What should and should not be charged at mobilisation in Ryde

The list is longer than most people expect. Keys or access cards issued and tested, alarm codes and the lock-up sequence confirmed, any building induction completed, insurance and screening documentation lodged with whoever holds the contractor register, equipment and consumable stock delivered, storage arranged, and the schedule walked with the incoming cleaner so they know the building before their first solo attendance. Working through that list before the start date is what separates a smooth changeover from a difficult first month.

Most of it takes a week or two and much of it depends on the client rather than the contractor. Keys have to be released, inductions scheduled, a store made available. Agreeing who does what and by when, in writing, is the difference between a clean start and a first fortnight where the building is being cleaned by someone still working out where things are.

Ordinary set-up is a cost of winning the work and generally belongs inside the price. Staff briefing, schedule confirmation, standard equipment provision and the first delivery of consumables under an agreed supply arrangement are all part of starting a contract. A separate mobilisation fee for these items is worth questioning, and a bidder who includes one should be asked to explain precisely what it buys.

There are legitimate exceptions. Where a building requires a paid induction, where specialist equipment must be purchased for the site, or where the premises needs a remedial clean before a routine schedule can be sustained, those are real additional costs. The test is whether the item is specific to your premises or simply the cost of doing business, and the answer should be visible in the quote.

A premises that has been poorly maintained cannot be brought to standard by a routine schedule. The incoming contractor either spends months slowly recovering it, during which the service looks inadequate, or performs a one-off remedial clean to establish a baseline the routine work can then hold. The second is honest and the first quietly shifts an existing problem onto a new provider. Presenting it as a choice rather than a condition also lets the client decide how quickly they want the baseline established.

Ask bidders to state whether they consider a remedial clean necessary and to price it separately with its own scope. That gives you a decision rather than a surprise. It also tells you something about the bidder: one who identifies the condition and prices it openly has looked at the building, while one who promises the routine schedule will resolve it has not. Ask for the remedial scope in writing so it can be compared between bidders like any other item.