RFP - PEAS Answering Service.docx

STATE OF MICHIGAN

Department of Environmental Quality Procurement

Telephone Answering Service Pollution Emergency Alerting System (PEAS) Request for Proposal No. 190000001368

Solicitation Manager Name: Lisa VanOstran Direct Phone: (517) 284-5012 Email: vanostranl@michigan.gov

This is a Request for Proposal (RFP) for:

Telephone Answering Service for PEAS

RFP Timeline

RFP issue date

March 13, 2019

Anticipated contract begin date

May 1, 2019

*A bidder’s proposal received at 3:00:01 p.m. Eastern is late and subject to disqualification.

This RFP is subject to change. Check www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS for current information.

PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. PROPOSAL PREPARATION. The State recommends reading all RFP materials prior to preparing a proposal, particularly these Proposal Instructions and the Vendor Questions Worksheet. Bidders must follow these Proposal Instructions and provide a complete response to the items indicated in the table below. References and links to websites or external sources may not be used in lieu of providing the information requested in the RFP within the proposal. Include the bidder’s company name in the header of all documents submitted with your proposal.

RFP Structure and Documentation

2. CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE STATE. The sole point of contact for the State concerning this RFP is listed on the Cover Page. Contacting any other State personnel, agent, consultant, or representative about this RFP may result in bidder disqualification.

3. QUESTIONS. Bidder questions about this RFP must be posted on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS or emailed to the Solicitation Manager no later than the time and date specified on the Cover Page. In the interest of transparency, only written questions are accepted. Answers to questions will be posted on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS. Submit questions using the format below; a Microsoft Excel format or similar is suggested.

4. MODIFICATIONS. The State may modify this RFP at any time. Modifications will be posted on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS . This is the only method by which the RFP may be modified.

5. DELIVERY OF PROPOSAL.

Electronic – The bidder must submit its proposal, all attachments, and any modifications or withdrawals electronically through www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS. The price proposal should be saved separately from all other proposal documents. The bidder should submit all documents in a modifiable (native) format (examples include but are not limited to: Microsoft Word or Excel and Google Docs or Sheets). In addition to submitting documents in a modifiable format, the bidder may also submit copies of documents in PDF. Bidder’s failure to submit a proposal as required may result in disqualification. The proposal and attachments must be fully uploaded and submitted prior to the proposal deadline. Do not wait until the last minute to submit a proposal, as the SIGMA VSS system requires the creation of an account and entry of certain information, in addition to uploading and submitting the materials. The SIGMA VSS system will not allow a proposal to be submitted after the proposal deadline identified in the Cover Page, even if a portion of the proposal has been uploaded.

Questions on how to submit information or how to navigate in the SIGMA VSS system can be answered by calling (517) 373-4111 or (888) 734-9749.

6. EVALUATION PROCESS. The State will evaluate each proposal based on a pass/fail basis. Responses will be evaluated as follows:

[X] Contractor will comply as specified with no exceptions:

PASS

[X] Contractor has noted exceptions to the specification:

PASS if the exception(s), at the sole discretion of the State, is evaluated as acceptable.

FAIL if the exception(s), at the sole discretion of the State, is evaluated as unacceptable.

The State may utilize all bidder information, without regard to a proposal’s technical score, to determine fair market value for goods or services sought. The State is not obligated to accept the lowest price proposal. If applicable, the State’s evaluation will include consideration of a bidder’s qualified disabled veteran (QDV) status under MCL 18.1261(8). Additional information on the QDV preference is available at: http://michigan.gov/micontractconnect/0,https://www.michigan.gov/dtmb/0,5552,7-358-82550_85746_48677-412612--,00.html,7-225-48677-123519--,00.html.

The State strongly encourages strict adherence to the Contract Terms. The State reserves the right to deem a bid non-responsive for failure to accept the Contract Terms. Nevertheless, the bidder may submit proposed changes to the Contract Terms in track changes (i.e., visible edits) with an explanation of the bidder’s need for each proposed change. Failure to include track changes with an explanation of the bidder’s need for the proposed change constitutes the bidder’s acceptance of the Contract Terms. General statements, such as that the bidder reserves the right to negotiate the terms and conditions, may be considered non-responsive.

The State may conduct an on-site visit to tour and inspect the bidder’s facilities; require an oral presentation of the bidder's proposal; conduct interviews, research, reference checks, and background checks; and request additional price concessions at any point during the evaluation process.

7. NOTICE OF DEFICIENCY. The State reserves the right to issue a Notice of Deficiency to bidders if the State determines after the proposal deadline that a portion of the RFP was deficient, unclear, or ambiguous. Failure to respond to a Notice of Deficiency timely may be cause for disqualification.

8. CLARIFICATION REQUEST. The State reserves the right to issue a Clarification Request to a bidder to clarify its proposal if the State determines the proposal is not clear. Failure to respond to a Clarification Request timely may be cause for disqualification.

9. RESERVATIONS. The State reserves the right to:

a. Disqualify a bidder for failure to follow these instructions.

b. Discontinue the RFP process at any time for any or no reason. The issuance of an RFP, your preparation and submission of a proposal, and the State’s subsequent receipt and evaluation of your proposal does not commit the State to award a contract to you or anyone, even if all the requirements in the RFP are met.

c. Consider late proposals if: (i) no other proposals are received; (ii) no complete proposals are received; (iii) the State received complete proposals, but the proposals did not meet mandatory minimum requirements or technical criteria; or (iv) the award process fails to result in an award.

d. Consider an otherwise disqualified proposal, if no other proposals are received.

e. Disqualify a proposal based on: (i) information provided by the bidder in response to this RFP; (2) the bidder’s failure to complete registration on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS ; or (3) if it is determined that a bidder purposely or willfully submitted false or misleading information in response to the RFP.

f. Consider prior performance with the State in making its award decision.

g. Consider overall economic impact to the State when evaluating proposal pricing and in the final award recommendation. This includes but is not limited to: considering principal place of performance, number of Michigan citizens employed or potentially employed, dollars paid to Michigan residents, Michigan capital investments, job creation, tax revenue implications, and economically disadvantaged businesses.

h. Consider total-cost-of-ownership factors (e.g., transition and training costs) when evaluating proposal pricing and in the final award recommendation.

i. Refuse to award a contract to any bidder that has failed to pay State taxes or has outstanding debt with the State.

j. Enter into negotiations with one or more bidders on price, terms, technical requirements, or other deliverables.

k. Award multiple, optional-use contracts, or award by Contract Activity.

l. Evaluate the proposal outside the scope identified in Section 6, Evaluation Process, if the State receives only one proposal.

10. AWARD RECOMMENDATION. The contract will be awarded to the responsive and responsible bidder who offers the best value to the State, as determined by the State. Best value will be determined by the bidder meeting the minimum point threshold and offering the best combination of the factors stated in Section 6, Evaluation Process, and price, as demonstrated by the proposal. The State will post a Notice of Recommendation for Award on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS .

11. DEBRIEF MEETING AND BID PROTEST. The State will post a Notice of Recommendation for Award, which will provide instructions on how to request a debrief meeting

If you wish to initiate a protest of the award, you must submit your written protest to the Solicitation Manager no later than 5:00 p.m., five business days after posting the Notice of Recommendation for Award, or by 5;00 p.m. the next business day if that date falls on a state holiday or weekend. The State reserves the right to adjust this timing and will publish any change on the SIGMA VSS system.

Additional information about the protest process is available at www.michigan.gov/micontractconnect under the “Programs and Policies” link.

12. STATE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD. Contracts in excess of $500,000 require approval by the State Administrative Board. The State Administrative Board’s decision is final; however, its approval does not constitute a contract. The award process is not complete until the awarded contractor receives a contract fully executed by all parties.

13. GENERAL CONDITIONS. The State will not be liable for any costs, expenses, or damages incurred by a bidder participating in this solicitation. The bidder agrees that its proposal will be considered an offer to do business with the State in accordance with its proposal, including the Contract Terms, and that its proposal will be irrevocable and binding for a period of 180 calendar days from date of submission. If a contract is awarded to the bidder, the State may, at its option, incorporate any part of the bidder’s proposal into a contract. This RFP is not an offer to enter into a contract. This RFP may not provide a complete statement of the State’s environment or contain all matters upon which agreement must be reached. Other than verified trade secrets, proposals submitted via www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS are the State’s property.

14. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT FORM AND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. All portions of the bidder’s proposal and resulting contract are subject to disclosure as required under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231, et seq. However, some information may be exempt from disclosure. Under MCL 18.1261(13)(b), records containing “a trade secret as defined under section 2 of the uniform trade secrets act, 1998 PA 448, MCL 445.1902,” are exempt from disclosure under FOIA. In addition, “financial or proprietary information” submitted with a bidder’s proposal is exempt from disclosure under FOIA. A bidder’s failure to comply with this Section is grounds for rejecting a bidder’s proposal as non-responsive. As a part of its proposal, each bidder must follow the procedure below.

a. SUBMIT A COMPLETED “CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT FORM” (CT FORM) WITH YOUR BID. Completion and submission of the CT Form is required regardless of whether the bidder seeks confidential treatment of information. Failure to submit a completed CT Form may be cause for disqualification from the solicitation process.

i. Complete and sign Section 1 of the CT Form if the bidder does NOT request confidential treatment of information contained in its proposal; or

ii. Complete and sign Section 2 of the CT Form if the bidder requests confidential treatment of certain information. Bidder must also submit a “Public Copy” of the proposal with the trade secret, financial, and proprietary information redacted and clearly labeled as the “Public Copy.”

b. FOIA REQUESTS. If a FOIA request is made for a bidder’s proposal, the Public Copy may be distributed to the public along with the bidder’s CT Form. The CT Form is a public document and serves as an explanation for the redactions to the Public Copy. Do not put any trade secret, financial, or proprietary information in the CT Form. Do not redact the CT Form itself.

c. NO ADVICE. The State will not advise a bidder as to the nature or content of documents entitled to protection from disclosure under FOIA or other laws, as to the interpretation of such laws, or as to the definition of trade secret or financial or proprietary information. Nothing contained in this provision will modify or amend requirements and obligations imposed on the State by FOIA or other applicable law.

d. FAILURE TO REQUEST CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT. Failure to request material be treated as confidential as specified herein relieves the State, its agencies, and personnel from any responsibility for maintaining material in confidence.

e. Bids containing a request to maintain an entire proposal as confidential may be rejected as non-responsive. Bidders may not request confidential treatment with respect to resumes, pricing, and marketing materials. The State reserves the right to determine whether material designated as exempt by a bidder falls under MCL 18.1261 or other applicable FOIA exemptions. If a FOIA request is made for materials that the bidder has identified as trade secret, financial, or proprietary information, the State has the final authority to determine whether the materials are exempt from disclosure under FOIA.

f. Bidder forever releases the State, its departments, subdivisions, officers, and employees from all claims, rights, actions, demands, damages, liabilities, expenses and fees, which arise out of or relate to the disclosure of all or a portion of bidder’s proposal submitted under this RFP. Bidder must defend, indemnify and hold the State, its departments, subdivisions, officers, and employees harmless, without limitation, from and against all actions, claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, attorney fees, and expenses (including those required to establish the right to indemnification), arising out of or relating to any FOIA request, including potential litigation and appeals, related to the portion of bidder’s proposal submitted under this RFP that bidder has identified as a trade secret, or financial or proprietary information. The State will notify bidder in writing if indemnification is sought. The State is entitled to: (i) regular updates on proceeding status; (ii) participate in the defense of the proceeding; (iii) employ its own counsel; and to (iv) retain control of the defense, or any portion thereof, if the State deems necessary. Bidder will not, without the State’s written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld), settle, compromise, or consent to the entry of any judgment in or otherwise seek to terminate any claim, action, or proceeding. If a State employee, official, or law is involved or challenged, the State may control the defense of that portion of the claim. Any litigation activity on behalf of the State, or any of its subdivisions under this Section, must be coordinated with the Department of Attorney General. An attorney designated to represent the State may not do so until approved by the Michigan Attorney General and appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General.

CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT FORM (CT FORM)

INSTRUCTIONS. Complete either Section 1 or Section 2 of this CT Form and sign where indicated. This CT Form must be signed by the individual who signed the bidder’s proposal. A completed CT Form must be submitted with your proposal, regardless of whether your proposal contains confidential information. Failure to submit a completed CT Form with your bid is grounds for rejecting the proposal as non-responsive. See Section Error! Reference source not found. of the Proposal Instructions for additional information.

Section 1. Confidential Treatment Is Not Requested

This section must be completed, signed, and submitted with the proposal if bidder does not request confidential treatment of any material contained in the proposal.

By signing below, the bidder affirms that confidential treatment of material contained in the proposal is not requested.

[Printed Name] [Title] [Company]

Section 2. Confidential Treatment Is Requested

The section must be completed, signed, and submitted with the proposal if bidder requests confidential treatment of any material contained in the proposal. Submission of a completed CT Form is required to request confidential treatment.

Provide the information in the table below. Bidder may add rows or additional pages using the same format shown in the table. Bidder must specifically identify the information to be protected as confidential and state the reasons why protection is necessary. The CT Form will not be considered fully complete unless, for each confidentiality request, the bidder: (1) identifies whether the material is a trade secret (TS), financial information (FI), or proprietary information (PI); (2) explains the specific legal grounds that support treatment of the material as TS, FI, or PI; and (3) provides the contact information for the person at bidder’s organization authorized to respond to inquiries by the State concerning the material. Bidders must not simply cite to an applicable act or case name; rather, bidders must provide a complete justification as to how the material falls within the scope of an applicable act or relevant case law.

CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT FORM (CT FORM)

By signing below, the bidder affirms that confidential treatment of material contained in its proposal is requested and has attached to this form a redacted “Public Copy” of the bidder’s proposal.

[Printed Name] [Title] [Company]

VENDOR QUESTIONS WORKSHEET

Provide a detailed response to each question. “You” and “company” refers to the bidder.

1. Contact Information

Bidder’s sole contact person during the RFP process. Include name, title, address, email, and phone number.

Person authorized to receive and sign a resulting contract. Include name, title, address, email, and phone number.

2. Company Background Information

Legal business name and address. Include business entity designation, e.g., sole proprietor, Inc., LLC, or LLP.

What state was the company formed in?

Phone number

Website address

Number of years in business and number of employees

Legal business name and address of parent company, if any

Has there been a recent change in organizational structure (e.g., management team) or control (e.g., merger or acquisition) of your company? If the answer is yes: (a) explain why the change occurred and (b) how this change has affected your company.

Discuss your company’s history. Has growth been organic, through mergers and acquisitions, or both?

Has bidder ever been debarred, suspended, or disqualified from bidding or contracting with any entity, including the State of Michigan? If yes, provide the date, the entity, and details about the situation.

Has your company been a party to litigation against the State of Michigan? If the answer is yes, then state the date of initial filing, case name and court number, and jurisdiction.

Within the last 5 years, has your company or any of its related business entities defaulted on a contract or had a contract terminated for cause? If yes, provide the date, contracting entity, type of contract, and details about the termination or default.

State your gross annual sales for the last 5 years.

If receiving a contract under this RFP will increase your gross revenue by more than 25% from last year’s sales, explain how the company will scale-up to manage this increase.

Describe partnerships and strategic relationships you think will bring significant value to the State.

State the physical address of the place of business that would have primary responsibility for this account if bidder is awarded a contract under this RFP.

3. Qualified Disabled Veteran

To demonstrate qualification as a qualified disabled veteran, you must provide:

(a) Proof of service and conditions of discharge (DD214 or equivalent);

(b) Proof of service-connected disability (DD214 if the disability was documented at discharge or Veterans Administration Rating Decision Letter or equivalent if the disability was documented after discharge); and

(c) Legal documents setting forth the ownership of the business entity.

In lieu of the documentation identified above, you may provide proof of certification by the National Veterans Business Development Council.

Enter the names of documents submitted with your proposal to demonstrate status as a qualified disabled veteran.

4. Participation in RFP Development or Evaluation

Did your company, an employee, agent, or representative of your company, or any affiliated entity participate in developing any component of this solicitation? For purposes of this question, business concerns, organizations, or individuals are affiliates of each other if, directly or indirectly: (1) either one controls or has power to control the other or (2) a third-party control or has the power to control both. Indicia of control include, but are not limited to, interlocking management or ownership, identity of interests among family members, shared facilities or equipment, and common use of employees.

If you entered “YES”, you are not eligible for contract award or to work as a subcontractor for the awarded vendor.

5. State of Michigan Experience and Prior Experience

Does your company have experience working with the State of Michigan? If so, please provide a list (including the contract number) of the contracts you hold or have held with the State for the last 10 years.

Describe at least 3 relevant experiences from the last 5 years supporting your ability to successfully manage a contract of similar size and scope for the work described in this RFP. (It is preferred that these include experience outside the State of Michigan.)

Experience 1

Company name Contact name Contact role at time of project Contact phone Contact email

City State Zip

1. Project name and description of the scope of the project

2. What role did your company play?

3. How is this project experience relevant to the subject of this RFP?

Dollar value

Start and end date (mm/yy – mm/yy)

Status (completed, live, other – specify phase)

Results obtained

Experience 2

Company name

Contact role at time of project

City

1. Project name and description of the scope of the project

Dollar value

Start and end date (mm/yy – mm/yy)

Status (completed, live, other – specify phase)

Results obtained

Experience 3

Company name

Contact role at time of project

City

1. Project name and description of the scope of the project

Dollar value

Start and end date (mm/yy – mm/yy)

Status (completed, live, other – specify phase)

Results obtained

6. Standard Contract Terms

Bidder must affirm agreement with the attached Contract Terms. If not in agreement, written exceptions in accordance with Section 8 Evaluation Process must be provided with Bidder’s proposal.

7. Other

Request for Proposal No. 190000001368 Telephone Answering Service Pollution Emergency Alerting System (PEAS)

SCHEDULE A

STATEMENT OF WORK

CONTRACT ACTIVITIES

This schedule identifies the anticipated requirements of any Contract resulting from this RFP. The term “Contractor” in this document refers to a bidder responding to this RFP.

The Contractor must respond to each requirement or question and explain how it will fulfill each requirement. Attach any supplemental information and appropriately reference within your response.

BACKGROUND

The Pollution Emergency Alerting System (PEAS) began in 1975 as a means for outside parties to provide timely notification to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) about spills of oil and other hazardous substances. More recently, the PEAS program has expanded to serve notification and communication purposes for all types of incidents for which the DEQ has jurisdiction. The PEAS hotline (Hotline) can be used by anyone; it receives most of its calls from the general public, first responders and industry.

Benefits of contracting answering services for PEAS include: DEQ can avail itself of answering services which can serve as a customer-friendly backup to DEQ staff, providing live operators which enable hotline callers to leave a DEQ-compliant report as needed by certain facilities, and who can convey information to the DEQ in ways which serve the department, and include a mechanism to monitor for the receipt of the information and continue as needed with notifications until such confirmation of receipt is obtained. The answering service is able to serve this function in a more economically efficient way than if the system were to be fully staffed 24 hours a day by DEQ employees working continuous shifts.

SCOPE

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to identify a Contractor who can provide backup and answering/reporting for the DEQ PEAS program to ensure response to a reported incident is addressed in a timely manner. The toll-free telephone service for the PEAS hotline (800-292-4706) is provided by Century Link (paid directly by the DEQ to Century Link). Calls into the PEAS hotline are initially routed to the call routing system of the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB). DTMB will then route calls to the appropriate DEQ Call Manager. If a call is not picked up by the DEQ Call Manager within a short period, the DMTB call routing vector will transfer the calls to the Contractor selected for award. The Contractor will internally route the call to one of its operators who will then take the PEAS report information from the complainant, key it in according to the agreed upon format, and then arrange to have it immediately posted on a secure internet location as well as sent by e-mail, pager and secure instant messaging, using the “SecureMsg” smart-phone app. The DEQ Call Manager will confirm receipt of these notifications using one of the following procedures:

· Replying to the Contractor’s notification e-mail with only the word “file” in the subject, or

· Sending a file message using “SecureMsg”, or

· Filing the report on-line at the Contractor’s PEAS website, or by

· Calling the Contractor

If the DEQ does not confirm receipt of the above digital notifications, the Contractor will follow backup procedures as laid out below in Section 4.1.

All reports, invoices and the monthly call statistics are due to DEQ by the 15th of the month or the first business day after if it falls on a weekend or holiday. The Contractor will forward all PEAS report information in Excel format usable by the DEQ.

REQUIREMENTS

Contractor responsibilities will include: answering calls routed by the DEQ, keying in received incident information, electronically, and as needed, verbally transmitting the information to the DEQ, dispatching call information received during business hours to district offices, dispatching call information received after business hours to the DEQ On Call, monitoring the status of each incident call to make sure the DEQ receives the information in a timely manner according to established procedure, and recording all times and durations of incoming and outgoing calls, and e-mails, instant messages, and internet filings. The Contractor is to use backup protocols laid out below in Section 4.1 in case the above DEQ operators and On Calls fail to confirm receipt of call information. The Contractor will also be responsible for the transmission of PEAS call information via telephone, text pager, and via the intranet to the DEQ.

1. General Requirements

1.1. Transition – N/A

1.2. Training

The Contractor will be required to use guidance or training provided by the DEQ to train its operators about such matters including but not limited to the basic responsibilities of each DEQ Division (for proper referral of daytime calls to the district) or special instructions of various DEQ districts, etc.

2. Acceptance

2.1. Acceptance, Inspection and Testing

The State must use the following criteria to determine acceptance of the Contract Activities:

The Contractor will fulfill each of the contract requirements within the timeframes and formats stated to the satisfaction of the DEQ. If the Contractor cannot fulfill the contract requirements, a schedule and plan to meet the requirements within an acceptable timeframe must be provided to the DEQ for approval.

2.2. Final Acceptance

Final acceptance is adequate performance of required services and receipt of deliverables and reports.

3. Staffing

3.1. Contractor Representative

The Contractor must appoint at least one individual, specifically assigned to State of Michigan accounts, that will respond to State inquiries regarding the Contract Activities, answering questions related to ordering and delivery, etc. (the “Contractor Representative”).

The Contractor must notify the Contract Administrator at least 30 calendar days before removing or assigning a new Contractor Representative.

Contractor Response:

The Contractor must have the ability to staff incoming telephone lines 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The Contractor must also provide sufficient staffing and telephone and data systems so that a minimum of two (2) PEAS calls may be handled simultaneously while any additional callers would be able to remain on hold until an incoming operator became available with hold times being held to less than one minute.

Response: Contractor shall check only one box below and identify exception(s):

List all exception(s):

3.2. Customer Service Toll-Free Number (if applicable)

The Contractor must specify its toll-free number (if applicable) for the State to make contact with the Contractor Representative. The Contractor Representative must be available for calls during the hours of 8 am to 5 pm EST.

Contractor Response (if applicable):

3.3. Technical Support, Repairs and Maintenance

When providing technical support, the Call Center must resolve the caller’s issue within 60 minutes.

Response: Contractor shall check only one box below and identify exception(s):

List all exception(s):

3.4. Work Hours

The Contractor must staff incoming phone lines 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Response: Contractor shall check only one box below and identify exception(s):

List all exception(s):

3.5. Disclosure of Subcontractors

If the Contractor intends to utilize subcontractors, the Contractor must disclose the following:

The legal business name; address; telephone number; a description of subcontractor’s organization and the services it will provide; and information concerning subcontractor’s ability to provide the Contract Activities.

The relationship of the subcontractor to the Contractor.

Whether the Contractor has a previous working experience with the subcontractor. If yes, provide the details of that previous relationship.

A complete description of the Contract Activities that will be performed or provided by the subcontractor.

Contractor Response (if applicable):

4. Project Management

4.1. Project Plan

The Contractor must carry out this project under the direction and control of the Program Manager. The Contractor must provide Deliverables/Services and staff, and otherwise do all things necessary for, or incidental to, the performance of work, as set forth in this Contract.

The Contractor must staff incoming phone lines 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The Contractor must provide enough staffing and telephone and data systems so that a minimum of two (2) PEAS calls may be handled simultaneously, while any additional callers would be able to remain on hold until an incoming operator becomes available, with average hold times being held to less than one minute.

The Contractor must digitally record all conversations between operators, complainants, district offices and On Calls. Recordings to be immediately available to the DEQ are those via secure website, or by e-mail. Those recordings requested to be forwarded via compact disk will be mailed to the PEAS Administrator within 2 days of the request. The tapes must be archived and made available for retrieval for at least 90 days from the date of the recording. Digital recording file names should identify the time and date stamp of the call.

The Contractor’s operators must take incident information from the caller, completing all the requested fields of a DEQ provided form (see attached Michigan DEQ PEAS Incident Report), including also recording of the DEQ contact to which the Contractor refers the information. If the call is completed during normal DEQ business hours the outgoing operator shall immediately refer the information to the appropriate DEQ District Office or their backup as defined by DEQ. For calls completed after normal business hours the outgoing operator shall immediately refer the information to the Agency On Call staff or their backup as defined by DEQ. Conveyance of the report information to the DEQ shall be done in a format and manner approved by the DEQ, including either verbally by phone, or digitally by e-mail, smart message, text pager, website, etc. The call information must also be archived for at least 90 days.

The Contractor must provide the DEQ with downloads of the PEAS database report information, in an Excel format compatible with DEQ systems, on a monthly basis starting on the first day of each month. Downloads must be provided to the DEQ by the 15th of the month or the first business day after if it falls on a weekend or holiday.

Contractor operators must handle DEQ notification/incident information referral as follows:

Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. EST except state holidays:

Key in the incident information from the PEAS caller, and within five minutes of completion of taking each office-hours PEAS call, refer the incident information to the appropriate DEQ District Office. Follow backup procedures if the district for some reason cannot take the call. Upon the caller’s request provide the appropriate DEQ District Office telephone number so they may call the districts themselves directly if they wish to.

After normal DEQ business hours Monday through Thursday 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Friday through 8:00 a.m. Monday EST:

Key in the incident information from the caller.

Contact the DEQ On-Call person or their backup, as needed, upon completion of the incoming call to the hotline, and relay the information provided.

The following timeline should be followed until telephone contact with the On-Call or backup is made, or until the On-Call files the report online or by smart message or by other DEQ approved means listed within this Contract, beginning with the time that the call report was completed by the Contractor operator, i.e., the call completion time (CCT):

CCT + 0 minutes: e-mail to PEAS Administrator CCT + 0 minutes: e-mail to DEQ On-Call CCT + 0 minutes: smart message to the On-Call CCT + 10 minutes: second email to the On-Call CCT + 15 minutes: third email to the On-Call CCT + 20 minutes: fourth email to the On-Call CCT + 25 minutes: begin calling DEQ staff using live operator, in this order:

1. Call the On-Call at their home number

2. Call the On-Call using all backup numbers for that On-Call

3. Call the Agency Contract Administrator (PEAS Administrator) cell phone

4. Call the Agency Contract Administrator (PEAS Administrator) using all other after-hours backup numbers for that person (home, other, etc.)

5. Call all On-Call staff who are not currently on call in the order specified by DEQ (to be determined)

If the above contact attempts fail, repeat the entire procedure beginning with e-mails and pages, and continuing through contact of the entire On-Call staff.

The above notification and backup contact protocol is subject to change at the request of DEQ and is not in effect until authorized.

Record the number and times of page and call attempts per incident callout, and report in an Activities Log on the Contractor’s secure, on-line website available to the DEQ PEAS and Emergency Management staff.

The Contractor must provide the following services for each call:

The Contractor must provide detailed information to DEQ by the 15th of the month or the first business day after if it falls on a weekend or holiday. The Contractor must forward all PEAS report information in Excel format usable by the DEQ with call data and the invoice beginning with the start of the month and ending with the end of each month; including the information outlined in section below: The invoice must be dated the first of the month; the usage period will vary depending on the number of days billed. The usage period dates must be indicated on the invoice.

The reports must be itemized by activity type, and complete enough to account for all charges included in the Contractor’s monthly invoice. The itemized charges in all call activity types must include to the extent possible reference numbers that can be used to link them to their respective incoming or outgoing call or e-mail. Not all work time will have a call reference number. The report must have the date, time, billable time and initials of the staff member working on behalf of the customer.

The Contractor must be amenable to alternate call-handling procedures, including the possibility of simply taking the phone number, name and a brief incident description from the PEAS caller, and text-paging or otherwise conveying this information to the On-Call for after-hours calls. Alternate call-handling procedures might also include asking the hotline caller to hold the line while the Contractor operators contact the DEQ and then patching the DEQ contact with the hotline caller.

The Contractor must be able to accept and immediately implement special instructions, e.g., call referral instructions specific to a caller or call type.

The Contractor is required to use guidance or training provided by the DEQ to train its operators about such matters including, but not limited to, the basic responsibilities of each DEQ Division (for proper referral of daytime calls to the district), or special instructions of various DEQ districts, etc.

Contractor Call Referral Detail:

For calls received during normal business hours (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays, furlough days and shutdown days) the Contractor operator must refer the information to the appropriate District Office (based on the county of the location of the incident as provided by the DEQ, by telephone and/or e-mail and/or via a secure online website, as directed by the DEQ PEAS Administrator. The DEQ and the Contractor may agree to alternate means of information transfer as evolving technology permits, or as the DEQ deems necessary.

For calls received after normal business hours, the Contractor must refer the digitally documented report information to the DEQ On-Call using smart messaging and/or e-mail. The Contractor must also post the report information to a secure website available to the DEQ. As needed to ensure receipt of the report information by the DEQ, these notifications may be repeated per a DEQ defined schedule as outlined in Section 4.1. If they do not result in receipt confirmation by the DEQ, the Contractor will call the On-Call and if needed, backup personnel, as designated by the DEQ.

When the DEQ confirms receipt of a report, the Contractor must immediately stop all further efforts to convey that report information for which receipt has been confirmed.

Some of the specialized services the DEQ expects from the Contractor include:

· Using DEQ instructions to screen calls

· Notifying the DEQ about reports received which are not in DEQ’s jurisdiction, by emailing reports of calls to the PEAS Administrator, and foregoing other notification including by pager or instant message. If the incident description indicates that it is not in DEQ’s jurisdiction then only a time stamp, a brief incident description, and the caller name and phone number need to be recorded by the Contractor operator. When emailing the PEAS Administrator call reports for the call outside of DEQ’s jurisdiction, please include in the subject line “Not DEQ Jurisdiction”.

· Digitally recording all conversations between operators, complainants, district offices and On-Calls.

Contractor Staff Roles and Responsibilities:

Telephone Operators: Operators must receive PEAS calls, digitally document the report information, and refer the information to DEQ staff as per procedure, using means of communication appropriate to the circumstance, as prescribed and agreed per the Contract.

Contractor’s Contract Administrator: The Contract Administrator must ensure operations fulfill the Contract, that deliverables are completed and delivered on time, and that any problems that develop are addressed in a timely manner in concert with the Agency Contract Administrator or others as appropriate.

State of Michigan (DEQ) Staff Roles and Responsibilities:

Project Manager/Contract Administrator: The Contract Administrator will manage the Contract between the Agency and the Contractor. The Program Manager will manage the day-to-day activities of the Agency as it relates to this Contract, i.e., assisting with contract performance on the part of the Agency, and assisting with resolution of issues that arise in the fulfillment of the Contract. The Program Manager, with assistance of administrative assistance, will process invoices from the Contractor. The Program Manager will assist with development and maintenance of the Contractor’s database for housing PEAS call reports and call statistics, and in development of the Contractor’s reports, etc. required to allow the Contractor to provide information to the DEQ in a format acceptable for purposes of reporting to the district and other staff, and for populating the database. (Format to be agreed upon by the Program Manager and the Contractor.)

Issue Management:

The Contract Administrator and the Program Manager will be responsible for capturing, reporting and escalating issues that arise during the term of this Contract. The Program Manager will generally be the first to identify an issue, and when this occurs, will attempt to resolve it through communications with the Contractor. If the issue is not resolved, the Contract Administrator will work with the Program Manager and the Contractor to obtain resolution.

Response: Contractor shall check only one box below and identify exception(s):

List all exception(s):

4.2. Meetings

The State may request meetings, as it deems appropriate.

4.3. Reporting

The Contractor must provide to the DEQ by the 15th of the month or the first business day after if it falls on a weekend or holiday, a digitized incident report information in Excel, format capable of being uploaded to the DEQ’s PEAS database. It is possible that an internet-based information transfer mechanism might supplant the need for these reports as technology becomes available, and as approved by the DEQ.

Digital conversations between the Contractor and the hotline caller, or DEQ staff must be recorded, and archived on site by the Contractor for a minimum of 90 days. The recordings must be made immediately available to the DEQ by e-mail or on a secure website, as well as monthly by compact disk or other means in a format usable by the DEQ.