Prior Information Notice (PIN) with the purpose of inviting Market Consultation related to the procurement of the provision of smart technology on emergency equipment (ring buoys).

Tender description

Dublin City Council through its smart city function is promoting a number of so called “smart city” initiatives, partnering with academic institutions and private organizations to improve quality of life, deliver more efficient and responsive city services and increase engagement with citizens. Dublin City Council is seeking information from service providers for the provision of innovative solutions to better manage the ring buoys in Dublin and across Ireland. This may incorporate low-cost, Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) sensors, alarm systems and associated solutions to provide information on damaged or stolen of ring-buoys in real time. This will also incorporate a mobile-responsive map-based platform to be used by water safety officers to identify which ring buoys are missing. Dublin City Council manages approximately 130 ring buoys in Dublin. These ring buoys are located on the banks of the canals, the rivers, in the Docklands area and in the City Council beach areas. Unfortunately, approximately 15 of these ring buoys are tampered with or are taken every week. Dublin City Council's Water Safety Officer and Water Safety Ireland are jointly responsible for the monitoring and maintenance of the ring buoys in Dublin City. As it stands, ring buoy inspectors must manually check each ring buoy and associated equipment. All problems, including missing parts, are logged on a paper filing system. Currently new parts are ordered and deployed on the next visit to that location with some ring buoys missing for weeks at a time, which is not ideal from a water safety perspective. Additionally, ring buoys cost approx. €40 each, so the replacement of approximately 600 in a year costs Dublin City Council in excess of €20000 per annum. Please refer to attached documents for further information.