B-296401, Sigmatech, Inc., August 10, 2005

B-296401 Aug 10, 2005 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Sigmatech, Inc. protests the placement of two task orders with Sverdrup Technology, Inc. under blanket purchase agreement (BPA) No. W56HZV-04-A-0005, awarded by the United States Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) for engineering and support services under request for quotations (RFQ) No. DAAE07-03Q-N287. Sigmatech, a small business contractor that has previously performed system engineering and technical assistance (SETA) support services under a separate contract with another office of the Army, contends that the agency improperly bundled this requirement with other support services performed under the BPA. We sustain the protest. View Decision B-296401, Sigmatech, Inc., August 10, 2005 Decision Matter of: Sigmatech, Inc. File: B-296401 Date: August 10, 2005 E. Ray McKee, Jr., Esq., for the protester. Vera Meza, Esq., Department of the Army, and Laura Mann Eyester, Esq., Small Business Administration, for the agencies. Sharon L. Larkin, Esq., and James A. Spangenberg, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest challenging bundling of system engineering and support services with other requirements under a single-award blanket purchase agreement (BPA) issued under awardee's Federal Supply Schedule contract is timely, where record does not demonstrate that protester knew of basis for protest until task orders for work, which the protester had previously performed, were issued under the BPA, and the protester filed its protest within 10 days thereafter; GAO resolves doubts regarding timeliness in favor of protesters. 2. Protest challenging bundling of system engineering and support services with other requirements under a single-award BPA issued under awardee's Federal Supply Schedule contract is sustained, where agency failed to perform bundling analysis or satisfy the requirements of Federal Acquisition Regulations sections 7.107 (a), (b); 10.001(c)(2); and 19.202-1. DECISION Sigmatech, Inc. protests the placement of two task orders with Sverdrup Technology, Inc. under blanket purchase agreement (BPA) No. W56HZV-04-A-0005, awarded by the United States Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) for engineering and support services under request for quotations (RFQ) No. DAAE07-03'Q-N287. Sigmatech, a small business contractor that has previously performed system engineering and technical assistance (SETA) support services under a separate contract with another office of the Army, contends that the agency improperly bundled this requirement with other support services performed under the BPA. We sustain the protest. BACKGROUND On March 26, 2004, TACOM awarded a single-source BPA to Sverdrup under the firm's General Services Administration (GSA) schedule contract. This BPA, estimated at a value of $130,100,946 over a 5-year period, contemplates performance of a wide range of program and engineering services for the Army's Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems (PEO-GCS). The BPA currently supports, among other activities, the Robotic Systems Joint Project Office (RSJPO), which is also known as the Unmanned Ground Vehicles Project Office. Prior to the award of this BPA, program and engineering support services were provided under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract issued in 1999 by TACOM to Camber Corporation. Camber's contract, which expired in December of 2004, did not support the RSJPO. Instead, for the past 15 years, support for the RSJPO was provided under contracts issued by the Army's Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) to small business concerns. In 2000, the agency awarded an ID/IQ contract to Sigmatech, under which orders were placed for SETA services for the RSJPO,[1] and options were exercised under this contract until 2004 (after award of the Sverdrup BPA discussed above), with performance continuing into 2005. In 2004, the agency awarded Sigmatech a BPA, which also contemplated performing SETA services for the RSJPO. Sigmatech was among those firms that received awards as part of the small business reserves under the ID/IQ contract and the BPA. In October of 2002, the RSJPO came under the –cognizance— of the PEO-GCS. At about the same time, TACOM began its acquisition strategy for replacing the contract supporting the PEO-GCS held by Camber. On February 18, 2003, TACOM issued a –sources sought— notice for services required by the PEO-GCS. This notice identified that the required services included support for the following disciplines: engineering, technical, management, information management, product/quality assurance, testing, logistics, and program/project management.