United Kingdom · window cleaning · method literacy
Window cleaning method requirements on tenders — HERS, CFA, rope access and CPV literacy
A Contracts Finder title says “window cleaning”. The pack says atria, curtain walling, and rope access twice a year. If your firm is ladder-and-reach only, that mismatch kills the bid on day one — but the public notice often stays silent. This guide teaches method-requirement literacy for window SMEs triaging roughly £10k–£250k lots on Contracts Finder and Find a Tender. Decision-support reading only — not bid writing, not health-and-safety advice.
Free weekly · £19/mo daily · £9.99 memo · £29.99 pack
Start with the right CPV — window cleaning is not “cleaning”
Before you read method language, confirm the notice is actually a glass lot. On UK public portals:
- CPV 90911300 — window-cleaning services. Your primary filter.
- CPV 90910000 — building cleaning (communal, office, deep clean). Related taxonomy; not the same contract.
- CPV 90911000 — accommodation, building and window cleaning combined. Read the title; housing-association communal lots often bundle internal and external glass.
A saved search on bare “cleaning” delivers FM frameworks, school caretaker packages, and building-cleaning awards where windows are a line item — or not mentioned at all. Pair CPV 90911300 with keywords "window cleaning" and "window-cleaning". Broader filter hygiene: Soft FM Contracts Finder filters. Sector context: window cleaning sector page.
What buyers mean by HERS and CFA
Facilities and estates teams often split external glass by method, not just frequency. Two labels recur on education, NHS and local-authority schedules:
- HERS (High Edge Reach System) — typically water-fed pole and similar reach-from-ground methods for upper-floor externals within safe pole limits. Buyers may require operator training records, risk assessments, and evidence that reach height matches the building schedule.
- CFA (Cleaning from Access equipment) — work that needs MEWPs, cherry pickers, cradles, rope access, or scaffolding. The “access equipment” label tells you ladder-only crews are not in scope for those panes.
Buyers do not always spell out the acronyms on Contracts Finder. You may see “working at height”, “MEWP required”, “rope access for atria”, or “internal and external including high-level glazing” in the description. Treat any height-access phrase as a method gate — even when HERS/CFA shorthand is absent.
On the notice page, method detail is often Unknown. The frequency table in the ITT holds the expensive glass: quarterly atrium drops, annual curtain-wall cleans, term-time internal restrictions. That is why notice triage and pack reading are different jobs. See notice-visible gates vs pack-only gates.
Rope access, IRATA, IPAF and PASMA as hard gates
When the schedule names a specialist method, buyers usually want named evidence:
- Rope access / abseiling — IRATA-trained operatives, rescue plans, and insurance that covers industrial rope access. Common on atria, link bridges, and curtain walling where MEWPs cannot reach.
- MEWP / cherry picker — IPAF categories matching the equipment on site. Ground conditions, outriggers, and traffic management may sit in the pack.
- Tower / mobile access — PASMA where towers are specified.
- Cradle / BMU work — operator competence and building-specific induction; often pack-only until you register on the buyer portal.
If your firm holds none of these and cannot subcontract credibly inside the bid window, method requirements are a fast Fail — regardless of how attractive the contract value looks. Do not assume “we will get IPAF before award” unless you have done the maths on training lead time and premium uplift.
How method requirements show up on Contracts Finder notices
Scan the published notice in this order:
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Title and CPV. Confirm 90911300 (or read a combined 90911000 lot carefully). A “Cleaning Services” title with building-cleaning CPV is not your glass lot.
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Description keywords. Search for HERS, CFA, MEWP, rope, abseil, cradle, atrium, curtain wall, high level, working at height, IPAF, IRATA.
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Attached summaries. Some buyers attach a scope PDF on the notice page — method splits sometimes appear there before the full ITT.
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Site list and building type. FE colleges, hospitals, and town-centre estates imply height complexity even when the description is thin. Multi-campus geography is a resource question as well as a travel question.
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Insurance cues. Elevated PL minimums on the notice can hint at height risk. Pair with PL and insurance gates.
Silence on method is not permission. It usually means Unknown until pack. A ladder-and-reach firm should not infer “standard six-monthly externals” from a thin description.
Notice triage vs pack method statements
Notice triage answers: is this glass lot worth downloading? You can Fail on CPV, geography, framework-only wording, or any method phrase printed on the notice. You can Pass with method still Unknown if your firm can resource height access and the other visible gates look plausible.
Pack reading answers: can we actually deliver this schedule? Frequency tables, building specifications, RAMS templates, and accreditation uploads live here. That is bid-preparation work — not something BidFit writes for you.
- £9.99 public-notice memo — flags method wording when on the notice; marks detail Unknown when pack-only. See the Bedford sample.
- £29.99 pack memo — same structure after you forward the ITT/SQ; fills method and accreditation gates from documents you send. Still not a written bid.
Full gate checklist: bid/no-bid decision for UK SMEs. Ten-minute notice habit: how to read a tender notice in ten minutes.
When the notice alone is enough vs when you need the pack
The notice alone is enough when:
- CPV, title, or geography already tell you it is not your trade.
- Printed method language names rope access, MEWP, or CFA and you cannot resource it.
- Framework or DPS panel wording excludes you — see framework call-offs vs open tenders.
Open the pack (or buy a £29.99 memo) when:
- The notice survived triage, value and region fit, but method is silent and the building type suggests atria or high-level glass.
- You need the frequency table to see whether HERS-only ground work is most of the value or a minority line item.
- Accreditation uploads are mandatory and not stated on the public page.
What BidFit will not do
- Not bid writing. No method statements, RAMS, pricing schedules, or SQ completion.
- Not health-and-safety or training advice. We flag what the notice says; you talk to your H&S adviser and training provider.
- Not a replacement for gov.uk. Keep official saved searches as source of truth.
Questions
What CPV code should I filter for window cleaning tenders?
Window-cleaning services sit under CPV 90911300 on Contracts Finder and Find a Tender. General building cleaning is 90910000. Filter on 90911300 and keywords like window cleaning — not bare “cleaning” — or you will pull communal and FM lots that are not glass work.
What is the difference between HERS and CFA on a window cleaning tender?
HERS (High Edge Reach System) and CFA (Cleaning from Access equipment) are buyer-side method labels for working at height. HERS typically covers water-fed pole and similar reach systems; CFA covers MEWP, cradle, rope access or other specialist height methods. Buyers often require named tickets or accreditations for whichever method the schedule demands. If the notice or pack names a method you cannot resource, that is a bid/no-bid gate.
When do rope access requirements appear on the notice versus the ITT pack?
Often pack-only. Contracts Finder descriptions frequently say “window cleaning” with no mention of IRATA, rope access or cradle work — then the ITT frequency table lists atria, curtain walling or high-level glass that needs abseiling or MEWPs. Mark height-access method gates Unknown on the notice until you open the pack or order a £29.99 pack memo.
Does BidFit write window cleaning method statements?
No. BidFit emails profile-matched notices and writes sourced Go / No-go memos when you ask. We flag method wording when it appears on the published notice. We do not draft method statements, RAMS, or bid responses.
More guides
All BidFit guides: /guides/. Window sector page: window cleaning. Notice vs pack gates: notice-visible vs pack-only gates. Insurance: PL and contract value. Memo line: when a match needs a memo.
Match window lots — triage method gates early
Take the free weekly digest filtered to window cleaning. When a named notice survives CPV and geography checks, order a £9.99 memo — or open the pack yourself if method detail is pack-only.