Suite 508
301 North Lamar Street
Jackson, MS 39201-1495
Phone: 601-359-1395
David L. Litchliter, Executive Director Fax: 601-354-6016
www.its.state.ms.us
Memorandum for General RFP Configuration
To: Vendors with a current valid proposal for General RFP #3363 for Consulting Services
From: David L. Litchliter
Date: October 13, 2004
Subject: Project #35484 for contractual services to provide consulting services for the Mississippi
State Department of Health (MSDH)
Contact Name: Shey Williams
Contact Phone Number: 601-359-1340
Contact E-mail Address: shey.williams@its.state.ms.us
The Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) is seeking the services
described below on behalf of the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH). Our records
indicate that your company currently has a valid proposal on file at ITS in response to General
RFP #3363 for Consulting Services. Our preliminary review of this proposal indicates that your
company offers services that are appropriate to the requirements of this project. Please submit a
written response for the requested services.
1. General LOC Instructions
1.1 Beginning with Item 4.1 of this section, label and respond to each outline point in
this section as it is labeled in the LOC.
1.2 The Vendor must respond with “ACKNOWLEDGED,” “WILL COMPLY,” or
“AGREED” to each point in this section.
1.3 If the Vendor cannot respond with “ACKNOWLEDGED,” “WILL COMPLY,”
or “AGREED,” then the Vendor must respond with “EXCEPTION.” (See
attached instructions regarding Vendor exceptions.)
1.4 Where an outline point asks a question or requests information, the Vendor must
respond with the specific answer or information requested.
1.5 In addition to the above, Vendor must provide explicit details as to the manner
and degree to which the proposal meets or exceeds each specification.
Board Members – David G. Roach, Chairman Stephen A. Adamec, Jr., Vice- Chairman Derek Gibbs John Hairston Cecil L. Watkins
Legislative Advisors – Representative Gary V. Staples Senator Tommy Moffatt
2. LOC Project Schedule
Task Date
Deadline for Vendor’s Written Questions October 20, 2004
Addendum with Vendor’s Questions and October 22, 2004
Answers
Proposals Due October 29, 2004
Proposal Evaluation/Interviews November 1 through November 17
Notification of Award November 18, 2004
Contract Execution November 23
Awarded Individual’s 1st Day December 1, 2004
3. General Overview and Background
Safe Drinking Water Information System/Federal Version (SDWIS/FED) is a database
designed and implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to meet its
needs in the oversight and management of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The
database contains data submitted by states and EPA regions in conformance with
reporting requirements established by statute, regulation and guidance. A “sister”
system, SDWIS/STATE (Safe Drinking Water Information System/State Version), is a
database designed by the EPA and the states to help states (and EPA regions) run their
drinking water programs and fulfill EPA reporting requirements.
MSDH is in the process of implementing SDWIS/STATE. They are requesting services
on a time and materials basis to assist in the implementation.
4. Specifications
4.1 The proposed individual will be responsible for the following tasks.
4.1.1 SDWIS/STATE Migration – SDWIS/STATE runs on an Oracle database.
The awarded individual will migrate the MSDH Division of Water Supply
from its existing software system to SDWIS/STATE, provide assistance
and training for the new system and aid in its administration.
4.1.1.1 There are several systems that are dependent on the Public
Water System Inventory. They include 1. The WaterSup
program. This is a FoxPro 2.6 program that includes the
Sample Results Data Entry module that allows users to
enter laboratory sample data and print results. 2. The
Board Member, Annual Operating Agreement and Annual
Report Logging Programs all rely on accurate Inventory
data. These are Visual FoxPro applications. 3.
SDWIS/STATE Inventory and Facility data must be
exported daily to the legacy system, which will continue to
be used by the Waterworks Operator Certification program
and the Work Order Generation Routine. This Inventory
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and Facility data has been migrated into SDWIS/STATE.
MSDH are still maintaining legacy copies of this data
because the WaterSup application uses those tables to
generate Work Orders, allow entry of Laboratory Results
and handshakes with the Operator table.
4.1.1.2 Migration of data will include all historical sampling data
housed in legacy systems. A list detailing the types and
quantity of historical data has been attached as Exhibit A.
4.1.1.3 The awarded individual, acting as administrator, will
develop Sample Results reports for the various Analyte
Groups. The awarded individual will start with
Nitrate/Nitrite and Lead/Copper results since this data is
now either entered directly into SDWIS/STATE or
captured electronically. Reports must also be generated for
all other sample types listed on the Exhibit A except for
Bacteriological and Fluoride. Files must be exported for
merging with letters to accompany results which indicate
the Public Water System is either “in” or “out” of
compliance. Exception reports must be generated and
reviewed on a routine basis. This will assist in identifying
errors in data entry (such as inconsistencies in naming
conventions), which is not “controlled” by the
SDWIS/STATE software itself. The administrator will also
be responsible for ensuring that proper backups of data are
maintained as well as ensuring uploads as required by EPA
are made to the Federal database in a timely manner.
4.1.2 Survey System – The survey system, developed in Python, XMLRPC, and
PHP, is a web-based survey software system that tracks detailed
information obtained from water system surveys performed by engineers
of the Division of Water Supply. Surveys are completed annually during
on-site interviews with representatives and officials of the water system.
All components of the water system including sources, treatment, storage
and the distribution system are inspected for deficiencies that may lead to
violations of regulated water quality parameters. Currently the on-line data
entry module captures and stores field parameters and comments and
generates a comprehensive Report of Inspection for the Public Water
System. The on-line Capacity Assessment module must mirror the form
adopted by the Bureau of Water Supply. Changes are required annually to
this module after a review by the Capacity Assessment Advisory
Committee. An understanding of basic engineering principles will be
required to fully automate the Master Data Sheet component of the Survey
System since this module includes facility flows and an inventory of
facility processes and associated water treatment facilities. The awarded
individual will provide enhancements and modifications including, but not
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limited to, improving its usefulness and stability, adding functionality to
meet new EPA reporting requirements and integrating it with
SDWIS/STATE. The awarded individual will also aid in its
administration by recommending parameters to be included or excluded
on the Capacity Assessment Form. These recommendations will be based
on an analysis of historical ratings and a basic knowledge of public water
supply managerial, financial and technical aspects.
4.1.3 Electronic Filing System – The electronic filing system, developed in
Python, XMLRPC, and PHP, replaces traditional paper filing. It consists
of a combination of scanned paper documents and electronically generated
documents and has advantages such as multiple backups and efficient
indexing and retrieval. The awarded individual will provide
enhancements and modifications including, but not limited to, improving
its usefulness and stability, adding functionality to meet new EPA
reporting requirements and integrating it with SDWIS/STATE. The
awarded individual will also aid in its administration. This will include
maintaining adequate backups, training users and assisting staff in
identifying additional uses of the Electronic Filing System.
4.1.4 Laboratory Information Transfer – The laboratory information transfer
system, developed in Python, XMLRPC, and PHP, uses electronic data
transfer in the place of a paper/data-entry system. Its advantages include
data entry error reduction and faster data entry, which lead to more timely
and accurate discovery of high contaminant levels and monitoring
deficiencies. The awarded individual will provide enhancements and
modifications including, but not limited to, improving its usefulness and
stability, adding functionality to meet new EPA reporting requirements
and integrating it with SDWIS/STATE. The awarded individual will
develop reports using ReportLab PDF Library that will be sent to
individual public water systems. Other duties of the awarded individual
will be coordinating with chemists in the environmental laboratory to
export the data from the various pieces of equipment.
4.2 Vendor must be aware the specifications listed below are minimum requirements.
Should the vendor choose to propose consultant(s) that exceed the requirements, it
is the Vendor’s responsibility to specify in what matter the proposed consultant
exceeds requirements.
4.3 Individual(s) proposed must have verifiable working experience in the following:
Technical Skill Set Requirement
4.3.1 Oracle Database 8i Minimum 1 year
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4.3.2 FoxBASE+ 2.10 Minimum 1 year
4.3.3 FoxPro 2.6 Minimum 1 year
4.3.4 Visual FoxPro 6 Minimum 1 year
4.3.5 PostgreSQL Minimum 2 years
4.3.6 PostgreSQL 7.4 Minimum 1 year
4.3.7 Windows Operating System Minimum 3 years
4.3.8 RedHat Linux 7.2 Minimum 2 years
4.3.9 Python Minimum 2 years
4.3.10 PHP Minimum 2 years
4.3.11 JAVA Minimum 1 year
4.3.12 Apache Tomcat (ability to install, run and manage) Minimum 1 year
4.3.13 HTML Minimum 3 years
4.3.14 XMLRPC Protocol Minimum 1 year
4.3.15 ReportLab PDF Library Minimum 1 year
4.3.16 Debian – dpkg, aptitude and configuration Minimum 2 years
standards
4.4 Individual(s) proposed must have the following business skills:
Business Skill Set Requirement
4.4.1 Ability to effectively communicate verbally and in No minimum
writing requirement
specified
4.4.2 Ability to interact with functional users and No minimum
technical staff regarding business and information requirement
technology needs specified
4.4.3 Ability to listen and solve problems No minimum
requirement
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specified
4.5 Individual(s) proposed will be given additional consideration for the following:
Technical/Business Skill Set Requirement
4.5.1 Verifiable experience in a Public Health related No minimum
environment requirement
specified
4.5.2 Verifiable experience with SDWIS/FED or No minimum
SDWIS/STATE requirement
specified
4.5.3 Verifiable experience with EPA reporting No minimum
requirements and environmental laboratory data requirement
information specified
4.6 The awarded individual must be prepared to sign a HIPAA Business Associate
Agreement.
4.7 ITS reserves the right to award this project to one (1) or more Vendors for one (1)
or more individuals.
4.8 Vendors may propose no more than two (2) individuals to be considered
separately. If Vendor is proposing a team effort, Vendor must clearly indicate the
individuals proposed and their prospective roles.
4.9 Initial contract period will be from December 1, 2004, through November 30,
2005. The number of contract hours will not exceed 2000 hours.
4.10 MSDH anticipates the awarded individual working on a full time basis.
4.11 Vendor must indicate a not-to-exceed % increase for contract renewal periods.
4.12 The anticipated start date will be December 1, 2004. We will inform the
respondents to this LOC of the actual start date after we complete the evaluation
process.
4.13 Awarded individual(s) will be allowed to work remotely when conceivable. All
work completed remotely will have to be approved by MSDH. Some of the tasks
required under this agreement, such as training, will have to be performed on-site
at the MSDH office located at 540 East Woodrow Wilson Drive, Jackson,
Mississippi 39215.
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4.14 Awarded individual may be required to attend monthly, on-site meetings with
MSDH.
4.15 Training must be provided by the individual that performs the conversion.
4.16 The individual(s) must be available during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. Individual(s) may occasionally be required to work
outside of these hours.
4.17 Awarded individual(s) will work under the direction of Ms. Karen Walters.
4.18 A telephone number must be included for each individual proposed so they can be
contacted for a telephone interview. ITS will pay toll charges in the continental
United States. The Vendor must arrange a toll-free number for all other calls.
ITS will work with the vendor to set up a date and time for the interview;
however, we must be able to contact the individual directly. Individuals scoring
less than 50% of telephone interview points may be eliminated from further
consideration.
4.19 Proposed individuals may be required to attend an on-site interview with MSDH.
All costs associated with the on-site interview will be the responsibility of the
vendor. Individual(s) proposed must be available for an on-site interview with a 7
day notice from ITS. Individuals scoring less than 75% of on-site interview
points may be eliminated from further consideration.
4.20 An Experience Questionnaire must be completed and submitted with vendor’s
response for each individual proposed. All relevant experience must be included
in the Experience Questionnaire. Proposals received without Experience
Questionnaires for each individual proposed will be eliminated from
consideration. Individuals who do not meet the minimum requirements specified
in specifications 4.4 through 4.5 will be eliminated from consideration. The
experience listed on the Experience Questionnaire must be verifiable via reference
checks. Experience listed that cannot be verified will not count toward the
minimum requirement.
4.21 A Reference Information Sheet must be completed and submitted with vendor’s
response for each individual proposed. Vendor must provide at least three (3)
references for each proposed individual. ITS prefers that references be from
completed and/or substantially completed jobs that closely match this request.
Reference information must correlate to the information provided on the
Experience Questionnaire. Reference information must include at a minimum
entity, supervisor’s name, supervisor’s telephone number, length of project, and a
brief description of the project. References that are no longer in business cannot
be used. Inability to reach the reference will result in that reference being deemed
non-responsive.
4.22 Individuals receiving negative references may be eliminated from further
consideration.
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4.23 A copy of each individual’s resume must be included. Proposals received without
resumes will be eliminated from consideration. However, ITS will not use a
resume to add experience to the Experience Questionnaire. The Experience
Questionnaire must certify the amount of experience in months and the applicable
specification(s) met by each project.
4.24 Individuals proposed must be proficient in spoken and written English.
4.25 Individuals proposed must be a U.S. citizen or meet and maintain employment
eligibility requirements in compliance with all INS regulations. Vendor must
provide evidence of identification and employment eligibility prior to the award
of a contract that includes any personnel who are not U.S. citizens.
4.26 The individual(s) assigned to this project will remain part of the project
throughout the duration of the contract as long as the personnel are employed by
the Vendor, unless replacement by the Vendor at the request of ITS. This
requirement includes the responsibility for ensuring all non-citizens maintain
current INS eligibility throughout the duration of the contract.
4.27 ITS will require a contract with the winning vendor. Vendors responding to this
LOC must be willing to negotiate in good faith such a contract. If the winning
Vendor has a Master Agreement with ITS, it may not be necessary to negotiate a
separate contract. A sample of a Professional Services Agreement has been
attached for reference.
4.28 Vendors must provide details of those features, capabilities, or characteristics of
their proposals that, while not directly solicited in the LOC specifications, could
add value to the customer considering the proposal. The State will evaluate this
information for all valid vendors meeting LOC specifications and where it is
believed this information adds value to a vendor’s proposal, the State will rate
vendors with additional consideration.
5. Proposal Exceptions
5.1 Please return the attached Proposal Exception Summary Form with any
exceptions listed and clearly explained or state “No Exceptions Taken.” If no
Proposal Exception Summary Form is included, the Vendor is indicating that he
takes no exceptions.
5.2 Unless specifically disallowed on any specification herein, the Vendor may take
exception to any point within this RFP, including a specification denoted as
mandatory, as long as the following are true:
5.2.1 The specification is not a matter of State law;
5.2.2 The proposal still meets the intent of the LOC;
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5.2.3 A Proposal Exception Summary Form is included with Vendor’s proposal;
and
5.2.4 The exception is clearly explained, along with any alternative or
substitution the Vendor proposes to address the intent of the specification,
on the Proposal Exception Summary Form.
5.3 The Vendor has no liability to provide items to which an exception has been
taken. ITS has no obligation to accept any exception. During the proposal
evaluation and/or contract negotiation process, the Vendor and ITS will discuss
each exception and take one of the following actions:
5.3.1 The Vendor will withdraw the exception and meet the specification in the
manner prescribed;
5.3.2 ITS will determine that the exception neither poses significant risk to the
project nor undermines the intent of the LOC and will accept the
exception;
5.3.3 ITS and the Vendor will agree on compromise language dealing with the
exception and will insert same into the contract;
5.3.4 None of the above actions is possible, and ITS either disqualifies the
Vendor’s proposal or withdraws the award and proceeds to the next
ranked Vendor.
5.4 Should ITS and the Vendor reach a successful agreement, ITS will sign adjacent
to each exception which is being accepted or submit a formal written response to
the Proposal Exception Summary responding to each of the Vendor’s exceptions.
The Proposal Exception Summary, with those exceptions approved by ITS, will
become a part of any contract on acquisitions made under this LOC.
5.5 An exception will be accepted or rejected at the sole discretion of the State.
5.6 Prior to taking any exceptions to this LOC, ITS requests that, to the extent
possible, the individual(s) preparing this proposal first confer with other
individuals who have previously submitted proposals to ITS or participated in
contract negotiations with ITS on behalf of their company, to ensure the Vendor
is consistent in the items to which it takes exception.
6. Added Value
ITS & MSDH are requesting the vendors to propose any additional value-added features,
products and/or services that may distinguish your company and its offering from the
group and facilitate our selection process of the lowest and best proposals. ITS and
MSDH will make the sole assessment of the relative merits of each added-value proposal
to the agency.
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7. Scoring Methodology
7.1 ITS will use the following items to score proposals received:
7.1.1 Cost.
7.1.2 Experience.
7.1.3 Interview.
7.1.4 Value-Add.
7.2 Each of these categories is assigned a weight between one and 100. The sum of
all categories, other than Added Value, will equal 100 possible points. An Added
Value rating between 0 and 5 will be assigned based on the assessment of the
selection committee. These points will be added to the total score. All
information provided by the vendors and other information available to ITS staff
will be used to evaluate the proposals.
8. Instructions to Submit Product and Cost Information
Please use the attached CP-6: General RFP Information Form to provide product
descriptions, part numbers and cost. Follow the instructions on the form. Incomplete
forms will not be processed.
9. Delivery Instructions
Vendor must deliver their response to Shey Williams at ITS by Friday, October 29, 2004,
by 3:00 P.M. (Central Time). Responses may be delivered by hand, via regular mail, via
email or by fax. Fax number is (601) 354-6016. ITS WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE
FOR DELAYS IN THE DELIVERY OF PROPOSALS. It is solely the responsibility of
the vendor that proposals reach ITS on time. Vendors should contact Shey Williams to
verify the receipt of their proposals. Proposals received after the deadline will be
rejected.
If you have any questions concerning this request, please e-mail Shey Williams of ITS at
shwilliams@its.state.ms.us. Any questions concerning the specifications detailed in
this LOC must be received by Wednesday, October 20, 2004, by 3:00 P.M. (Central
Time).
Enclosures: CP-6: RFP Information Form
Experience Questionnaire/Reference Information
Proposal Exception Summary Form
Exhibit A: Historical Data
Professional Services Agreement
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CP-6: GENERAL RFP INFORMATION FORM - 3363
Please submit the ITS requested information response under your general proposal #3363 using
the following format.
Fax your completed form back to 601-354-6016 addressed to the Technology Consultant listed
on the fax cover sheet. If the necessary information is not included, your response cannot be
considered.
ITS Technology Consultant Name: Shey Williams RFP# 3363
Company Name: Date:
Contact Name: Phone Number:
INDIVIDUAL’S DIRECT
INDIVIDUAL NAME HOURLY RATE**
FUNCTION TELEPHONE #
**If Vendor travel is necessary to meet the requirements of the LOC, Vendor should propose fully loaded
costs including travel.
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EXPERIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE/REFERENCE INFORMATION– Jane Doe -
The information provided below will be used to calculate experience points and to contact
references. If one project included more than one specification, you can reference the specifications
in one table (See below for example). Each specification must be listed individually. A correct
entry would look like: 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3. An incorrect entry would look like: 1.1.1-1.1.3
Specification 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.1.5
Entity ABC Company
Supervisor’s Name Joe Smoe
Supervisor’s Title Head Honcho
Supervisor’s Telephone # 555-555-5555
Supervisor’s E-Mail jsmoe@abccompany.com
Address
Length of Project May 1999 – May 2000 (12 months)
Brief Description of Project The ABC project allows bankers to share information on-line
pertaining to individuals credit reports
Specification 3.1.4, 3.1.5, 3.1.7
Entity DEF
Supervisor’s Name Jane Smoe
Supervisor’s Title Head Honcho
Supervisor’s Telephone # 555-555-5555
Supervisor’s E-Mail jsmoe@defcompany.com
Address
Length of Project May 2000 – May 2001 (12 months)
Brief Description of Project The ABC project allows farmers to share information on-line
pertaining to cattle prices
Specification 3.1.5, 3.1.6, 3.1.8
Entity GHI Company
Supervisor’s Name Jim Smoe
Supervisor’s Title Head Honcho
Supervisor’s Telephone # 555-555-5555
Supervisor’s E-Mail jsmoe@ghicompany.com
Address
Length of Project May 2001 – May 2002 (12 months)
Brief Description of Project The ABC project allows consultants to share information on-line
pertaining to consulting jobs
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PROPOSAL EXCEPTION SUMMARY FORM
ITS RFP Vendor Proposal Brief Explanation of ITS Acceptance (sign
Reference Reference Exception here only if accepted)
(Reference (Page, section, items in (Short description of
specific outline Vendor’s proposal where exception being
point to which exception is explained) made)
exception is
taken)
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Exhibit A: Historical Data
Approximate
number
Sample Type of records to migrate Storage Format
Bacteriological 567,100 FoxBASE+ 2.10
Physical/Chemical 7,660 FoxPro 2.6
Fluoride 36,640 FoxPro 2.6
Asbestos 80 Excel
Haloacetic Acid 3,650 Visual Fox 6
Trihalomethane 5,630 Visual Fox 6
Cyanide 5,010 FoxPro 2.6
Inorganic 4,890 FoxPro 2.6
Nitrate/Nitrite 22,030 FoxPro 2.6
Radiological 3,850 FoxPro 2.6
Volatile Organic 7,220 FoxPro 2.6
Synthetic Organic 1,105 FoxPro 2.6
Lead & Copper 6,800 Visual Fox 6
Bromate/Bromide 50 Excel
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Sample Professional Services Agreement attached as a separate document
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