Procurement Initiatives 2003/2004 Appendix 5 Performance and Achievements Nursing Care Initiative |
The largest single package of work being procured through new arrangements is the Nursing Care programme. Preparation work is well underway for construction worth £30 million, with the first six projects starting on site procured through three Framework contractors. The pre contract performance indicators have been encouraging: · A gross new build cost of £1360 per m2 of floor area is being achieved against the predicted range of costs of £1350 to £1540 per m2 reported to the Buildings, Land and Contracts Panel of 25 July 2003 after absorbing the cost of the sprinkler installations · First stage tenders for the major refurbishment schemes are also within the target cost plan reported · The first six schemes will be let as intended before the end of the financial year with the new build elements complete by March 2005 · A supply chain strategy for key specialist elements accounting for 60% of total construction value has been developed which now creates a platform for the remainder of the programme - discounts have been offered and there is keen interest from key suppliers to be involved across the programme · Working closely with three framework contractors has enabled direct comparison of prices and often "passing on" benefits secured by one contractor to another · The intended quality is being secured, and improved technical performance will eliminate waste through lower maintenance solutions
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Standard Sports Halls (New Opportunities Fund) |
A package of sports halls has been developed under the New Opportunities Fund (NOF), designed to produce a step change in the provision of sports facilities. An early decision was taken to develop a standardised design approach, involving early contractor appointment and setting up common supply chains to achieve an economies of scale. Benefits have accrued with these arrangements in terms of: |
· The standard design proposal and early appointment of a contractor has allowed us to get `ahead of the game' in the NOF process and at the front of the queue for consideration of schemes for approval · The repeat design has made the follow-on approvals much simpler · The ability to offer sub-contractors multiple projects to price has generated discounts due to the economies of scale and guaranteed workload · The partnering arrangement has enabled the sharing of resources and the contractor has taken on some additional activities eg measurement of work packages, which has taken the pressure off our own resources · The partnering arrangement has also given the flexibility to respond at short notice to address issues created by the NOF approval process. This was best demonstrated by the early implementation of the bulk excavation at Test Valley which if not carried out would have delayed the project by up to a year. · The construction costs that are being achieved are demonstrating value for money and compare favourably with the quoted costs for Sport England's Optimum Sports Hall solution.
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The NOF approval process unfortunately extended and disrupted the programme, and diminished the anticipated economies. However the arrangement has demonstrated benefits, particularly in terms of speed of implementation, flexibility, and more effective use of resources. |
External Redecoration Major external redecoration work worth in excess of £2 million has been successfully packaged and negotiated with a group of 8 preferred contractors achieving: · Average costs equivalent to competitively tendered work · Reduced professional staff time managing the activities - the work has been centralised with a single manager and 4 surveyors now taking overall responsibility as compared to the previous arrangements involving more than 20 surveyors and over 25 contractors · Considerable reduction in the administration time which means the team are able to give greater focus to post contract inspection and quality control · Customer satisfaction at a very high level with 90% reporting either an excellent or good rating.
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Term Engineering Contracts There are four engineering term contracts covering the whole of County Council. The contracts were set up in November 2001 with four contractors following a best value tender process. Each of the four contracts is worth approximately £1.2 million and is over a five years period with the option , subject to performance, of extending for a further two years. |
As well as fulfilling the statutory requirements for safety testing and inspections there is a service level agreement in place which sets down the performance standards for a range of engineering issues ranging from response to emergency call-outs, dealing with complaints, to the issuing of minutes of meetings. The SLA forms the basis of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) upon which all of the contractors are judged and provides a benchmark for continuous improvement. There are a number of positive outcomes that have flowed from the arrangements: · Setting up five year contracts has enabled us to rationalise and streamline the way we manage both the contracts and the contractors · Experience to date has shown increased `ownership' by the contractors in terms of careful management of the service and budgets · The speed and effectiveness of the service has lead to a higher level of customer satisfaction
The Term Engineering Contract arrangements have recent been audited by the County Treasurer's Department who concluded that there is an effective framework of control in place, which ensures the system objectives will be achieved whilst protecting the organisation from material loss. The feedback from the KPI's and the independent audit will now be used to review the arrangements and to seek improvement where this can be achieved. |
