HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-09-095 - Sole Sourcing For 2009 Pavement Management Data Co
REPORT
REPORT TO:
Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
June 22, 2009
SUBMITTED BY:
K.Grant Murphy, P.Eng., Director Engineering Services
PREPARED BY:
Rachelle Wheatley, Asset Management Technician
Greg McTaggart, C.Tech., Manager Infrastructure Asset
Planning
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT:
June 5, 2009
REPORT NO.:
DTS-09-095
SUBJECT:
SOLE SOURCING FOR 2009 PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT
DATA COLLECTION
RECOMMENDATION:
That Council waive the purchasing by-law in order that the 2009 pavement condition
survey may be awarded to Stantec Consulting Ltd., Kitchener, ON, at a fee of $94,820.00,
plus a contingency of $9,482 and G.S.T., based on a satisfactory contract being
negotiated; and further,
That the Mayor and City Clerk be authorized to execute an agreement satisfactory to the
City Solicitor.
BACKGROUND:
For the past 12 years, the City has been using RoadMatrix (formerly Pavement Management
System) as the City’s primary expert pavement analysis system. This software is used to
determine the most cost-efficient and appropriate rehabilitation scenarios, rehabilitation work
prioritisation, and required budget support for the development of the City’s Annual Roads
Resurfacing Program, as well as other infrastructure remediation programs. In order for this
software to make the most accurate analysis possible, it is highly desirable that the data that
describes the condition of the City’s roads used in the analysis is as current as is possible. As a
result, the City undertakes a survey of scientific measurements of the pavement condition of the
City’s streets on a cyclical basis.
TheRoadMatrix software is a proprietary software tool developed by Stantec Consulting Ltd.,
and is not available from other sources. Because the software is proprietary, the road survey
data used by the software for analysis is specialised and formatted to work with it – hence
Stantec has been sole-sourced by the City for pavement condition survey & data collection
services six times previous to now since inception of this program in the mid-nineties. This
report addresses continuing this relationship and acquiring similar services from Stantec under
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similar circumstances as in the past, for the planned upcoming cycle of pavement condition
survey work, scheduled for the summer of this year.
REPORT:
To ensure that sole sourcing of this work remained the most viable option, research was
completed by staff in order to investigate the feasibility of putting this data collection work out
under a Request for Proposal scenario. Subsequent investigation revealed this to be inefficient
and cost prohibitive. As with many other similar types of Pavement Management software, the
manner in which the digital data of pavement condition is collected in the field and formatted is
specific to the software. The Stantec software currently owned by the City has a specific digital
data table structure and a specific collection format which are proprietary to the Stantec product.
If the City were to pursue a different software/service provider, new software (along with
necessary training) for pavement analysis would have to be procured as well as pavement
condition survey services – resulting in additional costs over and above the costs for the survey
work alone, and would also result in the discontinuation of the use of the RoadMatrix software
that the City has invested in for over a decade.
It should be noted that rates offered in this year’s proposal by Stantec Consulting represent an
approximate 20% reduction in their typical unit prices for pavement data collection, due to the
ongoing software support relationship wit the City, and are at a competitive industry level.
An additional benefit of continuing to use the same survey and analysis tools and methods (and
thus the same service provider) is that the analysis produced is consistent with previous results
and recommendations derived from previous pavement inspection cycles of the past 12 years.
This is important because a history of the rate and nature of pavement degradation is an
important element in understanding the long-term needs of the City’s road network, through
developing an improved predictability model for the natural degradation of the pavement. In
addition to being able to perform comparative analysis with historical assessments, continuing
with the Stantec product provides the ability to compare pavement management strategies with
other local municipalities who also employ RoadMatrix for similar purposes, such as the City of
Waterloo. In the past, comparisons of road conditions between the various local municipalities
have been made by comparing the results of their pavement management systems. Continuing
with the same system and analysis methods will enable local municipalities to present a clear
and consistent picture of their road systems’ current state, and needs and to their collective
Councils.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Funding Source Index Code # 229 $144,064.00
Project Total Cost (see enclosed proposal estimate) $94,820.00 GST
excluded
Balance $49,244.00
Remaining funds in this account are used towards the City’s sidewalk condition survey work,
which is also carried out on a cyclical basis.
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CONCLUSION:
The scheduled 2009 pavement data collection is a planned approach to updating the City’s
pavement performance data. A comprehensive system-wide inspection is scheduled to be
completed every two years. As an integral part of asset management, these inspections add
newly developed areas to our inventory, validate pavement deterioration models, and add
valuable attribute and performance data to the network for analysis.
Because of advantages and efficiencies outlined above, this report has been prepared to
recommend the sole sourcing of the 2009 pavement data collection to Stantec Consulting Ltd.,
at the costs given above.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Jeff Willmer, Interim General Manager
Development and Technical Services Department
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