Requesting RAMS for Work Orders and Quotations
When a PM adds a work order or quotation they have the option to ask for RAMS documents. There is a set list of documents that can be requested, one or more can be selected. A site visit can also be specified. RAMS Specific Details text can be provided to give the contractor further guidance.
If the work order estimate provided is above the Managing agent limit, but the PM does not want to request RAMS, one of three reasons have to be selected. Also applies to saying no to RAMS for any quotation request.
RAMS Tab
When RAMS are requested the RAMS tab will be shown for PMs and the Contractor(s).
PMs and HSMs can review and approve the documents under this tab. There is also a Contact Contractor button to send an email specifically regarding the documents. If the contractor replies to the email it will be added as a comment on the request.
The Management Approval section indicates if the HSM has approved and if this is needed.
Contractors can upload their documents via 'RAMS Document Library' under SETUP on the contractor portal. They can edit their documents up until they have been approved. For Quotations, only the contractor whose quotation is accepted will be able to submit RAMS documents. Before a quotation is accepted the RAMS tab will display the message "Contractor has not been assigned".
Approving RAMS Documents
Documents have to be viewed before they can be approved. Next to each View link is an eye icon that indicates which documents remain to be viewed. When the Property Manager clicks a View link the document opens or downloads and an Approve button appears beside the document.
The HSM (Health & Safety Manager) have their own page under the Requests menu named Active RAMS works. This lists all requests that have documents that require their approval. For contractor charges of above the threshold set by the managing agent (e.g. £2000), HSM approval is required. Another employee can approve the documents initially, but the contractor will not be assigned until HSM approves all the documents.
The HSM does not see individual approve buttons, but when they have viewed all the documents, an Approve All button appears. For quotations, each contractor's documents have to be approved separately by the HSM.
When HSM approval is needed the PM can approve in advance but doesn't have to.
Work Order with RAMS Process
When the work order is added, the contractor is sent the normal assignment email, but the content and the pdf specify that they have to provide RAMS and they have to be approved before they can start work. The email contains a RAMS button that takes the contractor directly to the RAMS tab.
The work order begins in the Awaiting RAMS documents state. Once they have provided all the documents the state changes to Awaiting RAMS approval and the PMs are notified, as are the HSMs if the estimate is above the limit.
Once the documents are approved the request state changes to the normal Contractor assigned state. The contractor is sent an email indicating that they can proceed with the work.
At this point the work order process continues as normal.
Quotation with RAMS Process
When the quotation request is added all the contractors are emailed asking for their quote along with RAMS. The contractors cannot provide a quote without also providing the documents.
The request begins in the Awaiting Quotations state as normal. Once all the quotes have been submitted the request changes to the Awaiting RAMS approval state and the PMs are notified. If any one quote is above the Managing agent RAMS Limit then the HSMs will also be notified.
Once all the documents are approved the request moves to the Quotations Complete state. The PMs will be notified as they may have been waiting for the HSMs to approve.
At this point the PM can accept a quotation as normal. If they try to approve a quotation before the RAMS are approved they will be shown an error. Note that the PM can accept a quotation before all the quotations have been submitted but the documents for that contractor will have needed to have been approved. If the quotation is above the Managing agent Limit, then they will have to ask the HSMs to approve the RAMS first.
Contracts with RAMS Process
When adding the contract, if 'do not notify the contractor' is selected, then the PM has to agree that they will upload the RAMS documents.
Contract approvers will get a warning if not all RAMS documents have been uploaded and approved.
Additional Scenarios for your consideration
| SCENARIO | PROBLEM | WORK AROUND |
|---|---|---|
| A PM has requested quotations with RAMS from multiple contractors. Some provide a quote over the £2000 limit. Some don't respond at all. | The PM wants to accept one of the quotes they have received, but the H&S Manager will not know they need to do anything because the quotations were never completed. | The PM gives the request Id to the H&S Manager and asks them to approve. |
| A PM has added a RFQ (request for quotation) without RAMS, but at some point realizes they need RAMS. | The RFQ's have already been sent. Some or all of the contractors may have already submitted quotes without RAMS. | PM uses the Add Quotation form again, and this time selects RAMS. Then they edit the request and select Resend RFQ. |
| H&S Manager has multiple RAMS documents to approve for a contractor. They view them all, but there is a problem with one of them before they can approve. | If they navigate away from the tab/page, the system will not remember which ones they have viewed. So although only one RAMS document may be replaced, they will have to view them all again to make the Approve button appear. | View them all again. |
| PM approves RAMS documents for a work order/quotation over the Limit. The H&S Manager looks at the documents and doesn't want to approve them for a particular reason. They want to contact the Contractor and ask for new ones. | Because the documents have been approved by the PM, the Contractor is unable to edit them. | Add a new work order / quotation request. |