Instrument Specialists, Inc., B-279714, July 14, 1998

B-279714 Jul 14, 1998 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Protest that solicitation requirements for monthly on-site maintenance tasks and relatively fast turn-around time for off-site repairs are unduly restrictive of competition is denied where record establishes that the requirements were reasonably designed to ensure that the agency's actual needs would be met. 2. Agency is not required to structure solicitation requirements to eliminate competitive advantages of offerors located closer to site of performance where advantages did not result from any unfair government action. ISI contends that the specifications are unduly restrictive. Under which the awardee will perform on-site repair and preventive maintenance on a monthly basis and off-site services on an as-needed basis. View Decision Matter of: Instrument Specialists, Inc. File: B-279714 Date: July 14, 1998 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Instrument Specialists, Inc. (ISI) protests the terms of solicitation No. DADA16-98-T-0162, issued by the Department of the Army as a total small business set-aside, for repair and maintenance of general and specialized surgical instruments. ISI contends that the specifications are unduly restrictive. We deny the protest. The solicitation contemplated the award of a fixed-price, requirements contract for a 6-month base period with four, 1-year options, under which the awardee will perform on-site repair and preventive maintenance on a monthly basis and off-site services on an as-needed basis. Off-site turn-around time may not exceed 15 working days. According to the statement of work (SOW), at 5: Repair and preventive maintenance work shall include sharpening, adjusting, polishing, cleaning, realignment and replacement of parts that are lost, worn, or broken to like new condition on Government-owned general and specialized surgical instruments for Tripler Regional Medical Center [Hawaii]; Oral Surgery Service . . . and all other services at Tripler. Repair services also include guaranteed quality, color coding, etching and demagnetizing, reinsulation of laparoscopic instruments, and replacement of tungsten carbide inserts for needle holders. The contractor must provide all labor, transportation, equipment, materials, and supplies to accomplish the SOW requirements, and remove all materials it brings on-site after each service visit is completed. Offers in response to the solicitation were due on April 7, 1998. Instead of submitting an offer, ISI filed this protest challenging various requirements as being unduly restrictive of competition. Specifically, ISI objects to the short duration of the base period; the requirements to clean and polish surgical instruments; the requirement to furnish a mobile unit to perform the contract; /1/ the requirement for monthly service calls; and the 15 working day, off-site turn-around requirement. In ISI's view, these specifications, all of which represent changes from the requirements under the predecessor contract (which ISI held), are unduly restrictive with respect to all small businesses not located in Hawaii. In its comments on the agency report, ISI concedes that it "can perform in accordance with specifications as presently written, but at a cost, which will be predictably higher than a local contractor." Agencies are required to specify their needs in a manner designed to promote full and open competition and thus may include restrictive requirements only to the extent necessary to satisfy their actual needs. 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2305(a)(1)(A)(i), (B)(ii) (1994). We will not question an agency's determination of its actual needs unless that determination has no reasonable basis. Innovative Refrigeration Concepts, B-272370, Sept. 30, 1996, 96-2 CPD Para. 127 at 3. Here, we find that the agency has demonstrated reasonable bases for the challenged requirements. With regard to the 6-month base period, the agency explains that the period coincides with the remainder of the current fiscal year (April to the end of September) and is specified in order to fund the services with fiscal year 1998 appropriations. Since the term of contracts for services funded by annual appropriations shall not extend beyond the end of the fiscal year of the appropriation (Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Sec. 37.106), there is nothing unreasonable in the agency's decision. In this regard, ISI does not dispute the agency's obligation to follow FAR Sec. 37.106; rather, ISI argues that it would not be economical for mainland offerors to submit proposals for such a short base period and suggests that the agency should wait until the beginning of the new fiscal year. These contentions are without merit. The fact that it may not be as economical for some offerors to compete does not render the agency's actions unreasonable. Further, as acknowledged by ISI, it has been nearly 2 years since the end of the predecessor contract.