Request for proposals - Supply of cleaning services

This request for proposals (RFP) letter incorporates the following schedules:

  • Schedule 1 specifies the servicesfor which PHARMAC is requesting proposals and sets out the background to the RFP;
  • Schedule 2 describes the process that PHARMAC expects to follow in relation to the RFP; and
  • Schedule 3 specifies the information you need to include with your proposal.

If you wish to submit a proposal, please submit no later than 5.00 p.m. on 22 January 2015.  All proposals must be submitted to PHARMAC at Level 9, 40 Mercer Street, Wellington, for the attention of Belinda Smits, either by hand delivery, by courier, by post or by email belinda.smits@pharmac.govt.nz

If you have any questions about this RFP, please contact belinda.smits@pharmac.govt.nz.

We look forward to receiving your proposal.

Schedule 1: Description of services and background to RFP

1. Description of services

PHARMAC is interested in considering any proposal from service provider’s of cleaning services, to be delivered in accordance with the services, specifications and frequencies stated in the table below:

Service Specification Frequency
1. General cleaning              Spot clean and remove finger marks from all glass doors, glass panels, glass partitions etc Daily
Spot clean all doors, push plates etc Daily
Spot clean marks from metal and timber cupboards, cabinets etc Daily
Spot clean marks from light switches, power points and door jams Daily
Remove cobwebs As required
Clean handrails Daily
Remove scuff marks on stairs (circular stairway level 14/15) 6 monthly
Dust all furniture, desktops, counters and other horizontal surfaces in office areas, if clear Weekly
Dust all furniture, desktops, counters and other horizontal surfaces in reception area Daily
Dust and wipe down all window sills Weekly
Wipe down all tables in meeting rooms and staff common areas Daily
Clean inside of windows Monthly
Empty rubbish bins and replace bin liners Daily
Remove all rubbish bags and place in refuse bins in basement Daily
2. Carpeted floors Vacuum all carpeted floor, including under desks and furniture, and the circular stairway Daily
3. Toilets (9) and Shower-rooms (3)          Clean and disinfect pans, seats, lids, urinals, door handles, taps and fittings Daily
Wash floors Daily
Dust and clean sills and ledges Daily
Clean and wipe down vanity units, basins and clean mirrors Daily
Spot clean marks from partitions, walls and doors Daily
Empty rubbish bins and replace bin liners Daily
Clean shower walls, door and floors Daily
Remove any mould from shower curtain/s and hair from shower traps As required
Toilet deep clean 3 monthly
Replenish hand towels and toilet paper As required
4. Kitchens (5)        Sweep and mop floors Daily
Clean and wipe bench tops and surrounds Daily
Remove any marks from outside faces of cupboards Daily
Empty rubbish bins and replace bin liners Daily
Clean the outside of the refrigerators, hot water dispensers, and microwave door. Daily
Wipe down tables and chairs, including vinyl seating on level 11 Daily
Machine scrub floors monthly
Replenish hand towels, hand soap, and hand sanitiser As required
5. Wellness Room, level 9     Replenish hand soap, hand sanitiser and paper towels As required
Wipe down chair As required
Empty rubbish bin and replace liner As required
Wipe down and disinfect baby mat and change table As required
Empty nappy bin and change liner As required

Background to RFP

PHARMAC requires the service provider who is selected following this RFP process to provide cleaning services for a period of 2 years and it is expected that the cleaning services will be required from March 2015 as an indicative start date.

The service provider will be required to provide cleaning services to four floors of Simpl House, 40 Mercer Street on a daily basis, 5 days per week being Monday to Friday unless otherwise agreed between the parties.

Property particulars:

  • The total floor area is 1,796.9 m2;
  • 130 workstations;
  • One reception area;
  • 3 small kitchenettes, one reception kitchen and one staff room kitchen;
  • 3 x shower facilities; and
  • 9 x toilet facilities.

PHARMAC wishes to notify service providers who are submitting a proposal to this RFP that submitters consider Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act 2000 relating to the continuity of employment if employees’ work is affected by restructuring, due to potentially affected employees of the existing cleaning service provider.

Schedule 2: RFP Process

PHARMAC expects to follow the process set out below in the sequence indicated.

1. Submission

(a)       You may submit more than one proposal.  Each proposal will be considered as a separate proposal.

(b)       Proposals must be submitted no later than 5.00 p.m. (New Zealand time) on 22 January 2015.  Late proposals will only be considered at PHARMAC’s discretion.

(c)       You cannot withdraw your proposal, once submitted, while the RFP process is continuing.

(d)       All proposals must be submitted to PHARMAC at Level 9, 40 Mercer Street, Wellington, for the attention of Belinda Smits, either by hand delivery, by courier, by post or by email belinda.smits@pharmac.govt.nz. 

2. Evaluation

(a)       Following the deadline for submitting proposals an Evaluation Committee comprising PHARMAC staff will evaluate each proposal to select its preferred proposal(s).

(b)       The basis on which the Evaluation Committee will evaluate proposals, and the weight to be given to the criteria and other matters that it considers, are to be determined by the Evaluation Committee at its sole discretion.  The matters to be taken into account by the Evaluation Committee will, however, include:

(i)        information required to be included with your proposal, as specified in Schedule 3; and

(ii)       any other matters that the Evaluation Committee considers to be relevant.

(c)       Each proposal will be evaluated on the basis that the price offered, the expenditure entailed and any other terms included in the proposal are the best that you are able to offer.  If you do not put forward your best terms you risk having your proposal excluded at the evaluation stage.

(d)       PHARMAC is not bound to select the lowest priced proposal or any proposal.

3. Negotiation

(a)       PHARMAC may negotiate with the submitter(s) of one or more preferred proposals, in the latter case whether or not the acceptance of either service provider’s proposal would exclude acceptance of the other proposal.

(b)       Negotiations will proceed on the basis that PHARMAC’s terms and conditions for the provision of services will apply.

(c)       Given that PHARMAC expects your proposal to be the best you can offer, PHARMAC does not intend to initiate negotiation with you on price.  However, PHARMAC does not exclude the possibility that the final price agreed will be different from the price put forward in your proposal, as a result of the impact that other negotiated terms may have on price.

(d)       If PHARMAC and the service provider(s) are unable to reach an agreement within what PHARMAC considers to be a reasonable time, PHARMAC may terminate those negotiations and negotiate with a different service provider(s).

4. Approval

(a)       If the Board or its delegate does not approve the agreement, then PHARMAC may initiate negotiations for an agreement with any other service provider(s).

(b)       The RFP process will be complete once PHARMAC has notified service providers of either:

(i)        the Board's or its delegate's decision to accept a negotiated agreement; or
(ii)       the termination of the RFP process.

5. Miscellaneous

(a)       PHARMAC reserves the right:

(i)        to make such adjustments to the above RFP process as it considers appropriate, at any time during the process, provided that it notifies submitters affected by those changes;
(ii)       to meet with any submitter of a proposal to discuss their proposal;
(iii)      not to accept any proposal;
(iv)      to seek clarification of any proposal;
(v)       to enter into an agreement or arrangement that differs in material respects from that envisaged in this RFP letter;
(vi)      to terminate this RFP process at any time, by notifying submitters who submitted proposals; and
(vii)     to readvertise for proposals.

(b)       You must not initiate or engage in any communication with other submitters in relation to the RFP whether before or after submitting proposal(s).

(c)       You must not at any time initiate any communication with PHARMAC’s directors or officers, the Ministry of Health, the Minister of Health or District Health Boards, with a view to influencing the outcome of this RFP process.

(d)       You must pay your own costs for preparing and submitting your proposal.

(e)       Proposals are submitted in reliance on your own knowledge, skill, and independent advice, and not in reliance on any representations made by PHARMAC.

(f)        Your submission of a proposal will be taken as acceptance of the terms contained in this RFP letter.  PHARMAC may exclude your proposal if you do not comply with any of the terms contained in this RFP letter.

(g)       This is an RFP and not a tender.  Your proposal is not an offer capable of being converted into a contract for the supply of cleaning services by PHARMAC's apparent acceptance and instead a separate agreement needs to be negotiated. 

(h)       PHARMAC is not liable in any way whatsoever for any direct or indirect loss (including loss of profit), damage or cost of any kind incurred by you or any other person in relation to this RFP.

(i)         PHARMAC will consider your proposal and information exchanged between us in any negotiations relating to your proposal, excluding information already in the public domain, to be confidential to us and our employees, legal advisors and other consultants, the Ministry of Health and DHBs (Confidential Information).  However, you acknowledge that it may be necessary or appropriate for PHARMAC to release Confidential Information:

(i)        pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982; or
(ii)       in publicly notifying any approval by the PHARMAC Board of that agreement; or
(iii)      otherwise pursuant to PHARMAC’s public law or any other legal obligations.

PHARMAC may consult with you before deciding whether to disclose Confidential Information for the purposes described in sub-clauses (i) to (iii) above.  You acknowledge, however, that it is for PHARMAC to decide, in its absolute discretion, whether it is necessary or appropriate to disclose information for any of the above purposes, provided that PHARMAC shall act in good faith in disclosing any Confidential Information.

6. Anticipated timetable

(a)       Following receipt of proposals, PHARMAC anticipates:

(i)        the Evaluation Committee evaluating proposals in January/February 2015;
(ii)       negotiating with submitter(s) of one or more preferred proposals February 2015;
(iii)       PHARMAC’s Board or its delegate considering the agreement with the successful submitter on or after March 2015,

provided that the above time frames are only approximate and may be extended, if any stages of the RFP process take longer than anticipated.

Schedule 3: Information to be included in the proposal

(a)       name of service provider;

(b)       contact person;

(c)       contact details (address, telephone, fax etc.);

(d)       details of services proposed and key features of the proposal;

(e)       pricing (GST exclusive), including any related conditions or proposed terms affecting cost for PHARMAC;

(f)        reliability/resourcing/ability to ensure continuity of supply of services;

(g)       relevant expertise, experience and evidence required:

(h)       proposals/suggestions about services not expressly identified in the RFP that PHARMAC may wish to consider;

(i)         the service provider’s own rationale for why it considers PHARMAC should accept its proposal;

(j)         any particular information that the service provider considers PHARMAC should take into account when evaluating the proposal;

(k)       a declaration of any conflicts of interest that you or an associated person or organisation may have that could affect or compromise you or PHARMAC in relation to your participation in this RFP process or performance or any agreement if successful;

(l)         the service provider’s health and safety policy relating to the provision of the services;

(m)     the service provider’s insurance arrangements relating to the provision of the services;

(n)       confirmation of the service provider’s employment checks for its employees, for example but not limited to eligibility to work in New Zealand, criminal convictions and health checks;

(o)       three references from existing customers of the service provider for the provision of similar services; and

(p)       any other information PHARMAC may require.