Newlon Housing Trust Cleaning Services 2014 -19/20

Newlon Housing Trust Cleaning Services 2014 -19/20

SPECIFICATION

GENERAL MATTERS

1.00Introduction

1.01The Employer seeks to maintain a high standard and quality of cleaning services to its various properties. The services described in this specification are to be executed by the Contractor in a manner that enhances the Employer’s reputation for the cleanliness of its properties. The Contractor must adopt the best cleaning practice including rigorous standards of discipline, cleanliness and tidiness to deliver the services required.

1.02The Contractor’s tender shall be deemed to include for all such costs as may arise through compliance with this specification. If Task Orders for responsive cleaning services are required then the Contractor’s tendered rates for such services shall be deemed to allow for full compliance with this specification.

1.03The Contractor should note that the services as described in this specification and also in the Price List are to be read in conjunction with each other. The Price List identifies the services to be carried out and the relevant frequency and the Contractor’s tender shall include for undertaking all such services at the frequencies indicated.

2.00Scope and Quality of Services

2.01The Scope ofRoutine services

At NHT properties routine services are required to the following areas of the properties:

• Communal entrances, exits, doors, door glass, door mats
• Communal floors, landings, hallways and external areas to entrances
• Communal stairs (including underneath staircases where applicable)
• Communal windows
• Communal walls, woodwork, ceilings, light fittings, sockets, skirting boards, ledges, switches and panels etc.
• Other communal external areas – front and rear of buildings, hardstandings, un-adopted pavements, roads, communal gardens and car parks
• Bin rooms and dumped rubbish generally
• Weeding and moss removal to hard standing external communal areas
• Miscellaneous Items

These services are more fully defined in the following sections of this specification.

Responsive services

Additional responsive servicesmay be instructed by the Service Manager and reimbursed in accordance with the contract.

Asset Data (one-off service)

As a one-off service, during the first three months of the service the appointed contractor must undertake to provide asset data to Newlon Housing Trust, in a format agreed with the Employers.

3.00Disposal of Waste

3.01The Contractor shall make arrangements to separate all waste matter into different types and arrange for its disposal as detailed below and pay all costs and fees in connection with such disposal. The Contractor shall comply with all legal requirements for transport and disposal of waste. No burning, burying or composting of waste is permitted at any property or location.

3.02The Contractor shall take all reasonable precautions to prevent any waste of whatsoever nature from the Contract being dumped on any area other than licensed tipping/disposal areas.

Hazardous Waste

3.03Hazardous Waste comprises any item which is likely to create a health or safety hazard, including, but not limited to faeces, blood, hypodermic syringes and broken glass. Dog faeces should be disposed of either in dog bins (if provided) or by other approved means.

3.04Hypodermic syringes and other ‘sharps’ shall be carefully placed in approved sharps containers and disposed of separately. The Contractor’s Health and Safety Policy must include specific provisions for the collection and disposal of sharps.

3.05Other hazardous waste shall be disposed of in a manner least likely to cause harm to human health. Any particularly hazardous waste should be reported immediately to the Service Manager and dealt with according to the Service Manager’s instructions.

General Waste

3.06All waste that is not classified as hazardous waste shall be deemed general waste and shall be taken only to a recognised, licensed and approved tip and the Contractor shall include in his tendered rates and charges for all fees and costs in connection herewith.

4.00Graffiti and Chewing Gum Removal

In all areas, both internally and externally the Contractor shall be responsible for the removal of any graffiti where such graffiti is in areas less than one square metre and for all chewing gum and the Contractor’s tendered annual sum for Routine Cleaning Services shall be deemed to have allowed for compliance with this requirement. Areas of graffiti in excess of one square metre shall, on the instruction of the Service Manager be removed by the Contractor and payment shall be in accordance with the Price List for Graffiti Removal.

Any graffiti or chewing gum discovered at the time of the Contractor’s routine visit to a Property shall be removed at the time of the visit. With the exception of offensive, racist, sexist or tagging graffiti, any graffiti or any chewing gum reported to the Contractor after a routine visit shall be removed by the Contractor at his next scheduled routine visit. All offensive, racist, sexist or tagging graffiti shall be removed by the Contractor within 24 hours of it being reported to the Contractor.

5.00Quality

The Employer is aiming for an economic, high quality cleaning service with a stable workforce and effective supervision.

The Employer will monitor the quality of the services received as laid out in the Newlon Group Key Performance Indicators Pack.

The Contractor shall notify the Service Manager immediately in the event of any reason or obstruction becoming apparent that hinders or prevents the Contractor from undertaking the cleaning services to any property.

6.00 Information for Residents

The Contractor shall display its insurance details, details of staff/operative’s qualifications and a copy of the property cleaning specification prominently in the cleaning cupboards at each property.

The Contractor shall also advertise its name and contact details on resident’s notice boards in prominent location(s) in every block entrance/cove at each Property as directed by the Service Manager, to enable residents to directly contact the Contractor with any concerns over the quality of the Cleaning Service provided. The Contractor shall log all complaints received and report details of such to the Service Manager on a monthly basis or at such other frequency as the Service Manager may instruct.

7.00Inclement Weather

The Contractor shall perform the services in accordance with the specification and frequencies required regardless of the weather or climatic conditions. In exceptionally adverse weather conditions the Contractor may seek the Service Manager’s approval to suspend all or any part of the services for the period during which the adverse weather conditions continue. The Service Manager acting reasonably and without undue delay may give such approval. For the avoidance of doubt, if such approval is given, the Contractor shall not be considered to be in default for failure to comply with appropriate quality and specification standards if there is a diminution of the required standards during this period.

The Service Manager shall specify, when giving approval, a reasonable period the after the cessation of the adverse weather conditions, in which the Contractor must restore all affected Areas to the required standards and the Contractor must comply with this, at its own expense.

Any mopping or washing of any sort to be carried out when freezing occurs or is immediately likely to occur shall be undertaken only with full regard to the Health and Safety implications for persons using the affected areas. However, the Contractor will in the event that mopping/washing cannot be safely undertaken still be required to keep affected areas as clean as possible using alternative means.

8.00Equipment and Materials

8.01Equipment

All equipment and materials required for the performance of the Contract shall be supplied maintained and insured by the Contractor and shall be approved by the Service Manager. The Contractor shall use and supply the environmentally friendly equivalents to the materials listed.

All equipment and materials used by the Contractor to fulfil the Contract shall be suitable for the purpose and be no more than 12 months old (except in the case of major equipment which may be older than 12 months, but which must be up to date, suitable for purpose, safe and reliable for the services required). British Standard Specification issued by the British Standard Institute as current shall as a minimum be in accordance with that standard. All cleaning equipment used shall be cleaned and dried after use and safely stored or removed from site as appropriate.

Cleaning products (other than ‘domestic’ products) must not be left unattended by the cleaning staff at any time. All cleaning products must be removed after cleaning and securely stored away from residents.

8.02 Materials - Materials to be supplied by the Contractor

Item / Specification
Floor seal for wood and cork floors / Oleoresinous
Emulsion polish stripper derivative base / Ammonia
Emulsion polish (20%) metallised / High solids
Floor maintainer responds to buffing / Polymer base
Detergent / Neutral
Dry foam shampoo cleanser based, non-sticky / Spirit
Low foam shampoo for hot water extraction / Biodegradable
Chewing gum remover freezes gum. Non - CFC / Latex, resin
Degreasant/cleanser alkaline based / Solvent
Toilet descaler, acid base, which can be used on stainless steel / Phosphoric
Sanitising fluid/bactericidal ammonium detergent / Quaternary
Compound based
Furniturepolish. Non - CFC / Wax rich
Glass cleaner silicone free for use in hand sprays / Water based
Anti-static polish / Cationic base
Graffiti Removal / To be Approved by Employer

9.00Reporting of Defects, Abandoned Vehicles, Pest/Vermin Infestation, Maintenance Items and Anti Social Behaviour

The Contractor shall report to the Service Manager within one month of the commencement of the Contract, any material defects in floor surfaces or other items to be cleaned. Defects will be recorded by the Service Manager and taken into consideration when cleaning standards are monitored.

Any defects in floor surfaces or other items to be cleaned must be reported immediately. After the one month period defects that are then attributable to defective workmanship by the Contractor, at the Service Manager’s option, will be replaced at the Contractor’s expense.

The Contractor is required to check all communal lights at each site visit, and if found faulty the Contractor shall replace faulty lamps/tubes.

The Contractor shall immediately report to the Service Managers or his representative (via email and/or telephone) any obvious evidence of abandoned vehicles, pest/vermin infestation, anti social behaviour and/or other defects at properties requiring repair/maintenance action, for example electrical faults, burst pipes or broken windows. All such reports must also be logged and reported to the Service Manager weekly. In the case of abandoned vehicles, the Contractor shall provide details of make, model, registration number, vehicle duty, colour and precise location.

10.00Fire Awareness

10.01The Contractor will be required to reset any emergency door entry break glass units found to have been pressed in error on each site visit to properties with interlinked fire/door entry alarm systems/equipment.

10.02To facilitate this, the Contractor shall ensure that all its operatives are trained to current fire awareness standard. Whenever requested to do so, the Contractor shall provide the Service Manager with evidence that such training has been undertaken.

ROUTINE SERVICES

11.00Communal Entrances, Exits, Doors, Door Glass and Door Mats,COMMUNAL FLOORS, LANDINGS, HALLWAYS AND EXTERNAL AREAS TO ALL ENTRANCES

11.01Litter Pick / Remove Refuse

The Contractor will pick all litter (including papers, junk mail, leaflets etc.,) refuse, and fouling from all areas, both internally and externally.

The Contractor will place all litter and fouling into refuse sacks which should be sealed and removed from site as necessary. Dangerous items and/or any sharps will be disposed of all in accordance with the relevant Health and Safety regulations applicable to the handling and disposal of such items. The Contractor shall remove any residue or staining left by any litter, deposits or leaves or fouling, with an approval anti-bacterial solution.

This service is to include removing all cobwebs from any part of the building.

11.02Mats and matwells

The Contractor shall lift, shake out, sweep or vacuum any door mats at communal entrances and exits and remove from site all dirt etc., arising. Matwells shall be thoroughly swept/vacuum cleaned to remove all deleterious matter.

11.03Hard Surfaces – Sweep

The Contractor shall sweep all floor coverings and hard surfaces leaving them clean, litter free and free of any deposits, fouling and leaves/twigs and the like. All dirt, fouling etc., to be placed into refuse sacks, sealed and removed from site for disposal.

11.04Vacuum Soft Floors

The Contractor shall prior to undertaking the vacuum, clean, litter pick and remove litter, leaves/twigs and the like. The Contractor shall vacuum all soft floors and leave them clean including spot cleaning as necessary.

The Contractor shall ensure that all vacuum cleaning equipment is regularly serviced, cleaned and emptied to ensure efficient operation with appropriate noise and dust control.

11.05Mop Floors

The Contractor shall use a clean mop with approved cleaning solution/agent in water appropriate to the surface including spot cleaning to remove stubborn marks as necessary. On completion the Contractor shall provide a final rinse of the area either with a neutraliser as required or clean water if no neutraliser has been specified by the manufacturer of the cleaning solution/agent used.

The Contractor shall also wash/wipe clean all skirtings, bases, thresholds, upstands and the like associated with the areas to be mopped.

11.06Doors, Porches, Architraves and Associated Woodwork

The Contractor shall wash down and wipe clean all main and internal doors, porches, architraves and associated woodwork including any associated glazed panels, framework and the like and including any necessary graffiti removal.

Cleaning doors shall include frames, polishing all door plates and door furniture (including brass furniture) where fitted and any glazing forming part of each door and adjacent glazed partitions. Glazing to main doors shall be cleaned internally and externally and both faces of internal doors are to be cleaned.

The Contractor shall remove any mark or stain.All scuff marks are to be removed from entrances, exits, doors and surrounding areas, taking care not to damage or degrade the surfaces.

Following washing, the Contractor shall wipe all areas dry with a lint free absorbent cloth.

Communal entrances and porch roofs must be checked and dumped items, litter and debris removed and disposed.

11.07Intercoms/door entry panels

The Contractor shall clean and then polish all intercom panels taking care not to scratch or otherwise damage the surfaces and the operation of the intercom.

11.08Remove Graffiti

The Contractor shall remove any graffiti from entrances, exits and doors without damaging or degrading the surfaces.

Materials, products generally and the Contractor’s services method shall be to the written approval of the Service Manager.

12.00COMMUNAL STAIRS (INCLUDING UNDERNEATH STAIRCASES WHERE APPLICABLE)

12.01The Contractor shall:

• remove and dispose of all cans, bottles, cigarette butts, papers, junk mail, leaflets, litter and debris
• Vacuum stair areas.
• Wipe down stair nosing.
• Sweep and mop any hard stairs with an appropriate cleaner
• Spot clean stairs to get rid of removable marks and hazardous deposits as appropriate
• Wash, wipe, dust and polish all handrails, balustrades, banisters and the like.
• Remove all graffiti from communal stairs/staircases without damaging or degrading surfaces

No stains, scuff marks, chewing gum or the like shall remain when completed.

13.00COMMUNAL WINDOWS

Windows (including glass walls, canopies, sky lights, viewing panels next to doors and in doors and the like) shall be cleaned internally and externally and shall include for cleaning associated frames, heads, cills, panels, window fixtures and fittings and the like.

Cleaning shall be undertaking using clean, fresh water so that after cleaning all windows, frames, heads, cills, panels, windows fixtures, fittings and the like are to be clean, clear, free of water, loose dust, dirt, grease, soiling, rubber marks, stains, streaks, cobwebs etc. and are smear free.

The Contractor is expected to use ‘reach and wash’ equipment to clean the windows on the lower storeys and abseil from the roof to clean upper storeys. To facilitate abseiling there are ‘Mansafe’ harness points which are checked and maintained on Newlon’s behalf. ‘Mansafe’ reports are available from Newlon.

14.00COMMUNAL WALLS, WOODWORK, CEILINGS, LIGHT FITTINGS, SOCKETS, SKIRTING BOARDS, LEDGES, SWITCHES AND PANELS ETC.