13-Specifications.pdf

SPECIFICATIONS

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), Maintenance, Support Services and Related Items for the Harris County Toll Road Authority

SCOPE

Harris County is seeking proposals from qualified vendor(s) to provide uninterruptible power supply (UPS), maintenance, support services and related items for the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) as described herein beginning on or about August 1, 2026 and ending one (1) year thereafter or until all services ordered prior to the expiration date have been satisfactorily delivered and accepted or performed satisfactorily for the using department.

M/WBE’s Harris County strives to engage with prime contractors and subcontractors that represent the diverse businesses of the County. We will ensure that historically underutilized minority- and woman-owned businesses (M/WBEs) receive a fair and equal opportunity to participate in the County's procurement process. The County expects Vendors to make a good faith effort and the Vendor agrees to reasonably assist the County to meet or exceed goals for awarding contracts associated with a project the County procures, operates, maintains, or constructs to M/WBEs.

RENEWAL OPTIONS

Harris County may consider four (4) one-year renewal options, renewable one (1) year at a time, based upon the same terms, conditions and pricing as the original year. Renewal is subject to approval by Harris County Commissioners Court. Once renewal options are exhausted, the contract must be rebid. Harris County reserves the right to rebid at any time as is in its best interest and is not automatically bound to renew.

BACKGROUND

HCTRA mission is to responsibly operate and maintain a safe, reliable, sustainable, and evolving mobility system that meets the diverse connectivity needs of all Harris County residents.

HCTRA’s Vision is to:

• Collaborate with local partners to create innovative and resilient mobility solutions which improve quality of life by providing greater access to health, jobs, and housing.

• Deliver mobility solutions that create value for customers and the community by incorporating stakeholder collaboration throughout planning, development, and implementation.

• Strengthen the region’s economic vitality by improving mobility for all with safe and efficient mobility solutions throughout Harris County.

HCTRA is an Enterprise Fund of Harris County and relies on charges from users of the toll road system to fund operations, debt service, and future projects. Led by its Executive Director, Roberto Trevino, P.E., HCTRA operates through multiple divisions which include Toll Operations, Roadway and Facility Maintenance, Engineering, Information Technology (includes electronic toll collection systems), Customer Service (includes EZ TAG services), Finance, Legal, Human Resources, Special Projects, Communications, and Incident Management.

The HCTRA Toll Road System consists of approximately 132 miles of roadway to include the Hardy Toll Road, Sam Houston Tollway, Westpark Tollway, Fort Bend Parkway, Tomball Tollway and the Katy Managed Lanes. Tolls are paid automatically through an Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) System with an EZ Tag transponder or transponder compatible with HCTRA’s Interoperable agencies

CURRENT ENVIRONMENT

HCTRA’s current UPS is a Mitsubishi 9900AE series. The existing UPS lacks the capacity required for HCTRA’s datacenter network equipment etc. HCTRA seeks an A\B Non-Load Sharing Design with its primary function being to provide backup battery power to all equipment in the HCTRA datacenter while its secondary function is surge protection. HCTRA’s current wiring infrastructure will support two (2) 225KVA systems. It is not the desire of HCTRA to increase higher than 225KVA per UPS.

SPECIFICATION

The objective of this project is to provide support and maintenance to existing UPS solutions and to add new UPS Systems for new HCTRA locations where applicable and to eliminate the old, aging, single point of failure UPS with new, more reliable, A/B Non-Load Sharing Design, redundant UPS to allow for switching between grid power, battery power and generator power for all HCTRA datacenter and Intermediate Distribution Frame (IDF)equipment. The new UPS shall increase current battery time in which HCTRA equipment can be powered a minimum of 1.5 hrs.

HCTRA desires a high-efficiency mode UPS operating in high-efficiency mode unless power conditions warrant a switch to the higher protection level of double-conversion mode. UPS system shall be capable of 225KVA and provide a minimum of 1.5 hours of backup battery total assuming UPS systems are loaded 100% of the 225KVA. UPS systems shall be configured in an A\B Non- Load Sharing Design opposed to a Parallel Design.

A. Minimum Vendor Qualifications

Vendor shall install, configure and test proposed UPS. Vendor shall furnish and deliver, as required, all labor, hardware, software and middleware as necessary. Vendor shall meet or exceed the following:

a. Experience Possess a minimum of eight (8) years of experience in the design, manufacture and testing of UPS systems. Additionally, vendor shall have certified personnel with experience in maintaining and servicing UPS.

b. Applicable Laws All work shall be performed to the most recent standards and specifications included and stated herein, but not limited to, throughout the contract duration and any updates throughout the life of the contract. The Vendor shall perform work that produces end results in accordance with American National Standards Institute (ANSI), ANSI\PE 1-2003, ANSI\Underwriters’ Laboratories (UL) 1012, National Electrical Code (NEC), all Federal, State and Local codes and standards, and applicable industry codes in effect at the time of the performance of the specific work and consistent with the manufacture’s repair and maintenance practices.

c. Permits and Licenses HCTRA reserves the right to direct vendor to acquire any and all permits required to perform services related to this RFP as applicable throughout the term of the contract at no additional cost to HCTRA.

d. Toll Fees Any and all toll fees incurred during the term of this contract will be the responsibility of the vendor.

e. Safety

All safety materials and or devices necessary to perform the work in a safe and orderly manner shall be furnished by the vendor.

Vendor shall maintain project site(s) in a clean and orderly fashion and remove all trash, debris, containers and etc. from the project site(s) upon completion of work each day and dispose of materials in accordance with Federal and State regulations at no additional cost to HCTRA. Harris County is not responsible for vendor errors and omissions.

f. Facilities Security Vendor shall provide a Security Plan that fully describes personnel, facility, and data security aspects of HCTRA facilities and work performed by vendor. The plan shall address in detail how unauthorized access and unauthorized data usage or theft shall be prevented and reported to HCTRA.

g. Deployment Practices Vendor shall describe in detail the following:

i. Batteries shall be 12V, value-regulated, sealed, lead-acid type housed in a separate, matching cabinet. Each cabinet shall hold a minimum of forty (40) batteries to archive 480v DC per cabinet per UPS at 100% load or 225KVA.

ii. Critical AC load shall be continuously supplied by the UPS output.

iii. Review software and hardware product compatibility. Define all hardware and software applications deemed necessary for the completion of the tasks associated with this RFP,

iv. Define configuration, installation and implementation approach.

h. Resources Vendor shall provide trained and qualified personnel necessary to perform all activities and identify the personnel and the specialties needed to install and maintain UPS required under the resulting contract. Vendor shall not subcontract any segment or services covered herein, without prior approval of HCTRA. All subcontracted services shall be warranted by and be the responsibility of the vendor. Insufficient resources resulting in poor performance may be grounds for default.

i. Worksite Work shall be a single-phase approach with a work location of HCTRA Facilities where applicable. HCTRA acknowledges vendor worksite may also be utilized to perform tasks associated with the project. Vendor shall identify such tasks within their proposal.

Refer to the UPS – HCTRA Support and Maintenance Locations attachment for the list of locations.

j. Reports UPS shall allow HCTRA to execute overall battery load test and observe results.

Maintenance logs and reports must be generated bi-annually to include response in number of weak battery replacements that are provided as part of maintenance.

k. Meetings

Conduct weekly meetings with HCTRA personnel to discuss project schedule, procedural updates, or other issues affecting the services performed under the resulting contract. All meetings shall be documented and made available to HCTRA. Meetings shall be held with a vendor representative with the ability to address contractual issues that may develop.

l. Training Vendor shall define in detail training methodology to be utilized to provide training and knowledge transfer to ensure proper use of solution. At a minimum, training shall include:

i. At least three (3) training sessions,

ii. Number of HCTRA attendees allowed,

iii. Phase in which training will occur, and

iv. Where knowledge transfer will occur i.e. onsite or remote.

m. Shop Drawings

Vendor shall provide shop drawings to include but not be limited to:

i. Shop drawings must be prepared by the factory manufacturing the UPS,

ii. Provide complete electrical drawings for all components and accessories including schematics and connection diagrams. Identify all electrical characteristics and connection requirements,

iii. Dimensioned layout drawing of UPS, battery cabinet(s), battery rack dimensions, battery type, size, dimensions and weight,

iv. Assembly drawing showing front and interior views, device locations and termination points for external power and control/monitoring circuits,

v. Provide a detailed equipment outline with weight and dimensions included.

vi. Define location of conduit entry and exit, and

vii. Provide a single-line diagram indicating metering, control and external wiring requirements and heat rejection and air flow requirements.

Upon award vendor shall provide the following documents within twenty (20) business days of award:

As built UPS wiring diagrams As built UPS operations manuals UPS system maintenance manuals All test documentation

n. Product Data Vendor shall submit catalog sheets and technical data sheets indicating physical data and electrical performance, electrical characteristics and connection requirements.

B. Technical Requirements

At a minimum vendor shall provide details to include, but not be limited to:

a. Define a list of spare parts deemed necessary to ensure maximum system availability.

b. Maintenance and support services shall include but not be limited to troubleshooting, preventative and corrective maintenance.

c. Provide any stated efficiencies, input power factors and output power factors for proposed UPS in step loads of twenty-five (25) percent, fifty (50) percent, seventy-five

(75) percent and 100 percent of rated KVA loads.

d. Provide a written guarantee of all stated efficiencies.

e. List battery manufacturer, type, specific gravity of cells used and quantity of batteries used.

f. UPS shall have minimal transfer time to avoid large in-rush current. The in-rush shall not exceed the current handling capacity of the UPS to avoid a shut down.

g. Vendor shall define operating life and reliability in detail of the proposed UPS. Vendor shall define proposed UPS equipment reliability based on Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF). At a minimum, UPS must track and synchronize the inverter to the Alternating Current (AC) input, so when AC is lost, the inverter shall immediately take over the load with the slightest break in output power. The rectifier and inverter must always be online, ready to protect against transitents and provide microsecond response in the event of an AC outage.

To avoid data corruption or shut-down of connected Information Technology (IT) equipment, UPS shall be capable of handling generator output aberrations as the generator and its loads go through initial ramp-up to full operation. UPS shall ensure even if the generator experiences unstable output voltage or frequency as the generator warms up or due to other loads cycling on and off the generator, the UPS must continue to operate on the rectifier, rather than switching to battery operation.

UPS shall possess multiple power paths from utility/generator and battery sources in addition to an electronic system bypass used to bypass failed components or to synchronize the system to a mechanical bypass system to perform preventative maintenance. An automated maintenance bypass system to ensure uninterrupted transfers during UPS servicing is desired.

h. Battery health is essential for this project. Battery drain shall be at a minimum. It is preferred a multistage charging technique is offered for battery rest periods to significantly extend battery service life.

i. UPS factory testing shall be conducted at the manufacturer’s plant, prior to shipment to verify both proper operation of equipment and product conformance with specifications. Each factory test shall include, but not be limited to:

i. No load start-up of UPS,

ii. UPS input power failure,

iii. UPS static bypass transfer switch operation (including operation with simulated shorted Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR)),

iv. UPS operation with step loads of twenty-five (25) percent, fifty (50) percent, seventy-five (75) percent and 100 percent of rated KVA loads,

v. Document input power factor of UPS for each step load,

vi. Efficiency of UPS for each step load. Efficiency shall be defined as the output

KW to input KW ratio times 100, measured with batteries fully charged and charger on floater,

vii. Voltage regulation of UPS system for each step load,

viii. Frequency regulation of UPS system for each step load,

ix. Input waveform, rectifier output waveform and module output waveform for UPS (oscillograph charts),

x. Frequency rate of change of UPS when attempting to sync to utility, Factory test results shall be provided to HCTRA within seven (7) business days of request. HCTRA shall determine UPS acceptability based on testing results.

Appropriate correction(s) and adjustment(s) shall be made prior to shipment.

j. Site Testing and Final Acceptance shall be conducted on UPS to verify both proper operation of equipment and product conformance with specifications. Site tests shall be witnessed by vendor provided electrical engineer, HCTRA personnel and others HCTRA deems necessary to validate.

Site testing shall be performed by certified manufacturer representative(s) utilizing instruments provided by the manufacturer and verified for suitability by HCTRA’s electrical engineer prior to testing.

Prior to site testing UPS physical installation shall be complete and fully operational without any errors or alarms. The site test shall include but not be limited to:

i. Proper operation of all auxiliary devices and modules,

ii. All adjustments and settings required for proper operation,

iii. No load start-up of UPS,

iv. UPS input power failure at 100 percent of rated KW load,

v. UPS static bypass transfer switch operation at 100 percent of non-redundant rated KW load,

vi. Battery duration test at 100 percent of non-redundant rated KW load,

vii. Proper configuration, operation and reporting of all alarms and power readings within the manufacturer’s monitoring system,

viii. Efficiency of UPS for each step load,

ix. Voltage regulation of UPS system for each step load,

x. Frequency regulation of UPS system for each step load,

xi. Output waveform for UPS,

xii. Specific gravity readings for each individual battery cell.

Prior to written Final Acceptance being granted all appropriate corrections and adjustments shall be completed. All monitoring parameters and alarms shall be captured via monitoring software and training is completed with manuals of instruction delivered to HCTRA.

k. At a minimum UPS display panel shall display the following: Current load source (on battery or not), time left on batteries, percent battery charge, common errors and/or faults. The system shall be capable of monitoring remotely by sending syslog messages, SNMP traps, SNMP queries and/or web interface. Email alerts for different levels of notifications shall be capable of being configured.

Additional Technical Requirements The technical requirements are constructed to correlate to the Harris County Universal Services Reference Architecture (USRA) and to determine vendor’s ability to provide technical capabilities. When proposing a response to this RFP, the vendor shall address all subsections of the technical requirements for the proposed solutions and services supporting Harris County’s needs.

HCUS Reference Architecture The USRA is a compact, comprehensive, abstract illustration of the technology components and business processes supporting County operations and has been developed to provide guidance on how solutions shall deploy and operate within the County’s Technology (IT) environment. The USRA serves as a reference for the specific architectures the vendor shall implement to solve County business objectives.

The USRA is composed of six (6) interrelated domains and provides the foundation for the delivery of service to the County as illustrated in the attachment titled, Harris County Universal Services Reference Architecture (USRA).

The USRA is composed of Six (6) Interrelated Domains:

o Data Services o Digital Services o Enterprise Technology Infrastructure Services o Information Security Services o IT Service Management o Technology Optimization

HCUS Reference Architecture Checklist Questionnaire, (Q-18AQ) Vendors shall complete the questionnaire as part of vendor’s proposal response. "Complete” is defined as responding to all questions. A response is still required for non-applicable questions. The questionnaire will assist the County in understanding the scope, capabilities, technical implementation, and deployment features of the proposed solution.

Technical Requirements Domain Vendors shall respond to technical requirements pertaining to the domains of:

o Data Management o Application Management o Infrastructure Management (including Server and Network Services) o Security Management o Service Management o Program Management o Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Management

Methods of Delivery Vendor shall present the County with details on at least one (1) of the following delivery options for the proposed solution, along with any alternative delivery methods that may be available:

o Premise-based A premise-based solution; all servers shall be provided by the vendor, installed at County location(s) and maintained as part of the enterprise solution. The solution (all hardware and software) is owned by County and is often viewed as a capital expense. County will maintain controls of servers and maintain their security.

o Software as a Service (SaaS) A SaaS, an on-demand and a hosted model. In this case the vendor licenses an application that is hosted at a remote location (i.e., Network Operations Center) to customers through a subscription model, generally a monthly or yearly fee. This approach can also take into consideration a “cloud computing” model where all the technology is in the “cloud” and accessed over the Internet as a service.

o Hybrid Model

A hybrid model in which the solution (hardware/ software) is hosted at the County location and the vendor shall perform the day-to-day responsibility of managing (maintain and support) the software/hardware for the County. The managing of the solution could be either through onsite presence or remote. The vendor’s expertise and experience in this subject area is important for more efficient operations.

The County requires vendors to propose at least one (1) approach that provides an efficient solution while meeting both the County’s functional requirements and its technical standards, including the data-centric architecture approach. At all points, the County will have ownership of its data and shall be able to access or be provided the required data to support the proposed service or other services deemed necessary to access the information. If otherwise, the vendor shall state the reasons (functional and technical), as to why they cannot meet the County’s requirements.

Platform Administration/ Professional Service Vendor shall provide the County with platform administration (maintain & run). System administration and maintenance of implemented platform, as well as the addition of new software components if needed, is expected to be provided by the proposer based on the method of delivery (above) adopted.

Data Management Vendor shall provide the County with details on their approach to the following Data Management areas.

o Data Governance o Data Quality o Data Security o Data Operations

C. Installation Vendor shall define in detail installation procedure.

D. Disposal

The vendor shall dispose of all hardware, materials, equipment, and components removed that is determined by HCTRA not to be salvageable. Vendor shall not dispose of any material HCTRA has not determined and approved to be disposed of by vendor or a Harris County Disposal contract. The designated HCTRA representative will determine if items are salvageable. Any hardware, materials, equipment, and components returned by the vendor to HCTRA, and later found not to be salvageable, will be removed from its location at the time of that determination and disposed of by the vendor at no additional cost to HCTRA. Disposal and recycling of non-salvageable materials shall be considered a part of vendor responsibility.

From time to time during the contract period, HCTRA may require the vendor to properly dispose of used battery modules returned to the vendor from HCTRA. HCTRA may not have a used battery module for each new battery module purchase. Thus, HCTRA reserves the right to determine the quantity of used battery modules returned at the time delivery of new batteries is to occur. In accordance with the BidTable(s), vendor shall offer a trade-in credit for used battery modules returned during the contract term.

All returns of used battery modules shall only occur at the time of the delivery of new battery purchases in which the used battery module may or may not be the same exact size of the new battery module purchased.

For the purposes of this RFP, used battery modules shall be referred to as waste. Once the vendor has picked up the waste, HCTRA will not be responsible for any discarded waste thereafter. The vendor shall provide all supplies, equipment and materials necessary to remove and dispose of the waste. The vendor shall also comply with all laws and regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and federal, state and local government in whose jurisdiction this pickup and disposal is performed. The vendor shall be responsible for the preservation of all public and private property and shall use every precaution necessary to prevent damage thereto.

Trade-in credit shall be reflected on the invoice(s) specific to the purchase order in which the new battery module order was placed, showing the new battery module contract price, as quoted on the BidTable(s), and shall reflect the used battery module contract trade-in credit price, as quoted on the BidTable(s), with the type of used battery module returned upon delivery of new battery modules. For each new battery module order placed, the total trade-in credit amount for used battery module returns should not exceed the total cost amount of the new battery module order.

E. Equipment, Parts (Replacement/Repair), Supplies All equipment, parts and supplies furnished must be Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts from a factory authorized dealer.

F. Maintenance and Support Maintenance and support shall be twenty-four (24) hours of coverage, seven (7) days per week.

Maintenance shall include a minimum of two (2) preventative maintenance visits annually to ensure UPS, components, voltage and resistance on all batteries and replacement of parts needed to maintain UPS.

Vendor shall provide on-site response time of less than four (4) hours. Vendor shall have full-time service personnel who regularly provide similar service to the greater Houston, Texas area.

Vendor shall maintain and make available to HCTRA a maintenance log to include but not be limited to:

• Service Representative’s name

• Date of problem

• As found conditions

• Description of the problem

• Probable cause of the problem

• List of replaced, upgraded or added parts

• Set point adjustments

G. Warranty

Warranty shall include all costs for repair, parts and labor for one (1) year. Warranty shall cover any UPS module, UPS system malfunction or failure. Warranty shall be in effect no less than one (1) year after initial start-up.

Battery warranty shall be in effect, no less than five (5) years after initial start-up provided the prevailing ambient temperature of the battery area does not exceed 77 degrees F (25 degrees C). The battery shall deliver no less than eighty (80) percent of its rated capacity at the end of the warranty period.

PRICING

Brand names and model numbers that appear are for reference only. It is not the intent of Harris County to restrict these offers in such cases, but to establish a desired quality of level of merchandise or to meet a pre-established standard due to like existing items. Offerors may offer items of equal stature and the burden of proof of such stature rests with offerors. Harris County shall act as sole judge in determining equality and acceptability of products offered. After opening of offers, but prior to award recommendation, Harris County may require documentation demonstrating equal or superior quality of products offered as compared to products required.

Vendor may offer for sale additional items related to the scope of goods and/or services described above and/or listed in the BidTable(s) of this solicitation by identifying other items and/or brands not identified by Harris County in this solicitation. Though the “related items” offered may be considered during the award recommendation, and/or may be made a part of a subsequent contract, if any, with Harris County, the effect of the related items cannot be extended and totaled in determining the lowest bidder since and estimated usage is unknown. Purchases by Harris County of related items should not exceed 20% of the total annual purchases under the contract.

All equipment, parts and supply charges shall be based on a discount percentage to the Manufacturer Suggested List Price (MSLP) or list price column to the then-current manufacturer’s list price schedule (or may be referenced as the manufacturer’s catalog).

For bidding purposes, the “Estimated Quantity” column on the BidTable(s) (BT-12JP) within Bonfire represents Harris County’s historical dollar amount of purchases of equipment, parts and supplies with current manufacturer for one (1) year. Vendor must indicate in BidTable (BT-12JP) a discount percentage for manufacturer. All equipment, parts and supplies charges shall be from the then-current manufacturer’s list price schedule (manufacturer’s catalog). For example, if $10,000 is the “Estimated Quantity” (annual dollar expenditure by Harris County) and a 10% discount applies, the percentage entered would be 10% and the “Total Price” would be $9,000.

Manufacturer’s list price schedule (manufacturer’s catalog) increases realized by the vendor during the contract period may be passed on to Harris County, if, and only if, the price adjustments are reflected in the then-current price list(s) as identified above. However, the discount percentage proposed by the vendor and as awarded by the County will remain the same throughout the contract term. Copies of the revised manufacturer’s list price schedule shall be sent directly to the HCTRA representative, Purchasing representative and Harris County Auditor, Attn.: Accounts Payable, 1001 Preston Avenue, Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77002, as well as to HCTRA. Each price list shall identify the job number and title.

The rates quoted on the BidTable(s) must be all-inclusive. “All-inclusive” shall be construed as costs incorporating all charges such as labor, equipment, material, delivery and any other cost incurred. No separate line item rates or charges will be accepted.