Introduction
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) includes several operational programs where staff work alone or in remote locations (including, but not limited to, field work), which constitute a risk to staff safety. Some of the operational factors that ECCC staff face include hostile human situations, remoteness, long duration in the field, technical requirements, working alone, hazardous tasks, and environmental hazards (water, ice, wildlife, wind, etc.). The extensive operations at ECCC mean that operational needs for staff safety and monitoring across the Department are quite varied.
To ensure the safety of all staff, ECCC has policies and procedures in place requiring regular “check ins” by staff working alone or in remote locations. Should an employee miss a scheduled check-in, or call directly for help, the Department also has emergency response procedures in place, which currently vary between programs, but generally require supervisors of monitored employees to be on standby after hours to respond to emergencies. The Department is currently testing and investigating a variety of options to improve the emergency response system and to implement a Department-wide solution to ensure the safety of all staff.
Request for Information (RFI) Purpose
The purpose of this RFI is to gather information from respondents regarding their ability to respond to all, or part, of the safety monitoring requirements for ECCC. Responses will help determine if services are available to provide an external “end-to-end” safety monitoring system for ECCC staff working alone or in remote locations. Benefits of a new system may include a reduction in the need for program staff to be involved in monitoring and emergency response (especially after regular work hours), provision of extra support when staff are responding to emergencies, and better coordination between systems and procedures in the safety monitoring system.
The proposed solution could include managing satellite communication device accounts, supporting the creation and maintenance of field trip itineraries / sail plans, monitoring regular staff check-ins, and providing emergency response services. A single vendor/supplier to manage all aspects of an integrated, end-to-end monitoring system would be preferred, to ensure the movement of data and information through the various steps is properly supported.
In addition to responding to the specifications listed in this document, the Department is interested in receiving input and suggestions as to the best way to support an integrated staff safety monitoring service for staff across the country.
RFI Scope
The proposed solution for a safety monitoring service for ECCC staff should be able to operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, in English and French, and in all regions of Canada including Northern and remote locations. The service should allow for monitoring of up to 1350 individuals across Canada at all times of year. Not all staff would require monitoring on any given day, but they would all require accounts to allow monitoring at any time throughout the year. Confidentiality and government security clearance will be required when dealing with personal employee information.
Flexibility to adjust monitoring and check-in requirements between programs at ECCC will be an asset to the proposed solution(s). Up to 10 separate programs at ECCC will need to be individually configured within the chosen solution. Some ECCC programs include year-round field work and multi-day trips, while others have only a small amount of single-day field work at certain times of year. Staff working alone in warehouses or who undertake hazardous tasks may also use this safety monitoring service.
Objectives of this RFI
A RFI is used when detailed information and feedback are required from respondents. This request outlines a potential requirement, and requests respondents to describe their ability to satisfy all or a portion of the requirements and to provide ideas and suggestions on how a solicitation might be structured. Responses will be used to assist ECCC to finalize its plan for the requirement and to develop achievable objectives and deliverables.
The main objectives of the RFI are to:
Inform the Department on potential options for external services that meet the needs of the requirement;
Offer suggestions regarding potential alternative solutions that would meet requirements, such as solution with a lower environmental impact;
Provide information to assist the Department to determine whether to proceed with requirements/strategy as planned, and if so, further developing internal planning, approval and solicitation documents that may potentially lead to a solicitation;
Refine the procurement strategy, project structure, cost estimate, timelines, requirements definition, and other aspects of the requirement;
Become a more "informed buyer" with an enhanced understanding of industry goods and service offerings in the areas of interest; and
Assess potential alternative solution concepts that would meet its requirement, such as environmentally preferable solutions.
Nature of RFI
This RFI will not necessarily result in any procurement action. This RFI is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a commitment by the Government of Canada. Responses to this RFI will not constitute a commitment from the industry provider. Potential suppliers of any goods or services described in this RFI should not allocate resources or incur undue costs as a result of any information contained in this RFI. Nor will this RFI result in the creation of any source list. Therefore, whether or not any potential supplier responds to this RFI will not preclude that supplier from participating in any future procurement.
This RFI contains draft requirements that may be used in future procurement action. This document remains a work in progress and respondents should not assume that requirements will not be added, changed or removed from any bid solicitation that is ultimately published by ECCC. Comments regarding any aspect of the requirements are welcome.
