APTUS Company, B-281289, January 20, 1999

B-281289 Jan 20, 1999 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights General Accounting Office (GAO) will not consider argument that agency has not correctly defined its own needs because GAO's role is to ensure that the statutory requirements for full and open competition are met. Award to vendor whose quotation is reasonably judged to be best in terms of past performance and price is proper where solicitation provides for evaluation of past performance and price. APTUS contends that Troy's technical solution does not meet the requirements of the RFQ and that its own solution was superior to Troy's. BACKGROUND The AS/RS is a computer-controlled warehouse storage system. Items are stored on pallets at 1. The pallets are moved to and from storage locations by a mechanical system that includes rollers and two cranes. View Decision Matter of: APTUS Company File: B-281289 Date: January 20, 1999 * Redacted Decision DIGEST Attorneys DECISION APTUS Company protests the issuance of a purchase order to Troy Energy & Automation under request for quotations (RFQ) No. DAAA22-98-Q-0368, issued by the Department of the Army, Watervliet Arsenal, for upgrade of the Arsenal's automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). APTUS contends that Troy's technical solution does not meet the requirements of the RFQ and that its own solution was superior to Troy's. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The AS/RS is a computer-controlled warehouse storage system. Items are stored on pallets at 1,600 locations on a multi-level high-rise rack system; the pallets are moved to and from storage locations by a mechanical system that includes rollers and two cranes. A host computer, the PDP-11/44, controls the pallet movements and stores information regarding location using a database management system (DBMS). The host computer sends commands to a stacker controller system, which consists of two PDP-11/03 microprocessors, one located on each of the cranes. The PDP-11/03s send commands to programmable logic controllers (PLC) (located on the cranes and on the warehouse wall); the PLCs in turn send commands to the cranes and rollers. The Army explained, by way of background in the RFQ's statement of work (SOW), as follows: Since the AS/RS holds many parts that are needed for daily mission work, it is necessary that it operate reliably and efficiently. However, in 1985, the stacker experienced a failure that shut down the system for several days. The root cause of the problem was never determined although it may have involved the DBMS regarding a pointer for a specific data address. At that time, it was discovered that the DBMS was no longer supported by [the manufacturer]. By manually updating the database to reflect that day's transactions, the system was then restarted. Multiple system failures have occurred since the summer of 1991. The number of failures peaked in 1996 incurring extensive downtime. SOW Sec. 1.2.3. The agency sought to replace the DBMS software in order to avoid a recurrence of the problem; to obtain a DBMS that is vendor-supported; and to take advantage of the latest technology. SOW Sec. 1.2.4. It also sought to replace or upgrade the existing hardware platform to accommodate the new software. Id. The RFQ, which was issued using simplified acquisition procedures pursuant to the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 13.5 (Test Program for Certain Commercial Items), /1/ contemplated the award of a fixed-price purchase order with a 12-month performance period. The SOW required replacement of the host computer, replacement or upgrade of related peripheral equipment (such as printers and tape drive), and replacement of the DBMS software. SOW Sec. 1.2.6.1.1. It did not require the replacement or upgrading of other components of the AS/RS, such as the stacker controller system. Vendors were required to provide technical submissions addressing the requirements of the SOW, but the RFQ did not provide for a comparative evaluation of those technical submissions. Instead, it provided for award based on an evaluation of price and past performance. /2/ Four vendors submitted technical solutions by the July 28, 1998 due date. After several rounds of questions and answers, the submissions of APTUS and Troy were determined to be technically acceptable, and the submissions of the other two vendors were determined unacceptable. APTUS's submission was found acceptable despite the fact that the protester proposed to make changes to the AS/RS beyond those required by the SOW.