Beldon Roofing Company, B-283970, January 28, 2000

B-283970 Jan 28, 2000 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Agency conclusion that award to bidder that proposed relatively high prices for removal of old roofs and relatively low prices for installation of new roofing systems did not represent a risk to the government is unobjectionable where the reasonableness of the estimated quantities is not in question. The awardee's evaluated price is significantly lower than the protester's. Beldon contends that Campbell's bid is unbalanced and cannot properly form the basis for contract award. Award was to be made to the responsive. Five bids were received by the August 16. The agency informed Campbell that its bid was significantly below the other bids received. Campbell stated that it had reviewed its prices and no price was below cost and. View Decision Matter of: Beldon Roofing Company File: B-283970 Date: January 28, 2000 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Beldon Roofing Company protests the award of a contract to R.L. Campbell Roofing Company (Campbell) under invitation for bids (IFB) No. N62467-99-B-3149, issued by the Department of the Navy for the repair and replacement of roofs at the Pensacola Naval Region, Pensacola, Florida and Naval facilities in Mobile, Alabama. Beldon contends that Campbell's bid is unbalanced and cannot properly form the basis for contract award. We deny the protest. The IFB, issued on July 9, 1999, contemplated the award of a fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract for a base period with four 1-year options. IFB Sec. 01200. Contract line item number (CLIN) 0004 and related sub-CLINs of the IFB required contractors to remove modified bitumen roofing and to install new modified bitumen roofing. CLIN 0007 and related sub-CLINs required the removal of existing aluminum standing seam roofing and the installation of new aluminum standing seam roofing. Award was to be made to the responsive, responsible bidder offering the lowest total price for all CLINs. IFB Sec. 00200, Para. 1.19. Five bids were received by the August 16, 1999 bid opening date. Campbell submitted the apparent low bid of $14,972,210. Agency Report, Tab 3. Beldon submitted the second low bid of $18,591,822. Id. By letter dated August 17, the agency informed Campbell that its bid was significantly below the other bids received, inquired whether Campbell had considered inflation in its price for the option years, and requested that Campbell verify its bid price. Agency Report, Tab 6. Campbell verified its bid by letter dated August 18 and advised the agency that it had considered inflation and had learned from past experience that being well established during the base year, with a well established, experienced crew, would result in cost savings during the life of the contract sufficient to cover inflation. Agency Report, Tab 7. By letter dated September 8, the agency advised Campbell that its bid appeared to be unbalanced and specifically noted that Campbell's CLIN prices with respect to roof installation appeared underpriced, while its CLIN prices for roof removal, flashing and downspouts appeared to be overpriced. Agency Report, Tab 8. The agency also noted that Campbell's bond prices appeared to be excessive. In its response, Campbell stated that it had reviewed its prices and no price was below cost and, while conceding that some of its item prices may seem high, pointed out that, assuming the validity of the government estimates, the bid was not materially unbalanced. Agency Report, Tab 9. Campbell did, however, state that there was a decimal placement error in its bond cost and that the price of $220 per thousand should have been $22 per thousand. After reviewing Campbell's verification, the contract specialist noted that the current contract, unlike the prior contract, requires the entire roofing systems to be ordered, with the exception of sheet metal flashing and insulation, and does not call for individual piece part sub-line items in addition to the installation. Agency Report, Tab 10. To ensure that Campbell understood the scope of the CLIN requirement, the agency sent Campbell a third bid verification letter noting the CLIN requirements and requesting that it review the prices associated with the removal of old roofs and the installation of new roofing systems, and provide a revised bid sheet which accurately reflected bond costs. Agency Report, Tab 11. Campbell again verified its bid price except for the bonding costs which it stated should have been $22 per thousand. The agency accepted the correction to Campbell's bonding costs as well as another correction involving prices for option years 1 thru 4 of the Mobile facility line items. Award was made to Campbell on October 13 in the corrected, lowered amount of $14,842,497.50. Agency Report, Tab 14.