SOLICITATION NOTICE
M -- BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS OPERATOR INTERFACE
- Notice Date
- 4/10/2012
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541513
— Computer Facilities Management Services
- Contracting Office
- NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Procurement Office, Marshall SpaceFlight Center, AL 35812
- ZIP Code
- 35812
- Solicitation Number
- NNM12430497R
- Response Due
- 4/25/2012
- Archive Date
- 4/10/2013
- Point of Contact
- Ketela K. Helton, Contracting Officer, Phone 256-544-7179, Fax 256-544-9162, Email Ketela.K.Helton@nasa.gov - John A. Busbey, Contracting Officer, Phone 256-544-0896, Fax 256-544-9162, Email john.busbey@msfc.nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Ketela K. Helton
(Ketela.K.Helton@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- NASA/MSFC has a requirement for Building Automation System Operator Interface (OI). Energy Management Control System User Interface for Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).1. IntroductionThe user interface consists of two major components: the workspace and ribbon.Theworkspace is the interfaces main focal point and is where most operators willconcentrate their attention. It is a parent container for Individual tabs consisting ofdisplays, GPL sequences, explorers, alarms, etc.The familiar Microsoft Ribbon Interface is used to navigate easily around the system. Itis appropriate for both casual operators and system administrators. The ribbon boastsimprovements to the interface on several fronts:- Deep functionality is brought forward for quick access to the entire system.- Visual navigation increases operator efficiency and decreases required training.- Logical grouping of navigation and control components yields a clean yet powerfulmeans of traversing the entire system.The user interface incorporates new and proven standards in user interface design; thisreduces training requirements by leveraging the operators prior software experiences. Operator productivity is increased with enhanced navigation techniques.The above improvements speak to ease of use and the overall user experience. Significanteffort however, was also given to enhancing the softwares data mining and presentationcapabilities. Together, these yield a clean, powerful and pleasing interface designedspecifically to boost operator performance and increase system insight.2. RibbonThe ribbon is a grouped collection of graphical buttons designed to easily navigate,manage, and control all aspects of the system.Logical grouping is accomplished usingribbon tabs; each tab name is representative of the ribbon category, i.e. those thingswhich it contains.The ribbon utilizes a designated common area for the graphical interface buttons. Thebuttons in the common area are reflective of the selected tab category; when a new tab isselected, the common area is updated to show the buttons associated with said tab.A dynamic ribbon makes the software more intuitive and easy to use. For instance, whenselecting a value on a display, the ribbon automatically updates to indicate commonactions that might target the value.3. WorkspaceThe workspace occupies the majority area of the interface. It is home to displays,sequences, explorers, alarm views, etc. organized as a set of tabs. Tabbed workflow isthe workspaces easy-access counterpart to the Ribbon Interface. It facilitatesextremely fast movement between all open system views.Tabs may be rearranged, broke outas a unique window, and re-docked with other tabs.The left, right, and bottom sides of the workspace are dockable areas.These areas allowthe operator to dock toolbars or groups of toolbars to the workspace; this is conduciveto quickly reviewing multifaceted system information and it optimizes real-timeinterrogation of system status.4. Reports TabThe ribbons report tab facilitates viewing, creating, and/or scheduling of reports. Specifically, it includes shortcuts to: Create a tabular or graphical report Launch the report explorer to view all available reports View and/or run recently opened reports View, create, or modify scheduled reportsReporting (i.e. mining data) is the operators tool to assess past and present systemperformance. This may be used to compare energy usage between the current year and pastyears, highlight problematic areas in the system, and/or to help determine equipmentmaintenance needs.The user interface equips operators and administrators to effectively mine and analyzedata in the following ways: Graphical reports convey information quickly; multiple types are supported such as pieand line. Selectable date ranges per data series element simplifies past / present comparisons. Support of in-report mathematics.- For example, unit conversions such as gal/min to gal/hour can be accomplished veryeasily; this is a very simple example but the same methods can be used to manipulate thedata set with complex formulas.- Create new datasets from the existing data. For example, assume there exist threepieces of information regarding a pump: runtime, energy consumption, and energy cost. The cost of ownership (energy only) could be estimated by creating a fourth column basedon the first three (runtime data * energy consumption data * cost of energy).- Option to include summary data per dataset (sums, averages, max, min, etc.) Friendly report titles, dataset names, column titles, etc. User specified tags may be included in report generation.The reports explorer lists all available reports in the system. All available reportsare comprised of: System Reports Administrator created and managed. Available to all users. User Contributed Reports Created, managed, and shared by other users. My Reports Individual operators created reports; these can be shared with others ifdesired.Scheduled reports automatically run at predetermined times, dates, and/or frequency. Schedules can be created for any report an operator has access to. For example, if Bobshares an equipment runtime report, Jim can create a schedule for this report to run. The generated report is only available to Bob; other users cannot see the generatedreport.Automatically generated reports can be saved to a file, printed, uploaded to the cloud,or emailed to one or more personnel.5. Points TabThe points tab and explorer target points consisting of Analog Inputs (AI), AnalogOutputs (AO), Analog Values (AV), Digital Inputs (DI), Digital Outputs (DO), and DigitalValues (DV). This ribbon tab consists of shortcut to the points explorer, recent andfavorite points, as well as quick create buttons for each point type (AI, AO, AV, DI, DO,DV). Recent points contain shortcuts to points that were recently opened. Favoritesfunctions the same as any web browser favorites listing and is simply a list of pointsmarked as favorite by the user, providing quick access to a list of points the user isinterested in.Much of the point explorers operation is generic in nature, and is described inSectionX, Additional Features Explorer.6. Additional FeaturesA. ExplorerExplorers are used to find, open, and/or edit a particular point, display, schedule, etc. Several different explorers available to accommodate the different objects in thesystem, including: System Explorer The traditional point selector has been repurposed with a powerfulsystem explorer. This explorer makes available everything in the system from Devices toScripts to Time of Day schedules. Theres also an option to emulate the traditionalpoint selector. Points Explorer As its name suggests, the points explorer targets points consistingof AIs, AOs, AVs, DIs, DOs, and DVs. Display Explorer Also as its name suggests, the display explorer contains a listingof all displays in the system.Several generic features common to all explorers are: Search Search result listings in real time (listing updates per the search criteria asthe operator types). Property Columns Now object properties can be viewed alongside search results. Eachproperty adds a column to the search results and can be added/removed at will. Filters In addition to Search, powerful filters can be used to narrow down the resultlistings. Property Inspector This is a list style view of all the properties of a single objector group of objects. When an object is selected from the explorer, the property / valuepairs are populated with the selected objects values.If multiple objects are selected,differing values are indicated with a * character. If the property values are thesame, the actual value will be used. Only properties common to all selected objects aredisplayed.B. ToolbarsA number of toolbars are included in the user interface. Toolbars are dockable,mini-windows offering insight to many different aspects of the system.Included are:- Alarms One or more toolbars can be used to indicate active, historical, pagingalarms, and/or alarms by alarm class.- Property Inspector Displays a full list of properties for selected system objects. One or more objects can be selected to easily view and/or edit common properties.- Recent Activity A shortlist of a users recently accessed points, displays, reports,etc.C. WizardsOptional wizards with step-by-step instructions assist users in creating points, reports,displays, schedules, etc. These empower casual users to do more unassisted work, freeingpower users and system administrators to focus on the tasks that matter most.D. Multi-Monitor SupportNative support for multiple monitors allows operators to see many aspects of the systemat a glance.E. Remember Window Placements, Per UserThe interfaces ability to reside on multiple monitors also means more time is requiredto achieve the desired setup. This should only have to be done once. The interfaceremembers all window and toolbar placements, open displays, etc. so the next time theuser logs in, he/she can begin right where they left off; this eliminates interface setupand allows operators to get to work right away.F. TagsAll objects in the system (Devices, Points, Reports, Displays, etc.) support tags. Tagsare simply one or two word descriptors of an object and are used to help group, filter,and search system objects; multiple tags per object are supported. A tag browsersimplifies management of tags in the system.G. Security ControlsSecurity control and administration support a simple security concept, with animplementation possibly similar to Windows ACL.a. User-level and group-level permissions.b. Permissions propagate from parent objects child objects.c. User/Group/Object permissions reports.d. User/Group/Object permissions modifiable individually or many at one time.H. Alarm Managementa. Include additional filtering beyond current alarm classes (default, urgent, critical,emergency), with consideration for the following: Collapsible, expandable grouping of common messages. Filter by message type i.e. show all Off in Alarm, show all On in Alarm, show allAbove High Limit, etc. Filter by exclusion, i.e. do not show certain message types in the view.b. Support for individual event messages for each object type or event type andcustomized alarm message text.c. Multi-state alarms, selectable on a per-state basis.d. Work order initiation supported within alarm views.I. Equipment MaintenanceBetter equipment maintenance tools and integrated work order issuance simplifiesequipment management and allows users to quickly review and find problematic equipment.a. On a per-point basis (similar to Remarks field), record by operator input, a historyof work performed. The following Fields/information will be included (minimum): workorder number, description of task, start date, and end date.J. Dynamic Report UpdatesAlthough printed reports cannot change, digital on-screen reports can.Now after areport is generated, last second changes are reflected on-screen and still make their wayto paper when printed.NASA/MSFC intends to purchase the items from Dorsett Technologies, Inc., Yadkinville,North Carolina pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 which implements 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) foracquisition of supplies or services or services will satisfy agency requirements.Competition is impractical for the following reasons:1. The critical nature of the BAS requires 100% compatibility between the software andhardware that comprise MSFCs Building Automation System. Dorsett Technologies is thesole manufacturer and provider of products certified to be 100% compatible with MSFCsInfo-Scan BAS.The Facilities Maintenance Office (FMO) utilizes the Dorsett TechnologiesOperator Interface 24/7 and no significant disruption in service is allowed. Theexisting Dorsett Technologies engineering staff has the historical knowledge and skillspertinent to the effective performance of this requirement and therefore, no downtime andminimal workforce re-training associated with modifying the existing Dorsett TechnologiesOperator Interface would be required.2. Modification of the existing Dorsett Technologies proprietary Operator Interface isrequired to provide for enhanced functionality in the areas of operability, datareporting, data archiving, work tracking, ease of use, and to provide additionalmanagement tools necessary for effective and efficient management and operation ofequipment connected to the BAS.3. Due to the proprietary nature of the communications protocol between the DorsettTechnologies server OI software and the existing Dorsett Technologies field hardware,there is no commercial off the shelf Operator Interface software package that is 100%compatible with the existing Dorsett Technologies field hardware.4. The current contractor workforce that operates and maintains the existing DorsettTechnologies system has been reduced in staffing and due to possible budgetaryconstraints has the potential to be reduced even further. It would place an undue burdenon the workforce to become familiar with a new Operator Interface and associatedhardware. This could result in excessive hardware downtime and could potentially lead todamage to critical equipment and space flight hardware.5. The cost to modify the existing proprietary Dorsett Technologies Operator Interface,which maintains 100% compatibility with existing hardware, versus replacing the entireBAS is more advantageous and cost effective to the Government as was determined throughMarket Research.The Government intends to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12.Interested organizations may submit their capabilities and qualifications to perform theeffort in writing to the identified point of contact not later than 4:30 p.m. local timeon April 25, 2012. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for thepurpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed effort on a full and opencompetition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretionof the government.Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice.All responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency.NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for thisacquisition can be found at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/pub_library/Omb.html.
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