Provision of Commercial Cleaning Services

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

The contract requires the provision of 24/7 year-round commercial cleaning services across multiple St. Vincent's University Hospital (SVUH) campus locations. These locations include the main SVUH campus, the Caritas Campus, Vista Buildings, and Merrion Offices. The estimated value of the services over the contract term, including potential extensions, is €40,000,000 (excluding VAT).

The core services encompass a mandatory minimum of 6,500 core hours per week. This includes janitorial support, administration, supervision, and management. The scope of work involves maintaining environmental cleaning standards across various areas of the hospital. Specific cleaning frequencies and requirements for different departments are detailed in Appendix 10.

Key activities and areas of focus include:

• Environmental Cleaning: Maintaining hygiene standards in a minimum of 20 audited areas of SVUH on a monthly basis. This includes monitoring the standard of cleaning and identifying non-conformances.
• Equipment Maintenance: Inspecting cleaning equipment in a minimum of 20 random areas per month to ensure it is clean, fit for use, in good repair, and PAT tested where applicable.
• Specific Area Cleaning: Detailed cleaning schedules are provided for areas such as floors (including under dish machines and sinks), ceiling tiles, windows and frames, fly screens, and ceiling vents, with a 6-month frequency noted for some items.
• Seasonal Areas: Patio areas are included, subject to local arrangements for 6 months of the year.
• Performance Management: The contractor must submit a minimum of three Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) monthly to SVUH to demonstrate performance management and contract targets.
• Training: A minimum of two weeks of accompanied training is required for new staff.
• TUPE Compliance: The contract includes provisions for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations.

The contract term is 36 months, with the option for two extensions of up to 12 months each.

3. Background & buyer context

St. Vincent's University Hospital (SVUH) is procuring commercial cleaning services through an open procedure. This procurement is driven by the need to maintain high standards of hygiene and operational efficiency within a leading academic teaching hospital. SVUH operates on Ireland's only integrated multi-hospital campus and provides a wide range of medical, surgical, and diagnostic specialties. The hospital employs approximately 4,500 staff. The estimated expenditure of €40,000,000 (excl. VAT) over the contract term reflects the scale and complexity of the cleaning requirements for such a large and critical healthcare facility. The procurement process aims to encourage participation from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), either directly or through consortia and subcontracting arrangements.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Tenderers must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered:

• Turnover requirement: A minimum average annual turnover of €10,000,000 (excl. VAT) for each of the last three financial years, or pro-rata if more recently established.
• Insurance: The successful tenderer must hold the following insurances for the term of the Services Contract:
• Employer's Liability: €13.0 million
• Public Liability: €6.5 million
• Product Liability: €6.5 million
• Professional Indemnity: €1.0 million
• Certifications: Tenderers must confirm they have Quality Management Systems in place, such as ISO 9001 or equivalent, and environmental management systems, such as ISO 14001 or equivalent, appropriate to the nature and scale of the services.
• Past experience: Tenderers must confirm the details of a successful delivery of a minimum of three contracts of a comparable scale to the services required in the last five years.
• Personnel: Not specified for this tender.
• Geographic / facility constraints: Services are to be provided at St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin 4, D04T6F4, Ireland.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The award criteria are not explicitly detailed with scoring percentages in the provided extract. However, the tender process follows an open procedure, and tenders will be evaluated based on compliance with selection criteria and then assessed against award criteria. The Contracting Authority reserves the right to examine tenders before verifying the absence of exclusion grounds and the fulfilment of selection criteria. The contract will be awarded based on the most economically advantageous tender.

6. Submission requirements

Tenderers must adhere to the following submission requirements:

• Method statement / response document: Tenderers must follow the format of the RFT and respond to each element in the order set out. Appendix 8 provides the Tenderer’s Response Document.
• CVs: Not specified for this tender.
• Pricing schedule: Tenderers must complete the Pricing Schedule at Appendix 2. All prices must be all-inclusive, expressed in Euro, and exclusive of VAT.
• Case studies: Tenderers must confirm the details of a minimum of three successful contracts of comparable scale in the last five years.
• Declarations:
• Electronic European Single Procurement Document (eESPD) must be completed and submitted.
• Tenderer’s Statement (Appendix 3) must be signed and returned.
• Declaration as to Personal Circumstances of Tenderer (Appendix 4) may be required.
• Tax Clearance Access Number and Tax Reference Number must be provided for online verification.
• A declaration of independent tender preparation is required.
• Mandatory site visit: A site visit to SVUH premises at Elm Park, Dublin 4, D04T6F4, is organised for 7 September 2026, between 10 am and 12 pm. Tenderers must confirm attendance by emailing [email protected] by 4 September 2026, 11 am. A maximum of two people per tenderer are permitted. Attendance is mandatory.
• Submission portal: Tenders must be submitted via the electronic tenderbox on www.etenders.gov.ie. Tenders submitted by any other means will not be accepted. File size limits apply (250MB per file, 2GB total). Tenders must be submitted in English.

7. Key dates & process

8. Contract terms that matter

• Term: The initial contract term is 36 months.
• Extension: The Contracting Authority reserves the right to extend the term for up to 12 months, with a maximum of two such extensions.
• Pricing: Prices quoted must remain valid for 120 days from the tender deadline. Price adjustments are permitted only on the first anniversary of the contract's effective date and subsequent anniversaries, linked to the Consumer Price Index for Hospital Services (capped at 5% per annum) and Employment Regulation Orders. Currency variations are borne by the tenderer.
• Payment: Payments will be made in accordance with the Services Contract (Appendix 5).
• Key SLAs/KPIs: The contractor must submit a minimum of three KPIs monthly. Specific environmental cleaning standards will be audited monthly in at least 20 areas.
• Liquidated damages: Not specified for this tender.
• Termination: Either party may terminate with 14 days' notice if a breach continues for 15 calendar days. The client may terminate with 30 days' written notice without liability.
• IP ownership: Not specified for this tender.
• Sub-contracting: The formation of consortia and the use of subcontractors are encouraged. A Prime Contractor will be designated with overall responsibility.
• Parent-company guarantee or bond: Not specified for this tender.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

• Mandatory Site Visit: The site visit is mandatory and scheduled for a specific date and time window. Failure to attend may lead to disqualification.
• High Estimated Value: The €40 million estimated value over the contract term (including extensions) indicates a significant, long-term commitment, requiring substantial operational capacity from bidders.
• TUPE Implications: The explicit mention of TUPE regulations suggests that existing staff may transfer to the successful contractor, requiring careful consideration in pricing and operational planning.
• SME Encouragement: While encouraging SME participation, the high turnover requirement and the scale of the contract may present challenges for smaller entities bidding independently. Consortia or subcontracting will likely be key for SME involvement.
• Open Procedure: The use of an open procedure means all eligible economic operators can bid, but the stringent selection criteria will filter out non-compliant tenders.

10. SME fit assessment

This tender is structured for established service providers with significant operational capacity and financial standing. A credible bidder would likely be a medium to large enterprise with a proven track record in large-scale commercial cleaning, particularly within healthcare or similar complex environments.

• Who can credibly bid: Companies with demonstrated experience in managing large cleaning contracts (minimum three comparable contracts in the last five years), a turnover exceeding €10 million annually, and robust quality and environmental management systems (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 14001). Experience in hospital or similar institutional cleaning is highly advantageous.
• Consortium/sub-contracting: The formation of consortia and the use of subcontractors are explicitly encouraged. This pathway allows SMEs to participate by contributing specific expertise or capacity, provided a Prime Contractor takes overall responsibility.
• Indicative bid-prep effort: Preparing a compliant bid for a contract of this scale and complexity, including detailed method statements, pricing schedules, and compliance with all selection criteria, would likely require several weeks of dedicated effort from a bid team. The mandatory site visit and the need to understand detailed specifications in Appendices 1, 9, and 10 add to this effort.
• Pwin signal: The high estimated value and the requirement for significant turnover and experience suggest that larger, established players in the cleaning services market are the primary target. The mandatory site visit and the detailed specifications indicate a well-defined scope, but the complexity of a hospital environment means incumbent knowledge or significant mobilisation effort would be required for any new entrant.

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT filename: SVUH-26009 Request for Tenders and Model Services Contract.docx
• eTenders CFT ID: Not specified in the provided text.
• Contact email for clarifications: [email protected] (for site visit confirmation only). All other queries via the messaging facility on www.etenders.gov.ie.
• Most important attachments:
• Appendix 1: Requirements and Specifications
• Appendix 2: Pricing Schedule
• Appendix 5: Services Contract