Engagement of Professional Services to

Undertake the Preliminary Design of a Process

Control System for the Water Transmission System

The Works Committee recommends:

(1)the adoption of the report dated September 22, 1999, from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services; and

(2)that under no circumstances are there to be reductions in water quality and that continued improvements of quality should be considered an ongoing objective.

The Works Committee reports, for the information of Council, having considered together the following reports related to the Works Best Practices Program:

(i)(September 27, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, headed "Request for Proposals for Selection of Vendors for Supply of Process Control Systems (SCADA) Software, Contract No. MWRFP199";

(ii)(September 22, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, headed

"Engagement of Professional Services to Undertake the Preliminary Design of Process Control Systems at the R.C. Harris, R.L. Clark, F.J. Horgan and Island Water Treatment Plants";

(iii)(September 22, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, headed"Engagement of Professional Services to Undertake the Preliminary Design of a ProcessControl System for the Water Transmission System";

(iv)(September 28, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, headed "Results of the Request for Proposals for the Water Pollution Control Process Control System Detailed Design Project"; and

(v)(September 27, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services and the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, headed "Request for Proposals for the Procurement of Program Integration and Coordination Services for Phase 2 of the Works Best Practices Program, and Award of Contract";

and having directed that:

(1)a meeting of the Works Best Practices Program Work Group be convened prior to the Council meeting scheduled for October 26, 27 and 28, 1999;

(2)Union representatives be formally invited to meetings respecting Best Practices when these involve Toronto Civic Employees' Union Local 416 members, and that confirmation that invitations were received be obtained; especially important will be Local 416 and Local 79 involvement in all Teams, particularly items (4) "Organizational Services" and (5) "Integrated Works Area Implementation" under the Program Integration and Coordination Services for Phase 2;

(3)a written statement, to Council, be requested from EMA Canada concerning the firm's position on water quality as a part of Works Best Practices development and Union involvement in best practices development and implementation;

(4)the City Auditor be requested to report directly to Council on the aforementioned report headed "Request for Proposals for the Procurement of Program Integration and Coordination Services for Phase 2 of the Works Best Practices Program, and Award of Contract", wherein seven expressions of interest were received, two firms were given the opportunity to bid and one of those withdrew; and

(5)the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services be requested to submit a report directly to City Council on the aforementioned reports, which outlines in simple terms the number of persons that are being hired under these contracts, the number of hours and hourly rate of pay of those persons, and the type of performance analysis to be undertaken as this project proceeds.

The Works Committee submits the following report (September 22, 1999) from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services:

Purpose:

To present the results of the Request for Proposals for the selection of professional services to carry out the preliminary design of a process control system for the water transmission system, and to obtain approval to award the assignment to Simcoe Engineering Group Ltd.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

During the meeting of March 2, 3 and 4, 1999, City of Toronto Council adopted Clause No. 1 of Report No. 3 of The Strategic Priorities and Planning Committee approving the 1999-2003 Capital Budget and Five-Year Capital Programs. This contained funding for various projects in the Works Best Practices Program including the preliminary design of a process control system for the water transmission system. These funds are available in the Water and Wastewater Services Division, Water Supply Section Account No. C-WS026.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the assignment for the preliminary design of the Water Transmission Process Control System be awarded to the firm of Simcoe Engineering Group Ltd. at a cost not to exceed $545,000.00 including Goods and Services Tax (GST) and a contingency allowance of $55,000.00 including GST to cover potential additional engineering work required, if necessary, and as authorized by the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services; and

(2)the appropriate City officials be authorized to take the necessary actions 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.

On October 28, 1998, Toronto City Council through adoption of Clause No. 14 of Report No. 18 of The Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee endorsed the continuance of the Works Best Practices Program and authorized funds required to continue implementation of the program.

The WBPP is a process control and operations technology, information technology and optimization program integrating redesign of key business practices. A major component of this program is the replacement of aging process control systems within the four water treatment plants, and the transmission system in the Water Supply Section.

The Water Supply transmission system is an integrated network comprised of treated water pumps at four water treatment plants, 18 pumping stations, ten major underground reservoirs, four elevated tanks and 487 kilometres of water main ranging in size up to 2250 millimetres in diameter. This infrastructure is geographically located throughout the City of Toronto and in York Region. The overall monitoring and control of the Water Supply transmission system is provided from one central pumping control facility. From this location, remote control of pumps, continuous monitoring of pressures, flows, and levels takes place, enabling supply of water at sufficient pressure and flow to all residents of the City of Toronto, and by agreement to York Region. Furthermore, overall water supply building security is monitored from this location.

Replacement of the existing system installed in the mid 1980's is required due to its age and as an integral part of the WBPP. The new system using state-of-the-art equipment and technology will provide significant improvements to water transmission monitoring, controlling, reporting and data logging capabilities. It will also improve system efficiency and reliability, and in turn reduce operating costs through reduced hydro consumption and staff required for system operations. Centralized monitoring of building heating and ventilating systems, alarm systems, and machinery will provide enhanced protection of assets and equipment.

Considering the need for and benefits of the new process control system and the overall project schedule, the preliminary design must be undertaken at this time.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

The Terms of Reference to undertake this work were issued to several companies on March 9, 1999. On April 9, 1999, Works and Emergency Services received proposals, including separate sealed cost proposals, from Proctor and Redfern Ltd. and Simcoe Engineering Group Ltd., for the preliminary design of the water transmission process control system.

The proposals were reviewed by a staff selection committee comprised of staff from Water Supply and Technical Services based on a predetermined selection process of evaluating the proposals against specified criteria. The details of the selection process are outlined in Appendix A. Following detailed review of the technical aspects of the submissions, only one firm qualified for further consideration and the price envelope was opened.

An interview was held with the firm in order to clarify and finalize the specific scope of work required and the related costs involved. These costs were assessed to confirm they were fair and reasonable. Further dialogue and communication took place after the interview. As indicated in Appendix 'A', the staff selection committe concluded that the proposal by Simcoe Engineering Group Ltd. satisfied the overall project requirements at a reasonable cost.

Conclusions:

A thorough selection procedure has been followed consistent with corporate practices.

It is recommended that Simcoe Engineering Group Ltd. be awarded the assignment to undertake the preliminary design of the water transmission system.

Contact Name:

Hiroshi Taniguchi

Director, Water Supply

Phone: (416) 392-8220

Fax: (416) 392-3639

E-mail: htaniguchi@metrodesk.metrotor.on.ca

Appendix 'A'

Water Transmission Process Control System Preliminary Design

Details of the Professional Services Process

(1)A two-stage process was undertaken whereby Expressions of Interest were requested first followed up by a Request for Proposals from the short-listed proponents.

(2)Twelve firms with experience in similar work were chosen from a roster of qualified companies and invited to submit Expressions of Interest. One firm declined to submit proposals. Of the remaining 11 firms, four banded together to form one consortium and another three banded together to form a second consortium such that six responses were submitted in total. The responses were evaluated according to a set of pre-established criteria by representatives from the Water and Wastewater Services and Technical Services Divisions of the Works and Emergency Services Department.

(3)Using a threshold level of 75 percent of the maximum attainable score as a criterion, evaluation of the Expressions of Interest resulted in a short list of four firms. Detailed written proposals, including separate sealed cost proposals, were requested and received from the four firms. Two firms submitted proposals for the preliminary design of a process control system for the water transmission system.

(4)A formal staff selection committee was struck to evaluate the detailed proposals. As with the Expressions of Interest, the committee was comprised of representatives from the Water and Wastewater Services and Technical Services Divisions of the Department.

(5)The technical submissions were reviewed first independently and then jointly by members of the selection committee, and were evaluated according to a set of pre-established criteria. Once again, a threshold level of 75 percent of the maximum attainable score had been previously established as the criterion for the next step which was a review of the separately submitted sealed cost proposals.

(6)Accordingly, only one firm qualified for further consideration and its cost proposal was reviewed.

(7)The firm was then interviewed in order to clarify and finalize the specific scope of work required and the related costs involved. Further dialogue and communication took place after the interview and the proponent was requested to provide written clarification to proposal items as required.

(8)On completion of all of the above, the selection committee concluded that the proposal submitted satisfied the overall project requirements at a reasonable cost by demonstrating an appropriate level of effort to properly address the critical elements of the work.

(9)It was recommended that the preliminary design of a process control system for the water transmission system be awarded to Simcoe Engineering Group Ltd.

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The Works Committee reports, for the information of Council, having also had before it during consideration of the foregoing matter the following communications:

(1)(October 6, 1999) from Mr. Brian Cochrane, President, Toronto Civic Employees' Union, Local 416, expressing concerns with respect to the Works Best Practices Program, and the implications of the reports for approval of expenditures on Process Control Systems, in particular the quality of services being jeopardized as a potential outcome of downsizing; and

(ii)(October 6, 1999) from Mr. Brian Cochrane, President, Toronto Civic Employees' Union, Local 416, in opposition to the selection of EMA Canada Inc. to assist the City with the implementation of the Works Best Practices Program; recommending that if the City must continue with the Program, the changes be made using City employees on an "in-house" basis; and further recommending that if the Committee approves the recommendation to retain EMA Canada Inc., EMA be directed to proceed in a manner that recognizes Local 416 as having an integral role in any operational changes.

The following persons appeared before the Works Committee in connection with the foregoing matter:

-Mr. Peter Leiss, Executive Vice-President, and Ms. Gina Gignac, National Representative, Toronto Civic Employees' Union, Local 416; and

-Ms. Karen Buck, Toronto, Ontario.