BioGenesis Pacific, Inc., B-283738, December 14, 1999

B-283738 Dec 14, 1999 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights An agency was not required to impute to the protester the totality of its proposed mentor's experience and past performance. Where the mentor was not proposed to play a major role in the performance of the contract. The RFP was set aside for small disadvantaged businesses under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act. The three technical factors were (1) technical capability. The government was to evaluate the offeror's performance qualifications based on its experience in performing "contracts similar to the solicitation" or. The government was to evaluate the quality of the offeror's performance on prior construction contracts. The RFP stated that the government would evaluate the relevant past performance of the offeror's proposed "key personnel who have relevant experience. View Decision Matter of: BioGenesis Pacific, Inc. File: B-283738 Date: December 14, 1999 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION BioGenesis Pacific, Inc. protests the award of three contracts to Index Builders, Inc., Alan Shintani, Inc., and Nan, Inc. d/b/a Ocean House Builders under request for proposals (RFP) No. N62742-98-R-2135, issued by the Department of the Navy, for repair, alteration, construction and demolition work at government facilities on Oahu, Hawaii. We deny the protest. The RFP was set aside for small disadvantaged businesses under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 637(a) (1994). The solicitation contemplated the award of one or more indefinite-quantity contracts for a base year with 4 option years. RFP, Contract Clauses Para. 10; Instructions to Offerors Para. 10; amend. 3, Summary of Coefficients. The solicitation advised that the government would order supplies or services under the contract(s) by issuing task orders for specific projects. RFP, Contract Clauses Para. 8. The RFP notified offerors that the task orders might entail "multiple trades" within the construction industry, such as road paving, roofing, welding, masonry, or asbestos removal. RFP, Summary of Work Sec. 1.1.1. The RFP contemplated award based on a tradeoff between the equally important price and technical areas. RFP, Evaluation Criteria for Award; Instructions to Offerors Para. 21. The three technical factors were (1) technical capability, (2) experience, and (3) past performance, each of equal importance. RFP, Evaluation Criteria for Award Sec. II. Under the experience factor, the government was to evaluate the offeror's performance qualifications based on its experience in performing "contracts similar to the solicitation" or, if the offeror lacked such experience, in performing "other construction projects." Id. Sec. II.B. Under the past performance factor, the government was to evaluate the quality of the offeror's performance on prior construction contracts, especially those of similar size and complexity to that solicited. Id. Sec. II.C. If an offeror lacked a relevant past performance record, the RFP stated that the government would evaluate the relevant past performance of the offeror's proposed "key personnel who have relevant experience, or subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement." Id. Sec. II.C(2). If neither the offeror, its key personnel, nor its subcontractors possessed relevant past performance experience, the RFP stated that the government would rate the offeror's past performance as neutral. Id. Sec. II.C(3). The agency received nine proposals and included seven in the competitive range, including the protester's and the awardees'. Agency Report at 2. The agency received revised proposals and rejected one proposal as technically unacceptable. Among the remaining proposals, those submitted by the awardees had the three lowest evaluated prices (i.e., $15 million, $15.87 million, and $16.2 million), and the protester's had the highest evaluated price (i.e., $18 million). Agency Report, Tab 6, Business Clearance Memorandum, at 9. In its proposal, BioGenesis identified several contracts as the basis for its experience and past performance evaluation. Virtually all of these contracts were for environmental remediation work. Agency Report, Tab 2, BioGenesis's Proposal, Offeror's Experience and Relevant Past Performance. Although BioGenesis, as a corporate entity, was essentially an environmental contractor, it offered both key personnel and a mentor with construction experience. Id., Resumes of Key Personnel, Mentor's Experience and Relevant Past Performance. In particular, the protester's proposal included a mentoring agreement with the incumbent contractor for these services. Id., Letter from Incumbent Contractor to Protester; see also id., Mentor's Contractor Performance Survey, Contract No. N62755-96-D-2966; Agency Report, Tab 6, Business Clearance Memorandum, at 4.