Procurement of a Voluntary Occurrence Reporting (VOR) Scheme

Description

Section 8 of the Building Safety Act (BSA) places a duty on the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to make arrangements for a person to establish and maintain a Voluntary Occurrence Reporting (VOR) system for the giving of building safety information. VOR is intended to promote a positive culture within safety management systems in the built environment in England. Establishing the system will also contribute to BSR's ability to fulfil its obligations under Section 5 of the BSA to keep the safety and standard of all buildings under review. Lot 1: HSE wishes to engage with the market regarding an upcoming formal procurement exercise for a person to establish and maintain a Voluntary Occurrence Reporting (VOR) system to understand the market and level of interest, seek feedback and offer potential suppliers an opportunity to shape the requirements of the tender. HSE would like to procure a service for the establishment, provision, and maintenance of a VOR system by late autumn 2024, with a view of the service being operational by spring/summer 2025. HSE is now inviting interested operators of safety reporting systems to discuss the opportunity and provide information about the services and systems they may be able to offer that may meet BSR requirements, including the cost and implications of providing this system. It is anticipated that the reporting system will cover fire and structural safety issues, but HSE is keen to hear from operators who may also be able to cover wider building engineering safety concerns. HSE will be seeking to appoint a suitably skilled, experienced, qualified and collaborative supplier to establish and maintain the VOR system. The anticipated length of the contract is 3 years with the possibility of a further 2 x 1 year extension if all criteria set by the BSR are met. The provider of the VOR system would set up and maintain an online portal (webpage) for the giving of building safety information; triage and anonymise any reports received; identify common concerns and gross trends; and carry out robust technical analysis of the information (e.g. including peer review of findings) where relevant to provide expert advice, with a view to placing the information in the public domain to help to prevent recurrence. The provider would also be expected to ensure appropriate legal and editorial review of any material that will be published. Following a rigorous review process, the provider would make reports and advice freely available to professionals in the built environment, duty holders etc. to facilitate proactive improvement and promote continued learning. Reports under the VOR system will not be used for enforcement action but the operator would be expected to share anonymised information with HSE/BSR to assist its work to oversee the safety and standard of all buildings; and facilitate improvement in industry competence. As the reporting system is voluntary, precise quantities of reports are unknown, however it is estimated that the system will receive at least 26 structural safety reports and 13 reports relating to fire safety, per quarter. It is likely the number of reports may increase over time as the system becomes more established. The provider would also develop an engagement strategy to promote the VOR system across the built environment industries. We may also ask the provider to publish newsletters and work with BSR to align communications where relevant (e.g. safety alerts), The provider will also need to be able to demonstrate that the service they provide meets the Government Digital Service (GDS) standards. HSE would like to invite Suppliers to attend an online 'Market Engagement Event' via MS Teams for a presentation on the work of BSR and the VOR system. Following the market engagement event, HSE will open an invite to all Suppliers to respond to a brief questionnaire to suggest solutions on how to meet this requirement so that HSE is better informed of market capabilities. The Market Engagement Event shall be held on the morning of Thursday 11 April from 09.30 to 10.30 am. MS Teams invite link will be sent after registration requests have been received. To register on the Market Engagement Event please send Company Name, Contact Details and Email address to: BSRSector@hse.gov.uk Following the event, interested parties will have until 3 May 2024 to contact HSE to provide relevant information. Please note that registration at the event does not count as registration for the full procurement process, which will be separately advertised via Find a Tender and Contract Finder websites. Additional information: The Market Engagement Event shall be held on the morning of Thursday 11 April from 09.30 to 10.30 am. MS Teams invite link will be sent after registration requests have been received. To register on the Market Engagement Event please send Company Name, Contact Details and Email address to: BSRSector@hse.gov.uk Following the event, interested parties will have until 3 May 2024 to contact HSE to provide relevant information. Please note that registration at the event does not count as registration for the full procurement process, which will be separately advertised via Find a Tender and Contract Finder websites.