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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.5 Circulate Proposals Telcom Paging System 00-30 CITY OF DUBLIN AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: January 23, 1989 SUBJECT Authorization to Circulate Proposals for Telecommunications System and Telephone/Data Cabling and Paging System Report by Paul S. Rankin, Assistant City Manager EXHIBITS ATTACHED o Executive Summary and Selected Excerpts from Design Criteria Study o Telecommunications RFP o Cabling/Paging System RFP RECOMMENDATION Approve the RFP' s and authorize Staff to circulate them among providers. Also, waive formal bidding requirements and authorize Staff to negotiate a system package for approval by the City Council. FINANCIAL STATEMENT: The following estimates are based on pricing submitted by vendors and the Consultants bidding of similar systems : Estimated Phone System & Cabling $75, 000-90, 000 Voice Messaging Option $15, 000-$25, 000 Funds are included in the Civic Center project budget, to provide for the purchase of a phone system. DESCRIPTION The City of Dublin currently leases phone equipment for City Offices from AT&T. The City owns the phones used at other locations (Shannon Center, Senior Center, Corporation Yard) . In August of 1988, the City Council approved a Consultant's agreement with CSD to prepare a review of the City' s telephone needs. The first phase of the Consultant' s work was to review our existing system and develop criteria which can be used in a Request For Proposal (RFP) . The Consultant also obtained budgetary price information from several vendors. Current System The City' s current system has several deficiencies which impact the organization. The system is extremely basic and does not include features which many systems now consider standard. The Consultant prepared a flow chart which compares the current system to the proposed system. One limitation of the current system is the fact that if a caller reaches the wrong office, it may be impossible to transfer the call. This can only be done if the office which the caller meant to call has the line in their office. For example, the Planning Department only has the first line of the City Manager' s Office on their phones. If call comes in on the City Manager' s second line and they want the Planning Department, the caller must hang up and redial. The current system also has limitations on the ability to determine whether a phone is being used. If a Secretary in Development Services has a call for a staff member, they must use the Com Line to announce the call . However, the current phone system does not have the ability to alert the Secretary as to whether the staff person is already on another call . This can cause delays and unnecessary interruptions. The current system also provides only one Com Line for the entire organization. This is an internal line which allows a caller to reach another station within the building. If someone in Planning is speaking with someone in the City Manager' s Office, the line cannot be used for any other purpose. This means that calls received by Development Services ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- COPIES TO: Glenn Rudh, CSD ITEM N0. .cannot be announced over the phone until the Com Line is clear. The fact that the Civic Center facility is spread out will cause a greater impact than our current office layout. The long-term cost of leasing phones is also a concern. Given that the pricing of most electronic/computer systems has been reduced in. the past five years, the City may find that it is cost effective to own the equipment. Most organizations have found that this approach is beneficial. Proposed System The RFP' s are designed to provide the opportunity for the City to review two types of systems. o Centrex The RFP for a telecommunications system specifically acknowledges that the City is interested in receiving a proposal from Pacific Bell, for "Centrex" service. This system operates from Pac Bell's Office. The City would only have phone instruments and not the actual switching device in the City facility. Pacific Bell offers this service for a monthly fee. The review of their proposal will attempt to compare costs over time. It is also important to understand that the City will be requesting that Pacific Bell submit a complete proposal including the phone instruments and the Voice Messaging option. Since the break up of the phone companies, there has been some reluctance by local , utilities to also recommend specific equipment. The Consultant has recommended that Pacific Bell consider a joint bid with equipment suppliers . If specific written authorization from the City is required by Pacific Bell, Staff will provide the necessary document. o In-House System The second option which will be evaluated is a completely "in-house" system. The City would purchase the switching equipment and the telephone instruments . There are a variety of vendors and systems which may meet our needs . The Consultant has reviewed the plans for the building and determined that at the time of installation, 102 station lines will need to be provided. They will be wiring 136 which will add additional flexibility within the finished portions of the facility. The Consultant believes that in order to accommodate growth, the system .needs to support 230 lines. The RFP does not address the purchase of any equipment for the expansion space. However, the main system will be sized to accommodate this growth in the future. The actual number of locations which will have phones at the time of installation is approximately 160 . This includes all work rooms, conference rooms, and offices which are anticipated to be in use in the near term. The City would purchase a block of numbers from Pacific Bell. This would also occur with a Centrex arrangement. This allows each station to have a unique number. This will allow internal calls to be placed between any two stations using an abbreviated number. The individual numbers eliminate the current problem with a single Com Line to conduct internal conversations . The City would continue to group numbers within a department and in most cases, the calls would initially be answered by the Department Secretary. Staff members who work after regular buisness hours could be reached at their direct number if the calling party was aware of the number. The proposed design does not include a central switchboard. Staff believes that this arrangement complicates the ability for a caller to reach a particular department. The building program provides space for an information/cashier position. This location can also act as an answering point for a number which will be listed as General Information. When this location is not staffed, the calls can be received in the City Manager" s Office. The proposed system will allow the call to be transferred to any location within the City Offices or Police facility. Costs The Consultant has obtained budgetary pricing prior to the complete development of the system features . These are considered to be estimates which probably reflect list pricing. It is anticipated that the RFP process -2- will generate a more competitive bidding environment and that the pricing should differ from those shown in the requests for budgetary pricing. The Consultant has also recently completed bids for other clients and they anticipate the cost of a complete system with cabling to be $75, 000-$90, 000. Voice Messaging The Consultant has also reviewed the possible inclusion of a voice messaging systems. This will be included as an option which the City can either add or delete at the time that a vendor is selected. Voice Messaging (VM) operates on the same principle as an answering machine. However, the equipment is sophisticated and allows several individuals to have a personal "mailbox" on the system. The primary limitations of the system are the amount of storage available and the number of users which can use the system simultaneously. The RFP requests pricing on a system which would allow 4 users (ports) at the same time and 6 hours of storage. The system needs to be capable of expanding to 8 users and 16 hours of storage. Staff expressed the need for the Consultant to design a system which does not automatically result in the caller receiving the VM system. Given the public service nature of City operations, it was considered important to have the call answered initially- by a Staff person. A VM system can provide many benefits for the organization. With a recorded message, the caller can leave as much information as possible. This can improve the ability of Staff to efficiently respond to messages . This would relate to messages from Staff members as well as members of the public. The use of an automated messaging system can also reduce the amount of time secretaries and receptionists spend taking messages . It is anticipated that the caller would be given the option to leave the message on the messaging system. All phones in offices will be equipped with message lights, which would indicate a need to check their message number. The VM system would also provide the ability to forward primary numbers to a general recording during non-business hours. This recording could explain who to call in the event of an emergency ,such as traffice signals not working, clogged storm drains, etc. The system would also be valuable to police investigations personnel who may need to receive messages after hours . Overall, the proposed system would provide a great benefit and would result in more efficient handling of telephone messaging. Call Accounting (Optional Item) The Consultant is also requesting information on call accounting systems . This system would collect data on the calls made from each extension. The system could also provide cost information and a variety of reports . The system would allow information on calling costs to be collected by department. At this time, it is not anticipated that this feature would be a high priority. Upon receipt of the RFP' s, Staff will review the costs and make a recommendation to the City Council . The estimates in the budgetary pricing indicated that the costs range from $5, 200 to $30, 000 . Again, the RFP process should provide more competitive pricing. Cabling & Paging System The cabling has been prepared as a separate RFP. Typically, firms specialize in this area and this eliminates the additional mark-up which would be added if the phone system company provided the bid. The proposed cable specifications are intended to address wiring for the phone system as well as wiring for data processing. The Consultant is continuing to work with the IBM representative on cost efficient options for the data processing wiring. The cabling provider is also being requested to provide a basic paging system for the Police facility. This is intended to be used in the event that police personnel are needed at the front counter. In most cases, the patrol personnel are not within a specific office and an overhead speaker in open areas is required. The Consultant has advised that this scope of work would be best paired with the cabling vendor. The paging system will be accessed by the telephone selected. -3- Call Patterns and Costs In addition to designing a phone system, the Consultant has also analyzed call activity and cost comparisons for alternative long distance service. The call activity showed that the majority of the calls occurred mid-morning and mid-afternoon. This is considered typical of a business operation. The Consultant also reviewed the amount of "Trunk Traffic" to determine the number of main trunk lines which would need to be provided by the utility. The study showed that 9 trunks would provide adequate capacity for future growth. The Consultant also reviewed one month of phone bills to determine the destination of most calls . The study showed that 66.1% of the calls were local calls . This would include those calls which are made to Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon, Danville, etc. An additional 28.9% of the calls placed, although they were not considered local calls, were made to locations within the Greater Bay Area. For example, a call to San Francisco would fall into this category. This includes calls to .numbers within the following area codes : 415, 408, and 707 . Therefore, this analysis shows that the total percentage of calls which are made to locations within the Bay Area is 95% of the calls placed. The high volume of calls within the Bay Area resulted in the Consultant's recommendation that the City continue to use AT&T as the long distance carrier. This was justified further by the cost comparison of alternative service. In preparing the comparison, the Consultant included all monthly fees and service charges to develop a cost per minute. The Consultant has also indicated that AT&T has maintained competitive rates for long distance calls within California. The analysis showed that the majority of: the calls were within California. Conclusion The Consultant will be in attendance at the meeting to answer any questions . Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the circulation of the Request for Proposals . Further, the City Council is requested to waive the formal bidding requirements based on technical nature of the systems to be purchased. Staff will review the RFP responses, negotiate a system price and submit a final recommendation for City Council approval. -4- i EXECUTIVE SUMNIARY AND EXCERPTS FROM DESIGN CRITERIA STUDY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CSD was retained by the City of Dublin on August 8, 1988, to assist in determining the City's overall communications requirements for the new Civic Center complex. CSD's design activities have concentrated on increasing the level of service to the public, as well as providing a system design which will meet the long-term needs of a municipality with a significant rate of growth. CSD has performed the following activities: . 1. CSD requested information regarding the City's services from your present suppliers--Pacific Bell and AT&T. 2. CSD has obtained copies of the City's billings for usage for purposes of performing an analysis to determine the proper configuration of outside trunk lines and types of services. 3. City employees have provided CSD with stroke tallies of incoming calls to determine the quantity of calls each department receives during one (1) business week. 4. CSD has provided a user questionnaire which was completed by all City personnel to determine user preferences for the new system. 5. Interviews were conducted with department heads and clerical personnel to determine the preferred method of operation for each department. 6. A Request For Quotation was sent to all interested suppliers of telecommunications equipment and services to obtain budgetary price figures .for new properly designed telecommunications equipment. Through the course of the above activities, CSD has uncovered the following considerations for new telephone services for the City of Dublin: 1. The City's new facilities will require the use of one telephone system for the Civic Center, as compared to the present configuration of separate key systems. The present systems will not allow for the transfer of calls between City departments unless the lines appear on the other department's telephones. There is presently only one (1) intercom channel connecting the City Hall offices. 2. Each City department has separate listed telephone numbers for receiving calls. While this method is preferred for the new system design, there is currently no capability to transfer misdirected calls to another department or to a central "switchboard" for assistance. 3. The City will continue to grow at an accelerated pace in the future, and consideration of this must be reflected in the specifications for the maximum capacity of the system selected. CSD has projected an annual growth of approximately 10%, which will meet the total capacity of the new building's design 'over a ten-year period. In addition, while there is presently no desire to connect the facilities which are located away from the main location to the telephone system, CSD has allowed for this to be done in the future. 4. There is a regk ,ment to be able to contact Ci' ersonnel after normal working hours, and to be able to leave a message for key personnel when they are not available. The present method of receiving written messages can result in unnecessary delays. CSD has included, as an option, the feature of voice messaging. This would allow the transfer of calls to the voice ,messaging system after a caller has spoken to a City employee. It is preferred that no caller will be sent directly to the voice messaging system without human intervention, however, this feature can be utilized after normal business hours. 5. Due to the Police Department's status, there is a need to be able to transfer an emergency call to the County Offices in San Leandro without remaining on the line, and the capability of forwarding all emergency calls after hours, if desired. In addition, the Police Department will require the use of internal paging through overhead ceiling speakers, which will be accessed through the telephone system. 6. The network study revealed a majority of local calls and calls placed to locations within the San Francisco Service Area, or LATA. This area covers all of the "415" and "707" area codes, as well as most of the "408" area code. Due to the total volume of calls, there are no alternative types of services available to the City of Dublin which would provide the City with a cost savings. The following material has been included for consideration by the City of Dublin: 1. The Design Criteria, which details the system capacities, features, and capabilities. CSD recommends the use of Direct Inward Dialing (DID) , which .will enable callers to City Offices to dial a unique seven-digit telephone number for each individual, as well as providing the ability for every call to be transferred to any other City department or location. Intra- office calls may be placed by dialing the appropriate three-digit station number. 2. A Voice Messaging Cost Justification, based on the responses from the questionnaire. 3. Attachment "A" , which details the types and quantity of telephone instruments required at each location. 4. Flow charts which detail the present flow of communications into City offices, as well as the projected method, using DID and voice messaging. 5. A spreadsheet of the responses from the Request For Quotation, detailing the response from each vendor. 6. A sample of the Decision Modeling Matrix which CSD will assist the City of Dublin in determining the criteria and rules for basing a purchase decision. Recommendations of possible criteria, rules, and associated weights have been included in the sample. CSD requests City management complete this matrix with the assistance of CSD. This information will be included in the telephone system Request For Proposal (RFP) . 7. The results of the network study performed by CSD. The analysis of the questionnaires and the results of the stroke tally have previously been provided to the City of Dublin. The Design Criteria must be approved by the City of Dublin prior to the completion of the system RFP. Included separately are the RFP for the telephone system, and the bid specification for the cable and paging system. COMMUNICATION FLOW CHARTS CITY OF DUBLIN All Calls to City Departments r Does Incoming Call the caller NO !Dgat live enough via separate information to departmental process call? numbers Yea Should the call be Yes The caller must i referred to a hang up and different dial another department? number for most dapts. No Place caller on hold. and use intercom (If available) to announce call Caller may have to wait if intercom is busy. Announce Call Is the Take Message or No person Yea rater to another available to Call Answered person receive call? CITY OF DUBLIN All Calls to City Departments Using Direct Inward Dialing and Optional Voice Messaging ell D Does Incoming Call the caller No Put caller give enough on hold. or to Main information to gat Number or process call? information D.I.O. Number Yea INCOMING CALL Does the Yea Transfer call BYPASSING TIE call require to another CONSOLE transfer to a answer point DIRECT TO different in City DEPARTMENT dept? facilities No Ring Station of call coverage Yes person (or Does the call secretary). require DID call screening? programmed to ring at call coverage location. No Is the Yes person Answer Call available to Announce Call receive call? No Mae sage can be Is the Man by No parson Yea secretary. available to Call Answered or...... receive call? i Caller has ...caller option to can be leave message Voice Nail directed or to be System will to Voice transferred to provide reports Nail another of system System person usage. Item 4.5 Exhibit Missing Telecommunications RFP Item 4.5 Exhibit Missing Cabling/Paging RFP REQUEST FOR QUOTATION BUDGETARY PRICING CITY OF DUBLIN BUDGETARY PRICE QUOTATIONS VOICE SWITCHING BURG. VOICE BUDG. TELEPHONE BUDG. INSTALL. L DATA ROOM PRICE PER C01TANY SYSTEM PRICE MAIL PRICE ACCOU11TI14G PRICE INTERVAL INTEGR. ENVIRON. CABLE API NEC Neax $67,563 Genesis $26,893 Summa IV $5,200 6 Weeks Yes 10'x10' $150 2400 SIM Cindi II Maxx 700 AEI Music Not Applicable ATLT No Response Received Centel Communications No Response Received Executone N.T. $97,255 Meridian $24,486 Sykes Con $2,264 6-7 Weeks Yes No Quote San Bruno SL-1ST Mail Tracks + P.C. Fujitsu Fujitsu $40,000 Genesis $11,666 No Quote No Quote 90 Days Yes 40-86 F $115 Focus 960 Cindi 840B 6'X 9' GTEL NEC Neax $90,812 Genesis $26,383 Stryker $19,402 90-120 Yes 8'X10' $75 2400 IMG Cindi 840C SSI-500 Days 60-80 F IBM/ROLM IBM 9750 $118,616 IBM Phone $40,000 No Quote No Quote 90 Days Yes 8'X8' $190 Model 40 Mail Infortext No Response NEC NEC Neax $47,286 NEC Voice $20,587 Control $6,880 90 Days Yes 30 sq.ft. $44 2400 SIM Mail Key PL150 62-82 F Octel No Response Pacific Network No Response Engineering Pac Tel Toshiba $57,553 No Quote No Quote No Quote No Quote No Quote Yes No Quote $50 InfoSystems Perception PacTel Meridian NTI Meridian $58,485 Meridian $15,841 XIOX $6,707 8 Weeks Yes 8'X8' $125 Mail SP + P.C. 59-85 F Pacific Bell Centrex $1,305+ No Quote No Quote No Quote No Quote 5 Weeks Yes NIA Included $1,898/mo. RCA NEC Neax $102,130 Octel $44,995 Sigma IV $30,000 6 Weeks Yes 60-78F No Quote 2400 IMG MCX 7000 RCM Systems N/A N/A N/A N/A NIA N/A N/A N/A NIA September 19, 1988 Prepared by CSD, Inc. Page 1 CITY OF DUBLIN BUDGETARY PRICE QUOTATIONS VOICE SWITCHING BUDG. VOICE BUDG. TELEPHONE BURG. INSTALL. S DATA ROOM PRICE PER COMPPI7Y SYSTEM PRICE MAIL PRICE ACCOUNTING PRICE INTERVAL INTEGR. ENVIRON. CABLE Standard Wire and No Response Cable Tel Plus Siemens $86,326 Octel $34,535 Siecom $7,860 45-60 Yes 7' X 10' $196 Saturn IIE Branch Target +. Days 41-104F Twisted Pair No Response Communications UCS/Bell South NEC Neax $77,900 NEC VMM $16,800 Sumna IV $3,900 90 Days Yes 60-8OF No Quote 2400 IMG Maxx 700 + P.C. US Telecenters No Response Voice Pro SRX 1 $72,710 OPCOM $40,100 Control Key $7,500 4-8 Weeks Yes None No Quote DIAL Walnut No Response Communications XIOX No Response XTEND Declined to Bid Communications Page 2 September 19, 1988 Prepared by CSD, Inc. Call ABy H o u r City of Dublin Dublin, CA 15.0 13.5 12.0 10.5 9 .0 a & - " I . 7.5 o t 6.0 4.5 3.0 3 AEE 1 .5 - ' i 0.0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 Time of Day Analysis by i Communications Sales Dynumics, Inc. Local Trunk Traffic City of Dublin Dublin, CA 150 135 120 105 0 90 75 - cl) 60 45 - -- - 30 15 - -- - 01 77 -------- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Trunk Number Analysis by Communications Sales Dynamics, Inc. CITY OF DUBLIN SUMMARY OF LOCAL AND LONG DISTANCE ALTERNATIVES SERVICE TYPE TOTAL COST COST/MINUTE Current AT&T Service $ 17080 .166 Allnet Maxcess 3 11138 .174 TDX "1+" WATS 1,140 .175 MCI Prism Plus 1,143 .175 US Sprint Dial "1" 1,128 .173 These monthly costs are reflected of the fact that the City of Dublin currently places most of its calls to the surrounding local areas. The costs are a combination of local and long distance calls.