Godwin Corporation, B-290291, June 17, 2002

B-290291 Jun 17, 2002 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights A firm protested an Army contract award for emergency room physician services, contending that the Army improperly evaluated the protester's proposal. GAO found that the Army reasonably gave award to a higher technically rated, lower-priced offer. Accordingly, the protest was denied. View Decision Godwin Corporation, B-290291, June 17, 2002 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Godwin Corporation protests the award of a contract to RLM Services, Inc. under request for quotations (RFQ) No. DADA08-01-T-0511, issued by the Department of the Army for emergency room physician services at Martin Army Community Hospital, Fort Benning, Georgia. Godwin challenges the agency's evaluation of offers and the award to a higher technically rated, lower-priced firm. We deny the protest. The RFQ, issued as a total small business set-aside on November 29, 2001, contemplated the award of a fixed-price contract for the base period and four 1-year option periods to the responsible firm whose offer /1/ was determined most advantageous to the government considering price and the following technical evaluation factors: (1) present and past performance, (2) experience, (3) management capability, and (4) recruitment and retention. The RFQ stated that all technical evaluation factors, when combined, would be considered slightly less important than price. As relevant here, the RFQ described the present and past performance evaluation factor as including "recent and relevant contracts for the same or similar items and other references (including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information)." RFQ at 42. Six firms, including Godwin and RLM, submitted offers by the closing time on December 31. Godwin, which was currently providing emergency room physician services at DeWitt Army Community Hospital at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, submitted an offer containing a 1-page cover letter, a 2-page chart showing present and past performance information, and pricing information which included, among other items, a description of employee pay and benefits. In contrast, RLM, which teamed with RGB Group, Inc. for this procurement, /2/ submitted present and past performance information for itself and for RGB as individual entities and for the two firms when teamed together for the performance of other medical services contracts. RLM also submitted several written performance reviews. As an example, one reference for a contract for the provision of various medical services at Fort Meade, Maryland, where RLM and RGB performed as a team, stated that RLM was "an excellent health professional employment agency. [Its] staff and management personnel [were] excellent and responsive. Messages [were] quickly returned and key personnel [were] knowledgeable and helpful. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this company for future contracts." AR, Tab 6, RLM Offer, Management Quality Assessment, Contract at Fort Meade, Maryland. In addition, RLM submitted a detailed management approach plan, which included, among other items, 11 pages describing its approach for recruitment and retention of personnel. The agency rated Godwin's technical offer as overall "good." In this respect, the agency recognized that Godwin had over 30 years of experience, including 14 current contracts involving the provision of emergency room physician services, as well as various other types of physician and medical services (e.g., pediatricians, dentists, nurses, and physical therapists). The agency concluded that because Godwin had diverse experience in providing medical services to the government, the firm would know how to handle phase?in and start-up issues in order to successfully perform the contract. The agency believed that Godwin's overall long-term contracting history reflected good managerial expertise and that its financial plan and the labor?based salary determinations, including pay and fringe benefits, were sound and thorough. The agency was concerned, however, that Godwin failed to provide in its offer any detail regarding its approach to the recruitment and retention of personnel. Finally, the agency noted that Godwin did not include in its offer any past performance information, such as customer satisfaction reports, to support its record of performance. In contrast, the agency rated RLM's technical offer as overall "excellent." More specifically, the agency concluded that RLM demonstrated in its offer its understanding of the solicitation requirements. The agency recognized that RLM, as a newly formed corporate entity, had been awarded four contracts for nursing and dental assistance services, but did not have any experience of its own in providing emergency room physicians.