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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOD-064-04 Cl~#]gron REPORT Meeting: CORPORATE SERVICES DEPARTMENT GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Date: December 6,2004 kL'f>fl0fJ/-J -SC:J.,.-o'-l By-law # Report #: COD-064-04 File#_ Subject: Emergency Services Radio Equipment and Exclusivity Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report COD-064-04 be received for information. MM/LAB/ld Re,;~d 4,(,d P- ranklin Wu, -t-l Chief Administrative Officer l~iJl1 REPORT: COD-064-04 PAGE 2 BACKGROUND AND COMMENT At their meeting held November 1, 2004 the General Purpose and Administration Committee passed Resolution No. GPA-446-04 in relation to a recommendation for the purchase of Motorola portable radios (Resolution #GPA-445-04). The purpose of this report is to respond to the direction contained within the resolution. Report No. COD-056-04 provided for the purchase of seven (7) Motorola Radios. The recommended award was the result of a request for quotation that solicited prices on the supply and delivery of radios and anciliary equipment and was specific in the naming of the make and models to be provided. The result was that only Motorola Canada Ltd. bid on the portable radios. On review of the quotations and after speaking with Motorola it was determined that Motorola had retained exciusivity for the supply of new equipment for the trunked radio system operated jointly by the municipalities of Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering and Clarington. In 2002 an Ownership, Operations and Maintenance Agreement was signed by ali participating municipalities that sets out the requirements of the jointly operated trunked radio system by Emergency and Fire Services departments. This agreement supports the exclusive use of Motorola equipment. Clause 4.4 of this long term agreement deals with the systems ancillary equipment (subscriber equipment) and reads in part as follows: "Each party agrees to maintain its SUBSCRIBER EQUIPMENT to a reasonable standard and not to introduce incompatible SUBSCRIBER EQUIPMENT to the SYSTEM or other equipment or software which may compromise the functionality or the integrity of the SYSTEM, the intention being that the SYSTEM wiff function in accordance with the intent of the Motorola Agreement" For clarification, the Ownership, Operations and Maintenance agreement is a long term agreement and remains in effect for each participant until such time as a participant opts out of the program. The Motorola Agreement referenced in the foregoing clause is the agreement signed by the City of Oshawa on behalf of all participants to the agreement as part of the system implementation in 2002. l~llJ REPORT: COD-064-04 PAGE 3 On a related note, Emergency Services staff has explored the possibility of using non-Motorola equipment in the system. A test was conducted by EMS with another manufacturer's portable radio and the results were unsatisfactory. The introduction of the non-system radio caused programming problems and the test was discontinued. The Motorola agreement referenced above was signed by the City of Oshawa and is in effect for three years and sets out the Representations and Warranties. This agreement contains clauses that imply exclusive use of Motorola equipment. These clauses read in part as follows. "SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY. Motorola represent that the system will PERFORM CONSISTANTL Y with the System design and functionality specifications contained in the Statement of Work in all material aspects. ...... Motorola is not responsible for the system performance deficiencies that are caused by ancillary equipment not furnished by Motorola attached to or used in connection with the System ..." "PA TENT AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT. Motorola will have no duty to defend or indemnify for any Infringement Claim that is based upon (i) the combination of the Equipment or Motorola Software with any software, apparatus or device not furnished by Motorola; (ii) the use of ancillary or software not furnished by Motorola and that is attached to or used in connection with the Equipment or Motorola Software; (iii) any Equipment that is not Motorola's design or formula; ...." For the foregoing reasons plus the special programming that must be part of each radio sold for the trunked system Motorola has retained exclusivity of supply and precluded their dealers from the sale of equipment to the municipalities. However, dealers are in a position to compete with each other for the supply and delivery of some accessories such as batteries and chargers. Where dollar values warrant, the purchase of accessories can be made using the competitive process to give interested dealers an opportunity to bid. The second part of Resolution No. GPA-446-04 deals with other situations where the municipality may acquire items or services from a single source. 1211 REPORT: COD-064-04 PAGE 4 Although the radio agreement is the only known agreement in place that deals with exclusivity of equipment, there are circumstances involving the acquisition of equipment where a brand name is acquired to the exclusion of a competitive brand. In these circumstances, although the municipality may standardize and stipulate particular brand name, there is an opportunity for price competition in that multiple vendors can provide pricing on the supply of the required material/equipment. An example of this would be the Emergency Services Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). At present Clarington has adopted the Scott brand as the standard. By standardizing in this manner, particularly in life supporUsafety systems, several concerns are addressed. First is the safety issue. Fire fighters attending at a fire can draw from an equipment pool and not be concerned about the operation/function being different when there are a number of brands in use. Standardization will permit exchange of parts and salvage; consistency in service, minimal inventory costs and the development of expertise in the on-site repair and maintenance of the equipment by staff. With each significant acquisition staff evaluates the long term impact of acquiring a product and where standardization is involved they look at the potential for optimizing competition. Where a standard is being established and no competition exists or an equivalent brand is not available on significant purchases this matter is dealt with at the time of reporting to Council. An example would be the establishment of a standard for the decorative lamp standards in the down town core. The establishment of a standard could be mentioned in the initial report to establish a theme or in the report seeking authorization to proceed with a contract award. In any event it is in the best interest of Clarington to optimize competition and in the best interest of the Purchasing group to ensure that competition exists or in the alternative, that provision is made to proceed with an acquisition from a single source. Other single source purchases which are based on consistency, services and standardization include things such as telephones, cellular telephones, some computer equipment, traffic lights or other similar commodities purchased through the Region of Durham or other utility companies. 1~1~ REPORT: COD-064-04 PAGE 5 Notwithstanding the foregoing, there are circumstances where single sourcing is a requirement of the acquisition. Such an area is the acquisition of software and the resulting maintenance and support agreements that are entered into at the time of purchase. All software agreements include the maintenance and support aspect, not only to provide for the on-going support to deal with operational problems and issues but also for the upgrading of the software to include improvements and fixes that the manufacturer introduces from time to time. These situations are covered at the time of budget deliberations or where required by a report to Council and will continue in place until the software is discontinued. Software manufacturers provide very specific and strong wording in their agreements to ensure that their proprietary rights, title, intellectual properties. inventions, patents, copyrights and technology are protected. In keeping with the foregoing, staff reiterate their commitment to open and fair competitive purchasing in the best interest of the municipality. l;;;la CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L 1 C 3A6 T(905)623-3379 F (905)623-4169