I have received information that Pierce has decided to pull out of the bid protest. They are reportedly below spec. on about 8 key items. MFD Asked Pierce to address and substantiate these issues before withdrawing from the process.

MFD had proposed to City Finance that they be able to split the award and give 5 pumpers to Pierce and 5 to E-One; thereby putting the two companies in direct competition with the same model, same building schedule, and an equal time frame to compare reliability. Finance rejected the idea claiming such an approach would violate the purchasing rules. After that decision, Pierce pulled out before the formal protest meeting.

In any case, MFD will be forming a new apparatus committee made up of fire fighters to develop the next specs. Once developed, these specs. will be presented to potential bidders at a pre-bid meeting to allow them to see exactly what will be required. In that way, the vendors can make arguments before they submit bids. MFD can then change the spec if it is shown to be unfair. In so doing, MFD hopes to restore the confidence of the firefighters and Pierce in the bid process.

MFD will be ordering at least 5 more engines during the next year, and is hoping that Pierce provides a good, competitive bid.

2004 Pumper Bid - www.memphisfire.net

May 03, 2004

In an interview with MFD Online, John Lovell, President of Regional Pierce Sales and Service Center - Harless Fire Equipment indicated that of the concerns MFD had with the Pumper bid most of the Pierce specs. exceeded those required by MFD.

In a twenty-one page document obtained from Harless, there are seventy-four (74) items that are of concern to MFD. Of those, fifty-nine (59) EXCEED MFD SPECIFICATIONS. The remainder were clarified or industry standard. All are NFPA and ISO compliant.

According to Lovell, Pierce under bid E-One by $32,296 per pumper. For the proposed 6-10 pumpers that would be a savings of  $197,776 to $322,960.

On Tuesday, May 04, the Memphis City Council is to make a decision on whether to go with the lower bid which exceeds MFD specs., or the higher bid which meets the specs.

Click on the link below for a condensed version of the Exceptions and Clarifications. If you would like more specific information on a particular item please email me.

Clarifications & Exceptions

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