Fishermen's Boat Shop, Inc., B-276529, June 17, 1997

B-276529 Jun 17, 1997 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Agency's application of a "foreseeable cost" evaluation provision to the protester's otherwise low bid for drydocking and repair of a Coast Guard cutter was improper. Where the provision did not apply if a bidder's shipyard was less than 50 miles from the cutter's home moorage. As was the protester's shipyard. Leading the agency to incorrectly conclude that the overall cost of its bid was higher than MCI's. BENNETT's home moorage is at Port Townsend. The period of performance was from April 14 through May 23. Crew members were to oversee the progress of certain work requirements. The IFB stated: "[c]rew's normal working hours are from 7:30 AM to 4 PM Monday though Friday. Identified in section M of the IFB as certain foreseeable costs to the agency "that will vary with the location of the commercial shipyard to be used by offerors of services under this solicitation.". View Decision Matter of: Fishermen's Boat Shop, Inc. File: B-276529 Date: June 17, 1997 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Fishermen's Boat Shop, Inc. protests the award of a contract to Maritime Contractors, Inc. (MCI) under invitation for bids (IFB) No. DTCG85-97-B-625L68, issued by the Department of Transportation, United States Coast Guard, for drydocking and repair of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter PT. BENNETT. The protester contends that the Coast Guard erred in applying certain price-related factors to its bid, leading the agency to incorrectly conclude that the overall cost of its bid was higher than MCI's. We sustain the protest. The PT. BENNETT's home moorage is at Port Townsend, Washington, located on the western shore of the Puget Sound Waterway. The IFB contemplated performance at the contractor's shipyard and restricted competition to bidders with shipyards on the Puget Sound Waterway. The period of performance was from April 14 through May 23, 1997. The IFB, as amended, informed bidders that the crew of the PT. BENNETT would not live aboard the cutter, but would report to the cutter during contract performance. Crew members were to oversee the progress of certain work requirements, either by witnessing, testing or inspecting the work. The IFB stated: "[c]rew's normal working hours are from 7:30 AM to 4 PM Monday though Friday, except Federal Holidays. If the contractor desires to accomplish work, particularly work which requires inspection or fire watches, outside of normal working hours, request shall be made to [the contracting officer's technical representative] at least 24 hours in advance." The IFB provided for the evaluation of bids on the basis of price and price-related factors, identified in section M of the IFB as certain foreseeable costs to the agency "that will vary with the location of the commercial shipyard to be used by offerors of services under this solicitation." The foreseeable cost factor accounted for such things as relocating the cutter and transporting various Coast Guard personnel to the contractor's shipyard. As relevant here, the IFB provided for an assessment of the foreseeable costs of messing and berthing 11 PT. BENNETT crew members during the 40-day performance period. However, this foreseeable cost was only to be applied if the location of contract performance was more than "50 geographical road miles" from the cutter's home moorage of Port Townsend. The IFB stated that the "50 geographical road miles" would be determined "[i]n accordance with Rand McNally Road Atlas." The agency received two bids by the March 4, 1997, bid opening. MCI submitted the apparent low bid of $83,177 and Fishermen's the next low bid of $89,826. For the foreseeable cost evaluation, the contracting officer initially found, using Rand McNally Road Atlas software, that Port Townsend was 78 miles from MCI's Bellingham, Washington shipyard and 44 miles from Fishermen's Everett, Washington shipyard. Everett and Bellingham are on Puget Sound's eastern shore, opposite Port Townsend. The calculated mileage between these cities was based upon the use of state-operated ferries departing from Port Townsend to cross Puget Sound, which represents the most direct route. In determining whether the foreseeable costs of messing and berthing applied to the Fishermen's bid, the contracting officer mistakenly used a figure representing the round-trip mileage between Port Townsend and Everett, 89 miles. Since this figure exceeded the 50-mile ceiling stated in the RFP, the contracting officer added $38,680 in messing and berthing costs to the Fishermen's bid; this amount, plus other foreseeable costs, yielded a total evaluated bid price of $150,470.12. MCI's evaluated bid price was $143,993.20, which included $39,600 in messing and berthing costs.