The City of Dunn issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified vendors experienced in the supply and installation of water meters for measuring potable water usage and in the network configuration, installation, and operations training of fixed-base water meter reading systems. Based on the results of a  completed Feasibility Study, the City decided to implement an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) water meter reading system with true two-way communication technology.

As a component of the process, MeterSYS provided solicitation support services, management of vendor communications and outreach, facilitation of site visits and the pre-bid meeting. MeterSYS operated as an extension of our customer’s staff and aimed to minimize customer staff resources through a requirements worksheet and feedback approach that tailored the MeterSYS Procurement Workbook and was further refined through in-person work sessions with the collective team. The customer had multiple decision-making opportunities including controls ahead of the RFP issuance, in advance of issuing the responses and recommendations to Department leadership staff, and at the elected official level before or after legal review.

The customer considered its operational goals, the solutions presented, the cost/benefit evaluation, and its timeline for implementation to define solution selection and deployment in support of a defined metering strategy moving forward. The Vendor selection and due diligence process will include confirming compliance with all requirements and validating information as presented in the Vendor bid documents. Additionally, MeterSYS will provide its customers with the best value approach incorporating a weighted evaluation of the services and technology features required and desired by staff. The criteria for selection will be determined by the Project Team (comprised of County and MeterSYS members) and typically include:

  • Network Design– Tower Collectors, Pole-mount Collectors, Repeaters
  • Meter Equipment Proposed and Detailed Specifications– Mechanical, Solid State, Register Type, Resolution
  • CapEx and OpEx Costs– Cost/Benefit and Implications of Design Changes or Alternatives
  • MDMS Functionality– Reporting, Analytics, Training, Ease of Use, Relevance to Utility,
  • Expanded Functionalities– Remote Disconnect, Pressure, Temperature, Sensing Devices, Leak Detection
  • Detailed Customer Data Access– Customer Portal (Vendor or 3rd– Party), Single Sign-on, User Based Transactions and Notifications
  • Solution References/Experiences– Positive Feedback of Projects Similar to Proposal, Manufacturer Stability
  • Installation Experience/Qualifications– History of Installation with Proposed Solution, References, Installation Methodology
  • Service Performance/Reliability– Performance and Failure Rates (Meters, Registers, Transmitters, Base Stations), RMA/Warranty Process

MeterSYS will present summary documents with the results of these investigation efforts which will allow for quick review of the proposals by the collective team.

For this step, MeterSYS will coordinate Vendor communication and scheduling of shortlisted Vendor presentations/interviews, as well as the negotiated cost and contract terms with the selected vendor. Throughout this phase, our team will be coordinating with members of the Selection Committee for feedback and review of summary documents before proceeding with the next evaluation step.

Solution procurement for Dunn was successful through utilizing the requirements planning and bid solicitation experiences of MeterSYS with a defined and targeted plan of work. Dunn has benefited from proper specifications development, transparent and compliant procurement actions, broad understanding and support of the technology, and direct market feedback to consultant estimates (cost validation). The City of Dunn completed procurement with MeterSYS and purchased a Ferguson-Sensus all new AMI metering system. If you have any questions relating to procurement, please visit the “Contact Us” page of our website.