September 27, 1999

 To:Works Committee

From:Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services

Subject: Request for Proposals for the Selection of Vendors for the Supply of Process Control Systems (SCADA) Software, RFP No. MWRFP199.

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to present the results of the Request for Proposals for the supply of software for use in process control systems (commonly referred to as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, or SCADA) to be implemented in the Water and Wastewater Services Division under the Works Best Practices Program, and to provide the rationale for awarding the contract to Intellution Inc. of Norwood, Massachusetts.

Funding Sources:

On March 2, 3, and 4, 1999 City of Toronto Council, adopted Clause No. 1, Report No. 3 of the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee, thereby approving the 1999 - 2003 Capital Budget and Five-Year Capital Program, which contained funding for the Works Best Practices Program including funds for the purchase of process controller equipment and associated software to be installed in Water and Wastewater treatment facilities. Accordingly, funds are available in the Water and Wastewater Services Division, Water Pollution Control Capital Account No. C-WP001 and Water Supply Capital Account No. C-WS026.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that:

1. Contract MWRFP199 for the supply and delivery of SCADA software for use by Water and Wastewater facilities be awarded to Intellution Inc., at a maximum total cost of $1,427,604.70 including Goods and Services Tax, and subject to cost reductions of up to $500,000.00 for existing licences;
2. the appropriate City officials be authorized to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

Council Reference/Background/History:

On July 2 and 3, 1997 the former Metropolitan Council adopted Clause No. 3 of Report No. 13 of the Financial Priorities Committee authorizing the implementation of the Works Best Practices Program (WBPP) in the Works Department.

A Process Control System (PCS) User Group was established comprising representatives from Water and Wastewater Services Division and Technical Services Division, with support from the WBPP industry experts and EMA Canada Inc. This PCS User Group evaluated functional and technical requirements across the Water Supply and Water Pollution Control operating facilities, and recommended that standard controller and programming software technologies be adopted for use in all Water Pollution Control and Water Supply process control systems. At its meeting of May 11, 12 and 13, 1999, City Council adopted Clause No. 10 of Report No. 7 of the Works and Utilities Committee, thereby approving award of contract to Guiltech Automation for the provision of standard controller hardware. The software selection and procurement exercise was carried out in a parallel timeframe.

Comments and/or Discussion and /or Justification:

To facilitate the selection and procurement of the required process control systems software, a Request for Proposals (RFP) process was developed and carried out with the direction and assistance of the Technical Services Division of Works and Emergency Services. The scope of the RFP was the provision of standardized software development and operating components, as well as training, maintenance and support services. The specific use of this type of software is to provide water and wastewater facility operators the ability to "program" the process control systems, which perform the actual plant operations functions of opening and closing valves, controlling pump operation, and so on, and control the application of resources such as energy and chemicals. The software also provides team coordinators and managers with a system to display all aspects of plant operations in both graphical and textual form, including flow and process data and the status of all equipment and devices (for example, valves may be shown as open or closed, flow and pressure readings are shown, etc.). These systems differ from the Performance and Operations Management systems (POMS) in that they operate in "real time" mode, reflecting and controlling plant operations at the time they occur. POMS addresses the longer term requirements in terms of trend analysis, improvements tracking, and ongoing resource management.

In April of 1998, proposals were requested in response to Request for Proposals MWRFP199 to select process control systems (SCADA) software and related training and support services. The RFP clearly defined the specifications of the required software and related services, and indicated the key areas upon which the Proposals evaluation would focus. Of the proposals received in response to the RFP, all but one failed to meet the minimum mandatory requirements specified by the City. The Selection Committee concluded that a single proposal would not allow effective application of the overall technical and financial assessment designed to compare multiple proposals. As a result, the remaining proposal was returned with its pricing envelope unopened. It was decided that the RFP specifications would be revised and the RFP reissued.

In May of 1999, three proposals were received in response to the revised Request for Proposals. Proposals were submitted by Guiltech Automation (for GE Fanuc software), Intellution Inc., and Quindar Inc. The proposals were examined for compliance with minimum mandatory technical criteria specified in the RFP. The proposal by Quindar did not meet all the prescribed mandatory technical criteria, while the other two were fully compliant.

Formal presentations and bench testing were performed on the Guiltech and Intellution proposed software products. The City's Y2K Team for Works and Emergency Services also tested both vendors' products and both were accepted. After the combined demonstration and bench testing, the Selection Committee met to complete the technical evaluation. The technical evaluation did not consider price, but focused on functionality, flexibility, performance, compatibility with existing systems, and other technical aspects, all in the context of the planned implementation in Water and Wastewater Services. The Selection Committee completed its technical evaluation, awarding the Intellution proposal a Technical Evaluation Score of 96 out of a possible 100, and the Guiltech proposal a Technical Evaluation Score of 76. These scores reflected the significant advantages of the Intellution software product, in terms of the modern technology employed, the corresponding superior performance, the significant ease of use and overall greater functionality.

Best value as predefined in the formal evaluation process was to be determined based on the proposal with the lowest unit value, that being the total price divided by the Technical Evaluation Score. Note that pricing information was provided in separate, sealed envelopes, which were not opened until after the Technical Evaluation Scores were established.

The original price submissions and prices, adjusted for arithmetic error in making unit price extensions, are shown in Table 1, below.

Table 1: SUMMARY OF PRICE PROPOSALS

(in Canadian Dollars including Taxes)

The proposal evaluation was completed by dividing the Adjusted Price by the Technical Evaluation Score. The final scores are shown in Table 2, below. The Intellution proposal was determined to be the best overall value for the City (i.e. the least cost for the required functionality).

Table 2: PROPOSAL Evaluation (Technical evaluation and price)

Both of the cost proposals are based on replacing and upgrading all of the existing Intellution SCADA software and providing all new required software licences, as specified in the Request for Proposals. However, because the inventory of Intellution SCADA software licences already in use in the department was upgraded under the Y2K program, Intellution indicated in their cost proposal that they would give credit for those existing licences. As a result, a substantial cost reduction is anticipated over the life of the SCADA software contract. With the present preliminary estimates of eligible licence quantities, the actual total expenditure against the Intellution contract may be reduced by up to $500,000.00.

Guiltech also indicated in their cost proposal that they would replace and upgrade the existing Intellution software licences. The corresponding cost reduction associated with the Guiltech proposal is estimated to be up to $400,000.00.

The Intellution proposal is the best value to the City, with or without consideration of credit for existing licences. Once the detailed design and construction activities establish the exact requirement for new and replaced licences, the final expenditure level can be determined by the City, and purchases limited accordingly.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, Intellution will provide thirty-four full licences for use of the Intellution software product suite, including a wide range of technical components which facilitate operation of the software in the planned WBPP technical environment. The term of the contract is to be eight years. Extensive staff training will be included in the agreement, as well as the use of an onsite "applications engineer". The agreement also covers the software maintenance requirements, including software version "releases" and upgrades, for the implementation period.

Conclusion:

The use of standardized software for use in developing and operating process control systems in all the water and wastewater facilities is an important part of the Works Best Practices Program. A fair and complete process of evaluation and selection of the best product and supplier for the City of Toronto has been made. This report recommends that Contract MWRFP199 be awarded to Intellution Inc. for the supply and delivery of SCADA software to the Water and Wastewater Services Division.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Jim Coe

Program Manager, Works Best Practices

Water and Wastewater Services Division

Telephone No. (416) 392-3141

    T. Denes, P.Eng.,Barry H. Gutteridge

Executive DirectorCommissioner of Works and

Technical Services DivisionEmergency Services