SR-07-14-2015-3Mtmm City Council Report
ID
City of
Santa Monica'
City Council Regular Meeting: July 14, 2015
Agenda Item:
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Gigi Decavalles- Hughes, Director, Finance Department, Risk Management
Administration
Subject: Agreement with Briotix, Inc. for Workplace Injury Prevention Services
Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1) Award RFP# 27 to Briotix, Inc., a California -based company, for workplace injury
prevention services; and
2) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a three -year professional
services agreement with Briotix, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $240,348, with
two additional one -year renewal options with a total amount not to exceed
$412,838 over a five -year period, with future year funding contingent on Council
budget approval. Costs for the first year of the agreement will not exceed
$77,760; each year thereafter contains an annual increase based on the
Consumer Price Index capped at 3 %.
Executive Summary
Staff recently solicited proposals from ergonomic consultants for workplace injury
prevention services to augment the City's in -house Safety Program. High quality and
proactive prevention services help to reduce workplace injuries. Staff recommends the
City pursue a three -year agreement with Briotix, Inc., with two, one -year extensions for
a total amount not to exceed $412,838. The agreement would be funded through the
Workers' Compensation Self- Insurance Fund, which is financed with contributions from
all City departments.
Background
The City provides a wide variety of traditional municipal services (e.g., police, fire, public
works, parks and recreation, etc.) and also operates a bus system, sanitation service,
and a municipal airport. Keeping up with the varied and unique safety needs of this
diverse workforce is challenging and requires the City to augment its in -house Safety
Program with private safety consultants who possess specialized skills. For example,
since the mid- 2000s, the City has used professional ergonomic consultants to assist the
Safety Officer with developing and implementing science -based validated strategies for
1 of 4
reducing work -place injuries. These strategies take many forms, but focus on providing
employees with the training and tools to safely, comfortably, and efficiently carry out
their jobs. Examples include early intervention screening, one -on -one job coaching,
group exercise and conditioning classes, and proactive equipment and furniture
assessments. The City's current contract for professional ergonomic consulting services
is held by Briotix, Inc. (formerly PreCare, Inc.). Briotix was selected through a
competitive process. Council approved the contract on August 10, 2010 (Attachment A);
the contract is set to expire in August 2015.
Discussion
The City's Injury Prevention Program is coordinated by the Safety Officer (located in the
Risk Management Division of the Finance Department) and implemented with the
assistance of all operating departments. Injury prevention efforts are key to controlling
the City's workers' compensation costs and improving employee productivity and are
particularly successful in field- oriented work settings. For example, over the past four
years, the Resource Recovery and Recycling (RRR) Division of Public Works has
consistently kept its workers' compensation claims below its FY 2008 -09 high of 43 and
is on track to end the current fiscal year with 27 claims; a 37% reduction due to
proactive identification of safer equipment and work processes, along with one -on -one
and group training. Additionally, after experiencing a high of 109 claims in FY 2013 -14,
current claim trends suggest Big Blue Bus (BBB) will end the current fiscal year with
fewer than 80 claims; a 27% reduction. Further, the program's focus on early
intervention has helped to avoid dozens of injuries that would have likely resulted in
costly workers' compensation claims.
Given the value of the Injury Prevention Program and the role professional ergonomists
play in its success, staff issued a new RFP for industrial ergonomic consulting services
that will allow the City to competitively select and enter into a new contract for services
after the current contract expires. The RFP proposed a service level comparable to the
current contract (i.e., 40 hours per month) and emphasized the City's need for
ergonomists with experience in office and field- oriented work environments. The results
of this process are detailed below.
2 of 4
Vendor Selection
On March 17, 2015, the City issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Workplace Injury
Prevention Services. The RFP was posted on the City's on -line bidding site, and notices
were advertised in the Santa Monica Daily Press in accordance with City Charter and
Municipal Code provisions. 478 vendors were notified, 27 vendors downloaded the
RFP, and five firms submitted proposals.
The RFP submissions were evaluated by a selection panel composed of staff from BBB,
Public Works (Public Landscape and RRR Divisions) and Finance (Risk Management
Division) based on the proposers' experience, references, prevention orientation,
demonstrated results, and cost. Three of the five firms submitted proposals that focused
on office - oriented injury prevention and lacked experience with programs for field
personnel performing physically demanding and /or repetitive tasks (e.g., maintenance
workers, heavy equipment operators, police officers, bus drivers, etc.). As a result, the
panel narrowed the selection field to the two remaining firms, Briotix and Pelletier
Associates, both of whom possess experience with office and field environment injury
prevention programs. Both firms were subsequently requested to provide additional
information.
After considering the initial proposal and supplemental information, the panel concluded
Briotix's proposal was superior to Pelletier's based on the depth and range of their
experience in office and field work settings, the quality of the proposal, and their track
record for providing high quality and proactive injury prevention services. Cost was
considered, but it did not significantly impact the decision making process since both
firms were fairly closely priced, with Briotix at $162 per hour and Pelletier at $150 per
hour. Therefore, the panel recommends the City pursue a three -year agreement with
Briotix, with two, one -year renewal options. The panel further recommends that, if
funding is available, the Safety Officer consider using Pelletier Associates for small (i.e.,
less than $10,000), targeted injury prevention projects to evaluate their performance
and potentially expand the City's future pool of available ergonomists.
3 of 4
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The agreement to be awarded to Briotix, Inc. is for an amount not to exceed $412,838
over a five -year period. Funds in the amount of $77,760 are included in the FY 2015 -16
budget in the Finance Department. The agreement will be charged to account
59235.555060. Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Don Cocozza, Safety Officer
C' i D cavaIII Hughe-, , - Dfrect r 7/1/2015 Elaine M Polachek, Asst. City Manager 7/6/2015
Attachments:
A. August 10, 2010 Staff Report (web link)
4 of 4
Reference:
Agreement No. 10098
(CCS)