Roofing Tenders Set to Soar Under PM’s Green Scheme – Here’s How to Make the Most of Investments.

There’s good news for roofing tenders! On 18^th November, the government announced that the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme will be extended by a year. The scheme was previously set to end in early 2021. Now, however, vouchers can be redeemed for a further year, as long as work is completed by 31st March 2022.

Simple Energy Advice states 25% of heat is lost through roofs, and the Green Homes Scheme aims to tackle this. It provides homeowners and landlords with vouchers to encourage the installation of energy-efficient improvements to their homes. The vouchers cover two-thirds of the costs for improvements, up to a maximum government contribution of £5,000. (Or up to £10,000 through the low-income support scheme.)

This includes roofing procedures such as:

• flat roof insulation
• pitched roof insulation
• room in roof insulation
• insulating a park home

The previous time scale for the scheme proved highly inconvenient for many roofing contractors, so an extension is great news. Chief Executive of the National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NRFC), James Talman, summarised how this extension benefits the roofing industry. He said:

“The decision to extend the Green Homes Grant by a further year is a welcome relief for the industry. The previous timescale was completely unrealistic when many firms needed time to get the relevant accreditations. And most contractors and suppliers were already operating at full capacity. The government should now set out its future intentions on retrofit, beyond the next year, to give longer-term certainty to the market.”

Now, roofing contractors who’ve obtained the relevant accreditations can benefit from the scheme for the next 16 months. If not, there is still time to get the accreditations and take part in the scheme.

So, what are the relevant accreditations?

The government states that at the time of installing for the Green Homes Grant, the contractor must:

• Be a TrustMark-registered installer;
• Be registered for the Green Homes Grant scheme;
• Meet Publicly Available Specification (PAS) standards, such as
• PAS 2030:2017
• PAS 2030:2019
• PAS 2035:2019 (for park homes, high rise buildings and buildings that are both traditionally constructed and protected)
• Meet Microgeneration Installation Standard (MCS) standards, and;
• Be certified by a body that has been accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

Green Homes Grant installers can continue to work in homes through the second national lockdown, following the COVID-19 Secure guidelines.

And that’s not all!

The government’s announcement also outlines a £1 billion investment into making new and existing homes and public buildings more efficient. This presents a broad scope of opportunities for roofing tenders in the public sector.

This welcome news comes as part of PM Boris Johnson’s ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution. The green plan will create and support up to 250,000 British jobs. Point seven of the ten-point plan refers to greener homes and buildings. It contains the following objectives:

Point 7 – Homes and public buildings:

• Making our homes, schools and hospitals greener, warmer and more energy efficient;
• Creating 50,000 jobs by 2030, and a target to install 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028;
• Extending the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme by a year;
• Making public sector buildings greener, and;
• Cutting bills for hospitals and schools, as part of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

These objectives put public sector roofing tenders in great stead for 2021. After all, greener buildings all need greener roofing to reduce 25% of their heat loss. The government’s energy-saving efforts, therefore, rely heavily on the adjustment of existing roofing and the installation of new roofing systems. All in all, roofing tenders are set to be readily available as this £1 billion investment rolls out.

How to secure work on future roofing tenders.

With roofing opportunities set to rise, it will pay to have a solid tendering strategy going forward. This will ensure you make the most of the surge in opportunity and win relevant roofing tenders. Our tendering experts at Hudson are here to help you succeed and grow your business! Here’s some up-to-date advice on finding and winning roofing tenders as we head into 2021.

1. Find tenders via a sector-specific portal.

As roofing becomes a keen focus of government investment, make sure you’re using an effective tendering portal. You don’t want to miss out on valuable opportunities due to inaccurate CPV codes. So, first things first, make sure you’re using a portal that is optimised for your sector and uses manual tracking.

Construction Tenders offers a fully streamlined route to roofing tenders via manual tracking and keyword filtering. Our Opportunity Trackers manually search for the latest public and private sector roofing tender opportunities daily. This allows contractors to search for roofing tenders easily, using multiple filters to suit their needs. When you sign up to the portal, you’ll start receiving roofing tender opportunities straight to your inbox.

Book a free live demo to find out how Construction Tenders can benefit your business.

2. Prepare for the two-step tendering process.

Roofing tenders, like most tenders in the construction industry, are made up of a two-stage process.

Stage 1: Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)

The PQQ is a questionnaire to determine if a contractor can deliver the quality standards that the client requires. This reduces a large number of bidders down to a few suppliers who are clearly capable of delivering the project.

The construction sector’s answer to the PQQ is the PAS91, a standardised test for construction workers. You must provide policies and answer questions regarding quality assurance, health and safety, equal opportunities and diversity, and more. If you are a Constructionline member, you are automatically PAS91 compliant.

With any PQQ, you essentially need to prove that the following aspects of your business are up to scratch:

• Your level of experience;
• Your ability to complete the works successfully and assure quality;
• and your financial stability.

Stage 2: Invitation to Tender

Roofing contractors who pass the PQQ and are shortlisted will then receive an Invitation to Tender (ITT).

An ITT for a roofing tender will likely include the following information:

• Letter of Invitation
• Invitation to Tender document
• Form of Tender
• Preliminaries
• Details on the Form of Contract and Contract Conditions
• Specifications
• Design Drawings
• Tender Pricing Document
• Associated Appendices

This is your opportunity to fully demonstrate your company’s capability and capacity to deliver the required roofing works.

3. Consider tendering for work on larger contracts.

An added benefit of using a tendering portal is that it opens up doors to larger projects. This could include work on a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) or a framework agreement. SMEs or sole traders in the roofing industry wouldn’t access these opportunities organically.

For example, Swindon Borough Council put out a two-stage tender for qualified contractors to undertake the Roofing Renewal Programme. This applies to many housing properties, and the overall contract period estimated value is £4.8 million over 4 years.

A large roofing contract like this is a good opportunity for suppliers who can provide multiple services. For instance, Swindon Borough Council requires roofing contractors to undertake a range of works, including:

• the removal of existing roof coverings as required,
• the supply and installation of new roof covering as required,
• the renewal of associated items at roof level and below,
• the provision of scaffolding required to carry out the works,
• making good to the structure and finishing’s as required,
• flat to pitch conversions,
• gas flue safety check procedure.

With any tendering opportunity which requires scaffolding provision, you must also provide accreditations and case studies unique to providing scaffolding. Our advice on compliance for scaffolding tenders and insulation tenders may be helpful if you provide multiple services.

4. Ensure your roofing tender stands out.

Often, a highly detailed specification requires a highly detailed tender response. Creating a fully compliant roofing tender response can feel overwhelming, but there are options for tender support. Hudson Succeed provides writing support and professional consultation to soften the burden and maximise your chances of success when tendering for construction contracts.

Our bid writing experts have extensive experience – and an 87% success rate at winning bids for clients. Whether you’re tendering for the first time or simply need advice on improving your success rate, there’s a service for you. Our four-levels of tender support are:

• Tender Ready
• Tender Writing
• Tender Improvement
• Tender Mentor

Here are some recommendations from our bid-writing experts on how to make your roofing tender stand out. We’ve highlighted some areas where you should ensure you’re taking extra steps to succeed.

• Site visits.

Visiting the site is an opportunity to gain insight and strengthen your roofing tender response in several ways. You can assess the roofing work required, scout out competition, and gain further understanding of the buyer’s requirements.

Assessing a site first-hand allows a roofing contractor to quote their costs, materials and scope of work much more accurately. To make the most of your site visit and ensure your tender response stands out, be sure to:

• Read all the specified requirements before deciding whether this is the right contract for you.
• Make a list of all the information you need to learn and take it with you.
• Be confident and ask clarification questions to show engagement with the buyer.
• Look for visual clues relating to the buyer and their work culture.

• Case studies.

Case studies hold great importance in a tender response. Proving to the buyer that you’ve successfully completed similar roofing work – with high client satisfaction – is essential. The PQQs usually require contractors to demonstrate 3 previous contract examples.

Our bid writing experts advise you to create at least three case studies for every service you offer. This will further strengthen your tender response. For instance, if you provide roofing, scaffolding, and insulation services, you should develop at least nine case studies.

Both our Tender Ready and Improvement programmes include creating effective case studies for your business. Our free Tender VLE masterclass also covers the essentials of case studies, with an easy to follow 4-step structure.

• Health and safety.

Roofing is one of the most hazardous areas of construction because it involves work at height. In fact, roof work accounts for 25% of all deaths in the construction industry. Having a compliant Health & Safety manual is absolutely essential and it will likely be required during the tendering process. This may be required during the PQQ stage, or as part of your quality response.

Make your tender response stand out by creating a company-branded manual. This will give a great first impression of your brand to buyers. The Tender Ready programme can provide support with this. If you provide the relevant information, our bid writers can create a well-designed and clearly structured manual, guaranteed to impress.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) offers an extensive range of advice and reading on safety regulations for roofing work. You should familiarise yourself with as much relevant information as possible. HSE advises that the principle elements of law relevant to roof work health and safety are:

• the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974;
• Work at Height Regulations 2005;
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999;
• Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015;
• Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998; and
• the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Always make sure you’re fully compliant with the health and safety regulations specific to the roofing tender.

• COVID-19 secure guidelines.

Consider how you’ll effectively manage coronavirus and adhere to the most up to date guidelines in your tender response. This will likely depend on the site-specific assessment you complete via your site visit. This could pertain to:

• Risk management of your workforce (i.e. alternating shift patterns, social distancing measures on-site)
• Delivery of materials (i.e. reducing frequency to maintain regulations)

Providing supplementary supporting evidence to prove this can strengthen your tender further, such as a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) register. Make sure you’ve covered all bases!

Need any further support with the tendering process? Get in touch with Hudson Succeed to see how we can increase your chances of success.

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