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Pirellipete  
#1 Posted : 24 February 2016 13:59:56(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Pirellipete

So, having been asked by a new contact to provide a quote to conduct a Fire Risk Assessment, I asked to visit the site, free of charge, to make my initial observations to provide a quote. The company has a Health n Safety Manager who accompanied me on my visit Having visited the site and submitted a quote, which I can honestly say was at the lower end of the scale, I've been thanked, but no thanked ! During my site visit and conversations with the persons on site it was apparent there are some fairly wide gaps in the existing HSE systems, requirements and documentation in currently in place. I feel that "Someone" needs to know this at the company, but having been No Thank you'd, to give them this information for free galls a little, but is preying on my conscience. Do I relent and give them a brief synopsis of what I feel is needed as I feel that their In-House HSE guy had neither the ability or trust of the company to do this,himself, and is looking for some Free Advice and pointers.
walker  
#2 Posted : 24 February 2016 14:06:35(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
walker

Just forget about it. I doubt they would welcome nor heed your comments There are 1000s of companies like this, all "getting away with it" and undercutting the folks who have some morals.
wjp62  
#3 Posted : 24 February 2016 14:31:15(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
wjp62

Maybe if the H&S person is a member of IOSH they should be reminded of the code of conduct http://www.iosh.co.uk/~/...rocedure%20WEB.pdf?la=en
walker  
#4 Posted : 24 February 2016 14:39:06(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
walker

Maybe the contry needs a body that goes around checking companies obey the H&S law and bringing them to book if not. Oh! wait!
walker  
#5 Posted : 24 February 2016 14:45:06(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
walker

country
martin1  
#6 Posted : 24 February 2016 15:45:15(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
martin1

Understand how you feel but agree with Walker - "forget about it". You can't carry every problem you encounter on your own shoulders.
WatsonD  
#7 Posted : 24 February 2016 16:02:05(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
WatsonD

You could always report it, if it is serious enough: http://webcommunities.hs...Questionnaire?qid=594147 That way you can rest assured that you have done what you can
bob youel  
#8 Posted : 24 February 2016 19:37:08(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
bob youel

Walker has it right ---- and the more info you put into your tender etc. the more people steal
hilary  
#9 Posted : 25 February 2016 08:44:58(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
hilary

It could be that they went out to tender and someone else came back with a better quote - not necessarily cheaper, but perhaps more suited to their requirements. You cannot assume that because they did not choose you, they won't be doing anything. It's a marketplace, some you win and some you lose. Our organisation usually gets two or three quotes for this type of work and we go with the person or team that suits us best. Given that you were invited to quote they are clearly aware that they have gaps in their competencies and are looking to plug these with external help. Just sounds to me like they got a better offer and I don't mean cheaper, I just mean more suited to what they are looking for and you could be maligning them because they made the decision not to employ you. They are perfectly entitled to do this, even if you feel you did a good job. At least they had the decency to say no and not just keep you hanging on.
Invictus  
#10 Posted : 25 February 2016 08:55:39(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Invictus

If you feel that these gaps in the management systems could lead to injury or death then I believe that you have a moral if not legal duty to advise them of this! I am sure I read somewhere that if you notice something on a site then you should report, but this could be something I made up or just something to do with a moral duty. And I also agree with Hilary, regarding selection of consultant's.
Pirellipete  
#11 Posted : 22 April 2016 12:38:03(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Pirellipete

hilary wrote:
It could be that they went out to tender and someone else came back with a better quote - not necessarily cheaper, but perhaps more suited to their requirements. You cannot assume that because they did not choose you, they won't be doing anything. It's a marketplace, some you win and some you lose. Our organisation usually gets two or three quotes for this type of work and we go with the person or team that suits us best. Given that you were invited to quote they are clearly aware that they have gaps in their competencies and are looking to plug these with external help. Just sounds to me like they got a better offer and I don't mean cheaper, I just mean more suited to what they are looking for and you could be maligning them because they made the decision not to employ you. They are perfectly entitled to do this, even if you feel you did a good job. At least they had the decency to say no and not just keep you hanging on.
You Know Hilary, for the day and half at £75/per day I quoted I can take it or leave it, but they do have problems there and I tried to make them aware of their responsibilities during my Free of Charge visits, It's not the fact I didn't get the work, for the £112.50 I would've made, I"d rather go and play golf,
bleve  
#12 Posted : 22 April 2016 13:30:55(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
bleve

75 per Day (( oo )) O You really need to review your rate and worth!!!! TBH, if some one offered to complete the task for that rate, I probably would not hire them for concerns re quality of the work versus rate quoted. As others have said forget about it or report it. Regards
SP900308  
#13 Posted : 22 April 2016 14:50:54(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
SP900308

Pirellipete wrote:
It's not the fact I didn't get the work, for the £112.50 I would've made, I"d rather go and play golf,
Have I missed something, for £112.50..... just how serious were these problems?
WatsonD  
#14 Posted : 22 April 2016 15:01:35(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
WatsonD

I imagine the H&S manager who accompanied you on your free visit and tour probably noted what you said and went and wrote it up themselves. Is this standard practice to conduct a tour first? It seems like quite the rigmarole when the work may not be won. Surely just a quick bit of research on the company, along with the size and location of the premises all looked up online would be sufficient to provide a quote. Maybe even a request for drawings, policies, relevant training certs to provide background once the quote had been accepted.
aud  
#15 Posted : 22 April 2016 19:11:35(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
aud

Sorry PP, but if I (as H&S manager) got a quote as low as yours for a FRA, I would not take it any further - you cannot be serious charging a mere £10 an hour (more likely less). I have seen FRAs done for the £200 mark (some years ago). They were poor. That's not to say your work would be thus, just its hard to see how you can offer quality work at that price. And include a Free of Charge visit too! You cannot assume they will do nothing, and whether they so or not is really not your business.
toe  
#16 Posted : 23 April 2016 01:00:21(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
toe

Slightly off topic. I found myself in a situation a few years back when I Conducted a FRA for a large manufacturing company (took 3 days visiting the site and 1 day to write up the report). The problem I had is that not only was fire safety poor but also H&S in general, in which I could not morally ignore. For example, pallets stacked near-to the FLT gas filling point = fire risk. Pallets stacked high and precarious = H&S risk. So I therefore submitted two reports FRA and a H&S report (for free because I felt it had to be said), Note: The H&S report was addressing real and significant risks and not anything trivia. I think the reports did not reflect highly on the H&S and production Managers of the site – but hey, I felt I did my duty. BTW –PP your fees are way too low.
chris.packham  
#17 Posted : 23 April 2016 15:27:50(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
chris.packham

We recently had to obtain advice regarding a legal agreement concerning collaboration with a company in Germany. The advice from the solicitor that we received was first class and played a major role in our being able to reach a very favourable conclusion to our negotiations. His fee as a commercial law specialist was £200 per hour for a two hour meeting. Bearing in mind the outcome I felt this was money well spent. As a general rule the advice from a solicitor may have implications for livelihood but is less likely to have implications for life itself. Contrast this with the advice regarding health and safety, a complex issue where inadequate advice could put life itself at severe risk. Given the responsibility that the health and safety advisor assumes and the expertise that will be needed surely the charge should reflect this. I believe the HSE charges around £120 per hour for their inspector’s time. Should our fee be any less? Chris
bob youel  
#18 Posted : 23 April 2016 18:11:08(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
bob youel

In my personal view its not your place to make public comment irrespective unless death was [honestly] imminent And with all due respect how can U possibly provide a bid without first knowing what U are bidding for e.g. I always [100%] undertook an indepth evaluation before I bid both as a SHEF bod and a production bod & on many an occasion a company has regretted the fact that they did not evaluate properly after having won the work As for stealing, picking brains etc. then that is standard practice is it not & has always gone on and will continue to do so? best of luck
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