WISCONSIN DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION

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State of Wisconsin

Department of Transportation (DOT)

Request for Information (RFI) # 033117MA

RWIS Data Management and Display System

Issue Date: March 31, 2017

Responses Due: April 27, 2017 2:00 PM CDT

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for information and planning purposes, and does not constitute a solicitation. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Responses to this RFI are not an offer and cannot be accepted by the State to form a binding contract. The State of Wisconsin is not liable for any cost incurred by the vendor in response to this RFI.

Communications concerning this RFI may be directed to

Melissa Viken

Wisconsin Department of Transportation Purchasing

E-mail: melissa.viken@dot.wi.gov mailto:melissa.viken@dot.wi.gov

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Table of Contents Table of Contents

Terms and Definitions

Purpose of the Request for Information

Background and Current Operation

Vendor Response

Submitting a Response

Terms and Definitions DOT - Wisconsin Department of Transportation

DMS - Dynamic Message Sign

ESS - Environmental Sensor Station

NWS - National Weather Service

RDMDS - RWIS Data Management and Display System

RFI - Request for Information

RFP - Request for Proposals

RPU - Remote Processing Unit

RWIS - Road Weather Information System

State - State of Wisconsin

WisDOT - Wisconsin Department of Transportation

Purpose of the Request for Information The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is exploring options to replace its current in-house remote processor unit (RPU) polling with a vendor-hosted system. The vendor would be responsible for polling all RPUs at an interval specified by WisDOT, processing and storage of data, and providing a web interface for data viewing and retrieval.

The purpose of this RFI is to gather information about solutions that will meet business needs and review a wide range of options. The knowledge of these options will aid in the development and deployment of an RWIS Data Management and Display System (RDMDS). Responses to this RFI will be reviewed and may be used to develop a RFP to acquire a product and/or service that meets business needs and requirements. Selection for those services is not contingent on responding to this RFI.

Recognizing that this is a broad topic, responders are encouraged to provide as much or as little comment or information on any of these items as well as other aspects of an RDMDS that may be relevant to Wisconsin. This RFI is for informational purposes only. It does not substitute a procurement process, nor will it result in a contractual relationship of any kind

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Background and Current Operation

The Wisconsin Road Weather Information System (RWIS) is a system that collects road and weather condition information for the benefit of maintenance crews and traffic operations managers throughout the state. The system is capable of collecting wind speed, air temperature, pavement temperature, ground temperature, precipitation, and chemical content on the pavement. County road maintenance crews monitor weather and road conditions information and use this data to help maintain the road more efficiently and economically by reducing materials and servicing the road in a timely manner. Traffic operations managers use the data to aid in decision-making to ensure the smooth flow of traffic throughout the state.

Polling for Vaisala sites is performed by a WisDOT-owned server in Madison. Data is then sent to a separate Vaisala server in St. Louis, MO for processing and dissemination. Polling of Lufft USA sites is performed by a Lufft USA server.

The Wisconsin RWIS is used by State, County, and Municipal personnel to monitor weather and pavement conditions. Data is gathered continuously at each RPU location. Data from Vaisala sites is downloaded via telephone modem (generally 56 Kb) to the server. Data from Lufft USA sites is downloaded via wireless modem. These downloads occur at predetermined intervals when the server polls its RPUs. Currently, this interval is 20 minutes during the winter months (October 1 through April 30) and every 4 (four) hours during the summer months (May 1 through September 30), but this is subject to change. WisDOT is currently exploring potential upgrades to communications practices through internal means.

In Wisconsin, the State maintains a unique relationship with the county highway departments. Under this arrangement, the 72 county highway departments are responsible for performing all maintenance activities on the state highway system. This, of course, means that they perform all winter maintenance activities on the system. Unlike many agencies, there is no wide area network connecting the road maintainers with higher levels within the organization. The counties are essentially 72 independent contractors performing maintenance activities. Thus, the upgrade to the RWIS must be performed with the county highway departments in mind. One single web site must be able to display data from any systems procured under this contract.

WisDOT utilizes the following brands of RWIS equipment: SSI/Vaisala (51) and Lufft (17). All except one (LX) SSI/Vaisala RPUs are older ESP-RPUs. All Lufft RPUs are LCOM.

The array of sensor includes but is not limited to the following:

Wind Speed and Direction: RM Young, Lufft WS-500 and WS-600 Ultrasonic wind sensors.

Precipitation Sensors: Vaisala Hawkeye, OWI, and WIVIS and Lufft R2S precipitation sensors.

Air and Humidity Sensors: Thiess and Lufft WS-500

Vendor Response Response in General

Please respond to the following sections.

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Company Information

1. Please provide complete information about your company or organization. Include, but do not limit your information to such topics that include how long you have been in business, the rate of growth and how your organization’s growth is managed, the experience and turnover rate of your operational staff, information on your parent company (if such exists), and how many mergers/acquisitions your company has been involved in.

2. Briefly summarize the scope of relevant products and services that your company provides.

3. Provide contact name(s) and information for questions Wisconsin DOT may have regarding your company’s response to this RFI.

Product Information Please include in your response how your solution addresses the requirements; and be specific, giving sufficient detail to explain the capabilities of your solution. If your response speaks to a subset of our requirements, please also indicate how your product could integrate with other systems or make use of another product to form a complete solution. If you have other information you would like to share that pertains to your proposed solution that was not mentioned in this document, feel free to provide it in your response. When describing how your solution meets the requirements, please include the information below.

1 General

1.1 Please provide complete information in your response that describes your product or service in sufficient detail.

1.2 Please provide a list of potential problems and risks that DOT may encounter if it adopts your solution. Provide suggestions of how problems and risks would be mitigated. Describe the standard warranty and post implementation support provided for your solution including how you provide support.

2 Functional Requirements

2.1 RWIS Data Management and Display System

2.1.1 How does your System communicate to ESS units?

2.1.2 Is your system capable of communicating with older ESS-RPUs without significant development costs? These units are slated for replacement under a separate contract within 3 years.

2.1.3 Can you provide a free website for viewing by users statewide under a potential contract? In other words, WisDOT would be looking for a website developed and maintained (at cost to WisDOT) by the contractor with no additional fees to be paid on a per-user basis.

2.1.4 Can you poll all existing types of RPUs used in Wisconsin?

2.1.5 Do you use MADIS quality-control checks in your data displays?

2.1.6 Are you capable of integrating NWS METAR data into any map displays?

2.1.7 What mapping product(s) does your website use?

2.1.8 Do you generate performance measures from your System data?

2.1.9 How do you identify sensor/site outages and other issues on the network?

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2.1.10 Are you able to work with WisDOT’s current maintenance contractor (The Hoosier Company) to coordinate repairs?

3 Business Models

3.1 How does your company prefer to establish contracts with clients? How have you evolved to meet the needs of your customers?

3.2 Do you require clients to enter into any software or server licensing agreements?

4 Implementation

4.1 How long did it take (or does it typically take) to implement a new RWIS Data Management System and website?

4.2 How often do you plan for system upgrades? Please describe how you implement system changes in a broader sense (e.g. bug fixing), including the key points to minimize risks and system outage.

4.3 Where have you implemented your system? Can you share the cost model and timeline?

5 Architecture / Hardware

5.1 What security measures are in place to prevent intrusion or data breaches?

5.2 Describe your System’s Application Programming Interface (API.)

5.3 Where are the servers typically located and who manages them?

5.4 Considering the information contained in this RFI, what are the recommended hardware requirements to run your solution for a State like Wisconsin?

6 System Costs

6.1 Describe the pricing model for your solution, including implementation, service, and on-going maintenance and support.

6.2 How many staff person hours are required to maintain the System on an annual basis?

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COMPANY/ORGANIZATION NAME

Name the person to contact for questions concerning this proposal.

Name Title

Phone ( ) Toll Free Phone ( )

FAX ( ) Email Address

Address

City State Zip + 4

DESIGNATION OF CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

List below any of the sections of the response deemed to be confidential or proprietary.

Section # Page # Topic

Submitting a Response Submit one (1) hard copy and one (1) electronic PDF version (on CD, DVD, or USB flash drive) to:

U.S. Mail: UPS, Fed Ex, etc.:

Purchasing Purchasing WI Department of Transportation WI Department of Transportation 4802 Sheboygan Ave., Room 751 4802 Sheboygan Ave., Room 751 PO Box 7396 Madison, WI 53705 Madison, WI 53707-7396

Please include the RFI number on your response (033117MA).

All responses are due by 2:00 PM CDT April 27, 2017.