CardioMetrix

B-271012 May 15, 1996 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Protest that request for proposals for laboratory services should have been set aside for small businesses is denied where the record does not show that the contracting officer abused his discretion in determining that there was not a reasonable expectation of receiving proposals from at least two responsible small offerors. Offerors would have to have the capability to perform a great number of laboratory tests. The procurement was conducted on the basis of full and open competition. The protester contends that the contracting officer should have known that at least two responsible small business concerns were likely to submit competitive bids. The protester states that it identified six small businesses that were interested in competing to the local Small Business Administration (SBA) representative. View Decision Matter of: CardioMetrix File: B-271012 Date: May 15, 1996 Protest that request for proposals for laboratory services should have been set aside for small businesses is denied where the record does not show that the contracting officer abused his discretion in determining that there was not a reasonable expectation of receiving proposals from at least two responsible small offerors. Attorneys DECISION CardioMetrix protests the decision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) not to set aside request for proposals (RFP) No. 276-1054 for exclusive small business participation. We deny the protest. Issued on December 15, 1995, the RFP sought proposals for providing clinical laboratory services at approximately 15 correctional institutions located within BOP's South Central Region. Under the RFP, offerors would have to have the capability to perform a great number of laboratory tests. The RFP contemplated award of a requirements contract for a 1-year period and contained options for 4 additional years. The procurement was conducted on the basis of full and open competition. The protester contends that the contracting officer should have known that at least two responsible small business concerns were likely to submit competitive bids. In this regard, the protester states that it identified six small businesses that were interested in competing to the local Small Business Administration (SBA) representative. In addition, CardioMetrix points out that 13 small businesses requested copies of the RFP from the contracting officer. [1] Thus, the protester concludes that BOP was required under applicable regulations to conduct the procurement as a 100-percent small business set-aside. A procurement must be set aside for exclusive small business participation when there is a reasonable expectation of receiving offers from at least two responsible small business concerns and award will be made at a reasonable price. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Sec. 19.502-2(b) (FAC 90-32). A contracting officer must make reasonable efforts to ascertain whether it is likely that offers will be received from at least two small businesses with the capabilities to perform the work. See Espey Mfg. & Elecs. Corp., B-254738.3, Mar. 8, 1994, 94-1 CPD para. 180. An agency's determination concerning whether to set a particular procurement aside basically involves a business decision within the broad discretion of contracting officials, and our review generally is limited to ascertaining whether those officials have abused that discretion. Id.; see also FKW Inc., B-249189, Oct. 22, 1992, 92-2 CPD para. 270. The agency reports that this is the first time it has attempted to procure comprehensive medical laboratory services for all correctional institutions in the region; previously, each institution procured laboratory services for itself. Therefore, the present RFP requires offers to perform more than 100 different laboratory tests at 15 different prisons scattered throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and the RFP estimated that more than 40,000 separate tests would be ordered during the base year alone. According to the agency, past procurements by the individual prisons required far fewer tests than are required here. The agency reports that the contracting officer conducted a market survey before concluding that it was unlikely that two or more small businesses would make offers at reasonable prices, and thus, properly decided to conduct a full and open competitive procurement. The agency further reports that, after consulting with the Health Services Department of BOP's regional office and perusing the local telephone directory, the contracting officer identified two potential small business offerors. The contracting officer also obtained a list of potential small business offerors from the SBA regional office. [2] The contracting officer states that he attempted to contact some of the firms on the SBA's list.