Request for Information (RFI) Bangladesh Accord on Fire and ...

 

    Request  for  Information  (RFI)   Bangladesh  Accord  on  Fire  and  Building  Safety   November  25,  2013    

I.

Statement  of  Purpose  

The  Bangladesh  Accord  on  Fire  and  Building  Safety  (“Accord”)  is  an  independent  bipartite   agreement  between  global  brands  and  unions  designed  to  make  all  garment  factories  in   Bangladesh  safe  workplaces.  It  includes,  among  other  things,  the  carrying  out  of  independent   safety  inspections  at  all  covered  factories,  and  public  reporting  of  the  results  of  these   inspections.     The  accord  is  a  legally  binding  agreement,  which  has  been  signed  by  over  100  global  apparel   companies.  Currently,  the  scope  of  the  accord  covers  over  1,500  factories  which  require  fire,   electrical  and  structural  safety  inspections.   The  accord  is  looking  for  qualified  fire,  electrical  and  building  safety  engineering  firms  to   conduct  initial  inspections  on  behalf  of  the  accord  and  in  accordance  with  its  standards.     Additional  information  on  the  Accord  can  be  found  on  at  www.bangladeshaccord.org.    

II.

Information  Requested  

The  accord  is  seeking  to  conduct  a  large  number  of  inspections  in  a  short  period  of  time,   thereby  requiring  the  services  of  various  engineering  firms.  We  are  looking  for  firms  that  can   1    

 

conduct  inspections,  as  well  as  project  manage  the  inspections  across  a  number  of  service   providers.  Each  inspection  (whether  fire,  structural  or  electrical)  will  generally  require  one  full   day  on  site  at  the  subject  factory  and  one  half  day  for  analysis  of  the  information  gathered,   formulation  of  findings  and  recommendations  and  preparation  of  reports. In  your  response  to  this  RFI,  you  are  requested  to  fill  in  with  an  “X”  the  boxes  where  you  intend   to  submit  a  proposal  by  the  closing  date  (see  below).     Scope  of  Work  -­‐  areas   Project  Management  –  overall  project   Conducting  of  Inspections  –  structural/building   Project  management  –  structural  inspections   Conducting  of  Inspections  -­‐  electrical   Project  management  –  electrical  inspections   Conducting  of  Inspections  –  fire  safety   Project  management  –  fire  safety  inspections    

III.

Intention  to   Propose                  

Qualifications  

In  addition  to  completion  of  the  table  in  section  II  above,  please  include  with  your  response  to   the  RFI  the  following  questions.     1. Main  point  of  contact  for  your  organization  and  contact  details.   2. Your  credentials/qualifications  for  each  area/scope  of  work  on  which  you  intend  to   propose,  including  similar  projects  that  you  have  worked  on.   3. Resourcing:   a. Key  team  members  for  each  area/scope  of  work  on  which  you  intend  to  propose   and  overall  qualifications  of  your  team.   b. Size  of  your  team  and  estimated  number  of  inspections  you  will  be  able  to   conduct  on  a  monthly  basis  in  each  of  the  three  inspection  areas   (structural/building,  electrical,  fire  safety)   4. Your  ability  to  utilize  the  local  (Bangladeshi)  workforce  in  carrying  out  the  inspections   and  your  knowledge  of  the  local  landscape.   5. Availability  (start  date)  to  begin  this  work  and,  if  your  organization  is  indicating  interest   conducting  inspections,  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of  time  between  the  start  date  and   the  date  by  which  your  organization  can  have  personnel  deployed  to  Bangladesh  and   beginning  inspection  work.  

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Firms  should  only  respond  to  this  RFI  if  they  can  demonstrate  strong  professional  expertise  and   credentials  in  the  relevant  area(s)  and  extensive  practical  experience.  

Time  for  response   Please  submit  your  response  to  this  RFI  by  Wednesday,  December  4,  11:59  pm,  CET  by  email.   Responses  should  be  addressed  to:     Brad  Loewen,  Chief  Safety  Inspector,  Bangladesh  Accord  on  Fire  and  Building  Safety   [email protected]   Any  responses  to  the  RFI  received  after  this  date  will  not  be  considered.  

Process     The  Request  for  Proposal  (RFP)  will  be  sent  to  all  shortlisted  candidates  on  or  by  Tuesday,   December  10,  2013.    The  closing  date  for  receipt  of  your  response  to  the  RFP  is  Friday,   December  20,  2013,  5  pm  CET.  Any  responses  received  after  this  time  will  not  be  considered.   The  Accord  reserves  the  right  to  amend  this  RFI  in  its  sole  discretion.  

Questions   For  any  questions  to  the  RFI,  please  contact  Brad  Loewen  at  [email protected]    

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