1-28-0626 2-Yr Contract for Onsite Shredding Services.pdf

Bid Template- No Bond Rev 10/2022

County of Bucks Doylestown, Pennsylvania

INVITATION TO BID

TWO-YEAR CONTRACT FOR ONSITE SHREDDING SERVICES

Bucks County Commissioners Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia, LCSW, Chair

Robert J. Harvie, Jr., Vice-Chair Gene DiGirolamo, Secretary

Chief Clerk Gail Humphrey

Solicitor

Daniel Grieser, Esq.

Controller Neale Dougherty

Acting Director of Purchasing

David M. Bria

Due Date: 11:30 AM June 22, 2026 Spec No.: 28-06/26

Bid Template- No Bonds 2-Yr Contract for Onsite Shredding Services Rev 5/2022 Spec #28-06/26

INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

RESPONDING TO THIS BID

1. All sections of the electronic Bid, including downloads and RFI’s shall be submitted with the bid and acknowledges the Bidder affirms, understands, and will abide by the requirements of the Bid.

Failure to do so may cause the Bid to be rejected as non-responsive.

2. The submission of a bid will be considered as conclusive evidence of complete examination of specifications and samples.

3. The County of Bucks reserves the right to accept and award an Agreement to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder. The County reserves the right to reject any or all bids or any part thereof. The County reserves the right to award an Agreement based on evaluation of specific criteria found in these specifications.

4. No verbal instructions or information to bidders will be binding. The specifications will be considered clear and complete unless written attention is called to any apparent discrepancies or incompleteness thereof, before the opening of bids. Should any written inquires be received by the Commissioners, these inquiries will be answered in the form of addenda and issued to all providers.

These addenda shall then be considered a part of these specifications.

5. Each bid must be submitted electronically via PennBid by 11:30 A.M. on the day of the bid opening.

6. The bids will be opened and read publicly in Conference Room 557 on the 5th floor of the

Administration Building, 55 E. Court Street, Doylestown PA by the Commissioners or their Representative at 11:30 A.M. on the day the bid is due.

7. The Commissioners of Bucks County reserve the right to reject any or all bids or parts thereof, as deemed to be in the best interest of the County.

8. If information is not included with your bid, and you receive a request from the County to provide it, you MUST deliver the information to the person making the request within 72 hours (excluding weekends). Any information not received within 72 hours may result in your bid being excluded from the evaluation and award process.

9. A BID DEPOSIT IS NOT REQUIRED.

QUALIFICATIONS OF BIDDERS

10. The County’s Purchasing Department and PennBid are the sole authorities to provide this bid package to interested companies or individuals. Bidders who are working from a bid package obtained from any other source may be working from an incomplete set of documents. The County assumes no responsibility for a bid’s errors, omissions, or misinterpretations resulting from a Bidder’s use of an incomplete bid package.

11. Bidders who have received the bid package from a source other than the County Purchasing Department or PennBid are not an official vendor of record for the bid. These bidders must either download the document from PennBid to become a vendor of record. This will ensure that the bidder will receive all communication such as Addenda and Clarifications regarding the bid.

12. The County of Bucks may make such investigation, as it deems necessary to determine the ability of bidder to perform the work. The County reserves the right to reject any bid if investigation of such bidder fails to satisfy the County that such bidder is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the Agreement, and to complete the work contemplated therein.

13. Bidders may be required to submit the names and addresses of the officers or principals of the Corporation, firm or partnership submitting a bid. Failure to comply could result in the rejection of such bid as non-responsive.

14. Unless required to complete the Questionnaire and Financial Statement as may be indicated elsewhere in these specifications, all bidders must be prepared to present suitable evidence of their financial standing, and to furnish a list of similar work recently completed.

15. The County has the right to reject any and all bids from any bidder that is in or contemplates bankruptcy of any chapter or nature. Said bidder must notify the County in writing of any existing condition or knowledge of same.

FORM OF AGREEMENT

16. Bidders shall execute the Agreement contained in the Invitation to Bid and upload it with their bid response. It is expressly understood and agreed by the bidders that the contractual obligations of the County to the bidders are effective only after the execution of an Agreement signed by all parties AND the issuance of a purchase order by the Bucks County Purchasing Department for the goods and/or services requested. It is further expressly understood and agreed that the mere issuance of an Agreement between the County and a bidder will not oblige the County in any fashion unless and until a purchase order is received by the bidder.

17. Copies of any signatures and electronic signatures shall be considered original signatures.

18. Any changes to the Agreement contained in the Invitation to Bid are strictly prohibited and shall not be accepted.

PARTIES TO AGREEMENT

19. Where the words "Commissioners", "Controller", "Representative", "Purchasing Director", and

"Contractor" are used, they shall be understood to refer respectively to the Commissioners of Bucks County, the Controller, Purchasing Director, Inspector or other persons designated in writing to represent the Commissioners of Bucks County, and the individuals, firms or corporations with whom the Agreements are entered into for the execution of the work.

DISCLOSURE OF CONTENTS

20. All proposals/bids and other material submitted becomes the property of the County and may be returned only at the County’s option. Information contained in the proposals/bids will not be disclosed during the evaluation process. Under Pennsylvania’s “Right to Know” laws public records are required to be open to reasonable inspection and reproduction. All proposal/bid information, including detailed price and cost information, will be held in confidence during the evaluation process and prior to the time a Notice of Intent to Award is issued. Thereafter all proposals/bids will become public information; subject to inspection and reproduction in accordance with the PA Right to Know Law (Act 3 of 2008), unless otherwise exempt under the Act.

21. Notwithstanding any terms or conditions contained herein, Consultant/Vendor agrees to comply with all Local, State and Federal laws and regulation. Consultant/Vendor specifically agrees to produce all documents that may be subject to public disclosure pursuant to the Pennsylvania Open Records Law.

22. Trade secrets and other proprietary data contained in a proposal may be held confidential if such data meets the definitions of confidential proprietary information and/or trade secrets under Section 102 of the Right to Know Law. Material considered confidential by the offeror must be clearly identified and the offeror must include a brief statement that sets out the reasons for the confidentiality and how this information meets the criteria of Section 102 of the law.

SPECIFICATIONS

23. These specifications are intended to cover the furnishing of all materials and the performance of all work that may be required or necessary for the complete performance of the Agreement, and the bidder will be required to do all things that may be necessary to fully complete the work within the purview of these specifications.

24. Equipment and/or material to be furnished shall be new, first-class, and shall meet with the approval of the Purchasing Director or designated representative.

25. All equipment and/or material shall conform to the requirements of these specifications, and any equipment and/or material condemned by the Purchasing Director as not meeting these specifications shall at once be removed and replaced with acceptable equipment.

EQUIVALENTS

26. The use of a manufacturer's brand name and/or model number in this specification is intended only to indicate that said brand name and/or model number is the minimum standard desired by the County of Bucks. Bidders bidding on items other than those indicated, shall state brand name and/or brand model number, upon which their bid is based. It shall be the bidder's responsibility to prove to the County of Bucks that said items are equal to or better than those indicated in this bid.

Specification Documents, Literature, etc., concerning products or services offered shall accompany the Bid Proposal. Failure to comply with this requirement may be cause for rejection of bid.

INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFICATION

27. Should a bidder discover discrepancies in the specifications, the matter shall be at once brought to the attention of the Bucks County Purchasing Department, and the discrepancies corrected before proceeding further.

28. All explanations, interpretations and instructions required under these specifications will be given by the Purchasing Director or designated Representative based on written requests from bidders submitted to the solicitation on the PennBid website. All questions must be submitted by noon seven calendar days prior to the due date; the questions will be answered by 5:00 pm five calendar days prior to the due date.

ADDENDUMS

29. Addendums will be posted to the solicitation on the PennBid website. Sending them in this way is an accommodation and the County of Bucks is not liable for any errors in transmission of the documents. Obtaining all bid documents including addendums is the responsibility of the bidder.

ADDITIONS OR DEDUCTIONS

30. The County of Bucks shall have the right, without invalidating the Agreement, to make additions to or deductions from the work covered by these specifications, and in case such deductions or additions are made, an equitable adjustment of the addition to or deduction in cost shall be made between the County of Bucks and the bidder, as shown in a written amendment to the Agreement.

EXTRA WORK

31. No extras or additional work will be allowed or paid for unless such extras or additional work are ordered in writing by the Purchasing Director, and the price fixed and agreed upon before such work is performed.

PROTECTION BY BIDDER

32. The bidder agrees to indemnify and save harmless the Commissioners and their representatives from all suits or actions of every nature and description brought against them or any of them, on account of the use of patented or copyrighted appliances, materials, products or processes, and from all legal expenses and costs of suits regarding the same.

33. The bidder shall obey all Federal, State, County, Borough or Township laws or ordinances in any way pertaining to the work, and shall obtain all permits that may be necessary for its performance if required.

34. That in the hiring of employees for the performance of such Agreement, no bidder, sub-contractor, nor any person acting on behalf of such bidder or sub-contractor shall by reason of race, creed or color discriminate against any citizen of the United States who is qualified and able to perform the work to which the employment relates.

35. Nor shall they in any manner discriminate against or intimidate any employees hired for the performance of the work on account of race, creed or color.

36. The bidder shall not assign, transfer, convey, sublet or otherwise dispose of the Agreement or any part thereof to anyone without the consent of the County of Bucks.

GENERAL CLAUSES

LITERATURE AND SAMPLES

37. The bidder shall be required to furnish their literature and/or samples where feasible and specifications of the items bid to be supplied along with the bid form.

DIRECT PURCHASE BY MUNICIPALITIES, PRIVATE OR PAROCHIAL SCHOOL, PRIVATE

COLLEGES OR UNIVERSITIES AND NON-PROFIT HUMAN SERVICE AGENCIES

38. Pursuant to PS 62 §1901, et seq. the County of Bucks permits authorized public procurement units as defined in the act, to purchase directly from Agreements the County awards for its own purposes. Although their requirements are not included in the quantities shown in this bid, it is the intent of the County in awarding this bid that any municipalities, private or parochial schools, private colleges or universities and non-profit human service agencies making such a request, be afforded the same prices, terms and conditions as the County on any purchase Agreement awarded by it as a result of the bid. Each authorized municipality, private or parochial school, private college or university and non-profit human service agency is responsible for issuing its own orders to the successful vendor referencing the County Agreement, and is responsible for paying the successful vendor for the goods, materials, or equipment received.

RESERVATIONS

39. The County of Bucks reserves the right to reject any or all bids and also reserves the right to waive any irregularities, informalities, deficiencies and/or defects in the bids received.

40. Any bidder who has demonstrated poor performance during either a current or previous agreement with the County of Bucks may be considered as an unqualified source and their bid may be rejected. The County of Bucks reserves the right to exercise this option as is deemed proper and/or necessary.

EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL EXCISE AND PENNSYLVANIA SALES TAXES

41. The County of Bucks is exempt from Federal Excise Taxes and the Pennsylvania Sales Tax. Net prices as shown in the proposal shall exclude said Federal and State tax amounts.

ACCESS TO ACCOUNTING RECORDS

42. The Contractor shall check all materials, equipment and labor entering into the Work and shall keep such full and detailed accounts as may be necessary for proper financial management under this Agreement and the system shall be satisfactory to the County. The County or its representative shall be afforded access to all the Contractor’s records, books, correspondence, instructions, drawings, receipts vouchers, memoranda, and similar data relating to this Agreement, and the Contractor shall preserve all such records for a period of three years, or for such longer period as may be required by law, after the final payment.

ASSIGNMENT OF REFUND RIGHTS

43. The Contractor agrees to assign and transfer to the County all its rights to sales and use tax which may be refunded as a result of a claim for refund for materials purchased in connections with this Agreement. The Contractor further agrees that it will not file a claim for refund for any sales or use tax, which is the subject of this assignment.

AGREEMENTS WITH SUBCONTRACTORS

44. The Contractor agrees to include the “Access to Accounting Records” and “Assignments of Refund

Rights” paragraphs, in full, in any Agreements with subcontractors.

DELIVERY

45. In general, deliveries shall be F.O.B. Destination and at such times as may be fixed by the

Purchasing Director and shall not be made except upon definite instructions by the Purchasing Director. The Contractor agrees to bear the risk of loss, injury, or destruction of the item(s) ordered prior to receipt of the items by the County. Unless otherwise stated in this Contract or modified by the Purchasing Director, delivery must be made within thirty (30) days after the Effective Date.

PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

46. During the terms of this Agreement, the Contractor agrees as follows:

Pursuant to federal regulations promulgated under the authority of The Americans with Disabilities Act, 28 C.F.R. Section 35.101 et seq., the Contractor understands and agrees that no individual with a disability shall, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in this Agreement or from activities provided for under this Agreement. As a condition of accepting and executing this Agreement, the Contractor agrees to comply with the "General Prohibitions Against Discrimination," 28 C.F.R. Section 35.130, and all other regulations promulgated under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act which are applicable to the benefits, services, programs, and activities provided by the County of Bucks through Agreements with outside contractors.

47. The Contractor shall be responsible for and agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the County of Bucks from all losses, damages, expenses, claims, demands, suits and actions brought by any party against the County of Bucks as a result of the Contractor's failure to comply with the provisions of the above paragraph.

COOPERATIVE PURCHASING

48. In accordance with 62 Pa.C.S.A §1902, the County is able to piggyback purchase from contracts that have been bid by other public entities. These piggyback contracts contain cooperative purchasing language or have been bid by other public entities in conjunction with a cooperative purchasing program. As such, contractors are encouraged to offer piggyback contract pricing based on the County’s scope of work and technical specifications and must follow the piggyback contract guidelines and discounts if applicable and favorable to the County.

49. If a contractor wishes to submit a piggyback contract proposal, the contractor must include in their response, any and all documentation and the website location, so that the County may determine whether or not it is able to use the contract being offered.

50. Failure to provide both a contract number and website to verify the contract may result in disqualification of the bid.

ASSIGNMENT OF ANTITRUST CLAIMS

51. Vendor assigns to the County any and all claims that Vendor may have now or in the future against any party that arise under the state and/or federal antitrust laws for overcharges associated with products and services purchased by Vendor and sold to County pursuant to this contract, provided that Customer agrees to comply with all applicable federal laws and regulations regarding reporting of discounts and other reductions in price. Vendor hereby certifies that the foregoing causes of action are lawfully owned and that no previous assignment of the same has been made, nor has the same heretofore been attached or pledged in any manner whatsoever.

SPECIAL CLAUSES

PERFORMANCE BOND IS NOT REQUIRED

SPECIAL RESTRICTIONS FOR WORK IN THE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY

Not Used.

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS

It is the practice of Bucks County to require outside contractors to abide by established safety rules and regulations designed to protect our personnel and facilities. The intent of this procedure is to provide sufficient information to allow our contractors to conduct business in all County facilities in a safe and professional manner. See ATTACHMENT A for the County’s Rules and Regulations for Outside Contractors.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POLICIES

EXCLUDED/DEBARRED PARTY CLAUSE FOR AGREEMENTS FOR THE NESHAMINY MANOR

NURSING FACILITY

BACKGROUND CHECKS REQUIRED

PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION ACT

CDC and PA DEPARTMENT OF HEATLH GUIDELINES Bidders are given notice that the employees of the company awarded this contract are required to follow all CDC guidelines and all PA Department of Health guidelines regarding social distancing and the wearing of face masks while on County property.

FALSE CLAIMS ORDINANCE

Vendor is aware that knowingly presenting or causing to be presented a false claim for payment or approval to the County may subject Vendor to damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs pursuant to County of Bucks Ordinance No. 163 and other applicable laws. Upon the County’s request, Vendor shall complete and submit a County of Bucks certified claim form or else forfeit the claim. The False Claims Ordinance can be found at https://www.buckscounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1711/Ordinance- Number-163-PDF .

https://www.buckscounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1711/Ordinance-Number-163-PDF https://www.buckscounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1711/Ordinance-Number-163-PDF

INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

All bidders are hereby informed that failure to provide the Insurance Certificate with the required limits and coverage within ten days of receiving a notice of the award may result in the bid being awarded to the next lowest bidder.

The vendor awarded this Agreement is required to provide a Certificate of Insurance that contains a minimum of the following coverage and limits:

1. Commercial General Liability - (policy to include premises and operations, products / completed operations and blanket contractual liability- the contractual section of the coverage must cover this agreement)

Each Occurrence Limit $1,000,000.

General Aggregate Limit $2,000,000.

Products and Completed Operations Aggregate Limit $2,000,000.

2. Automobile Liability - to include owned, non-owned and hired vehicles:

Combined Single Limit $1,000,000.

3. Excess (Umbrella) Liability coverage is to be in an umbrella form. Any restrictions or limitations in coverage should be specified on the certificate of insurance- Each Occurrence $1,000,000.

Aggregate Limit $1,000,000.

4. Workers Compensation Statutory and Employer's Liability:

Bodily Injury by each Accident $ 100,000.

Bodily Injury by Disease- each Employee $ 100,000.

Bodily Injury by Disease- Policy Limit $ 500,000.

5. A Waiver of Subrogation is granted in favor of the County of Bucks, its Board of Commissioners, employees, directors, officers, departments and divisions applies under all policies.

6. When it applies, Additional Insured shall read exactly as follows-

The County of Bucks, its Board of Commissioners, employees, directors, officers, departments and divisions shall be included as additional insured on all liability policies on a primary and non-contributory basis with respect to the work performed for this Agreement: Two-Year Contract for Onsite Shredding Services; Spec #28-06/26.

7. Cancellation Clause- must read:

Should any of the above-described policies be cancelled before the expiration date thereof, notice will be delivered in accordance with the policy provisions.

8. Certificate Holder- County of Bucks Board of Commissioners, Attn: Office of the Controller, 55 East Court Street, Doylestown, PA 18901.

SPEC# 28-06/26

SPECIFICATIONS FOR

ONSITE DOCUMENT SHREDDING

The intent of this bid is to contract for onsite shredding services. This unit cost contract shall start on or about July 27, 2026, will run for two years, and includes the option to extend the contract for two additional one-year periods. The county reserves the right to extend the term of the Agreement period for up to three months to prevent a lapse of coverage and only for the time necessary to issue and award a new Invitation to Bid. The Quantities specified within are the County's best estimate of the quantity of each product and/or service that the County expects to order during the Contract Term.

Services may only be rendered upon the County's request. However, at the County's sole option, such quantities may be increased or decreased, or the County may order no products or services at all, depending upon the County's requirements (as determined solely by the County) during the Contract Term. Any award from this bid will be made as a unit cost contract to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder in total.

By responding to this bid, bidders agree that they will hold the bid price for the entire length of the contract including any available extension.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING YOUR ELECTRONIC BID on PennBid

On the “Prepare Your Submission” within the opportunity on the PennBid website:

• Bidders are required to provide all Requested Information identified, including applicable Questionnaires and Bidtables.

• Bidders are required to fill out, sign and upload the completed Agreement document to the Agreement button of the solicitation.

• Bidders are required to upload the following documents to the labeled button of the solicitation:

o Proof of NAID AAA Certification

• Bidders shall provide a unit cost per Line in the Bidtable of the solicitation on the PennBid website. Bidders are reminded that the cost they are entering in the UNIT COST field corresponds to both the Quantity and Unit of Measure for each line.

• No additional fees, surcharges, costs or expenses will be billed to or paid by the County.

The last BID TABULATION for this service is available at www.buckscounty.gov/; Purchasing Department;

Bid Award Tabulation; 2023, 41-0623 Document Shredding.

SPECIFICATIONS

These specifications are intended to describe shredding services as described herein with no standard equipment or services deleted. Any items omitted from the specification that would adversely affect the operation of the shredding services is to be considered part of the specifications.

- Vendor must be AAA certified by National Association of Informative Destruction (NAID) and must upload proof of same with their bid response.

- All County departments will have the ability to utilize the shredding services awarded in this bid.

Bidders are encouraged to go to the County website https://www.buckscounty.gov/ for possible service locations.

http://www.buckscounty.gov/ https://www.buckscounty.gov/

- Vendor shall provide secure destruction of sensitive documents and records per the guidelines of the NAID.

- Vendor will collect containers on a preset schedule as well as on an as-needed basis during normal business hours. Normal business hours vary between departments and will be disclosed to the awarded bidder.

- Locations may request Certificates of Destruction as needed. Certificates will be provided by vendor free of charge.

- A Purchase Order will be issued by each department requiring shredding services. Invoicing is to be done on a monthly basis. Departments with multiple locations will require invoicing of all locations on one invoice.

Contracted Items:

Quantities are shown on the Bidtable of the solicitation on the PennBid website.

Item Size Pick Up

Frequency

1. Lockable Executive Console 21.5” x 21.5” x 36” Weekly

2. Lockable Executive Console 21.5” x 21.5” x 36” Every Other Week

3. Lockable Executive Console 21.5” x 21.5” x 36” Monthly

4. Lockable Security Bin 95 gallons Weekly

5 Lockable Security Bin 95 gallons Every Other Week

6. Lockable Security Bin 95 gallons Monthly

7. Bankers Box Container 10” x 12” x 15” As Needed

8. Shredding of Hard Drives As Needed

9. Certificate of Destruction As Needed

Attachment B

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS

PRACTICE

It is the practice of Bucks County to require outside contractors to abide by established safety rules and regulations designed to protect our personnel and facilities. The intent of this procedure is to provide sufficient information to allow our contractors to conduct business in all County facilities in a safe and professional manner.

PROCEDURE

A. The General Services Department shall communicate the safety rules and regulations for outside contractors to the contractor or his representative prior to the beginning of work, and inform the contractor that violation of these rules and regulations by the contractor may be grounds for cancellation of the Agreement by the County Commissioners or the Chief Operating Officer.

B. All threats to safety involving outside contractors must be reported to the General Services

Department.

C. Bucks County Purchasing Department or requesting department, shall send a copy of this procedure to all contractors as part of any bid or quote package issued.

D. The contractor must notify the General Services Department by phone at 215-345-3950 before starting work at any County facility.

RULES

A. The contractor is responsible for adherence to existing local, state and federal codes and regulations.

B. Personal vehicles may be parked in designated areas; all parking regulations as posted must be observed.

C. The possession of any type of weapon on county property is prohibited. The contractor shall not allow his employees to work under the influence of narcotics or intoxicating beverages.

D. Fighting, horse-play and running are prohibited within the entire facility.

E. Smoking is not permitted.

F. Before starting any excavation the contractor must consult with the General Services department for all known underground utilities. The contractor is also responsible to schedule a PA one Call before starting any work. All open pits and excavated areas must be properly protected at all times. Barricades, identification signs or other warning devices must be used at these hazardous locations when no work is being performed.

G. The treatment of injuries sustained by the contractor’s employees shall be the responsibility of the contractor.

H. Regardless of the type of fuel used, all fuel-driven machines must be shut down for refueling.

I. Gasoline powered trucks must be equipped with a spark-arrester on tail pipe. No riders, other than the driver, are permitted on either empty or loaded trucks. Refueling must be done outside the building.

J. Adequate and proper eye protection such as safety glasses, face shields or goggles must be properly worn at all times when work offers an eye injury exposure. Safety glasses must also be worn in any posted area requiring their use.

K. Oily or otherwise dirty disposable wiping cloths must be deposited in closed covered containers.

L. Housekeeping is the contractor’s responsibility. Clean-up of the respective working areas must be accomplished at the end of the day or shift or more often if an unusual hazard is created.

M. Bulk storage of flammable liquids must be kept outside of buildings. No more than one day's working supply should be inside the building at any time and they must be kept in properly labeled self-closing covered safety containers.

N. Dunnage, binding wire, metal strapping and other types of debris must be cleaned up immediately after use and taken to designated collection areas. At no time shall scrap be permitted to remain in aisles and areas where it could become a "tripping" or a "slip and fall" hazard.

O. Aisles, exits, walkways and fire protection equipment must be maintained free from obstruction at all times. Fire doors must not be blocked or fastened open. Wires, cables or hoses, etc. shall not pass through a doorway and prevent the fire door from closing completely.

P. Adequate fire protection must be provided at every job site where flame and spark producing equipment is used. This equipment must be inspected by the contractor before it is used to ensure that it is in good working order. A Cutting and Welding Permit must be secured from the General Service Department before starting such work.

Q. General Services, in conjunction with the Fire Marshal’s Office shall show the contractor the various methods of transmitting fire alarms within the facility. It is the responsibility of the contractor to familiarize his employees with these methods.

R. When welding and/or cutting are done in storage rooms, flammable liquid area and vapor degreaser areas, the flammable material must be adequately covered with flame retardant tarpaulins. While the cutting and/or welding is being done, at least one person must be stationed in the immediate area with a suitable fire extinguisher.

S. When cutting, welding or grinding work is to be done in the immediate vicinity of county employees, adequate screen protection from flying objects must be provided.

T. If and when it becomes necessary to use a fire extinguisher, it must be reported immediately to the General Services Department.

U. All ladders must be substantially built, free of defects and provided with the necessary safety equipment. Extension ladders, while in use, must be securely fastened to prevent them from falling or skidding. Aluminum ladders are not permitted.

V. Acetylene, oxygen, nitrogen and other compressed gas cylinders must be securely fastened in an upright position.

W. Contractors must store gas cylinders in a specified location. After completion of the work, the contractor is responsible for the removal of all his gas cylinders.

X. Any spillage, regardless of its nature, must be cleaned up immediately.

Y. Safety guards or other devices shall not be removed from tools or equipment except for repairs and must be replaced upon completion of repair.

Z. Scaffolds planks, ladders, ropes, ground wires, etc., shall be inspected by the contractor and replaced if they prove to be defective.

AA. Hard hats should be worn when overhead work is being performed.

BB. Temporary wiring must be properly insulated and substantially supported.

CC. If work necessitates the turning off of any portion of the sprinkler systems or power, General

Services Department in conjunction with the Fire marshal’s Office, must be notified 24 hours prior to these systems being turned off or on.

DD. It is the responsibility of the contractor to see that only authorized, qualified (licensed if required) personnel use power actuated (stud) tools. Adequate shields to lessen the danger of flying materials must be erected if work is done in close proximity to county employees.

EE. It is the responsibility of the contractor's representative to familiarize himself with the building or work area layout and to instruct employees in the location of emergency exits and evacuation routes.

FF. The contractors employees will be permitted access only to those areas necessary for the performance of contractual work. Under no circumstances are the contractor’s employees allowed to tour or roam around the facility or enter areas not necessary for the performance of their work.

GG. “Strike anywhere” matches are not permitted.

HH. All personnel must wear shirts with sleeves that cover the shoulders and pants that cover the entire leg to the ankle.

II. At no time is work permitted with materials that the employee does not understand or are not aware of the hazard. The contractor is required to have Material Safety Data Sheets for all materials.

INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS