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News articles from 2006
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News articles from 2006

New IT system launched on the 6th March 2006

06/03/2006

We have launched our new web based IT system, which is designed to further streamline the procurement process for buyers and suppliers.

The major redevelopment of our system follows extensive research and input from registered buyers and suppliers and will introduce a host of new and enhanced functionalities.

As a result, buyers will find it easier to identify suitable firms they wish to invite to tender for contracts. Suppliers will now be able to provide their pre-qualification information more effectively and efficiently.

BUYER BENEFITS…

The new IT infrastructure will enable procurers to interface with a number of e-procurement initiatives, such as the Small Business Service's Supplier Route to Government portal, as well as registered buyers' own e-procurement systems.

Supplier chain management
Buyers can set up individual lists of Constructionline registered suppliers within their supply chain. This will enable buyers to monitor the financial capacity of their overall supply chain and show the hierarchical structure.

E-procurement systems
Buyers can use our database to populate their own e-procurement system. The data can be downloaded overnight in a number of different formats. There is also an option for buyers to change the title of our fields, so they are compatible with their own data fields.

Reports and Notifications
Notifications and reports will help buyers keep more informed and will enable them to analyse and understand their current pre-qualification needs more keenly.

Search facility
There have been a number of improvements on our search facilities, which now includes a post code search facility, word search function on both category name and description, and a search for suppliers with multiple skills. Additionally we have a revised hierarchy of work categories which will make it easier for buyers to identify appropriate pre-qualified suppliers.

Supplier lists
Buyers can create and manage their own supplier lists, which can be shared with other local authorities.

Feedback facility
Feedback will be requested in a format in line with industry standards. Supplier performance is now presented in a 1-10 scoring system aligned with the national construction KPI's developed by Constructing Excellence. In the long term this will enable buyers to make more informed decisions on who they invite to tender and suppliers will be able to use the feedback to improve their performance.

Supplier and contract analysis
Buyers will be able to analyse their overall spend on a supplier, category or contract over time.

SUPPLIER BENEFITS…

Forming Co-operatives
Constructionline's new IT system will go further in helping SME's access the supply chain by offering a Co-operatives feature. This function will enable sole traders or SME's to join with other suppliers, as one entity, so they can bid for tenders which require their combined skills.

Notifications
In the near future the system will issue automated letters and e-mails to notify suppliers when records need to be updated; e-mails will only be sent when the supplier has asked for e-mail communications. This will help supplier's ensure their Constructionline record is always up to date. Additionally, upon logging into the new system, notifications will alert suppliers if their organisation has been added onto a registered buyer's suppliers list or supply chain.

Reports & downloads
Suppliers can continue to download hit lists and long lists, showing which buyers have viewed their details.

Minimum contract values
Suppliers can stipulate their minimum contract values by each area or post code; this will enable suppliers to target their business more effectively.

Feedback
This facility has also been improved to encourage buyers to complete feedback on a particular project or contract. This will enable suppliers to act on the feedback to improve their services and with the buyers agreement their feedback can be used as a reference.

However, the main benefit for suppliers will be the expected increase in use of Constructionline by buyers because of new extra features and greater ease of use.

For further updates on the progress of the new system and how it will bring further benefits to you, please refer to our monthly e-newsletters and our next edition of Connect.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to e-mail constructionline@capita.co.uk or contact us on 0870 607 1602.

Features & Benefits.pdf

IT System Security Overview.pdf

New System Release Note.pdf

Awards in 2005

09/01/2006

We would like to congratulate some of our suppliers who have won awards in recognition of their performance and achievements in 2005.

The following Constructionline registered companies won awards at the Contract Journal Construction Industry Awards 2005:

Parkinson Building Contractors - SME Contractor of the Year (Ref: 6059)

Taylor Woodrow - Building Contractor of the Year (Ref: 2906)

HBG UK - IT Award (Ref: 13078)

Coleman & Company - Demolition Contractor of the Year (Ref: 3553)

Kier Building Maintenance - Diversity Award (Ref: 1913)

Thomas Vale Construction - Training Award (Ref: 8346)

Birse Civils - Civil Engineering Contractor of the Year (Ref: 46135)

Clugston Construction - Silver Helmet Award for Safety (Ref: 6586)

The 2005 national E-Commerce Awards are run by the Department of Trade and Industry, and by InterForum, a not for profit membership organisation that helps British businesses to trade electronically. We would like to congratulate Epsilon Test Services Ltd (Ref:6462) who has won a DTI Award for the pioneering use of their hand-held technology.

We hope 2006 will bring continued success to all of our suppliers.

News articles from 2005

DTI "Respect for people" leaflet

27/10/2005

Respect for people leaflet.pdf

Capita and DTI Sign Contract Extension for Constructionline

16/05/2005

The Capita Group today announced that the Department of Trade and Industry has extended its contract to administer and manage Constructionline, the UK-wide register of local and national pre-qualified construction and construction-related suppliers for an additional three years effective until 1 September 2008. Capita has been administering Constructionline under a concession agreement since 1998.

Under the agreement, Capita will implement a major redevelopment of Constructionline's IT infrastructure. The new IT infrastructure will be operational in spring 2006 and will enable procurers to interface with a number of e-procurement initiatives. Constructionline's central source of pre-qualified data saves buyers and their suppliers the administrative burden of handling bespoke pre-qualification forms for each expression of interest in tendering for a contract. As a result, both save time and money.
Vic Gysin, Director for Constructionline, said: “Capita has outstanding knowledge and experience of the public sector along with excellent in-house IT skills. These will continue to ensure that Constructionline is strongly placed to meet the changing need of suppliers and client buyers in conjunction with a variety of government-led e-procurement initiatives. Furthermore, Constructionline has significant scope to help public sector bodies achieve the efficiency recommendations set out by Sir Peter Gershon.”
Since its inception, Constructionline has received a wide number of endorsements, including from the Local Government Task Force, an initiative to drive forward the Rethinking Construction agenda within local government. Most recently, Edwina Hart AM, the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration, wrote to all public sector organisations and housing associations within Wales, strongly urging the use of Constructionline pre-qualification data. This followed a similar initiative in Northern Ireland in November 2002 when Constructionline was appointed as the Province’s construction pre-qualification service for sub-OJEU threshold contracts.

Constructionline has recently made a number of notable enhancements to its service, in particular reducing the burden on SMEs. For example, the Small Firms’ Reference Requirement (SFRR) is designed to make the Constructionline reference process as user-friendly as possible for very small firms, while maintaining the integrity of registration requirements.

Constructionline was introduced following a recommendation in Sir Michael Latham’s report “Constructing the Team” to assist suppliers, in particular smaller businesses, to provide standard pre-qualification information more effectively and efficiently during the public sector tendering process. Over 50% of the 12,500 suppliers registered with Constructionline are firms with a turnover of less than £1 million, 29% have a turnover of less than £250,000. There are currently over 1,500 public and private sector buyers registered with Constructionline including central government departments, local authorities, universities, housing associations and main contractors.

Constructionline's continuing involvement in ProCure 21

14/04/2005

During 2003 Constructionline undertook an exercise on behalf of the ProCure 21 Team, to obtain from companies who had expressed interest in its new framework agreements, information and documents including accounts, which Constructionline then assessed on behalf of the ProCure 21 Team.

ProCure 21 has now asked Constructionline to continue to financially manage the Framework Agreements by applying its normal pre-qualification procedures to each Principal Partner and the members of their supply chains and to monitor the financial capacity and stability of each chain. Constructionline has agreed to undertake this work and has written jointly with ProCure 21 to all organisations involved in the Frameworks, informing them of this arrangement.

Gareth Kings, Constructionline Operations Director, said “We are delighted to be further assisting ProCure 21 and to be more closely involved in this important national procurement strategy designed to deliver better quality healthcare building and improved value for money. We look forward to bringing our skills and knowledge in boosting efficiencies and streamlining processes to support the NHS in its ultimate aim to improve the patient experience."

Christian Akrigg, ProCure 21 Audit Controller, said “ We are pleased that Constructionline has accepted to undertake this important role in helping us to manage the ProCure 21 framework. We are looking forward to working with Constructionline as their skills and knowledge can only benefit the framework.”

Constructionline tackle duplication with new dedicated phone line

13/04/2005

Tackling clients continued requests for duplicate information remains a top priority for Constructionline. Whilst we understand that Constructionline is designed to be generic and not project specific, which may mean clients may require further information to comply with their own procurement policy, in the vast majority of cases it is unnecessary. In the past six months we have introduced increased measures to reduce this unnecessary burden. One of the new initiatives is the dedicated anti-duplication answer-phone, where registered firms can leave a message reporting any cases where Constructionline clients are repeatedly asking for information already held on our system.

Constructionline's Anti-Duplication line can be reached on 0870 240 5210. Messages can be left anonymously if you are concerned about the implication of tenders from a client. However, if you do leave your firm’s name and contact details, this will be kept in the strictest of confidence and we will not alert the client as to the source of the information. By leaving your contact details, we will also be able to feed back to you any progress we have achieved with that client.

Action plan 2 for Buildsafe – NI

Buildsafe action plan.pdf

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust - Tackle data duplication problem

30/03/2005

Over the last 6 months Constructionline have been working very closely with Procon Software & Support Limited and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust to produce a data import procedure.

The procedure will allow users of the Approved List Manager program to import Constructionline data into their desktop software package. By doing this, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust is eliminating the need for human data input and of mass data duplication throughout the full tender life-cycle process.
Once imported, the data can then be used to maintain a list of approved contractors, consultants and suppliers who have been vetted by Constructionline and are considered suitable to undertake work on your behalf. Approved List Manager can then be used as a desktop database and containing Constructionline approved contractors.

Minimal, yet effective information about a contractor is imported into Approved List Manager including: company name, reference (matching that of the Constructionline database), address details, geographical locations and work category information. Upper and lower contract limits are also imported for each associated work category and against each contractor.

The import process has taken several months to fine tune and April 2005 will see Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust using the import procedure on a day-to-day basis for every contract and tender.
More information can be gained about the import procedure by visiting the Procon Software web-site, http://www.procon.uk.com, or by contacting Brian Gardiner, the Client Relationship Manager at Constructionline.

CHAS & Constructionline working together to streamline application process

13/01/2005

Constructionline is enhancing its close working relationship and commitment to the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS). Thanks to a recent agreement between Constructionline and CHAS, current members of CHAS will no longer be required to fill in Constructionline’s Health and Safety forms; instead firms can simply submit a copy of their CHAS accreditation certificate.

By implementing this change Constructionline is standing by its commitment to continually improve its processes and procedures to ensure a reduction in administration for firms and clients. The change will streamline the application process by removing duplicate form filling. This will save time, money and resources for all involved.

Firms with a CHAS accreditation certificate and who are sponsored by a client can also benefit further as they can submit the certificate to other potential clients. Those potential clients can then simply check the firms details on the CHAS database, rather than requesting additional duplicate information.

CHAS offers peace of mind to clients that an approved company has met standards designed and agreed by public sector health and safety experts in co-operation with construction industry representatives.

CHAS provides a clear, fair and transparent process for use in the health and safety pre-qualification. Approved contractors will have demonstrated compliance with current health and safety law and adequate management of health and safety in their firm.

Constructionline clients can benefit from a discounted membership rate when they apply for CHAS accreditation. Companies with a sponsoring client can register with CHAS for free whilst those without a sponsoring client pay either £64.66 p/a for companies with fewer than five employees or £117.50 p/a for companies who employ five or more employees. For more information on CHAS, please look at their website http://www.chas.gov.uk.

Constructionline awarded ‘Plain English Campaign’ stamp of approval

13/01/2005

Constructionline is delighted to announce that it has been awarded the Crystal Mark from the Plain English Campaign for the clarity of its application forms. The Crystal Mark has become firmly established in the UK as the standard that all organisations aim for when producing public information.
Constructionline has been closely collaborating with the Plain English Campaign to ensure its application forms are easily understandable and are of the highest standard. The award recognises Constructionline's commitment to constantly improving its communications.

The Plain English Campaign is an independent organisation promoting crystal-clear language. It was founded in 1979 and will only award the Crystal Mark to a document after testing shows it can be read, understood and acted upon the first time an intended audience reads it.

Welsh Assembly Government strongly urges adoption of Constructionline

13/01/2005

Welsh Government Minister states Constructionline "saves considerable time and money"

Constructionline announced today that the Welsh Assembly Government has written to Welsh public sector organisations and registered social landlords to strongly urge them to adopt its register of local and national pre-qualified construction services.

The views expressed in the letter, written by Edwina Hart, the Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration, were supported by findings from the North Wales Constructionline Pathfinder Project evaluation report. The report identified potential efficiency savings which could be achieved by the full adoption of Constructionline across the entire Welsh public sector equating to approximately £1.2m per annum for public sector organisations and approximately £1.4 per annum for Welsh firms.

The Minister said: "The adoption of Constructionline provides clear benefits to Welsh public sector organisations by providing them with access to contractors that have already been vetted including, for example: financial assessment; details of insurance cover; information on health and safety, and references taken. Constructionline can save considerable time and money at the start of tendering, particularly for small and medium sized local firms. This can be achieved by cutting out the red tape of repeated pre-qualification for each different public sector organisation they wish to work for."

Margaret Harvey, Director for Constructionline, said: "We are delighted that the Welsh Assembly Government has officially recognised the benefits Constructionline can bring to the pre-qualification stage and we look forward to working even more closely with the Welsh public sector and with local firms. The letter gives evidence to the numerous benefits of Constructionline's register of local and national pre-qualified construction services, particularly the way it streamlines procurement procedures."

The recommendation from the Welsh Assembly Government builds on the Local Government Task Force's endorsement of Constructionline in their two reports examining the service in 2002 and 2003. Constructionline's 1,500 plus clients across the UK range from Local Authorities and large central government departments and agencies to Housing Associations, Universities and NHS Trusts.

Welsh ministerial letter

Constructionline launches the Small Firms’ Reference Criteria

12/01/2005

Constructionline has launched the Small Firms Reference Criteria (SFRR), an initiative developed to assist small, local firms with Constructionline registrations. Now available to all firms with a turnover of less than £150,000 or fewer than five employees, SFRR simplifies the reference requirement for small firms and successfully removes some of the potential barriers small firms may experience when joining Constructionline, whilst maintaining the integrity of the registration requirements.

Currently a minimum of three references are required to register within a work sector and a minimum of one reference for each work category within that sector. All firms registered under SFRR are now only required to provide one reference to cover all sectors. SFRR, therefore, not only benefits Constructionline clients by increasing the number of firms on the database, but also continues to reduce the administrative burden of pre-qualification affecting small firms.

All existing registered firms will be invited to join SFRR when their current references expire. SFRR registered firms can be identified by the initials (SFRR) after their company name.

For more information on the SFRR initiative or to join Constructionline as an SFRR registered firm, please contact us on 0844 892 0313 or email us at constructionline@capita.co.uk.

News articles from 2004

Constructionline Knowledge launched successfully

31/03/2004

Constructionline has launched Constructionline Knowledge (CLiK), a new service available exclusively to Constructionline's clients and registered firms. The service, which is in its early stages but which is expected to expand quickly, is an online library of useful information about industry organisations and regulations.

CLiK's first section will allow Constructionline firms and clients to access information on trade associations and professional bodies. The information will describe what it means to be a member of the various organisations, detailing what each industry body assesses its members for, in areas such as Audit & Quality Standards, Health & Safety, Equal Opportunities, Environmental Sustainability, and Customer Satisfaction & Warranties. The second section contains similar information on government and industry improvement schemes, again detailing what requirements are needed to participate in them, whilst the final section contains information relating to regulatory and legislative codes applicable to the construction industry, as supplied by government and other industry bodies.

CLiK is not intended to be the ‘be all and end all’ of information sites, particularly immediately at launch. We are confident, however, that it will grow as more organisations see how it works, so that it, ultimately, becomes extensive enough to make it the first place Constructionline’s firms and clients refer to when they require information on construction-related services and products.

As the service is available exclusively to Constructionline’s firms and clients, it will be password protected. If you have any queries regarding CLiK, please call 0844 892 0313 or email constructionline@capita.co.uk.

Constructionline cluster advertising campaign underway

31/03/2004

Constructionline, the UK's register of local and national pre-qualified construction and construction-related services, is running a series of local advertising campaigns across the country specifically aimed at increasing the number of small firms that are registered with Constructionline. The campaigns, which are being run in conjunction with clusters of local clients, are being followed up by local workshops for firms that are interested in joining Constructionline.

The first campaigns are already underway in Lincolnshire, with the support of clients including …, and in South and West Yorkshire, which is being backed by clients such as Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, Sheffield Care NHS Trust, Doncaster College, Arches Housing Association, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, the University of Sheffield, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council and West Yorkshire Constabulary.

If you are interested in finding out about campaigns in your area, please contact 0844 892 0313 for further details.

News articles from 2003

Registrations retains ISO 9001:2000 award

11/11/2003

Constructionline's Basingstoke operations team has successfully retained its ISO 9001:2000 accreditation from the British Standards Institute for another year. The award recognises the standards met by Constructionline's processing of applications and maintenance of registered firms records.

Simon Kelleway, Director of Constructionline, said: 'We are delighted that the quality of the service firms receive has been confirmed by the British Standards Institute. This follows the developments and improvements we have seen in the last year, many of which were highlighted by the Local Government Task Force in April'.

Closer working relationship announced between the Highways Agency and Constructionline

04/11/2003

The Highways Agency and Constructionline have announced a closer working relationship for future Highways Agency procurement activities.

Highways Agency Supply Chain Manager, Gary Wright, said: 'The Highways Agency does not maintain, approve or pre-qualify lists of suppliers for highway projects and we are committed to maximising the use of Constructionline to help with pre-qualification exercises'. Please click on the below link for more information.

Highways Agency press release.pdf

Constructionline breaks 100,000 usage barrier

04/08/2003

More public sector bodies than ever are using Constructionline to access data on construction firms and create long lists for tenders, according to the latest data.

Over 100,000 long-lists and specific enquiries were made in the 12 months to June 2003, a 25% increase on two years ago. Please click on the below link for more information.

Constructionline usage press release.pdf

Constructionline and the Construction Skills Certification Scheme

10/07/2003

Constructionline are launching two new initiatives to further enhance the service they offer to their clients and registered firms.

CSCS Information.pdf
Letter to suppliers.doc

LGTF Report on Constructionline

22/04/2003

Independent task force highlights ;serious improvements in Constructionline';s service for members

LGTF Working Group Report.pdf
LGTF Working Group close out report 2003.doc
LGTF Working Group Report 2002.pdf

Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) Consultation Document

10/04/2003

The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) has published a consultation document, 'Race equality and procurement in local government'. Part I of the guide explains to local authorities how they should take account of their duty to promote race equality at each stage of the procurement process, giving advice, practical examples and tools. Part II assists contractors by explaining the race equality duties local authorities now have, and what they will need to do to meet race equality requirements and win contracts.
The document is currently out for consultation until 22 April (extended date). The guide is intended to be useful and above all used, and comments from authorities and contractors are welcomed. A separate guide, for all public authorities apart from councils, will be launched for consultation on 15 April, until 13 May. Any comments from contractors can be considered at either stage and taken into account in finalising the two guides.

Please contact Sasha Barton at CRE on 020 7939 0209 for further information.

Race Equality.pdf
CRE Consultation.pdf

News articles from 2002

Constructionline / NHS Joint Statement

16/08/2002

The NHS Constructionline User Group has agreed that Constructionline can now be promoted as the basis for providing the pre-qualification Register for Contractors and Consultants wishing to undertake work in the NHS.

NHS Estates Article.pdf
NHS & Constructionline statement.pdf

Constructionline to be adopted by public sector in Northern Ireland

13/08/2002

Constructionline is being adopted by the Northern Ireland Executive following detailed discussions with public sector bodies and the construction industry.

Constructionline will be adopted by all public sector procurers as of 30 September.
See the attached document for further details.

Northern Ireland statement.pdf

Constructionline and CHAS in mutual co-operation agreement (Suppliers)

17/07/2002

Constructionline is committed to working together in an initiative with the Contractors Health and Safety (CHAS) Assessment Scheme with the objectives of promoting recognised health and safety standards in the construction industry and driving down workplace accidents.

Under UK health and safety law, an employer is required to, as far as reasonably practical, ensure that those employed to undertake work on their behalf meet certain level of health and safety competence.

In helping our clients fulfil these requirements, Constructionline have an agreement for mutual co-operation with the CHAS Assessment Scheme. The agreement enables Constructionline clients to join the CHAS scheme and access information relating to assessments completed to a mutually agreed standard of a company's health and safety policy, organisation and arrangements. CHAS offers peace of mind as its health and safety standards have been designed and agreed by industry representatives and experts in the field of health and safety within the construction industry and indicates that a company has demonstrated adequate management of health and safety.

There is a fee for CHAS assessment. The fee depends upon whether this is a new application or simply a review. An initial CHAS assessment costs £99.87 if you employ 5 or more persons or £41.12 if you have less than 5 employees. If it is a reapplication for registration the fees is £52.87.

For further information please contact CHAS: chas.admin@merton.gov.uk or Constructionline: Constructionline@capita.co.uk

CHAS & Constructionline working together to streamline application process (Buyers)

13/07/2002

Firms with a CHAS accreditation certificate and who are sponsored by a client can also benefit further as they can submit the certificate to other potential clients. Those potential clients can then simply check the firms’ details on the CHAS database, rather than requesting additional duplicate information.

Local Government Task Force report issued

11/06/2002

The Local Government Task Force / Constructionline Working Group Report has now been issued. The report is available for view in pdf format by clicking on the attached file. The report can also be accessed from the Media section of this website.

LGTF report.pdf

News articles from 2001

Constructionline recruits major private contractor and announces participation in national debate

27/09/2001

Constructionline has been confirmed as one of the key participants in Rethinking Constructions National Debate 2001 which aims to develop best practice in public sector procurement.

The National Debate, which will be held at venues throughout the UK commencing with Brighton on 9 October, will invite senior decision-makers from the public sector and their suppliers to look at how successful procurement and management of construction projects can be achieved. Constructionline will be exhibiting and participating in the Workshops at all 12 venues, with senior representatives on hand to update clients on recent improvements to the system.

The news comes as Skanska Construction becomes the latest major construction company to register as an active user of Constructionline to source prequalified subcontractors.

Dean Grover, Supply Chain Manager, of Skanska commented: “The service offered by Constructionline means we can reduce the bureaucracy of keeping in-house lists by accessing pre-qualification information on a large number of consultants and contractors. We can also be confident that this information is up-to-date, and accessing it via the web cuts down on the need for paperwork.”

John Hobson, DTI's Director of Construction Industry Sponsorship, welcomed Skanska's registration and said: 'Constructionline helps clients, consultants and contractors alike to cut the costs, time and paperwork associated with pre-qualification. It is an important part of the drive to improve the industry’s performance. It is good to see Constructionline benefits becoming more widely recognised'.