Item 6-C
Santa Monica, California
Council Meeting: June 22, 1999
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Contract with Garg Data International for Computer Programming Services to Develop and Maintain a Dispatching and Driver Labor Software System for the Transportation Department and Authorize the Purchasing Agent to Issue a Purchase Order for Project Management Services with Software Magic.
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contract with Garg Data International (GDI) for computer programming services to develop and maintain a dispatch and driver labor software system for the Transportation Department in an amount not to exceed $228,400 and authorize annual purchase orders in an amount not to exceed $30,000 for software maintenance. The report also recommends that City Council authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue a purchase order for project management services with Software Magic in the amount of $58,000.
BACKGROUND
Each day, the Transportation Department Dispatcher is responsible for ensuring that sufficient Motor Coach Operators are available to serve the nearly 70,000 daily Big Blue Bus riders. This task is accomplished by establishing a schedule for work assignments three times per year. From these schedules, Motor Coach Operators choose their individual work schedules, based on seniority. On a daily basis, the Dispatcher deals with the exceptions to the work schedule: drivers who are sick, on vacation, or on other paid or unpaid leave for either part or the entire day. The exceptions to the work schedule average in excess of 100 each day.
None of the daily scheduling is automated. Manual lists are kept for scheduled work assignments, drivers willing to work on their day off, part-time operators available to work, drivers on vacation, drivers requesting all or part of the day off, drivers on long term leave, etc. For every exception, two or more of the lists must be updated. Drivers who are absent must have those hours accurately reflected in the work schedule and drivers who are substituting for absentees must also be recorded. Dispatchers accomplish these tasks while also responding to radio calls from drivers on the road, answering phone calls from drivers and other department staff, and dealing with drivers on non-scheduling issues. Automation of the information that the Dispatcher now manually records on a daily basis would greatly improve the efficiency of the Dispatch Office.
Once schedules have been established and daily changes made, the results of these transactions are entered the next day into the Operator Timekeeping System (OTS). The OTS was developed in 1985 to serve two purposes. First, this system is a front-end timekeeping system to the City
=s payroll system. Second, the OTS transfers data into an automated system (510 Reporting System) which reports driver pay in the federally required format for the Federal Transit Administration. Neither the OTS system nor the 510 Reporting System are Y2K compliant.DISCUSSION
While there are packaged programs for scheduling and timekeeping in use by other transit systems, they would require extensive customization in order to meet the operational needs and work rules unique to each transit system. Consequently, ISD and Transportation determined a custom built program would best serve Big Blue Bus needs.
Over the past year, Transportation staff worked with an outside expert to design a new system. The result of this effort is a set of functional requirements to automate Dispatch Office functions regarding driver labor, record actual work performed, transfer the information to the City
=s payroll system and record the required labor hours in the Federal Transit Administration format.Using the functional requirements, a Request for Proposals (RFP) for custom programming was sent to nine firms. Four firms responded with proposals. A review committee made up of representatives from the Transportation Department and the Information Systems Division with the assistance of a transit industry computer systems expert, rated the written proposals based on: scope of work, cost proposal, experience of firm and personnel, past performance, workload capacity, and financial capacity. Three firms: Applied Knowledge, Inc; Garg Data International (GDI); and Paul Chu Enterprises, Inc. (PCE) were chosen to meet with the review committee to answer further questions regarding their proposals.
The review committee found that GDI was the best qualified and had the most competitive rates. GDI has worked with both private and public sector clients such as Ventura County and Fox Broadcasting. All references were positive with several clients contracting with GDI a second time following the initial contract. GDI has experience with dispatching systems through software they developed to track towing operations. The firm has the staff resources to complete this project in the required time frame.
Assuming satisfactory performance by GDI, it is anticipated that staff will return to City Council to request amendments to this contract for enhancements to the system at a later date.
The proposed project is under a tight timeline and must meet a highly complex set of requirements. Technical expertise of the existing Operator Timekeeping System and the knowledge of the Big Blue Bus dispatch operations are critical to ensure successful completion of this project. Software Magic is best equipped to assist staff in the technical aspects of project oversight and staff recommends that Software Magic be hired under a sole source purchase order to oversee the project. Software Magic
=s total costs including approximately $20,000 spent to date on developing the functional requirements is $58,000.BUDGET/FINANCIAL
The cost of the GDI contract based on the Transportation Department
=s functional requirements including software maintenance for the first year and contingencies is $228,400. Annual maintenance for FY2000-2001 and beyond is $30,000 annually. Total FY1999-2000 project costs, including Software Magic project management, are $266,400. Funds are available in account number 41-750-657-20099-8900-99113.RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contract with Garg Data International for programming and software maintenance services for a dispatching and driver labor software system for the Transportation Department in an amount not to exceed $228,400;
2. Authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue annual purchase orders for software maintenance in an amount not to exceed $30,000; and
3. Authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue a purchase order to Software Magic for project management services in an amount not to exceed $58,000.
Prepared by:
John B. Catoe, Jr, Director of Transportation
Janet L. Shelton, Transit Administration Manager
Jory Wolf, Manager of Information Systems