CBCA 4614

DENIED: February 10, 2016 CBCA 4614 MAGWOOD SERVICES, INC., Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Respondent. Heyward Manigault, President of Magwood Services, Inc., Campbell Hall, NY, appearing for Appellant. Lucy G. Mac Gabhann, Office of the General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services, Baltimore, MD, counsel for Respondent. Before Board Judges DRUMMOND, SHERIDAN, and SULLIVAN. SULLIVAN, Board Judge. Appellant, Magwood Services, Inc. (Magwood), appeals two decisions of the contracting officer for respondent, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), denying claims for delay and contract funds improperly withheld. Magwood alleges that the contracting officer’s determination regarding the sprinkler testing requirements unreasonably delayed its performance of the contract and that the contracting officer improperly withheld re-inspection costs from its final payment of the contract. The parties submitted the case for decision on the record, pursuant to Rule 19. 48 CFR 6101.19 (2014). For the reasons that follow, the Board denies the appeal. CBCA 4614 2 Statement of Facts The Contract and its Relevant Terms On December 31, 2013, HHS awarded a contract to Magwood for the renovation of an existing warehouse at the Hopi Health Care Center on the Hopi Reservation. Exhibit 1 at 1-2.1 Magwood was to perform the construction activities set forth in the design drawings that accompanied the contract. Id. at 13. The amount of the contract was $129,000 and the term of performance was ninety days from the date the notice to proceed was issued. Id. at 2. The construction drawings contained general notes regarding the fire protection system. Exhibit 2 at 14.2 Pursuant to these notes, the contractor was required to “modify the existing wet-pipe fire sprinkler system in all areas of remodeling as indicated in the drawings, provide and install all items, including those of a minor nature, necessary to complete the installation and to provide approved fire protection throughout the remodeled area.” Id. The notes also required that “all work shall be installed in accordance with all codes, laws, rules and regulations of all national, state, county and local authorities having jurisdiction over the premises. This shall include but not be limited to the fire department having jurisdiction, and the carrier of the building insurance.” Id. The contractor was required to “secure and pay for all permits, inspections and certificates required by the foregoing authorities.” Id. The drawings also set forth the specifications for the air conditioning system. According to the scope of work for the contract, Magwood was required to install “a split air conditioning system in one of the areas of the building with an interior ceiling mounted fan coil unit and an exterior condensing unit on a concrete pad and to reconfigure the existing fan unit and louvers to provide ventilation to the other portion of the building.” Exhibit 1 at 13. The project data contained on the drawings advised that the drawings had to be coordinated with the mechanical and electrical requirements: 5. [Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)] and electrical equipment shown on architectural drawings is for general reference only. 1 All exhibits are found in the appeal file, unless otherwise noted. 2 The construction drawings are part of the contract and were provided by the agency as part of exhibit 1 in the appeal file. The agency also provided a larger, legible version of the drawings as exhibit 2. CBCA 4614 3 Coordinate equipment and location with mechanical and electrical drawings. Exhibit 2 at 2. The drawings for the HVAC system similarly advised that the locations on the drawings were only approximate and required that any changes were to be noted on the final as-built drawings submitted at the end of the project: 1.02 HVAC drawings are diagrammatic and intended to show the approximate location of ductwork, outlets, equipment and piping. Dimensions given in figures on the plans shall take precedence over scaled dimensions and all dimensions, whether given in figures or scaled, shall be field verified.