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Peter Bimson, Director, EKFB
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Helpful Information

 At EKFB we believe in fair and inclusive procurement in order to stimulate a more competitive market place. We are therefore committed to providing the supply chain with as much advanced information as possible, ensuring everyone has enough time to prepare for HS2.

The information below outlines our expectations in regards to supplier registration, prequalification requirements and bidding.

How to prequalify

To ensure our prequalification is proportionate and relevant to the size and risk profile of each works package, we have divided our minimum entry requirements into tiers. A link to the EKFB Supply Chain Assurance standard can be found here EKFB Supply Chain Assurance Standard PR-STD-8005 (10)

If your business is not currently accredited by Constructionline, then you will need to register and apply for certification. For more information please follow this link: https://www.constructionline.co.uk/eiffage-kier/ and use code HS2EK…..

EKFB utilise the Common Assessment Standard which is a set of business assurance qualification questions agreed by Build UK, CECA and its partners.  The Common Assessment Standard will be certified by three recognised assessment bodies: Achilles, CHAS and Constructionline

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is equal opportunity to all three assessment bodies and they will be interlinked by data sharing. Therefore, suppliers have the choice of which body they wish to use.

We look forward to you getting on board with the new system, so we can nurture increased productivity for the wider industry. More information on the Common Assessment Standard can be found on the Build UK website.

How to bid 

We want to make sure that our CompeteFor opportunities are made available to the best and most suitable suppliers. To ensure your business is notified of relevant opportunities, please click the following link for details of our Works Package Coding Convention. 

We would ask those replying to EKFB opportunities to consider the below as part of your added value proposition;

  • Safety, Health and Wellbeing – This is paramount to the way EKFB work and as such we expect our supply chain partners to be committed to improving working practises and promoting positive safety, health and wellbeing activities.  
  • Value for money – Value for money will be a key driver throughout our procurement process. As such, a fundamental part of our final decision will be made using a balanced scorecard approach.
  • Technical competence – Technical competence forms a critical part of our procurement process to ensure suppliers selected are suitable to deliver the works and are able to demonstrate industry best practise. 
  • Sustainability and legacy benefits – Return on investment and legacy after HS2 are a key driver in our balanced scorecard. We are looking for suppliers who are able to commit to positive sustainability and legacy activities such as employing apprentices and working with business local to the HS2 route 
  • Innovation – We are looking to create an innovative supply chain to address the challenges we face as an industry and to continuously look for news ways of working. 

The EKFB Sustainability tool

EKFB is committed to embedding the principles of sustainability throughout our supply chain and ensuring that our supply chain partners succeed in achieving our sustainability goals and objectives. This includes helping us to measure and reduce our impacts on communities and the environment.

The EKFB Sustainability Tool will help us to:

  • Report sustainability impact by collecting data on a wide range of sustainability metrics and indicators on a monthly and annual basis
  • Identify areas for improvement by understanding where we need to improve our sustainability performance
  • Create sustainability partnerships as we work more closely with contractors to deliver a more sustainable service and projects

Where to find relevant information and training

To gain a better understanding of how we measure some of our balanced scorecard requirements, we recommend the following information and training resources.

  • FREDIE (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, Engagement)
    • National Centre for Diversity – http://www.nationalcentrefordiversity.com/
    • Clear Assured standard – https://theclearcompany.co.uk/clear-assured/
    • HS2 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Video
  • BIM – https://www.bimupskilling.com/
  • Skills and Employment Legacy – EKFB SEE delivery plan 
  • FORS – https://www.fors-online.org.uk/cms/
  • CLOCS – https://clocs.orh.uk/ 
  • Innovation
    • Catapult – https://www.catapult.org.uk/
    • Innovate UK – https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/innovate-uk/about
    • Centre for Construction Innovation – http://www.ccinw.com/about-us/20571
  • Apprentices levy advice – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-levy-how-it-will-work/apprenticeship-levy-how-it-will-work
  • UK Infrastructure best practice – http://www.ceca.co.uk/

E-Learning Modules we recommend suppliers to complete

Module which shows you how Fairness Inclusion and Respect can be a significant benefit to your business

  • Fairness Inclusion and Respect Introduction

Where to find funding

If your business is an SME in need of funding to grow and develop in order to secure HS2 opportunities, the following organisations may be able to provide helpful advice.

  • Local growth HUB’s and LEP’s;
    • https://www.lepnetwork.net/growth-hubs/
  • CITB – http://www.citb.co.uk/funding/flexible-and-structured/innovation-pilots-prototypes-funding/

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For more information visit www.ekfb.com

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