CRK-JVC/Shockley Joint Venture

B-265937 Jan 17, 1996 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights An agency reasonably found that the protester had not presented clear and convincing evidence that it mistakenly failed to add certain tax and insurance prices to its total base bid price where the protester's mistake claim was initially based on bid worksheets that did not form the basis for the bid. The lowest three bids and the government estimate were as follows: Base Bid Additive Item Total Bid CRK $10. Given that the other bids and the government estimate were significantly higher. CRK claimed its base bid was understated by $492. The "Total Bid" amount is $10. CRK's lead team member explained in an affidavit that the actual bid submitted was based on the 3:26 p.m. spreadsheet. The 10.43-percent base bid markup is the ratio between the total indirect project costs (taxes. View Decision Matter of: CRK-JVC/Shockley Joint Venture File: B-265937 Date: January 17, 1996 An agency reasonably found that the protester had not presented clear and convincing evidence that it mistakenly failed to add certain tax and insurance prices to its total base bid price where the protester's mistake claim was initially based on bid worksheets that did not form the basis for the bid, and the submitted documentation and explanations in support of the mistake claim contain unexplained discrepancies and uncertainties as to the intended bid. Attorneys DECISION CRK-JVC/Shockley Joint Venture (CRK) protests the decision of the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, to deny its request to correct a mistake in its low bid under invitation for bids (IFB) No. N62742-95-B-1305. We deny the protest. The IFB sought the design and construction of a Navy Exchange Distribution Center at the Naval Station, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The IFB requested prices for a base bid item covering the basic project and for an additive item--the construction of a mezzanine. The protester submitted the lowest of seven bids on the June 27, 1995, bid opening date. The lowest three bids and the government estimate were as follows: Base Bid Additive Item Total Bid CRK $10,948,000 $730,000 $11,678,000 Bodell Construction $12,205,000 $605,000 $12,810,000 S&M Sakamoto, Inc. $12,492,000 $540,000 $13,032,000 Government Estimate $12,500,000 $725,000 $13,225,000 On June 28, the Navy asked CRK to confirm its bid, given that the other bids and the government estimate were significantly higher. On June 30, CRK confirmed its bid. On July 6, CRK retracted its confirmation and informed the Navy that its bid contained a mistake. CRK claimed its base bid was understated by $492,175, consisting of $39,441 for liability insurance and $452,734 for Hawaii Use Tax. CRK stated that it meant to include these amounts in its base bid, but a computer programming error had the effect of excluding these amounts. The requested correction would make CRK's bid $12,170,175, or 5 percent lower, than the next low bid. On July 12, CRK submitted the bid worksheets and other back-up data used to prepare its bid, including a series of computer spreadsheets. [1] CRK submitted 11 base bid spreadsheets and 10 additive spreadsheets generated for this project. Each base bid spreadsheet consistently excluded the prices for the liability insurance and Hawaii Use Tax items from the total base bid amount. In an affidavit, the responsible CRK employee explained how the exclusion of these prices stemmed from a computer programming oversight. [2] CRK generated all spreadsheets before bid opening, except for one base bid spreadsheet that bore a computerized "4:14 PM" notation. [3] The amount claimed by CRK ($39,441 for liability insurance and $452,734 for Hawaii Use Tax) appeared under these line items in the 4:14 p.m. spreadsheet. Another spreadsheet, which bore a "3:26 PM" notation, reflected $39,773 for liability insurance and $458,411 for Hawaii Use Tax. CRK's actual base bid of $10,948,000 did not appear on any of the submitted spreadsheets. The "Total Bid" amount is $10,983,493 on the 4:14 p.m. spreadsheet ($35,493 more than the actual bid) and $11,120,906 on the 3:26 p.m. spreadsheet ($172,906 more than the actual bid). CRK's lead team member explained in an affidavit that the actual bid submitted was based on the 3:26 p.m. spreadsheet. The 3:26 p.m. spreadsheet contains a handwritten notation, "cut (177,906)," which the team member stated he calculated and inscribed on the spreadsheet. [4] The team member stated that he then arbitrarily shaved $5,000 from the handwritten "cut" amount and directed a $172,906 reduction to the 3:26 p.m. total base bid amount, which yields the submitted base bid of $10,948,000. The base bid spreadsheet program contained individual line items for taxes, insurance, overhead, bonds, and profit, including liability insurance and Hawaii Use Tax.