COUNCIL ACTION FORM

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

The Public Works Department manages a five-year Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) with numerous construction projects requiring coordination of capital planning, project administration, funding, financial information, contracts, and construction activities. Staff identified the need for a centralized, configurable capital planning and construction management software (CMS) platform to improve project visibility, standardize workflows, support collaboration, and strengthen financial transparency across the City’s capital program. The CMS platform is intended to provide the City with a single system of record for CIP planning and construction project delivery, reducing reliance on separate spreadsheets, email records, and disconnected project files.

A formal Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued June 9, 2026, to identify qualified software vendors for Capital Program and Construction Management Software (CMS). The RFP included a Functional Requirements Matrix that was used to score proposals and evaluate software capabilities. Vendors completed the matrix to identify the capabilities of their respective software platforms. Vendors were asked to provide responses to 107 tasks that were ranked as Critical, Important, or Preferred. Those 107 tasks were organized into 10 sections:

1. Quantity Management
2. Progress Payment Administration
3. Change Order Administration
4. Document Management and Construction Documentation
5. CIP Planning and Fund Management
6. Reporting and Dashboards
7. Approvals and Signatures
8. Mobile Field Operations
9. Project Closeout
10. Extras

Four proposals were received on June 30, 2026. As part of the RFP process, vendors were asked to demonstrate their software capabilities through a guided demonstration highlighting Ames-specific use cases. Vendor demonstrations were held the week of August 3, 2026. These demonstrations allowed the RFP scoring team to verify the vendors’ RFP responses and evaluate how each proposed software solution would support City of Ames processes.

Vendors were scored based on the Functional Requirements Matrix, software capabilities, and compatibility with City operations. Vendors received the following scores:

The table below indicates the number of tasks in the Critical, Important, or Preferred categories from the Functional Requirements Matrix that each vendor indicated they could provide out-of-the-box without any additional configuration, 3rd party integrations, or future software development and releases. It should be noted that a few of the responses and demonstrations from vendors indicated that they could not perform critical tasks without substantial effort or simply an inability to perform said task.

The top-scoring vendor was Kahua, Inc. of Alpharetta, Georgia. Kahua’s guided demonstration was the most comprehensive in demonstrating that the functionality of the software could meet the City’s needs and the requirements outlined in the RFP. Additionally, Kahua successfully demonstrated that 64 of the 65 Critical tasks and 100% of the Important tasks identified in the Functional Requirements Matrix were available out of the box, with the one remaining Important task as able to be configured during implementation. Kahua’s ability to demonstrate the required software functionality during the guided demonstration further strengthened staff’s confidence in its ranking as the top-scoring vendor.

Following the scoring process, staff reviewed vendor references and negotiated with Kahua for an implementation schedule that will be completed within nine months. The proposed contract term is three years. A breakdown of the costs by year is provided below:

Funding for Year 1 is included in the approved FY 2026/27 Operating Budget in the amount of $100,000. The $100,000 is split between the Public Works Engineering Operating Budget ($85,000) and the Public Works Administration Operating Budget ($15,000). Expenses for Years 2 and 3 will be programmed in the Operating Budgets for FY 2027/28 and FY 2028/29, respectively.

1. Award a three-year contract (with a non-appropriation clause) to Kahua, Inc., of Alpharetta, GA, for Capital Planning and Construction Management Software in the amount of $274,900.
   
   
2. Direct staff to evaluate additional software options.
   
   
3. Do not award the contract at this time.

Kahua, Inc.’s software solution will support improvements in efficiency, accountability, and transparency in the delivery of capital projects. The platform will provide staff with tools to coordinate project information, track budgets and commitments, manage documents and approvals, and produce more consistent reporting. Staff believes the software will improve the City’s ability to plan, manage, and monitor capital projects from early planning through construction closeout. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, as described above.