B-298761; B-298761.2, BST Systems, Inc., December 1, 2006

B-298761; B-298761.2, BST Systems, Inc., December 1, 2006 TITLE: B-298761; B-298761.2, BST Systems, Inc., December 1, 2006 BNUMBER: B-298761; B-298761.2 DATE: December 1, 2006 ********************************************************* B-298761; B-298761.2, BST Systems, Inc., December 1, 2006 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: BST Systems, Inc. File: B-298761; B-298761.2 Date: December 1, 2006 Brian A. Darst, Esq., for the protester. Jonathan D. Shaffer, Esq., Smith Pachter McWhorter, for Yardney Technical Products, the intervenor. Emilia Muche Thompson, Esq., Department of the Navy, for the agency. David A. Ashen, Esq., and John M. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging evaluation of protester's past performance in procurement for battery cells is denied where record establishes that evaluation was reasonable and in accord with stated evaluation criteria; reports of electrolyte leaking from protester's battery cells furnished under prior contracts for the cells being procured warranted assigning protester less favorable rating than awardee, for which there were no reports of leakage. DECISION BST Systems, Inc. protests the award of a contract to Yardney Technical Products under Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport, Request for Proposals (RFP) No. N66604-06-R-0016, for silver-zinc battery cells for the MK30 Mod 1 Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) target. BST challenges the evaluation of past performance. We deny the protest. The solicitation contemplated the award of a fixed-price contract to furnish a basic quantity of 4,600 to 4,800 silver-zinc battery cells to be shipped dry and electrolyte fill kits to activate the batteries, with 12 options for various quantities (with a maximum of 8,000 production cells and fill kits per year) over 4 years. The MK30 Mod 1 target is a torpedo-shaped vehicle, 20 feet long and weighing 2,700 pounds, which simulates a threat from a submarine in acoustic and magnetic characteristics and dynamic manuevers. Energy for the propulsion and payload systems of the target is furnished by 168 individual silver-zinc battery cells arranged in eight trays and installed in the battery hull section of the target. The standard wet-life of a cell/battery system is 15 months from the time the cell is activated with electrolyte. Consequently, the MK30 Mod 1 Program needs to maintain and replenish a replacement inventory of battery cells at each operational site. (The battery cell used in the MK30 Mod 1 target is only used in that vehicle, and not in the MK30 Mod 2 target, which is replacing the MK30 Mod 1 target and uses a different battery cell built to a different specification.) Historically, Yardney and BST have been the only two producers of MK30 Mod 1 battery cells. The current solicitation, issued January 24, 2006, essentially is a follow-on to Yardney's contract for the same cells, contract No. N66604-01-C-2305 (contract-2305). The RFP provided for award to be made to the responsible offeror whose proposal represented "the best overall value to the Government" based on two equally weighted evaluation factors, total evaluated price and past performance. RFP sect. M32X(a). Offerors were required to furnish information regarding past performance, including "a list of the last ten (most recent) contracts and subcontracts completed during the last three years and all contracts and subcontracts currently in process." RFP sect. L34X(a). The solicitation provided that past performance will be evaluated as an indicator of the offeror's expected future performance. The currency and relevance of the information, source of the information, context of the data, and general trends in contractor's performance are representative of the types of data that may be considered. The Government may contact points of contact listed in the offeror's proposal for the purpose of obtaining additional past performance information. The number of contacts, if any, will be determined by the Government at its discretion. Selection of contacts may be random. RFP sect. M32X(b). In addition, the RFP provided that the government "may consider information concerning the offeror's past performance that is not contained in the proposal." Id. Yardney and BST submitted proposals. After conducting discussions with the offerors--including discussions with BST regarding deficiencies in its performance of its prior contract--contract No.