JEA has denied the protest from one of two companies bidding to supply a GPS system that would allow the utility to track the movements of equipment and employees.
After demonstrations from both SageQuest and Utility Associates on Nov. 21, JEA decided to award a contract for GPS implementation for its fleet of 1,200 vehicles and 370 pieces of non-motorized equipment to SageQuest, which bid $1,841,514. Utility bid $1,992,930.
An evaluation team recommended SageQuest based on a score of 80 percent on price and 20 percent on demonstration.
Utility filed a protest with JEA objecting to the award of the contract because, it stated, SageQuest didn’t meet baseline requirements.
This protest was heard Dec. 12 by JEA Chief Purchasing Officer John McCarthy, following JEA procurement procedures. He issued his decision Dec. 19.
“While we understand you are passionate about your product and Utility’s solution to JEA’s GPS needs, SageQuest has offered a competitive price and has met the base requirements of the solicitation,” stated McCarthy in a letter to Utility.
“Thus, JEA has determined for the current solicitation that SageQuest is a responsive and responsible bidder,” he wrote
Ted Davis, president of Utility Associates, tried to explain during the protest hearing that although his company bid slightly more than SageQuest, his company offered a better product that offered better service.
He plans to appeal McCarthy’s decision to JEA’s Procurement Appeals Board. A hearing date has not been set.
Once a contractor is decided upon, JEA will have to undo a pilot project it started with the original low bidder, SkyGuard. The company was removed from consideration after some of its assets were partially purchased by the highest bidder, Wireless Matrix, which chose to withdraw its bid after the transaction.
SkyGuard began working with JEA in 2009 on a separate GPS pilot project with about 250 units installed in JEA vehicles. SkyGuard provided 80 percent of the equipment at no cost to JEA.
JEA will use its own staff to remove the equipment.
The JEA started its search in March for a contractor that could develop a GPS system that could help it to better coordinate staff and a fleet of 1,200 vehicles and 370 pieces of non-motorized equipment serving more than 360,000 customers in Jacksonville and parts of three other counties.
The project will allow the JEA to track a variety of factors, including location of vehicles, daily mileage, track average and maximum speeds, track ignition off time, provide alerts and reports noting proximity of vehicles to other vehicles, and provide an alert when system loses communication with the vehicle user.
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