T Square Logistics Services Corporation, B-291851, April 15, 2003

B-291851 Apr 15, 2003 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Agency's evaluation of the awardee's oral presentation under two subfactors to the technical approach evaluation factor as "blue/excellent in all respects" was unreasonable where the awardee did not address the subfactors during its oral presentation. Were unreasonable. The successful contractor will "be responsible for the requisitioning. The contractor will provide all supervision. Equipment (with the exception of certain equipment that will be provided by the government). The RFP provided that "[t]echnical approach is somewhat more important than past performance. " and that technical approach and past performance "are significantly more important than price.". The solicitation added that the technical approach factor was comprised of the following five equally weighted subfactors: conformance to the SOW. View Decision T Square Logistics Services Corporation, B-291851, April 15, 2003 * REDACTED DECISION DIGEST Attorneys DECISION T Square Logistics Services Corporation protests the award of a contract to Sankaty Capital Aviation Services under request for proposals (RFP) No. DAHA20-02-R-0010, issued by the Air National Guard (ANG), for fuel distribution services at Selfridge ANG Base, Michigan. T Square argues that the agency failed to conduct meaningful discussions with it, and that the agency's evaluation of its and Sankaty's proposals, including oral presentations, and the selection of Sankaty's higher-priced proposal for award, were unreasonable. We sustain the protest. The RFP provided for the award of a fixed-price contract for a base period of 8 months with four 1-year options. The successful contractor will "be responsible for the requisitioning, issuing, delivery, accounting and overall management of fuels distribution in direct support of base tenants and transient aircraft at Selfridge [ANG Base]." RFP, Statement of Work (SOW), at 1. To accomplish this, the contractor will provide all supervision, personnel, materials, supplies, and equipment (with the exception of certain equipment that will be provided by the government). The RFP stated that award would be made to the offeror whose proposal represented the best value to the government, based upon the evaluation of technical approach, past performance, and price. The RFP provided that "[t]echnical approach is somewhat more important than past performance," and that technical approach and past performance "are significantly more important than price." RFP at 22. The solicitation added that the technical approach factor was comprised of the following five equally weighted subfactors: conformance to the SOW, management approach and administrative plan, quality control, phase-in plan, and safety plan. Offerors were also informed that the past performance factor was comprised of the following seven equally weighted subfactors: customer satisfaction, quality of service, timeliness of performance, management effectiveness, cost control, safety, and compliance with small business requirements. The solicitation's proposal preparation instructions requested that proposals consist of three parts, with part one providing, among other things, proposed prices; part two providing current and past performance information; and part three addressing technical approach. The RFP specified that the technical approach part of the written proposal was to include only the following: resumes and letters of intent of key personnel (the contract manager and alternate contract manager); organization charts; and on-site staffing plans by shift. The solicitation stated that each offeror would be required to "orally present the technical portion of the proposal." The RFP provided that oral presentations were to address each of the technical approach evaluation subfactors set forth in the solicitation, and could not exceed 90 minutes in length. Oral presentation slides were required to be submitted to the agency with the technical portion of the written proposals, and the solicitation informed offerors that the use of "[a]dditional handouts will not be permitted." The solicitation cautioned offerors that "[s]lides submitted but not briefed or portions of the presentation not completed within the time limit will not be considered for evaluation." RFP at 21. The agency received proposals from three offerors, including T Square (the incumbent contractor) and Sankaty, by the closing date. Oral presentations were conducted, and immediately following the oral presentations, clarification questions were posed to, and answered by, the offerors. Agency Report (AR) at 5; Tabs 24D and 29D, Clarification Questions. T Square's proposal/oral presentation was rated under the technical approach factor as "green" overall and its past performance was rated "low risk," at a price of $1,717,054.88.