Safeguard Maintenance Corporation

B-260983.3 Oct 13, 1995 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Protest that proposal was improperly excluded from the competitive range is sustained where the procuring agency misevaluated the proposal in three significant respects and the record indicates that under a proper evaluation the proposal may have received a higher technical score than at least one higher-priced competitive range proposal. The RFP solicited technical proposals and line item prices for fixed price and indefinite quantity work at the MCC main computing center and an MCC annex that was under construction. [1] The RFP contained detailed cleaning and quality requirements. Among the services described in section J of the RFP was "utility work. Award under the RFP was to be made to the technically acceptable. View Decision Matter of: Safeguard Maintenance Corporation File: B-260983.3 Date: October 13, 1995 Protest that proposal was improperly excluded from the competitive range is sustained where the procuring agency misevaluated the proposal in three significant respects and the record indicates that under a proper evaluation the proposal may have received a higher technical score than at least one higher-priced competitive range proposal. Attorneys DECISION Safeguard Maintenance Corporation protests the exclusion of its proposal from the competitive range under request for proposals (RFP) No. IRS-94- 0005, a total small business set-aside, issued by the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), for janitorial services. We sustain the protest. The IRS issued the RFP on April 21, 1994, to procure janitorial, lawn and grounds maintenance, trash removal, snow removal, and related services at the Martinsburg Computing Center (MCC), Martinsburg, West Virginia, for a base period with 4 option years. The RFP solicited technical proposals and line item prices for fixed price and indefinite quantity work at the MCC main computing center and an MCC annex that was under construction. [1] The RFP contained detailed cleaning and quality requirements, including frequency of cleaning. Among the services described in section J of the RFP was "utility work," which required the contractor to provide hours on a daily basis, beyond those required to perform the basic contract work, to cover other work that may be ordered by the contracting officer's technical representative (COTR). Award under the RFP was to be made to the technically acceptable, responsible offeror whose proposal was most advantageous to the government, price and other factors considered. Technical considerations were said to be more important than cost. There were three technical factors described in the RFP, under each of which various subfactors were described. The specific weights of the factors and subfactors, expressed as a percentage on a 100-percent scale, were disclosed. The technical factors and their respective weights were "Management Capabilities"--40 percent, "Operating Plan"--25 percent, and "Experience"--35 percent. Among the subfactors of the management capabilities factor were "Organizational Plan"--10 percent, "Staffing"--10 percent, and "Training Programs"--4 percent. Among the Subfactors of the operating plan factor was "Timeliness"--4 percent. The two subfactors of the experience factor were "Prime Contractor's Project Experience"--25 percent and "Contract Personnel"--10 percent. On June 24, the IRS received 14 proposals in response to the RFP, including Safeguard's. The proposals were evaluated by a two-member technical evaluation panel (TEP) that used an adjectival and weighted numerical rating system to determine each proposal's technical score. [2] The initial TEP evaluation identified eight technically "acceptable" proposals with point scores ranging from 48.70 to 88.60 points; Safeguard's proposal received a score of 51.20 points. The IRS rejected the remaining proposals. Without conducting discussions, the TEP then reevaluated the eight proposals and awarded revised scores ranging from 39.40 to 89.35 points; Safeguard's proposal received a score of 49.60 points. Based upon there revised evaluation, the IRS established a competitive range consisting of the three highest-ranked offers rated as follows: Offeror Price Points Miracle Services, Inc. [DELETED] 89.4 Potomac Valley Custodial Services [DELETED] 79.6 Spotless Janitorial Services [DELETED] 70.1 The IRS eliminated from the competitive range Safeguard's lower-rated proposal priced at [DELETED]. The TEP summarized Safeguard's proposal deficiencies as follows: Safeguard's proposal reflects a lack of experience in ADP [automatic data processing] facilities similar to the size and complexity of MCC.