Integration Technologies Group, Inc., B-274288.5, June 13,

B-274288.5 Jun 13, 1997 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Where award without discussions was contemplated by solicitation and two technically acceptable proposals were received. Without seeking correction of an apparent error in third offeror's proposal because the error was substantive and could not be corrected without discussions. Award was originally made to Federal Services. Offerors were expected to submit initial offers containing the offeror's best terms from a technical and price standpoint. Award was to be made to the responsible offeror submitting the technically acceptable proposal at the lowest reasonable price. Among these characteristics was the following: "The computer provided must [be able] to support CBT (Computer Based Training Programs) . . . . View Decision Matter of: Integration Technologies Group, Inc. File: B-274288.5 Date: June 13, 1997 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Integration Technologies Group, Inc. (ITG) protests the award of a contract to ONYX Engineering, Inc. under request for proposals (RFP) No. F44650-96-R-0008, issued by the Department of the Air Force as a total small business set-aside. ITG contends that the Air Force improperly failed to seek clarification of a clerical error in ITG's proposal. We deny the protest. The RFP, issued in May 1996, sought up to 99 computerized multimedia presentation systems to be used in formal training classrooms and main briefing rooms located at flight operations squadrons throughout the Air Force's Air Combat Command. Award was originally made to Federal Services, Inc. in August 1996. General Projection Systems and Ultimate Presentations Systems filed protests against the award. In response to Ultimate's protest, the Air Force revised the solicitation and in December 1996 requested all offerors to submit revised proposals for evaluation. The RFP advised offerors that the Air Force intended to evaluate the proposals and award the contract without discussions. Accordingly, offerors were expected to submit initial offers containing the offeror's best terms from a technical and price standpoint. Award was to be made to the responsible offeror submitting the technically acceptable proposal at the lowest reasonable price. The RFP contained a description of supplies/services which identified specific system characteristics. Among these characteristics was the following: "The computer provided must [be able] to support CBT (Computer Based Training Programs) . . . . The Video Card, MPEG Card, and operating systems must be compatible to drive software requirements for the existing CBT . . . . The computer must have the specified MPEG card (Magic 24 Card) and the Stealth Video Card in order for it to be compatible to run existing high resolution Computer Based Training Programs (CBT)." [emphasis in original]. The RFP also instructed offerors to provide a "technical description of the items being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements of the solicitation." If an offeror proposed an "equal" product, the RFP required that the proposal "must demonstrate the or equal meets system characteristics to include manufacturer and all component part numbers." [emphasis in original]. The RFP also contained a matrix with a detailed listing of the required components which offerors were expected to fill-in and include with their proposals, the relevant part of which was as follows: Component Description Manufacturer Model Video Stealth 64 VRAM 3240/3400 V3.0 Cirrus Logic Offerors Proposed Equal Mfr: Part/Model Number: Video MemoryUpgrade Video to 2 MByte RAM Offerors Proposed Equal Mfr: Part/Model Number: MPEG Magic 24 Card Magic Offerors Proposed Equal Mfr: Part/Model Number: ITG was one of 12 offerors to submit revised proposals by the January 14, 1997, closing date. Instead of filling out the agency-provided components matrix, ITG retyped the table as follows: COMPONENT DESCRIPTION MANUFACTURER/MODEL VIDEO STEALTH 64 VRAM 3240/3400 V3.0DIAMOND 3240 VIDEO MEMORY UPGRADE VIDEO TO 2 MBYTES RAM MPEG MAGIC 24 CARD DIAMOND, MUP In evaluating ITG's proposal, the agency noted that ITG had not proposed the specified Magic 24 MPEG card. The Air Force was unfamiliar with the designation "Diamond, MUP" and surmised that ITG intended to propose "Diamond, MVP" which is an MPEG daughter card manufactured by Diamond for use with its video card. ITG had proposed the "Diamond, MVP" MPEG card in combination with the Diamond 3240 in its initial proposal. This mother-daughter, video-MPEG combination was not compatible with the required CBT programs and, prior to the December 1996 request for revised proposals, the Air Force had advised it that this component combination was technically unacceptable. ITG's proposal was one of five proposals evaluated as technically unacceptable. Another five were considered susceptible of becoming acceptable through discussions.