R&D Maintenance Services, Inc., B-292342, August 22, 2003

B-292342 Aug 22, 2003 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Allegation that technical evaluation was improper is denied where the record establishes that the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation criteria. 2. Agency is not required to address offeror's relatively high proposed cost during discussions where the cost is not considered unreasonable or unacceptable for award. 3. Protest that awardee engaged in "bait and switch" is denied where there is no allegation that specific key personnel were proposed and evaluated but not provided. R&D added allegations that the awardee engaged in prohibited "bait and switch" practices and that the agency's evaluation was unreasonable. While this was a "best value" procurement under which the technical factors were set forth as significantly more important than cost. View Decision R&D Maintenance Services, Inc., B-292342, August 22, 2003 * REDACTED DECISION DIGEST Attorneys DECISION DECISION R&D Maintenance Services, Inc. (R&D) protests the award of a cost-plus contract to Ferguson-Williams, Inc. (FW) under request for proposals (RFP) No. DACW21-02-R-0005, issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers for certain power plant and dam maintenance and construction work. R&D initially protested that the Corps failed to evaluate proposals in accordance with the RFP criteria and failed to conduct meaningful discussions. In response to the agency report, R&D added allegations that the awardee engaged in prohibited "bait and switch" practices and that the agency's evaluation was unreasonable. We deny the protest. While this was a "best value" procurement under which the technical factors were set forth as significantly more important than cost, because the R&D and FW proposals received identical technical and past performance evaluations and were determined to be technically equal, cost became the determining factor. Accordingly, FW's proposal was selected for award based on its final proposed cost of $20,206,787 versus R&D's final proposed cost of $[deleted]. The protester's principal contention is that the Corps failed to conduct meaningful discussions because it knew that R&D's initial proposed cost of $[deleted] exceeded the government estimate of $20,927,373 by more than [deleted] percent but failed to bring this to R&D's attention during discussions. To support this contention, R&D cites Biospherics, Inc., B-278278, Jan. 14, 1998, 98-1 CPD Para. 161, in which the protester was encouraged to reduce its price during discussions and, after Biospherics did so, its price in its best and final offer was evaluated as so "unrealistically low [as to] evidence a lack of understanding. . . ." Id. at 4. In Biospherics, not only had the agency failed to inform the protester that its pricing was already viewed as unrealistically low, but the agency had advised the protester that its pricing was rather high and encouraged the firm to review its proposal for additional savings. Under those circumstances, we found that the agency had conducted inadequate and misleading discussions. Obviously, the facts at hand bear no meaningful similarity to the situation in Biospherics. While an agency is required to inform a protester that its costs are so low as to evidence a lack of understanding, an agency is not required to afford offerors all-encompassing discussions, or to discuss every aspect of a proposal that receives less than the maximum score. Nor is an agency required to advise an offeror of a minor weakness that is not considered significant, even where the weakness subsequently becomes a determinate factor in choosing between two closely ranked proposals. Northrop Grumman Info. Tech., Inc., B-290080 et al., June 10, 2002, 2002 CPD Para. 136 at 6. An agency may, but is not required to, address cost variances during discussion. Hydraulics Int'l, Inc., B-284684, B-284684.2, May 24, 2000, 2000 CPD Para. 149 at 17. In particular, if an offeror's proposed cost is not so high as to be unreasonable and unacceptable for contract award, the agency may reasonably conduct meaningful discussions without advising the higher-cost offeror that its proposed cost is not competitive. MarLaw-Arco MFPD Mgmt., B-291875, Apr. 23, 2003, 2003 CPD Para. 85 at 6. Simply stated, because the agency concluded that R&D's proposed cost was not unreasonable or unacceptable in light of its technical proposal, the agency was not under any obligation to address the protester's proposed cost during discussions. The protester also contends that the Corps did not evaluate the proposals in accordance with the RFP evaluation criteria. In particular, the protester objects that the Corps improperly "performed an initial screening to determine which proposals were technically acceptable," and "then awarded the contract to the lowest cost offeror." Protest at 6.