HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.c. Review draft Position Paper to authorize the General Manager to purchase a replacement mass spectrometer for the Laboratory in an amount not to exceed $250,000 under the Equipment Replacement Project, District Project 7326 Page 1 of 2
Item 3.c.
,,g5jkCENTRAL SAN CENTRAL SAN BOARD OF DIRECTORS
POSITION PAPER
CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT DRAFT
MEETING DATE: SEPTEMBER 17, 2018
SUBJECT: REVIEW DRAFT POSITION PAPER TO AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL
MANAGER TO PURCHASE A REPLACEMENT MASS SPECTROMETER
FOR THE LABORATORY I N AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $250,000
UNDER THE EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT PROJECT, DISTRICT
PROJECT 7326
SUBMITTED BY: INITIATING DEPARTMENT:
EDGAR J. LOPEZ, CAPITAL PROJECTS ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES-
DIVISION MANAGER CAPITAL PROJECTS
REVIEWED BY: JEAN-MARC PETIT, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL
SERVICES
ISSUE
Board Authorization is required for the General Manager to purchase replacement equipment over the
amount of$175,000 under the Capital Improvement Program.
BACKGROUND
Central San owns and operates a permitted Laboratory(Lab) at the wastewater treatment plant equipped
for regulatory testing and compliance documentation. The Lab is routinely operated by several chemists
and other Central San staff that conduct numerous sampling and testing activities daily. One critical piece
of equipment, the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer(ICPMS), is at the end of its useful life
and is recommended for replacement this year. The existing I CPMS is an Agilent Technologies (Agilent)
brand instrument, approximately 11 years old, and is used for trace metals analysis. The typical support life
for an ICPMS is 10 years.
Upon Board approval, staff will pursue replacing the I CPMS with a new model from Agilent for several
important reasons, such as the following:
• Standardization—The Lab currently has four(4)Agilent brand instruments which all use the same
software and hardware operations, including data acquisition and processing.
• Repairs and Maintenance— Central San's Lab staff is well-trained on Agilent software and hardware.
The Lab has been repairing and maintaining without the support of factory service contracts for
seven of the last 11 years. Since 2016, the I CPMS has needed significant attention and a service
contract has been set in place to ensure operations until it can be fully replaced.An annual factory
September 17, 2018 EOPS Regular Committee Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 30 of 42
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maintenance contract costs approximately$17,000 per year.
• Train in —The I C P MS is among the most complicated analytical instrument system used in the Lab.
Training a chemist on the system takes significant time and up to three years or more to be fully
proficient. Two of Central San's chemists are Agilent factory trained and overall, the existing staff is
highly proficient using the software and hardware.
• Trade-in Value —Agilent has offered a trade-in value of roughly$75,000 for the existing I CPMS.
Soliciting and procurement of a new I CPMS will be managed by the Purchasing Division with technical
expertise provided by the Regulatory and Compliance Division. Delivery time for a new I CPMS can take
up to two months after completing the purchase order.
ALT ERNAT IVES/CONSIDERATIONS
Other brands that meet the industry standard, such as Thermo Scientific and Shimadzu, have been
considered in the past; however, due to the reasons stated above, Agilent has been the best fit and overall
cost effective for the Lab.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS
The cost of a new Agilent I CPMS is approximately$250,000, including tax, delivery, and $10,000 in
contingency. Staff recommends a trade-in of the existing I C P MS at$75,000, which will result in a net
amount of$175,000. D ue to the timing and nature of the replacement, staff will purchase the I C P MS
under the Equipment Replacement, District Project 7326 within the Treatment Plant Program. There are
adequate funds in the Fiscal Year 2018-19 Capital I mprovement Budget for this critical equipment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Engineering and Operations Committee reviewed this purchase at its meeting on September 17,
2018, and recommended ...
RECOMMENDED BOARD ACTION
Authorize the General Manager to purchase a replacement I C P MS for the Lab at a cost not to exceed
$250,000 under the Equipment Replacement, District Project 7326.
GOAL TWO: Strive to Meet Regulatory Requirements
Strategy 1 - Strive to achieve 100%permit compliance in air, water, land, and other regulations
GOAL THREE:Be a Fiscally Sound and Effective Water Sector Utility
Strategy 2- Manage costs
GOAL FOUR: Develop and retain a highly trained and innovative workforce
Strategy 1 - Ensure adequate staffing and training to meet current and future operational levels
September 17, 2018 EOPS Regular Committee Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 31 of 42