RFP 76C-18 Radio Frequency Identification System for Asset Management.docx

MASSACHUSETTS BAY

TRANSPORTATION

AUTHORITY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

COMMBUYS BID #

BD-19-1206-MBTA-MBTA-30223

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Procurement & Logistics Department 10 Park Plaza, Suite 2810 Boston, MA 02116 Attn: Bidder/s Request For Proposal (RFP) # 76C-18 RFP Description: RFID System for Asset Management

Dear Madam/Sir, The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA” or “Authority”) a corporate and a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, existing pursuit to Mass. Gen. Laws, ch 161A (as amended) invites Bidders to participate in the competitive bid 76C-18. The Scope of Work is outlined below in Section 1. 1 The MBTA may at its own discretion award contract(s) to one or multiple bidders. All formal communication with the MBTA during the bidding period shall be only through the designated point of contact.

The MBTA’s point of contact for this solicitation will be:

Ray Wise Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 10 Park Plaza, Room 2810 Boston, MA 02116 Email:

The RFP shall be launched through COMMBUYS and proposals must be submitted electronically no later than August 21, 2018, in full compliance with this RFP including but not limited to Section 3, Bidders Instructions and Procurement Process. This RFP shall remain in force until the execution of the Contract, or until modified or cancelled by the MBTA.

Respectfully, Ray Wise Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

RF #76C-18 | COMMBUYS Bid #BD-19-1206-MBTA-MBTA-30223

INTRODUCTION

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA” or ”Authority”) seeks proposals for Development of a Radio Frequency Identification System and integrated best-practice Asset Management for rail vehicle maintenance..

SCOPE OF WORK

Bid Purpose and Description

This RFP seeks bids from interested parties to assist the MBTA in developing a Radio Frequency Identification System and best-practice business model for Asset Management of our heavy rail and light rail vehicle maintenance. The MBTA is looking to team with a vendor that has past experience implementing a similar system on Passenger Transit Systems in North America and can assist the MBTA with the implementation and development of our RFID System and also experience in using RFID Systems to enhance their customer’s maintenance practices.

With the upcoming delivery of the Authority’s new #14 Orange Line Car (Dec 2018 - 2021) and #4 Red Line Car (Nov 2019-2023) Fleets, the MBTA is exploring options to re-evaluate its maintenance strategy paradigm to optimize the reliability, and availability of the new heavy rail vehicles and its existing heavy and light rail vehicles. This is part of the MBTA’s ongoing fleet planning initiatives to increase the efficiency of its maintenance operations to achieve a better overall quality service for its customers.

The MBTA currently schedules, tracks and documents the maintenance of its Heavy Rail and Light Rail Fleets and the tracking of the fleet components through manual entry into its legacy maintenance software tracking tool. This manual entry is labor intensive, time consuming and susceptible to error. The MBTA seeks an automated and partially automated RFID System to stream line this process to track and predict our vehicle maintenance and track the assets used on the vehicles.

To that end, the MBTA is seeking a company to develop and implement an RFID System and Tracking Software that will be utilized and integrated into our maintenance practices. This implementation includes the deployment of hand held devices for shop operations and deployment of yard installations to automatically read vehicle assets. As part of the deployment the bidder must supply software that tracks the components and their locations both on the vehicle and in the repair shops and can be used to optimize our vehicle maintenance practices.

It’s important to note, the MBTA currently has legacy maintenance software (MCRS2 developed by Trapeze Software) that the provider of the RFID System must interface into. The current maintenance system is used to generate several reports utilized by different departments throughout the MBTA. Therefore, a critical feature of the bidder’s RFID software must be able to interface with this system to provide and read data using industry standard open source formats. The bidder’s software must be customizable to provide the MBTA reports on maintenance and part usage to assist the MBTA in its ongoing fleet planning initiatives to increase the efficiency of its maintenance operations to achieve a better overall quality service for its customers.

Business Specification and Background The MBTA Rapid Transit Fleet currently consists of 432 Heavy Rail Vehicles on three lines (Blue, Orange and Red) and 210 Light Rail Vehicles on the Green Line. The MBTA is in the process of replacing the Red and Orange Line Fleets with 404 new vehicles by 2023 and adding 24 new Light Rail Vehicles to expand the Green Line Service.

Each Line has its own Maintenance Facility (Car House) and Storage Yard with the Green Line having two main Maintenance Facilities and Storage Yards. The Car House typically performs periodic maintenance and inspections on the fleets and repairs on the vehicles. The MBTA also has a Main Repair Facility where all overhauls are performed and also uses outside vendors to provide overhaul services.

The MBTA is upgrading its maintenance practices and Asset Management by implementing Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) approach. This approach is basically to schedule and track the overhauls of vehicle components on a periodic time basis. For this program to be successful the location and state of each asset used on the vehicle must be known and tracked and the shipment and overhaul of the asset must be tracked.

The MBTA currently schedules, tracks and documents the maintenance of its Heavy Rail and Light Rail Fleets and the tracking of the fleet components (assets) through manual entry into its legacy maintenance software tracking tool (Trapeze EAM Software). This manual entry is labor intensive, time consuming and susceptible to error. The MBTA seeks to stream line this process by implementing an RFID System to track and predict vehicle maintenance and the assets used on each vehicle.

To that end, the MBTA is seeking a company to partner with to develop and implement an RFID System, including RFID Tags, Readers, and Software that will be integrated into our existing maintenance practices to enhance our maintenance practices and asset management. The bidder and their subcontractors must have experience in developing RFID Solutions on the Passenger Transit Systems in North America and also experience in using this RFID System to enhance their customer’s maintenance practices.

The RFID Solution will include deployment at five Car Houses and Yards and the Everett Main Repair Facility. It is envisioned that the system will require the deployment of hand held devices for shop operations and Everett Main Repair Facility and deployment of yard installations to read the assets associated with each vehicle. As part of the deployment the bidder must supply software that tracks the components and their locations both on the vehicle and in the repair shops.

Deliverables and Bid Scope of Work The MBTA envisions the development of this RFID System to take place in three phases with each phase being tested for it completeness and acceptance. The development in each phase will be based on the MBTA’s vision and the vendor’s past experience in deploying similar RFID Systems on their Passenger Transit System Projects to enhance their customer’s maintenance practices.

The first phase in the development is to track the shipment of components from the Car House to the Everett Main Repair Facility and back to the Car House. This will support the Blue Line, with between 20 and 30 asset tags per vehicle. This phase shall include the initial set up of the system, selection of RFID tags, data to be stored on the tags, the programming of the RFID tags, the readers for reading the tags, and the software for tracking the assets. This phase shall include the training of MBTA Staff to perform these tasks and evaluation of the vendor’s software.

The Second phase is installation of an Antenna Array in the yards that will read the Assets installed on each vehicle as the car leaves or enters the yard from the Main Line. This phase shall include the installation of the Antenna Array in the yard and the ability to read all the assets assigned to a certain vehicle. As part of this phase the Vendor shall demonstrate the ability to read the vehicle mileage recorded by the MBTA’s Legacy Maintenance System and associate this mileage to the proper assets assigned to the vehicle. The Vendor’s Software shall also demonstrate the ability to send data to the MBTA’s Legacy Maintenance System.

It is important to note that starting in July 2018, the Wellington (Orange Line) Yard will be undergoing a major rebuild. This involves upgrading the track bed, track, switches, signaling, power, and adding new network and wireless access to the yard. A similar project at the Cabot (Red Line) Yard is begin shortly after the Orange Line work. This makes it imperative that the Antenna Array location and power requirements need to be in defined before this project commences so the contractor can implement these requirements.

The final phase is the overall integration of the vendor’s system into the MBTA Maintenance Practices. This includes the development of reports for the MBTA on our Assets, their location, and mileage associated with the assets. The vendor experience in developing RFID Solutions for their past customer maintenance practices will be integrated at this time to optimize and enhance the MBTA’s maintenance practices as well.

When complete, the MBTA expects to install approximately 26,000 tags. The location of most assets will be on stainless steel, aluminum or metal fixtures depending on the equipment.

The following sections provide details on the system requirements.

Vendor Experience and Approach The vendor shall have experience developing RFID Solutions for the Passenger Transit Systems in North America and enhancing their customer’s maintenance practices, either alone or with the engagement of subcontractors(s). The vendor will either adhere to the MBTA’s proposed three phase approach or recommend another meothod of implementation with a justification as to why that approach would benefit the MBTA.

RFID Tags The MBTA is looking for passive RFID Tags and/or Active RFID Tags they can be placed on the MBTA Vehicle components. The vendor shall provide the physical dimensions of the Tags, the memory size of the tags, whether the Tag is Passive or Active, if they are using a Parent-Child relationship between tags.

Since the tags will be mounted on the train components which operate in a harsh environment due to mechanical vibration, contaminates such a dust and track grease and environmental conditions due to weather and temperature a description of how the tags intend to be mounted on the train needs to be included.

The MBTA plans on using these tags on its entire rapid transit fleet therefore the bidder must propose a mitigation plan for the MBTA if the manufacturer were to obsolete the tags being proposed. This mitigation plan shall include how to transfer data, ensure that tags can be used on vendor’s system and support from the vendor RFID Tag Proposed Information The RFID Tags shall include information about the Asset including, at a minimum, the Manufacturer and Serial Number. The MBTA would also like to include additional information on the that would allow access to overhaul and repair dates either through the tag itself or through associated software.

RFID Programming The plan is for the MBTA to be able to program and affix the tags to the Vehicle Assets at the Car House, Everett Main Repair Facility or to have the manufacture of our new vehicles perform this action. Since most components on the existing vehicles and the new vehicles being purchased have manufacturer’s bar codes the MBTA would like to leverage this information and have the RFID Tag Programming tool read this information and program it on the RFID Tag.

The MBTA requires the ability to record the overhaul dates on assets and the repair dates on assets. Therefore, the MBTA requires the ability for the RFID Tags to be updated with this information or for this information to be stored and updated on the Vendor’s Software.

RFID Readers The MBTA will require 15 hand held readers for shop operations and 5 fixed Antenna Arrays in the storage yards to read the assets associated with each vehicle.

The hand held reader must be able to read and transmit data to the RFID Tag. The screen of the hand held reader must be configurable by the MBTA. As the MBTA maintenance practices change the data fields displayed on the hand held device will change and the MBTA needs the ability to update the data fields that will be displayed.

The installation and tuning of the five fixed arrays will be the responsibility of the vendor. The antenna array must be able to read assets mounted on each side of the car, the top of the vehicle and the underneath of the vehicle.

These Antenna Arrays must be able to operate in the Boston seasonal weather conditions including snow and temperature extremes.

The location of the arrays will be placed in the yard at a point where the trains exit and enter the yard. The exact location of the array will be based upon the vendors past experience but subject to approval by the MBTA. The MBTA must maintain the clearance envelop of the train and will work with the vendor on the location. The MBTA shall provide drawings of each vehicle show the overall height of the vehicles.

Software Platform The MBTA requires a RFID Software solution that will track and provide maintenance information on our Vehicle Assets. This software platform needs to be configurable to meet the MBTA maintenance needs by providing reports on our maintenance and part usage to assist the MBTA in its ongoing fleet planning initiatives to increase the efficiency of its maintenance operations to achieve a better overall quality service for its customers.

a. The software shall have the ability to allow the user to look at a certain fleet, such as the Orange Line, and provide reports on that fleet.

b. The software needs to be able to resolve conflicts when duplicate records are generated due to erroneous data entry and to report on missing tags on our vehicles.

c. The software shall have the ability to allow the user to look at certain assets and provide reports on those assets such as location, usage and repair state.

d. As the MBTA needs change the software needs the ability to be customizable to add new fields to parts or information about that part.

e. The software can be cloud based or housed locally at the MBTA.

f. The software is required to generate reports and information based on our assets and their usage.

g. The software shall have the ability to generate these reports on a scheduled basis such as weekly or monthly.

h. The MBTA requires the ability to add our maintenance cycles to the software so that the software will alert the Maintenance Staff when assets are due for maintenance.

i. The software is required to have the ability to send email and text alerts to certain identified users and to allow the MBTA to update these individuals who will receive these alerts and texts.

j. The software is required to be able to export reports to Excel or a pdf format on information such as part serial number, manufacturer, vehicle part is associated with, and location such as vehicle, car house, or Everett Main Repair Facility.

MBTA Legacy System Interface The current legacy MBTA maintenance software (Trapeze EAM Software, Version 17.0.3) is used to generate multiple reports utilized by different departments throughout the MBTA. Therefore, a critical feature of the bidder’s RFID software is that it must be able to interface with this legacy software to provide and read data.

a. The bidder’s software must have an industry standard open-source solution to provide data to the MBTA Legacy System and to read data from the MBTA Legacy System.

b. The vendor software needs the ability to read data from the MBTA Legacy System such as the vehicle mileage on a daily basis and associate this vehicle mileage with the assets that are associated with the vehicle.

c. The vendor software shall have the ability to write data to the MBTA Legacy System such as Part Number and the Vehicle or location of the part.

d. This ability to write and read data is a key acceptance of the vendor’s Software Solution and needs to be demonstrated for the acceptance of the system. The MBTA Information Technology Staff must approve all integration and data transfer methods and plans.

Software Licensing and Support

a. The MBTA will need to understand and approve the platform or application your software is built upon, including the database, and any additional requirements or cost to the MBTA to purchase or use this platform, application or database so your software will run.

b. The MBTA will consider cloud based and on premise solutions.

c. The software should be available 24/7, 365 days a year with minimal downtime due to maintenance. If routine maintenance is required to the software then the software should have a solution in place that will not impact the MBTA maintenance activities.

d. Should for whatever reason the software goes offline or the network is down the software solution shall have protocols in place to update the software with MBTA maintenance activities once the software comes back online.

Network Interface The MBTA can provide network, wireless and power interfaces to the vendor’s antenna array and hand held devices. The bidder shall include power requirements and network connection at the Antenna Array and if the hand held devices describe if they require a wireless connection at their usage point to access their software.

Since the network and wireless networks are under the control of the MBTA’s Information Technology Department the vendor must submit their connection design and requirements as part of their submittal for approval by the MBTA IT Department.

Project Timeline The MBTA would like to complete a phase 1 implementation in six months, including successful demonstration of RFID capabilities and full integration of software. Assuming a successful phase 1, the MBTA would like to complete the balance of the project within 24 months of contract exectution.

Expected Contract Duration The MBTA expects to enter into a five-year contract with two one-year options to extend.

BIDDERS INSTRUCTIONS AND PROCUREMENT PROCESS

Bid Conferences The MBTA will hold one telephonic Bidders’ Conference on August 16, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Communications information is provided in the RFP Calendar in Section 3.3. The MBTA reserves the right to hold additional Bidders’ conferences with all Bidders at any time prior to the Response Date. If applicable, the MBTA will provide written notice of additional Bidders’ conference via COMMBUYS.

Each Bidder, by submittal of its Response, acknowledges the opportunity to attend any Bidders’ conference, if held, was offered to all Bidders, and waives any right to challenge this procurement based on its attendance at, or failure to attend, a Bidders’ conference.

Each Bidder is encouraged to attend Bidders’ conferences with appropriate members of its proposed staff, and if requested by the MBTA, senior representatives of proposed team members identified by the MBTA.

Nothing stated at any Bidders’ conference or included in a written record or summary of a Bidders conference will modify this RFP or any other part of the RFP unless it is incorporated in an addendum issued pursuant to Section 3.7.

Procurement Method This RFP is issued pursuant to the following laws and regulations:

a) 801 CMR 21.00.

Bidder shall be responsible for making itself fully aware of, complying with, and in its Response addressing the impact of and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

This RFP will be launched and managed via COMMBUYS. Instructions for log-in and use of COMMBUYS are described in http://www.mass.gov/anf/docs/osd/forms/instructions-for-vendors-responding-to-bids.docx.

Bidders may also contact the COMMBUYS Helpdesk at COMMBUYS@state.ma.us or the COMMBUYS Helpline at 1-888-MA-STATE. The Helpline is staffed from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (Eastern Time), except on federal, state, and Suffolk county holidays.

It is the responsibility of Bidders to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s Designated Representative and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the MBTA, including responses to Bidder questions. The MBTA and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a Bidder’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with Bidder’s computer, network, or internet service provider (“ISP”) cause email communications sent to or from Bidder and the MBTA to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

Bidder shall review and study all documents thoroughly and report any discrepancies, omissions, technical queries, or other clarifications via COMMBUYS.

Questions and clarification requests submitted by Bidder will, together with MBTA’s response be made available to all Bidders via COMMBUYS.

MBTA’s Designated Representative Unless specifically stated otherwise in this ITB, Bidder must submit changes to Bidder’s designated representative (as per Section 3.6) and any other communications in writing to the MBTA’s Designated Representative via COMMBUYS. The MBTA’s Designated Representative is Ray Wise rwise@mbta.com .

0. Identification of Bidder Designated Representative When submitting a Bid, the Bidder’s Designated Representative to act on behalf of the Bidder relating to this procurement is the individual identified in COMMBUYS.

RFP Calendar and Delivery Instructions Bidder is required to prepare and submit to MBTA electronically via COMMBUYS all required documents listed in Section B – Response Forms.

The MBTA anticipates carrying out the procurement process in accordance with the schedule noted in Table 2-1. All times are local Boston, Massachusetts, USA, times unless otherwise indicated. The schedule is subject to modification at the sole discretion of the MBTA. Bidders will be notified of any change by an addendum to this RFP.

RFP CALENDAR

Examination of RFP Each Bidder shall be solely responsible for examining, with appropriate care and diligence, the RFP, including RIDs and any addenda and material made available to Bidders by the MBTA, and for informing itself with respect to any and all conditions that may in any way affect the amount or nature of its Response, or the performance of the Contractor’s obligations under the Contract with the MBTA. Failure of the Bidder to so examine and inform itself shall be at its sole risk, and the MBTA will provide no relief for any error or omission.

The submission of a Response shall be considered prima facie evidence that the Bidder has made the above-described examination and is satisfied as to the conditions to be encountered in performing the Work and as to the requirements of the Contract.

Rules of Contact Starting on the date the RFP is issued and ending on the earliest of (a) the award and execution of the Contract, (b) rejection of all Responses by the MBTA, or (c) cancellation of the procurement, the following rules of contact shall apply. These rules are designed to promote a fair and unbiased procurement process. Contact includes face-to-face, telephone, email, or formal written communication.

The specific rules of contact are as follows:

i. No Bidder, or any of its team members, may communicate with another Bidder or its team members with regard to this RFP or either team’s Response, except that subcontractors that are shared between two or more Bidder teams may communicate with their respective team members so long as those Bidders establish a protocol to ensure that the subcontractor will not act as a conduit of information between the teams. This prohibition does not apply to public discussions regarding the RFP at any MBTA sponsored Bidders’ conferences.

ii. No Bidder or representative thereof shall have any ex parte communications regarding the RFP, the Contract, or the procurement described herein with any member of the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board (“FMCB”), the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (“MassDOT”) Board of Directors, or with any MassDOT or MBTA staff, advisors, contractors, or consultants involved with the procurement, except for communications expressly permitted by the RFP or except as approved in advance at the MBTA’s Designated Representative’s sole discretion. The foregoing restriction shall not, however, preclude or restrict communications with regard to matters unrelated to the RFP, Contract, or procurement or from participation in public meetings of the MBTA FMCB or MassDOT Board of Directors or any public or Bidder workshop related to this RFP.

iii. Any communications determined by the MBTA, in its sole discretion, to be improper may result in disqualification.

iv. Any official information regarding this RFP will be disseminated from the MBTA’s Designated Representative via COMMBUYS.

v. The MBTA will not be responsible for any oral exchange or any other information or exchange that occurs outside the official process specified herein.

Clarifications of Specifications, Questions and Answers Bidders shall review the RFP and any addenda issued by the MBTA prior to the Response Date, and request written clarification or interpretation of any perceived discrepancy, deficiency, ambiguity, error, or omission contained therein, or of any provision which the Bidder fails to understand or to which the Bidder is suggesting a change. Failure of the Bidder to so examine and inform itself shall be at its sole risk, and no relief for error or omission will be provided by the MBTA. Bidders shall submit, and the MBTA will respond to, questions and requests for written clarification in accordance with this Section 3.67.

Questions and clarification requests shall be minimized or aggregated to the extent possible. All questions and clarification requests shall be made by Bidder by pressing the “Bid Q&A” tab for the RFP in COMMBUYS. Such comments and questions may be submitted at any time prior to the applicable date specified in Section 2.3 or such later date as may be specified in any addendum and shall: (i) identify the document (i.e., Section A, Section B, etc.); (iii) identify the relevant section number and page number (i.e., Section B, Section 2.0 page 3 of 26) or, if it is a general question, indicate so; and (iv) not identify the Bidder in the body of the question or contain proprietary or confidential information. Questions submitted in any other format or method than that described above will not be considered.

Responses to requests for clarification or questions will be provided in writing and issued by the MBTA’s Designated Representative via COMMBUYS. In addition, the MBTA reserves the right to, in its sole discretion, not to answer all questions submitted by Bidders.

It is the Bidder’s responsibility to verify the MBTA’s receipt of questions and clarification requests.

RFP Addendum The MBTA reserves the right to issue addenda to the RFP after initial publication.

The MBTA will not be bound by, and Bidders should not rely on, any oral communications regarding the RFP. Use of any information gathered or received from other agencies or entities shall be at the Bidder’s own risk. Only information verified in writing by the MBTA will be considered reliable.

It is each Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for any addenda and any Bid Q&A records related to this RFP. The MBTA and the Commonwealth accept no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit their Response based on an out-of-date RFP or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS.

The Bidder shall acknowledge in its Technical Proposal Cover Letter (see Enclosure 1) receipt of all addenda and question and answer responses. Failure to acknowledge such receipt may cause the Response to be deemed non-responsive and be rejected.

Confidentiality/Public Information Act Disclosure Requests Disclosure Waiver Each Bidder, by submitting a Response to the MBTA in response to the RFP, consents to the disclosures described in this RFP, including this Section 3.80 and all other disclosures required by law, and expressly waives any right to contest, impede, prevent, or delay such disclosure, or to initiate any proceeding that may have the effect of impeding, preventing, or delaying such disclosure, under Mass. Gen. Laws, ch. 66 (the Massachusetts Public Records Law or “Public Records Law”) or any other law relating to the confidentiality or disclosure of information. Under no circumstances will the MBTA be responsible or liable to a Bidder or any other party as a result of disclosing any such materials. Each Bidder hereby further agrees to assist the MBTA in complying with these disclosure requirements.

Public Disclosure of Response Documents After execution of the Contract, or in the event that the procurement is cancelled by the MBTA, the MBTA shall have the right to publicly disclose any and all portions of all the Responses. The MBTA will not disclose material deemed confidential by the MBTA in accordance with Section 3.8.3, unless otherwise required by law.

Disclosure Process for Requests Under the Public Records Law Responses will not be publicly opened or evaluated.

All written correspondence, exhibits, reports, printed material, photographs, tapes, electronic disks, and other graphic and visual aids submitted to the MBTA during this procurement process, including as part of the response to this RFP, become the property of the MBTA upon their receipt by the MBTA and will not be returned to the submitting parties. Except as provided in the Public Records Law, all materials submitted to the MBTA are subject to release as public records. Bidders shall familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Public Records Law. In no event shall the MBTA, or any of their agents, representatives, consultants, directors, officers, or employees, be liable to a Bidder or Bidder team member for the disclosure of all or a portion of a Response or related information submitted during this procurement.

If a Bidder has special concerns about information which it desires to make available to the MBTA but which it believes constitutes a trade secret, proprietary information, or other information excepted from disclosure, such responding Bidder shall specifically and conspicuously designate that information by placing “TRADE SECRET - PROPRIETARY” in the header or footer of each such page affected and by identifying such trade secret, proprietary information in the Technical Proposal Cover Letter. Nothing contained in this provision shall modify or amend requirements and obligations imposed on the MBTA by the Public Records Law or other applicable law. The provisions of the Public Records Law or other laws shall control in the event of a conflict between the procedures described above and the applicable law.

If the MBTA receives a request for public disclosure of all or any portion of a Response or its related information that is designated as ”trade secret - proprietary,” the MBTA will endeavor to use reasonable efforts to notify the applicable Bidder of the request. The Bidder can assert, in writing and at its sole expense, a claimed exception under the Public Records Law or other applicable law, within the time period specified in the notice issued by the MBTA and allowed under the Public Records Law. The Bidder can choose to defend any action seeking release of the records it believes to be confidential information. The Bidder shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the MBTA and its agents and employees from any judgments awarded against the MBTA and its agents and employees in favor of the party requesting the records, including any and all costs connected with that defense. This indemnification survives the MBTA’s cancellation or termination of this procurement or award and subsequent execution of a Contract. In submitting a Response, the Bidder agrees that this indemnification survives as long as the trade secret, proprietary information is in the possession of the MBTA.

The MBTA shall not under any circumstance be responsible for securing a protective order or other relief enjoining the release of information marked “trade secret – proprietary” in any Response, nor shall the MBTA be in any way financially responsible for any costs associated with securing any such order or for any loss associated with the release of information marked “trade secret – proprietary” or otherwise.

Business Conduct All Responses submitted by a Bidder to the MBTA shall be made without collusion with any other Bidder(s) submitting a Response to this RFP.

Bidder shall not directly or indirectly, in relation to this RFP, give, promise, attempt to give, or approve or authorize the giving of anything of value, including by transferring all or part of the remuneration payable under any Contract, to:

a) any person employed or representing the MBTA;

b) any other person, including any public official;

c) a political party or a labor union controlled by any governmental authority or political party; or

d) a charitable or other organization, or an officer, director, or employee thereof, or any person acting directly or indirectly on behalf of the same for the purpose of (i) securing any improper advantage for either Bidder or the MBTA; (ii) inducing or influencing a public official improperly to take any action or refrain from taking any action in order for either Bidder or the MBTA to obtain or retain business, or to secure the direction of business to either Bidder or the MBTA, or (iii) inducing or influencing a public official to use his or her influence with any governmental authority or public international organization for any such purpose.

Collusion The Bidder understands that any Bid submitted to the MBTA is made without collusion with any other Bidder submitting a Bid on the same Commodity/service, and is in all respects fair and without fraud.

Prices Each Bid must contain the unit price(s) / rate(s) or lump sum price, extended price(s), and the grand total of the Bid. Bidders shall submit their pricing using Form B: Requested RFP Pricing Form. The unit price / rate shall prevail in case of an error in price extension. Prices submitted shall be valid throughout the Acceptance Period.

Acceptance Period The Authority requires a minimum Acceptance Period of at least one hundred and twenty (120) calendar days. In case the MBTA requires an extension, the MBTA will notify all Bidders accordingly. “Acceptance Period” for purposes of this solicitation means the number of calendar days available to the MBTA for awarding a contract based on the Due Date specified in this solicitation for recipt of Bids.

Pre-Contractual Expenses The MBTA shall not be liable for any pre-contractual expenses incurred by the Bidder in the preparation of its proposal. The Bidder shall not include any such expenses as part of its proposal. Pre-contractual expenses are defined as expenses incurred by the Bidder including but not limited to preparing its Bid in response to this solicitation, submitting its Bid to the MBTA, negotiating with the MBTA any matter related to this Bid, inspection, testing, shipping, and return shipping of proposed goods samples, or any other expenses incurred by the Bidder prior to date of award, if any, of the Agreement.

Tax Exemption The MBTA is exempt from Federal Excise Tax, including Transportation Tax, and will furnish properly executed tax exemption certificates upon request. The MBTA is also exempt from Massachusetts State Sales Tax — Exemption Number E-042-323-989. Such taxes should not be included in Bid prices.

The Bidder alone shall be responsible for payment of all federal, state and local taxes of all types and kinds applicable to such fees incurred under this Agreement.

Insurance The insurance policies that the successful bidder shall carry are outlined in the attached MBTA Minimum Insurance Requirements document with this solicitation. The attachment will be included with the solicitation posting on COMMBUYS. The successful bidder shall submit proof of insurance for the requirements detailed at the time of submitting their bid. If in the case they are not available at the time of preparing their Bid, the successful bidder certifies that they will carry such insurance policies and all costs resulting from this are included in their pricing. The successful bidder shall provide proof of insurance within three business days of conditional notice of award.

SUBMISSION OF RESPONSE

Response Submissions Responses shall be submitted via COMMBUYS.

Each Response shall be submitted in at least two parts along with Enclosure 1 Bid Cover Letter:

a) Technical Proposal, which includes:

· Form A: Pre-Award Bidder Evaluation Form

· Form B: Technical Response Form

· Proof of Insurance

b) Price Proposal, consisting of Form C: Pricing Form If a Bidder is a team, whether or not legally formed, the Technical Proposal Cover Letter and Price Proposal Cover Letter shall each be signed by all parties to the Bidder so that the Response is legally binding upon each member of the Bidder.

Any interlineations, erasures or overwriting in the Response will only be valid if they are initialed by the Authorized Signatories.

Bidders shall submit Responses including all forms and schedules in Section 8 and shall not remove pages from the provided forms. The Technical Proposal and Price Proposal shall be completely separate documents. Financial and price information shall be included in the Price Proposal only. The Price Proposal must be submitted as a unique attachment through COMMBUYS.

Any Response which materially fails to meet the Response requirements of the RFP will be found non-responsive without further evaluation unless the evaluation team, at its discretion, determines that the non-compliance is insubstantial and can be corrected. In these cases, the evaluation team may allow the Bidder to make minor corrections to the Response.

Power of Attorney Bidder shall enclose a power of attorney in its own form, duly signed by a legally authorized officer of the Bidder authorizing the Authorized Signatories to sign the Response and bind the Bidder to the Response.

Acceptance of Response The Response constitutes a binding offer by the Bidder to perform the Scope of Work on the terms of the Response, and the MBTA shall have the right to accept or reject such offer and/or any conditions proposed in full or in part. If the Response is accepted, Bidder shall conclude the Contract with the MBTA, based on the RFP, any addenda, the Response and any agreed amendments thereto. Until the formal Contract is signed, Bidder has no authority to proceed with the Scope of Work or to incur any costs for which MBTA may be held liable. MBTA shall have no obligations towards Bidder until a formal contract has been entered into.

Validity of Response The Response is irrevocable, and shall remain valid and open for acceptance, for a period of one hundred and twenty (120) days after the Response due date. The MBTA reserves the right to extend the validity period and notify Bidders accordingly.

Incomplete Response If Bidder does not fully comply with this RFP, or if the Response is incomplete or vague, the Response may not be considered, unless the MBTA in its absolute discretion decides otherwise.

MBTA POLICIES

Small, Minority, Women, and other Disadvantaged Businesses It is the policy of the Commonwealth and the MBTA to ensure non-discrimination in the procurement of goods and services. It is the MBTA’s intention to create a level playing field on which all contractors and subcontractors can compete fairly for contracts. The MBTA promotes equity of opportunity in state contracting; and to that end; encourages full participation of certified small, minority, women and other disadvantaged owned businesses as those terms are defined by the Commonwealth’s Supplier Diversity office. The MBTA further recognizes the importance of meaningful partnerships involving subcontracting with certified small minority, women and other disadvantaged owned businesses.

SELECTION PROCESS AND EVALUATION

Response Opening and Confidentiality All information received from each Bidder will be treated as confidential information and will not be distributed prior to Contract execution, other than for the purpose of evaluation of the Response.

Responsiveness Review The MBTA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine if a Bid is responsive and the Bidder is responsible. In determining whether a Bidder has the ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of the proposed procurement, the MBTA will consider such matters as the Bidder’s integrity, compliance with public policy (e.g., EEO record, attainment of DBE goal, debarment status, etc.), record of past performance, and financial and technical resources. Bidder is required to complete Form A: Pre-Award Bidder Evaluation Data Form.

Upon receipt, the Technical Proposals will be reviewed for responsiveness to the RFP requirements. The Technical Proposals will be reviewed for (i) deficiencies and minor informalities, irregularities, and apparent clerical mistakes which are unrelated to the substantive content of the Response; (ii) conformance to the RFP instructions regarding organization and format; and (iii) the responsiveness of the Bidder to the requirements set forth in this RFP. The MBTA may request Bidder clarification of any minor informalities, irregularities, and apparent clerical mistakes, after which the MBTA may evaluate the Response, at the MBTA’s sole discretion.

Those Technical Proposals not responsive to this RFP may at the MBTA’s sole discretion be excluded from further consideration and the Bidder will be so advised.

After completion of the evaluation of the remaining Technical Proposals, the remaining Price Proposals will be reviewed for responsiveness to the RFP requirements. The Price Proposals will be reviewed for (i) deficiencies and minor informalities, irregularities, and apparent clerical mistakes which are unrelated to the substantive content of the Response; (ii) conformance to the RFP instructions regarding organization and format; and (iii) the responsiveness of the Bidder to the requirements set forth in this RFP. The MBTA may request Bidder clarification of any minor informalities, irregularities, and apparent clerical mistakes in accordance with Section 3.6, after which the MBTA may evaluate the Response, at the MBTA’s sole discretion.

Those Price Proposals not responsive to this RFP may at the MBTA’s sole discretion be excluded from further consideration and the Bidder will be so advised.

The MBTA may also exclude from consideration any Bidder whose Response contains a material misrepresentation.

Evaluation Based on the information provided in each Response, the MBTA will perform Response evaluation and seek clarifications as necessary through requests for clarification or in meetings to be arranged at MBTA discretion. The MBTA will evaluate responses based on a combination of Pass/Fail Criteria, Technical Evaluation Criteria, and Price Evaluation Criteria. The process may, at the MBTA’s sole discretion, include requests for additional written information or clarification from any Bidder to assist in evaluation, include oral interviews, include a request for best and final offers (”BAFOs”), and include a negotiations phase with the selected Bidder.

Pass/Fail Evaluation Criteria The Proposals will be evaluated based on the Pass/Fail Evaluation Criteria identified below. Each Bidder must obtain a “pass” on all Pass/Fail Evaluation Criteria in order for its Response to be eligible for selection. The MBTA may request Bidder clarification on a Technical Proposal on any Pass/Fail Evaluation Criteria, after which MBTA may re-evaluate the Response, at MBTA’s sole discretion.

Technical Evaluation Criteria Each criterion will be evaluated considering all of the information included in the Technical Proposal related to the criterion, as well as other information gathered from references, presentations, and on-site visits.

The MBTA may at its own expense and upon reasonable notice, visit and inspect current operations of the Bidder and/or any proposed subcontractors, including the premises, facilities, equipment, personnel and other resources, and carry out related appraisals as part of the Response evaluation prior to entering into any Contract.

The Technical Evaluation Criteria are identified and detailed below.

Technical Evaluation Criteria Technical Response: degree to which proposed solution addresses MBTA requirements and reflects understanding of business needs and opportunities RFID technology: suitability of solution for MBTA use RFID handheld readers and antenna arrays: degree to which these components are suitable for the MBTA needs and environment Software and Software Interfaces: How closely vendor software meets MBTA requirements; capability to interface to MBTA systems Network Interface and Information Security: Compatibility of solution with MBTA environment and security requirements Delivery of detailed execution plan and project timeline Relevant Experience

The Technical Evaluation Criteria will be rated using a numerical rating approach. This will be based on the following scoring scale:

Excellent (5 Points Awarded): The Bidder has presented and supported an approach that is considered to significantly exceed stated criteria in a way that is beneficial to the MBTA. This rating indicates a consistently outstanding level of quality, with very little or no risk that this Bidder would fail to meet the requirements of the solicitation. There are no weaknesses.

Good (4 Points Awarded): The Bidder has presented and supported an approach that is considered to meet the stated criteria. This rating indicates a generally better than acceptable quality, with little risk that this Bidder would fail to meet the requirements of the solicitation. Weaknesses, if any, are very minor and not material to the Response. Correction of the weaknesses would not be necessary before the Response would be considered further.

Satisfactory (2 Points Awarded): The Bidder has presented and supported an approach that is considered to possibly meet the stated criteria. This rating indicates a level of risk to the MBTA. Weaknesses exist but may be corrected through requests for clarification.

Fair (1 Point Awarded): The Bidder has presented and supported an approach that fails to meet stated criteria and would pose a clear risk to the MBTA. The issues may be susceptible to correction through major and lengthy discussions. Such a response is considered marginal in terms of the basic content or amount of information provided for evaluation.

Poor (0 Points Awarded): The Bidder has presented and supported an approach that indicates…