Once a specification has been agreed, the next step will be to procure system design and installation services. The procurement options and considerations will vary by organisation or property. Some property owners may choose to manage the procurement process themselves others will outsource it to a specialist organisation or consultancy.

Collective procurement

Collective procurement arrangements may be an attractive approach for this type of work, particularly for social landlords. Regional procurement consortia could be well placed to enter into framework contracts with suppliers from which a number of landlords could procure the system upgrade, or replace self-managed arrangements with a managed arrangement, and benefit from the economies of scale.

Such collective arrangements could reduce the cost for individual landlords in setting a specification and going to market, since such services can be pooled. It could also help to smooth demand for this service within a region over a longer period, reducing the potential for sudden spikes in demand and a resulting skills shortage or price increase.

Providers of collective procurement for communal TV aerial systems include:

• Procurement for Housing
• Fusion21
• Northern Housing Consortium
• CYNTRA

Consideration for social landlords

Social landlords need to identify how procurement of this work fits into a broader procurement strategy. They should also consider how this work fits in with the challenge set by the Deparment of Communities and Local Government (CLG) to achieve efficiency savings in housing. Certainly, all local authorities, housing associations and other registered social landlords have obligations to secure value for money.

Depending on the size of the contract, public procurement rules could require social landlords to conduct a competitive tender.

Signal and site surveys

Ideally, each company bidding for installation work would carry out site and signal surveys at each location so that they could offer complete and detailed designs. However, this would entail a visit to all properties, and installation companies are unlikely to do this ahead of being awarded the contract because of the large amount of work.

There are two practical solutions:

• The landlord commissions a survey and provides the information to all bidders.
• The landlord accepts bids that are subject to survey.

The successful installer then commits resource to a detailed signal survey and informs the landlord if there are any problems before work begins in earnest.

Tender evaluation

When evaluating tenders, it is important to establish that the system upgrade can deliver what is required at a price that can be shown to be good value for money.

As this is a very competitive market; competition between satellite and cable, and different installers, may give scope for savings. For a relatively simple solution, costs can readily be compared with similar systems, installed by other housing providers. However, when making cost comparisons, it is important to account for differences between systems that can have a large effect on the cost, such as the number of outlets per dwelling, containment of cabling (use of existing cable trays is much cheaper than having to fit new ducting), ground works, and provision of new power supplies and safety earthing.

Getting the correct equipment and advice

The digital tick indicates products and services designed to work before, during and after switchover.

Registered Digital Installers (RDI): When evaluating the tenders, it is extremely important to ensure that the contractors are properly qualified for the job proposed. Look for an installer belonging to the Registered Digital Installer Scheme, (RDI), identified by the digital tick logo. Registered Digital Installers are security checked and aerial experts. To find out more visit the RDI website.

If there is no Registered Digital Installer in your area, look for an installer who belongs to a trade association such as the Confederation of Aerial Installers (CAI). The CAI holds a register of CAI plus members who have a communal system installation qualification. Alternatively ask at your local electrical retailer. If you plan to use an installer who isn’t either registered with the RDI Scheme or a CAI member, we recommend you check to see that they are appropriately qualified.

Safety and performance requirements

Once a tender has been accepted, you will need to ensure that what is to be supplied, fulfils the requirements set out in the specification. For example:

• Electrical safety: the proposed system must be shown to be compliant with the regulations for electrical installations (with reference to relevant electrical benchmarks).
• Mechanical safety: provisions must be made for aerials and masts to be mounted robustly.
• Signal quality: the system must be shown to deliver all the specified signals to the specified quality levels. It is normal practice to record signal levels at key points in the system, including at least 10% of user outlets.
• Acceptance: The results of acceptance testing, including signal tests, should be kept together with as-installed drawings, to help diagnose faults that may occur at a future date.