Open Competition for the Maintenance of Fire Safety Systems MU 524

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

Maynooth University requires specialist maintenance services for critical fire safety systems across its campus facilities. The contract encompasses the planned preventative and reactive maintenance of specific systems, ensuring their operational status and compliance with Irish legislation, EU Directives, and harmonised European Standards.

The scope of services includes:

• Fire Dampers: Inspection and testing in accordance with EN 15650, covering accessibility, cleaning, asset identification, fire alarm activation, and power supply checks.
• Automatic Opening Vent (AOV) Systems: Maintenance according to the EN 12101 series, including testing of actuators, controls, fail-safe operation, fire alarm activation, and power supply checks.
• Fire Curtain Systems: Inspection and testing as per EN 16034, involving full deployment testing, verification of fire alarm interface, fire alarm activation, and power supply checks.
• Natural Ventilation Systems and Automatic Window Controls: Inspection and testing in accordance with EN 12101 where applicable, including actuator and control functionality, fire alarm activation, and power supply checks.
• Fire Extract Fan Systems (Smoke Extract / Mechanical Extract Systems): Maintenance in accordance with EN 12101-3, encompassing inspection of fans, motors, controls, airflow verification, fire alarm activation, and power supply checks.

Planned preventative maintenance involves scheduled inspections, functional testing, cleaning, lubrication, adjustment, and performance verification. Reactive maintenance covers fault diagnosis, repairs, and component replacement. A call-out service with agreed response times is also required.

A critical mandatory requirement is a comprehensive survey and assessment of all buildings and associated services within the estate. This exercise, to be completed within three months of contract award or mobilisation, includes:

• Identification and verification of all serviceable assets.
• Condition assessment of identified assets.
• Validation of existing records against site conditions.
• Creation of a complete, accurate, and up-to-date asset register for each service category.

The contractor must provide digitised documentation, including service reports, asset registers, condition reports, and compliance certifications, suitable for facilities management, lifecycle planning, and statutory compliance. Additional services may include minor modifications, component replacement, and support roles under Construction Regulations, to be undertaken upon instruction at agreed rates.

3. Background & buyer context

Maynooth University, established as an autonomous public university, is a research-intensive institution with a history dating back to the 18th century. It serves over 17,000 students across science and engineering, humanities, and social sciences. The university operates under its Strategic Plan 2023-2028, which outlines a vision for excellence, opportunity, and impact. This procurement aligns with the university's commitment to maintaining its campus infrastructure and ensuring compliance with safety regulations. The current procurement is for the ongoing maintenance of fire safety systems, a critical component of the university's operational and safety framework. No incumbent contractor is explicitly named in the provided documents.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

To be eligible for consideration, bidders must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Turnover requirement: A minimum average annual turnover of €500,000 in the relevant area of work.
• Insurance:
• Employer's Liability: €13 million
• Public Liability: €6.5 million
• Professional Indemnity: Not specified for this tender.
• Certifications: Tenderers' Operational Proposal shall demonstrate compliance with relevant EN standards. External Environmental Management Systems (EMS) such as ISO 14001 or equivalent are encouraged. ISO 9001 is also cited.
• Past experience: Candidates must demonstrate successful delivery of services of a comparable nature within the last three to five years.
• Personnel: Not specified for this tender.
• Geographic / facility constraints: Not specified for this tender.

Bidders may rely on the resources of legally related or connected entities to satisfy minimum resource levels, subject to board approval and proof of guarantee.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The contract will be awarded based on the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT), determined by a combination of price and quality. The specific weighting between price and quality is not detailed in the provided extract. However, the lowest cost tender that also meets all minimum qualitative award criteria will receive the maximum score for the cost criterion. Further details on sub-criteria and scoring thresholds are not specified in the provided text.

6. Submission requirements

Bidders must submit their tenders electronically via the eTenders postbox facility on www.etenders.gov.ie. All submissions must follow the format of the tender documents and respond to each element in the order set out in the RFT.

The required submission documents include:

• 524 TRD Fire Ventilation: The main Tender Response Document.
• 524 TRD Fire Ventilation pricing: The pricing schedule.
• ESPD document: The European Single Procurement Document.
• Applicant Companies SLA: Service Level Agreement details.

CVs, case studies, and method statements are not explicitly listed as separate mandatory attachments in the provided text, but the Tender Response Document will be used as the basis for evaluation. Tenderers must ensure all documents are clearly labelled, page-numbered, and indexed where possible. A mandatory site visit is scheduled for 16th July 2026 at 9:00 AM.

7. Key dates & process

The tender validity period is 12 months from the closing date. A standstill period of at least 14 days will be observed after notification of unsuccessful tenderers before contract award.

8. Contract terms that matter

The contract will be for an initial term of three years, with an option to extend by two further periods of one year each. Payment will be on a monthly basis for costs incurred in the preceding month, in accordance with S.I. 580 of 2012 (combating late payment). The standard Office of Government Procurement Service Contract will be used. Tax clearance compliance is a condition of award and must be maintained throughout the contract duration. Professional Services Withholding Tax may apply. The contract will be governed by Irish law. Compliance with all relevant employment law obligations, including those related to PRSI, PAYE, annual leave, and the Protection of Employees on Transfer of Undertakings Regulations, is mandatory. The contracting authority reserves the right to increase or reduce the scope of services and duration at its sole discretion.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

A significant requirement is the mandatory, comprehensive asset verification and register creation exercise, to be completed within three months of mobilisation. This is described as an "intensive and resource-heavy exercise" and failure to deliver it may be treated as a material breach of contract. Tenderers must include a clearly defined cost allocation for this specific task. The contract is also contingent on continued funding approvals from government planning agencies and university committees, introducing a funding dependency risk. The tender validity period is 12 months, which is substantial and requires bidders to commit resources for an extended evaluation phase. The university reserves the right not to award the contract or to source requirements from more than one provider.

10. SME fit assessment

This tender is open to SMEs that can demonstrate the required turnover of €500,000 and possess the specific technical expertise in maintaining the listed fire safety systems. Consortium bids are explicitly encouraged, allowing SMEs to partner with other SMEs or larger enterprises to meet the tender requirements. The bid preparation effort is likely to be significant due to the detailed scope, mandatory asset verification exercise, and the need to comply with numerous standards and regulations. The "Pwin" signal is neutral as no incumbent is named and the competition is open. The emphasis on consortiums suggests that a single SME might find the full scope challenging without collaboration.

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT filename: 524 RFT Fire Ventilation.docx
• eTenders CFT ID: Not specified in provided text.
• Contact for Queries: Questions and Answers facility on www.etenders.gov.ie
• Most Important Attachments:
• 524 RFT Fire Ventilation (the main Request for Tenders document)
• 524 TRD Fire Ventilation (Tender Response Document template)
• Sample Supply Contract