Ireland – Command, control, communication and computer systems – Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice (VEAT) for a contract for Provision & Maintenance of STORM Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) System for the ability to process emergency calls and mobilise fire service resources

Dublin City Council gives notice to invoke Article 32.2 (b) (ii) for a derogation from public procurement whereby the works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator where (i) competition is absent for technical reasons. Dublin City Council intends to award a contract to Sigma Wireless Communications Ltd for 1 year with an option to renew on a year-by-year basis for no more than 4 years from contract award. The current solution STORM CAD has been in operation since 2004 and has been used for the processing of emergency fire and ambulance calls in the East Region Communications Centre (ERCC) which is operated by Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB). Due to circumstances beyond the control of DFB and the ERCC, it is intended to replace the STORM CAD with a new CAD solution, however the design and procurement process will take up to 4 years to implement. Within this timeframe of 4 years, the ERCC will be required to continue to use STORM. The STORM CAD system deployed in the ERCC has several unique interfaces to other platforms including a Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS), a GIS mapping solution (blue8 world), an MIS extract tool and a paging solution. The ERCC requires a continued 365/24/7 support agreement to ensure that the STORM CAD and associate systems have adequate support arrangements to the ERCC. In addition, the current software should have appropriate support to fix any bugs or defects identified or to initiate change control if an operational requirement need arises. Given the number of interfaces to other third party systems, there are no financially or administratively reasonable or viable alternative or substitute systems or products, available to the ERCC over the next 4 years.