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CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM
Report: Professional Services Agreement with EHS Insight for the implementation, software licensing and maintenance of Employee Health and Safety Software.
1.Motion authorizing the City Manager, or designee, to execute a Professional Services Agreement with EHS Insight (StarTex Software, LLC) in an amount not-to-exceed $440,000 for a three-year term for the implementation, software licensing and maintenance of an Employee Health and Safety Software system and to authorize continued renewals for the system’s life cycle subject to annual budget appropriations.
COUNCIL ACTION
Item Type: Consent Item
Approved for December 16, 2025 calendar
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City’s Employee Safety Section, working collaboratively with all departments conducts legally mandated and mission-critical functions such as Cal/OSHA/regulatory compliance, industrial hygiene, incident management, audits, inspections, training, and program reporting. These activities currently rely on manual and fragmented processes that create duplicate data entry, limited visibility into citywide safety trends, and delays in reporting and corrective actions, increasing exposure to citations and fines. There is also lack of a centralized system to track injuries, illnesses, near misses, and vehicle accidents or to analyze trends for proactive risk mitigation. Additionally, retrieving accurate compliance records during audits is time-consuming under the current system.
To address these challenges, staff identified the need for an integrated, enterprise-wide digital solution that supports data governance and cross-department coordination.
By automating workflows, reducing paper dependency, and enabling real-time access to data and analytics, this platform will improve compliance, enhance reporting, and strengthen decision-making across City operations.
Following the release of a Request for Proposal (RFP) in March 2025, staff conducted a structured and transparent procurement process that included vendor Q&A, proposal evaluations, proof-of-capabilities demonstrations, and reference checks. A total of seven companies submitted proposals. Through the initial evaluation criteria and scoring, the list was narrowed to two vendors that were invited to participate in the Proof 4a2
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of Capabilities phase. Evaluation criteria encompassed qualifications, implementation approach, technical functionality, pricing, and proof-of-capabilities testing. Staff exercised due diligence at every stage, ensuring fairness, accuracy, and alignment with City objectives.
After extensive review, EHS Insight (StarTex Software LLC) is recommended as the preferred vendor based on its highest functional fit across priority modules, strong implementation methodology, and mature security framework (including SOC 2 Type II certification, SSO/SAML authentication, data encryption, role-based access, and audit logging). EHS Insight demonstrated proven success with other California municipalities, offered a competitive three-year total price, a commitment to high system reliability, strong uptime guarantees, responsive technical support, timely issue resolution, continuous software enhancements and a comprehensive and efficient system designed to promote safe and healthy operations, ensuring ongoing compliance and reducing exposure to citations, fines, and legal liabilities.
Staff is confident this recommendation reflects a thorough, data-driven, and collaborative process that balances innovation with operational practicality, ensuring the City achieves a sustainable, secure, and future-ready employee health and safety management system.
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with StarTex Software, LLC in an amount not-to-exceed $440,000 for a three-year term for the implementation, software licensing, and maintenance of an Employee Health and Safety Software system and to authorize continued renewals for the system’s life cycle subject to annual budget appropriations.
ANALYSIS
BACKGROUND
The City’s Employee Safety Section, in conjunction with all Departments— including Glendale Water & Power (GWP), Public Works, Community Services & Parks, Community Development, Fire, and Police—conducts legally mandated and mission-critical safety functions such as Cal/OSHA/regulatory compliance, industrial hygiene, accident and incident management, audits and inspections, training and certifications, and program reporting.
Current safety compliance processes are fragmented across email, shared drives, spreadsheets, and manual routing. This approach creates duplicate data entry, obscures real-time visibility into safety trends, and delays incident reporting and corrective actions increasing the City’s exposure to avoidable violations, citations, and fines. When responding to regulatory agencies during audits or 4a3
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inspections, quick access to accurate records is essential, yet the current system makes timely retrieval difficult and resource intensive.
Departments currently lack a centralized, reliable system to track incidents including injuries and illnesses, near misses, and vehicle accidents and to analyze these data for trends that inform proactive risk-mitigation efforts. Without this capability, opportunities to prevent incidents are missed, resulting in higher operational and financial costs.
Stakeholders identified the need for an integrated, enterprise-wide solution that enhances coordination across departments while respecting departmental responsibilities and data governance requirements.
DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS
1) Strategic Alignment & Priorities
This procurement advances Council and City priorities, including:
Employee Safety & Health: Reduces risk, strengthens Cal/OSHA compliance, and provides analytics related to incidents and hazards that are critical for incident prevention and response.
Operational Efficiency: Streamlines workflows, reduces manual touchpoints, and shortens cycle times for investigations and corrective actions. Sustainability: Lowers paper usage and supports digital records management and retention.
Innovation & Technology: Leverages a modern, secure SaaS platform; enables analytics, features AI integration and mobile capabilities. 2) Scope of Functionality Sought
Staff sought broad functionality that enhances the City’s end-to-end health and safety program, including:
Industrial Hygiene (exposure assessments, sampling plans, medical surveillance linkage)
Accident & Incident Management (intake, triage, investigations, Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPAs), claims hand-offs)
Safety Program Management (Injury Illness Prevention Program, Heat Illness, Bloodborne Pathogens/Aerosol Transmissible Disease, Emergency Action Plan, Ergonomics, Workplace Violence Policy and Prevention Plan, permits) Training & Certification (LMS integration, rosters, expirations, card management)
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Inspections & Audits (mobile checklists, risk scoring, photo evidence, offline mode)
Hazard & Near-Miss Reporting (employee portals, anonymous options, routing Dashboards & Analytics (leading/lagging KPIs, executive scorecards) Document/Artifact Management (versioning, retention, legal hold support) Workflow Automation (routing, notifications, reminders, escalations) Integrations with key third-party tools (HRIS, claims, SSO, email/calendar) Mobile Task Management (field-friendly application, photo/video capture, QR/asset tags)
Role-Based Access (General City vs. GWP permissions; union/management views).
3) Procurement Process & Due Diligence
Project Initiation: Core team formed (IT Applications Manager, Safety Administrator, Utility Safety Officer) and supporting Sponsors identified (Chief Human Resources Officer, GWP General Manager, and Chief Information Officer).
Market Sounding: Staff sought referrals from neighboring agencies including City of Burbank and Pasadena as well as other Municipalities and Special Districts, such as, City of Anaheim, City of Long Beach, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and Irvine Ranch Water District; outreach to software leaders at professional safety conferences to signal interest and understand offerings.
Requirements Development: Staff prepared a detailed Request for Proposal (RFP) with business, technical, integration, security, compliance requirements (including data governance, records retention, and accessibility) and evaluation criteria.
Competitive Solicitation: RFP release, proposer Q&A, addenda, and formal evaluation.
Evaluations: Paper scoring against criteria; scripted Proof of Capabilities (POC) demonstrations; sandbox/UX review; and reference checks with relevant local public agency customers.
Best-and-Final: Pricing clarification, implementation scope alignment, and negotiated terms (including service levels and data protections).
Staff launched a comprehensive, collaborative process to identify and select the most effective solution. The project team comprised of the City’s IT Application 4a5
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Manager, Safety Administrator, and Utility Safety Officer developed detailed system requirements, conducted extensive research, and obtained feedback and buy-in from multiple departments and executive sponsors. Staff also sought referrals and best practices from neighboring municipalities (including Burbank, Pasadena, Anaheim, Long Beach, and Irvine Ranch Water District) and engaged software providers at professional safety conferences to ensure a broad understanding of available solutions.
Evaluation Criteria (weighted):
Evaluation criteria encompassed qualifications, implementation approach, technical functionality, pricing, and proof-of-capabilities testing. 4) Recommendation Rationale
A total of seven companies submitted proposals. Through the initial evaluation criteria and scoring, the list was narrowed to two (2) vendors who were invited to participate in the Proof of Capabilities phase. At the conclusion of the final evaluation criteria, EHS Insight (StarTex Software, LLC) is recommended based on:
Highest functional fit across priority modules.
Strong implementation methodology with clear roles, skilled consulting support, and training plan.
Strong and mature security framework designed to protect the City’s data.
This includes independent security certification (SOC 2 Type II), secure user logins through single sign-on (SSO/SAML), data encryption while it’s stored and while it’s being transmitted, role-based access controls so employees only see information relevant to their job, and detailed audit logs that track all system activity for accountability and compliance. Proven public-sector references including City of Burbank and City of Anaheim. Competitively priced five-year agreement and commitment to high system reliability, including strong uptime guarantees, responsive technical support, timely issue resolution, and ongoing software updates to ensure the City’s Employee Health and Safety platform remains stable, secure, and continuously improved throughout its lifecycle.
Configurability to serve all department needs while maintaining appropriate data partitioning.
A comprehensive and efficient system designed to promote safe and healthy operations, ensuring ongoing compliance and reducing exposure to citations, fines, and legal liabilities.
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STAKEHOLDERS/OUTREACH
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FISCAL IMPACT
The three-year Professional Services Agreement with StarTex Software, LLC will cost a not-to-exceed amount of $440,000. The cost for year one is $100,649, which was included as a part of the FY 2025-26 budget. Future year costs will be included as part of the annual budget process.
Existing Appropriation Already Budgeted
Amount Account String Funding Source Department Cost Center Program
$100,649 43110-6140-HRD-5005 Compensation Fund Human Resources Safety
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CEQA/NEPA)
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(a) as it has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonable foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE
In accordance with City Campaign Finance Ordinance No. 5744, the following are the names and business addresses of the board of directors, chairperson, CEO, COO, Subcontractors, and any entity with more than 10% interest in the proposed contract in this Agenda Item
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
1. Maintain manual processes and disparate systems continuing to rely on paper forms, spreadsheets, and disconnected tools would perpetuate the current Ownership Interest in more than 10% in:
Full Name Title Business Address City State Zip
Gary McDonald
CEO, Member of the
Board of Directors,
StarTex Software LLC
800 Town and
Country Blvd.
Suite 500 Houston TX 77024
Steve Daum
Member of the Board of
Directors, PDS American
Holding
800 Town and
Country Blvd.
Suite 500 Houston TX 77024
Sarah Sommer Member of the Board of
Directors, Level Equity
140 E. 45th. Street
42nd. Floor New York NY 10017
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inefficiencies. Manual processes have already proven to be time-consuming, error-prone, and unsustainable for a workforce of the City’s size and operational complexity. They limit data visibility, delay reporting, and hinder compliance with Cal/OSHA and other regulatory mandates. This alternative offers no pathway to automation, collaboration, or proactive safety management and would ultimately increase long-term costs associated with workplace injuries, claims, and administrative workload.
2. Defer this initiative which would delay critical improvements to employee safety, compliance, and operational efficiency. It would prolong reliance on inefficient manual processes and perpetuate fragmented data management. The lack of a centralized system would continue to make trend analysis, audit preparation, and Cal/OSHA reporting cumbersome and resource-intensive. Moreover, delays in automation and standardization would increase the total cost of ownership in future years as the City would still eventually need to transition to a modern system under greater urgency and potentially higher market prices.
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
Submitted by:
Paula Adams, Chief Human Resources Officer
Jason Bradford, Chief Information Officer
Scott Mellon, General Manager GWP
Prepared by:
Margaret Agus, Safety Administrator
Helen Gasparyan, Utility Safety Officer
David Gougis, IT Application Manager
Approved by:
Roubik R. Golanian, P.E., City Manager
EXHIBITS/ATTACHMENTS