Meeting_Body
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
OCTOBER 27, 2016
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: DIGITAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
ACTION: AWARD AN 18-MONTH CONTRACT TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT A DIGITAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer to award an 18 month firm-fixed price Contract No. PS5782700 to Axiom xCell Inc. in the amount of $746,160 to design and implement a digital incident management solution.
Issue
ISSUE
The manual process of downloading and distributing video is time consuming and inefficient for staff. Valuable maintenance time is spent supporting the video download process, administrating and managing the video distribution and storage of the various videos clips once they are received for follow up investigations. Metro currently manages approximately 15,000 video clips per year related to accidents, customer inquiries, on-board law enforcement issues and related operator training issues. Streamlining Metro’s video process will save time and help us meet the increasing demand for incident based video inquiries.
Over time Metro has acquired multiple and disparate video systems. Bus, Rail, Facilities and security systems are provided by different vendors. The recommended contractor will implement an agency-wide, integrated, video file management solution to support the video incident management process regardless of vendor and type. This single source of management will replace the largely manual process currently deployed with an electronic process.
Under this initiative, Metro will implement an integrated video file management software and solution to achieve Metro’s Digital Incident Management System (DIMS) objectives. The DIMS core features include the following capabilities:
1. Process user video requests and fetch bus, rail and fixed facility video segments from a central database through a common system.
2. Transfer a copy of video files which have evidentiary value from the source DVR or intermediate storage device to a central DIMS file repository.
3. Provide features to securely manage, with chain of custody, these video files throughout their lifecycle from acquisition to deletion regardless if the files are downloaded via Wi-Fi or manually added to DIMS.
4. Securely delete the video files after the assigned retention period.
Metro expects a full chain of custody over the DIMS video files including the logging of user access, file usage, metadata/attributes changes, distribution and disposition of the video files managed through DIMS.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The current process for collecting and distributing videos on the bus is primarily manual. Once the bus pulls into a division, an Electronic Communication Technician has to manually download and burn the video to a CD and distribute it. This requires large number of labor-hours and limits the capability of Metro to meet the increasing demand of incident based video. There are approximately 1200 downloads requested per month for bus operations alone. Even though Metro is moving toward automatic download of video through Wi-Fi, video distribution process is still manual and time consuming.
Rail video is currently being collected through various systems. There are new California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) requirements to review operator activity on rail via video. The system needs to be able to document this information based on the operator review. Currently there are different methods for requesting rail versus bus video. Staff has to either contact different departments or go through different systems to get videos for incidents.
Videos collected from cameras at various Metro facilities are currently stored on different storage devices. A work order is created to download and burn the videos as needed.
The intent of the new system is to streamline this process for rail, bus and various Metro facilities as required and to use a common entry request and processing system for video.
Future Network Infrastructure Improvements
DIMS will provide improvement via the centralized, integrated management of video files using the current network infrastructure. That said, future investment in wireless network improvements at bus and rail facilities would further streamline the collection of relevant video files. The current Wi-Fi networks at bus and rail locations can download video using the current infrastructure when the bus or rail car is parked close to a Wi-Fi access point. However, if the bus or rail car is parked in the middle or at the outer edges of the parking area the current Wi-Fi signal coverage cannot support the DIMS system because the bandwidth requirements. Therefore, as a separate, future initiative the ITS and Operations teams will refine detailed requirements to improve the Wi-Fi coverage at the divisions to support this and other initiatives as funding and resources become available.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
DIMS will help Metro streamline the digital video collection and distribution process. Streamlining and centralizing the digital video management process allows Metro to expedite video requests as well as address potential hardware maintenance issues with the video system. Digital videos are critical in resolving safety concerns to transit riders. The timely turnaround of video requests helps Metro improve safety on our transit systems as well as fixed facilities by allowing law enforcement and operational staff to review and address potential safety issues for our passengers.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funding for this service has been approved under a capital project (CP 207120) and is included in the FY17 budget under cost center 9210, Information Management - Transit Applications. Since this project will span over one year, the project manager and the Chief Information Officer will be responsible for budgeting the cost in future years.
Impact to Budget
The funding for this action is TDA Article 4 which is eligible for bus and rail operations and capital.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The alternative is to not award a contract for the Digital Incident Management System and continue to use the current systems. This option is not recommended because of the current deficiencies of having multiple systems and the current labor costs of downloading the approximate 15,000 video clips per year.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon approval by the Board, staff will execute Contract No. PS5782700 with Axiom xCell, Inc. for the implementation of Digital Incident Management System. Staff expects to come back to the Board to request authorization for a Wi-Fi improvement project to increase the coverage area at the divisions to enhance DIMS and other initiatives.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Procurement Summary
Attachment B - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by:
Patrick Astredo, DEO, Enterprise Transit Applications, ITS (213) 922-4290
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by:
James T. Gallagher, Chief Operations Officer (213) 922-4424
Alex Wiggins, Chief, Systems Security and Law Enforcement Officer (213) 922-4433
David C. Edwards, Chief Information Officer, ITS Administration (213) 922-5510
Ivan Page, Chief, Vendor/Contract Management (Interim) (213) 922-6383
