Lucion awarded NHS Shared Business Services Framework Agreement for Soft FM

Lucion Group

23rd September, 2020

We are proud to announce that we have been awarded a place on the NHS Shared Business Services Framework Agreement for Soft Facilities Management, Asset Compliance, and Security Services, Lot 2.1 for asbestos management services.

Lucion’s Key Account Director Dave Cooper commented:

“At Lucion, we are committed to developing trusted partnerships with our clients. We provide the highest level of customer service throughout any given contract and ensure that our works provide a safe working environment for both NHS workers and patients alike. Our latest framework win with NHS Shared Business Services demonstrates our continued commitment to ensuring that our clients receive the highest quality service at a competitive price.”

Who are NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS)?

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) is a trusted provider of procurement services to the NHS and other public sector organisations. NHS SBS have a team of procurement specialists for sourcing Corporate Services including Office and IT, Estates & Facilities Management. The procurement team follows a compliant procurement process, in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

NHS SBS is committed to helping public sector organisations embed best practice procurement processes, with the aim to deliver immediate and sustained savings relating to both cost and effort to public sector organisations throughout the UK. By providing a wide range of framework agreements, NHS SBS are able to deliver a comprehensive solution to the procurement process.

Organisations who utilise the NHS SBS framework agreement benefit from frameworks that are:

Official Journal of European Union (OJEU) compliant - No formal tendering is required, saving valuable time and money in the procurement process
Flexible – The agreement gives freedom and flexibility for all Approved Organisations to directly award to the suppliers they wish within the remit of the Agreement
Single or Bundle Service - The procurement can offer a solution for certain service areas whereby trusts can directly call off from the Agreement or a Bundle of different services according to requirements
Agile - The appointed suppliers will be able to bring forward new products and services throughout the life of the Agreement
Competitively Priced - Capped ceiling prices during the Framework period to support budgeting and calculation of benefits realised by Approved Organisations
Robust - A specification which has been reviewed and approved by a specialist stakeholder group as well as suitable testing of the market to offer robust market tested suppliers that comply with latest guidance and regulations
Negotiable - The Approved Organisation shall also be entitled, at its sole discretion, to select another form of Special Conditions of Contract. Examples include (but are not limited to) JCT, NEC3, ACA PPC 2000 and others

What is the Soft FM, Asset Compliance, and Security Services Framework Agreement?

The soft FM, security services and asset compliance framework (reference SBS/19/UK/MX/9395) is a comprehensive framework agreement covering key areas of soft facilities management for the public sector. The framework can be accessed by all public sector organisations throughout the UK, including; NHS organisations (Trusts, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), Commissioning Support Units (CSUs)) as well as Fire & Rescue, Police, Education, Charities, Central Government, Housing Associations, Local Authorities and many more.

Regionalised across 32 lots, the framework encompasses a range of SMEs, service specialists and large nationwide providers, including the UK market leaders in asbestos testing, inspection and consultancy, Lucion Environmental.

To be considered for the framework, our team was assessed against a number of quality and price requirements including:

Contract performance monitoring processes
Accreditations and qualifications
Account Management
KPI and performance management
Systems securities
Statutory Compliance
Business stability and continuity
Economic Social Governance (ESG/CSR)
Insurances
Complaints procedures

What services can Lucion provide through the NHS SBS Soft FM framework?

Through the NHS Shared Business Services Soft Facilities Management Framework agreement, we can provide a range of asbestos services including:

As part of our commitment to ensuring safety, we offer 2-hour emergency response times to our clients. We achieve our emergency response times through our national coverage, strategically placed offices, and our collective team.

We have over 380 full-time staff who are all dedicated to providing asbestos consultancy, inspection and testing services, including over 220 BOHS qualified Surveyors and Analysts, the largest technical resource of any asbestos consultancy in the UK. On-site services are supported by our Operational Support and Laboratory Services team which includes in excess of 50 administrators who are dedicated to analysing bulk samples, processing survey data, carrying out quality control and annotating site/floor plans.

Our laboratory is the largest UKAS ISO 17025 accredited asbestos testing laboratory in the UK which can process up to 1,200 samples a day and is staffed by over 30 BOHS P401 qualified laboratory analysts.

Why should you choose Lucion to manage your asbestos risks?

As the UK’s market-leading provider of asbestos management services with Europe’s largest asbestos testing laboratory, our services are tried and tested by hundreds of clients worldwide.

As standard, our performance is reported and monitored using agreed KPIs on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. Our Lucion Environmental Account Managers play a key role in consulting and collaborating with our clients to discuss performance and receive feedback on how services can be improved. Their role as the client’s key contact encourages an environment for collaborative working where continuous improvement is realised and delivered.

To assure that we are providing the best service in a technical capacity, we are externally audited annually. External audits by the British Standards Institute provide guidance for what we have done well and where we can improve. Through these regular audits, our business management system is accredited to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 to approve our technical, quality, occupational health and safety and environmental management processes. With our commitment to service quality and safety, you can be assured that the services we provide you are trusted.

Our NHS Experience

Our Lucion team has a successful track record of providing asbestos testing, inspection, consultancy and management services to multiple public sector clients and over 60 NHS Trusts in the past 3 years, all of which have specific needs and operational pressures.

Our framework contract with NHS SBS will run for two years (20 July 2020 - 19 July 2022) with the option to extend for further two years until 2024.