Geo-Seis Helicopters, Inc., B-294543, November 22, 2004

B-294543 Nov 22, 2004 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Geo-Seis Helicopters, Inc. protests the award of a contract to Evergreen Helicopters of Alaska, Inc. under request for proposals (RFP) No. N00033-04-R-1000, issued by the Department of the Navy, for a helicopter detachment (personnel, equipment, and aircraft) to perform air logistics services. We deny the protest. View Decision B-294543, Geo-Seis Helicopters, Inc., November 22, 2004 Decision Matter of: Geo-Seis Helicopters, Inc. File: B-294543 Date: November 22, 2004 William T. Browder for the protester. George N. Brezna, Esq., Department of the Navy, for the agency. John L. Formica, Esq., and Guy R. Pietrovito, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest that the contracting agency unreasonably evaluated the awardees proposal is denied where the record shows that the agencys evaluation was reasonable and in accordance with the terms of the solicitation. 2. Protest that the agency improperly waived a solicitation requirement that offers include proof of ownership or a binding agreement to purchase or charter the aircraft needed to perform the contract is denied where neither the protesters nor the awardees offers included the required information or documentation, and the record establishes that the protester was not prejudiced by the agencys effective waiver of the requirement. DECISION Geo-Seis Helicopters, Inc. protests the award of a contract to Evergreen Helicopters of Alaska, Inc. under request for proposals (RFP) No. N00033-04-R-1000, issued by the Department of the Navy, for a helicopter detachment (personnel, equipment, and aircraft) to perform air logistics services. We deny the protest. The RFP provided for the award of a fixed-price contract, for a base period of 1 year with four 1-year options, to the offeror submitting the proposal representing the best value to the government based upon the following evaluation factors listed in descending order of importance: technical quality; price; past performance; and socio-economic considerations. RFP M 2. The solicitation provided for the submission of, among other things, price, technical, and past performance proposals. RFP L 4. Offerors were informed that their technical proposals must demonstrate an ability to comply with all requirements covered in the solicitation, and that [g]eneral statements that the offeror can or will comply with the requirements . . . will not constitute compliance. Id. For example, the technical proposals were to include a narrative of the aircrafts capabilities . . . and any supporting documentation that demonstrates testing conducted to ensure the aircraft meets the performance specifications of the solicitation. Technical proposals were also to include proof of [aircraft] ownership by the offeror, or a binding agreement to purchase/charter the aircraft if awarded the contract. RFP L6. The agency received proposals from only Geo-Seis (the incumbent contractor) and Evergreen by the RFPs closing date. Agency Report (AR), Tab 12, Source Selection Decision, at 1. The proposals were evaluated, discussions conducted, and final proposal revisions requested and received. Geo-Seiss and Evergreens proposals were each evaluated as excellent under the technical and past performance factors and good under the socio-economic factor, with Geo-Seis proposing a price of88,277,871, and Evergreen a price of $65,536,000. Given GeoSeiss status as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) firm, the agency considered Evergreens price for evaluation purposes as totaling $72,089,600. [1] The source selection authority (SSA) determined that Evergreens proposal represented the best value to the government, and award was made to that firm. AR, Tab 12, Source Selection Decision, at 1-3. Geo-Seis argues that the agency should have rejected Evergreens proposal under the technical factor, rather than evaluating it as excellent. In this regard, Geo-Seis argues that Evergreens proposal failed to demonstrate certain technical capabilities, specifically that the helicopters it proposed have instrument flight rules (IFR) certification, the capability to be hot-fueled using an approved closed-circuit refueling nozzle, and a rotor blade folding system. Protest at 5-7; see RFP C.1.3.9, 4.2.2, 4.3.1, 4.3.4. In reviewing protests against allegedly improper evaluations, it is not our role to reevaluate proposals. Rather, our Office examines the record to determine whether the agencys judgment was reasonable and in accordance with the terms of the solicitation. The protesters mere disagreement with the agencys judgment does not establish that an evaluation was unreasonable. Landoll Corp. , B-291381 et al.