National Grid Electricity Transmission plc, (National Grid) purchases under the Restricted or Negotiated procedures detailed in the EC Utilities Directive. Tenderers are drawn from National Grid’s Vendor Qualification System (VQS) which is operated on a two-tier basis. In order to qualify for inclusion on the VQS, each applicant must satisfy the requirements detailed below.
TIER 1
Registration on the Achilles Utilities Vendor Database. To obtain this a general level of Company information will be collected and vetted by:
Achilles Information Limited
30 Park Gate
Milton Park
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
OX14 4RX
Telephone: 01235 861118
Facsimile: 01235 821093
Website: www.achilles.com
Areas of information to be provided will include, but not be limited to:
- General - details of size, type and organisation of company,
- Personnel/Status - details of structure of company,
- Financial - provision of last three years accounts and other financial details,
- Quality - details of levels of accreditation held.
- Health Safety and Environmental Management Systems
Full details of the rules applicable to this stage of the process are obtainable from Achilles, and an administration charge, approximately £425 +VAT @ 17.5% per annum, will require to be paid to Achilles. Retention of this registration will be dependant upon annual re-validation of this information and payment of the administration charge.
On successful completion of this stage of the process the supplier will become registered on the Achilles Utilities Vendor Database (UVDB) and receive a Registration Certificate detailing their supplier number and the product codes which they are registered for.
Suppliers wishing to qualify for certain categories of goods or services which pose a potential risk to the quality of service provided by National Grid must then undertake the Tier 2 evaluation to obtain approval on the National Grid VQS.
TIER 2
Potential suppliers are required to complete the National Grid VQS Questionnaire on the following basis:
(i) Commercial and Financial
The commercial and financial aspects covered by the Tier 1 evaluation will be augmented by those contained in the National Grid Questionnaire. Financial records and trend analysis may be further examined in line with recognised financial analysis procedures.
(ii) Technical
National Grid will nominate qualified personnel to determine a potential supplier’s capability to
- supply and support compliant solutions and products
- to manage their sub-suppliers, products and services in accordance with the appropriate technical criteria and National Grid’s type registration process as detailed in TGN (E) 185. Fuller details of the relevant technical criteria will be provided as the application progresses.
(iii) Working Methods/Practices
Dependant upon the scope of supply or service being offered, prospective suppliers may be required to provide examples of general working methods or procedures associated with project delivery.
Evaluation for the above Tier 2 registration sections will be undertaken by National Grid or their nominated representative and may incur an administration charge of up to £5,000.00. This charge excludes for any activities associated with item (ii) Technical, which, if required, will be charged on a reasonable costs incurred basis for the time spent by the qualified personnel. The applicant will also meet the costs of any necessary tests and documentation pursuant to the type registration process.
Evaluation for the tier 2 registration sections below will be undertaken by Achilles Information Ltd (contact details as above) by way of their Verify system, there is charge of £1200 plus VAT @17.5% for this evaluation which is valid for one year.
(iv) Health and Safety
Prospective suppliers will be required to complete an Health and Safety questionnaire and provide relevant supporting information in order that Achilles Verify can evaluate their ability and intent to comply with all applicable statutory UK health and safety legislation and safety procedures required by National Grid. They will also be required to nominate a number of sites in order that a site assessment can be undertaken.
(v) Environmental
Prospective suppliers will be required to complete an environmental questionnaire and provide relevant supporting evidence in order that Achilles Verify can evaluate their ability and intent to comply with all the UK environmental legislation and environmental procedures required by National Grid. Evidence of a current recognised environmental accreditation (BS EN ISO 14001 series or equivalent) should also be supplied.
(vi) Quality
Prospective suppliers will be required to produce evidence of a current recognised quality accreditation (BS EN ISO 9000 series or equivalent). In the absence of current recognised accreditation, a supplier will be required to undergo quality assessment by National Grid nominated personnel. The supplier will also be required to demonstrate that suitable systems are in place to control all project management related activities, such as planning of work, control of sub-contractors, project management systems and manufacture and installation of plant.
Additional information relating to Verify can be obtained on achillies.
The Tier 2 registration process will be repeated on a three yearly basis (maximum) although specific elements ie Health and Safety, Environmental and Quality, will repeated on a yearly basis.