Report to: General Committee                                      Date Report Authored: March 08, 2010

 

 

SUBJECT:                          028-S-10 Purchase of Equipment for Thornhill and Milliken Mills Libraries

PREPARED BY:               Larry Pogue, Ext. 5986

                                            Omer Ariburnu, Ext. 4885

                                            Rosemarie Patano, Ext. 2990

 

RECOMMENDATION:

 

1)                  That the Report entitled “028-S-10 Purchase of Equipment for Thornhill and Milliken Mills Libraries”  be received;

 

2)                  And That staff be authorized to issue a Purchase Order to 3M Canada Company for one (1) FX 9-bin book sorter with patron and staff induction, and two (2)  7410 V-series SelfCheck units with corian tops, for Thornhill Community Branch (Infrastructure Project) in the amount of $ 292,626 (including freight, installation and applicable taxes);

 

3)                  And That staff be authorized to issue a Purchase Order for 3M equipment for Milliken Mills Branch for two (2) RFID/Barcode enabled 7410 V-series Self check units with corian tops, three (3)  946 RFID staff workstations and one (1) 803 digital library assistant handheld unit, in the amount of  $ 111,726 (including freight, installation and applicable taxes);

 

4)                  And That the tendering process be waived in accordance with Purchasing By-Law 2004-341, Part II, Section 7, Non Competitive Procurement, “Where there is only one source of supply for the goods to be purchased”; and “When the extension of an existing contract would prove more cost-effective and beneficial”;

 

5)                  And That the award for Purchasing of equipment for the Thornhill branch in the amount of $292,626 be funded from the 2010 Capital Budget #070-5350-9515-005 Thornhill Community Centre and Library Renovation Stimulus Project;

 

6)                  And That the award for Purchasing of  equipment for Milliken Mills Branch in the amount of $111,726 be funded from the 2010 Capital Budget #049-6150-10078-005, the 3M Equipment Life Cycle Replacement Phase 2 of 3;

 

7)                  And That upon approval of the yearly operating budget, an annual amount of $27,425.25 be budgeted for a 5 year service plan out of the ITS Operating Budget #400-404-5360 following the expiry of the one year warranty period.,

 

And That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

 

 

 

 

PURPOSE:

To award the contract for the purchase of library equipment for Thornhill CC and Milliken Mills Libraries.

 

BACKGROUND:

Since 2001, library staff has sourced library equipment from 3M Canada Company on a yearly basis.  In 2001 Library staff released a request for proposal (RFP) to five (5) potential proponents for the purchase and installation of material control systems and digital check-out /check-in equipment for the Unionville and Thornhill Community Libraries.  Criteria included in the RFP were; compatibility with current software and hardware; compatibility with tattle-tape security strips; efficiency with respect to inventory control and flexibility with respect to future technologies.  Upon closing three (3) proponents’ submitted a bid and two others were unable to meet the criteria identified in the bid document.  The Markham Public Library Board approved the contract and awarded to 3M Canada Company. 

 

In 2009, Town issued a request for quotation on behalf of the Markham Library for the provision of two (2) 7420 RFID/Barcode enabled self check units from 3M Canada Company for the Thornhill Community Library.  The bid was released to the market and closed with only one (1) submission from 3M Canada Company.  Of the proponents that picked up the bid document but did not submit a bid, one supplier advised they could not supply the commodity, two suppliers advised they could not integrate with the current system and one supplier advised that their library business was sold to 3M Canada Company and were unable to comply with the Town’s requirements.

 

Based on the feedback received and further research undertaken, it was determined that 3M Canada Company was the only supplier that could supply compatible equipment that integrates seamlessly with the existing hardware and software. 

 

Some of the benefits of continuing to use 3M Canada Company equipment for self-service / RFID requirements for the library include;

 

·        Full compatibility with existing hardware and software, including the Library’s Integrated Library System.

·        Consistency in provision of service and familiarity with use of the same equipment at all locations for both customers and staff.

·        Switching to a different vendor is cost prohibitive as existing RFID tags, tattle tape and equipment would all have to be replaced.

·        3M equipment has proven to be reliable and user-friendly. In the occasional event of breakdown, service response both with respect to response time and problem resolution has been excellent to date

 

Note:   At this moment there are no other providers that can supply equipment which is compatible with the tags and other equipment which are from 3M Canada Company.

.

 

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

The Thornhill Community Centre and Library Renovation has provided the Town with the opportunity to update this location and apply the same customer service standards that are already in place at Angus Glen and Markham Village Branches.  Library customers have readily embraced self-service technology in all MPL branches.  Automated self check-in technology permits customers to return their own Library materials and receive a receipt confirmation of their returns. 

 

This improves customer service through reduced wait times, as people no longer have to wait for staff to manually check in their materials.  Circulation of materials has steadily increased over the last 5 years and by almost 10% in 2009, while staff resourcing has remained unchanged.  The self-service technologies enable the Library to maintain service standards while holding down operating costs in a context of increasing workload and public service demands.

 

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE:

 

The following table is a summary of the financial considerations for this report:

 

 

 

 

 

Original Budget and Account #

 

$871,900

 

Various See Financial Attachment

Current Budget Available (unspent)

 

$871,900

 

 

Less Cost

 

($404,352)

 

Awarded to 3M Canada Company

Less Contingency

 

 

 

 

Budget Remaining

 

$467,548

 

 

 

 

 

 

Description

 

 

 

Qty

 

 

 

Location

 

 

Approved

Budget

 

 

 

Cost

 

 

 

Freight

 

 

 

PST

 

 

 

Total Cost

 

 

Budget Remaining

 

 

3M Smart Check & sorter

1

Thornhill Community

 

$229,000

$2,350

$18,508

$249,858

 

3M Self-Check units

2

Thornhill Community

 

$39,000

$600

$3,168

$42,768

 

Thornhill Community Centre & Library Renovation

 

Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment

(Account # 070-5350-9515-005)

$760,000

$268,000

$2,950

$21,676

$292,626

* $467,374

3M Self-Check Units

2

Milliken Mills

 

$39,000

$250

$3,140

$42,390

 

3M Staff Workstations

3

Milliken Mills

 

$54,000

$0

$4,320

$58,320

 

3M Digital Library Assistant

1

Milliken Mills

 

$10,200

$0

$816

$11,016

 

3M Equipment Lifecycle Replacement Phase 2 of 3

 

(Account # 049-6150-10078-005)

$111,900

$103,200

$250

$8,276

$111,726

$174

TOTAL AWARD

$871,900 

$371,200

$3,200

$29,952

$404,352

$467,548

 

* - The remaining amount of $467,374 in the FF&E component of the Thornhill community Centre & Library Renovation will be spent on various expenses related to the expansion for both the Community Centre and Library FF&E. .

 

Note: In comparing 2009 purchases for similar products provided by 3M Canada, the 2010 pricing represents a 10% reduction.   

 

The Thornhill Community Centre & Library Renovation project, funded through the Federal Stimulus Program, contains funding for a 3M SmartCheck book sorter and 2 new self-check units, all of which must be compatible with existing equipment and digital tags already in use at all Markham Public Library branches. 

 

Lifecycle Replacement Capital Budget project # 10078 “3M Equipment – Phase 2 of 3” has an approved budget of $111,900 to replace old 3M equipment under the Lifecycle Replacement program.  This project covers the replacement of two self check units, three staff check-in/check-out workstations and a digital library assistant handheld unit.

 

There will also be an annual operating budget impact for a 5 year service plan for all of this equipment upon the expiry of the one year warranty period.  The $27,425 annual amount will commence at the end of the 1 year warranty, which will be sometime in mid 2011.  In order to address this incremental amount for the 2011 and subsequent year budgets ITS will request the appropriate increase in Operating Budget account #400-404-5360, which pays for these expenses (The exercise of capturing the 2011 operating budget will occur in the fall of 2010.)

 

Although MPL has the option of going with either no plan or a 3 year plan, ITS recommends that the 5 year commitment be selected by MPL.  This is consistent with existing 3M equipment throughout the branches which are also on the 5 year plan.  As the equipment nears the 2nd half of its lifecycle, it is more prone to down time and repair related service calls.  The service plan provides preventative maintenance such as cleaning and maintaining optimum settings, adhoc repair requests as well as a fast priority response service level guarantee (to not exceed 8 hours from the time of the call).

 

Further, the 5 year plan offers a 5% per annum discount over the 3 year plan and a 15% discount over a 1 year plan.

 

 

HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS

Not Applicable

 

ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:

This project facilitates Growth Management by enabling the Library to effectively deal with increased public demand for services while containing operating costs.  Circulation continues to increase each year as the general population grows and the public relies more heavily on public services.  As described above, customer self-service technologies permit Library customers to both borrow and return materials directly themselves, requiring much less staff intervention.  Some additional benefits of the newer equipment include processing speed and the provision of new features such as reviewing accounts, renewing collections and payment of fines.  These features will result in an improved customer service experience and associated feedback.  There will be less material handling by the MPL staff.  The project promotes Municipal Services through ensuring the same level of service across the Town.  SmartCheck book sorters are currently available at both Angus Glen and Markham Village Branches.  This project will extend the same service to the newly renovated Thornhill Community Branch.

 

At the time of replacement for Milliken Mills Branch in 2010, the equipment will have outlived its useful life by 2 years.  The equipment at these branches consistently experiences more down time and triggers more service calls than that of the Angus Glen and Markham Village branches where the equipment is newer by 3 to 6 years.  Eventually the equipment will no longer be serviceable and hence will become obsolete. Also, the older equipment is not compatible with next generation digital tags that are cheaper to purchase.

 

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Markham Public Library

Information Technology Services, Client Delivery

Finance`

 

 

 

 

RECOMMENDED BY: