902-420-9287 450 Cowie Hill Road P.O. Box 8388 RPO CSC Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada B3K 5M1
Procurement Services 450 Cowie Hill Rd. P.O. Box 8388 RP0 CSC Halifax, NS B3K 5M1 Telephone: (902) 490-4998
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
RFI02.2021
Capital Planning and Information System Project
RFI02.2021 – “Capital Planning and Information System”
Addressed to: Amanda LeVangie Halifax Water Procurement Services [email protected]
Submissions will be received until 2:00 p.m. Atlantic Time, Thursday, September 30, 2021 for the above RFI as per the specifications and terms and conditions.
Check for changes to this request – Before submitting your proposal, visit the Provincial Government Web Portal at www.novascotia.ca/tenders or contact our office to see if any Addenda detailing changes have been issued on this RFI. Changes may be posted up until the RFI closing time. It is the bidders’ responsibility to acknowledge and consider all Addenda.
Bidders shall be solely responsible for the delivery of their bids in the manner and time
prescribed. Bids received after the date and time specified shall be rejected.
Hard Copy and facsimile bids are not accepted.
RFI Issue Date – August 27, 2021
PROPONENT’S SUBMISSION SHEET
The undersigned hereby acknowledges that he/she, as an officer of the stated corporation, has read and understands the specifications, requirements, and proposed agreement regarding Capital Planning and Information System to Halifax Water.
The following information must be completed to ensure proposal acceptance.
*ADDENDA No. ______to ______INCLUSIVE WERE CAREFULLY EXAMINED.
DATED THIS DAY OF , 2021.
PROPONENT’S COMPANY NAME: ______
ADDRESS: ______
______
CITY/ PROVINCE: ______POSTAL CODE: ______
PHONE NO.: ______FAX NO.: ______
EMAIL ADDRESS: ______
WEBSITE: ______
CONTACT NAME (please print): ______
TITLE (please print): ______PHONE NO.: ______
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE: ______
HST REGISTRATION NO: ______
NS WCB COVERAGE: YES NO
* The proponent shall list and initial all addenda received during the period and shall take them into consideration when preparing their bid submission. A signed copy of each Addendum must be included with the bid submission. Failure to comply may be cause for rejection of bid submission.
HALIFAX WATER RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT ANY OR ALL SUBMISSIONS. THE LOWEST OR ANY SUBMISSION WILL NOT NECESSARLIY BE ACCEPTED.
This proposal will adhere to Halifax Water’s Standard Terms & Conditions. They can be found on our website at https://www.halifaxwater.ca/doing-business
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION ...... 4 2. RFI Timetable ...... 4 3. Background ...... 4 4. Purpose of the RFI ...... 5 5. Objective ...... 5 6. Submission Instructions ...... 7 6.1 RFI Response Submission ...... 7 6.2 Requested Information ...... 8 6.3 Inquiries ...... 8 7. Confidential Information of the Vendor ...... 9 8. Conclusion ...... 9
1. INTRODUCTION This Request for information (“RFI”) is issued by the Halifax Water for the purpose of gathering information about the marketplace in order to assist in the determination of future purchasing options or requirements. This RFI is being conducted pursuant to the Nova Scotia Sustainable Procurement Policy and Procurement Manual.
Respondents are asked to respond to Halifax Water and provide the information requested below.
2. RFI Timetable
Activity Date
Issue Date of RFI August 27, 2021
Deadline for Questions September 15, 2021
Submission Deadline, Date and Time September 30, 2021 @ 2pm Atlantic
The RFI timetable is tentative. It may be changed by Halifax Water at any time, and the Halifax Water may choose to waive or extend the Deadline for Questions, or the Submission Deadline.
3. Background The Halifax Water Engineering & Technical Services Department currently performs detailed capital project portfolio management using spreadsheets and other manual data and information administration tools in the development and delivery of the annual capital program. Their projects are delivered successfully using manual efforts to plan, manage and report on projects and programs within the capital projects portfolio. The two business processes driving the capital project portfolio are:
1. Capital Budget Development (Portfolio Planning) 2. Capital Budget Delivery (Portfolio Management and Project Management)
These two business processes are based on the 4 functional components listed below and Halifax Water is implementing a Capital Planning and Information System project to manage these:
• Capital Planning (CP) – project intake, assessment, prioritization; • Capital Project Management (CPM) – planning, management, control, reporting; • Capital Funds Management (CFM) – budget/expense management, forecasting, performance; visibility, dashboards, reporting; integration with Cayenta ERP; and, • Capital Project Information System (CPIS) - collection, dashboarding, reporting, sharing.
The CPM&IS Project is being undertaken to reduce and/or remove gaps in technology, current portfolio and project practices, and to replace time consuming manual or semi-integrated processes with lean, streamlined efficient movement of information and approvals. These efforts are intended to deliver on the opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of Capital Portfolio and Project management delivery by Halifax Water.
4. Purpose of the RFI
This RFI is issued to scan the market and identify potential solutions that encompass all four (4) components of the CPM&IS solution – Capital Planning, Capital Project Management, Capital Funds Management and Capital Information Systems.
5. Objective The objective of this RFI is to identify potential market solutions that:
1. Integrates portfolio, project management and Capital Funds Management tools/applications 2. Delivers automated workflows, processes and forms for Capital Project Management 3. Is intuitive, easy to use as resource skills develop 4. Scalable for different project complexities 5. Provides a cost-effective solution
Specifically, Halifax Water desires a single solution that delivers on the success measurements for each component of CPM&IS:
Item Objective Success Measurements
Capital Project Seamless Experience Portfolio management, project management and Capital Management Funds Management (Cayenta ERP) applications are integrated for seamless user experience.
Application Automation Tools delivering portfolio and project management functionality are designed to automate workflow, documentation, schedule management, resource management, budget management, dashboards and performance reporting as much as possible.
Visibility to Financial Throughout the management of a Capital Project, Information approved users have access to current work order financial information.
Key Performance Indicators The CPM&IS project establishes project KPI’s related to project management metrics which are applied to the management of all Capital Projects.
Capital Planning Annual Capital Planning The project delivers a tool that automates the (CP) Processes & development of the Annual Capital Program and the Tools Annual Capital Budget.
The tool automates the assessment of proposed Capital Projects against corporate objectives, resource availability, and multi-year capital fund budgets.
The tool will help prioritize proposed Capital Projects for delivery.
Prioritization Criteria The criteria to prioritize Capital projects are able to be defined and then updated as necessary.
Capital Funds Integration with CP, CPM and CPM&IS includes an integrated solution combining Management CPIS and/or connecting with Capital Planning (CP), Capital (CFM) Project Management (CPM) and Capital Project Funds Management (CFM) solution.
Financial management of Portfolios and Projects are an integrated part of the Capital Funds Management (CFM) Solution.
Financial Reporting The CFM solution automates the monitoring and reporting of Capital Project and portfolio spending throughout the project lifecycle, tracks funding revisions, and enables financial reporting on forecast, actual, planned and variance spend against approved budget.
Capital Project Technical Solution CPIS is enabled on a technical solution for the Information collection, management, visualization and dissemination System – of portfolio and project information. Reporting (CPIS) Information is available to all approved users within the solution.
Users can collaborate on document development.
Users can search historical documents using key words.
Information Integration Users can generate Portfolio and Project dashboards and reports based on integrations with CPM, and CFM solutions / applications.
6. Submission Instructions
6.1 RFI Response Submission Please submit your response in PDF format via email to: Amanda LeVangie, Procurement by 2:00pm Atlantic on September 30, 2021. Include contact information for the individual who will be responsible for managing the RFI.
The following materials are to be supplied by the Vendor for this RFI.
Materials to be supplied by Vendor
1. Provide business background
2. Outline team qualifications and experience along with references for similar solution implementations
3. Provide the Capital Projects (Portfolio, Project, Information System) product and module(s) overview
4. Outline integration capabilities with ERP – Capital Funds Management Solutions (CFMS)
5. Confirm the solution deployment model (Hosted, On Premises)
6. Indicate if (or confirm that) the solution could be deployed at MS Azure cloud environment and if Azure AD could be used for the authentication and access control
7. List training materials type and formats; provide 2 examples
8. Outline a typical implementation approach and timeline
9. Describe key lessons learned through similar implementations
6.2 Requested Information This RFI is issued for information gathering purposes only and is not a formal legally binding “Contract” bidding process. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the respondent acknowledges that there is no obligation, assurance or commitment by Halifax Water that this RFI will result in any subsequent negotiations, direct contract award, invitational tendering or open tendering process, and this RFI does not constitute a commitment by the Halifax Water to procure any goods or services, or to advise any respondents of subsequent competitive bidding opportunities that may be issued by the Halifax Water. This RFI will not be used to evaluate, rank or select vendors, nor will it be used to pre-qualify or screen vendors for a subsequent competitive bidding process. Participation in this RFI is voluntary. No purchases will be made as a result of this request. Any price information provided shall be manufacturer’s list price and will be used for comparison purposes only.
The RFI timetable is tentative. It may be changed by Halifax Water at any time, and Halifax Water may choose to waive or extend the Deadline for Questions, or the Submission Deadline.
6.3 Inquiries a) It is the responsibility of proponents to ensure that they have all the necessary information concerning the intent and requirements of this RFI, and to seek clarification of any matter they consider to be unclear before forwarding a submission. b) Halifax Water is not responsible for any misunderstanding of this RFI on the part of a proponent. No proponent can claim any advantage from any error, inconsistency, or omission in this tender. c) Halifax Water reserves the right to distribute any or all questions and answers to all potential proponents through a Q&A addendum to be posted on the Nova Scotia Procurement Web Portal. Addenda also includes changes to specifications, criteria, etc. d) No information given verbally by Halifax Water, or by means of telephone, will be binding, nor will it be construed to change the requirements of the RFI in any way. e) Questions that arise relating to this RFI shall be directed in writing to:
NAME: Amanda LeVangie E-mail Address: [email protected]
Instructions: Inquiries to be addressed shall be received at the above address by September 15, 2021 by 2pm, Atlantic time.
Please note: This RFI is for informational purposes only. Responders are not being evaluated on the information provided in response to this RFI. This RFI in no way binds Halifax Water to an agreement or award and will be used for information purposes only. If Halifax Water chooses to develop an RFP, Halifax Water reserves the right to consider one or more types of projects and/or products from multiple respondents that Halifax Water believes would achieve its objectives.
7. Confidential Information of the Vendor A proponent should identify any information in its submission, or any accompanying documentation supplied in confidence for which confidentiality is to be maintained by Halifax Water. The confidentiality of such information will be maintained by Halifax Water, except as otherwise required by law (including, without limitation the requirements of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, S.N.S. 1993 (“FOIPOP”), as amended from time to time) or by order of a court or tribunal.
Proponents should review and understand the effect of FOIPOP on their submissions, including the criteria related to third party confidential information. Proponents are advised that their submissions will, as necessary, be disclosed on a confidential basis, to Halifax Water advisers retained for the purpose of evaluating or participating in the evaluation of their submissions. If a proponent has any questions about the collection and use of confidential information pursuant to this tender, questions are to be submitted to Halifax Water.
8. Conclusion
Thank you for joining us on our journey to deliver a world-class Capital Projects & Information System for Halifax Water. We look forward to reviewing your materials and connecting with you if we have additional questions.