging if the successful contractor uses an electric vehicle? There is a parking space at this time allocated to the security vehicle at the Grand Arcade car park. The Council does not have an electric charging point in the Grand Arcade car park but do have 2 charging posts. One is situated at the Queen Anne Terrace car park and the other is situated at the Grafton East car park. Both these car parks are within the scope of the specification. Both these charging posts work off a 3 pin system and are slow charging. If the successful tenderer wishes to use an electric vehicle then they will be allowed to use one of these posts during the term of the contract. What are the environmental priorities for Cambridge City Council? Environmental protection has been central to the Council s role for many years. In defining its key corporate objectives Cambridge City Council identified the promotion of sustainable development as a priority with the objective to promote Cambridge as a sustainable city, in particular by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and the amount of waste going into landfill in the city and sub-region. Potential tenderers should note that a number of questions have been asked about TUPE and personnel matters regarding the current contractors workforce and their conditions of service. Given that some of that information is potentially sensitive, the questions and associated answers will not be published openly on the website as part of a wider question and answer log. Instead the TUPE related questions and answers will only be provided to those potential bidders that have returned the TUPE confidentiality undertaking. Such questions and answers will be deemed to fall within scope of the TUPE confidentiality undertaking and thus be appropriately protected. If by chance any potential tenderer has not yet completed and returned the confidentiality undertaking they are reminded of the need to do so in order to receive the original core TUPE data together with the subsequent questions and answers over this