Roca Management Education & Training, Inc., B-293067, January 15, 2004

B-293067 Jan 15, 2004 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Roca Management Education & Training, Inc. protests the award of a contract to Orion Technology, Inc. under request for proposals (RFP) No. DABJ23-03-R-0007, issued by the Department of the Army, for on-site truck driver instructor services. The protester challenges the agency's evaluation of its and the awardee's proposals. We deny the protest. View Decision B-293067, Roca Management Education & Training, Inc., January 15, 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: Roca Management Education & Training, Inc. File: B-293067 Date: January 15, 2004 Ruth E. Ganister, Esq., Rosenthal and Ganister, for the protester. Capt. Richard M. Sudder, Department of the Army, for the agency. Katherine I. Riback, Esq., and James A. Spangenberg, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Agency reasonably downgraded proposal that was reasonably found to contain an inadequate number of hours to accomplish the required tasks. 2. Agency properly considered subcontractors experience in evaluating an offerors past performance where solicitation permitted the use of subcontractors and did not prohibit the consideration of relevant subcontractor experience. DECISION Roca Management Education & Training, Inc. protests the award of a contract to Orion Technology, Inc. under request for proposals (RFP) No. DABJ23-03-R-0007, issued by the Department of the Army, for on-site truck driver instructor services. The protester challenges the agencys evaluation of its and the awardees proposals. We deny the protest. The RFP, issued as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) set-aside, provided for the award of a fixed-price contract for a 1-year period with four 1-year options, to provide on-site truck driver instructor services for motor transport operator and petroleum vehicle operator courses at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The RFP required the contractor to plan and conduct classroom instruction and practical training, evaluate student performance, provide administrative support, and evaluate instructors performance for quality control purposes. While the RFP stated that the contractor was to determine the number of employees necessary to meet the staffing requirements, it also provided that: the Contractor shall provide eleven (11) man-year Full Time Equivalencies (FTEs) of instructor support. For purposes of this contract a man-year (FTE) is defined as 1848 hours of work effort (8 hrs. X 231 days). RFP at 40. The RFP also provided that the project manager could, at the contractors discretion, be a working instructor or an independent supervisor, but that supervisory duties must not detract from performance of instructor duties. RFP amend. 1, at 2. The RFP stated that award would be made to the offeror whose proposal was most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. Three technical factors were listed, in descending levels of importance: technical capability, quality control, and past performance. Price was said to be approximately equal in importance to the combined weight of the non-price factors. RFP at 9-10. The RFP provided that the agency intended to make award without discussions. The agency received three proposals, including Orions and Rocas, in response to the RFP. Orions proposal included a subcontractor, Eagle Support Service Corporation, which was Orions business mentor. Roca offered the lowest price of [DELETED]. Orion proposed a price of $649,506. Rocas proposal received the lowest technical rating of the three proposals submitted.[1] The agency was concerned with Rocas proposal to utilize 1 of its 11 proposed instructors as the project manager, while proposing the exact minimum 20,328 hours of effort to perform the instructor services plus all of the required administrative duties.[2] The evaluators stated that this approach represented a risk that the agency would get little or no quality control and administrative contract oversight, or in the alternative [would] not get eleven FTEs of instructor services. In contrast, Orion proposed a separate project/quality manager, who would also serve as a part-time instructor; Orion offered a total [DELETED] hours of effort. Agency Report, Tab N, Source Selection Decision, at 1-2. The agency also considered Orions instructor training plan, quality control plan and safety controls to be detailed and comprehensive, and superior to Rocas less specific plans, which the agency found to represent a significant risk [to the] Government.