Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Maintenance Tender
Specification
Tender Ref: UOR/EST/018/111
Estates and Facilities
University of Reading
PO Box 235
Whiteknights
Reading
Berkshire
RG6 6UR
University of Reading Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and
Ventilation Maintenance Contract Specification
1. SCOPE
The University of Reading (UoR) requires a cost effective service for the maintenance and
breakdown repair of its air conditioning, refrigeration and ventilation systems.
A full asset list will be provided for tendering purposes, however it is the Contractors
responsibility to maintain the asset list and make sure that it is fully up to date at all times.
The Contractor will make sure that the UoR is fully compliant with current F-Gas Regulations,
utilising a fully integrated electronic management system.
The UoR requires the Contractor to supply a fully trained and experienced refrigeration
engineer to site Mondays to Fridays 8 am to 4pm, unless otherwise agreed with the UoR
Contract Manager.
The UoR requires 24 hour 365 days a year emergency callout to all equipment covered by
this Contract.
2. SITE INFORMATION
The equipment to be maintained is located at the following locations:-
Whiteknights campus, London Road campus, Greenlands, Thames Valley Science Park and
The University farms located at Aborfield and Sonning.
Maps and equipment locations will be provided at the Contract implementation stage.
3. DEFINITIONS OF TASKS
The UoR currently has in the region of 1350 individual pieces of equipment that are to be
covered by this Contract, the most common types of equipment covered by this contract are:-
Single split A/C units
Multi split A/C units
VRV/VRF A/C unit
Chillers
Cold rooms, freezer rooms, constant temperature rooms and associated controls and
alarms.
DX Units
Heat pumps (air and ground source)
Air Handling Units
Fan coil units
Heat recovery units
VAV boxes
A/C controls (including BMS interface)
Note:
The number of assets may be subject to change through the life of the Contract.
The maintenance visits will include but not limited to:-
Major Service
Carry out maintenance as per manufacturers annual service instructions, inclusive
but not limited to:-
Compressor - Check for undue noise and vibration. Check discharge and
suction pressure and check superheat under load conditions.
Compressor suction – Check for symptoms of `wet` operation or excessive
superheat.
Refrigerant - Check level in receiver and/or liquid line sight glass.
Condenser and evaporator fins – Check for damage and/or dust
accumulation. Clean as necessary.
Fans, motors and damper drive motors (if fitted) – Check bearings and
lubricate as necessary. Inspect and check on fan guard covers and
inspection plates.
Evaporator and drains, dip tray and pump – Check and clean. Check
condensate drain is clear and clean.
Compressor capacity control and unloaded start valves (if fitted) –
Check for correct operation. Check motor current against commissioning
data.
Refrigerant pipework – Check for vibration and rectify any loose or
inadequate support/fixing.
Filters – Check condition and replace as necessary.
Insulation – Check condition repair/reseal as necessary.
General cleanliness – Clean surfaces of compressor and components of
condensing unit.
Electrical – Check for damage to flexible conduits. Tighten all terminal
connections. Isolate local control panel and inspect for sign of overheating.
Check integrity of electrical insulation.
System operation – Confirm that it is in accordance with design parameters,
where they are available.
Carry out refrigerant leak test as per F-Gas regulations where applicable.
Check all controls including BMS interface, check with BMS engineers that equipment
is operating as normal.
Check any alarms are functioning correctly, where alarm is received remotely, check
that alarm is being received.
Leave area clean and tidy.
Minor Service
Carry out maintenance as per manufacturers 6 monthly service instructions.
Carry out refrigerant leak test as per F-Gas regulations where applicable.
Check all controls including BMS interface, check with BMS engineers that equipment
is operating as normal.
Check any alarms are functioning correctly, where alarm is received remotely, check
that alarm is being received.
Clean unit, clean or replace any filter where applicable.
Leave area clean and tidy.
Chiller Service
All Water chillers to be maintained as per manufactures instructions inclusive but not
limited to:-
Quarterly
Status – Check operating status
.
Refrigeration circuits - Check circuit pressures and superheat
temperatures. Check alarm and run lights and remote alarm lights
associated with packs.
Refrigerant - Check for refrigerant and any leaks.
Leak detection system - Check operation where fitted.
Expansion valves - Adjust if necessary.
Chilled water supply - Check flow and return water temperature under full
and part load conditions.
Glycol - Check glycol concentration in chilled water.
Chilled water flow rate – Check that this is in accordance with the
manufacturer’s recommended figure.
Leakage - Check all pumps and pipework for leaks and rectify.
Refrigerant pipework - Inspect and check for vibration, chaffing and
leakage.
Standby circuits - Check operation.
Flood alarm - Check operation.
Digital readouts - Check operation.
Controls - Check operation of temperature control thermostats. Inspect
electrical panels and components for wear especially the compressor
contacts. Check operation of safety thermostats and timers.
Hours run meter - Check and record.
Insulation - Check condition and make good and defects.
Annually
Electrical - Check for damage to flexible conduits. Tighten all terminal
connections. Isolate control panel and inspect for signs of overheating.
Check integrity of electrical insulation.
Safety cut-outs - Check all safety cut-outs including high and low pressure
safety cut-outs and the antifreeze thermostat cut-out for operation and correct
calibration.
Pump strainers - Check condition and clean.
Quarterly Filter Inspection
Clean or replace any filter where applicable, clean unit.
Leave area clean and tidy.
Air Handling Units (AHU) (additional requirements)
Check AHU housing for condition
Check motors and bearings for correct operation
Check drive belts, replace where necessary
Check heat exchangers for blockages, corrosion or leaks
Check/clean condensate drain where applicable
Check damper operation where applicable
Fan Coil Units (FCU)
Check general condition of unit
Check and clean fan where applicable
Clean filter
Check operation of controls
Be aware that a large proportion of FCU maintenance will need to be carried out
outside of normal working hours.
Weekly Server Room Inspections
Inspect A/C in University server rooms for correct operation. Report any faults
immediately.
F-Gas leak checks
F-Gas leak checks to be carried out as per F-Gas regulations.
4. SERVICE DELIVERY
The Contractor will attend site in a sign written van wearing a company uniform,
preferably with an i.d badge.
The normal hours of work of which all planned maintenance should be carried out are
Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm.
The UoR requires a 24 hour 365 days a year callout response for all equipment
covered by this contract. The response time should be no more than 4 hours.
Any Engineer attending site should be appropriately trained and experienced in the
work they are undertaking. Any Engineer working on systems containing a refrigerant
gas will have completed and passed a City and Guilds NVQ level 3 in Refrigeration
and Air Conditioning (6187) Service and Maintenance Route and a Category 1
certificate in Stationary Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (SRAC) systems, including
heat pump systems, awarded by an accredited organisation.
The Contractor must be certified to handle fluorinated greenhouse gasses (F-Gases)
regulated by the EU. The certification will by one of the following organisations:-
Bureau Veritas
Quidos
Refcom
The certification must be renewed every 3 years and must not be allowed to expire.
The Contractor will undertake an initial dilapidation report on all equipment in the first
year of the Contract. The report will include the age, condition, type of gas and
estimated life expectancy of equipment.
The Contractor will transfer The University’s asset list, F-Gal logs and service history
to their own system.
The University of Reading would like to reduce unplanned failures of its
ventilation/refrigeration equipment. The Contractor will produce a strategy to manage
unplanned failures, this will be reported to the Contract Manager at the monthly
Contract meetings.
The Contractor will keep the UoR Contract Manager up to date on all ongoing works
via email, telephone call or in person on a regular basis.
It is the Contractors responsibility to arrange access to carry out the intended works
via the relevant building contact. A list of building contacts will be supplied to the
Contractor at the implementation stage.
The Contractor must supply Risk Assessments/Method Statements for all planned,
reactive and quoted maintenance work.
It is the Contractors responsibility to ensure the management of the equipment
containing refrigerant gases will be fully compliant with the current EU fluorinated
greenhouse gas regulations and compliant with ISO 14001.
The Contractor will assist the UoR in environmental audits where required, e.g.
ISO14001 audit by demonstrating how records are stored and updated on their
electronic system.
The Contractor will use an electronic system to plan and log jobs, this system will also
store the University’s asset list and F-Gas logs. This system should be live i.e.
constantly updated. F-Gas logs should be easily obtainable from the asset list, i.e.
one or two clicks away.
Every unit on the asset list shall have a work and cost history stored on the electronic
system. i.e. the UoR shall be able to see all work and costs on any individual asset.
The cost history will be broken down into materials and labour.
It is the Contractors responsibility to ensure the asset list and F-Gas logs are up to
date. F-Gas logs should be updated within 1 hour of job completion.
The electronic system will be able to produce an excel spreadsheet of the asset list,
F-Gas logs and refrigerant gas usage in a useable form that will be provided to the
UoR on a monthly basis.
The UoR will have access to the Contractors electronic system to view asset lists, F-
Gas logs, work reports, current job status and future planned jobs.
Contract performance will be measured by the Contractor and reported the UoR
Contractor Manager at the monthly Contract meetings. The parameters to be
measured are listed in section 8 KPI’s.
The UoR require all works to be performed directly by the Contractor except in certain
circumstances which may require a specialist Contractor or the equipment
manufacturer, such as works on ground source heat pumps or chillers. This will only
be allowed by UoR approval.
The Contractor must ensure that any sub-contractor working their behalf will have the
necessary tools, equipment and software to complete the task fully and to the
satisfaction of the University of Reading.
The Contractor will produce a monthly report detailing the type and amount of
refrigerant gas used/removed or reclaimed from site as well as the amount of gas that
has escaped to atmosphere. The Contractor will provide this information in both
kilograms and CO2 tonnes equivalence.
5. PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE (PPM)
Equipment Servicing Requirements
The equipment will be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions
and to the F-Gas Regulations.
The equipment service interval shall be determined by the following schedule:-
Type of Equipment
Frequency per annum
1 Major service
Equipment containing refrigerant gas (with
the exception of chillers)
1 Minor service (where equipment contains
more than 50CO2 tonnes equivalence),
Quarterly filter inspection where required
(identified on asset list).
Quarterly, unless alternative maintenance
Chillers
strategy produced and agreed by UoR.
1 major service
Air Handling Units
4 quarterly filter inspections
Fan Coil Units, Heat recovery units, VAV
1 major service,
Boxes
1 minor service (TVSP only)
Server Room A/C equipment
Weekly server room inspections
The equipment will be serviced by building to a schedule agreed with the UoR
Contract Manager.
A maintenance service report will be completed for each piece of equipment. It will be
acceptable to complete a service report per building, however the report will list all
equipment serviced and the work carried out.
Work reports will be electronic and available to view via a live system within 24 hours
of job completion.
Filter inspections – A photo of filter condition before and after replacement to be
attached to work report.
Spare parts required for the ppm service such as filters and drive belts are to be
included in the cost of the annual maintenance. Spares parts required are shown on
the asset register. This is to be shown as a separate cost.
F-Gas leak checks and equipment maintenance will occur at the same visit.
Faults found during maintenance that contravene any regulations shall be treated
accordingly. The UoR Contract Manager should immediately be made aware and a
quote for repair shall be produced and received by the University no later than 24
hours after the fault identification.
Remedial faults found during servicing shall be quoted for and presented to the
University no later than one week after servicing.
Where lab and/or roof permits are required to complete the planned maintenance the
Contractor must give at least 1 months’ notice of the work. Where no permits are
required 2 weeks’ notice is sufficient.
Where hot work permits are required the Contractor must give at least 3 day’s notice
of the work.
F-Gas
Systems containing refrigerant gas will be leak checked as per the following
schedule.
Refrigerant Gases
Frequency of Leak Checks
No leakage Detection Leakage Detection
System
System
5 tonnes CO2-equivalent
12 Months
24 Months
50 tonnes CO2-equivalent
6 Months
12 Months
500 tonnes CO2-equivalent
N/A
6 Months
All equipment/systems containing a refrigerant gas will have its own F/Gas log.
Any work on equipment that relates to the refrigerant gas must be entered into the F-
Gas log.
It is the Contractors responsibility to ensure that any F-Gases held on site are stored
and managed in accordance with the current F-Gas regulations.
6. REACTIVE MAINTENANCE
The Contractor will respond to reactive calls as per the following schedule.
Priority 1 (Emergencies)
Response time: Within 4 hours
Completion: 28 hours from issue
Incidents that are likely to:
Endanger life or represent a serious health & safety risk
Cause serious disruption to the operation of a building
Cause extensive damage to property
Priority 2 (Urgent)
Response time: 2 working days from issue
Completion: 4 working days from issue
Incidents that:
Represent a lesser health & safety risk
Cause disruption to the operation of the building/business
Cause minor damage to property
Priority 3 (Routine)
Response time: 7 working days from issue
Completion time: 14 working days from issue
Incidents that:
Are routine or non-essential in nature and can normally be undertaken at any
time.
The University of Reading will set the priority of the call out and will clearly state this
to the Contractor at the time of issuing the call.
The UoR will issue reactive work to the Contractor in one of two ways:-
Priority 1 work will be phoned through to the Contractor directly, this will be
followed by emailing the work request sheet through to a nominated email
address.
Priority 2 & 3 work will be emailed to the Contractors nominated email
address.
All out of hours callouts will be treated as Priority 1 and will be phoned
through directly to the Contractor.
The Contractor will acknowledge they have received all work requests.
If the fault cannot be fixed during the initial call out, a quote shall be produced by the
Contractor and sent to the University of Reading within 48 hours of the visit. On
acceptance of the quote the Contractor shall make its best endeavours to procure
any parts needed and fit them as soon as possible. It is of vital importance that the
Contractor keeps both the Contract manager and the building users informed of the
status of the fault and likely repair date.
The University of Reading reserves the right to use other suitable qualified suppliers
for reactive and remedial works where deemed necessary or where additional quotes
are required.
7. PROJECT WORK
There will be a requirement to provide quotations for new installations and modifications
to existing air conditioning and refrigeration systems as part of the site development
programme. The Contractor will be required to have the capability to carry out this work
using directly employed resource. The University reserves the right to obtain alternative
quotations, which may result in the employment of other Contractors to carry out the
work.
8. CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
The Contract will be for a period of 6 years.
The Contractor will be issued a purchase order covering the cost of the preventative
maintenance for a period of one year at a time. Separate purchase orders will be
raised for reactive call outs and remedial works during the Contract period when
required.
The Contractor will invoice monthly for both reactive and planned work. Planned
work invoices will include a breakdown of where the equipment was maintained.
Reactive invoices will be per job. Invoicing will be in line with the UoR terms and
conditions.
A Contract meeting between the Contractor and UoR Contract Manager will take
place on a monthly basis, unless otherwise agreed with UoR contract Manager. This
meeting will be to discuss preventative maintenance, remedial & reactive work, health
& safety, KPI’s and general contract performance. Additional meetings may be called
when and if required.
Minutes and actions will be recorded at the monthly Contract meeting. The
Contractor must ensure that any actions attributed to them must be completed within
the agreed timeframe.
An implementation meeting will be arranged before the Contract starts.
9. KPI’s
A number of KPI’s will be required to accurately measure and monitor the performance and
delivery of the service. The Contractor will be measured on the following as a minimum:-
KPI’s
Description
How is it measured?
Target
Completion of planned work schedule
By Contractor against agreed
100%
schedule
Call out response time and completion
By Contractor against UoR
97%
priority’s
Turnaround time for producing quotes for
By Contractor against guidelines 90%
remedial works
set out in this specification
F-Gas log update (within 1 hour of work)
!0% audit carried out by UoR
90%
Contract Manager
Asset List Accuracy
Checked against F-Gas logs by
100%
UoR Contract Manager
Work Backlog (outstanding Jobs)
By Contractor against target.
Planned – No greater
than 30 days.
Reactive – No greater
than 60 days.
10. COMPETENCY
The Contractor and any subcontractor working on their behalf will send suitably qualified and
experienced engineers to site, capable of carrying out the works detailed in this specification
to the satisfaction of the UoR. Any Engineer attending site should be appropriately trained
and experienced in the work they are undertaking. Any Engineer working on systems
containing a refrigerant gas will have completed and passed a City and Guilds NVQ level 3 in
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (6187) Service and Maintenance Route and a Category 1
certificate in Stationary Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (SRAC) systems, including heat
pump systems, awarded by an accredited organisation.
The Contractor itself must be certified to handle fluorinated greenhouse gasses (F-Gases)
regulated by the EU. The certification will by one of the following organisations:-
Bureau Veritas
Quidos
Refcom
11. HEALTH AND SAFETY
Prior to the start of the Contract risk assessments and method statements covering every
aspect of the work specified in the Contract should be submitted for approval to the UoR
Contract Manager.
All of the Contractors employees that are intended to work on site shall do so in accordance
with The University of Reading’s Site Rules for Working on University Premises for
Contractors and Consultants. Contractors shall undergo a site induction before carrying out
any work on the University.
Before any work is carried out all Contractors employees shall confirm in writing using the
Declaration of Compliance form at Appendix A (The University of Reading’s Site Rules For
Working on University Premises For Contractors and Consultants) to confirm that the Site
rules have been read and understood.
Prior to undertaking any works on site the engineer must liaise directly with the Appointed
Person responsible for the specific building, inspect the relevant entries within the University
Asbestos Register and undertake an appropriate pre-start risk assessment.
If the work will involve intrusive works the University of Reading Asbestos Coordinator must be
contacted for advice before proceeding with the task.
Intrusive work will include any dismantling of system components that could disturb gasket
materials. Intrusive work includes all demolition or breaking out, forming openings (of any
size) in walls, floors and ceilings, opening up of ducts, boxing or voids, lifting of coverings etc.
12. WASTE MANAGEMENT
The University will need to be given appropriate details of how any waste will be treated. The
information must include details of the registered waste carrier confirming that they are
licensed to carry the category of waste. A copy of the licence must be sent to the University
for their records. The Contractor needs to provide details of the Waste Disposal business the
waste is being transported to, providing confirmation that the business is registered to
process that category of waste. A copy of the licence must be sent to the University for their
records. The Contractor should ensure that the appropriate sections of the waste transfer
note have been completed recording the details of the waste that has been transported.
13. PRICING
Costs are to include all management and administration works that would be required for this
Contract to perform as detailed in this specification. An engineer will be required to be on site
during normal working days 8am – 4pm.
The Contractor will submit a cost for the annual planned preventative maintenance
and F-Gas leak checks of all the appliances listed in the asset list. The cost will be
split by building, i.e. every building covered by this contract will have an individual
price. The asset register lists the frequency of the maintenance visits and F-Gas
checks required and the spare parts which are to be included in the annual ppm cost.
Please note, UoR annual budget for planned preventative maintenance is
£125,000. Any bids at 10% or more over budget will not be considered and the
bidder will be excluded from the process.
The Contractor will submit an hourly rate for working hours fault investigation/repair
work.
The Contractor will submit an hourly rate for out of hours fault investigation/repair
work where the work has been planned.
The contractor will submit an hourly rate for out of hours callout fault
investigation/repair work.
The Contractor will submit a percentage mark up on all parts required.
The Contractor will submit a percentage mark up on refrigerant gasses required.
The Contractor will submit a percentage mark up on specialised labour required.
Annual price increase will be linked to RPI but capped at 3% and subject to UoR approval.
There is a requirement for this contract to have open book accounts for parts and specialised
labour. All cost incurred by the contractor for materials, parts, sub-contractors etc shall be
made available to the University on request.
Historical data
The following historical data is available:-
Number of reactive Callouts (in normal working hours) per year:-
2015 - 176
2016 - 181
2017 - 194
Number of follow on quotes raised per year:-
2015 - 96
2016 - 74
2017 - 66
A detailed list of the remedial repairs that have occurred over the last 3 years are listed on a
separate spreadsheet.
