Dynamic Instruments, Inc., B-291071, October 10, 2002

B-291071 Oct 10, 2002 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Protest alleging that request for proposals that gives offerors the option of upgrading existing equipment or furnishing new equipment fails to provide for full and open competition is denied since. Offerors that cannot offer upgraded equipment are not precluded from competing because they have the alternative of offering new equipment. Arguing that it was capable of furnishing equipment that would satisfy the agency's needs. The amendment stated that "[t]his effort will be re-issued as a 'Full and Open' Competition. " and "[a]ll offerors will be given the opportunity to submit new proposals when a resolicitation occurs.". " and that it "does not own or have a license right to share Helitune's proprietary data with other contractors.". View Decision Dynamic Instruments, Inc., B-291071, October 10, 2002 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Dynamic Instruments, Inc. protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. DTCG38-02-R-J00007, issued by the United States Coast Guard for multi-aircraft tracking, balancing, and vibration analyzer systems. The protester contends that because the RFP gives offerors the option of upgrading existing systems or furnishing new ones, but does not furnish sufficient information regarding the existing systems to permit their upgrade by other than the original manufacturer, the solicitation does not provide for full and open competition. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On June 4, 2002, approximately 2 months prior to issuing the solicitation at issue here, the Coast Guard published in FedBizOpps solicitation No. DTCG38-02-Q-S00058, a combined solicitation/synopsis for upgrade of the agency's existing vibration analyzer systems. The notice advised that the Coast Guard intended to negotiate with the original equipment manufacturer, Helitune International, for the upgraded equipment. By letter dated June 26, Dynamic protested the agency's intent to negotiate with Helitune on a sole-source basis, arguing that it was capable of furnishing equipment that would satisfy the agency's needs. On July 8, the Coast Guard issued an amendment canceling the solicitation. The amendment stated that "[t]his effort will be re-issued as a 'Full and Open' Competition," and "[a]ll offerors will be given the opportunity to submit new proposals when a resolicitation occurs." Upon receipt of this amendment, Dynamic withdrew its protest. On July 31, the Coast Guard issued RFP No. DTCG38-02-R-J00002, requesting offers for "an upgrade to, or replacement of, [the agency's] existing Helitune Rotortuner Dash 5 vibration analyzer systems." RFP at 15. The RFP enumerated the minimum characteristics required of the new or upgraded systems and provided for award to the offeror whose proposal represented the best value to the government, considering price and price-related factors, technical factors, and past performance. The RFP further provided that in determining best value, price and price-related factors would be approximately equal in weight to the combination of technical factors and past performance. By amendment dated August 5, the agency changed the number of the solicitation from DTCG38-02-R-J00002 to DTCG38-02-R-J00007. Dynamic protests the terms of the new solicitation, contending that by providing for either upgrade or replacement of the existing Helitune systems, but failing to furnish sufficient information regarding the existing systems to permit offerors other than Helitune to propose upgrades, the solicitation gives Helitune an unfair advantage in the competition. The protester maintains that when either an upgrade or new equipment would be acceptable to the requiring activity, "all parties must be afforded equal ability to propose and compete for [the] upgrade option." Protest at 3. The protester requests either that the agency revise the RFP to provide sufficient information regarding the necessary interface format and functional characteristics of the existing Helitune Rotortuner systems to permit other offerors to compete for the upgrade, or that it remove the upgrade option and require all competitors to offer new systems. Regarding the protester's request that additional information regarding the existing Rotortuner systems be furnished to all prospective offerors, the Coast Guard states that "Helitune considers its entire Rotortuner Dash 5 system, including the cabling between components, as well as the upgraded version Dash 5JS+, to be proprietary," and that it "does not own or have a license right to share Helitune's proprietary data with other contractors." Contracting Officer's Statement at 5. Accordingly, it is not feasible for the agency to comply with the protester's first request.