Metric Constructors, Inc., B-285854, October 17, 2000

B-285854 Oct 17, 2000 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Protest of contracting agency's decision to decline to allow upward price correction of allegedly mistaken low bid is denied where agency reasonably concluded that the worksheets and other supporting material submitted by protester do not provide clear and convincing evidence of the protester's intended bid. Metric contends that the agency's decision was unreasonable. The base bid CLINs were for the construction of several "primary" buildings. Subcontractors' quotations were transcribed onto a "bid card" and prices were "called out" from the bid card. Column 6 identifies the subcontractor or supplier whose low price was used in computing Metric's actual bid and column 7 lists the subcontractors' or suppliers' prices for each item. View Decision Matter of: Metric Constructors, Inc. File: B-285854 Date: October 17, 2000 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Metric Constructors, Inc. protests the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' denial of Metric's request to correct a mistake in its low bid under invitation for bids (IFB) No. DACA27-00-B-0002, for the construction of an Army Reserve Center at Fort Gillem, Atlanta, Georgia. Metric contends that the agency's decision was unreasonable. We deny the protest. The IFB required bidders to submit lump-sum price entries for 14 base bid contract line item numbers (CLINs) and for 5 option CLINs. The base bid CLINs were for the construction of several "primary" buildings, including a training building, unit storage building, medical supply warehouse, parts warehouse and support facility and various miscellaneous tasks such as the installation of metal lockers, shelving and kitchen equipment. The option CLINs included a landscaping upgrade, construction of an unheated storage building and a concrete planter, and the installation of ornamental fencing and an irrigation system. IFB, Bid Schedule, at 3-9. The Army received seven bids at the May 11 bid opening. Metric submitted the apparent low bid of $22,762,901; Dawson Building Contractors, Inc. submitted the second low bid of $25,836,000. Agency Report exh. 2, Abstract of Offers, at 1. By letter dated May 19, Metric advised the Army that in reviewing its bid after bid opening it had discovered a mistake. Protest exh. 1, Request to Correct Bid, at 1. Specifically, Metric stated that it had inadvertently omitted an electrical subcontractor's bid for CLIN 0006, support facility site work, from its base bid. Id. Metric explained that, in preparing its bid, subcontractors' quotations were transcribed onto a "bid card" and prices were "called out" from the bid card, entered into the computer and incorporated into a computer-generated spreadsheet. Agency Report exh. 5B, Memorandum on Alleged Mistake in Bid, at 2. Metric alleged that a mistake occurred because an employee misunderstood certain directions and mistakenly wrote the subcontractor's quote for one base bid item (CLIN 0006) on the back of the bid card, resulting in the unintentional omission of this quote from the base price. To support its mistake claim, Metric submitted its computer-generated estimate and spreadsheet printouts, a copy of its "bid card," and its subcontractor's quotation sheet with price entries that Metric's employee made based on a telephone call with the subcontractor. /1/ Metric also submitted three sworn affidavits from two of the firm's senior project estimators and a senior project engineer. /2/ The three employees attested that they had prepared the computer worksheets and the bid and explained the mistake and the intended bid. Metric's original undated computer sheets, titled "Recap Sheet," consist of three pages. /3/ The first one and one-half pages contain 17 columns and 76 line entries. Protest exh. 3, Recap Sheet, at 1-2. The first column, titled "Item," lists 76 job elements under the solicitation. For example, line item 25 lists "Masonry," line item 50 lists "Painting and Wall Coverings," and line item 76 lists "Electrical." Id. Columns 2 through 5 provide Metric's own "dry-run" price estimates, including labor, material, "other" and totals for each of the 76 itemized work requirements. Column 6 identifies the subcontractor or supplier whose low price was used in computing Metric's actual bid and column 7 lists the subcontractors' or suppliers' prices for each item. Columns 12 through 16 provide spaces for each of the 5 option prices. /4/ Id. As relevant here, item 76 listed "Electrical" work in column 1, provided the electrical subcontractor's name in column 6 and listed the subcontractor's price of $2,184,301 for electrical work in column 7. /5/ Id. at 2. Subtotal prices were provided for the "dry run" column, the subcontractor/supplier price column, and for the five option columns.