Short- and long-term hire of cranes, UK

Thames Water Utilities Limited (TWUL) is intending to award one or more Framework Agreements for the short and long term hire of Pumps, Generators, Cranes and Other Equipment directly or on its behalf of Thames Water contractors, known as Performance Partners. The products will be suitable for use in the water industry and shall conform to the current European, British or Water Industry Standard (WIS) or equivalent and be suitable for use with portable water and waste water.

Lot C includes Mobile Cranes (i.e. Normal Cranes, City Cranes and All Terrain Cranes of up to 350 tonnes), accessories (e.g. lifting tackle) and technical support. During 07/08 approx 120 cranes have been hired across the whole TWUL region. Suppliers may apply for all or individual lots.

Contact: Thames Water Utilities Limited, Procurement Support Centre 2nd floor Reading Bridge House C/O Mail Room (Ground Floor) Reading Bridge House, UK-Reading RG1 8PR. E-mail: procurement.support.centre@thameswater.co.uk.

Number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged:6. Duration of the framework agreement Duration in year(s): 3. Description of these options: Any agreement awarded would be for an initial duration of 3 years with options to extend annually up to a maximum overall term of 5 years. This would be subject to satisfactory reviews on price and supplier performance. The length of the agreement may be subject to change if unforseen changes to the business occur or the TWUL and or Performance Partner projected spend profile significantly changes.

III.2) CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION III.2.1) Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: Minimum data is to be provided at this pre-qualification stage. As part of your application, please ensure your provide a 1 page covering letter to include relevant contact address, telephone, fax and e-mail details. In addition you are required to provide pre-qualification information as requested below. Applicants should provide details of any County Court judgements or other prosecutions within the previous 3 years. Consortia may be required to form a legal entity prior to any award. Thames Water Utilities Limited reserves the right to award no contract(s) as a result of this award procedure. III.2.2) Economic and financial capacity: Thames Water operates a risk management approach with regard to the Economic and Financial capacity of its Suppliers and where appropriate will seek further information (either directly from the Supplier (or via an externally recognised information provider) on the applicants Economic & Financial capacity. Applicants are advised that Thames Water currently operates an internal risk management approach with regard to the Economic and Financial capacity of its successful suppliers and where appropriate will seek further information over the duration of the contract period, (either directly from the supplier or via an externally recognised economic and financial information provider, for example "Dun & Bradstreet") as to the supplier's on-going Economic & Financial capacity post contract award. Information gathered over the duration of the contract period may be utilised as part of Thames Water internal risk management process. Applicants must supply audited accounts for the last 2 years, where this is not possible (new organisation/joint venture, applicants must provide business plan information covering a 2 year period. Applicants must supply the turnover breakdown for each lot they are applying for in the last 2 years. In addition Applicants must be able to demonstrate turnover in excess of GBP 5 000 000 p.a. III.2.3) Technical capacity: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: (if applicable) 1. Confirm which categories of work your company is applying for (if applicable); 2. Your organisation: Please provide the address of your registered office, and details of the UK locations you operate from, together with the names person responsible for this application. Please state whether your company is part of a group or is affiliated in any way with other companies. If so, please provide details of the group company structure or other company relationships. Alternatively provide details if you propose to develop a new partnership with another company to deliver this service; 3. Are you able to cover the full Thames Water operating region (South England, including London); 4. Provide details of locations of your facilities, including all offices, depots, and workshops that will service this agreement; 5. Please confirm number of assets available for hire for each lot your company is applying for; 6. Confirm that TWUL will have a single point of contact for resolution of day-to-day queries and have a dedicated, key account manager who will oversee the running of the whole agreement; 7. Confirm you have a 24 hour, seven day per week contact and call out facility for Pump Hire and Generator Hire; 8. Please state average emergency response time; please confirm that you can respond within 4 hours for emergency Pump Hire and Generator Hire; 9. State the number and type (e.g. administrative/technical) of staff available to resource this agreement at the time of award, and state the level of staff turnover in the part of your organisation relevant to this agreement; 10. Experience: Provide reference details of at least 2 contracts undertaken in the last 2 years for requirement similar to those outlined above. For each contract, describe the range, scope, value and duration, including referee contact details. Confirm your willingness for us to approach referees on receipt of your application. Please note that customer site visits may be required as part of the enquiry process; 11. For each reference contract cited, provide details of any value engineering carried out to the benefit of customers, especially where costs have been reduced and provide a brief summary of the technical standards complied with (no documentation is to be sent); 12. Give an overview of your customer portfolio; 13. Contract strategy: Please give an outline of what you regard as the key issues involved in successfully undertaking a contract(s) of this nature, together with an outline of how the work could be managed and organised to deliver the strategy and ongoing business cost reductions; 14. Please state average renewal cycles for equipment for each lot you are applying for; 15. Please provide two examples of innovation relevant to the scope; 16. Give details of any industry standards to which your organisation adheres, and provide details of any industry associations or trade organisations of which your organisation is a member (do not provide any certification at this stage); 17. Provide details of any quality assurance system you are accredited to (do not provide certification at this stage); 18. Heath & Safety: Please provide brief details of any health and safety policy which you have in place and how your policy will be implemented with relation to this work; H&S manuals should not be forwarded with this application; 19. Environmental issues: Please provide details of any Environmental Policy you have in place. Provide details of any environmental convictions/prosecutions you company has incurred/been involved in. Please not Environmental Policy manuals should not be included with this application; further details will be requested from applicants as required; 20. Provide confirmation that you have experience in trading via the internet and can utilise marketplace technology; 21. Confirm your capability to accept orders via telephone, fax, e-mail and the internet; 22. Confirm your willingness to participate in TWUL’s electronic purchasing system; 23. Confirm your capability to accept payment via a range of methods including individual and consolidated invoicing and purchasing cards. III.2.4) Reserved contracts: No. SECTION IV: PROCEDURE IV.1) TYPE OF PROCEDURE IV.1.1) Type of procedure: Negotiated Candidates have already been selected: no. IV.2) AWARD CRITERIA IV.2.1) Award criteria: The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications or in the invitation to tender or to negotiate. IV.2.2) An electronic auction will be used: No. IV.3) ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION IV.3.1) File reference number attributed by the contracting entity: FA902. IV.3.2) Previous publication concerning the same contract: No. IV.3.4) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate: 8.9.2008 - 12:00.

VI.3) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Please provide brief details on how your organisation is working towards meeting the ten universal principals in the areas of human rights, labour, the environmental and anti corruption. (www.unglobalcompact.org) (menu - about the GC - The Ten Principals) Please provide brief details on your Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Procurement Policies and how your organisation is working towards implementing these policies. Responses to this notice will be evaluated based on sections III.2.1, III.2.2, III.2.3, and VI.3. Should the number of applications received and evaluated as successful exceed 20, a further pre-qualification stage will commence and will involve further expansion of sections III.2.1, III.2.2, III.2.3 and VI.3, after which successful applicants will be invited to tender, within the invitation to tender (ITT) criteria will be stated in the specifications. Tenders will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria stated in the ITT. Negotiation will then take place with one of more successful tenderers to secure the most economically advantageous offer to TWUL. Applicants should note that this process might require references to be provided and verified, attendances at meetings, talks and presentations at no cost to TWUL. Any agreement resulting from this contract notice may be modified to include further similar requirements at any site under the management of Thames Water Utilities Limited or its associated companies (subsidiaries, sister, parent company (and Group of Companies) within the EU, 5 years from the agreement date. This contract notice does not preclude Thames Water Utilities Limited or it's associated companies (subsidiaries, sister, parent companies etc) from issuing other contract notices for specific requirements from time to time. There is no application form available for completion - companies are required to respond directly to this Notice. Responses to the Notice should consist of a maximum of 20 pages (40 sides) of A4 paper. Accounts and copies of certificates may be appended to the main body of the response. Applicants should submit one hard copy in a flat or spiral binder and one copy on CD Rom. The envelope must be clearly marked with project number (FA 902). Storage is limited, and applicants are requested not to use lever arch folders or other bulky bindings, or to submit more than one copy. Applicants should not include non-requested sales literature with their applications. Packages weighing more than 10kgs. cannot be accepted. Companies who qualify for inclusion on the Tender List may be required to demonstrate their services in practical trials or presentations at no cost to Thames Water Utilities Limited. Applicants who fail to supply all of the information requested in response to this Notice may risk elimination. The contents of this Notice are sufficient for submissions of pre-qualification data; all other communications are discouraged. Applications must be clear and concise and contain all the information requested in this notice. The format of supplier's responses must be such that each point is restated and immediately followed by the supplier's answer. Contracts will be under UK Law. There will be no further call for competition. VI.4) PROCEDURES FOR APPEAL VI.4.2) Lodging of appeals: Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: This authority will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. This period allows unsuccessful tenderers to seek further debriefing from the contracting authority before the contract is entered into. Applicants have 2 working days from notification of the award decision to request additional debriefing and that information has to be provided a minimum of 3 working days before expiry of the standstill period. Such additional information should be requested from the address in section 1.1. If an appeal regarding the award of a contract has not been successfully resolved the utilities contracts Regulations (SI 2005 No6) provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Any such action must be brought promptly (generally within 3 months). Where a contract has not been entered into the court may order the settling aside of the award decision or order the authority to amend any document and may award damages. If the contract has been entered into the court may only award damages. VI.4.3) Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained: Head of Legal, Thames Water PLC, Clearwater Court Vastern Road, UK-Reading RG1 8DB. E-mail: Procurement.support.centre@thameswater.co .uk.