Staff Writer
The JEA wants to develop an automatic vehicle location system to help it better manage its employees and equipment.
But after discussions with contractors interested in the project, the utility is rethinking the road it will take to reach its goal.
The utility initially posted an invitation for bids about a month ago for a system that would include GPS real-time tracking. JEA wants the system to help it track better data on its vehicles’ usage, condition and location; manage resources and assign work; and achieve lower costs of operations.
Being able to better coordinate staff and a fleet of 1,200 vehicles and 370 pieces of non-motorized equipment will help it serve more than 360,000 customers in Jacksonville and parts of three other counties, according to JEA.
After meeting with contractors to discuss the bid, JEA learned that more information is needed to be included in the bid, and it decided to cancel the bid.
Instead, it will pursue a request for proposals for the system, said Mike Brost, JEA vice president of electric systems. The RFP process would allow JEA to post its needs and accept proposals from contractors explaining how they would meet the utility’s needs.
The invitation for bid process was not the proper fit for the GPS project, said Brost. In that process, bids are chosen based on tight technical specifications and the project is awarded to the lowest bidder only. The RFP process uses an evaluation matrix that examines factors other than price, said Brost.
JEA plans to have the RFP posted in about a month, followed by a month for contractors to submit proposals and another month to evaluate proposals and award the contract.
The original request asked for a system that would be able to record the start of shifts, end of shifts, groups of vehicles (collocation), service center/depot revisits, excessive ignition on-time, driving time, mileage, speed and GPS signal loss.
The system will not only allow JEA to monitor staff and equipment, but it will also help to improve safety for staff, according to JEA.
System requirements include: providing actual vehicle operation information in which the system communicates with the vehicle computer to retrieve real-time vehicle operation information and maintenance codes; a safety feature to alert in the event that emergency services are required; and an alert in the event fleet unit collisions occur.
The system must also be tamper-resistant, including an alert that would be transmitted in the event of tampering.
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