Request for Proposals For a

Request for Proposals

For a
Fire Station Alerting System



SouthCom Combined Dispatch Center

21113 Dettmering Dr., Matteson, IL. 60443 Ph: [phone] Fax: [phone]

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

911 EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER PROJECT

Fire Station Alerting System
On behalf of the Village’s of Matteson, Park Forest and Richton Park, SouthCom Dispatch is seeking requests for proposals for the purchase and installation of hardware, software and implementation services for a fire station alerting system.

Sealed Proposals will be evaluated based upon criteria formulated around the most important features of a product or service, of which quality, testing, references, availability or capability, may be overriding factors, and price may not be determinative in the issuance of a contract or award. Vendors will not be compensated for any part of the proposal submittal process.

The proposal evaluation criteria should be viewed as standards that measure how well a vendor’s approach meets the desired requirements and needs of SouthCom. Those criteria that will be used and considered in evaluation for award are set forth in this document and SouthCom and the Fire Station Alerting Team will thoroughly review all proposals received. A Purchase Order/Contract will be awarded to a qualified vendor submitting the best proposal.

SouthCom along with the Fire Station Alerting Team shall be the sole determinant of which proposal best meets the needs of SouthCom and its member agencies. Further, SouthCom retains the right to reject any part of or any and/or all proposals received, or to accept any item or items in the proposal, if determined to be in the best interest of SouthCom.

Sealed proposals should be received at SouthCom Dispatch, 21113 Dettmering, Matteson Illinois 60443 by the close of the business day 4:30 p.m. (CDT) on December 7, 2012. Each proposal must be placed in an envelope, sealed, and clearly marked on the outside: “Fire Station Alerting System Proposal.”

Should any vendor find discrepancies, omissions or ambiguities in this RFP, the vendor should at once request in writing an interpretation from SouthCom Dispatch. All requests for clarifications or questions regarding the RFP should be directed to Ms Denise Pavlik, Director of SouthCom at [phone], or e-mail [e-mail]. All questions must be submitted in writing or e-mail by 5:00 p.m. (CDT), November 23, 2012; answers will be provided in written form as an addendum and will be posted on the SouthCom’s website at www.southcomdispatch.com.

Denise Pavlik, ENP

Director SouthCom Dispatch

ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

This document is a Request for Proposal. It differs from a Request for Bid/Quotation in that SouthCom is seeking a solution for our member agency’s fire station alerting systems. As an RFP formal bidding procedures are not required and SouthCom may chose the vendor who they believe offer the best overall solution. Therefore, the lowest price proposed will not guarantee an award recommendation.

On behalf of the Village’s of Matteson, Park Forest and Richton Park, SouthCom Dispatch is seeking requests for proposals for the purchase and installation of hardware, software and implementation services for a fire station alerting system.

Sealed Proposals will be evaluated based upon criteria formulated around the most important features of a product or service, of which quality, testing, references, availability or capability, may be overriding factors, and price may not be determinative in the issuance of a contract or award. Vendors will not be compensated for any part of the proposal submittal process.

The proposal evaluation criteria should be viewed as standards that measure how well a vendor’s approach meets the desired requirements and needs of SouthCom. Those criteria that will be used and considered in evaluation for award are set forth in this document and SouthCom and the Fire Station Alerting Team will thoroughly review all proposals received. A Purchase Order/Contract will be awarded to a qualified vendor submitting the best proposal.

SouthCom along with the Fire Station Alerting Team shall be the sole determinant of which proposal best meets the needs of SouthCom and its member agencies. Further SouthCom retains the right to reject any part of or any and/or all proposals received, or to accept any item or items in the proposal, if determined to be in the best interest of SouthCom.

GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

SouthCom, located in north-eastern Illinois, provides fire, police and emergency medical dispatching services for the Villages of Matteson, Olympia Fields, Park Forest and Richton Park. The service area covers approximately 35 square miles within Cook and Will Counties and serves a population of approximately 65,000 citizens. SouthCom dispatched 65,155 calls for service and answered over 119,000 phone calls in 2010.

Currently, SouthCom utilizes a new State-of-the-Art system of Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management. This new technology affords the Telecommunicators a more integrated and streamlined application for taking inbound emergency 9-1-1 calls and dispatching the proper resources to mitigate the emergency in a more timely and efficient way. Our state-of-the-art CAD system is customized to fit our needs, thereby ensuring the highest level of customer service at all times.

SouthCom is located at 21113 Dettmering Drive on the second floor of Matteson’s Fire Headquarters. Inside the dispatch center itself you will find personnel on-duty 24 hours a day 7 days a week trained and ready to answer 9-1-1 calls and assist responding fire and police units via radio and mobile data terminals installed in all first tier response vehicles. All of our Telecommunicators are certified in Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) and provide pre-arrival “self help” instructions to citizens during medical emergencies.

The current Fire Station Alerting System used is Motorola Gold Elite Radio and Frequentis CAD system which alerts any or all of the four fire stations. Radios are installed in the fire stations and are attached to an amplification system distributing the message throughout the fire station via a speaker system. This system is also tied to a notification lighting circuit activating strobe lights in high noise areas to alert workers in these areas. A new radio, antenna, relays, speakers and related equipment for the Alerting System as needed will be supplied.

Each fire station also contains two (2) radios to monitor normal traffic and receive calls. One radio is dedicated for the fire-paging talk group while the other is dedicated to the SouthCom frequency.

The system activates lights, sounds a buzzer, and activates a speaker so personnel can hear the message from the dispatcher.

The fire station alerting system is interfaced to Frequentis Protect Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. CAD automatically alerts a station when a unit assigned to that station is dispatched on a call. Dispatchers can also alert a station by sending a command from the CAD system.

The radio system utilized by SouthCom is a narrowband transmitter/receiver Motorola Central Electronics Bank radio system. Dispatchers access the system using Motorola Gold Elite/ Frequentis consoles. There are two transmitters and nine receivers on a voting system that are available for use. Designated maintenance personnel maintain the current system.

The proposed system must be redundant and designed for 24/7 operations. Vendors must provide proof of reliability through design which is supported by existing customers. Vendor must confirm compatibility and interface with Frequentis CAD.

The desired fire station alerting system will communicate using TCP/IP over the Fire Department’s WAN. The fire station alerting system shall allow the stacking and simultaneous alerting of response units, speeding up deployment of the first responders.

This project shall be completed in a manner commensurate with the intended application.

APPLICABLE STANDARDS AND PUBLICATIONS

All applicable electrical or building codes shall be followed.

This system shall be NFPA 1221 compliant, as applicable.

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

The following requirements are provided to assist proposers in understanding the objective of SouthCom in submitting a thorough response. Proposal(s) received must reflect in detail their inclusion and the degree provided. SouthCom desires the most thoroughly engineered and acceptable solution available. The following mandatory requirements outline the mandatory performance/combination requirements for the proposed solution. This section lists criteria to be considered in evaluating the ability of firms interested in providing products/services specified, to be considered for award. Specific responses to each must be acknowledged and any exceptions to the requirements must be detailed in response. All requirements are considered minimum unless otherwise noted.

General

The contractor shall ensure that all components of the system are supported by an uninterruptible power supply.

Will Fully Comply ________ Will Not Fully Comply________

The alerting system shall be designed specifically for use as a station alerting system.

Will Fully Comply ________ Will Not Fully Comply________

CAD Interface and Manual Alerting

The contracted vendor shall be responsible for fully implementing a CAD Interface to [Frequentis] CAD system.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

This fire station alerting system shall be controlled directly from the customer CAD system via a TCP/IP connection. The CAD system presently exists at SouthCom Dispatch.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The fire station alerting system interface to the CAD system shall support dispatch alerts and non-emergency alerts.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The fire station alerting system shall capable of alerting by: Group, Station or Unit.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

For each dispatch alert message received from CAD, the fire station alerting system shall send a response over the CAD TCP/IP connection indicating the success or failure of each dispatched station, unit or group for the given alert.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Alerts at stations shall start not more than one second after the alerting system receives a dispatch alert from the CAD system.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

A visual indication shall be provided to dispatchers to indicate if the system is and its components are properly operating.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

A manual alerting application shall be provided for dispatcher use to alert stations, units or groups in the event the CAD system is not available.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Alerting Circuits

The primary dispatch circuits shall be monitored and a prompt warning shall be provided in the event that a situation that will impact reliability occurs, as per NFPA 1221.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The primary alerting circuit shall be over the SouthCom Wide Area Network.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The proposed system shall be capable of secondary alerting using Two-tone sequential or DTMF paging, contact closure input, audible sound detection, or telephone line ring detection.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Dispatch Alerting - General

The fire station alerting system shall provide, at each station, capability to control functions for each of the following: audible tones, lighting, relay activation, and printer interface.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Dispatch Alerting – Audible

The fire station alerting system shall provide an audible alert over the speaker system of the station.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The fire station alerting system shall have its own internal audio amplifiers with full remote volume control capability.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The fire station alerting system shall be compatible with commercially available P.A. amplifiers supporting consumer audio line level (-10dbm) 600 ohm differential inputs.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The fire station alerting system shall provide the ability to play building overhead paging through a connection to the station telephone system.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The fire alerting system shall provide the ability to mute in building paging during dispatch alerts.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

This fire station alerting system shall include a radio interface for redundant dispatching and on-air dispatching. Each dispatched run shall be broadcast over both the alerting network and over the dispatch radio channel.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The radio interface shall be equipped to detect channel traffic and wait until the channel is free to begin automated dispatching.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Dispatch Alerting - Automated Voice

The fire station alerting system shall have the capability, for any incident, to create voice dispatch alerts that announce simultaneously in multiple stations.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Dispatch information shall allow live dispatcher voice in addition to the automated voice announcement.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Automated voice announcements supported shall include: dispatch announcements, announcements of move-ups, and non-emergency messages.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The automated voice dispatch announcement will include as minimum, detailed dispatch information, including apparatus to respond, incident type, street address, and common place name.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Automated voice dispatch announcements shall immediately follow the audible alert tone as per NFPA 1221.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The fire station alerting system shall provide local system administrators the ability edit the pronunciation of street names, unit types, and other names and words without manufacturer involvement.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Dispatch Alerting - Relay Controls and Inputs

The fire station alerting system shall provide multiple relay contacts at that station for the purpose of controlling external switched functions. As a minimum, the contacts shall be able to be energized for a configurable period of time upon receipt of a CAD dispatch message.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The fire station alerting system shall provide multiple isolated DC inputs for the purpose of monitoring status of external actions and functions.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Dispatch Alerting - Printing

The fire station alerting system shall be capable of providing a dispatch printout with the same information that is announced upon receipt of a CAD dispatch announcement. The printout must also include user comments if this information is provided to the system over the CAD interface.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The fire station alerting system shall provide an audible ramped alert tone that clearly identifies to the units the type of call that is being dispatched. The alert tone shall immediately precede the dispatch announcement. These alert tone frequencies and format shall be presented by the customer after the award of the contract.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

The fire station alerting system shall support simultaneous printing and audible alerting.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Configuration and Software Updates

The fire station alerting system shall be centrally managed. Both the contracted supplier and the customer’s system specialists shall have full control access. Updates to station software shall be sent from the communications center.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

System Monitoring

Each component in this fire station alerting system shall be monitored for online and offline status. This includes all computers, network connections, audio amplifiers and message display units.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

This fire station alerting system shall be capable of alerting support staff of critical events that occur within the alerting system via visual and email/pager. Each method shall be individually enabled or disabled via a configuration application.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Error and status logs shall be generated for all traffic between the CAD system and any controllers, between any controllers and the fire stations, and between all network components in the fire stations.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Error and status logs shall be available to the customer’s system specialists via a log viewer application.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Remote system monitoring from a client application residing on the TCP/IP network (and having appropriate permissions) shall be supported.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

System status information shall be displayed in the fire communication center on a dedicated workstation.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Installation

SouthCom shall be permitted to participate and assist in the installation of this system. This shall not void the warranty or affect the warranty in any way. Customer technical personnel will be in the presence of each installation, system activation and cutover.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Warranties and Support Agreements

Describe warranty provided as well as length of warranty.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Describe extended yearly warranties available and their cost.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Specify your twenty-four hour a day, seven days a week software support capabilities.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Specify your eight hours a day, five days a week software support capabilities. Specify in pricing sheet, pricing for single year support and for five year support.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply_________

Training

Operator training shall be provided to the dispatchers and their supervisors. The training schedule shall be completed on site as coordinated with the [Coordinator].

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply________

System maintenance, programming and trouble shooting training shall be provided for the customer’s technical staff.

Will Fully Comply__________ Will Not Fully Comply________

The contractor shall provide a site visit by one of their engineers or system implementers prior to placing any equipment orders to ensure an understanding of what the customer is seeking to accomplish.

Will Fully Comply________ Will Not Fully Comply_______

Miscellaneous

The contractor shall provide [number] spare sets of station equipment, including the parts not specifically itemized in this document.

Will Fully Comply________ Will Not Fully Comply_______

The server provided as part of this fire station alerting system shall be provisioned with auto fail-over, in the event that the primary server fails.

Will Fully Comply________ Will Not Fully Comply_______

PRICING

Provide pricing per station and for the complete project. Separate software and equipment costs, installation, training, and maintenance.

QUESTIONS AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Should any vendor find discrepancies, omissions or ambiguities in this RFP, the vendor should at once request in writing an interpretation from SouthCom Dispatch. All requests for clarifications or questions regarding the RFP should be directed to Ms Denise Pavlik, Director of SouthCom at [phone], or e-mail [e-mail]. All questions must be submitted in writing or e-mail by 5:00 p.m. (CDT), November 5, 2012 and answers will be provided in written form as an addendum and will be posted on the SouthCom’s website at www.southcomdispatch.com.