COMPA Industries, Inc., B-278451, January 30, 1998

B-278451 Jan 30, 1998 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Is precluded by an eligibility restriction intended to alleviate conflict of interest concerns is denied where the restriction. Can only reasonably be interpreted to mean that offerors are eligible for awards for different service categories. Task 1 was open to all firms. 3 and 4 were set aside for small businesses. Specific work to be performed under each contract was to be set out in task orders which would be issued as needed during the life of the contract. To avoid situations where a contractor was managing an expert panel charged with reviewing work performed by the contractor's own company under a different task. Offerors are restricted from submitting offers for all or any combination of the remaining support services categories when proposing on the Independent Assessment Services. View Decision Matter of: COMPA Industries, Inc. File: B-278451 Date: January 30, 1998 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION COMPA Industries, Inc. protests the award of a contract for two separate task categories to Informatics Corporation under request for proposals (RFP) No. DE-RP06-97RL13732, issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) for support services at its Hanford, Washington site. COMPA contends that the solicitation precluded the award of both task categories to the same offeror and that the agency failed to follow the solicitation evaluation criteria. We deny the protest. The solicitation, issued June 25, 1997, via the Internet, sought contractors to perform support services in four separate service or task categories, including project management and engineering services (task 1); environment, safety, health and security services (task 2); financial and administrative services (task 3); and independent assessment services (task 4). Task 1 was open to all firms; tasks 2, 3 and 4 were set aside for small businesses. The solicitation contemplated the award of fixed unit price, labor hour contracts for a 3-year base period with two 1-year options. Specific work to be performed under each contract was to be set out in task orders which would be issued as needed during the life of the contract. Awardees under each task compete for individual task orders on the basis of Fiscal Year Work Plans (FYWP). [1] The RFP provided detailed descriptions of the work to be performed under each of the four service categories. As relevant here, task 4 required the contractor to assist DOE personnel in their coordination, administration, and management of independent, expert review panels. Originally, DOE hoped to establish independent, expert review panels in many different areas affecting the Hanford site. Therefore, to avoid situations where a contractor was managing an expert panel charged with reviewing work performed by the contractor's own company under a different task, the RFP precluded offerors from submitting offers on both task 4 and any of the other tasks. Specifically, the solicitation originally stated at paragraph L-8: Note: Because of the nature of activities to be performed under the Independent Assessment Services category, offerors are restricted from submitting offers for all or any combination of the remaining support services categories when proposing on the Independent Assessment Services. Offers received inconsistent with this Note will be considered nonresponsive. The agency subsequently determined that there would not be the need or the funds to have independent expert review panels in the many areas originally anticipated; rather, the need for independent review panels was not likely for any area other than Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) privatization, which includes certain issues related to spent nuclear fuels. Consequently, prior to receipt of initial proposals, DOE issued amendment 002, which revised the RFP to more accurately describe the services required and the eligibility guidelines. Specifically, in the cover letter to amendment 002, the agency advised offerors that the requirements relative to the service category entitled Independent Assessment Services had been revised and that under this service category "the support services provided must remain independent from support services provided to TWRS privatization and the Spent Fuels Project work." Amendment 002 revised paragraph L-8 to state: Note: Because of the nature of activities to be performed under the Independent Assessment Services category, offerors awarded a contract for this service category will not be eligible for award of a FYWP or individual task orders for TWRS Privatization related work under contract(s) for the other three service categories. The RFP provided for award to the offerors whose conforming proposals represented the best overall value to the government and advised that DOE intended to award on the basis of initial offers without discussions.