Lifts and escalators tender writing support for public-sector bids
Lift and escalator bids are judged on the service behind the availability promise. Show that engineer competence, parts access, planned maintenance and breakdown arrangements fit the actual assets. Keep maintenance and thorough examination responsibilities clear. Bidgen helps lift service businesses explain the operating model, evidence and commercial assumptions, with technical and response commitments approved by the people who will deliver them.
Before you start
Who this helps
- Lift and escalator maintenance providers with suitable asset coverage
- Modernisation teams coordinating surveys, works and handover
- Businesses servicing estates where outages have significant operational effects
Points to check
- Attendance promises without engineers or parts to restore service
- A maintenance plan that ignores age, condition and usage
- Thorough examination presented as interchangeable with routine servicing
Check the assets and service boundaries
Review manufacturers, models, age, usage, condition, locations and known defects. Identify proprietary systems, access restrictions and specialist tools or parts. Clarify the condition information available and what the buyer expects you to accept at transfer.
HSE's thorough-examination guidance distinguishes examination from maintenance. The examining competent person needs sufficient independence and impartiality; this does not always require a separate company. Define the actual arrangement and responsibilities in this contract rather than describing every service visit as a statutory examination. HSE also distinguishes lifts used at work from escalators: LOLER does not apply to escalators, which have separate provisions. Check the asset and use before applying a lift-specific requirement.
Evidence to gather before writing
Choose material that matches this service and the buyer's questions. Confirm its accuracy, measurement period and permission for external use. The following records give your technical team and writer a useful starting point.
- Asset-type experience, engineer coverage and any specialist or manufacturer support needed
- Comparable breakdown data defining attendance, restoration, availability and the period measured
- Maintenance, parts, defect and examination-action records showing how issues were resolved
Separate attendance from restoring service
Use the buyer's definitions for call acknowledgement, attendance, entrapment response, temporary action and full restoration. Explain call handling, engineer allocation, escalation and the information given to building users. Show how cover works when several faults occur together.
Identify the practical limits to repair speed, including specialist diagnostics and parts lead times. Explain how alternatives, escalation and communication work within the agreed scope. Avoid using a fast attendance metric to imply that every outage is resolved within the same period.
Build a credible maintenance and parts plan
Link planned activity to the portfolio and contract requirements. Describe how recurring faults, examination reports and engineer observations inform investigation and proposed work. Identify who authorises additional repairs and how completed actions are recorded.
For ageing equipment, show the process for identifying obsolescence, checking stock and advising the buyer about options. A claim to hold critical spares needs a relevant stock or supply arrangement, not a general statement about supplier relationships.
Price the cover and exclusions consistently
Check which components, repairs, call-outs, working hours and damage events are included in the price. Reconcile engineer cover, travel, specialist attendance and reporting with the service levels. Ask for clarification where the schedule leaves a material ambiguity.
For modernisation, align surveys, design approvals, outage periods, access, testing and handover with the programme and estimate. Explain how the building operates during the works and how completion is accepted before the lift returns to the agreed service.
Example: a portfolio with one critical passenger lift
An illustrative response would identify the effect of that lift's failure on building users, explain the agreed notification and response arrangements, and show the relevant engineer and parts support. It would keep planned outages coordinated with the buyer.
The evidence should define availability and any exclusions, with a reporting period. Describe a comparable breakdown or modernisation and the actions your team controlled. A fleet-wide average can hide poor performance on the most important asset.
Working with a lifts and escalators tender writer
Give the bid team the complete pack, pricing schedule, clarification updates, portal instructions and deadlines. An initial review should check eligibility, delivery fit, evidence gaps and the time your contributors can provide. For an agreed bid, Bidgen can coordinate the plan, interview specialists, draft answers and manage review through submission readiness. Your business approves price, technical claims, risk and the final response.
Apply the current tender requirements and the rules relevant to the activity and jurisdiction.
Common questions
01Is a thorough examination the same as lift maintenance?
No. Explain both activities and their responsibilities using the tender and applicable guidance. Routine servicing should not be offered as proof that a required thorough examination has been completed.
02What if the estate includes unfamiliar equipment?
Confirm the competence, tools, technical information and supplier support needed before committing. Explain the actual delivery arrangement and check whether subcontracting is allowed. A general engineer headcount does not establish model-specific coverage.
03Which response metrics are most useful?
Use the buyer's definitions and report attendance, restoration and availability separately where relevant. State the population, period and exclusions so the evidence reflects the proposed service.