Work Alone Protection System services (WAPS)

An advanced contract award notice (ACAN) is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date and time stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.

1. Definition of requirement:

The Correctional Service Canada has a requirement to have an effective system in place to monitor staff conducting community visits and other related activities. The work will involve the following:

1. Objectives:

CSC’s Atlantic District Office intends to establish a contract for the provision of Work Alone Protection System services (WAPS) for the benefit of individuals employed by the Client in locations across the Atlantic provinces. CSC will require 35 satellite devices and/or platforms for CSC vehicles throughout the Atlantic Region and for service in areas with no cellular coverage.

1.2 Tasks:

The Contractor shall:

Provide lone worker monitoring system services from 0700 to 1800 hours (Newfoundland Standard Time Zone and Atlantic Time Zone) to allow CSC employees in the Atlantic Region to conduct their community visits or other related business with offenders on conditional release.

Steps are to include that the CSC employee will:

1. Register a community visit by activating the lone worker system.
2. To respond to alerts at the pre-determined intervals, the system would vibrate/beep, letting the employee know that a check-in is required; the employee could then provide an update. If the device beeps/vibrates because of no-motion detection, the employee will respond by pressing the release button.
3. Register that the community visit has ended by closing/deactivating the person-worn device and platform.

The escalating alarm process is as follows:

1. A system alarm is created when the CSC employee does not communicate within the set time period, or if an emergency button is activated, or if the employee fails to register that the community visit has ended.
2. The system attempts to call the worker.
3. If a response is not received by the system, an alarm will occur at the monitoring centre who will attempt to call the CSC employee once again.
4. If the monitoring centre is unable to contact the CSC employee, and escalating alarm will occur.
5. The monitoring centre will call the designated number registered in the system to contact the immediate supervisor.

• If the immediate supervisor is not available, then the Area Director is to be notified.
• If the Area Director is not available then the Associate District Director is to be contacted.
• If the Associate District Director is not available, then the District Director would be contacted.
• As a last resort, Atlantic Regional Headquarters would be contacted if the District Director is not available.

1. The monitoring centre will be required to record all events and contacts and provide a copy of same on a monthly basis with the invoice to the Project Authority or delegate.

When a CSC supervisory employee is contacted, he/she will determine whether to direct the monitoring centre staff to call the local police or RCMP for assistance or the CSC supervisory staff will attempt to call the CSC employee at home.

1. Expected results:

To provide lone worker monitoring system services from 0700 to 1800 hours (Newfoundland Standard Time Zone and Atlantic Time Zone) to allow CSC employees in the Atlantic Region to safely conduct their community visits or other related business with offenders on conditional release.

1.4 Performance standards:

• The Contractor shall provide lone worker monitoring system services from 0700 to 1800 hours (Newfoundland Standard Time Zone and Atlantic Time Zone).
• A person-worn device will communicate directly with a portable base platform, which is connected by real-time radio link to offer consistent safety coverage.
• 100% reliability of satellite coverage shall be ensured no matter the placement of the person-worn device inside of a building.
• The device will be fixed to the employee by virtue of a clip or clasp which can be easily removed and attached to the employee’s clothing.
• The device worn by the employee will have an emergency indicator (audible, visual, and tactile indicators) as well as a silent emergency button, so that the employee can easily indicate an emergency situation.
• The person-worn device will have fall detection, no-motion (person down) detection, and employee presence detection (check-in information).

1.5 Deliverables:

1.5.1 The monitoring centre will be required to record all events and contacts and provide a copy of same on a monthly basis with the invoice to the Project Authority or delegate.

1.5.2 Paper consumption:

a. Should printed material be required, double sided printing in black and white format is the default unless otherwise specified by the Project Authority.

b. The Contractor must ensure printed material is on paper with a minimum recycled content of 30% and/or certified as originating from a sustainably managed forest.

c. The Contractor must recycle unneeded printed documents (in accordance with Security Requirements).

1.6 Constraints:

1.6.1 Location of work:

a. The Contractor must perform the work at the contractor's place of business. 

b. No travel is anticipated for performance of the work under this contract.

1.6.2 Language of Work:

The contractor must perform all work in English and French.

1.6.3 Security Requirements:

This contract includes the following security requirements:

2. The Contractor/Offeror personnel requiring access to sensitive work site(s) must EACH hold a valid RELIABILITY STATUS, granted or approved by CISD/PWGSC.

3. Subcontracts which contain security requirements are NOT to be awarded without the prior written permission of CISD/PWGSC.

4. The Contractor/Offeror must comply with the provisions of the:

a.) Security Requirements Check List and security guide (if applicable), attached at Annex C;

b.) Industrial Security Manual (Latest Edition).

2. Criteria for assessing the statement of capabilities (minimum essential requirements):

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:

• Have at least five (5) years of operational experience, obtained in the past 10 years, in the work alone protection industry;
• The firm/organization must have an emergency response center which has been in operation for the past five (5) years during the past ten years;
• Have staff who work at the organization can provide services in both official languages between the hours of 0700 – 18:00 hours (Atlantic and Newfoundland Time Zones);

3. Applicability of the trade agreement (s) to the procurement

This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement (s):

Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA);

4. Set-aside under the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business

This procurement is not subject to any set-asides for Aboriginal Suppliers.

5. Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement (s)

This procurement is not subject to a Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement.

6. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier

The supplier’s device (the Loner 900 system) was tested under a pilot project as part of a government wide Canada innovation program and was reliable inside buildings and vehicles and performed very well during the project.

Several methods of monitoring staff movement have been utilized in previous years and all have proven to be ineffective in achieving the goal of staff safety. Community staff, particularly Parole Officers, are required by policy to conduct face to face contacts with offenders released in the community. This warrant staff to meet offenders in their home or other community settings, which are often in remote areas where cellular coverage is non-existent, placing staff at a higher safety risk.

During the last national audit on staff safety, the Atlantic Region committed to addressing the issues noted in the previous processes and improve the current staff safety practice. In the interim and intended for a temporary period, a protocol was conceived which tasked community staff to perform these duties in addition to their other responsibilities and obligations. There is urgency to have this service in place as soon as possible given the impact on staff health and safety.

The pre-identified supplier meets all of the minimum essential requirements described in this ACAN.

7. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)

The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection: (a) the need is one of pressing emergency in which delay would be injurious to the public interest.

8. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons

The following exclusion (s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the section of the trade agreement (s) specified:

Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), Article 513

(b) if the goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute goods or services exist for any of the following reasons:

(i) the requirement is for a work of art;

(ii) the protection of patents, copyrights, or other exclusive rights;

(iii) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;

(iv) the supply of goods or services is controlled by a supplier that is a statutory monopoly;

(v) to ensure compatibility with existing goods, or to maintain specialized goods that must be maintained by the manufacturer of those goods or its representative;

(vi) work is to be performed on property by a contractor according to provisions of a warranty or guarantee held in respect of the property or the original work;

(vii) work is to be performed on a leased building or related property, or portions thereof, that may be performed only by the lessor; or

(viii) the procurement is for subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, or other periodicals;

9. Ownership of Intellectual Property

There are no intellectual property terms in the contract.

10. Period of the proposed contract

The proposed contract is for a period of a 1 year, from January 1^st, 2018 to December 31^st, 2018 with an option to extend the contract for 5 additional 1 year periods.

11.Cost estimate of the proposed contract

The estimated value of the contract, including option(s), is $225,000.00 (GST/HST extra).

12. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier

Name: Telelink Response Centre

Address: 5-7 Pippy Place, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3X2

13. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN, may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date and time of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

14. Closing date and time for a submission of a statement of capabilities

The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is December 22nd, 2017 at 2:00 PM AST.

15. Inquiries and submission of statement of capabilities

Inquiries and statement of capabilities are to be directed to:

Josee Belliveau

District Officer, Contracting and Materiel Management Services

1045 Main Street, 3^rd Floor, Moncton, NB, E1C 1H1

Telephone: (506) 851-3923

Facsimile: (506) 851-3305

E-mail: josee.belliveau@csc-scc.gc.ca