Request for Proposal

Transcription

1 Strait Regional School Board Request for Proposal AVL/GPS VEHICLE TRACKING SYSTEM Strait Regional School Board Closing Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Closing Time: 2:00 p.m. Opening Time: 2:15 p.m. Closing Location: 16 Cemetery Road, Port Hastings, N.S. Department Contact Person: Shirley A. Hart Phone Number: (902) WHERE CONFLICTING INFORMATION OCCURS BETWEEN THIS PAGE AND THE REMAINDER OF THE DOCUMENT, THIS PAGE IS TO BE CONSIDERED CORRECT.

2 PART 1 - GENERAL 1.1 INVITATION.1 Proposal Call.1 The Strait Regional School Board will receive offers signed, executed, and dated before 2:00 p.m. local time on the 20th day of April, 2010, at the School Board Office located at 16 Cemetery Road, Port Hastings, Nova Scotia, B9A 1K INTENT.2 Offers submitted after the above time shall be returned to the proponent unopened..3 Amendments to the submitted offer will be permitted if received in writing prior to proposal closing and if endorsed by the same party or parties who signed and sealed the offer..4 Fax submissions will not be accepted..1 The intent of this proposal is to obtain a solution for an AVL/GPS Tracking System for the bus fleet and maintenance vehicles under the jurisdiction of the Strait Regional School Board, as per attached terms and conditions. Proponents should supply four (4) copies of proposal..2 Implementation date will depend on the solution deemed to be most appropriate for the Strait Regional School Board. 1.3 DOCUMENTS IDENTIFICATION.1 Availability.1 Documents may be obtained at the School Board Office located at 16 Cemetery Road, Port Hastings, Nova Scotia, B9A 1K6..2 Documents are made available only for the purpose of obtaining offers for this service contract. Their use does not confer a license or grant for other purposes..2 Examination.1 Documents are on display at the office of the Strait Regional School Board..2 Upon receipt of Documents, verify that documents are complete; immediately notify the Board s Purchasing Agent upon finding discrepancies or omissions in the Documents.

3 .3 Queries/Addenda.1 Direct questions to Shirley Hart, Purchasing Agent, (902) Addenda may be issued during the bidding period. All addenda become part of the Contract Documents. Include costs in the Proposal Price..3 Verbal answers are only binding when confirmed by written addenda..4 Technical queries are to be directed to Tara Gaskell, Manager of OH&S, at Clarifications requested by bidders must be in writing not less than five (5) working days before date set for receipt of proposals. The reply will be in the form of an addendum, a copy of which will be forwarded to known bidders no later than two (2) working days before receipt of proposals. 1.4 PROPONENTS EXPENSES Proponents are solely responsible for their own expenses in preparing, delivering or presenting a proposal. 1.5 OFFER ACCEPTANCE/REJECTION.1 Duration of Offer.1 Quotes shall remain open to acceptance and shall be irrevocable for a period of sixty (60) days after the quote closing date..2 Acceptance of Offer.1 The Board reserves the right to accept or reject any or all offers or to accept any offer deemed most satisfactory. The Board reserves the right to waive any informality in any or all Quotes..2 After acceptance by the Board, the successful Proponent shall be notified in writing of acceptance of offer..3 Unsuccessful proponents will be notified of successful offer. 1.6 TAXES.1 Harmonized Sales Tax.1 The Strait Regional School Board is not exempt for Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) purposes. Proponents are to note that prices indicated on the Quote Form and the appendices to the Quote Form shall not include the Harmonized Sales Tax.

4 TERMS AND CONDITIONS The following is a guideline to assist in the preparation of a proposal for an AVL/GPS Tracking System for the vehicles under the jurisdiction of the Strait Regional School Board. 1. SERVICES REQUIRED The Strait Regional School Board is seeking proposals from vendors interested in supplying our bus and maintenance fleet with an AVL/GPS Tracking System to enable our Operations Department to track Board-owned vehicles. Through this process, we hope to: 1) Increase safety of drivers and passengers 2) Improve the efficiency of vehicle routes and uses 3) Optimize our routing duties 4) Improve maintenance activities 5) Cut down on vehicle idle time 2. SERVICE PROVIDERS A principal contact person should be named but it is understood that individuals with expertise in areas of required service may be used in place of the principal contact. Please identify individuals and their area of expertise, as well as title and complete address, including COMPARABLE EXPERIENCE Describe your firm s history and experience and previous experience in providing AVL/GPS services to similar clients. 5. REFERENCES Attach three client references for any work of a similar nature done by your firm. For each reference, provide a contact name, phone number, fax number and an address, if available. The Strait Regional School Board reserves the right to check all references furnished and to consider the responses received in determining the award of this proposal. Clients in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada would be appreciated. 6. FIRM CONTACT Each proposal should include the name and title of one individual who may be contacted in the event that further clarification is required. Written clarification of proposals or parts of any proposal may be required by the Board.

5 7. SCHOOL BOARD CONTACT Should any item in this document be unclear, please contact Shirley Hart, Manager of Purchasing, at (902) to obtain further clarification. To be effective, any changes to this proposal must be made by a written addendum. For questions of a technical nature, please contact Tara Gaskell, Mgr. of OH&S for the Strait Regional School Board, at (902) DUTIES OF CONTRACTOR.1 The successful Proponent is responsible to obtain all permits, comply with all codes, regulations, ordinances and all other laws and standards pertaining to this work/industry/trade and work environment, including the Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety Act..2 The successful Proponent shall protect all property and fixtures and, at his own expense, repair to the satisfaction of the Strait Regional School Board any damage attributed to his work..3 The successful Proponent must abide by all applicable health and safety regulations and procedures as established by the Strait Regional School Board..4 The successful Proponent must be registered with the Workers Compensation Board of Nova Scotia. Coverage is to be maintained for the duration of this contract. Copy of proof of good standing must be provided..5 The successful Proponent shall indemnify and save harmless the Strait Regional School Board against any and all liability claims and cost of whatever kind and nature of injury to or death of any persons and for loss or damage to any property resulting from any act, fault or omission of the Contractor, any subcontractor or anyone employed in the performance of the work specified herein..6 The successful Proponent shall, at all times from the commencement of the work specified herein until its completion and at his own expense, maintain in accordance with the policy, terms and conditions comprehensive general liability insurance against claims for personal injury, death or property damage for a minimum of $2,000,000 in respect to any one accident or occurrence with respect to this project and shall provide evidence of same..7 The successful Proponent is to supply all labour, material and equipment, as specified, to carry out the work being proposed.

6 9. OWNERSHIP OF RESPONSES AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION All documents, including proposal responses, submitted to the Board become the property of the Strait Regional School Board and are subject to disclosure under the Nova Scotia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. By submitting a response, the proponent thereby agrees to public disclosure of its contents. Any information considered to be personal information because of its proprietary nature should be marked as confidential and will be subject to appropriate consideration as defined within the Nova Scotia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The Strait Regional School Board reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal.

7 INTRODUCTION The Strait Regional School Board, as the provider of public education for the Strait region, came to be through the amalgamation of four previous Boards covering four Counties in eastern Nova Scotia. Within this area, covering 10,770 square kilometers, we provide educational services to 25 schools with a student population of 7,413 during the school year. The regional office is located in Port Hastings with our bus garage/operations facility located in Mulgrave. All locations are connected with internet service. At the present time, we have a fleet of 128 school buses in service on a daily basis providing student transportation from Sherbrooke, Guysborough County to Pleasant Bay, Inverness County and 20 maintenance vehicles to service all sites. This Request for Proposal is an invitation to firms who can provide a tracking solution for all vehicles throughout our geographic area. This solution may take one of several options. The Strait Regional School Board reserves the right to award to the Proponent whose solution is deemed to be the most suitable for our fleet. 1) Web-based infrastrucure 2) Board-Managed infrastructure 3) Supply AND install by vendor 4) Supply by vendor ONLY and in-house installation The Strait Regional School Board wishes to engage a vendor in a 3-5 year contract to provide an Enterprise Wide AVL/GPS tracking solution to our needs, including all necessary hardware and software as well as implementation services. Should the in-house installation be the chosen solution, vendor should provide details of assistance they are willing to provide to Board staff. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINES Implementation of project will depend on solution accepted by the Strait Regional School Board. 1) If solution is Proponent-supply and Board-install, all hardware and software necessary must be supplied before June 30th, ) If solution is to be supply and install by vendor, all hardware and software must be on site by June 30th and project will be expected to be completed before August 30, 2010.

8 VENDOR EVALUATION CRITERIA A vendor will be chosen by the Strait Regional School Board based on the vendor s ability to respond to our RFP, their ability to demonstrate the suitability of their product functionality and their ability to meet our customer service expectations. RFP responses will be evaluated based on: Completeness of solution - the ability of the vendor to respond with a solution that will meet all of our requirements. Quality, reliability and overall functionality of the vendor s product Cost effectiveness of the solution The vendor s ability to provide the necessary support for implementation, ongoing maintenance and upgrades Overall business and financial viability of the vendor The vendor s experience in providing AVL/GPS tracking systems similar in nature to the Strait Regional School Board Additional Company resources and overall industry resources and consultation the vendor can provide Clarity and completeness of the vendor s response to the RFP. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS Proposals must describe the proposed solution s architecture. Should the solution use an application server provider (ASP)/hosted model, please describe complete cost and process to access each specific function for up to 150 vehicles. If solution would be hosted on one or more SRSB servers, please describe hardware / software and implementation costs necessary to support up to 150 vehicles. The SRSB will be responsible for the purchase of any servers and associated software. The vendor must provide detailed server specification requirements as well as any ancillary software requirements including version and OS.

9 The following information should be included in the proposal: indicate, describe and cost each component to be installed in the 130 buses and 20 maintenance vehicles indicate, describe and cost the software functionality provide detailed description of the data security detail complete implementation costs detail hardware/software or host costs. detail monthly data communication costs describe how you would interface to our maps describe portability of components between vehicles provide hardware, misc. components, and implementation costs necessary to implement remaining vehicles. This should be costed on a per vehicle basis. Means of communication - cell and/or satellite Detailed capability of coverage for geographic areas. Vendor must supply solution for areas with poor coverage. History - back-ups i.e. how often; data and reporting storage i.e. where and for how long COSTING Please complete the Costing Sheet attached. All pricing must be exclusive of tax and be in Canadian dollars. VALUE ADDED Feel free to include any value added services/software to your proposal to assist us in better understanding the types of services/software that you are able to provide. Such services or software must be costed.

10 EVALUATION The Contractor must provide product documentation that describes the features and benefits of their equipment, software and services. Please include technical documentation for major components. During the evaluation process, the Strait Regional School Board may, at its discretion, request vendors to make oral presentations for the purpose of clarification or to amplify the materials presented in their proposal. Not all vendors may be asked to make such oral presentations. The Strait Regional School Board shall not be obligated to accept the lowest, or any offer, and may reject any or all offers without recourse. If only one offer is received, the Strait Regional School Board may accept or reject that offer. PROJECT DETAILS SOFTWARE The Strait Regional School Board requests the software to be web-enabled and work in Microsoft Explorer browser environment. The SRSB does not have a preference on a hosted on in-house model. The Board will select the best overall solution. The software must contain the following functionality: Live tracking of vehicles - ability to locate on demand Display of the vehicle with location update (minimum every 60 seconds). All events are sent in real-time, with date, time and address location stamp. Ability to query vehicle(s) and show location history Idling time record Speed is reported with each event when vehicle is active Excessive speed threshold breach with real-time alert. Ability to send to any cell or PDA Battery voltage monitored Maintenance scheduling with reminders Landmarks - can be created by the customer as needed, via address, latitude and longitude or simply clicking on the map and adding. Landmarks must be able to be deleted as well. Geozones with real-time notification. Geozones must be easily manipulated by user as needed with a real-time alert upon a Geozone breach. Historical Breadcrumb trail of past events Reports available in PDF, Excel or Word

11 Fully configurable administration section - ability of administration to add fleets, move vehicles, add/assign users, rename sensors, etc. 24/7 Web-based user interface hosted by BSM, with secure password and data protection (webhosted model) Dedicated Customer support Support from BSM wireless staff Integration with GIS software (i.e. ArcInfo; ESRI or MapInfo, etc) (in-house model) Ability to import GIS data (hosted model) OPTIONS ECM engine data - fuel consumption, harsh acceleration, etc. Sensors - Door open, e-brake on/off, etc. Dual mode (satellite/cellular) hardware for remote areas HARDWARE The Strait Regional School Board requires the hardware capable of tracking and monitoring 170 vehicles. The hardware will include the GPS unit and communications equipment as well as the various sensors necessary to extract the required information. Below is a listing of the information required to be collected for our two specific vehicle types: BUSES Engine start up Engine shutdown GPS coordinate (every 60 seconds min.) Ground speed Idle time MAINTENANCE VEHICLES Engine start up Engine shutdown GPS coordinate (every 60 seconds min.) Ground speed Idle time Laptop connectivity (optional)

12 PROPOSAL FORM FIRM ADDRESS PHONE FAX NAME AND POSITION OF PERSON SIGNING FOR FIRM I/We, as Service Providers(s), shall furnish the necessary personnel, material, equipment and services to perform the work as stated in document. I/We hereby agree that prices, terms and conditions of this proposal are to remain firm for ninety (90) days from April 20, 2010, and that this offer is irrevocable. Signed at in the County of this day of, Authorized signature

13 PRICING Option 1: WEB-HOSTED Hardware Software Installation Training SUBTOTAL Monthly Charges (Please describe) Tax (13%) TOTAL MAINTENANCE/WARRANTY/SUPPORT Year 1 Year 2 to 5 $ $

14 OPTION 2: BOARD-MANAGED Hardware Software Installation Training SUBTOTAL Monthly Charges (Please describe) Tax (13%) TOTAL MAINTENANCE/WARRANTY/SUPPORT Year 1 Year 2 to 5 $ $ OPTION 3: All-inclusive monthly charge Per Unit