Northport Handling, Inc.

B-274615 Dec 18, 1996 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Protester was not prejudiced by any errors that may have occurred during the evaluation of its performance under prior contracts where the record shows that even if the agency had assigned the highest possible numerical rating to protester's performance as the incumbent. That rating would have no impact on the protester's proposal's already low risk past performance rating or on the selection decision. Northport contends that the agency's evaluation of its past performance and the source selection decision are unreasonable. The contract is for handling Department of Defense cargo. Section M of the RFP stated that price and past performance were the only areas the agency would consider in evaluating proposals. View Decision Matter of: Northport Handling, Inc. File: B-274615 Date: December 18, 1996 * Redacted Decision DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Northport Handling, Inc., the incumbent, protests the award of a contract to R.O. White & Company, Inc. under request for proposals (RFP) No. DAHC24-95-R-0004, issued by the Department of the Army, Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC), Cape Canaveral Detachment, Florida, for stevedoring and related services. Northport contends that the agency's evaluation of its past performance and the source selection decision are unreasonable. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFP, issued February 12, 1996, as a total small business set-aside, contemplated the award of a fixed-price, indefinite quantity contract for a 2-year base period of performance, with up to three option periods. The contract is for handling Department of Defense cargo, including hazardous materials such as explosives, bulk and general cargo, refrigerated cargo, and various types of military and privately-owned vehicles of different size and weight. Section M of the RFP stated that price and past performance were the only areas the agency would consider in evaluating proposals; price was "slightly more important" than past performance. The RFP stated that for each offeror the agency would conduct a risk assessment based on the offeror's past performance. In so doing, the agency would send questionnaires to references offerors were to provide with their proposals. In evaluating past performance, the agency was to focus on those areas of performance "most relevant to the solicitation requirements, such as quality of service, customer satisfaction, timeliness of performance, and cost control." Award was to be made to the offeror whose proposal was deemed most advantageous to the government. Northport and White submitted the only two proposals received by the agency by the time set on March 26 for receipt of initial proposals. The contracting officer forwarded a past performance questionnaire to each of the references Northport and White listed in their proposals. Respondents were to rate the contractor's performance on each of 15 items on a scale ranging from 0 (unacceptable) to 4 (superior). The contracting officer did not receive a completed questionnaire evaluating Northport's performance as the incumbent on the stevedoring contract at the MTMC Cape Canaveral Detachment. Based on the completed questionnaires that were returned to the agency, the contract specialist calculated an average numerical rating for each questionnaire item and an overall average past performance rating for each offeror. Under that approach, White earned an overall past performance rating of 3 points (out of a maximum possible score of 4 points), while Northport earned an overall rating of 3.4 points. Based on those results, the contract specialist determined with respect to both Northport and White that "little or essentially no doubt exists that [both offerors] would successfully perform the required effort and/or meet contract requirements" and assigned both proposals a past performance risk rating of low. White's total evaluated price was $1,785,621; Northport's total evaluated price was $1,838,216. The contracting officer proposed award to White based on that firm's lower price; MTMC's Board of Contract Awards concurred in that recommendation; and on September 4, following a pre-award survey, the agency awarded the contract to White. This protest followed. PROTESTER'S CONTENTIONS Northport argues that the agency's evaluation of its past performance was flawed because the agency ignored its performance as the incumbent. Specifically, Northport maintains that in concluding that the awardee and the protester had essentially equivalent experience which resulted in both offerors receiving identical low risk ratings, the agency unreasonably failed to take into account fundamental differences in the offerors' actual experience.