Vancouver City Council

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

	Date:	August 26, 2004
	Author:	Mani Deo
	Phone No.:	604.326.4792
	RTS No.:	4496
	CC File No.:	1805
	Meeting Date:	September 30, 2004

TO:	Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM:	General Manager of Engineering Services Manager of Materials Management
SUBJECT:	Authority to Contract with Steco PendPac Inc. - RFP PS04036 Supply and Delivery of Automated Side Load Refuse Packer Units

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT, subject to the conditions set out in Recommendations B, C, and D, Council authorize a contract with Steco PendPac Inc. for twenty-nine (29) - 2005 Sterling Condor tandem axle cab and chassis and twenty-nine (29) 24.5 Cubic Yard PendPac Automated bodies at an estimated cost of $6,273,767.20 plus the Provincial Sales Tax, the Goods and Services Tax (less any municipal rebate received) and the Provincial Environmental Levy.

B. THAT, the Director of Legal Services be authorized to execute and deliver on behalf of the City all legal documents required to implement Recommendation A.

C. THAT all such legal documents be on terms and conditions satisfactory to the General Manager of Engineering Services, Manager of Materials Management and the Director of Legal Services.

D. THAT no legal rights or obligations will be created by Council's adoption of Recommendation A, B, and C above unless and until such legal documents are executed and delivered by the Director of Legal Services.

E. THAT funding for the purchase described in Recommendation A be provided from the Truck and Equipment Plant Account.

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

There has been a concern raised by CUPE 1004 regarding the absence of air conditioning in the specification for these automated side load refuse units. The Department's policy, which has been applied for a number of years, is not to specify air conditioning on equipment except where:

· It is not feasible to adequately ventilate the cab compartment resulting in demonstrated operational environment or safety issues.
· The inclusion of air conditioning is less expensive than the elimination of air conditioning from the specification because it is included as a standard item.

The automated refuse equipment application has been reviewed by the City's Occupational Health and Safety Group. The possibility of exceeding WCB limits for heat exposure in this application are limited in Vancouver and the risk of employee injury is generally quite low. Historically these heat exposure limits are reached for only limited periods of time during less than 8% of operating days in Vancouver. Threat of surpassing heat exposure limits can be limited by opening chassis windows, operating the chassis ventilation system and by the use of supplemental cab fans.

If air conditioning was to be specified on this equipment, there would be an environmental cost (increased fuel consumption) and financial cost (increased capital and operating cost). Using air conditioning in an urban operating environment can significantly increase fuel consumption.

The additional cost of including air conditioning in the automated side load refuse fleet would be $28,913.00.

Based on the above criterion, air conditioning is not recommended for this purchase.

COUNCIL POLICY

The policy of Council is to secure contracts for the purchase of equipment, supplies and services that will give the best value, based on quality, service and price.

Contracts with a value over $300,000 are referred to Council.

BACKGROUND

On January 8, 2004 Council approved funding for the implementation of a fully automated garbage and yard trimmings collection program. The proposed program consisted of converting twenty-nine (29) of the City's thirty-four (34) manual rear load packers to fully automated side load units. This report deals with the purchase of the fully automated units, which consist of a chassis component and a fully automated side load body component.

DISCUSSION

On May 26, 2004 the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP PS04036) for the supply and delivery of twenty-nine (29) fully automated side load units. In addition to notifying incumbent suppliers to the City and other well known vendors, the competition was advertised in the Vancouver Sun and on the City's and BC Purchasing Commissions websites.
Six (6) proposals were opened on June 16, 2004 and referred to the General Manager of Engineering Services and the Manager of Materials Management for report. This RFP included the supply and delivery of chassis, automated bodies, and the training related to the new technology collection system for mechanics and collection workers. This RFP called for body suppliers to propose automated bodies with a minimum of three (3) different chassis make/model options: Freightliner or Sterling Condor, Peterbilt 320 and the Volvo WXR64. This RFP specified that the body supplier be the primary contractor. Local chassis dealers worked closely with the body suppliers in order to determine optimal chassis specifications.
One (1) proposal was rejected for non-compliance. The (5) five remaining proposals included four (4) chassis make/model options - Sterling Condor, Freightliner Condor, Peterbilt 320 and the Volvo WXR64.
These proposals were evaluated by a seven (7) person evaluation team consisting of representatives from the Sanitation Operations Branch, Equipment Services Branch, Solid Waste Management Branch and the Employee Health and Safety Group of the Human Resource Services Branch. The evaluation team evaluated the proposed chassis, automated bodies, training, value added services, warranty and support; and then conducted site visits and demonstrations to sufficiently evaluate the proposed automated systems.

A three (3) step RFP evaluation process was used in determining the optimal chassis and body configuration for the City's needs. The proposals were evaluated individually by team members and a composite score was assigned to each proposal based on team member scores.

Step 1: A composite score for the various chassis options was calculated based on manoeuvrability, technical chassis specifications, operator/ergonomic assessment, and price.
Step 2: The various automated side load bodies were short listed based on mandatory requirements/specifications.
Step 3: The remaining bodies were evaluated based on a mechanical/fabrication assessment, operator/ergonomic assessment, reference feedback, and unit pricing.

Chassis Evaluation - Step 1

The chassis options were evaluated first as the chassis and chassis prices were common to all compliant proposals. The following table summarizes the evaluation results:

Rank	Chassis	Chassis	Composite Score	Unit Price	Total Price
	Make	Model	(out of 100)	(per Chassis)	(for 29 units)
1	Sterling	Condor	91.4	$ 106,962.00	$3,101,898.00
2	Freightliner	Condor	90.9	$ 109,010.00	$3,161,290.00
3	Volvo	WXR64	78.4	$ 109,538.00	$3,176,602.00
4	Peterbilt	320	69.2	$ 109,680.00	$3,180,720.00

The Sterling Condor chassis offered the highest composite score at the lowest overall cost to the City. The composite score was based on manoeuvrability, technical chassis specifications, operator/ergonomic assessment, and price.

Body Evaluation - Step 2

The proposal from Vimar Equipment exceeded the maximum horizontal cart swing and therefore did not meet one of the mandatory requirements/specifications and was not given further consideration. Horizontal cart swing is important because of the extremely tight urban lane/alley refuse collection in Vancouver.

The proposal from Raymax Equipment did not meet mandatory requirements/specifications and therefore was not given further consideration. The proposal from Raymax Equipment did not meet the paint preparation and the 9,100 kg (20,060 lb) payload requirements. Paint preparation is important because of the severe corrosion problems the City has experienced with existing equipment. Payload requirements are particularly important as this criterion governs the amount of refuse that can be collected per trip by the equipment.

Body Evaluation - Step 3

The following table summarizes the evaluation results:

Body Supplier	Manufacturer	Composite Score	Unit Price	Total Price
		(out of 100)	(per body)	(for 29 units)
Steco Pendpac Inc.	PendPac	84.4	$109,374.80	$3,171,869.20
Rollins Machinery	Wayne	69.6	$116,512.00	$3,378,848.00
Rollins Machinery	Labrie	69.2	$115,698.00	$3,355,242.00
Vimar Equipment	Wittke	*No Score	-	-
Raymax Equipment	Heil	*No Score	-	-

*No score was assigned because proposal did not meet mandatory requirements as per step 2 of the evaluation.

The Steco PendPac Inc. proposal offered the highest overall composite score and the lowest cost to the City. The composite score was calculated based on mechanical/fabrication assessment, operator/ergonomics assessment, reference feedback, and unit pricing.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The twenty nine (29) units were scheduled for replacement as part of the 2004 Equipment Replacement Program. Funds for the purchase of these units are provided from the Truck and Equipment Plant Account.

With the introduction of the fully automated side load units, the equipment cost in 2005 is estimated to increase by approximately $220,000. This increased operating cost was taken into account in the Automated Collection of Solid Waste report approved on January 29, 2004.

CONCLUSION

The Steco PendPac Inc. proposal consisting of the 2005 Sterling Condor chassis and the 24.5 Cubic Yard PendPac body offered the highest overall composite score for both the chassis and body components at the lowest overall cost to the City.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, for Item 1 of the RFP we recommend acceptance of the proposal offering the lowest price meeting specifications and offering best value, from Steco PendPac Inc. for twenty-nine (29) 2005 Sterling Condor tandem axle cab and chassis at a total cost of $3,101,898.00($105,908.00 each plus $505.00 each for additional rear side and rear windows, plus $363.00 each for an air assisted cab lift, plus $94.00 each for tunnel mounted transmission control, plus $66.00 each for three blank switches, plus $26.00 each for a left hand down view mirror for a total unit price of $106,962.00).

We also recommend acceptance for Item 2 of the RFP offering the lowest price meeting specifications and offering best value, from Steco PendPac Inc. for twenty-nine (29) PendPac AlleyGator 24.5 Yard fully automated side load refuse bodies at a total cost of $3,171,869.20 ($92,643.00 each plus $4,532.00 for a Safety Vision 3 Camera system, plus $1,632.00 for an additional joystick control, plus $5,701.05 for a Vulcan Weigh Scale system, plus $4,866.75 for a body/arm auto-lube system for a total unit price of $109,374.80).

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