Windows Cleaning tender PQQ (3)

University of Stirling 

Pre-Qualification Questionnaire 

Invitation to tender: Measured Term Contract for 

Window Cleaning Services 

Reference: PM000033 


PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT AN APPLICATION IF YOU DON’T FULLY COMPLY 

WITH ALL THE REQUIREMENTS BELOW. 

CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION – MINIMUM STANDARDS: 

1. The company MUST have proven experience in working in an 

operational public building opened 365 days a year. Operational public 

building means a building where works have to be provided while 

members of the general public have free access to areas that are 

located very close to the works area. 

Please note: Primary schools or high schools are not considered public 

building opened 365 days a year. 

2. The Company must provide documented evidence of training and use 

of long reach poles up to 60FT. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Companies with domestic building experience only will not be 

considered. 


PQQ Application Form 

Prepared by University of Stirling 

Page i


TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….1 

PART A - GENERAL INFORMATION………………………………………………………5 

PART B - FINANCIAL STATUS………………………………………………………………7 

PART C - CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS………………………………………………………..9 

PART D - BUSINESS PROBITY…………………………………………………………….11 

PART E - OPERATION AND QUALITY…………………..……………………………….13 

PART F - OTHER STANDARDS AND POLICIES………………………………………..16 

Appendix 1……………………………………………………………………………………18 



Prepared by University of Stirling 

Page ii


1. INTRODUCTION 

1.1 Background 

The University of Stirling is currently re-tendering the Measured Term Contract for Windows Cleaning 

Services 

1.2 Requirement 

The provision of labour, plant and materials as required for the undertaking of the above services, 

throughout all properties owned, leased or rented by the employer, on or off the University Campus. 

1.3 Procurement Process 

This procurement is being undertaken in line with the Restricted Procedure as defined in Directive 

2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. 

1.4 Freedom of Information 

Applicants should be aware that the University of Stirling is as a Scottish Public Authority bound by 

the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 ("FOISA") and the Environmental 

Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 ("EIRs"). All information provided to the University as part of 

this tendering process may be requested under FOISA or the EIRs and may be subject to disclosure 

to the public under that legislation and/or pro-active publication by the University. 

If you consider that the University should not disclose any of the information provided by you in the 

context of this tendering process, please identify it clearly in Appendix 1 and explain, by specific 

reference to the exemptions in FOISA or the exceptions in the EIRs, why the information should not 

be disclosed. Some examples of reasons for non-disclosure in FOISA and the EIRs include 

information which is a trade secret; information which is likely to substantially prejudice someone’s 

commercial interests if disclosed, for example, the applicant’s interests, the University's interests or a 

third party’s interests; personal data where disclosure would be in breach of the Data Protection Act 

1998; or information which is subject to a legal duty of confidentiality. Please also indicate the time 

period in respect of which a request for non-disclosure should apply. 

Applicants should note that, even where they have indicated that they would prefer that certain 

information not be disclosed, the University reserves the right to disagree with this categorisation. 

Applicants should also be aware that, even where the University agrees that the information has been 

correctly categorised by reference to exemptions/exceptions, the University may nonetheless be 

required to disclose it in the public interest. Receipt by the University of any information marked 

‘confidential’ does not mean that the University will automatically accept any duty of confidence by 

virtue of such marking. It is ultimately the decision of the University, or in certain cases the Scottish 

Information Commissioner or the courts, as to what is disclosed under FOISA and the EIRs. 

In all cases, the University reserves its right to publish or disclose in response to an information 

request the following information: 

• identity of successful and unsuccessful Tenderers 

• monetary value of the Contract awarded 

• performance standards to be required under the Contract 

• monitoring and performance arrangements 

• incentives and penalties 

University of Stirling Page 3 


Prepared by University of Stirling


Applicants should avoid identifying any information for non-disclosure that falls into any of the above 

categories. 

1.5 Purpose of Questionnaire 

The objective of this Pre-Qualification Questionnaire is to assist the University to identify up to 8 (but 

not limited to) suitably qualified suppliers for Window Cleaning Services that have a proven track 

record in the delivery of projects of similar size and scope to that being proposed by the University. 

1.6 Completion of PQQ 

Suppliers shall answer all questions and provide information as requested. 

If a particular question is not relevant, Suppliers shall enter the words ‘Not Applicable’. 

Suppliers are requested that any additional supporting material is clearly referenced to the particular 

PQQ question and is provided in Appendices on the basis that it is relevant and that it supports the 

application for this specific project. 

It would be helpful if supplier responses are in a blue font. 

1.7 Submission of PQQ 

1. The Pre-Qualification Questionnaire must be submitted by uploading your document 

as electronic attachments in the same application on the Procurement Contract 

Scotland website by 12:00 on 21/02/2011. Do NOT submit your PQQ by post as 

it will not be accepted. 

1.8 Technical Queries 

All general and technical queries arising from this document should be emailed through the PCS 

portal. 

1.9 Evaluation of Applications 

The Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) is split into 6 distinct parts: 

Part A: Questions relate to general information, for information only 

Part B: Questions relate to your financial status, 5% of weighted score 

Part C: Questions relate to criminal convictions (compliant/non-compliant) 

Part D: Questions relate to business probity (compliant/non-compliant) 

Part E: Questions relate to operation and quality issues, 75% of weighted score, which breaks down 

as follows- 

Staffing resource & approach 30% 

Relevant experience 40% 

Accreditations 5% 

Part F: Questions relate to other standards and policies including Health and Safety and Risk 

Assessment, 20% of weighted score 





2. PART A - GENERAL INFORMATION 

2.1 Company Name and Address 

• Name of the company: 

• Adress of the company: 

2.2 Contact Name 

Who is responsible for this application? 

• Name: 

• Position: 

• Email address: 

• Phone Number: 

2.3 Company Status 

What is the company status (Limited Company, plc etc.)? 

2.4 Company Registration Number 

What is the Company Registration Number? 

2.5 Registered Address 

What is the company’s registered address? 

2.6 Employees 

How many employees, (broken down by the following areas), does the company have? 

• Account Management 

• Contract Management 

• Billing Management 

• Project Management 

• Marketing 

• Customer Support (off-site) 

• Customer Support (on-site) 

• Professional/Technical (off-site) 

• Professional/Technical (on-site) 

• Others (Please state) 

Total: 

2.7 Trading Start Date 

When did the company start trading? 





2.8 Changes in Ownership or Name 

In the last 12 months has there been, or are there any plans for, a major change in company 

ownership and/or name? 

2.9 Company Type 

If your company is a member of a group of companies, a Consortium or Joint Venture please give 

details of the ultimate holding or parent company, all other subsidiaries or participants in the 

consortium or joint venture. 

Would the group or ultimate holding company be prepared to guarantee your contract performance as 

its subsidiary? 

2.10 Company Directors 

Please list the full names and designations of all Directors, Partners, Associates & Company 

Secretary or equivalent designations. 

2.11 Previous Companies 

Have any of the named individuals listed in Section 2.10 ever been involved in any firm, which has 

been liquidated or gone into receivership? (If ‘yes’, please give details). 





3. PART B - FINANCIAL STATUS 

3.1 Audited Accounts 

Please provide one copy of your organisation’s audited accounts (or equivalent) and the accounts of 

your group (if applicable) for the last three financial years together with details of any significant 

changes since the last year end. The accounts should be in English and in UK Sterling. If the original 

documents are not in English, please provide copies of the originals and a certified translation into 

English. If the sums in the accounts are not expressed in UK Sterling then copies of the original 

accounts shall be provided together with a UK Sterling rate equivalent copy utilising the pound buys 

exchange rate applicable on 13 November 2009 which equivalent copy accounts shall be certified by 

the auditors. The original accounts should have been signed and dated by Directors and auditors or 

marked as draft. If being submitted electronically, it would be preferable if the documents were 

scanned. If you cannot provide these documents, please give a full explanation. 

Please provide the following extracts from your organisation’s audited accounts (copies of published 

accounts are not an acceptable alternative to the completion of the table): 

Year 2008 Year 2009 Year 2010 

Gross Turnover 

Pre-tax Profit 

Current Liabilities 

Current Assets 

3.2 Bankers 

Who are the company’s bankers and what is their address? 

Please provide a suitable contact name and telephone number. 

3.3 Insurances 

Please provide details of the following insurances (overleaf): 

Please ensure you provide the name of insurer, the policy number, the renewal date, the limit of 

indemnity and the excess. 





a) Professional indemnity insurance Professional Indemnity 

Insurer: 

Policy Number: 

Extent of Cover: 

Dates of Cover: 

Excess: 

b) Employer’s liability insurance. Employer’s Liability 

Insurer: 




Excess: 

c) Public liability insurance. Public Liability 

Insurer: 




Excess: 

d) Product liability insurance Product Liability 

Insurer: 




Excess: 





4. PART C – CONVICTION OF CRIMINAL OFFENCES 

4.1 Have any of the directors, partners or any other person who has powers of 

representation, decision or control of the organisation ever been convicted of any of the 

following offences? If you answer yes to any of these questions please give details. 

Please note that by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exclusions and 

Exceptions) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2007 information in relation to spent 

convictions is also required to be disclosed. 

4.2 The common law offence of 

conspiracy where the conspiracy 

relates to participation in a criminal 

organisation; 

4.3 Corruption within the meaning of 

section 1 of the Public Bodies 

Corrupt Practices Act 1889 or 

section 1 of the Prevention of 

Corruption Act 1906; 

4.4 Bribery or corruption within the 

meaning of section 68 and 69 of the 

Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 

2003; 

4.5 The common law offence of 

incitement to commit a crime; 

4.6 Fraud, where the offence relates to 

fraud affecting the financial 

interests of the European 

Communities as defined by Article 1 

of the Convention relating to the 

protection of the financial interests 

of the European Union, within the 

meaning of: 

(i) the offence of cheating the 

Revenue; 

(ii) the common law offence of 

fraud; 

(iii) the common law offence of 

theft or fraud; 

(iv) fraudulent trading within the 

meaning of section 458 of 

the Companies Act 1985; 

(v) defrauding the Customs 

within the meaning of the 

Customs and Excise 

Management Act 1979 and 

the Value Added Tax Act 

1994; 

(vi) an offence in connection 

with taxation in the 

European Community 

within the meaning of 

section 71 of the Criminal 

Justice Act 1993; or 

(vii) the common law offence of 

uttering; 

(viii) the criminal offences at 

common law of attempting 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 





to pervert the course of 

justice; 

4.7 Money laundering within the 

meaning of the Money Laundering 

Regulations 2007; 

4.8 Any other offence within the 

meaning of Article 45(1) of EC 

Directive 2004/18 as defined by the 

national law of any relevant state. 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 

Note: Failure to disclose information relevant to this section may result in your 

exclusion from this competition or the termination of any contract that may be 

awarded to you. 





PART D - BUSINESS PROBITY 

Please answer yes or no to the following questions: If you answer yes to any of these 

questions please give details. 

5.1 Is the organisation bankrupt or 

being wound up, having its affairs 

administered by the court, or have 

you entered into an arrangement 

with creditors, suspended business 

activities or any analogous situation 

arising from similar proceedings 

under national laws or regulations? 

5.2 Is the organisation the subject of 

proceedings for a declaration of 

bankruptcy, for compulsory 

winding-up or administration by the 

court or for an arrangement with 

creditors or of any other similar 

proceedings under national laws or 

regulations? 

5.3 Has the organisation been 

convicted of an offence concerning 

its professional conduct by a 

judgement which has the force of 

res judicata? 1 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 

1 A matter already settled in court 





5.4 Has any director or partner been 

found guilty of grave professional 

misconduct? 

5.5 Has the organisation failed to fulfil 

obligations relating to the payment 

of social security contributions in 

accordance with the legal 

provisions of the United Kingdom or 

the country in which it is 

established? 

5.6 Has the organisation failed to fulfil 

obligations relating to the payment 

of taxes in accordance with the 

legal provisions of the United 

Kingdom or the country in which it 

is established? 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 

YES 

NO 

Note: Failure to disclose information relevant to this section or serious 

misrepresentation in relation to the information disclosed may result in your 

exclusion from this competition or the termination of any contract that may be 

awarded to you. 





5. PART E - OPERATION AND QUALITY 

5.1 Business Activities 

5.1.1 What are the company’s principal business activities? 

5.1.2 For how long has the company undertaken these activities? 

5.2 Experience 

5.2.1 Please provide a summary of the company's experience of supplying window cleaning 

services to organisations using operational public building as described above including 

documented evidence of training and use of long reach poles up to 60FT. 

Please note: As mentioned above the use of 60ft reach poles is a mandatory condition and any 

PQQ provided without this documented experience will not be evaluated at all. 

5.2.2 Please provide a list of five organisations using operational public building as described above 

that have awarded the company a window cleaning contract similar in size and value. 

For each of these Organisations you must provide the following information: 

• Organisation name: 

• Contract description: 

• Location: 

• Contract value: 

• Contract start and end date: 

5.3 Accreditations 

5.3.1 What accreditations/Trade Membership does your company have that are related to the 

service mentioned above? How long have these accreditations been held? Please do not write 

below individuals’ accreditations but only the companies’ accreditations. 

Accreditation 

Length of time Accreditation held 





5.3.2 Name any business partners you have who may be involved in fulfilling obligations arising 

from this tender. Indicate what relevant product or service they supply. Explain legal/commercial basis 

of the partnership: 

Partner Product/Services Provided Basis of Partnership 

5.4 Staffing Resource 

5.4.1 Please provide details of the members of staff you would allocate to this window cleaning 

contract with the University. 

For each of these members of staff you must provide the following information: 

• Name: 

• Position: 

• Accreditations: 

• Years of experience: 

• Role during the contract: 

5.4.2 Please provide an organisational chart in pdf format to illustrate the operating structure of the 

company. 

5.4.3 Please explain how your company would appoint staff for this contract and explain your 

recruitment policy. 

5.5 Approach 

5.5.1 Please provide a summary of the approach to project management for this window cleaning 

contract including the staff management system you would implement to supervise your team. 

5.5.2 Please provide a summary of the approach to Customer Account management for this 

contract. (Max 300 words) 

5.5.3 Please provide a summary of the approach to ongoing support. 

This information must include full details of the following: 

• Company's support infrastructure inc helpdesk facility 

• Location of spares holdings, stock etc..., 

• Number of staff members on call and their locations. 





5.6 Knowledge Base 

5.6.1 Please provide a summary of how the company ensures it’s staff remains up to date with 

developments on the product(s)/ technical knowledge relevant to this requirement. 

5.7 Quality Assurance 

5.7.1 Are your quality management systems certified to ISO9001 or equivalent? YES/NO 

If YES, please state certifying body and certificate number and attached copy of certificate 

5.7.2 If ISO 9001 quality management systems ARE NOT in place in your organisation, are other 

quality assurance systems/processes in place? YES/NO 

If yes, please provide details of those applicable. 

5.8 Contract Performance 

In the last 3 years, has the company experienced any of the following? 

5.8.1 Paid liquidated/ascertained damages for failure to perform a contract? YES/NO 

5.8.2 Had a contract, commission or employment terminated under the terms of a contract? 

YES/NO 

5.8.3 Withdrawn from a contract before mutually agreed completion? YES/NO 

5.8.4 Been successfully sued for breach of contract? YES/NO 

If the answer to any of the questions above is YES, please provide details. 





6. PART F - OTHER STANDARDS AND POLICIES 

6.1 Diversity and Equality 

In order that we may make an assessment of your current Diversity & Equality status, please provide 

answers to the following questions. Please ensure that any supporting documentation is clearly 

marked with the name of the respondent and the number of the question to which the response 

refers. 

6.1.1 Is it your policy as an employer to comply with your statutory obligations under the Equal Pay 

Act and also under relevant equality legislation not to discriminate on grounds of Disability, Sex, 

Sexual Orientation, Age, Religion or Belief, Colour, Nationality or Race under relevant UK or Scottish 

legislation or equivalent legislation which applies in the countries in which your company employs 

staff? YES/NO 

6.1.2 In the last 3 years has any finding of unlawful discrimination in any field been made against 

your organisation by the Employment Tribunal, The Employment Appeal Tribunal or any court or in 

comparable proceedings in any other jurisdictions or has your organisation been the subject of formal 

investigation (which had a negative finding) by relevant authorities (such as the Commission for 

Racial Equality) on the grounds of alleged unlawful discrimination? YES/NO 

If the answer is Yes, please advise what the unlawful finding(s) was/were and what corrective actions 

have been taken by your Company as a result. 

6.1.3 In the last three years has any contract with your organisation been terminated on grounds of 

your failure to comply with either or both of following?: 

i) Legislation prohibiting discrimination or 

ii) Contract conditions relating to equal opportunities in the provision of goods, facilities or services? 

YES/NO 

If Yes, provide details of each occasion and state the corrective action you have taken. 

6.2 Health & Safety 

6.2.1 Policy 

Does the company have a Health & Safety policy in place in all relevant locations in the supply chain 

and is appropriate training provided? YES/NO 

If yes, please provide documentary evidence in the response. 

6.2.2 Risk Assessment 

Are written risk assessments and method statements in place in areas of significant risk? YES/NO 

If yes, please provide documented evidence. 

6.2.3 Track Record 

In the last three years, has any action been taken against your company in respect of Health & 

Safety? YES/NO 

If yes, please provide summary details. 





6.3 Environmental 

6.3.1 Policy 

Does the company have an Environmental Policy? YES/NO 

If yes, please provide documentary evidence in the response. 

6.3.2 Standards 

Does the company operate to any environmental management standard (e.g. ISO14001 or 

equivalent)? YES/NO 

If yes, attach copy of certificate. 

6.3.3 Track Record 

In the last three years, has any action been taken against the company in respect of Environmental 

issues? 

6.4 Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (Answer only if 

applicable to contract) 

6.4.1 Has the company implemented WEEE Regulations? YES/NO 

If No, please explain how and when WEEE Regulations will be implemented. 





APPENDIX 1 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION SCHEDULE 

The University of Stirling is subject to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 ("FOISA") and 

the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 ("EIRs"). This schedule identifies the 

information contained in our response which we consider should be withheld in response to any 

information request, by reference to specific exemptions in FOISA or exceptions in the EIRs. 

Type of Information 

Reason for Non-disclosure, including relevant FOISA exemptions or EIR 

exceptions, and time period for non-disclosure.

Windows Cleaning tender PQQ (3)

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