Why Use LGP Bitumen, Emulsions and Asphalt Materials and Services Contract (LGP213)
Rather Than Doing Your Own Tender?

Local Government Procurement (LGP) has recently been asked what the benefits are of using the LGP Bitumen, Emulsion and Asphalt Materials and Services contract (LGP213) versus having council going out to run their own tender.

To answer this question we have created this Question & Answer document together to outline the pros and cons of both methods.

Question: What does it cost for a council to run a tender versus a Request for Quotation under the LGP contract (LGP213)?
Answer: LGP conservatively estimates that the cost of a council running their own tender is approximately $15,000, considering all costs including staff time, advertising and overheads. This does not include the cost of council engaging the services of a consultant or subject matter expert, because of the complexities involved with procuring Bitumen and Asphalt products.  Council should also consider costs incurred by each contractor who responds to the tender.

The cost for a council to put a Request for Quotation through the VendorPanel eRFQ software system is considerably less, because council only has to load to VendorPanel the specification and requirements of the council. There is no need to ask about company capabilities or insurances because this has already been collected in the tender that LGP ran to appoint the panel of contractors.

In addition, because LGP has already run the tender there is no requirement for council to follow the tendering requirements of the Local Government Act and advertise for 21 days, or have any tender outcome reviewed formally by the elected council. This means council’s procurement process is much shorter when you carry out an RFQ which saves you time.

Question: I’ve heard that a council that went to tender achieved better pricing than the pricing on the LGP Buyer’s Guide. How can that happen?
Answer: The pricing on the LGP Buyer’s Guide is the “maximum” price that a council can expect to pay when they request a quote from an LGP Approved Contractor.

LGP Approved Contractors have advised LGP that in the majority of cases when the council presents a defined requirement and volume this allows a quote with a lesser price than the “maximum”.  Maximum pricing is used by some council engineers when they prepare their budgets, knowing that they can achieve more competitive pricing when they run the RFQ’s.

Question: Does the LGP Approved Contractor panel contain all the categories of (Bitumen and Asphalt) that a typical council requires for their needs?
Answer: The LGP Bitumen, Emulsions and Asphalt Materials and Services contract (LGP213) has 11 categories. These categories were decided by a joint working group of council engineers and contractor representatives prior to the LGP tender being put to the market. This has ensured that the primary needs of all 128 councils in NSW have been included in the tender, which are outlined in the LGP Buyers Guide available on the LGP website.

Question: How can I be sure I am getting good value for money, as there are companies that are not on the LGP contract which I could access with a separate tender?
Answer:  LGP believes that the majority of companies that want to work with councils have responded during our tender process, and those that are successfully evaluated are appointed to the panel. With $394M being spent by councils since the inception of the LGP Bitumen contract, the buying power is evident.

Question: What is the process I need to undertake to get quotes from the contractors on the LGP Bitumen, Asphalt and associated services contract?
Answer: All that is required is for the needs of the council to be identified. This is usually with a specification being loaded into a Request for Quote (RFQ) document and uploaded to VendorPanel. The interested contractors prepare a response and upload it to VendorPanel by the closing date and time set by the council. An evaluation can then take place and a selected contractor or panel of contractors can be made.

This can include a “Standing Offer” from your selected panel of contractors wherein you choose a small group of contractors to provide your needs for a period of time and you get your quotes from only these contractors for the period.

LGP assists council staff to prepare Requests for Quotation by having a template in our Buyer’s Guide which has been prepared jointly by a group of council engineers and representatives of the major Bitumen and Asphalt supply contractors.

Completing the template makes it easier for the engineer to specify what is required, and easier for the company to respond to the specification.  Feedback in the past has explained that there was little consistency in what a council was specifying, which created a lot of work for the companies to respond which increases the cost.

In summary, any “arrangement” that a council requires from contractors that can be achieved through a tender, is also readily available from contractors on the LGP Bitumen, Emulsion, Asphalt Materials and Services contract.

In fact, our contractors have advised us that they prefer to respond to RFQ’s rather than individual council tenders, as there is far less work for them to do which saves them time and ultimately councils money.

Don’t Topple Under Estoppel

from Tenders & Contracts Team

Actions can be very important in contracts, because the written word is sometimes not the only ‘word’.  In fact, a lazy contract manager can do as much damage as an overly autocratic, bombastic one. The problem with the lazy contract manager is that they often fail to enforce performance (e.g. KPI’s) or compliance (e.g. insurances) in accordance with contract terms. 

Later on, throughout the term of a contract, when a contractor’s performance or actions have become totally unacceptable, the opportunity to terminate the contractor may be challenged in the courts.  If the contract manager’s actions seemed to make out that original contract terms were no longer important (as indicated by the contract manager’s lack of enforcement of the previous/ongoing breach of contract) and the manager seemed to be allowing some new set of terms to apply, then the concept of estoppel may come into play. 

The concept of ‘estoppel’ precludes a person from asserting a fact or a right or prevents one from denying a fact due to the person’s actions, conduct, or failure to act.  Regardless of our job title, if we are the one responsible to manage the procurement arrangement, we have a responsibility to read and to enforce the contract terms fairly and firmly.

Sustainable Choice Forums
Last Chance for 2018

Sustainable Choice held two very successful forums one in Manly on 2 May and the other in Shellharbour on 8 May. Highlights of the day were networking, excellent case studies and presentations. Feedback received from attendees reflected this with some examples below:

‘’Excellent forum, congratulations!’’
‘’Interesting topics’’
‘’Up to date information on fields of interest’’
‘’I was keen to learn more about some specific topics, and I did’’
‘’Very useful’’

100% of the feedback respondents said they had received the information/knowledge that they had been looking forward to.

There is one more opportunity to attend a Sustainable Choice Forum this year, details are below:

Date: 27 June
Venue: Byron Bay Services Club
Time: 9.30 am – 2:00 pm
Sign-in: 9:00 am – 9:30 am
Cost: Free for Sustainable Choice members (no cap on number of representatives  per  member council) 
$60 plus GST for non-members        
Morning tea and lunch provided.

If you don’t want to miss out on this exciting event, please register now as seats are limited.

'Engineering Networking Meeting' - Sydney

Registration Now Open!

Successful delivery of council infrastructure projects poses many challenges for council’s engineering and procurement teams, especially when it involves rate payers’ money and the community benefit we all expect.

Tight budgets and expectation of high quality, demands the projects are planned and delivered more efficiently and cost effectively. While planning infrastructure projects, councils seek value for money in the overall project solution while trying to control its total cost.

To get a better perspective of the strategic role of procurement in infrastructure projects, LGP invites you to attend the ‘Engineering Networking Meeting’ in Sydney on 9 August.

The event aims to assist engineers within local government to understand the benefits of involving the procurement team in the infrastructure planning stage.

Highly experienced and prominent speakers within the infrastructure development space will share experiences, expertise, innovative ideas, and best practices.

This event is free of charge and is a great opportunity to network with your peers and gain knowledge. The agenda will be out shortly.

The Power of Procurement

How can you determine the value of procurement?  How do you put procurement on the strategic agenda of your organisation?  What are other procurement leaders doing to demonstrate the power of procurement within their organisation?

At this year’s annual Local Government Procurement Conference you will hear from experienced and knowledgeable procurement leaders on global trends, technology, business intelligence, data management and analytics and contract management. 

Confirmed speakers

• Tanya Harris – Global Procurement Manager, Fred Hollows
• Katrina Donaghy – Co-CEO and Co-Founder, Civic Ledger
• Brent Reeman – Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Peak Services
• Jonathan King – Director and Co-Founder, AVCRM
• Rowan Howarth – Design Manager Infrastructure Delivery, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
• Matthias Fuchs – Chief Procurement Officer, Boral

Date: Thursday 18 and Friday 19 October 2018
Location: Doltone House, Darling Island, 48 Pirrama Rd Pyrmont

More information on the program and speakers will be released over the coming weeks.  Please click here to register your interest to attend the conference. 

The Local Government Procurement Conference is an established industry event for NSW local government. The conference provides a unique opportunity for suppliers to showcase their goods and services to a cross section of procurement professionals from across the state over two days.  It is also an excellent opportunity to attract potential customers and build on existing relationships already established.

The conference will be held on Thursday 18 October and Friday 19 October 2018 at Doltone House, Darling Island Wharf, Pyrmont Point.

Sponsorship Opportunities Available

Gold (1)
Entertainment
Drinks
Pen
Trade Display Stands (2)
Large Format Display Area (1)

Sponsorship opportunities are limited. Suppliers who wish to participate as a sponsor or as a trade exhibitor may view our Sponsorship Prospectus to confirm their participation as a sponsor/exhibitor.

LGP's New eLearning Program

Procurement & Contract Management 

Learn on the go! Explore the newly created online courses!  

LGP has developed a brand new eLearning modular program specifically focussed on NSW local government. This package is hosted on a state-of-the-art Learning Management System (LMS) that will enhance the overall learning experience. 

List of courses

• Procurement for Local Government
• Contract Management in Local Government 
• Probity in Procurement

Benefits

• Flexible learning option: anytime, anywhere
• Multi-device operability (computer, laptops or any other mobile devices)
• Interactive, engaging and independent learning
• Monitor, track and record learning journey
• Share knowledge and experience through discussion forums
• Administrative reporting on the progress and completions 

Some of the other services on offer include:

• Customisation of LGP’s current modules
• Instructional designing
• Content writing
• Graphic designing
• eLearning programming using Articulate 360 (one of the best packages)

For more information or for a trial access, please contact Niv Roy, Training Manager via email  or call 02 8270 8709.

Pathway to Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) Qualifications

Nationally Recognised Training in Procurement

Get professional mileage by enrolling into the Advanced Diploma of Procurement Contracting (PSP60616) and Diploma of Procurement and Contracting (PSP50616) offered by LGP in partnership with ProLeaders Academy, a registered training organisation (RTO Code 45024).

LGP has entered into an agreement with CIPS to extend the following professional benefits towards career pathway on completion of the above qualifications through LGP:

• Entitlement to Student Membership of CIPS
• On successful completion of these courses, eligibility for up to three exemptions per level with the CIPS Qualifications.

Nationally Recognised Training in Procurement
New Modular Format​

To meet the wider needs of our target audience, from July 2018, LGP in partnership with ProLeaders Academy, (RTO Code 45024) will offer Certificate IV in Procurement and Contracting (PSP40616) and Diploma of Procurement and Contracting (PSP50616) in modular format.

What does that mean?

Flexibility to:

• do only that part of the accredited course that is relevant to the role requirement
• pay only for the module you would do and not for the full qualification. This may be helpful in cases of budgetary constraints in a financial year
• attend only the selected modules which may be helpful if you have time constraints
• carry the credits of the module/s done to complete the qualifications later in subsequent offerings.

Upcoming Training Sessions

We also offer qualifications in Project Management specifically focussed on Procurement and Contracting.  Please click here for more details.

For any information or assistance regarding training, please contact Niv Roy, Training Manager on 02 8270 8709 or send an email.

Modern Slavery Reporting Requirement
Update

The Assistant Minister for Home Affairs, Hon. Alex Hawke MP announced on 10 May key details of the Australian Government’s Modern Slavery Reporting Requirements.

The requirements only apply to Commonwealth Public Procurement at this stage.

• The Australian Government will comply with the reporting requirement by publishing an annual statement covering Commonwealth Procurement
• The Australian Government will establish a new Modern Slavery Business Engagement Unit in the Department of Home Affairs funded through the federal budget to provide advice and support to business
• The reporting requirement will cover all modern slavery practices, including slavery, forced labour, trafficking in persons and forced marriage, and
• The Australian Government will review the reporting requirement three years after implementation to ensure it remains effective.

LGP Consulting Team

LGP extends its expertise and experience to provide councils with an additional service through its Consulting Team.

LGP’s Consulting Team are well positioned to facilitate end to end tender processes on behalf of individual councils.  Our Consulting Team comprises highly qualified and experienced professionals who have demonstrated success in facilitating tenders on behalf of councils.

Examples of recent tenders we have conducted on behalf of individual councils are:

• Refurbishment of Library Building
• Legal Services Panel – two individual council tenders
• Internal Audit Services
• Natural Resources Services
• Management and Operation of Swimming Centre
• Security Services - two individual council tenders
• Food and Garden Organic Processing
• Scrap Ferrous Metals, Green Waste Processing, Crushing and Screening of Concrete and Waste Bin Audit (4 separate tenders for a group of councils)
• Remediation of Land works
• Development and Management of Caravan Park (EOI)
• ICT Services Provider
• Vehicle Leaseback
• Cleaning Services
• Trade Services Providers
• Lighting and Sound Technician Services
• Dry and Wet Plant and Equipment – two individual council tenders
• Insurance Broker and Insurance Brokerage Services  for ten councils (joint tender process)
• CBD Reconstruction Tender

If you have any requirements for tender facilitation for any product or service please email the LGP Consulting Team or call 02 8270 8747.

LGP thanks all councils that have joined the LEAP program and are pleased to welcome you all to this amazing program.

• Georges River Council
• Dubbo Regional Council
• Inner West Council
• Armidale Regional Council
• Northern Beaches Council
• Queanbeyan-Palarang Regional Council

All councils are in the early stages of the three year program and we are delighted to report the following council successes:

• Demonstrated procurement savings of over $1.5M and growing
• Understanding current council procurement status  and developed targets for procurement maturity improvement
• Dashboards highlighting spend by council, including category spend, trends and comparisons
• Defined procurement improvement plans, endorsed and supported by council leadership.
• Mechanism to allow council to understand additional training and process needs improvement opportunities

LEAP, a low cost ongoing continuous improvement program that uses real data and evidence to improve procurement capability of council, continues to gain momentum!

If you would like more information about the program, please email us or visit our  website.

The LEAP program is delivered to councils by LGP in association with ArcBlue.

Another Successful 'Networking in the Bush' Meeting
Wagga Wagga

On 24th of May 2018, LGP held its ‘Networking in the Bush’ meeting for councils in Southern NSW. This event saw a strong attendance of 34 delegates (staff and management) from 18 councils. We would like to express our appreciation to all attendees for committing their time and also extend our appreciation to those who travelled a very long distance to attend this meeting.

The Wagga Wagga event was formally opened by Luke Kenny, CEO - LGP. We were privileged to have Paul Braybrooks, Chairman - LGP and Peter Thompson, General Manager - Wagga Wagga City Council address the group. The key speakers were: Phill Scott (LGP), Rick Jones (Boral), Alicia Te Hiko (VendorPanel), Sara Lindqvist (LGP), Michael He (LGP), Chris Harper (Audit Office of NSW) and Monica Kelly (Prevention Partners).

The day covered a lot of current and important topics that are relevant to councils whether it be engaging suppliers to deliver their work programs or applying methodologies in their procurement activities, just to highlight a few:

• Understand and apply procurement processes to ensure effective purchasing and contract performance – by Phill Scott
• Why is CSR (corporate social responsibility) important, how to evaluate – by Phil Scott
• What’s happening in the Australian Bitumen Market – by Rick Jones
• As a user of Bitumen, what do you look for from a supplier – by Rick Jones
• How councils are engaging local suppliers, conducting social procurement, and realising cost savings – by Alicia Te Hiko
• The Sustainable Procurement Framework, ISO20400 – by Sara Lindqvist
• LGP capability in customising interactive learnings that is council specific – by Michael He
• The Auditor-General mandate at a glance – by Chris Harper
• Observations from last year’s council audits – by Chris Harper
• What’s in the new Solar PPA and Waste Audit contracts – by Michael He
• Latest legal issues, such as moral rights from a procurement perspective – by Monica Kelly

The meeting concluded with a Q & A session. Again, it was proven popular and productive for all attendees. Everyone had the opportunity to ask questions to the panel speakers, and there were lots of discussions and experience sharing.

The feedback received demonstrated that councils believe it is important and valuable to participate in these events, where everyone comes together to networking and have the opportunity to learn and ask questions of subject matter experts. Equally important is the ability to share experiences and collaborate in an open and supportive environment.

On behalf of LGP, I would like to thank all who participated and contributed to the success of the event. We look forward to facilitating future network events in Southern NSW.

The focus of our next networking event is ‘Engineering’ and will be held in Sydney on 9th August 2018. For more information about the event please click here.

Michael He
LGP, Business Development Manager, Southern NSW

Livingstone Shire Council’s procurement team faces a daily challenge that many will relate to: How to keep the wheels turning for stakeholders, while operating efficiently, meeting high standards of governance, and staying on top of contract documents and obligations across a busy organisation?

Learn how Livingstone left spreadsheets and calendar reminders behind, moving Contract Management onto the secure, easy-to-use VendorPanel platform where their procurement was already taking place. Read Case Study.

To contact VendorPanel Commercial Manager for Local Government, Alicia Te Hiko please email or  call (03) 9095 6181.

Rock Solid Assistance

When you spend 15-hour days crushing rock, some rock solid assistance sure helps. That was the reasoning that prompted Garry Kemp of Kemps Krushers to lash out on a workhorse rated as the world’s most powerful standard tractor, the German-made Fendt 1050 Vario.

In May last year, Australia got its most powerful and technologically advanced workhorse which was launched with much fanfare after making a name for itself in Europe.

There’s no guessing why it’s popular with operators. Rather than be daunted by its size, operators speak highly about its easy maneuverability and tight turning circle courtesy of an auto steer system activated via the multi-function joystick. Read full Case Study.

For further information contact AGCO via Phone:1800 802 914 or visit the website.​

Intellectual Property in Contracts
Risks and Benefits

This brief article discusses some of the issues with intellectual property and contracts and explains why you should develop an understanding of IP so as to be alert to the risks and benefits faced by your council.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property (IP) is a broad term that includes copyright, trademarks, designs and patents. IP law protects the product of ideas, not the ideas themselves. For example, I might have an idea for a book but it is not until that idea is reduced to a material form, such as an outline, script or plot summary, that legal protection prevails. If I tell you about my idea for the book and fail to reduce it to writing my idea is not protected by copyright.

Message to Take Away

• Try to deal with IP in every contract.
• When drafting contracts consider what future use of IP may be so that you can adequately deal with it contractually.
• Consider who the author is before copying or distributing any work that did not originate in your council.
• Remember that a transfer of IP must be done expressly and cannot be waived or implied.

Monica Kelly from Prevention Partners explains more here.

Contact Prevention Partners NSW on 0438 280 621 or email to assist.

If there is any topic you would like covered next month, please feel free to contact Prevention Partners NSW to make suggestions.