commercial customer large contract advice please,

[REDSAW]

can you guys add advice to this please,

i have just come from a meeting with a local hotel chain who have called me in for a quote to exchange shower/cubicles in the rooms over a period of time as maintenance. we are talking a possibility of 120 units upto 450 if they all need doing soon (per-hotel) on price work. which i may contract out subject to dead-lines if made by the hoteliers.

*my main question is, what do i need i.e - any on site / contractors cert's etc as a one-man-band?. (assume £2m p.l. is enough?).

*what do i need to fullfill this customer to be on the legal side.

*any other pointers you may think of.

i ask because all of my work so far 95% has been domestic and only a few half days commercial work where i didnt see it as relevant. althogh i was employed as maintenance plumber for bernie inns when i was a kid.

on the foresight, anyone in notts like fitting shower/ enclosures?.

p.p.s i aint got the job yet, but i normally run a 80% turn on pricing.

 

[intraining]

can you guys add advice to this please,

i have just come from a meeting with a local hotel chain who have called me in for a quote to exchange shower/cubicles in the rooms over a period of time as maintenance. we are talking a possibility of 120 units upto 450 if they all need doing soon (per-hotel) on price work. which i may contract out subject to dead-lines if made by the hoteliers.

*my main question is, what do i need i.e - any on site / contractors cert's etc as a one-man-band?. (assume £2m p.l. is enough?).

*what do i need to fullfill this customer to be on the legal side.

*any other pointers you may think of.

i ask because all of my work so far 95% has been domestic and only a few half days commercial work where i didnt see it as relevant. althogh i was employed as maintenance plumber for bernie inns when i was a kid.

on the foresight, anyone in notts like fitting shower/ enclosures?.

p.p.s i aint got the job yet, but i normally run a 80% turn on pricing.

Hi

You will need 5M Public liability and 5M Employers liability- that is a legal requirement, if you are giving any advice you will also need Professional indemnity insurance You cannot have 1 man working alone on site these days H&S.

One other thing 120 units is likely to take more than 30 days / 500 man hours so you will also need to comply with the CDM Regulations 2007.

Good luck

 

[REDSAW]

the hotel is open and have h&s cover.
i am not employing anyone.
and i dont think there is any set time scale (30 days) more like 12 months.
would that affect these matters?.
thanks for input.

 

[dontknowitall]

Business Link might be able to help with some of these unknowns.

 

[intraining]

the hotel is open and have h&s cover.
i am not employing anyone.
and i dont think there is any set time scale (30 days) more like 12 months.
would that affect these matters?.
thanks for input.

Sorry I misread the one guy bit. bear in mind subby's are also your responsibility for insurance purposes


Any contract which lasts more than 30 days, falls under Construction Design & Management Regulations 2007 (Plumbing is within the defined scope) as such you will need a CDM co-ordinator (could be you) and you should inform the Hse as to the works, also fully documented procedures and design details will be required, have a reed through the literature available on line.

You would be far better agreeing say 10 at once and avoiding such as CDM, talk to the client, they will also have insurance stipulations as Duty Holders.

Also worth noting if more than 25% of your annual business is from one client Inland revenue may require you to prove you are a bonafide contractor, this is not quite as easy as it sounds- just be aware.

 

[Bernie2]

Check how and when they are going pay. They may make you wait. Most big companies seem to want to deal with a Public Liability Company rather than a small one man band.

Just some thoughts. Good fortune it sounds a good opportunity.

 

[intraining]

Check how and when they are going pay. They may make you wait. Most big companies seem to want to deal with a Public Liability Company rather than a small one man band.

Do you mean Public Limited Company/PLC?

 

[justlead1]

Hi, On the insurance front, check that the hotel management are not going to hold you financially responsible for loss of earnings in the event of problems. These can range from leaks, dust and dirt in public areas, removal of packaging, noise pollution, intermittent water supply to occupied rooms etc. Good luck

 

[davetheplumber]

Just finished doing the same for a hotel. I had 5m public liability and employers liability for two subbies. They also had their own public liability(added bonus).
As it was treated as a planned maintenane project and we took on three rooms at a time it was non notifiable regarding HSE. Sometimes also looks good if you provide a Health & Safety Policy Statement even though you dont have to, it shows commitment!!( Check build-it-4-u.com health & safety for an example.
It should be straight forward if they are a good client.
Let us know how you get on.
Good luck

 

[REDSAW]

You would be far better agreeing say 10 at once and avoiding such as CDM, talk to the client, they will also have insurance stipulations as Duty Holders.

Also worth noting if more than 25% of your annual business is from one client Inland revenue may require you to prove you are a bonafide contractor, this is not quite as easy as it sounds- just be aware.

good pointer there,
i was thinking of say a doz a time spread out say every other month for my own sanity if nowt else.
payment is materials deposit and 30 days net on total.

keep the ideas comming chaps as they are great, forearmed etc.

what about cscs site cards etc?.

 

[davetheplumber]

Most of the requirements come from the client. If they insist on CSCS cards they will tell you. Likewise with the level of indemnity. Its good to provide a lot of this stuff off your own back without going too overboard which can frighten the hell out of the layman. Stick with insurance, H&S, program of works (highlighting when & how long rooms will be out of use), price and payment schedules.
Also always good to check their bookings before you take a room out of action. Saves a world of pain!! Believe me.

 

[alph250]

Dave the plumbers got this right

First things first, CDM applies to all jobs, other posters are right with the 30 day 500 hour comment but this is refers to whether the work is notifiable or not to the HSE. I've acted as CDM co-ordinator for the company I'm employed by so i am speaking from experience. IMO this would not be CDM notifiable as its on pricework, work is done on an ad-hoc basis as maintenance and paid for each unit installed, if it was done in one hit then yes it maybe notifiable, but i wouldnt worry about that it has no bearing on how you would do the job anyway.

CDM applies to ALL work carried out commercially the only difference is with the 30 day/500 hour ruling is that you fill out the F10 form to notify the HSE if the project is likely to exceed these parameters.

CDM is a big taboo subject but the fact is its just one big checklist documenting method statements, risk assesments, pre start meetings, pre construction plan, construction phase plan etc

Truth is Method and Risk only have to be documented on paper if you employ over 5 people (though if its a big company i would give them one anyway!), a pre start can be recorded in the employers diary and done over the phone or a cup of tea, pre construction plan can be a page long just detailing the working arrangements, welfare, scope of works etc, and the construction phase is the same but with a bit more detail on how you propose to do the job. honestly its a 10 minute doddle and the hoteliers facilities management will probably prompt you for most of the information they require from you as they would be sorting all of the above as they would be defined as the principal contractor and CDM co-ordinator, however it depends on how professional the company are as most just dont bother! though as an bum cover get a method statement and risk assesment done submit a copy to the company along with a plan of work, to be frank if the poo hit the fan and for whatever reason HSE came on site you've fulfilled your legal health & safety requirements and would be fine.


Dont be put off by CDM, afterall most of the requirements are on the Client/Principle contractor all you have to do is document what your doing, nothing more than an audit trail, saying that though if your dealing with a 2 million pound build then thats different, that really is a full time job for 2 people and a balls ache!