Hyperbaric Technologies, Inc., B-293047.2; B-293047.3, February 11, 2004

Hyperbaric Technologies, Inc., B-293047.2; B-293047.3, February 11, 2004 TITLE: Hyperbaric Technologies, Inc., B-293047.2; B-293047.3, February 11, 2004 BNUMBER: B-293047.2; B-293047.3 DATE: February 11, 2004 ********************************************************************** Hyperbaric Technologies, Inc., B-293047.2; B-293047.3, February 11, 2004 DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Hyperbaric Technologies, Inc. File: B-293047.2; B-293047.3 Date: February 11, 2004 Simon E. Dance, Esq., and Jeffrey S. Newman, Esq., Foley & Lardner, for the protester. Phillipa L. Anderson, Esq., Philip S. Kauffman, Esq., and Dennis M. Foley, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Paula A. Williams, Esq., and Michael R. Golden, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protester*s challenge to the scope of the agency*s corrective action is denied where the corrective action undertaken was appropriate to remedy the concerns that led the agency to take corrective action. DECISION Hyperbaric Technologies, Inc. (HTI) protests the corrective action taken by the Department of Veterans Affairs in response to an earlier protest filed by HTI under request for proposals (RFP) No. 797-FDF3-03-0002, for the upgrade and replacement of hyperbaric chambers at Brooks Air Force Base (AFB) in Texas. We deny the protest. As a matter of background, we note that the current protest is one of several challenges that have been filed by HTI in connection with this procurement. HTI initially protested a previous solicitation for this acquisition, RFP No. 797-FDF4-02-0041, alleging that the agency*s evaluation and award decision under that solicitation was unreasonable. HTI*s protest (B-291681.2) was dismissed by our Office as academic in light of the agency*s cancellation of the solicitation; the agency had determined, among other things, that the technical evaluation factors needed to be clarified and that, in any event, the agency*s needs had changed substantially, warranting a resolicitation. The RFP, as reissued on June 20, 2003, solicited proposals for the upgrade and replacement of hyperbaric chambers and for related services at the Hyperbaric Medicine Division of the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks AFB. Award was to be made to the offeror whose proposal was most advantageous and represented the best value to the government. The RFP identified the following evaluation factors and subfactors: +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |1. Technical Capability | |------------------------------------------------------------------------| | |a. Suitability of overall upgrades/new chamber | | |--------------------------------------------------------------| | |b. Proposal demonstrates understanding of requirements | | |--------------------------------------------------------------| | |c. Overall quality and technical specifications | |------------------------------------------------------------------------| |2. Past Performance | |------------------------------------------------------------------------| | |a. Experience | | |--------------------------------------------------------------| | |b. Reported customer satisfaction/testimonials | |------------------------------------------------------------------------| |3. Price | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ RFP amend. 1, at 18. The RFP provided that technical capability and past performance, when combined, were significantly more important than price. Within the technical capability factors, the RFP stated that subfactor (a) was more important than subfactor (b), and that subfactor (b) was more important than subfactor (c). Under past performance, the RFP stated that subfactor (a) was stated to be more important than subfactor (b).