PICKENS COUNTY
Request for Proposal
E-911 Emergency Services IP network, County Host Remote Call Answering System
Bid # 2014-23
April 2014
Pickens County, SC
Request for Proposal
IP Based NG 9-1-1 Communications System
Table of Contents
1 Project Scope 1
1.1 Project Description 1
1.2 Project Objectives 1
1.3 Procuring and Contracting Office 2
1.3.1 Pre-Bid Conference 2
1.3.2 Calendar of Events 2
1.3.3 Product Demonstration 2
2 Preparing and Submitting a Proposal 3
2.1 General Instructions 3
2.2 Proposal Organization and Format 3
3 Background on Current Environment 4
4 General System Requirements 4
4.1 General Vendor Requirements 5
4.2 System Sizing 5
5 Technical Requirements 6
5.1 ANI/ALI Controller 6
5.1.1 Telephony Switch 6
5.1.2 Scalable Solution 6
5.1.3 Multi-User Configuration 6
5.1.4 System Application Servers 6
5.1.5 Call Control 6
5.1.6 Call Continuity 7
5.1.7 Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) 7
5.1.8 Legacy Compatibility 7
5.1.9 Audio Signal Processing 7
5.1.10 Interface, Control Functions, Standards 7
5.1.11 System Availability 7
5.1.12 Next Generation Functionality 8
5.1.13 Future-proofed Architecture 8
5.1.14 Multi-media Calls 8
5.1.15 Interoperability 8
5.1.16 ISO Certification 8
5.1.17 Wireless compatibility 9
5.1.18 Power Distribution 9
5.1.19 Legacy Network Gateway/Legacy Public Safety Answering Point Gateway. 9
5.1.20 Protocols 9
5.1.21 Bandwidth 9
5.1.22 CAS and NCAS 9
5.1.23 Administrative Trunks 9
5.1.24 E9-1-1 CAMA (EM911) Trunks 10
5.1.25 Outgoing Trunks 10
5.1.26 Switch Administration and Maintenance 10
5.1.27 Network Security 10
5.1.28 Public Safety Answering Point Firewalls 10
5.1.29 Ethernet Switch Configuration 10
5.1.30 Remote ALI Retrieval System Interface 11
5.1.31 ALI Caching 11
5.1.32 CAD Interface 11
5.1.33 External Clock Interface 11
5.1.34 E9-1-1 Network Compatibility 11
5.1.35 Malicious Software Protection 12
5.1.36 Central Office/Tandem/PSAP Transfer 12
5.1.37 Outgoing Trunk/PSAP Transfer 12
5.1.38 Selective Transfer 12
5.1.39 Abandoned Call Information 12
5.1.40 Automatic Call Detail Record (CDR) 13
5.1.41 Redundancy 13
5.1.42 Flexibility 13
5.1.43 Central Equipment 13
5.1.44 Maintenance Access - System Reconfiguration 14
5.1.45 Future Expansion 14
5.1.46 Call Detail Records 14
5.1.47 Environmental 14
5.1.48 Specifications 15
5.1.49 System Diagrams 15
5.2 Intelligent Workstation Equipment 15
5.2.1 PC Hardware Requirements 15
5.2.2 Workstation and Console Configuration 15
5.2.3 User Interface 15
5.2.4 Headset/Handset 15
5.2.5 Radio Integration 16
5.2.6 CTI Software Requirements 16
5.2.7 Operator Log-on 16
5.2.8 Position Software Update 16
5.2.9 Call / Line Indicators 16
5.2.10 System Sounds and Icons 16
5.2.11 Graphical User Interface 17
5.2.12 Screen Layout Lock 17
5.2.13 Screen Layout Restore 17
5.2.14 Print Capabilities 17
5.2.15 Status Windows 17
5.2.16 Automatic Number Identification 17
5.2.17 Automatic Location Identification 17
5.2.18 ANI/ALI Preview 18
5.2.19 Wireless Call Handling 18
5.2.20 Telecommunication Device for the Deaf/Teletype 18
5.2.21 Call Review 19
5.2.22 Instant Messaging 19
5.2.23 Automatic ALI Rebid 19
5.2.24 ALI Parsing 19
5.2.25 Conference 19
5.2.26 Speed Dial - Contacts 20
5.2.27 Speed Dial – Icons 20
5.2.28 Callback 20
5.2.29 Hold 20
5.2.30 Forced Disconnect 20
5.2.31 Muting 20
5.2.32 Monitor 21
5.2.33 Barge-In 21
5.2.34 Static Map 21
5.2.35 Recommended Spares 21
5.2.36 Instant Recall Recording 21
5.2.37 Workstation Recorder Interface 21
5.2.38 Diagnostics 22
5.2.39 Expansion Capability 22
5.2.40 ANI/ALI Admin Phones 22
5.3 Distributed PSAPs 22
5.4 Remote Monitoring 23
5.5 Extended Maintenance 23
5.6 Admin ALI Deskset Phones 23
5.7 Programmable Keypads 23
5.8 Reports 23
5.8.1 Data Analysis and Reporting 23
5.8.2 Report Manager 24
5.8.3 Report Parameters 24
5.9 Administration and Alarms 25
5.9.1 Administration 25
5.9.2 Self-Monitoring 25
5.9.3 Remote Access 25
5.9.4 Alarm Categories 25
5.10 Installation 26
5.10.1 Completion 26
5.10.2 Removal of Old System 26
5.10.3 System Grounding 26
5.10.4 System Power 26
5.10.5 System Build Out 26
5.11 Documentation 27
5.11.1 As-builts 27
5.11.2 Manuals 27
5.12 System Acceptance Testing 27
5.12.1 Acceptance Testing 27
5.12.2 Failure Levels 27
5.12.3 Final Acceptance Testing 28
5.12.4 Measurable Testing 28
5.12.5 System Failures due to External Causes 28
5.13 Training 28
5.13.1 Training Requirements 28
5.13.2 Training Curriculum 29
5.13.3 Training Material 29
5.13.4 Training Schedule 29
6 References 29
7 Warranty and Maintenance 29
8 Cost Proposal 29
9 Evaluation and Award Criteria 30
1 Project Scope
1.1 Project Description
The County of Pickens, SC hereafter referred to as the “County”, is seeking a qualified and experienced vendor to provide a E9-1-1 Communication System that will be used to process, answer and direct all calls placed to 9-1-1 in the County regardless of the network of origin.
This project shall include equipment, installation, services, and training of County personnel in both user as well as Technician Level training. All training shall be conducted on-site at Pickens County’s facilities. The equipment could possibly be installed at 4 locations within Pickens County:
· Pickens County Sheriff's Office, 216 C. David Stone Road, Pickens, SC
· Easley Police Department, 220 NW Main St, Easley, SC
· Clemson University Police Department, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
· E-911 Office, 222 McDaniel Ave, Pickens, SC 29671
All equipment shall be installed in accordance with local, state, and federal code requirements. Additionally, all equipment shall be installed to meet or exceed “R-56” grounding standard.
1.2 Project Objectives
The County recognizes that a robust E9-1-1 communications system capable of accepting all calls for emergency services no matter the network of origin (PSTN, VoIP, VoIM) in an efficient and accurate manner is the primary responsibility of the County. The County desires to purchase an ANI/ALI Controller NG9-1-1 system to meet the current and future needs of the citizens of the County. Reduced system cost, enhanced Operator capability, remote diagnostics, and a system architecture designed to accept future types of calls are some of the important objectives of this project. Initially, the project will be installed to support CAMA Trunks for 911 service. However, the County expects to fully transition to NG9-1-1.
The intent of this RFP is to install a new ANI/ALI Controller with a NG9-1-1 ready PSAP solution. The identified requirements focus on supporting a complete turnkey customer premise equipment (CPE) installation utilizing NG9-1-1 NENA i3 industry standards or recommendations for interconnection.
This document provides the minimum requirements for the ANI/ALI controller, workstation options and NG9-1-1 network interfaces. The intent of this document is to provide the requirements for the NG9-1-1 single site solution. It is not the intent to provide details that would focus the Vendor’s solutions toward one particular technology. Vendors shall provide their individual solution(s) and products configured in a manner consistent with the latest NG9-1-1 recommendations of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO).
1.3 Procuring and Contracting Office
This Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued by the County which is the sole point of contact during this selection process. The County’s intent is that this RFP permit competition. It is the responsibility of those submitting proposals to advise the County in writing if any language, requirement, specification, etc., or any combination thereof, inadvertently restricts or limits the requirements stated in this RFP to a single source. The County must receive such notification no later than fifteen (15) days prior to the date set for acceptance of proposals Vendors must submit notifications to the address below:
Pickens County Administration Facility
222 McDaniel Avenue
Pickens, SC 29671
1.3.1 Pre-Bid Conference
A Mandatory Pre-Bid Conference will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Thursday, April 24, 2014 at the Pickens County Administration Facility, 222 McDaniel Avenue, Main Conference Room, Pickens, SC 29671. It is mandatory that all interested Vendors attend the Pre-Bid Conference. All Vendors not having a duly authorized representative at the conference will be disqualified from bidding this project.
1.3.2 Calendar of Events
Event Date
RFP Available April 7, 2014
Pre-Bid Conference April 24, 2014
Vendor Submission of Proposal May 14, 2014
Evaluation of Proposals TBD
Selection of Proposed Award TBD
Award Recommendation TBD Council Review/Approval TBD
Contract TBD Implementation August 2014
1.3.3 Product Demonstration
As part of the evaluation process, the County reserves the right to ask for a demonstration of products and systems contained with a Vendor’s proposal to assess the proposed technology.
2 Preparing and Submitting a Proposal
2.1 General Instructions
The evaluation and selection of a contractor and the contract will be based on the information submitted in the Vendor’s proposal plus references and any required on-site visits or oral presentations.
Each point by point response from the Vendor must be answered with one of the following responses:
· Understood – The Vendor completely understands the specific requirement, conditions and or desires that the RFP has set.
· Comply – The proposed solution will fully meet requirement, functionality is currently supported in the current product software release.
· Exception – The proposed solution complies partially with this requirement. Any exceptions must be explained. If a Vendor takes exception but an alternative to the requirement is recommended, the alternative must be explained and any cost identified. Exceptions will be evaluated and considered but are not necessarily acceptable solutions to the requirement as expressed.
· Does not Comply – The proposed solution does not fully comply with this requirement.
· Explanation – Response requires an answer to a question rather than a stated requirement.
2.2 Proposal Organization and Format
Two hard copies and one electronic copy of proposals shall be provided.
Proposals shall be typed and submitted on 8.5 by 11 inch paper. Electronic proposals should be sent on compact disc (CD). The proposal should be organized with the following major sections:
1. Cover Letter
2. Executive Summary
3. Vendor Profile & References
4. IP Based NG9-1-1 Communication System (point-by-point response to the RFP)
5. System Diagrams
6. Detailed Pricing
The executive summary should explain the features and benefits of the Vendor’s offer. The executive summary should briefly introduce the Vendor to the County, describe the Vendor’s approach to solutions sought by the RFP, describe the major features and benefits of the Vendor’s approach, offer insight into risks that might arise from this RFP or the Vendor’s response, an explanation of how pricing was determined, and any additional costs that this RFP did not anticipate.
3 Background on Current Environment
Population served is approximately 120,000 residents. There are approximately 45 911 PSAP Operators which includes 37 dispatchers and 8 supervisors and admin support personnel. Approximately 414,207 telephone calls for service were responded to from January 2013 to December 2013. Of these, 65,918 were 911 calls and 348,289 were seven digit emergency and administrative calls.
4 General System Requirements
The County wishes to replace its existing system with a system which is NG9-1-1 NENA i3 ready. The system must position the County so that a forklift upgrade of the equipment will not be required at any time along the migration path to true NG9-1-1. Any costs associated with installation of NG911 Functional Elements shall be clearly identified, as well as a clear migration path The system shall use TCP/IP and related internetworking technologies to support the NG9-1-1 PSAP solution.
It is anticipated that a state level Emergency Services IP Network (ESInet) will be implemented in the future and will interconnect regional ESInets, individual PSAPs and eventually will be part of a nation-wide ESInet. This will allow flexibility in call-taking such that Operators no longer will have to be physically constrained to a specific PSAP.
The new system shall be built on secure, open standards so that interoperability with other NENA-compliant systems and ESInets is assured.
The 9-1-1 ANI/ALI Telephony Switch shall have a pair of Application Servers operating as a high availability virtual server. Vendors shall disclose risks to achieving high availability (99.999 percent) in their proposed solution. The Vendor should provide SLA depending on level of availability. Legacy circuits must be distributed across multiple gateways.
The system must accept NENA i3 VoIP calls and associated data.
Under no circumstance shall a failure in any system component disable more than 50% of the intelligent workstation/phone positions. The Vendor should provide SLA identifying penalties associated with system component failure.
The County will provide one broadband Internet connection to be used for remote access by the Vendor. The Vendor is responsible for providing, programming and maintaining a secure VPN/firewall device capable of either AES-256 or 3-DES encryption for this purpose.
The County requires that a single headset may be used for phone and radio audio without the requirement for manual switching between the two. The headset interface shall be NENA 04-001 compliant and shall integrate with Motorola Gold Series Elite Console and support an external speaker simultaneously.
The new system must be able to connect to the ALI Database via IP or serial RS-232.
4.1 General Vendor Requirements
The following general Vendor requirements must be complied with:
· Certified to the ISO 9001:2001 or 9001:2008 standard
· Minimum 5 years history in providing IP based mission-critical telecommunication systems
· Minimum of 5 reference for customers, preferably in the southeast, who have purchased similar IP-based NG9-1-1 ready systems
· Local distribution and equipment depot(s) capable of providing access to adequate spare parts, materials and testing equipment needed to maintain system within the response time(s) specified in this RFP.
· Clear documentation of equipment, services and prices offered
· Shall secure a performance bond that shall encompass the entire project
4.2 System Sizing
The system shall be sized to meet the following minimum requirements and also allow for expansion:
PSAP / Positions / Trunks / Admin LinesPickens County 911 / 6 / 4 / 9
Easley PD / 3 / 2 / 3
Clemson University PD / 2 / 2 / 6
5 Technical Requirements
5.1 ANI/ALI Controller
5.1.1 Telephony Switch
The NG9-1-1 ANI/ALI controller must be IP based and shall comply with all current NENA standards. By definition IP-based means that the design of the system is such that primary processing of voice communications is done within an IP architecture. Hybrid TDM systems that have IP capability are not acceptable. Additionally, the initial installation shall be capable of accepting traditional CAMA Trunks. It shall be upgradable to NG911 connectivity without additional charges for hardware, software, or professional services.