Exelon Services Federal Group, B-291934, April 23, 2003

B-291934 Apr 23, 2003 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Agency evaluation of past performance is unobjectionable where protester's past performance record included adverse information. Reasonably concluded that a moderate risk rating was warranted. DECISION Exelon Services Federal Group protests that it should have been selected for an award under request for proposals (RFP) DACA87-02-R-0003. The protester contends that its proposal was improperly downgraded under the past performance evaluation factor. That Exelon would have been in line for an award if its past performance had been properly evaluated. Four of which were contemplated under the RFP. /1/ The solicitation called for "best value" awards on the basis of four evaluation factors. View Decision Exelon Services Federal Group, B-291934, April 23, 2003 * REDACTED DECISION DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Exelon Services Federal Group protests that it should have been selected for an award under request for proposals (RFP) DACA87-02-R-0003, issued by the Army Engineering and Support Center (CEHNC) for quick responses for facility repair, renovation, conversion, alteration, additions and related activity for government installations and facilities (FRR), including architectural, civil, cost, electrical, environmental, and mechanical services. The protester contends that its proposal was improperly downgraded under the past performance evaluation factor, and that Exelon would have been in line for an award if its past performance had been properly evaluated. We deny the protest. The RFP, which had an April 17, 2002 revised closing date for submission of initial proposals, provided for the award of 7 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contracts for a base year with four one-year options. Exelon submitted a proposal for an unrestricted contract award, four of which were contemplated under the RFP. /1/ The solicitation called for "best value" awards on the basis of four evaluation factors, technical approach, past performance, price, and small business participation. RFP Sec. M.2. Technical approach was denominated as slightly more important than past performance and significantly more important than price and small business participation; the non-price factors, combined, were significantly more important than price. Id. The solicitation provided for adjectival ratings of excellent, good, satisfactory, poor and unacceptable under technical approach and small business participation. RFP Sec. M.1.2.1. Under past performance, the solicitation provided an adjectival rating scale of low risk, moderate risk, high risk and unknown risk. RFP Sec. M.1.2.2. A low risk evaluation was called for where "[b]ased on offeror's past performance record essentially no doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort"; moderate risk was called for where "some doubt exists that the offeror will successfully perform." Id. The past performance evaluation was to be based on performance under existing and prior contracts for services that were "similar in scope, magnitude, and complexity to this requirement," RFP Sec. M.2.2.1, and the solicitation advised that in making this evaluation the agency could utilize information from past performance questionnaires, calls to references listed by the offeror and from "other customers known to the Government, and others who may have useful and relevant information." RFP Sec. M.2.2.2. The source selection evaluation board (SSEB) evaluated the 30 initial proposals that were received and established a competitive range consisting of 16 proposals, including the proposals submitted by BMAR & Associates, Inc., Ameresco, Inc., Vanguard Contractors, Inc., Global Engineering and Construction LLC, and Exelon. Discussions were conducted, after which CEHNC issued a last request for final proposal revisions with a closing date of November 13, 2002. The SSEB performed a final evaluation under which Exelon's proposal was rated as "low excellent" under technical approach, "moderate risk" under past performance, and "medium satisfactory" under small business participation, at an evaluated price of $15,708,000. The three highest rated proposals that were selected for award (those submitted by Ameresco, BMAR and Global), each received higher evaluations than Exelon under all of the non-price factors, and each proposed prices that were more than $2,8000,000 lower than Exelon's. The proposal of the fourth selected offeror, Vanguard, was evaluated as "high good" under technical approach, "low risk" under past performance, and "medium good" under small business participation, at an evaluated price of $12,790,000.