ITPR0003501_MathCAD_Single_Single_Source_Justification.docx
DOCX document 183 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Agency Administered OH|CTR034554
- Contract number
- CTR034554
- Issued by
- Ohio
About this file
This document is a Single Source Justification form from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), specifically the Office of Structural Engineering, documenting a procurement request for PTC Mathcad Professional software licenses. The document involves PTC as the sole supplier, with Dane Parks, a Transportation Engineer 4, serving as the primary contact for the procurement.
The procurement involves three floating software licenses for Mathcad Professional, priced at $7,496.16, with a service period from 10/17/2025 to 10/16/2026. The justification highlights that while alternative software like SMath, Jupyter Notebooks, and Matlab exist, they cannot fully replicate Mathcad's capabilities, particularly in supporting legacy calculations. The document notes that ODOT has used Mathcad for over 15 years, and many engineers are familiar with the software. The Office of Structural Engineering acknowledges potential future plans to investigate transitioning away from Mathcad but currently determines that continuing the license is more cost-effective than risking operational disruptions.
View the file
Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| ITPR0003501_Q-2548493_Attachment_1_PTC_Signed_10.25.25.pdf |
On GovTribe
Work with this file
- Download the original file
- Contacts named in this file
- Similar government files
- Ask GovTribe AI about this file
Text version
July 28, 2025
To whom it may concern, The Office of Structural Engineering requests the single source purchase of 3 PTC Mathcad Professional – Floating Licenses. For Structural Analysis and design calculation tasks that require documentation.
Supplier Name: PTC.
OAKS Vendor ID:
Total Cost: $7496.16 Dates of Service (if applicable): 10/17/2025 – 10/16/2026
1. Efforts to Identify Other Responsive and Responsible Suppliers:
Free competitors SMath and Jupyter Notebooks are available and perform many of the same functions, but offer no product support and are unable to load legacy calculations performed in MathCAD. Matlab doesn’t produce as good of outputs, and is more intended for programming functions vs. calculations similar to Jupyter.
2. Determination of [Single/Sole] Source Status:
Because of legacy ODOT policy and vendor lock-in, many calculations can only be read or verified if you pay for the license. In addition to this, many engineers learned Mathcad in school and still request access to Mathcad in order to utilize their previous calculations.
3. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination:
Over the past 4 years the cost has gone up about 7% each year.
4. ODOT’s History with the Supplier:
Office of Structural Engineering has had positive experience using the Mathcad software for over 15 years.
5. Other Supporting Facts:
It’s very likely the districts still have design processes that heavily rely on using Mathcad files. If that is the case, we’d need to be able to open and support those. Due to the cost and frequency of use, OSE will potentially be investigating a training program to transition users away from this software over the course of the next year, but at this time, we don’t think we can just pull support of it and any potential disruptions would cost more than the cost to renew at this time.
If you have any questions regarding this justification or require additional information, please contact:
Purchaser Name: Dane Parks Title: Transportation Engineer 4 Email: dane.parks@dot.ohio.gov Phone: 614-387-5163 image1.png image2.jpg
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .