Interstate General Government Contractors, Inc.

B-290137.2 Jun 21, 2002 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights A firm protested a Department of the Navy contract award for wastewater facility headworks and related construction work at the Marine Corps Air Base, Beaufort, South Carolina, contending contends that Navy's evaluation of the proposals and resulting source selection decision was unreasonable and that they demonstrate agency bias in favor of the awardee. GAO held that the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the stated evaluation scheme and the protester's mere disagreement with the decision does not render the evaluation unreasonable. Accordingly, the protest was denied. View Decision Interstate General Government Contractors, Inc., B-290137.2, June 21, 2002 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Interstate General Government Contractors, Inc. (IGGC) protests the award of a contract to Lake Moultrie Water Company under request for proposals (RFP) No. N62467-01-9153, issued by the Department of the Navy for wastewater facility headworks and related construction work at the Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, South Carolina. IGGC contends that the agency's evaluation of the proposals and the resulting source selection decision are unreasonable, and that they demonstrate agency bias in favor of the awardee and against IGGC. We deny the protest. The RFP, issued on August 13, 2001, anticipated the award of a fixed-price contract for the demolition of an existing headworks structure, construction of new headworks, bypass piping for lift stations, coating of lift station and aerobic digester interiors, and related work. The RFP provided for award to the responsible offeror that submitted the proposal determined to be most advantageous to the government. The following evaluation factors for award were listed in the solicitation: past performance, technical qualifications, construction schedule, and price. The first three factors, equal in importance, were to have a cumulative weight equal to price. Proposals were to set forth accurate, complete information demonstrating the offeror's experience and capability to successfully perform the work. Offerors were advised to include their best pricing and technical terms in their initial proposals, since discussions were not anticipated. The RFP provided that the agency's "best value" determination would be based on the solicitation's stated technical and price factors, and that award could be made to other than the lowest-priced offeror. In their past performance proposals, offerors were to provide information demonstrating a history of performance within the last 3 years on contracts similar in scope, complexity and size to the current procurement. In particular, offerors were to demonstrate a history of relevant experience in wastewater treatment plant construction work. Offerors were specifically instructed to include in their past performance proposals a demonstration of prior experience in complex concrete form and concrete structure work. Offerors were advised that the failure to provide the requested proposal information could result in a lower past performance rating. Proposals were submitted by three offerors, including IGGC and Lake Moultrie. IGGC's proposal was priced lower (at $786,604) than Lake Moultrie's (which offered a price of $878,000). The Lake Moultrie proposal was rated higher overall than the IGGC proposal, mainly due to the difference in ratings assigned to each proposal under the past performance criterion. IGGC's proposal received a rating of marginal for past performance; Lake Moultrie's proposal was rated exceptional under the criterion. Both proposals were rated as acceptable under the remaining factors of technical qualifications and construction scheduling. IGGC's overall proposal was rated as marginal, and Lake Moultrie's proposal received an overall rating of acceptable. Lake Moultrie's proposed price was considered reasonable; the price analysis performed showed that the firm's price was lower than the government estimate for the work and that it was in line with the other offerors' prices. /1/ Citing advantages in the Lake Moultrie proposal, such as its detailed demonstration of successful performance on several similar projects, as well as its detailed, favorable construction schedule, the agency determined that the firm's was the most advantageous offer under the technical and price factors of the RFP. The agency subsequently awarded a contract under the RFP to the firm. Following a debriefing, IGGC filed this protest. IGGC primarily challenges the agency's past performance evaluation. /2/ The protester generally challenges its marginal rating under the past performance factor by asserting that its past performance is "beyond reproach" because IGGC recently performed a larger contract at the same facility providing substantially similar services.