RFI_#Y23-609-AH.pdf

Issue Date: August 3, 2023

ORANGE COUNTY FLORIDA

PROCUREMENT DIVISION

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION #Y23-609-AH

FOR

SOLID WASTE COLLECTION ROUTE MANAGEMENT AND

CUSTOMER SERVICE SOFTWARE

Copies of this Request for Information document may be obtained from Orange County by download at: https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/orangecountyfl

SUBMISSION DUE DATE:

Electronic responses will be accepted up to 4:00 PM (local time), Friday, August 18, 2023, via the electronic procurement portal referenced above.

Electronic submissions are required to be made through the OpenGov Procurement portal only at:

https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/orangecountyfl.

NOTICE TO RESPONDENTS:

Your point-of-contact for this solicitation is Alina Hernandez Fernandez, Contracts Supervisor at Alina.Hernandez@ocfl.net.

QUESTIONS:

All questions or concerns regarding this Request for Information shall be submitted by email to Alina.Hernandez@ocfl.net, no later than 5:00 PM Friday, August 11, 2023 to the attention of Alina Hernandez Fernandez, Procurement Division, referencing the RFI number.

OVERVIEW:

The Orange County Board of County Commissioners is requesting information on software solutions available in the marketplace with the capability to provide an integrated data management program for tracking on-route collection activity, cart management (placement, repair, replacement, removal, etc.), and customer service functions for the County’s solid waste and recycling collection program.

NO AWARD WILL BE MADE FROM THIS SOLICITATION.

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY.

https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/orangecountyfl mailto:Alina.Hernandez@ocfl.net mailto:Alina.Hernandez@ocfl.net

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) FOR SOLID WASTE COLLECTION ROUTE

MANAGEMENT AND CUSTOMER SERVICE SOFTWARE

PURPOSE

This Request for Information (RFI) is designed to gather information only. No cost data or confidential information shall be submitted.

BACKGROUND

Orange County (County) is the fifth largest county in Florida, and home to the metro-Orlando area.

The County operates a comprehensive solid waste and recycling collection program through its Utilities Department’s Solid Waste Division (SWD). The SWD also operates the Orange County Landfill, which includes a Class I (municipal solid waste) landfill, a Class III (non-putrescible waste) landfill, yard waste processing and other ancillary activities and two solid waste transfer stations.

The SWD is responsible for managing the contract collection of residential solid waste and recycling from approximately 240,000 residential units (principally single-family homes) in the unincorporated areas of the County. Collection services are currently provided by three contract haulers (Contract Haulers) who are assigned to five discrete service zones. Each residential unit serviced by the Contract Haulers is provided a wheeled cart for garbage and another cart for recyclable materials, which are collected as combined fiber and containers (Single Stream).

Since the program transitioned to automated collection of 96-gallon roll carts in 2016, the County has procured and managed an inventory of carts for garbage and recycling collection. County Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) receive approximately 85,000 calls per year relating to solid waste services. In 2021, approximately 45 percent of the calls related specifically to carts, an increase of 18.5 percent from 2020. The County is responsible for the acquisition of carts and coordinating warranty replacements, but the carts are deployed, repaired, replaced, and otherwise maintained by the Contract Haulers after receiving daily reports of work orders from the County.

The County’s current collection contracts will expire in December 2025. In preparation for the collection contract procurement, the County would like to understand systems that could provide integrated data management program for tracking on-route collection activity, cart management (placement, repair, replacement, removal, etc.), and customer service functions. Additionally, the County would like to understand how such a system could be integrated or populated with County parcel information and have the ability to integrate with its the existing customer service tracking application suite, Maximo.

I. CURRENT PROCESS

The County currently uses multiple software systems to support customer route and cart management services:

A. IBM Maximo

1. Locations Solid Waste Call Tracker (SWCT) – Framework used to access the citizen’s location information through the County’s geographical information system (GIS).

2. Work Order Tracking – Where customer information identified through the SWCT gets assigned a Work Order and CSR inputs pre-defined Problem Codes and service request details.

a. Daily Work Order reports are exported and sent to the appropriate Contract Hauler for actions to be taken in each collection zone.

B. Vision® – The software that the Contract Haulers use to track cart management, and in some cases, ties in to associated route collection data.

1. Each Contract Hauler has their own account through the provider, Rehrig Pacific.

2. Contract Haulers import the report exported from Maximo into Vision® to deploy their crews to complete the work orders.

3. Reports extracted from Vision® are used to reconcile/close work orders in Maximo as CSRs have time availability. This is currently a manual cross-reference, manual Work Order update process.

C. Contract Haulers currently utilize various on-board camera systems to integrate with third party software. Some Contract Haulers allow Solid Waste to view through a login, such as for service confirmation at a specific location, while others do not.

II. DESIRED PROCESS

A. SWD is seeking information about software platforms that would include all customer, collection zone, and cart inventory information populated from the master County systems.

It is anticipated that Contract Haulers and the SWD would use the system for:

• cart management (placement, repair, replace, etc.),

• route management,

• positive service verification,

• complaint tracking and resolution management.

B. SWD would like to know existing capabilities of firms to provide a system to Integrate with the County Maximo Work Order system by receiving exported Excel or .csv files that would then be dispersed and accessible by the Contract Hauler for each service zone. SWD would like to identify programs with the capably to import the following information (fields) available as received from the Maximo export file:

1. Work Order number to coincide with file received from Maximo

2. Description – details supporting the Problem (Call Type)

3. Address

4. Problem (Call Type) – designated pre-defined codes input by CSR

5. Remedy

6. Status

7. Reported Date

8. Zone

9. Subdivision

10. Commission District

11. Location

12. Asset

C. Provide workflow tracking for SWD through access to live and historical route GPS and camera visuals.

D. Provide updates to Work Orders through Excel or .csv files to integrate with the County Maximo system for more automated work order closure. Solid Waste would like the following information reported back daily for updating the Maximo Work Order in Excel or .csv format:

1. Work Order number

2. Service Address

3. Request Type

4. Work Order Description

5. Request Date

6. Due Date (to be determined by Request Type and contract response time requirements)

7. Work Order Age

8. Completion Date

9. Resolution Code

10. Resolution Comments

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

RESPONSE FORM AND MARKET/PRODUCT QUESTIONNAIRE

RESPONSE FORM

THE FOLLOWING SECTION MUST BE COMPLETED BY ALL RESPONDENTS:

Company Name:

(Street No. or P.O. Box Number) (Street Name) (City)

(County) (State) (Zip Code)

Contact Person:

Phone Number:

Email Address:

[REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

MARKET/PRODUCT QUESTIONNAIRE

A. POINT OF SERVICE VERIFICATION AND GPS:

Are there any successful point of service verification systems or GPS Systems that are used in the solid waste hauling and recycling industry to assure service is provided to all residential units on a route?

Provide a list of known manufacturers or products used in this market, if available, provide the following information.

a) How does this system verify that all routes have been completely serviced (i.e., how does system verify each street on a route has been driven down by collection trucks using right-hand collection)?

b) How does this system notify the hauler and the County if a route is not completed?

c) How is real-time tracking of collection performance compiled and displayed in these systems?

d) How is the real-time GPS displayed in these systems?

e) How often do these systems ping location data from each truck? (For example, more frequent directional arrows along the trucks path is preferred to infrequent arrows)

f) How many trucks can be searched within these systems when an address is queried?

g) Do these systems allow speed in miles-per-hour to be displayed periodically as the truck moves?

h) Can these systems generate alerts when a collection is missed including incomplete routes and missed addresses?

i) Will these systems allow staff to pull a report of a specific set of data, for example, the ability to generate a report all missed streets in the past year? The goal would be to identify most commonly missed areas or other service trends to enhance customer service.

j) In addition to providing real-time tracking of truck locations, does the system offer a playback feature that allows users to review the route taken during a specific time frame? Additionally, is there an option to adjust the playback speed for route replay? When using these systems, who generally has the ability to shut down or disconnect tracker and cameras, and can this be modified? (For example, currently experiencing an issue where cameras are shut off during the route)

k) Generally, how long does GPS/tracking data stay accessible? Is a minimum of 90 days a reasonable amount of time to store GPS data, photos, videos, etc.? If not, what is considered reasonable?

1. Are there system capabilities to enhance safety and security?

a) How do these systems offer system safety and security assurances and how are they achieved?

b) Can speeding be flagged? Truck maintenance alerts (e.g., low fluids or fluid spills)? Veering off route?

c) How is data secured, where is it stored, and who has access?

d) How is data protected from loss?

B. CAMERAS:

1. Contract Haulers currently utilize various on-board camera systems to integrate with on-route service information.

Provide a list of known manufacturers or products used in this market, if available, provide the following information.

a) Do these systems include a camera or cameras for each truck and/or the ability to integrate with a third party’s cameras or camera software?

b) Can the cameras take photos of the front, back up view, hopper and property (at least four angles)? Can they video materials tipped into the hopper?

c) Are the cameras portable or hardwired into each truck? How long does it take to hardwire the cameras and is there a way to quickly get camera functionality the morning a rental truck is used for example? If the cameras are portable, do they need to be charged? What is involved in camera maintenance?

d) How are photos accessed by users?

e) Can photos and/or video be downloaded Along with GeoTagging detailed information on each photo/video (e.g., day/time, truck number, and location).

f) Can cameras take clear photos in both low light and bright lights as collection can run between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.?

2. Is there an opportunity for Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities or integration?

a) Can cameras or other technology use AI to identify recycling contamination? Or how can the system support recycling contamination reduction efforts, for example, generate a heat map that identifies areas with heavy contamination?

b) If the hauler was provided with a list of carts to skip collection for, would it be possible update the hauler route to signify which addresses to not service carts?

c) If recycle carts are removed from addresses, can the system be used to differentiate for the driver between carts with and without recycle service? Could a notification be generated if an address that is labeled "non-recycling" is using a recycle cart that's getting tipped?

d) Do systems possess or have the ability to integrate with artificial intelligence applications to assess repeated complaints and determine causes of repeated problems? Could AI recognize through cameras things like obstructions to collection in the area – for example, parked cars blocking carts, mailboxes, etc.

C. COMPLAINT TRACKING:

1. Are there systems with the capability for complaint initiation, communication, tracking, and resolution? Can complaints be uploaded into the driver schedules, so they are not working from paper?

2. Are there compliant tracking systems that successfully integrate with IBM Maximo's Application Programming Interface (API)?

D. RFID:

1. How can RFID technology, which is already embedded in the carts, be utilized? Are the

RFID scanners mobile and easy to move from truck to truck?

2. Can the data collected, RFID, cameras, and GPS be used by the County to verify service?

What are options to verify collection arm actuation and cart collection?

3. Using RFID tip data, could the number of services of garbage and recycle carts be calculated?

E. CART MANAGEMENT:

1. How can software be used to help haulers manage and upkeep cart inventory? Can these systems integrate with County's IBM Maximo platform to streamline the process? (For example, when the cart management team removes a cart, it would update Maximo with the new cart information)

2. Do these systems have features to monitor safe lift use?

F. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND USER-FRIENDLINESS:

For all of the above product/service information, if available, provide the following:

1. Is training provided for supervisors/hauler drivers for routing software/hardware?

2. What are the technical system requirements?

(Attach any technical specifications or system requirements if available)

3. Is customer service generally available to both the hauler and County staff? County staff does not want to rely on the hauler to get help if there are technical issues.

4. Are these systems successfully being used for large fleets with at least 50 trucks? If so, share city/state/agency.

5. Detail any connection/integration capabilities of the system.

G. GENERAL REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

1. Detail any technology solutions being utilized in the residential solid waste and recycling hauling industry to achieve new innovations, efficiencies or new efficacies in providing public services and coordination between local agencies and residential waste haulers.

2. Attach any relevant specification data, market data or informational data relevant to this request.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION #Y23-609-AH