Wincor Management Group, Inc., B-278925, April 10, 1998

B-278925 Apr 10, 1998 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Although specifications for the lease of commercial washers and dryers are stated in broad functional terms and include only minimal physical characteristics. Protest that the specifications should be more clearly defined is denied since the specifications are sufficiently detailed so as to provide all offerors with a common understanding of what is required under the contract in order that they can compete intelligently on a relatively equal basis. 2. Protest that a requirements format is not appropriate for a contract for the lease of commercial washers and dryers is denied where. The contracting agency anticipates a recurring need for the washers and dryers but it cannot predetermine the precise quantities of machines that will be needed. View Decision Matter of: Wincor Management Group, Inc. File: B-278925 Date: April 10, 1998 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Wincor Management Group, Inc. protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. F41636-97-R-0115, issued by the Department of the Air Force for a requirements contract for the lease and maintenance of washers and dryers for Lackland Air Force Base. We deny the protest. The RFP sought proposals for a base year and 4 option years. The contractor is to lease to the Air Force all of the washers and dryers that the Air Force requires in the dormitories at Lackland Air Force Base and provide maintenance on those machines during the life of the contract. The contractor is to own the machines and will retake possession of them at the end of the contract. The RFP was issued under the procedures set forth in Part 12 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), "Acquisition of Commercial Items." As a commercial item solicitation, the RFP did not include detailed government specifications for the washers and dryers. Instead, when it was issued, the RFP included the following schedule of the line items for each year of the contract, each with an estimated quantity: 1. Washers, electric, 18 pound, top loading; 2. Dryers, electric, 18 pound, front loading; 3. Dryers, gas, 18 pound, front loading; 4. Dryers, gas, 30 pound, front loading; 5. Washers, electric, 18 pound, top loading; 6. Dryers, electric, 18 pound, front loading; 7. Removal and/or replacement of 18 pound machines due to renovations; and 8. Removal and/or replacement of 30 pound machines due to renovations; The RFP was later amended to include two additional line items for each year of the contract. Those additional line items call for machines to support a temporary Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) deployment in May through August of each year of the contract. As amended, the RFP includes a ninth line item under each year for 18 pound, top loading, electric washers and a tenth line item for 30 pound, front loading, gas dryers. Beyond this information in the schedule, the only other description of the washers and dryers in the RFP was in a Statement of Need. That document includes, among other things, a scope of work section and a brief list of specifications. Wincor, the incumbent contractor, first argues that the RFP is defective because it does not include detailed specifications for the washers and dryers. Wincor argues that neither the RFP schedule of items or the specifications set forth in the RFP Statement of Need include "the boiler plate specifications for laundry equipment found in all contracts." According to Wincor, the previous two solicitations for this requirement included detailed specifications and, since there is a vast range of equipment and prices available, offerors should be given more detailed information concerning the agency's needs. The Congress has set forth as policy that Department of Defense (DOD) agencies and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shall "ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable," agency requirements for the procurement of supplies and services are defined so that commercial items may be procured to fulfill such requirements. 10 U.S.C.A. Sec. 2377(a)(2) (West Supp. 1998). A key element of efforts to increase purchases of commercial products is stating requirements in broad functional or performance terms, rather than using detailed military specifications. See 10 U.S.C.A. Sec. 2377(a)(1); Federal Acquisition Regulation Sec. 11.002(a), 11.101: Adventure Tech, Inc., B-253520, Sept. 29, 1993, 93-2 CPD Para. 202 at 3, recon. denied, Adventure Tech, Inc.--Recon. and Costs, B-253520.2, B-253520.3, Feb. 9, 1994, 94-1 CPD Para. 105. This preference for broad product descriptions and nondevelopmental/commercial items is consistent with, and does not relieve the contracting agency of, the obligation to specify its requirements in a manner designed to achieve full and open competition. 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2305(a)(1)(A) (1994); Adventure Tech, Inc., supra, at 4.