AHNTECH Inc., B-291044, October 10, 2002

B-291044 Oct 10, 2002 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Protest that agency improperly found proposal unacceptable and therefore excluded it from competitive range is denied where protester based staffing on table in solicitation showing that a minimum of 19 on-site personnel were required for certain tasks. AHNTECH asserts that the agency's technical evaluation was flawed. The geographical and functional scope of the effort was to include seven bases in California. Proposals were to be evaluated on the basis of three factors: technical performance plan. The technical factor was significantly more important than past performance. Both factors combined were approximately equal to price. Were received. Were evaluated by the technical evaluation board (TEB). /1/ As to AHNTECH's proposal. View Decision AHNTECH Inc., B-291044, October 10, 2002 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION AHNTECH, Inc. protests the exclusion of its proposal from the competitive range under request for proposals (RFP) No. N00244-02-R-0001, issued by the Fleet and Industrial Supply Center, Department of the Navy, for logistics and support services at various sites worldwide. AHNTECH asserts that the agency's technical evaluation was flawed. We deny the protest. The RFP sought offers for logistics and support services for the Fleet Technical Support Center, Pacific, under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76. The work encompassed by the performance work statement (PWS) included operation and management of functions comprising integrated logistics support (ILS), and other support services, including financial, travel, payroll, automated information system (AIS), administrative, secretarial, maintenance documentation, and management analysis functions. The geographical and functional scope of the effort was to include seven bases in California, Hawaii, Washington, Japan, and Singapore. The RFP contemplated selection of one private sector proposal, considered the "best value," for a later cost comparison with an in-house plan. Proposals were to be evaluated on the basis of three factors: technical performance plan; past performance; and price. The technical factor was significantly more important than past performance, and both factors combined were approximately equal to price. The RFP provided that an unacceptable rating under either the technical or past performance factor could result in the entire proposal being determined unacceptable. Several proposals, including AHNTECH's, were received, and were evaluated by the technical evaluation board (TEB). /1/ As to AHNTECH's proposal, the TEB found: AHNTECH's proposal is rated as unacceptable. The proposed staffing level of 19 personnel detrimentally affects all areas of the evaluation including all five subfactors: organizational structure, staffing, operating procedures, transition plan, and [quality assurance/quality control] plan. By proposing only 19 personnel to meet all the requirements of the PWS, it is the consensus of the TEB that AHNTECH lacks a reasonable or comprehensive understanding of the performance obligations under this contract. . . . There are no technically acceptable scenarios which can be performed using only 19 personnel. Technical Evaluation Report at 1. The contracting officer agreed with the TEB's evaluation, and eliminated AHNTECH's proposal from the competitive range on the basis that its technical approach and failure to comprehend the "big picture" of the requirement rendered the entire proposal unacceptable. In this regard, some 131 employees will be affected by this procurement as reported in the Navy's Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act notice. Agency Report (AR) at 10, Tab 11. After receiving notice of its proposal's exclusion, and a debriefing, AHNTECH filed this protest challenging the elimination of its proposal from the competitive range. /2/ The determination of whether a proposal is in the competitive range is principally a matter within the discretion of the procuring agency. Dismas Charities, Inc., B-284754, May 22, 2000, 2000 CPD Para. 84 at 3. Our Office will review an agency's evaluation of proposals and determination to exclude a proposal from the competitive range for reasonableness and consistency with the criteria and language of the solicitation and applicable statutes and regulations. Novavax, Inc., B-286167, B-286167.2, Dec. 4, 2000, 2000 CPD Para. 202 at 13. Here, we conclude that the evaluation of AHNTECH's proposal and its exclusion from the competitive range were reasonable and consistent with the solicitation. AHNTECH's protest is based on its understanding of a table included in the PWS under the heading "personnel," which was identified as representing "the minimum on-site staffing requirements by site," and listed a total of 19 personnel. PWS Sec. C.1.3.4.