Sole-Source or Competitive Procurement in APM System Replacements

As Automated People Mover (APM) systems age or there is a change in the configuration of the fixed facilities that they serve, the owners of such systems are faced with the decision to upgrade using the current APM supplier or to replace the existing system with another technology. Influencing the decision-making process is the fact that most contracting regulations dictate that "sole-source" awards of contracts to contractors or suppliers are prohibited unless the current supplier's technology overwhelmingly meets the owner's criteria for a system upgrade or replacement when compared to other alternative upgrades or replacements. Thus, owners who must make such decisions will have to employ a methodical approach to determine if the correct choice is the sole-source award of this work to the original supplier or to competitively procure the upgrade or replacement of the existing system. Such a methodical approach was developed and successfully implemented on a recent airport APM replacement project. This paper will discuss the approach used for that project and provide insight as to how other owners may employ similar techniques in their decision-making process if they are faced with the question to sole-source award or competitively procure an APM replacement.