Navistar Marine Instrument Corporation

B-262221 Nov 20, 1995 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Protest of sole source solicitation is denied where agency complied with requirements of Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 by executing a justification and approval authorizing the use of other than full and open competition procedures. Because agency did not have in its possession sufficient. Is not only untimely but fails to state a valid basis of protest. This J & A states that the barometer is identified only by the manufacturer's part number. When only one known responsible source is available to provide the supplies that the agency needs. 10 U.S.C. We will not object unless a protester shows that there is no reasonable basis for the award. Navistar has submitted nothing to show that the agency's determination was unreasonable. View Decision Matter of: Navistar Marine Instrument Corporation File: B-262221 Date: November 20, 1995 Protest of sole source solicitation is denied where agency complied with requirements of Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 by executing a justification and approval authorizing the use of other than full and open competition procedures, because agency did not have in its possession sufficient, accurate, or legible data to purchase the part from any source other than the one known source. Protest of a solicitation's qualification procedures, filed after receipt of initial proposals, is not only untimely but fails to state a valid basis of protest, where protester fails to take issue with agency's need to assure equivalent functioning of parts and fails to identify the precise procedures that it considers unduly restrictive. Attorneys DECISION Navistar Marine Instrument Corporation protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. SP0440-95-R-3832, issued by the Defense General Supply Center (DGSC) for aneroid barometers. Navistar challenges the solicitation as unduly restrictive and improperly limited to a sole source. We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. DGSC issued the solicitation on July 24, 1995, for a fixed-price contract for a quantity of 17 aneroid barometers, described by part number FA112150 manufactured by the Wallace and Tiernan Division of the Pennwalt Corporation. The solicitation contained the standard clause at Defense Logistics Agency Regulation (DLAR) Sec. 52.217-9002, Conditions for Evaluation and Acceptance of Offers for Part Numbered Items. This clause advises offerors that the agency has determined the Wallace and Tiernan barometer to be acceptable but permits and provides procedures for firms to offer alternate products. On June 30, 1995, prior to issuing the solicitation, the contracting officer executed a justification and approval (J & A), authorizing the use of procedures other than full and open competition. This J & A states that the barometer is identified only by the manufacturer's part number. The J & A states further that the government does not possess sufficient, accurate, or legible data to purchase the barometer from other sources and therefore has no data to include or reference in the solicitation. The agency has certified that it has exhausted all means to obtain a technical data package (TDP) adequate for manufacture of the item. Despite the overriding mandate of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA) for achieving "full and open competition" in government procurements through the use of competitive procedures, 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2301(a)(1)(A) (1994), CICA does permit noncompetitive acquisitions in specified circumstances such as this one, when only one known responsible source is available to provide the supplies that the agency needs. 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2304(c)(1); Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Sec. 6.302-1; Kollsman, A Div. of Sequa Corp; Applied Data Technology, Inc., B-243113; B-243113.2, July 3, 1991, 91-2 CPD Para. 18. Where, as here, the agency has substantially complied with the procedural requirements of CICA, 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2304(f), for approval of the contemplated sole source action and publication of the required notice in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD), we will not object unless a protester shows that there is no reasonable basis for the award. Rotek, Inc., B-240252, Oct. 26, 1990, 90-2 CPD Para. 341. Navistar has submitted nothing to show that the agency's determination was unreasonable. The agency advises our Office that the barometer performs a critical function in testing of numerous aircraft engines, including those for the Kiowa OH-58A, Cobra/TOW, Blackhawk UH-60A and Apache AH-64 helicopters, as well as the Mohawk OU-01D airplane. Testing involves measurement of performance at various levels of barometric pressure, along with humidity and temperature, to determine the performance envelope of each engine installed. The barometer that the agency is acquiring fits into a pre-existing opening on the instrument panel of the engine test cell used to calibrate engine performance.