AAI ACL Technologies, Inc.

B-258679.4 Nov 28, 1995 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Agency's decision to procure four hydraulic test stands and central computer system by means of a sole source award is proper where: (1) agency's minimum needs require system to be compatible with existing hydraulic test station. (2) only one source can provide compatible equipment since the software necessary to implement and run the system is proprietary and not available to the government for use in a competitive procurement. BACKGROUND This equipment is being procured for the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) located at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi. CCAD is responsible for the repair and overhaul of hydraulic helicopter components. Was procured from DTB under a January 1994 sole source procurement. View Decision Matter of: AAI ACL Technologies, Inc. File: B-258679.4 Date: November 28, 1995 Agency's decision to procure four hydraulic test stands and central computer system by means of a sole source award is proper where: (1) agency's minimum needs require system to be compatible with existing hydraulic test station; and (2) only one source can provide compatible equipment since the software necessary to implement and run the system is proprietary and not available to the government for use in a competitive procurement. Attorneys DECISION AAI ACL Technologies, Inc. protests the Department of the Army's sole source award of contract No. DAAJ09-94-C-0597 to Dayton T. Brown, Inc. (DTB) for four hydraulic helicopter component test stands and an integrating central computer system. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND This equipment is being procured for the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) located at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. CCAD is responsible for the repair and overhaul of hydraulic helicopter components--i.e., pumps, motors and actuators. With the exception of one test stand--which, as explained below, was procured from DTB under a January 1994 sole source procurement--the testing equipment currently used by CCAD is approximately 30 to 35 years old, and does not meet the agency's repair and testing demands. (Tr. at 14.) [1] In fact, because of the current equipment's age, some of the required tests for newer hydraulic helicopter parts cannot be performed on CCAD's current machines. (Tr. at 112.) In late 1990, the Army began conducting an engineering survey to study its hydraulic component testing equipment requirements to ascertain what steps could be taken towards modernizing and overhauling the CCAD facility. (Tr. at 14-15.) Although it did not yet have funding for this requirement, in 1992 the Army recognized that due to various and repetitive equipment failures, as well as the ongoing modernization and technological developments in helicopter aircraft, changes in the CCAD facility were necessary to better implement its mission and resolve critical backlogs of helicopter components awaiting repair. As a result of this engineering study, CCAD determined that its minimum needs required it ultimately to replace the existing, manually operated stand-alone testing stations with automated testing stations--also referred to as testing "stands"--that could be integrated via a computerized network into a unified testing system. (Tr. at 22; 102.) Although CCAD concluded that it needed to upgrade the entire facility--and drafted a "concept" of what equipment units would comprise the ultimate testing system assembly--CCAD nonetheless recognized that its "money situation didn't allow [it] to go out with one package to procure it all competitively from one manufacturer." (Tr. at 22.) Consequently, CCAD decided to prioritize its testing needs, and procure each part of the equipment system on an as-needed basis, according to available funding allowances. In late 1992, as a result of Operation Desert Storm, the Army was faced with a critical backlog of unrepaired UH-60 helicopter hydraulic pumps--and a downed fleet of UH-60 helicopters--which required immediate action by CCAD. After conducting a market survey of available commercial hydraulic helicopter component testing equipment manufacturers, CCAD determined that a testing station meeting its minimum needs was available from only one source, DTB. Consequently, on October 8, 1992, CCAD published a synopsis of its intended sole-source award to DTB in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD). Of significance to this protest, the CBD synopsis stated that the Army required a "hydraulic test stand with adapters and software for the UH-60, CH-47, and AH-54 Aircraft," [2] and that: "Offerors must meet a prequalification requirement in order to be eligible for award.