RECOVERY: Digital Audio Recording Systems and Related Services

RECOVERY THIS ACTION IS FUNDED BY THE RECOVERY ACT. The Social Security Administration (SSA) awarded a firm fixed-price call order to York Telecom Corporation under SSA blanket purchase agreement (BPA) SS00-09-40038 (under GSA contract GS-35F-0493K) for 152 digital recording units configured for permanent installation and 16 portable digital audio recording units to be deployed at SSA's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) hearing offices throughout the United States. In addition to providing the recording units, the contractor will provide associated installation services, onsite training, help desk support and maintenance. The contractor will install and configure the recording equipment using notebook computers supplied under another SSA BPA.



The equipment and software to be supplied under the order will include ForTheRecord Limited (FTR) multimedia recording and content management software, combined with a DMX-8 mixer manufactured by Antex Electronics. SSA previously determined that the FTR software and the DMX-8 mixer, required for compatibility with FTR, are brand name products that must be supplied under the BPA.



Currently there are over 1,500 digital audio recording (DR) systems nationwide in over 450 agency locations. Thousands of SSA employees and contractors nationwide use the DR software daily. SSA has made a multi-million dollar investment in the DR system itself and a significant investment in trained personnel and other electronic initiatives that is integrated with, and built upon, the DR system. The FTR software is the single most important part of the DR system. It is used to digitally record, store, archive, manage, playback, annotate, and transcribe proceedings of disability hearings. It is as an integral part of the DR system, and is fully integrated into SSA's overall electronic disability process.The FTR software has been customized for and integrated into SSAs electronic folder for disability cases. Changing the recording software would require significant, costly changes to ODAR's IT structure.